[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15324-15325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07251]



[[Page 15324]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-XF853


Notification of Availability and Request for Public Comment on 
Analysis of a Final Rule To Prohibit the Use of Hired Masters for 
Sablefish Catcher Vessel Quota Shares Received by Transfer After 
February 12, 2010

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

ACTION: Notification of availability; request for public comment.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS prepared an analysis of a final rule (Analysis) to 
prohibit the use of hired masters for sablefish catcher vessel quota 
shares received by transfer after February 12, 2010, in response to a 
November 16, 2016, order from the United States District Court, Western 
District of Washington (Fairweather Fish, Inc. et al. vs. Pritzker et 
al., Case No. 3:14-cv-05685-BHS). The Analysis describes the factors 
that NMFS considered in its determination that the final rule is 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) National Standards, subject to 
further consideration after public comment. NMFS requests public 
comment on the Analysis for consideration in its final determination of 
the consistency of the final rule with the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
National Standards.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 10, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Availability of the Analysis

    Internet: You may obtain a copy of the analysis at http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region website at http://www.alaskafisheries/noaa.gov.
    Comment submission: You may submit comments on the analysis, 
identified by NOAA-NMFS-2017-0145, by any one 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-2017-0145, 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.
    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 http://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address) confidential business information, or 
otherwise sensitive information voluntarily submitted by the commenter 
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: Glenn Merrill, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IFQ Program for the sablefish fishery is 
implemented by the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering 
Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP), the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP), and 
Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 679 under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The Council recommended 
and NMFS approved the GOA FMP in 1978 and the BSAI FMP in 1982. 
Regulations implementing the FMPs and general regulations governing the 
IFQ Program appear at 50 CFR part 679.
    The IFQ Program for the halibut fishery is implemented by Federal 
regulations at 50 CFR part 300, subpart E, and 50 CFR part 679 under 
the authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut 
Act). Fishing for Pacific halibut is managed by the International 
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and the Council under the Halibut 
Act. Section 773(c) of the Halibut Act authorizes the Council to 
develop regulations that are in addition to, and not in conflict with, 
approved IPHC regulations. Such Council-recommended regulations may be 
implemented by NMFS only after approval by the Secretary of Commerce.
    NMFS implemented the IFQ Program for the management of the fixed 
gear (hook-and-line and pot gear) sablefish and halibut fisheries off 
Alaska in 1995 (58 FR 59343; November 9, 1993). The Council and NMFS 
designed the IFQ Program to allocate harvest privileges among 
participants in the commercial sablefish and halibut fisheries to 
reduce fishing capacity that had led to an unsafe ``race for fish'' as 
vessels raced to harvest their annual catch limits as quickly as 
possible before the annual limit was reached. A central objective of 
the IFQ Program was to support the social and economic character of the 
fisheries and the coastal fishing communities where much of the 
fisheries activities are based.
    Under the IFQ Program, access to the fixed gear sablefish and 
halibut fisheries is limited to those persons holding quota share. NMFS 
issued separate quota share for sablefish and halibut to qualified 
applicants based on their historical participation during a set of 
qualifying years in the sablefish and halibut fisheries. Quota share is 
an exclusive, revocable privilege that allows the holder to harvest a 
specific percentage of either the total allowable catch in the 
sablefish fishery or the annual commercial catch limit in the halibut 
fishery.
    NMFS annually issues IFQ permits to each quota share holder based 
on their quota share holdings and the amount of sablefish and halibut 
available for harvest. An annual IFQ permit authorizes the permit 
holder to harvest a specified amount of the IFQ species in a regulatory 
area from a specific operation type and vessel category. IFQ is 
expressed in pounds and is based on the amount of quota share held in 
relation to the total quota share pool for each regulatory area with an 
assigned catch limit.
    The Council intended for the IFQ catcher vessel fleet to be 
composed primarily of quota share holders that actively participate in 
the fisheries by being on the vessel used to fish their IFQ. To achieve 
this objective, NMFS implemented requirements that individual holders 
of catcher vessel quota share be on board the vessel during all IFQ 
fishing to ensure that quota share to remain largely in the hands of 
active fishermen. This owner-onboard requirement was intended to 
promote stewardship by providing active fishermen with a vested 
interest in the long-term productivity of the sablefish and halibut 
resources. The Council and NMFS also intended for the owner-onboard 
requirement to provide entry level opportunities for new fishermen as 
initial quota share recipients transferred their quota share to new 
entrants and left the fishery.
    The Council intended for catcher vessel quota share to be held by 
owner-onboard operations. However, the Council and NMFS allowed initial 
quota share recipients to use a hired master--a person designated by 
the quota share holder to land their IFQ--in order to provide initial 
recipients of quota share with the flexibility to continue in the

