[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22158-22161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09055]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 140113035-5354-01]
RIN 0648-XD082


Pacific Island Fisheries; 2014-15 Annual Catch Limits and 
Accountability Measures; Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish

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

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to specify an annual catch limit (ACL) of 
346,000 lb for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for 
the 2014-15 fishing year. If the ACL is projected to be reached, NMFS 
would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 
bottomfish for the remainder of the fishing year. The proposed 
specifications and fishery closure support the long-term sustainability 
of Hawaii bottomfish.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments by May 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2013-0174, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0174, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd. Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments sent by any other 
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end 
of the comment period. 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

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the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jarad Makaiau, NMFS PIR Sustainable 
Fisheries, 808-725-5176.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The bottomfish fishery in Federal waters 
around Hawaii is managed under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the 
Hawaiian Archipelago (Hawaii FEP), developed by the Western Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council) and implemented by NMFS under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The regulations at Title 50, Code of 
Federal Regulations, Part 665 (50 CFR 665.4) require NMFS to specify an 
ACL for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish each fishing year, based on a 
recommendation from the Council. The Deep 7 bottomfish are onaga 
(Etelis coruscans), ehu (E. carbunculus), gindai (Pristipomoides 
zonatus), kalekale (P. sieboldii), opakapaka (P. filamentosus), lehi 
(Aphareus rutilans), and hapuupuu (Epinephelus quernus).
    NMFS proposes to specify an ACL of 346,000 lb of Deep 7 bottomfish 
in the MHI for the 2014-15 fishing year. The Council recommended the 
ACL at its 160th and 161st meetings held in June and October 2014, 
respectively. The proposed specification is identical to the ACL that 
NMFS specified for the past three consecutive fishing years (i.e., 
2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-14). NMFS monitors Deep 7 bottomfish catches 
based on data provided by commercial fishermen to the State of Hawaii. 
If NMFS projects the fishery will reach this limit, NMFS would close 
the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish 
for the remainder of the fishing year, as an accountability measure 
(AM). In addition, if NMFS and the Council determine that the final 
2014-15 Deep 7 bottomfish catch exceeds the ACL, NMFS would reduce the 
Deep 7 bottomfish ACL for the 2015-16 fishing year by the amount of the 
overage. The fishery did not attain the specified ACL in 2011-12, 2012-
13, or 2013-14, and NMFS does not anticipate the fishery will attain 
the limit in the current fishing year, which began on September 1, 
2014, and ends on August 31, 2015.
    The Council recommended the ACL and AMs based on a 2011 NMFS 
bottomfish stock assessment, and in consideration of the risk of 
overfishing, past fishery performance, the acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) recommendation from its Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC), and input from the public. The 2011 NMFS bottomfish stock 
assessment estimates the overfishing limit (OFL) for the MHI Deep 7 
bottomfish stock complex to be 383,000 lb. The proposed ACL of 346,000 
lb is equal to the SSC's ABC recommendation, and is associated with a 
41 percent probability of overfishing. This risk level is more 
conservative than the 50 percent risk threshold allowed under NMFS 
guidelines for National Standard 1 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    The Council also considered the results of a NMFS draft 2014 stock 
assessment update that used the previous 2011 stock assessment's 
methods for data analysis, modeling, and stock projections, with one 
improvement--it included the State of Hawaii's commercial marine 
license (CML) data as a variable to standardize catch-per-unit of 
effort (CPUE) from 1994 to 2013. The State began issuing CMLs uniquely 
and consistently to individuals through time starting in 1994. 
Therefore, beginning in 1994 the CML number assigned to an individual 
has remained the same, allowing NMFS to improve CPUE standardization 
from that year onward. However, the Council did not base its ACL 
recommendation on the 2014 assessment update because the Council had a 
number of questions and concerns regarding the application of the new 
CPUE standardization methods. The Council also recommended the 2014 
assessment be independently reviewed.
    In December 2014, PIFSC contracted the Center for Independent 
Experts (CIE) to review a final draft of the 2014 stock assessment 
update. The CIE panel found that including individual CML data as a 
variable to standardize CPUE over time was an improvement over the 
method used in the 2011 stock assessment. However, the CIE panel had 
strong reservations regarding the quality of input catch data and CPUE 
index of abundance used in both the 2011 and 2014 stock assessments. 
Specifically, the panel raised concern about the pre-1990 data for CPUE 
calculation and estimates of unreported catch.
    Given the concerns with the incomplete effort information, the CIE 
panel concluded that the 2014 stock assessment had serious flaws that 
compromised its utility for management. In particular, the CIE panel 
noted that because the 2014 stock assessment was an update only, and 
required improvements in the index and the population model, the 
science reviewed in the 2014 stock assessment is not considered the 
best available. The reports of the CIE reviewers are available on NMFS 
Web site at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/science-quality-assurance/cie-peer-reviews/cie-review-2015.
    In March 2015, the NMFS Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center 
(PIFSC) outlined the reasons why the fisheries data in the 2014 
assessment produced results that the CIE panel advised were not ready 
for management application, and identified two ways in which the 
fisheries data can be improved for future application in the new CPUE 
standardization method, as follows:
    1. Although catch per day fished is the best available CPUE that is 
available continuously over the whole time series (1949-2013), it may 
not be the best available over the most recent time series (1994-2013). 
If the time series is to be split with CPUE issues addressed 
differently before and after the split, one could also analyze and 
include detailed effort data that has been collected only for the last 
dozen years. These data could strongly influence recent trends. Because 
it is a complex undertaking, PIFSC did not see this as work that could 
be done as a simple update in 2014.
    The use of CPUE defined as catch per day fished is subject to great 
criticism, and one way to address this is by using details about hours 
and numbers of lines and/or hooks used by fishermen over the last dozen 
years. Only inexplicit, undescribed differences among fishermen linked 
through time were applied to the recent stanza (1993-2013) in the 2014 
CPUE standardization. Using the recent effort detail would still allow 
differences between individual fishermen to be standardized, and also 
allow changes in effort details through time, to be addressed. Both 
were factors of great concern to the reviewers. Differences among areas 
and seasons and other such factors that can be applied throughout the 
whole time series have remained part of the CPUE standardization in 
both 2011 and 2014.
    2. Further efforts could be made to apply the CPUE standardization 
to account for differences among fishermen to more data using various 
exploratory methods and other data sets. The 2014 assessment overlooked 
a compilation of confidential non-electronic records held by the State 
of Hawaii that may help to link fishermen identities back through an 
earlier stanza of time.
    Although the CIE panel noted the improvement in catch rate 
standardization in the 2014 stock assessment compared to 2011, it had 
strong reservations regarding the input catch data in both stock 
assessments. However, because it is a complex undertaking, PIFSC cannot 
improve the assessment for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish

[[Page 22160]]

in the ways described above for the current fishing year.
    PIFSC believes that a simpler update of the 2011 assessment using 
data from the three most recent years available (i.e., 2011-2013) 
provides the best scientific information available for management. 
However, this information was not available at the June and October 
2014 SSC and Council meetings when these bodies provided their 
respective ABC and ACL recommendations to NMFS for the ongoing fishing 
year. Moreover, because the 118th SSC and the 162nd Council were 
scheduled to meet starting on March 10 and March 16, 2015, 
respectively, there was insufficient time to publish a notice in the 
Federal Register revising the meeting agendas to include an action item 
to revisit the SSC and Council's 2014-15 ABC/ACL recommendation of 
346,000 lb.
    While NMFS will add this topic as an action item to be discussed at 
the June 2015 SSC and Council meetings, it is unlikely NMFS could 
implement a revised ABC/ACL recommendation for the 2014-15 fishing 
year, as the season will end on August 31, 2015. The National Standard 
2 Guidelines, 50 CFR 600.315(a)(6)(v), recognize that data collection 
is a continuous process, and that new information that cannot be 
considered in decision-making may be reserved for use in subsequent 
updates. For these reasons, NMFS proposes to implement the recommended 
ACL of 346,000 lb for the 2014-15 fishing year. NMFS will request the 
SSC and Council to consider in June 2015 the new information when 
recommending an ABC and ACL for the 2015-16 fishing year, which begins 
on September 1, 2015.
    NMFS does not expect the proposed ACL and AM specifications for 
2014-15 to result in a change in fishing operations or other changes to 
the conduct of the fishery that would result in significant 
environmental impacts. After considering public comments on the 
proposed ACL and AMs, NMFS will publish the final specifications.
    To be considered, NMFS must receive any comments on these proposed 
specifications by May 6, 2015, not postmarked or otherwise transmitted 
by that date.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries has determined that this 
proposed specification is consistent with the Hawaii FEP, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws, 
subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

Certification of Finding of No Significant Impact on Substantial Number 
of Small Entities

