[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 229 (Monday, November 30, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74744-74745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30302]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 151029999-5999-01]
RIN 0648-BF50


Control Date for Trawl Groundfish Fisheries in the 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 December 31, 2015, 
that may be used as a reference date for a future management action to 
limit future access to the offshore sector of the trawl groundfish 
fisheries in the Aleutian Islands. This date corresponds to the end of 
the 2015 fishing season in these fisheries. In October 2015, the 
Council announced its intent to evaluate participation and effort in 
the offshore sector of the trawl groundfish fisheries in the Aleutian 
Islands fisheries in response to a public request to consider further 
limits on access to the fisheries. 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 trawl groundfish 
fisheries in the Aleutian Islands after the control date may not ensure 
continued access to those fisheries under a future management action. 
This document is also intended to discourage speculative entry into the 
fisheries while the Council considers whether and how access to the 
fisheries may be further limited under a future management action.

DATES: December 31, 2015, shall be known as the control date for the 
offshore sector of the trawl groundfish fisheries in the Aleutian 
Islands and may be used as a reference date for participation in a 
future management action that is consistent with the Council's 
objectives and applicable Federal laws.

ADDRESSES: Please consult the Council's Web site at http://www.npfmc.org/ for information on public participation in the Council's 
decision-making process.

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 Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands (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 Federal groundfish 
fisheries with trawl gear in the Aleutian Islands subarea (AI). The AI 
is defined at Sec.  679.2 and shown in Figure 1 to 50 CFR part 679. 
Vessels that participate in the AI trawl groundfish fisheries harvest 
Pacific cod, Atka mackerel, and Pacific Ocean perch.
    Vessels that participate in the offshore sector of the AI trawl 
groundfish fisheries include catcher vessels, catcher/processors, and 
motherships. Catcher vessels participate in the offshore sector by 
delivering groundfish to catcher/processors or motherships for 
processing. Catcher/processors participate in the offshore sector by 
catching and processing groundfish or by receiving and processing 
deliveries of groundfish from catcher vessels. Motherships participate 
in the offshore sector by receiving and processing deliveries of 
groundfish 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 
groundfish fisheries (i.e., vessels that deliver groundfish 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

[[Page 74745]]

groundfish species to sustainably manage the groundfish fisheries in 
the AI. To achieve these objectives, NMFS requires vessel operators 
participating in AI groundfish fisheries to comply with various 
regulatory restrictions, such as fishery closures, to maintain catch 
within specified total allowable catch limits.
    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 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).
    In October 2015, the Council received public testimony from 
participants in the offshore sector of the AI trawl groundfish 
fisheries. These participants indicated that new vessels have entered 
the fisheries in recent years. The testimony indicated that this new 
entry may negatively impact the ability of historical participants to 
maintain groundfish harvests in the AI. After considering this public 
testimony, the Council stated its intent to evaluate methods for 
further limiting access to the offshore sector of the AI trawl 
groundfish fisheries in a future management action. To dampen the 
effect of speculative entry into the offshore sector of the AI trawl 
groundfish fisheries in anticipation of potential future action to 
limit access to the fisheries, the Council announced a control date of 
December 31, 2015. The control date may be used as a reference date for 
a future management action to further limit access to the offshore 
sector of the AI trawl groundfish fisheries. 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 AI 
trawl groundfish fisheries; to provide notice to the public that any 
current or future access to the offshore sector of the AI trawl 
groundfish fisheries may be affected or restricted; and to discourage 
speculative participation and behavior in the fisheries while the 
Council considers whether to initiate a management action to further 
limit access to the fisheries. 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 AI trawl groundfish fisheries. 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 24, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-30302 Filed 11-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P