[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 249 (Friday, December 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61752-61754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-28185]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF888


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Trawl Rationalization Program; 2018 
Cost Recovery

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

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ACTION: Notice, 2018 cost recovery fee percentages and mothership 
cooperative (MS) sector pricing.

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SUMMARY: This action provides participants in the Pacific coast 
groundfish trawl rationalization program with the 2018 fee percentages 
and ``MS pricing'' needed to calculate the required payments for trawl 
rationalization program cost recovery fees due in 2018. For calendar 
year 2018, NMFS announces the following fee percentages by sector: 3.0 
percent for the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Sector; 0 
percent for the MS sector; and 0 percent for the Catcher/Processer 
Cooperative (C/P) sector. For 2018, the MS pricing to be used as a 
proxy by the C/P sector is $0.09/lb for Pacific whiting.

DATES: Applicable January 1, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Biegel, Cost Recovery 
Program Coordinator, (503) 231-6291, fax (503) 872-2737, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires NMFS to collect fees to 
recover the costs directly related to the management, data collection, 
and enforcement of a limited access privilege program (LAPP) (16 U.S.C. 
1854(d)(2)), also called ``cost recovery.'' The Pacific coast 
groundfish trawl rationalization program is a LAPP, implemented in 
2011, and consists of three sectors: The Shorebased IFQ sector; the MS 
Coop sector; and the C/P Coop sector. In accordance with the MSA, and 
based on a recommended structure and methodology developed in 
coordination with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, NMFS began 
collecting mandatory fees of up to three percent of the 
ex[hyphen]vessel value of groundfish from each sector in 2014. NMFS 
collects the fees to recover the incremental costs of management, data 
collection, and enforcement of the trawl rationalization program. 
Additional background can be found in the cost recovery proposed and 
final rules, 78 FR 7371 (February 1, 2013) and 78 FR 75268 (December 
11, 2013), respectively. The details of cost recovery for the 
groundfish trawl rationalization program are in regulation at 50 CFR 
660.115 (trawl fishery cost recovery program), Sec.  660.140 
(Shorebased IFQ Program), Sec.  660.150 (MS Coop Program), and Sec.  
660.160 (C/P Coop Program).
    By December 31 of each year, NMFS must announce the next year's fee 
percentages, and the applicable MS pricing for the C/P sector. NMFS 
calculated the 2018 fee percentages by sector using the best available 
information. For 2018, the fee percentages by sector, taking into 
account direct program costs (DPCs) and any adjustments, are:
     3.0 percent for the Shorebased IFQ sector;
     0 percent for the MS sector; and
     0 percent for the C/P sector.
    To calculate the fee percentages, NMFS used the formula specified 
in regulation at Sec.  660.115(b)(1), where the fee percentage by 
sector equals the lower of three percent or DPC for that sector divided 
by total ex-vessel value (V) for that sector multiplied by 100 (Fee 
percentage = the lower of 3 percent or (DPC/V) x 100).
    As defined in the regulations at Sec.  660.115(b)(1)(i), DCP are 
the actual incremental costs for the previous fiscal year directly 
related to the management, data collection, and enforcement of each 
sector. Actual incremental costs means those net costs that would not 
have been incurred but for the implementation of the trawl 
rationalization program, including both increased costs for new 
requirements of the program and reduced costs resulting from any 
program efficiencies. NMFS only included the cost of employees' time 
(salary and benefits) spent working on the program in calculating DPC 
rather than all incremental costs of management, data collection, and 
enforcement.
    As specified at Sec.  660.115(b)(1)(ii), V is the total ex-vessel 
value, as defined at Sec.  660.111, for each sector from the previous 
calendar year. To calculate V for use in determining 2018 fee 
percentages, NMFS used the ex-vessel value for 2016 as reported in 
Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN) from electronic fish 
tickets. The electronic fish ticket data in PacFIN is for the 
Shorebased IFQ sector. Therefore, the ex-vessel value for both the MS 
sector and the C/P sector is a proxy based on the Shorebased IFQ sector 
ex-vessel price and on the retained catch estimates (weight) from the 
observer data for the MS and C/P sectors.
    Ex-vessel values and amounts landed each year fluctuate, and the 
amount NMFS collects each year in cost recovery fees also fluctuate 
accordingly. When the cost recovery fees collected by NMFS are greater 
or less than the actual net incremental costs incurred for a given 
year, the fee percentage for the following year will be adjusted as 
specified at Sec.  660.115(b)(1)(i).
    NMFS' internal process for categorizing and tracking employee time 
in the trawl rationalization program has been refined over the years. 
For example, the use of the ``general'' time coding option was phased 
out by the West Coast Region and was no longer used as of fiscal year 
2015. NMFS has continued its efforts to ensure that employee time is 
only tracked for time spent on tasks that that would not have been 
incurred but for the implementation of the trawl rationalization 
program, taking into account reduced costs resulting from any program 
efficiencies.
    The DPC values used to determine the 2018 fee percentages reflect 
any adjustments for past over or under payment. The 2018 fee is 
consistent with the decision in Glacier Fish Co. LLC v. Pritzker, 832 
F.3d 1113 (9th Cir. 2016). Based on estimated fees received in 2017, 
the adjusted DPCs for 2018 are:

