[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5539-5541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01063]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF160


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Application 
for an Exempted Fishing Permit

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

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application to renew an exempted fishing 
permit.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application from the 
Alaska Seafood Cooperative and co-applicants to renew exempted fishing 
permit (EFP) 2016-01 as modified on January 10, 2017. NMFS announced 
receipt of the application for EFP 2016-01 on January 25, 2016. NMFS 
issued EFP 2016-01 on May 6, 2016, and modified the EFP on January 10, 
2017. If granted, this renewal would extend the expiration date of 
modified EFP 2016-01 from April 30, 2017, to December 31, 2017. The 
objective of EFP 2016-01 is to allow the applicants to remove halibut 
from a trawl codend on the deck, and release those halibut back to the 
water in a timely manner to increase survivability. Under the EFP, 
halibut are sampled by NMFS-trained observers for length and physical 
condition using standard International Pacific Halibut Commission 
halibut mortality assessment methods. The objectives of EFP 2016-01 are 
to (1) test methods for sorting halibut on deck for suitability as an 
allowable fish handling mode for the non-pollock catcher/processor 
trawl fisheries (Amendment 80, community development quota, and trawl 
limited access) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands under an 
eventual regulated program; and (2) simplify and improve on elements 
that worked under a 2015 deck sorting EFP project. This experiment has 
the potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 
1982.

DATES: Comments on this EFP application must be submitted to NMFS on or 
before February 7, 2017. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) will consider the application at its meeting from January 30 
through February 6, 2017, in Seattle, WA.

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Renaissance Seattle 
Hotel, 515 Madison Street, Seattle, WA 98104. The agenda for the 
Council meeting is available at http://www.npfmc.org. You may submit 
comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2017-0006, by any 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-2017-0006, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit 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 99802-1668.
    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 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address) 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).
    Electronic copies of the EFP application, modified EFP 2016-01, and 
the basis for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental 
Policy Act are available from the Alaska Region, NMFS Web site at 
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandee Gerke, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish 
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) 
under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP), which the Council prepared 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 
Regulations governing the BSAI groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR 
parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the implementing regulations at Sec.  
600.745(b) and Sec.  679.6 allow the NMFS Regional Administrator to 
authorize, for limited experimental purposes, fishing that would 
otherwise be prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs are contained in 
the implementing regulations.
    The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage 
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) through 
regulations established under the authority of the Convention between 
the United States and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut 
Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and 
the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. The IPHC promulgates 
regulations pursuant to the Convention. The IPHC's regulations are 
subject to approval by the Secretary of State with concurrence from the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary).

Background

    Regulations implemented by the IPHC allow Pacific halibut to be 
commercially harvested by the directed North Pacific longline fishery. 
Halibut is a prohibited species in the groundfish fishery, requiring 
immediate return to the sea with a minimum of injury. Halibut caught 
incidentally by catcher/processors in the nonpelagic trawl groundfish 
fisheries must be weighed on a NMFS-approved scale, sampled by 
observers, and returned to the ocean as soon as possible. The Council 
establishes annual maximum halibut bycatch allowances and seasonal 
apportionments adjusted by an estimated halibut discard mortality rate 
(DMR) for groundfish fisheries. The DMRs are based on the best 
information available, including information contained in the annual 
Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation report, available at http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/. NMFS approves the halibut DMRs developed 
and recommended by the IPHC and the Council for the BSAI groundfish 
fisheries for use in monitoring the halibut bycatch allowances and 
seasonal apportionments.
    Directed fishing in a groundfish fishery closes when the halibut 
mortality apportionment for the fishery is reached, even if the target 
species catch is less than the seasonal or annual quota for the 
directed fishery. In the case of the Bering Sea flatfish fishery, 
seasons have been closed before fishery quotas have been reached to 
prevent the fishery from exceeding the halibut mortality apportionment.
    With the implementation of Amendment 80 to the FMP on September 14, 
2007 (72 FR 52668), halibut mortality apportionments were established 
for the Amendment 80

