[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 5 (Monday, January 8, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 757-763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00135]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 170627602-7999-02]
RIN 0648-BG98


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Whiting; Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 21-3; Trawl 
Rationalization Program

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

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to change the management of the 
Pacific whiting at-sea sectors' (i.e., the Mothership [MS] and Catcher/
Processor [C/P] sectors) allocations for darkblotched rockfish and 
Pacific ocean perch (POP) by managing the allocations as set-asides 
rather than as total catch limits, under the authority of the Pacific 
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
This rule revises regulations in accordance with

[[Page 758]]

Amendment 21-3 to the FMP (see electronic access under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION) so that higher than anticipated harvest of darkblotched 
rockfish or POP that exceeds a sector's initial distribution of those 
species will not require automatic closure of one or more of the 
Pacific whiting at-sea sectors. This action is intended to reduce the 
risk of the Pacific whiting at-sea sectors not attaining their 
respective Pacific whiting allocations due to the incidental catch of 
darkblotched rockfish or POP causing early closure of those sectors. 
This action does not change or increase the risk of exceeding 
darkblotched rockfish or POP ACLs, because it also allows NMFS to close 
one or both of the Pacific whiting at-sea sectors via automatic action 
if the species-specific set-aside amounts plus the available reserve 
for unforeseen catch events, known colloquially as the ``buffer,'' are 
anticipated to be exceeded. This rule will ensure that the Pacific 
whiting fishery is managed in accordance with the goals and objectives 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

DATES: Effective February 7, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Lockhart (West Coast Region, 
NMFS), phone: 206-526-6140 and email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This final rule is accessible via the internet at the Office of the 
Federal Register website at https://www.federalregister.gov. Background 
information and documents are available at the NMFS West Coast Region 
website at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/management/whiting/pacific_whiting.html and at the Pacific Fishery 
Management Council's website at http://www.pcouncil.org/groundfish/fishery-management-plan/groundfish-amendments-in-development.
    Background information and documents are available at the NMFS West 
Coast Region website at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/groundfish/index.html and at the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council's website at http://www.pcouncil.org/groundfish/fishery-management-plan/groundfish-amendments-in-development/.

Background

Pacific Whiting Fishery

    Bycatch of rockfish species in the Pacific whiting fishery occurs 
at very low rates, but sporadically and unpredictably. Regulations at 
50 CFR 660.55 address the allocation of these rockfish. Darkblotched 
rockfish and POP are caught almost exclusively by vessels in the 
shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and at-sea Pacific whiting 
sectors of the groundfish fishery. NMFS declared both species 
overfished in 2000 and 1999, respectively, and both stocks have been 
managed under rebuilding plans as a result. Populations of both species 
have shown dramatic improvement in recent years. Darkblotched rockfish 
and POP were both declared rebuilt in 2017. Darkblotched rockfish and 
POP are both currently managed as allocations, and NMFS automatically 
closes a fishery sector when it has reached its allocation of either 
species.
    In recent years, both at-sea sectors of the Pacific whiting fishery 
have exceeded their initial annual allocation of darkblotched rockfish 
(C/P sector in 2011, and the MS sector in 2014). The latter resulted in 
an emergency Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) meeting in 
order to re-open the fishery. Without implementation of this rule, the 
risk of an inseason closure of these sectors remains high, although the 
ACLs of these rockfish are far from being reached. For example, the 
most recent fishing mortality estimates by NMFS' Northwest Fisheries 
Science Center indicate that 42 percent of both the darkblotched 
rockfish and POP ACLs were caught in 2016. While harvest of these 
species at a level below the ACL may have helped to rebuild stocks more 
quickly, there is a negative socioeconomic impact from preventing 
harvest of Pacific whiting, as intended in the FMP.

