[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 21, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43576-43578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17907]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
RIN 0648-BJ02
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod
Management in the Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council submitted
Amendment 120 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Management Area (BSAI FMP)
and Amendment 108 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) (GOA FMP; collectively Amendments 120/108) to the
Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 120 would
limit the number of catcher/processors (C/Ps) acting as motherships
receiving and processing Pacific cod from catcher vessels (CVs)
directed fishing for Pacific cod in the BSAI non-Community Development
Quota (CDQ) Program trawl fishery. If approved, Amendments 120/108
would prohibit replaced Amendment 80 C/Ps from receiving and processing
Pacific cod harvested and delivered by CVs directed fishing for Pacific
cod in the BSAI and GOA.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than October 21, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0060, by any 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-2019-0060, 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. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or
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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), 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).
Electronic copies of Amendment 120 to the BSAI FMP, Amendment 108
to the GOA FMP, the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR; referred to as the
``Analysis'') and the draft National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Categorical Exclusion evaluation document may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Mansfield, (907) 586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each
regional fishery management council submit any FMP amendment it
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval by the Secretary of Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also
requires that NMFS, upon receiving a fishery management plan amendment,
immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that
the amendment is available for public review and comment. This notice
announces that proposed Amendment 120 to the BSAI FMP and Amendment 108
to the GOA FMP are available for public review and comment.
NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic
zone under the BSAI and GOA FMPs. The North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) prepared the BSAI and GOA FMPs under the authority of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing
U.S. fisheries and implementing the BSAI and GOA FMPs appear at 50 CFR
parts 600 and 679.
Amendments 120/108 would (1) establish eligibility criteria, based
on historical participation, for an endorsement to groundfish License
Limitation Program (LLP) licenses for a C/P to operate as a mothership
in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV directed fishery; (2) issue an
endorsement to those groundfish LLP licenses that meet the eligibility
criteria; (3) authorize receipt and processing of Pacific cod
deliveries from directed fishing in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl
CV fishery by only those C/Ps designated on a groundfish LLP license
with a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement; and (4) prohibit
Amendment 80 sector C/Ps not designated on an Amendment 80 Quota Share
(QS) permit and an Amendment 80 LLP license or not designated on an
Amendment 80 LLP/QS license from receiving and processing Pacific cod
harvested from directed fishing in the Pacific cod fisheries in the
BSAI and GOA.
Amendments 120/108 are necessary to prevent increased participation
by C/Ps operating as motherships from reducing the benefits the fishery
provides to C/Ps and shoreside processors with long term, sustained
participation in the BSAI non-CDQ trawl fishery in which CVs are
directed fishing for Pacific cod, help to stabilize the fishing season
duration in that fishery, and prevent replaced Amendment 80 C/Ps from
operating as motherships.
Amendment 120 to the BSAI FMP would amend the species and gear
endorsements on groundfish LLP licenses. The LLP was implemented under
Amendments 39 and 41 to the FMP, and NMFS published the final rule to
implement these amendments on October 1, 1998 (63 FR 52642). The LLP
limits access to the groundfish, crab, and scallop fisheries in the
BSAI and the GOA, by requiring that persons hold and assign a license
to each vessel that is used to fish in federally managed fisheries,
with some limited exemptions. The LLP is intended to prevent unlimited
entry into federally managed fisheries and to limit the ability of a
person to assign an LLP license derived from the historic landing
activity of a vessel in one area, using a specific fishing gear or
operational type, to be used in other areas, with other gears, or for
other operational types in a manner that could expand fishing capacity.
Licenses issued under the LLP authorize, through individual
endorsements, fishing activities in specific fishing areas, gear types,
and vessel operations as CVs or C/Ps. Once issued, the components of
the LLP license cannot be transferred independently.
Amendment 120 would implement a new groundfish LLP license
endorsement to authorize a C/P to operate as a mothership, as defined
at Sec. 679.2, to receive and process Pacific cod from CVs directed
fishing in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV fishery. C/Ps without
this endorsement would not be authorized to receive and process Pacific
cod from CVs directed fishing in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV
fishery. For purposes of this notice, that fishery will be referred to
as the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV directed fishery. The Council
determined, and NMFS agrees, that this action is an appropriate
response to a sharp increase in C/P participation operating as
motherships in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV directed fishery
beginning in 2016. This increase shifted historical patterns of harvest
processing from shoreside plants to offshore C/Ps, which has caused
concern over the reduced benefits to C/Ps and shoreside processors with
long term, sustained participation in the fishery. This shift has also
resulted in a shorter fishing season from 2016 through 2019, causing
vessel crowding on the fishing grounds and raising concerns for vessel
safety and increased PSC rates.
In April 2019, the Council adopted Amendment 120 to the BSAI FMP,
which would limit the number of C/Ps operating as motherships receiving
and processing Pacific cod in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV
directed fishery. If approved, Amendment 120 would amend the BSAI FMP
to require a C/P be designated on a groundfish LLP license with a BSAI
Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement to receive and process Pacific
cod delivered by CVs in the BSAI non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV directed
fishery. A groundfish LLP license would receive the endorsement if a
vessel designated on it is credited with receiving and processing at
least one legal mothership trip target of Pacific cod in the BSAI non-
CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV directed fishery each year from 2015 through
2017. Under BSAI Amendment 120, ``mothership trip target'' would mean,
in the aggregate, the groundfish species that is delivered by a CV to a
given C/P operating as a mothership in an amount greater than the
retained amount of any other groundfish species delivered by the same
CV to the same C/P for a given week.
In April 2019, the Council also adopted GOA Amendment 108.