[[Page 15325]]

business practices that they had had prior to the implementation of the 
IFQ Program and minimize disruption to existing business arrangements. 
Eligibility to use a hired master is tied to the quota share holder and 
not the quota share, so initial recipients could use a hired master on 
quota share that they acquired over time.
    The Council and NMFS have amended the hired master use provision 
several times since implementation of the IFQ Program to further 
restrict the use of hired masters and ensure that quota share holders 
remain vested participants in the IFQ fisheries. The most recent 
amendment further restricted the use of hired masters by prohibiting 
initial quota share recipients from using a hired master to harvest IFQ 
derived from catcher vessel quota share received by transfer after 
February 12, 2010 (79 FR 43679; July 28, 2014). The final rule to 
implement this restriction is a limited amendment to the IFQ Program 
that specifies which quota share yields IFQ that can be fished by a 
hired master instead of the quota share holder.
    The preamble to the final rule describes the need for further 
restrictions on the use of hired masters in the IFQ Program, and a 
brief summary is provided here. In February 2010, the Council received 
testimony that some quota share initial recipients were increasingly 
using hired masters rather than continuing to be personally on board 
their vessels when fishing with quota share. Increased use of hired 
masters was attributed to initial recipients purchasing increasing 
amounts of quota share, and the IFQ derived from that quota share was 
being fished by hired masters. The Council was concerned that initial 
recipients were consolidating quota share to be fished by hired masters 
and were reducing opportunities for new entrants to the fishery. The 
Council determined that the transition to a predominately owner-onboard 
fishery has been unreasonably delayed because the ability to hire a 
master applies to the quota share holder and not the quota share 
itself. This allowed initial recipients to hire masters to harvest IFQ 
derived not only from their initially issued quota share, but also IFQ 
derived from any quota share received by transfer after initial 
issuance. As a result, quota share had become consolidated among fewer 
initial recipients of quota share that use hired masters. Quota share 
are remaining in the hands of initial recipients who hire masters to 
fish the resulting IFQ instead of being transferred, which delays the 
progress toward the Program objective of an owner-onboard fishery and 
decreases opportunities for new entrants to the IFQ fishery.
    To address this problem, the Council recommended and NMFS 
implemented the final rule to prohibit the use of a hired master to 
fish IFQ sablefish and halibut derived from catcher vessel quota share 
received by transfer after February 12, 2010, with some exceptions 
described in the final rule (79 FR 43679; July 28, 2014). The Analysis 
provides additional detail on the need for the final rule and the 
anticipated impacts of the final rule on affected fishery participants.
    On November 16, 2016, the United States District Court, Western 
District of Washington found that NMFS did not properly assess the 
final rule in light of the National Standards in the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. The United States District Court remanded the final rule to NMFS 
for further consideration of the National Standards in section 301(a) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS completed this consideration after 
evaluating the information used to prepare the final rule, information 
presented to the United States District Court, and the best available 
information relevant to the impacts of the final rule. NMFS has 
determined that the final rule is consistent with the National 
Standards as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, subject to further 
consideration after public comment. The Analysis describes the factors 
NMFS considered in making this determination. NMFS requests public 
comment on the Analysis for consideration in its final determination of 
the consistency of the final rule with the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
National Standards.

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

    Dated: April 4, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-07251 Filed 4-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P