[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46883-46885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17051]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BF54


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Amendment 113

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of amendment to fishery management plan; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 113 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish 
of the Bering Sea and

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Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendment 113 to the FMP would 
modify the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod fishery 
to set aside a portion of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod total 
allowable catch (TAC) for harvest by vessels directed fishing for 
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod and delivering their catch for processing 
to shoreside processors located on land west of 170 W. longitude in the 
Aleutian Islands (Aleutian Islands shoreplants). The harvest set-aside 
would apply only if specific notification and performance requirements 
are met, and only during the first few months of the fishing year. This 
harvest set-aside would provide the opportunity for catcher vessels 
operating in the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery, Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants, and the communities where Aleutian Islands shoreplants are 
located to receive benefits from the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod 
fishery, while the notification and performance requirements would 
preserve an opportunity for the complete harvest of the BSAI Pacific 
cod resource. Amendment 113 is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

DATES: Submit comments on or before September 19, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2015-0155, by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0155, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Address written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, 
AK 99802.
    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. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address) confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive information voluntarily submitted by the commenter 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
N/A in the required fields, if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of Amendment 113 to the FMP and the Environmental 
Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (collectively, the ``Analysis'') prepared for this action may 
be obtained from http://www.regulations.gov or from the Alaska Region 
Web site at http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie Scheurer, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that each regional 
fishery management council submit any fishery management plan amendment 
it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval by the Secretary. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that 
NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan amendment, immediately 
publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the amendment 
is available for public review and comment. The Council has submitted 
Amendment 113 to the Secretary for review. This notice announces that 
proposed Amendment 113 to the FMP is available for public review and 
comment.
    Amendment 113 to the FMP was adopted by the Council in October 
2015. The objective of Amendment 113 is to modify the BSAI Pacific cod 
fishery to prioritize the harvest of a portion of the Aleutian Islands 
Pacific cod TAC by catcher vessels directed fishing for Aleutian 
Islands Pacific cod and delivering their catch for processing to 
Aleutian Islands shoreplants, thereby supporting social and economic 
development in the western Aleutian Islands fishing communities in 
which those vessels operate and shoreplants are located. The harvest 
set-aside would provide the opportunity for Aleutian Islands catcher 
vessels, shoreplants, and the communities where Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants are located to receive benefits from a portion of the 
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery, while the notification and 
performance requirements would preserve an opportunity for the complete 
harvest of the BSAI Pacific cod resource.
    A combination of physical, biological, economic, and management 
factors, such as the relatively low Pacific cod stock abundance in the 
Aleutian Islands and the potential influx of excess at-sea processing 
capacity from rationalized fisheries, have affected harvesting and 
processing opportunities for Pacific cod for some participants in the 
Aleutian Islands and created the risk that Aleutian Islands fishing 
communities may not be able to sustain their participation in the 
Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery. The Council determined that 
Amendment 113 is necessary to provide benefits and stability to 
fishery-dependent fishing communities in the Aleutian Islands. 
Amendment 113 is consistent with long-standing policies recommended by 
the Council and regulations established by NMFS to provide harvesting 
and processing protections for non-rationalized fisheries and 
opportunities for fishing communities engaged in fisheries in the 
Aleutian Islands.
    If approved, Amendment 113 would amend four sections of the FMP as 
described below. First, a new row entitled ``Aleutian Islands Catcher 
Vessel Harvest Set-Aside'' would be added to Table ES-2 in the 
Executive Summary, below the row entitled ``Retention and Utilization 
Requirements'', to read, ``Under certain conditions, up to five 
thousand metric tons of the AI Pacific cod TAC (excluding CDQ) is 
reserved exclusively for harvest by vessels directed fishing for AI 
Pacific cod and delivering their catch for processing to Aleutian 
Islands shoreplants west of 170 degrees W. long. from January 1 through 
March 15.'' This harvest set-aside would be referred to as the 
``Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside'' in regulations.
    Second, Amendment 113 would make two modifications in Section 
3.2.3.4.3, ``Apportionment of Total Allowable Catch''. Under subheading 
``3) Pacific cod'', the subheading ``C) Seasonal Allocations'' would be 
changed to read ``B) Seasonal Allocations''. This change would be an 
editorial correction only. The second change in Section 3.2.3.4.3 would 
add a new subsection entitled ``C) Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector 
Limitation'' under subheading ``3) Pacific cod''. This new subsection 
would state that if the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-
Aside is in effect, the trawl CV sector may not catch more than an 
amount that is equal to the trawl CV sector's A-season Pacific cod 
allocation minus the lesser of either the Aleutian Islands non-CDQ 
Pacific cod directed fishing allowance or 5,000 mt in the Bering Sea 
subarea before March 21.
    Third, a new subsection 3.6.5, entitled ``Aleutian Islands Catcher 
Vessel Harvest Set-Aside'', would be added at the end of Section 3.6, 
``Catch Restrictions''. This new subsection would include the five main