Amendments 120/108 would prohibit Amendment 80 sector C/Ps from
receiving and processing Pacific cod harvested by vessels directed
fishing for Pacific cod in the BSAI and GOA, if the C/P was not
designated on an Amendment 80 QS permit and an Amendment 80 LLP license
or not designated on an Amendment 80 LLP/QS license.
Amendment 120 would amend four sections of the BSAI FMP. First, in
Table ES-2 in the Executive Summary, row ``License and Permits'' would
have a sentence added to read, ``Catcher/
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processor vessels receiving and processing Pacific cod harvested by
catcher vessels directed fishing using trawl gear in the BSAI non-
Community Development Quota Program Pacific cod fishery must qualify
for a BSAI Pacific cod trawl mothership endorsement.'' The same row,
``License and Permits,'' would have a second sentence added to read,
``All Amendment 80 vessels not designated on an Amendment 80 QS permit
and an Amendment 80 LLP license or on an Amendment 80 LLP/QS license
are prohibited from receiving and processing Pacific cod harvested by a
vessel directed fishing for Pacific cod in the BSAI.''
Second, BSAI FMP Section ``3.3.1.3 Species and Gear Endorsements
for Vessels Using Trawl Gear'' would have a sentence added to read that
``A catcher/processor vessel receiving and processing Pacific cod
harvested by catcher vessels directed fishing using trawl gear in the
BSAI non-Community Development Quota Program Pacific cod fishery must
hold an area endorsement and general license with a BSAI Pacific cod
trawl mothership endorsement.'' A second sentence would be added to
read, ``BSAI non-Community Development Quota Program Pacific cod. An
LLP license must be credited with receiving and processing at least one
mothership trip target delivered by a catcher vessel directed fishing
using trawl gear in the BSAI non-Community Development Quota Program
Pacific cod fishery in each year from 2015 through 2017.''
Third, a new BSAI FMP Section ``3.7.5.8.4 Limitations on Replaced
Amendment 80 Vessels'' would have a sentence added to read, ``All
Amendment 80 vessels not designated on an Amendment 80 QS permit and an
Amendment 80 LLP license or on an Amendment 80 LLP/QS license is
prohibited from receiving and processing Pacific cod harvested by a
vessel directed fishing for Pacific cod in the BSAI.''
Finally, a section would be added to Appendix A of the BSAI FMP
that summarizes the main provisions of Amendment 120, and the Table of
Contents would be revised accordingly.
Amendment 108 to the GOA FMP would amend two sections of the GOA
FMP. First, in Table ES-2 in the Executive Summary, row ``Participation
Restrictions'' would have a sentence added to read, ``All Amendment 80
vessels not designated on an Amendment 80 QS permit and an Amendment 80
LLP license or on an Amendment 80 LLP/QS license are prohibited from
receiving and processing Pacific cod harvested by a vessel directed
fishing for Pacific cod in the GOA.''
Second, GOA FMP Section 3.3.3, ``Access Limitations'' would add a
new sentence that reads, ``All Amendment 80 vessels not designated on
an Amendment 80 QS permit and an Amendment 80 LLP license or on an
Amendment 80 LLP/QS license are prohibited from receiving and
processing Pacific cod harvested by a vessel directed fishing for
Pacific cod in the GOA.''
Finally, a section would be added to Appendix A of the GOA FMP that
summarizes the main provisions of Amendment 108, and the Table of
Contents would be revised.
The proposed rule to implement proposed Amendments 120/108 provides
the details of the eligibility criteria for a BSAI Pacific cod trawl
mothership endorsement to a groundfish LLP license, the process to
establish eligibility of individual groundfish LLP licenses based on
historical participation in the fishery, and issuance of the
endorsements. The specific groundfish LLP licenses eligible for such an
endorsement will be named in the proposed rule and in the regulations
implementing the rule. The proposed rule also provides details on the
prohibition of replaced Amendment 80 C/Ps operating as a mothership in
the BSAI and GOA Pacific cod fisheries.
Before adopting its preferred alternatives for Amendment 120, the
Council considered a range of historical participation levels to
qualify for an endorsement authorizing a C/P to operate as a mothership
in the fishery, as well as a range of limits on the amount of Pacific
cod that could be received and processed by C/Ps operating as a
mothership in the fishery. The Council determined, and NMFS agrees,
that the eligibility requirements for a BSAI Pacific cod trawl
mothership endorsement under Amendment 120 would balance the need to
limit entry of additional C/Ps operating as motherships in the BSAI
directed, non-CDQ Pacific cod trawl CV fishery with the need to
continue to provide processing opportunities for C/Ps with long term,
sustained participation operating as motherships and shoreside
processors in the fishery consistent with historical patterns of
Pacific cod deliveries. The Council also determined, and NMFS agrees, a
prohibition on allowing replaced Amendment 80 C/Ps to operate as a
mothership in the BSAI and GOA Pacific cod fisheries is necessary to
implement the Council's intent to prevent replaced Amendment 80 C/Ps
from operating as motherships once they leave the Amendment 80 Program.
NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendments 120/108
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to
publish in the Federal Register and seek public comment on the proposed
rule that would implement Amendments 120/108 following NMFS's
evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Respondents do not need to submit the same comments on Amendments
120/108 and the proposed rule. All relevant written comments received
by the end of the applicable comment period, whether specifically
directed at the FMP amendments or the proposed rule will be considered
by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision for Amendments 120/108 and
addressed in the response to comments in the final decision. Comments
received after the end of the applicable comment period will not be
considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendments 120/108.
To be considered, comments must be received, not just postmarked or
otherwise transmitted, by the last day of the comment period (see
DATES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 15, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-17907 Filed 8-20-19; 8:45 am]
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