[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46209-46210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21254]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 170630616-7875-01]
RIN 0648-BH00


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Commercial Management Measures

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

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This advanced notice of proposed rulemaking provides 
information on a request by the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) to announce deliberations of potential accumulation limits 
for Catcher Processor Permit use or ownership in the Pacific Coast 
groundfish fishery. The Council may not count any acquisition and usage 
of Catcher Processor permits and/or usage of Catcher Processor 
allocation after the date of June 13, 2017, in any decision setting 
accumulation limits. NMFS invites comments on this document.

DATES: Written comments must be received by November 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2017-0109'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/

[[Page 46210]]

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0109, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Frank Lockhart, NMFS West 
Coast Regional Office, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115.
    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 by NMFS. 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 the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Lockhart, NMFS West Coast 
Regional Office, telephone: 206-526-6142, or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) recommended and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
implemented the Pacific Coast groundfish trawl catch share program 
(Program) off Washington, Oregon and California, starting on January 
11, 2011. The Program changed management of harvest in the trawl 
fishery from a trip limit system with cumulative vessel trip limits to 
a quota system in which each quota share could generally be harvested 
at any time during an open season. The Program has increased 
fishermen's flexibility in making decisions on when and how much quota 
to fish.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that councils undertake reviews 
within 5 years after implementation of limited access privilege 
programs such as the Pacific Coast groundfish trawl catch share 
program. The Council initiated its review in 2016, and expects to 
recommend changes to the Program in the coming months.
    One of the issues that the Council is considering is accumulation 
limits for the Catcher Processor (CP) sector. In establishing the 
initial Program, the Council addressed accumulation limits for the 
ownership or control within the shoreside IFQ sector and the mothership 
sector, but not the CP sector. The accumulation limits were meant to 
prevent consolidation at levels that could result in an excessive share 
being acquired by a single entity. At the June 2017 Council meeting, 
the Council began considering whether or not similar accumulation 
limits on ownership or control should be applied to the CP sector as 
well, and it recommended that NMFS announce the start of these 
deliberations in the Federal Register.
    In advance of a rulemaking on changes to the Program, this document 
announces that the Council may not count any activities related to 
acquisition and usage of CP permits and/or usage of CP allocation after 
the date of June 13, 2017, when establishing accumulation limits for 
the CP sector. This is intended to discourage increased acquisition and 
usage of CP permits and/or usage of CP allocation for the purpose of 
economic speculation while the Council develops and considers changes 
to the Program.
    This announcement does not commit the Council or the NMFS to any 
particular outcome. The Council may or may not make use of this date as 
part of any deliberations and decisions on acquisition and usage of CP 
permits and/or usage of CP allocation. Fishery participants are not 
guaranteed future participation in the program, regardless of their 
entry date or level of participation in the fishery before or after 
June 13, 2017. It is important to note that continuation of levels of 
accumulation that predate June 13, 2017 are not guaranteed. The Council 
also may choose to take no further action.

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

    Dated: September 28, 2017.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-21254 Filed 10-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P