Shorebased IFQ Program: $2,179,402.10
MS Coop Program: -$132,607.08
C/P Coop Program: -$132,607.08

    And the fee calculations using the adjusted 2017 DPCs are:

Shorebased IFQ sector: 3.0 percent = the lower of 3 percent or 
($2,179,402.10/$46,206,889.00) x 100
MS sector: -1.1 percent = the lower of 3 percent or (-$132,607.08/
$12,214,290.70) x 100
C/P sector: -0.5 percent = the lower of 3 percent or (-$132,607.08/
$21,314,877.96) x 100.

    As a fee cannot be set using a negative percentage, the 2018 fee 
percentages for the MS sector and the C/P sector will be set at 0.0 
percent.
    MS pricing is the average price per pound that the C/P sector will 
use to determine their fee amount due (MS pricing multiplied by the 
value of the aggregate pounds of all groundfish species harvested by 
the vessel registered to a C/P-endorsed limited entry trawl permit, 
multiplied by the C/P fee percentage, equals the fee amount due). In 
past years, MS pricing was based on the average price per pound of 
Pacific whiting as reported in PacFIN from the Shorebased IFQ Program. 
In other words, data from the IFQ fishery was used as a proxy for the 
MS average price per pound to determine the MS pricing used in the 
calculation for the C/P sector's fee amount due. For 2018 MS pricing, 
NMFS used values derived from those reported on the MS sector cost 
recovery form from calendar year 2016 as this was determined to be the 
best information available. NMFS has calculated the 2018 MS pricing to 
be used as a proxy by the C/P sector as: $0.09/lb for Pacific whiting.

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    Cost recovery fees are submitted to NMFS by Fish buyers via Pay.gov 
(https://www.pay.gov/paygov/). Fish buyers registered with Pay.gov can 
login in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Fish buyers not 
registered with Pay.gov can go to the cost recovery forms directly from 
the website below. The links to the pay.gov forms for each sector (IFQ, 
MS, or C/P) are listed below:

IFQ: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58062865;
MS: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58378422;
CP: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58102817.

    As stated in the preamble to the cost recovery proposed and final 
rules, in the spring of each year, NMFS will release an annual report 
documenting the details and data used for the above calculations. The 
report will include information such as the fee percentage calculation, 
program costs, and ex-vessel value by sector. Annual reports are 
available at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish_catch_shares/rules_regulations/costrecovery.html.

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

    Dated: December 26, 2017.
 Alan D. Risenhoover,
 Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-28185 Filed 12-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P