[[Page 5540]]

sector and for Amendment 80 cooperatives. Amendment 80 is a catch share 
program that allocates several BSAI non-pollock trawl groundfish 
fisheries (including the flatfish fishery) among fishing sectors, and 
facilitates the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the non-
American Fisheries Act trawl catcher/processor sector. Though halibut 
mortality apportionments provide Amendment 80 cooperatives more 
flexibility to use available mortality, halibut mortality continues to 
constrain fishing in some Amendment 80 fisheries. Therefore, this 
sector is actively exploring ways to continue to reduce halibut 
mortality.
    Before incidentally caught halibut are returned to the sea, at-sea 
observers must estimate halibut and groundfish catch amounts. 
Regulations in 50 CFR part 679 assure that observer estimates of 
halibut and groundfish catch are credible and accurate, and that 
potential bias is minimized. For example, NMFS requires that all catch 
be made available for sampling by an observer; prohibits tampering with 
observer samples; prohibits removal of halibut from a codend, bin, or 
conveyance system prior to being observed and counted by an at-sea 
observer; and prohibits fish (including halibut) from remaining on deck 
unless an observer is present.
    In 2009 and 2012, halibut mortality experiments were conducted by 
members of the Amendment 80 sector under EFP 09-02 (74 FR 12113, March 
23, 2009) and EFP 12-01 (76 FR 70972, November 16, 2011). By 
regulation, all catch including halibut is moved across a flow scale 
below deck before the halibut is returned to the sea. Halibut mortality 
increases with increased handling and time out of water. Under the 2009 
and 2012 EFPs, experimental methods for sorting catch on a vessel's 
deck allowed halibut to be returned to the sea in less time, with less 
handling relative to halibut routed below deck and over the flow scale. 
The halibut mortality during flatfish fishing under the 2009 and 2012 
EFPs was estimated to be approximately 17 metric tons (mt) and 10.8 mt, 
respectively, less than the amounts estimated from the DMR for this 
fishery. The reduced halibut mortality under the 2009 and 2012 EFPs is 
attributed to the improved condition of halibut through reduced 
handling and time out of water.
    In 2015, test fishing under EFP 2015-02 (80 FR 3222, January 22, 
2015) expanded on results of the 2009 and 2012 EFPs to explore the 
feasibility of deck sorting halibut in additional fisheries, on more 
vessels, and during a longer interval of time during the fishing 
season. The primary objective was to reduce halibut mortality in the 
Amendment 80 groundfish fisheries in 2015. Fishing under the EFP began 
in May and continued through November. The most prominent result from 
the 2015 EFP was that substantial halibut mortality savings were 
achieved from deck sorting on catcher/processors operating in Bering 
Sea non-pelagic trawl fisheries. The 2015 EFP is estimated to have 
saved 175 mt of halibut. For the nine vessels that participated in the 
2015 EFP, all but one achieved mortality rates in the range of 41 
percent to 53 percent, compared to the standard mortality rate of 80 
percent in the Bering Sea flatfish fisheries without deck sorting 
(average across target fisheries of interest for the 2015 EFP).
    Test fishing under EFP 2016-01 from May through November 2016 
resulted in more participating vessels over more fisheries and yielded 
greater halibut savings relative to prior years. Twelve boats 
participated in test fishing under EFP 2016-01. In prior deck sorting 
EFPs, test fishing primarily occurred in the flathead sole and 
arrowtooth flounder fisheries. In 2016, test fishing expanded to 
fisheries for yellowfin sole, Pacific cod, Pacific ocean perch, and 
Atka mackerel to a much larger extent than in prior years. Based on 
preliminary results, EFP 2016-01 is estimated to have saved 288 mt of 
halibut in 2016. Though modified EFP 2016-01 is valid through April 30, 
2017, no halibut savings data from 2017 are available to report at this 
time.
    Through the course of EFP fishing in 2016, NMFS and the EFP 
participants identified modifications to EFP 2016-01 that would improve 
the effectiveness of the EFP and reduce the burden on industry to 
participate in the EFP. For example, EFP 2016-01 required participating 
vessels to carry three observers to collect data during EFP fishing. 
Through the course of the year, it became apparent that two observers 
could sufficiently collect the requisite data for EFP hauls. As a 
result, NMFS subsequently modified EFP 2016-01 to make it optional for 
participating vessels to carry more than two observers on EFP trips. 
Under modified EFP 2016-01 (see ADDRESSES) vessel operators may opt to 
carry more than two observers to maintain the pace at which fish are 
run through the factory while halibut are being sorted and sampled by 
an observer on deck or they may carry two observers with the condition 
that fish may not be run into the factory while the observer is on deck 
sampling the sorted halibut. Additional modifications to EFP 2016-01 
included (a) changes in observer sampling methods designed to increase 
consistency of observer sampling for the EFP with other, routine 
observer sampling in the fisheries; (b) changes to the persons named on 
the EFP as designated representatives; and (c) the addition of new 
vessels to the EFP.

