[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6890-6892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02372]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BJ35


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modifying 
Seasonal Allocations of Pollock and Pacific Cod for Trawl Catcher 
Vessels in the Central and Western Gulf of Alaska

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 109 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf 
of Alaska (GOA FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If 
approved, Amendment 109 would reduce operational and management 
inefficiencies in the Central Gulf of Alaska and Western Gulf of Alaska 
trawl catcher vessel Pacific cod fisheries by changing seasonal Gulf of 
Alaska Pacific cod apportionments to allow greater harvest 
opportunities earlier in the year. Amendment 109 is necessary to 
provide participants in the fisheries an opportunity to more fully 
harvest the total allowable catch of Pacific cod, increase management 
flexibility, and potentially decrease prohibited species catch while 
not redistributing fishing opportunities between management areas or 
harvesting sectors. Amendment 109 is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act, the GOA FMP, and other applicable laws.

DATES: Submit comments on or before April 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket number NOAA-NMFS-
2019-0125, by either of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0125, 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: NMFS may not consider comments if they are sent by 
any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after 
the comment period ends. All comments received are a part of the public 
record, and NMFS will post the comments 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 
is publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/
A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of Amendment 109 to the GOA FMP, the draft 
Environmental Assessment and the Regulatory Impact Review (collectively 
referred to as the ``Analysis'') prepared for this proposed rule may be 
obtained from http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Krieger, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) at section 304(a) requires 
that each regional fishery management council submit an amendment to a 
fishery management plan (FMP) for review and approval, disapproval, or 
partial approval by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). The 
Magnuson-Stevens Act at section 304(a) also requires that the 
Secretary, upon receiving an amendment to a FMP, immediately publish a 
notice in the Federal Register announcing that the amendment is 
available for public review and comment. FMP amendments and regulations 
developed by the Council may be implemented by NMFS only after approval 
by the Secretary.
    The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 109 to the GOA FMP (Amendment 109) to the Secretary 
for review. This notice announces that proposed Amendment 109 is 
available for public review and comment.

[[Page 6891]]

    NMFS manages U.S. groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic 
zone under the GOA FMP. The Council prepared, and the Secretary 
approved, the GOA FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and 
implementing the GOA FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. In June 
2019, the Council adopted Amendment 109. If approved, Amendment 109 
would change the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) and Western Gulf of 
Alaska (WGOA) Pacific cod seasonal apportionments to increase the trawl 
catcher vessel (CV) sector's A season total allowable catch (TAC) while 
proportionally decreasing the sector's B season TAC. In recommending 
Amendment 109, the Council intends to increase fishery yield, increase 
management flexibility, and potentially decrease prohibited species 
catch (PSC) in the CGOA and WGOA trawl CV Pacific cod fisheries.
    Amendment 109 would amend the trawl CV seasonal apportionments of 
Pacific cod in the table in Section 3.2.3.4.3.3.2 of the GOA FMP. The 
WGOA trawl CV A season would change from 72.3 percent to 82.1 percent, 
and the B season would change from 27.7 percent to 17.9 percent. The 
CGOA trawl CV A season would change from 50.8 percent to 60.8 percent, 
and the B season would change from 49.2 percent to 39.2 percent.
    At the same time the Council took action to adopt Amendment 109, 
the Council also adopted a regulatory amendment that would change the 
seasons for, and seasonal apportionments of, pollock in the CGOA and 
WGOA. The proposed rule to implement Amendment 109 will propose 
regulations to implement the regulatory amendment for GOA pollock 
seasons and seasonal apportionments.

