[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61272-61274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24192]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 140904753-4801-01]
RIN 0648-BE34


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries off West Coast States; 
Regulatory Amendment to Pacific Coast Groundfish Fisheries Trawl 
Rationalization Program for the Start of 2015

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would revise regulations for the Pacific 
Coast Groundfish fishery with a target implementation date of January 
1, 2015. Final implementation of the 2015-2016 biennial harvest 
specifications and management measures will likely be delayed beyond 
January 1, 2015. NMFS has identified two issues that must be addressed 
prior to January 1, 2015, to prevent interruption of ongoing fisheries 
and to allow harvest of the total allowable groundfish catch. This 
action would address those issues by revising groundfish regulations in 
two ways. First, this action would replace language that was 
inadvertently deleted after a series of temporary rulemakings. This 
would reinstate a mechanism whereby NMFS can issue interim groundfish 
allocations at the beginning of the year, allowing the Pacific coast 
groundfish fishery to continue in years when annual groundfish harvest 
specifications are expiring and new ones are not yet finalized, as is 
likely for January 1, 2015. Second, this action would amend regulations 
to extend NMFS' authority to issue the full shorebased trawl allocation 
of groundfish to current quota share holders in the Shorebased 
Individual Fishing Quota Program. Specifically, the rule would allow 
NMFS to issue that portion of the allowable catch currently allocated 
to an Adaptive Management Program (AMP), to quota share holders until 
final criteria and a process for distribution of the AMP quota shares 
is developed and implemented.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 10, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0098, 
by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0098, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, West 
Coast Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070, 
Attn: Miako Ushio.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miako Ushio, phone: 206-526-4644; or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This rule is accessible via the Internet at the Office of the 
Federal Register Web site at https://

[[Page 61273]]

www.federalregister.gov. Background information and documents are 
available at the NMFS West Coast Region Web site at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish/index.html and at 
the Council's Web site at http://www.pcouncil.org.

Background

    The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires 
the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to set harvest 
specifications and management measures for groundfish at least 
biennially. Council development of the 2015-2016 harvest specifications 
and management measures began in summer 2013 and culminated with a June 
2014 recommendation for harvest specifications and associated 
management measures, with a target effective date of January 1, 2015. 
The effective date of these regulations will likely be delayed beyond 
January 1, 2015. In the event of a delay, NMFS has identified two 
issues that must be addressed to prevent interruption of ongoing 
fisheries and to allow harvest of the total allowable groundfish catch. 
Those two issues are addressed through this Proposed Rule.

Issuance of Groundfish Quota

    In January 2011, NMFS implemented the Trawl Rationalization Program 
for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery's trawl fleet (75 FR 78344, 
December 15, 2010). This program included a provision to use a 
conservative estimate to issue Pacific whiting quota pounds (QP) at the 
beginning of the year in years when harvest specifications of Pacific 
whiting are not known by January 1. The remainder of the quota pounds 
would be issued when the final harvest specifications are established. 
A similar provision for non-whiting groundfish species was added a year 
later (76 FR 74725, December 1, 2011).
    In response to litigation, these provisions were amended via a 
temporary rule (77 FR 45508, August 1, 2012, extended via 78 FR 3848 
through July 22, 2013). With the expiration of this temporary rule in 
2013, the language allowing NMFS to use a conservative estimate for 
issuance of the non-whiting harvest QPs was inadvertently deleted. That 
provision is proposed to be reinstated through this proposed rule.

