[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5952-5954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02752]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 160808696-7010-02]
RIN 0648-BH38


2017 Tribal Fishery Allocations for Pacific Whiting; 
Reapportionment Between Tribal and Non-Tribal Sectors; Widow Rockfish 
Reapportionment in the Pacific Whiting Fishery

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; reapportionment of tribal Pacific whiting 
allocation and widow rockfish allocation.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the reapportionment of 41,000 metric 
tons (mt) of Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-
tribal commercial fishery sectors via automatic action on September 15, 
2017, in order to allow full utilization of the Pacific whiting 
resource, and the reapportionment of 47 mt of widow rockfish in the 
Pacific whiting fishery via automatic action on August 30, 2017. The 
reapportionment of widow rockfish from the Mothership Cooperative to 
the Catcher Processor Cooperative was necessary to prevent the Catcher 
Processor Cooperative from reaching its quota for widow rockfish early, 
thereby closing the fishery before the end of the season and preventing 
attainment of their Pacific whiting allocation.

DATES: The reapportionment of Pacific whiting was applicable from 12 
p.m. Pacific standard time, September 15, 2017, until December 31, 
2017. The reapportionment of widow rockfish was applicable from 8 p.m. 
Pacific standard time, August 30, 2017, until December 31, 2017. 
Comments will be accepted through February 26, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2017-0136 
by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D= NOAA-NMFS-2017-0136, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Barry A. Thom., Regional Administrator, West Coast 
Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, Attn: 
Keeley Kent.
    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. 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). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe 
PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keeley Kent (West Coast Region, NMFS), 
phone: 206-526-4655 or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

    This notification is accessible via the internet at the Office of 
the Federal Register's website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action. Background information and documents are available at the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council's website at http://www.pcouncil.org/.

Background

Pacific Whiting

    Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) is a very productive species 
with highly variable recruitment (the biomass of fish that mature and 
enter the fishery each year) and a relatively short life span when 
compared to other groundfish species. Pacific whiting has the largest 
(by volume) annual allowable harvest levels of the more than 90 
groundfish species managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP), which governs the groundfish fishery off 
Washington, Oregon, and California. The coastwide Pacific whiting stock 
is managed jointly by the United States (U.S.) and Canada, and mature 
Pacific whiting are commonly available to vessels operating in U.S. 
waters from April through December. Background on the stock assessment 
for and the establishment of the 2017 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 
Pacific whiting is provided in the

[[Page 5953]]

final rule for the 2017 Pacific whiting harvest specifications, 
published May 8, 2017 (82 FR 21317). Pacific whiting is allocated to 
the Pacific Coast treaty tribes (tribal fishery), and to three non-
tribal commercial sectors: The Catcher Processor cooperative (C/P 
Coop), the Mothership Cooperative (MS Coop), and the Shorebased 
Individual Fishery Quota (IFQ) Program.
    This notification announces the reapportionment of 41,000 mt of 
Pacific whiting from the tribal allocation to the non-tribal commercial 
sectors on September 15, 2017. Regulations at Sec.  660.131(h) contain 
provisions that allow the Regional Administrator to reapportion Pacific 
whiting from the tribal allocation, specified at Sec.  660.50, that 
will not be harvested by the end of the fishing year to other sectors.

Pacific Whiting Reapportionment

    For 2017, the Pacific Coast treaty tribes were allocated 77,251 mt 
of Pacific whiting. The best available information in early September 
2017 indicated that there had been no annual harvest by the tribes to 
date, and at least 41,000 mt of the tribal allocation would not be 
harvested by December 31, 2017. To allow for increased utilization of 
the resource, NMFS reapportioned 41,000 mt on September 15, 2017 from 
the Tribal fisheries to the Shorebased IFQ Program, C/P Coop, and MS 
Coop. The reapportionment occurred in proportion to each sector's 
original allocation. Reapportioning this amount was expected to allow 
for greater attainment of the TAC while not limiting tribal harvest 
opportunities for the remainder of the year. On September 15, 2017, 
emails sent directly to fishing businesses and individuals, and 
postings on the West Coast Region's internet site were used to provide 
actual notice to the affected fishers. Reapportionment was effective 
the same day as the notice.
    Amounts of Pacific whiting available for 2017 before and after the 
reapportionment were:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    2017 allocation (mt)
           Sector                 Initial 2017       after September 15,
                                 allocation (mt)            2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribal......................                77,251                36,251
C/P Coop....................               123,312               137,252
MS Coop.....................                87,044                96,884
Shorebased IFQ Program......               152,327               169,547
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Widow Rockfish

    Widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas) range from Albatross Bank off 
Kodiak Island, Alaska to Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico. 
They are an important commercial species from British Columbia to 
central California. Off the West Coast of the U.S., widow rockfish are 
caught mostly in midwater trawls used to target Pacific whiting, 
although in recent years there's been a reemergence of the pelagic 
rockfish fishery for widow, chilipepper, and yellowtail. The widow 
stock is managed coastwide, and was declared overfished in 2001. As of 
the 2015 stock assessment the stock has been rebuilt to 75.1 percent 
depletion. Management uncertainty is low since widow rockfish is a 
trawl-dominant species and there is mandatory 100 percent observer 
coverage in the trawl IFQ fisheries.
    In accordance with the FMP, the non-tribal limited entry groundfish 
trawl fishery is allocated 91 percent of the widow rockfish ACL with 
the remaining 9 percent going to non-tribal non-trawl commercial, and 
recreational fisheries. The allocation for widow rockfish is split 
between the at-sea and shorebased sectors in accordance with an 
allocation formula established under Amendment 21 to the FMP. Under 
this formula, the greater of 10 percent or 500 mt of the trawl fishery 
allocation is allocated to all Pacific whiting sectors (at-sea and 
shorebased) with the remainder going to the non-whiting portion of the 
Shorebased IFQ Program. Of the amount allocated to the Pacific whiting 
sectors, 42 percent is allocated to the Shorebased IFQ Program. This 42 
percent is combined with the remainder that went to the non-whiting 
portion of the Shorebased IFQ Program to create a single allocation for 
the Shorebased IFQ Program. Further information on the 2017 allocations 
for widow rockfish is provided in the final rule for the 2017-2018 
biennial specifications for the Pacific coast groundfish fishery, which 
published on February 7, 2017 (82 FR 9634).
    This notification announces the reapportionment of 47 mt of widow 
rockfish from the C/P Coop allocation to the MS Coop that was effective 
on August 30, 2017. Regulations at Sec.  660.60(d) contain provisions 
that allow the Regional Administrator to reapportion non-whiting 
groundfish species between the C/P and MS cooperatives.

Widow Rockfish Reapportionment

    For 2017, the C/P Coop was allocated 411.2 mt of widow rockfish, 
while the MS Coop was allocated 290.3 mt. On August 14, 2017 the MS 
Coop submitted a cease fishing report to NMFS indicating that they do 
not intend to use 47 mt of their allocation of widow rockfish which is 
therefore available to redistribute to the C/P Coop. The MS Coop 
indicated that they will cease fishing for Pacific whiting for the 
remainder of 2017 upon harvesting all Pacific whiting quota available 
to that cooperative, or harvesting the remaining 243.3 mt of widow 
rockfish, whichever occurs first.
    As of August 23, 2017, the best available information indicated 
that the MS Coop of the Pacific whiting fishery had taken only seven 
percent of its 2017 widow rockfish allocation of 290.3 mt. At the same 
time, the C/P Coop had taken more than 50 percent of its 2017 
allocation of 411.2 mt. Therefore, on August 30, 2017, NMFS 
reapportioned 47 mt widow rockfish from the MS Coop to the C/P Coop. 
Emails sent directly to fishing businesses and individuals and postings 
on the West Coast Region's internet site on August 30, 2017, were used 
to provide actual notice to the affected fishers. Reapportionment was 
effective the same day as the notice.
    Reapportionment of unused portions of non-whiting groundfish 
species between the MS Coop and the C/P Coop of the Pacific whiting 
fishery when participants in the one cooperative do not intend to 
harvest the remaining allocation, are described at Sec.  
660.150(c)(4)(ii). This reapportionment was expected to allow for the 
Pacific whiting fishery to continue for a longer period without the C/P 
Coop exceeding its 2017 allocation of widow rockfish and reduce the 
risk of the C/P Coop not attaining its Pacific whiting allocation based 
on incidental catch of widow rockfish.
    Amounts of widow rockfish available for 2017 before and after the 
reapportionment were:

[[Page 5954]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    2017 allocation (mt)
           Sector                 Initial 2017        after August 30,
                                 allocation (mt)            2017
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MS Coop.....................                 290.3                 243.3
C/P Coop....................                 411.2                 458.2
Shorebased IFQ Program......                 508.0                 508.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for NMFS's Sustainable Fisheries finds 
that good cause exists for this notification to be issued without 
affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) because such notification would be impracticable and 
contrary to the public interest. As previously noted, actual notice of 
the reapportionments was provided to fishers at the times of the 
actions. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on these 
reapportionments was impracticable because NMFS had insufficient time 
to provide prior notice and the opportunity for public comment between 
the time the information about the progress of the fishery needed to 
make this determination became available and the time at which fishery 
modifications had to be implemented in order to allow fishers access to 
the available fish during the remainder of the fishing season. For the 
same reasons, the AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness for these actions, required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
    These actions are authorized by Sec. Sec.  660.55(i), 660.60(d), 
660.131(h), and 660.150(c)(4)(ii) and are exempt from review under 
Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: February 7, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-02752 Filed 2-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P