Proposed Action

    On January 10, 2017, the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC), an 
Amendment 80 cooperative, submitted an application to renew modified 
EFP 2016-01 through the end of 2017 to continue to build on the 
information collected in prior deck sorting EFPs and further reduce 
halibut mortality in the Amendment 80, community development quota 
(CDQ), and trawl limited access sectors. The proposed action would 
extend the effective date of modified EFP 2016-01 (see ADDRESSES) from 
April 30, 2017 to December 31, 2017. No other changes to modified EFP 
2016-01 are proposed.
    The renewed EFP would allow halibut to continue to be sorted, 
sampled, and released prior to being weighed on a flow scale, to 
achieve the experimental objectives of modified EFP 2016-01 and reduce 
halibut mortality. Halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) mortality for 
vessels engaged in experimental fishing would not exceed the 2017 
halibut PSC mortality apportionments set out in Table 14 of the Final 
2016 and 2017 Harvest Specifications (available at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/16_17bsaitable14.pdf). 
Participants request no additional groundfish or halibut quota as part 
of this EFP renewal application, and all groundfish catch will accrue 
against the appropriate Amendment 80, CDQ, or trawl limited access 
sector catch and PSC allowances.
    Under the EFP, participants would be limited to their groundfish 
allocations under the 2017 harvest specifications (81 FR 14773, March 
18, 2016). The amount of halibut mortality applied to the EFP 
activities would be subject to review and approval by NMFS.
    In 2018, the AKSC would be required to submit to NMFS a report of 
the EFP results after EFP experimental fishing has ended in 2017. The 
report would include a comparison of halibut mortality from halibut 
sampled during the EFP and an estimate of halibut mortality under 
standard IPHC halibut mortality rates for those target fisheries. 
Additionally, the report should compare the estimated amount of halibut 
sampled by observers in the factory with the census of halibut 
collected in the factory by vessel crew to evaluate the precision and 
associated variance of sampled-based extrapolations and to

[[Page 5541]]

inform a decision of the best way to account for factory halibut in a 
regulated program.
    This EFP would be valid upon renewal until either the end of 2017 
or when the annual halibut mortality apportionment is reached in areas 
of the BSAI open to directed fishing by the various sectors, whichever 
occurs first. EFP-authorized fishing activities would not be expected 
to change the nature or duration of the groundfish fishery, gear used, 
or the amount or species of fish caught by the participants.
    The fieldwork that would be conducted under this EFP is not 
expected to have a significant impact on the human environment as 
detailed in the categorical exclusion prepared for this action (see 
ADDRESSES).
    In accordance with Sec.  679.6, NMFS has determined that the 
renewal application warrants further consideration and has forwarded 
the application to the Council to initiate consultation. The Council is 
scheduled to consider the EFP renewal application during its February 
2017 meeting, which will be held at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel, 
Seattle WA. The applicant has been invited to appear in support of the 
renewal application.

Public Comments

    Interested persons may comment on the application at the February 
2017 Council meeting during public testimony or until February 7, 2017. 
Information regarding the meeting is available at the Council's Web 
site at http://www.npfmc.org. Copies of the renewal application and 
categorical exclusion are available for review from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES). Comments also may be submitted directly to NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES) by the end of the comment period (see DATES).

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

    Dated: January 12, 2017.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-01063 Filed 1-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P