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that these proposed specifications, if adopted, would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. A description of the action, why it is being considered, and 
the legal basis for it are contained in the preamble to these proposed 
specifications.
    NMFS proposes to specify an annual catch limit (ACL) of 346,000 lb 
for Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) Deep 7 bottomfish for the 2014-15 
fishing year, as recommended by the Western Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council). NMFS monitors MHI Deep 7 bottomfish catches based on 
data provided by commercial fishermen to the State of Hawaii. If NMFS 
projects the fishery to reach this limit, NMFS, as an accountability 
measure (AM), would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries 
for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for the remainder of the fishing year. The 
proposed ACL and AM specifications are identical to those that NMFS 
implemented for the past three consecutive fishing years, (i.e., 2011-
12, 2012-13 and 2013-14). The fishery did not reach the ACL in any of 
those past three fishing years, and NMFS does not expect the fishery to 
reach the ACL in the 2014-15 fishing year, which began on September 1, 
2014 and will end on August 31, 2015.
    This rule would impact vessels in the commercial and non-commercial 
fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish. In the previous fishing year 
(2013-14), 419 fishermen reported landing 309,485 lb of Deep 7 
bottomfish. On June 12, 2014, the Small Business Administration issued 
an interim final rule revising small business size standards (79 FR 
33647). The rule increased the size standard for Finfish Fishing to 
$20.5 million. Based on available information, NMFS has determined that 
all vessels in the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 
7 bottomfish are small entities under the Small Business 
Administration's definition of a small entity. That is, they are 
engaged in the business of fish harvesting, independently owned or 
operated, not dominant in their field of operation, and have annual 
gross receipts not in excess of $20.5 million, the small business size 
standard for finfish fishing. Therefore, there would be no 
disproportionate economic impacts between large and small entities. 
Furthermore, there are would be no disproportionate economic impacts 
among the universe of vessels based on gear, home port, or vessel 
length.
    As for the revenues earned by Deep 7 bottomfish fishermen, State of 
Hawaii records report 343 of the 419 fishermen sold their Deep 7 
bottomfish catch. These 343 individuals sold a combined total of 
269,571 lb (87% of reported catch) at a value of $1,798,713. Based on 
these revenues, the average price for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish in 2013-14 
was approximately $6.67/lb. NMFS assumes that the remaining 76 
commercial fishermen either sold no fish or the State of Hawaii 
reporting program did not capture their sales.
    Assuming the fishery attains the ACL of 346,000 in 2014-15, using 
the 2013-14 average price of $6.67, the potential fleet wide revenue 
during 2014-15 is expected to be $2,307,820 ($2,007,803 under the 
assumption that 87% of catch is sold). If the same number of fishermen 
sell MHI Deep 7 bottomfish in 2014-15 as in 2013-14, each of these 343 
commercial fishermen could potentially sell an average of 1,008.8 lb 
(878.6 lb if 87% of potential catch is sold) of MHI Deep 7 bottomfish 
valued at $6,728.34 ($5,860.33 if 87% of potential catch is sold) per 
individual.
    In general, the relative importance of MHI bottomfish to commercial 
participants as a percentage of overall fishing or household income is 
unknown, as the total suite of fishing and other income-generating 
activities by individual operations across the year has not been 
examined.
    In terms of scenarios immediately beyond the 2014-15 fishing year, 
three possible outcomes may occur. First, if fishery does not reach the 
ACL in 2014-15, the ACL could remain the same for the 2015-16 fishing 
year. Second, if the fishery exceeds the ACL for the 2014-15 fishing 
year, NMFS would reduce the Deep 7 bottomfish ACL for the 2015-16 
fishing year by the amount of the overage. The last possible scenario 
is one where NMFS would prepare a new stock assessment or update that 
NMFS and the Council would use to set a new 2015-2016 ACL (without 
inclusion of any overage, even if catch exceeds ACL for the 2014-15 
fishing year).
    Even though this proposed specification would apply to a 
substantial number of vessels, i.e., 100 percent of the bottomfish 
fleet, NMFS does not expect the rule will have a significantly adverse 
economic impact to individual vessels. Landings

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information from the 2013-14 fishing year, and from the catch to date 
in the 2014-15 fishing year, suggest that Deep 7 bottomfish landings 
are not likely to exceed the ACL proposed for 2014-15.
    Therefore, pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, this 
proposed action 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.

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

    Dated: April 15, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-09055 Filed 4-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P