Current Allocations Under Amendment 21

    The Council established allocations of darkblotched rockfish and 
POP for the Pacific whiting at-sea sectors in Amendment 21 to the FMP. 
When the Council considered allocation of these species, the analysis 
only incorporated data on catch through 2005, and took the overfished 
status of the species into account. Ten years of additional data on 
bycatch in the at-sea sectors are now available. Additionally, six full 
years of the Shorebased IFQ Program (which was implemented in 2011, 75 
FR 60868) fishery information is available. This new information 
indicates that the stocks of both species are currently much healthier 
than they were at the time Amendment 21 was implemented, and they are 
no longer overfished.
    The Council's Amendment 21 allocation recommendation was based, in 
part, on the idea that the C/P and MS sectors could avoid early 
closures by moving to areas of lower rockfish encounter rates if they 
were approaching a bycatch allocation. However, experience has shown 
that this assumption was likely too simplistic. Despite the mitigating 
measures enacted by the C/P and MS coops, darkblotched rockfish bycatch 
remains particularly variable, with the potential for rapid 
accumulation. The 2014 closure of the MS sector provides an 
illustration: Closure occurred after six hauls caught 4.5 mt of 
darkblotched rockfish, which was nearly 75 percent of their 2014 
allocation, with the most of that catch coming from three of the hauls. 
Some of the largest hauls were delivered to motherships so closely in 
time that feedback on the size of the catches from observers came too 
late for the MS coop to effectively respond. Prior to this ``lightning 
strike'' event, the sector had made 969 hauls and caught only 2.5 mt of 
darkblotched rockfish. After the sector was re-opened by an emergency 
meeting of the Council, the sector made 330 additional hauls that 
brought in over 14,500 mt of Pacific whiting and only 0.1 mt of 
additional darkblotched rockfish. The C/P sector has experienced even 
more rapid accumulations of darkblotched rockfish bycatch, and would 
have been closed late in the 2011 season if unused allocation had not 
been available from the MS sector, which had already completed fishing 
for the year. These events indicate that the current management 
structure may be adversely impacting the at-sea sectors to a greater 
degree than was anticipated when the Council adopted the current 
allocation structure under Amendment 21, due to unpredictability and 
high volume of bycatch events.

Amendment 21-3

    The Council has discussed a variety of solutions to reduce the risk 
of closure of the Pacific whiting at-sea sectors prior to attainment of 
their Pacific whiting allocations, such as allowing the transfer of 
rockfish quota between sectors, but it determined that those solutions 
were too complex to be analyzed and implemented in a timely manner. At 
its September 2016 meeting, the Council recommended the interim measure 
of amending the FMP and implementing revised regulations, so that the 
amounts of darkblotched rockfish and POP allocated to the C/P and MS 
sectors are managed as set-asides rather than as total catch limits. 
The Council also recommended giving NMFS inseason authority to 
automatically close one or both of the C/P and MS sectors in the event 
the species-specific set-aside amounts plus

[[Page 759]]

the available reserve for unforeseen catch events, known colloquially 
as the ``buffer,'' are anticipated to be exceeded.
    This action does not revise allocations between sectors, which were 
set by Amendment 21 to the FMP, and is intended to be an interim 
solution to address the immediate needs of the C/P and MS sectors. 
Long-term solutions are being reviewed by the Council as part of the 5-
year review of the trawl rationalization program. A long-term solution 
to address the needs of the Pacific whiting at-sea sectors should focus 
specifically on fairly and equitably revising the allocation between 
the trawl sectors, and among all the groundfish fishery sectors, while 
leaving any applicable stock rebuilding plans unaffected.

Intent of the Action

    This action is intended to substantially reduce the risk of the 
Pacific whiting at-sea sectors not attaining their respective Pacific 
whiting allocations based on the incidental catch of darkblotched 
rockfish or POP, when allowing the sector(s) to remain open would not 
exceed ACLs for these rebuilding stocks. It revises regulations so that 
higher than anticipated harvest of darkblotched rockfish or POP that 
exceeds the initial distribution of those species to the at-sea sectors 
will not require automatic closure of one or more of the at-sea 
sectors.
    The rule also allows NMFS to close one or both of the C/P and MS 
sectors of the Pacific whiting fishery via automatic action when the 
set-aside for that sector, plus the available reserve for unforeseen 
catch events, is reached or is expected to be reached for either 
darkblotched rockfish or POP. Because of near real-time monitoring by 
the C/P and MS Coop Programs, and the ability of those programs to 
respond quickly to changing fishery conditions, closures will occur 
before allocations to other fisheries or the ACLs are reached, thus 
limiting the potential effects and precluding potential negative 
biological and socioeconomic impacts of this action.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS published a notice of availability of Amendment 21-3 to the 
FMP (82 FR 44984) on September 27, 2017, and a proposed rule for this 
action (82 FR 50106) on October 30, 2017. The comment periods for the 
FMP amendment and the proposed rule closed on November 27, 2017. NMFS 
received one public comment in support of the proposed action. No 
changes were made from the proposed rule or proposed FMP amendment 
based on public comments.

