[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 223 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72408-72409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29535]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 151027997-5997-01]
RIN 0648-BF48


Control Date for the Trawl Limited Access Fishery for Yellowfin 
Sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); control date.

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SUMMARY: At the request of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council), this document announces a control date of October 13, 2015, 
that may be used as a reference date for a future management action to 
limit future access to the offshore sector of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin 
sole. This date corresponds to the date the Council announced its 
intent to evaluate participation and effort in response to a public 
request to consider further limits on access to the offshore sector of 
the BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin sole. This document 
is intended to promote awareness of possible rulemaking and provide 
notice to the public that any participation in the offshore sector of 
the BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin sole after the 
control date may not ensure continued access to that fishery under a 
future management action. This document is also intended to discourage 
speculative entry into the fishery while the Council considers whether 
and how access to the fishery may be further limited under a future 
management action.

DATES: October 13, 2015, shall be known as the control date for the 
offshore sector of the BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin 
sole and may be used as a reference for participation in a future 
management action that is consistent with the Council's objectives and 
applicable Federal laws.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Baker: 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI under the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (FMP). The Council prepared, and NMFS approved, the FMP 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 
Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the FMP appear at 
50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    This advance notice of proposed rulemaking would apply to owners 
and operators of vessels that participate in the Federal fishery for 
yellowfin sole with trawl gear in the offshore sector of the BSAI. The 
BSAI is defined at Sec.  679.2 and shown in Figure 1 to 50 CFR part 
679.
    Vessels that participate in the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl 
limited access fishery for yellowfin sole include catcher vessels, 
catcher/processors, and motherships. Catcher vessels participate in the 
offshore sector by delivering yellowfin sole to catcher/processors or 
motherships for processing. Catcher/processors participate in the 
offshore sector by catching and processing yellowfin sole or by 
receiving and processing deliveries of yellowfin sole from catcher 
vessels. Motherships participate in the offshore sector by receiving 
and processing deliveries of yellowfin sole from catcher vessels. This 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking would not apply to owners and 
operators of trawl catcher vessels that participate in the inshore 
sector of the BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin sole, 
i.e., vessels that deliver yellowfin sole to shoreside processors 
rather than to catcher/processors or motherships.
    The Council and NMFS annually establish biological thresholds and 
annual total allowable catch limits for groundfish species, such as 
yellowfin sole, to sustainably manage the groundfish fisheries in the 
BSAI. To achieve these objectives, NMFS requires vessel operators 
participating in BSAI groundfish fisheries to comply with various 
regulatory restrictions, such as fishery closures, to maintain catch 
within specified total allowable catch limits. The BSAI groundfish 
fishery restrictions also include prohibited species catch (PSC) limits 
for Pacific halibut that generally require halibut to be discarded when 
harvested. When harvest of halibut PSC reaches the specified halibut 
PSC limit for that fishery, NMFS closes directed fishing for the target 
groundfish species, even if the total allowable catch limit for that 
species has not been harvested. The Council and NMFS have long sought 
to control fishing effort in the North Pacific Ocean to ensure that 
fisheries are conservatively managed and do not exceed established 
biological

[[Page 72409]]

thresholds. One of the measures used by the Council and NMFS is the 
license limitation program (LLP) which limits access to the groundfish, 
crab, and scallop fisheries in the BSAI and the Gulf of Alaska. The LLP 
is intended to limit entry into federally managed fisheries. For 
groundfish, the LLP requires that persons hold and assign a license to 
each vessel that is used to fish in federally managed fisheries, with 
some limited exemptions. The preamble to the final rule implementing 
the groundfish LLP provides a more detailed explanation of the 
rationale for specific provisions in the LLP (October 1, 1998; 63 FR 
52642).
    On October 13, 2015, the Council received public testimony from 
participants in the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl limited access 
fishery for yellowfin sole. These participants indicated that several 
new vessels entered the fishery during 2015. The testimony indicated 
that this new entry may negatively impact the ability of historical 
participants to maintain yellowfin sole harvests and may increase 
halibut PSC in the fishery.
    After considering this public testimony, the Council stated its 
intent to evaluate participation and effort in the BSAI trawl limited 
access fishery for yellowfin sole in response to a potential need to 
limit entry in the offshore sector of that fishery. To dampen the 
effect of speculative entry into the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl 
limited access fishery for yellowfin sole in anticipation of potential 
future action to further limit access to the fishery, the Council 
announced a control date of October 13, 2015. The control date may be 
used as a reference date for a future management action to further 
limit access to the offshore trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin 
sole in the BSAI. The Council clarified that the control date would not 
obligate the Council to use this control date in any future management 
action. Further, the control date would not obligate the Council to 
take any action or prevent the Council from selecting another control 
date. Accordingly, this document is intended to promote awareness that 
the Council may develop a future management action to achieve its 
objectives for the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl limited access 
fishery for yellowfin sole; to provide notice to the public that any 
current or future access to the offshore sector of the BSAI trawl 
limited access fishery for yellowfin sole may be affected or 
restricted; and to discourage speculative participation and behavior in 
the fishery while the Council considers whether to initiate a 
management action to further limit access to the fishery. Any measures 
the Council considers may require changes to the FMP. Such measures may 
be adopted in a future amendment to the FMP, which would include 
opportunity for further public participation and comment.
    NMFS encourages public participation in the Council's consideration 
of a management action to further limit access to the offshore sector 
of the BSAI trawl limited access fishery for yellowfin sole. Please 
consult the Council's Web site at http://www.npfmc.org/ for information 
on public participation in the Council's decision-making process.
    This notification and control date do not impose any legal 
obligations, requirements, or expectations.

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

    Dated: November 16, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-29535 Filed 11-18-15; 8:45 am]
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