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components of the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside:
     First, ``Aleutian Islands shoreplant,'' for purposes of 
the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside, would be defined 
to mean a processing facility physically located on land west of 170 
degrees W. long.
     In the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod fishery, up to 5,000 
mt of the non-CDQ directed fishing allowance would be reserved 
exclusively for harvest by vessels directed fishing for Aleutian 
Islands Pacific cod and delivering their catch for processing to 
Aleutian Islands shoreplants from January 1 until March 15. This 
exclusive harvest reservation is the ``Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel 
Harvest Set-Aside.'' Any amount of the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod 
non-CDQ directed fishing allowance in excess of the Aleutian Islands 
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside would be available for harvest by all 
non-CDQ sectors with available A-season allocations of Pacific cod and 
could be processed by any eligible processor.
     If less than 1,000 mt of the Aleutian Islands Catcher 
Vessel Harvest Set-Aside has been landed at Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants by February 28, the Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector 
Limitation and the Aleutian Islands Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside 
would be suspended for the remainder of the year.
     Either the City of Adak or the City of Atka would be 
required to notify NMFS each year of its intent to process Aleutian 
Islands Pacific cod in the upcoming year for the Aleutian Islands 
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside to go into effect. Regulations 
implementing Amendment 113 will specify the date and the method by 
which the City of Adak or the City of Atka must notify NMFS. If neither 
the City of Adak nor the City of Atka notifies NMFS by the annual 
deadline of its intent to process Aleutian Islands Pacific cod, the 
Bering Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands 
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside for Pacific cod would not apply for 
the upcoming year.
     If the entire Aleutian Islands non-CDQ Pacific cod 
directed fishing allowance is harvested prior to March 15, the Bering 
Sea Trawl CV A-Season Sector Limitation and the Aleutian Islands 
Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside for Pacific cod would not apply for 
the remainder of the year.
    Finally, a section would be added to Appendix A, summarizing the 
main provisions of Amendment 113.
    The Council considered a range of dates, set-aside amounts, and 
performance requirements before adopting its preferred alternative for 
Amendment 113. The Council determined and NMFS agrees that the 
combination of measures within Amendment 113 would give Aleutian 
Islands Pacific cod fishery participants and Aleutian Islands 
shoreplants sufficient opportunity to harvest and process the set-aside 
for Aleutian Islands Pacific cod. The Council also determined and NMFS 
agrees that the notification and performance requirements would prevent 
stranding BSAI Pacific cod TAC and preserve opportunities for the 
complete harvest of the BSAI Pacific cod resource.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 113 
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to 
publish in the Federal Register and seek public comment on a proposed 
rule that would implement Amendment 113, following NMFS' evaluation of 
the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. All comments received 
by the end of the comment period on Amendment 113, whether specifically 
directed to the FMP amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered 
in the decision to approve or disapprove Amendment 113. Comments 
received after that date may not be considered in the decision on 
Amendment 113. To be certain of consideration, comments must be 
received by NMFS, not just postmarked or otherwise transmitted, by the 
last day of the comment period.

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

    Dated: July 14, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-17051 Filed 7-18-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P