Classification

    The Administrator, West Coast Region Region, NMFS, determined that 
FMP Amendment 21-3 is necessary for the conservation and management of 
the West Coast Groundfish fishery and that it is consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    NMFS determined that this rule will be implemented in a manner that 
is consistent, to the maximum extent practicable, with the enforceable 
policies of the approved coastal management programs of Washington, 
Oregon, and California programs. This determination was submitted for 
review by the responsible state agencies under section 307 of the CZMA. 
The state agencies agreed with this determination.
    There are no reporting or recordkeeping requirements associated 
with this final rule. No Federal rules have been identified that 
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this action.
    Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, this final rule was developed 
after meaningful collaboration with tribal officials from the area 
covered by the FMP. Consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 
U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting members of the Council is a 
representative of an Indian tribe with federally recognized fishing 
rights from the area of the Council's jurisdiction.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: January 3, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended 
as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 
U.S.C. 7001 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  660.55, revise paragraphs (c)(1)(i) introductory text and 
(c)(1)(i)(A) and (B) to read as follows:


Sec.  660.55   Allocations.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Trawl fishery allocation. The allocation for the limited entry 
trawl fishery is derived by applying the trawl allocation percentage by 
species/species group and area as specified in paragraph (c) of this 
section and as specified during the biennial harvest specifications 
process to the fishery harvest guideline for that species/species group 
and area. For IFQ species other than-darkblotched rockfish, Pacific 
ocean perch, and widow rockfish, the trawl allocation will be further 
subdivided among the trawl sectors (MS, C/P, and IFQ) as specified in 
Sec. Sec.  660.140, 660.150, and 660.160 of subpart D. For darkblotched 
rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and widow rockfish, the trawl allocation 
is further subdivided among the trawl sectors (MS, C/P, and IFQ) as 
follows:
    (A) Darkblotched rockfish. Distribute 9 percent or 25 mt, whichever 
is greater, of the total trawl allocation of darkblotched rockfish to 
the Pacific whiting fishery (MS sector, C/P sector, and Shorebased IFQ 
sectors). The distribution of allocation of darkblotched rockfish to 
each of these sectors will be done pro rata relative to the sector's 
allocation of the commercial harvest guideline for Pacific whiting. 
Darkblotched rockfish distributed to the MS sector and C/P sector are 
managed as set-asides at Table 2d, subpart C. The allocation of 
darkblotched rockfish to the Pacific whiting IFQ fishery contributes to 
the Shorebased IFQ allocation. After deducting allocations for the 
Pacific whiting fishery, the remaining trawl allocation is allocated to 
the Shorebased IFQ Program.
    (B) Pacific Ocean Perch (POP). Distribute 17 percent or 30 mt, 
whichever is greater, of the total trawl allocation of POP to the 
Pacific whiting fishery (MS sector, C/P sector, and Shorebased IFQ 
sector). The distribution of POP to each sector will be done pro rata 
relative to the sector's allocation of the commercial harvest guideline 
for Pacific whiting. POP distributed to the MS sector and C/P sector 
are managed

[[Page 760]]

as set-asides, at Table 2d, subpart C. The allocation of POP to the 
Pacific whiting IFQ fishery contributes to the Shorebased IFQ 
allocation. After deducting allocations for the Pacific whiting 
fishery, the remaining trawl allocation is allocated to the Shorebased 
IFQ Program.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  660.60, add paragraph (d)(1)(vii) to read as follows:


Sec.  660.60  Specifications and management measures.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (vii) Close one or both the MS or C/P sector when the set-aside for 
that sector, described in Table 2d, subpart C, plus the available 
reserve for unforeseen catch events, described in Table 2a, subpart C, 
combined, is reached or is expected to be reached for either 
darkblotched rockfish or Pacific ocean perch.
* * * * *

0
4. In subpart C, revise Table 2b to Part 660 to read as follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

[[Page 761]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR08JA18.002

BILLING CODE 3510-22-C

0
5. In subpart C, revise Table 2d to Part 660 to read as follows:
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

[[Page 762]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR08JA18.003

BILLING CODE 3510-22-C

0
6. In Sec.  660.150, revise paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  660.150  Mothership (MS) Coop Program.

* * * * *

[[Page 763]]

    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Species with formal allocations to the MS Coop Program are 
Pacific whiting, canary rockfish, and widow rockfish;
    (ii) Species with set-asides for the MS and C/P Coop Programs, as 
described in Table 2d, subpart C.
* * * * *

0
7. In Sec.  660.160, revise paragraphs (c)(1)(i) and (ii) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  660.160  Catcher/processor (C/P) Coop Program.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Species with formal allocations to the C/P Coop Program are 
Pacific whiting, canary rockfish, and widow rockfish;
    (ii) Species with set-asides for the MS and C/P Programs, as 
described in Table 2d, subpart C.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-00135 Filed 1-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P