Extension of AMP Quota Pass-Through

    As part of the Trawl Rationalization Program, NMFS created an 
Adaptive Management Program (AMP) (Sec.  660.140(d)(1)(ii)(A)) to 
address multiple purposes: community stability, processor stability, 
conservation, unintended/unforeseen consequences of the Trawl 
Rationalization Program, or to facilitate new entrants. The program 
reserved 10 percent of non-whiting quota share (QS) for these purposes. 
However, because the method for distributing the resulting QP from AMP 
QS has not yet been established, consistent with the program, NMFS has 
been issuing the QP to current QS holders in proportion to their non-
whiting QS. For the first years of the program, this allocation policy 
was seen as a means to ease the transition of the QS fisheries into the 
Trawl Rationalization Program with the expectation that the trawl 
program would be modified to address changes in the fishery. Both the 
Council and NMFS have monitored this fishery, and have not identified 
any concerns related to communities, processors, conservation, or other 
matters that would need to be addressed now by the AMP quota.
    The Pacific Fishery Management Council intends to conduct a formal 
5-year review of the Trawl Rationalization program, as required under 
Magnuson Steven Act 303A(c)(1)(G). The pass-through mechanism is 
currently set to expire at the end of 2014, and this rule proposes, in 
accordance with the Council's recommendations from its March, 2014 
meeting, to extend the pro rata pass-through until the implementation 
of appropriate regulations resulting from the 5-year review. NMFS is 
proposing to extend the pro rata pass-through so that the fish 
authorized for harvest through the biennial specifications process will 
continue to be available to benefit the fishing industry, dependent 
communities, and consumers. Without this rulemaking, 10 percent of the 
non-whiting QS would not be issued. Based on 2013 non-whiting 
groundfish revenues of $28.2 million, this would result in a loss of 
approximately $2.8 million to the shorebased trawl fleet.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), 
the NMFS Assistant Administrator has preliminarily determined that this 
proposed rule is consistent with the PCGFMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens, Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    A draft Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared for the pass-
through of adaptive management quota pounds portion of this proposed 
action, and can be found on the NOAA Fisheries Groundfish Trawl Catch 
Share Web site at www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish_catch_shares.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    This rule concerns the allocation of Quota shares via the AMP pass 
through provisions. Quota share holders are comprised of fishermen, 
processors, and non-profit organizations. As part of the 2014 QS 
application renewal process, quota share holders were asked if they 
considered themselves a ``small'' business based on a review of the 
Small Business Association (SBA) affiliation size criteria, including 
the $19.0 million size standard for finfish fishing. The size standard 
for finfish fishing has recently changed. On June 12, 2014, the SBA 
issued an interim final rule revising the small business size standards 
for several industries effective July 14, 2014. 79 FR 33467 (June 12, 
2014). The rule increased the size standard from $19.0 to $20.5 million 
for finfish fishing, from $5 to $5.5 million for shellfish fishing, and 
from $7.0 million to $7.5 million for other marine fishing, for-hire 
businesses, and marinas. A small organization is any nonprofit 
enterprise that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant 
in its field. For those finfish companies that reported themselves as 
``large'' under the $19.0 million standard, NMFS has reviewed available 
data on ownership, affiliation, industry Web sites, and recent analysis 
(NMFS-Alaska Region). NMFS did not find any information that would 
change their status under the new finfish standard. Based on this 
analysis, NMFS estimates that the 138 quota share accounts are held by 
99 entities, of which 87 are small entities.
    This rule would not result in any immediate impacts on revenues or 
costs for the small entities because it maintains the current AMP pass-
through processes used in this fishery since 2011. This rule making 
does not contain any new management measures that would have specific 
economic impacts on the fishery. Therefore, this proposed rule, if 
promulgated, would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. As a result, an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has been 
prepared. NMFS will conduct the appropriate analyses for any subsequent 
rulemakings stemming from this proposed rule.

[[Page 61274]]

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, and Indian fisheries.

    Dated: October 2, 2014.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 
CFR part 660 as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.

0
2. In Sec.  660.140, revise paragraphs (d)(1)(ii)(A) introductory text, 
(d)(1)(ii)(A)(1) and (2), (d)(1)(ii)(B)(1) and (2), and paragraph 
(l)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  660.140  Shorebased IFQ Program.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (A) Non-whiting QP annual sub-allocations. NMFS will issue QP for 
IFQ species other than Pacific whiting and Pacific halibut annually by 
multiplying the QS permit owner's QS for each such IFQ species by that 
year's shorebased trawl allocation for that IFQ species. Deposits to QS 
accounts for IFQ species other than Pacific whiting and Pacific halibut 
will be made on or about January 1 each year. Until the implementation 
of any regulatory changes developed pursuant to the first program 
review for the trawl rationalization program, the resulting AMP QP will 
be issued to all QS permit owners in proportion to their non-whiting 
QS.
    (1) In years where the groundfish harvest specifications are known 
by January 1, deposits to QS accounts for IFQ species will be made on 
or about January 1.
    (2) In years where the groundfish harvest specifications are not 
known by January 1, NMFS will issue QP in two parts. On or about 
January 1, NMFS will deposit QP based on the shorebased trawl 
allocation multiplied by the lower end of the range of potential 
harvest specifications for that year. After the final harvest 
specifications are established later in the year, NMFS will deposit 
additional QP to the QS account.
* * * * *
    (B) * * *
    (1) In years where the Pacific whiting harvest specification is 
known by January 1, deposits to QS accounts for Pacific whiting will be 
made on or about January 1.
    (2) In years where the Pacific whiting harvest specification is not 
known by January 1, NMFS will issue Pacific whiting QP in two parts. On 
or about January 1, NMFS will deposit Pacific whiting QP based on the 
shorebased trawl allocation multiplied by the lower end of the range of 
potential harvest specifications for Pacific whiting for that year. 
After the final Pacific whiting harvest specifications are established 
later in the year, NMFS will deposit additional QP to QS accounts.
* * * * *
    (l) * * *
    (2) AMP QP pass through. The 10 percent of non-whiting QS will be 
reserved for the AMP, but the resulting AMP QP will be issued to all QS 
permit owners in proportion to their non-whiting QS until the 
implementation of any regulatory changes developed pursuant to the 
first program review for the trawl rationalization program.

[FR Doc. 2014-24192 Filed 10-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P