Background

    The trawl groundfish fisheries in the GOA include fisheries for 
pollock, sablefish, several rockfish species, numerous flatfish 
species, Pacific cod, and other groundfish. Trawl gear captures 
groundfish by towing a net above or along the ocean floor. Amendment 
109 would affect the trawl CV fisheries for Pacific cod in two specific 
areas of the GOA: (1) The CGOA regulatory area, and (2) the WGOA 
regulatory area. These specific regulatory areas are defined at Sec.  
679.2.
    NMFS annually establishes Pacific cod TACs for these two regulatory 
areas. NMFS apportions the annual WGOA and CGOA Pacific cod TACs across 
two seasons. NMFS apportions 60 percent of the annual WGOA and CGOA 
Pacific cod TACs to the A season, and apportions 40 percent of the 
annual WGOA and CGOA Pacific cod TACs to the B season. For vessels 
deploying trawl gear, the A season occurs from January 20 through June 
10, and the B season occurs from September 1 through November 1.
    Since the implementation of Amendment 83 to the GOA FMP in 2012 (76 
FR 74670, December 1, 2011), NMFS, after subtracting a set-aside for 
the jig gear sector, also allocates the annual WGOA and CGOA Pacific 
cod TACs between five sectors in the WGOA and six sectors in the CGOA. 
Each sector's allocation is apportioned between the A and B seasons in 
each area, and the ratio for each sector's seasonal apportionment is 
not required to be a 60 percent: 40 percent ratio. However, for all 
gear (trawl and non-trawl) and operational-type (CV and catcher/
processors (C/Ps)) sectors, the total of A season sector apportionments 
in each area equals 60 percent of the annual Pacific cod TAC, and the 
total of B season sector apportionments in each area equals 40 percent 
of the annual Pacific cod TAC.
    Regulations at Sec.  679.20(a)(12)(i) and Tables 2-2 and 2-3 in the 
Analysis show the seasonal percentage allocations for each sector. 
These tables illustrate that no sector, in isolation, experiences a 60 
percent: 40 percent seasonal TAC split. For example, the CGOA trawl CV 
sector is currently allocated 21.1 percent of the annual CGOA Pacific 
cod TAC in the A season and 20.5 percent of the annual CGOA Pacific cod 
TAC in the B season. Those two figures are at a 51 percent: 49 percent 
ratio to each other. The WGOA trawl CV sector is allocated 27.7 percent 
of the annual WGOA Pacific cod TAC in the A season TAC and 10.7 percent 
of the annual WGOA Pacific cod TAC in the B season, which results in a 
72 percent: 28 percent seasonal ratio. The WGOA trawl CVs receive a 
relatively greater proportion of their annual Pacific cod TAC 
allocation in the A season, as they do not target Pacific cod in the 
fall (B season). The sectors that receive a small percentage of the 
annual TAC tend to be those that encounter Pacific cod as incidental 
catch that must be retained (as an Improved Retention/Improved 
Utilization Program (IR/IU) species), but do not conduct directed 
fishing for Pacific cod.
    Regulations at 50 CFR 679.20(a)(12)(ii) describe the reallocation 
of sector allocations ``if [. . . NMFS] determines that a sector will 
be unable to harvest the entire amount of Pacific cod allocated to [a] 
sector.'' NMFS publishes these reallocations as inseason actions in the 
Federal Register and posts them on the NMFS Alaska Region website as 
Information Bulletins. Regulations at 50 CFR 679.20(a)(12)(ii) also 
state that NMFS should take into account ``the capability of a sector 
[. . .] to harvest the remaining Pacific cod TAC.'' There are no set 
dates upon which reallocations should occur; NMFS relies on its 
management expertise as well as communication with the fleets about 
their expected levels of activity or encounter rates of Pacific cod. In 
practice, NMFS reallocates Pacific cod that it projects will go 
unharvested by a sector. The regulations provide a hierarchy that 
guides preference in reallocations if there are competing needs for 
additional TAC. The regulations at Sec.  679.20(a)(12)(ii)(B) state 
that NMFS should consider reallocation to CV sectors first, then 
reallocation to the combined CV and C/P pot sector, and then to any of 
the other C/P sectors (trawl and hook-and-line). NMFS provides a record 
of inseason Pacific cod TAC reallocations on its website. Since 2012, 
almost all inseason reallocations have occurred during the B season, 
and most reallocations flowed from the trawl CV sector; no 
reallocations have been made to the trawl CV sector.
    In recent years, trawl CVs in the GOA Pacific cod fishery only 
conduct directed fishing for B season Pacific cod in the CGOA. The WGOA 
trawl CV sector receives 10.7 percent of the annual WGOA Pacific cod 
TAC in the B season (see Table 2-2 in the Analysis) but it goes largely 
unharvested by trawl vessels except as incidental catch during the C 
and D seasons in the pollock trawl fishery. In the CGOA, where the 
trawl CV fishery is prosecuted, harvest of Pacific cod in the B season 
lags A season harvest by a significant margin in percentage terms. 
Table 3-4 in the Analysis shows that harvest of CGOA B season Pacific 
cod TAC was typically below 50 percent and began to fall precipitously 
in the years leading up to the 2018 reduction in ABC. While industry 
participants have reported that fish size and flesh quality can be 
better in the fall B season than in the late-winter A season due to the 
length of time removed from spawning activity, GOA Pacific cod do not 
tend to aggregate in the fall in a manner that lends itself to 
efficient harvest with trawl gear. As a result, a significant portion 
of the GOA Pacific cod B season TAC is left unharvested by trawl CVs, 
while the A season TAC is more fully prosecuted by trawl CVs.
    The Council acknowledged that trawl CVs in the GOA have only 
directed

[[Page 6892]]

fished for Pacific cod in the CGOA during the B season in recent years 
and that WGOA Pacific cod TAC goes largely unharvested. The Council 
also acknowledged that in the CGOA, where the trawl CV fishery is 
prosecuted, harvest of Pacific cod in the B season lags A season 
harvest by a significant margin in percentage terms, which also results 
in unharvested Pacific cod TAC. To address these concerns, the Council 
adopted Amendment 109. Amendment 109 would increase trawl CV 
allocations of Pacific cod TAC in the CGOA and WGOA during the A season 
while proportionally decreasing trawl CV allocations of Pacific cod TAC 
in the CGOA and WGOA during the B season. Specifically, 25.29364 
percent of the annual CGOA Pacific cod TAC would be allocated to the 
trawl CV sector during the A season and 16.29047 percent would be 
allocated to the B season. Additionally, 31.54 percent of the annual 
WGOA Pacific cod TAC would be allocated to the trawl CV sector during 
the A season and 6.86 percent would be allocated to the B season. 
Sections 2.3, 2.6 and 4.6.4 of the Analysis describe the range of 
alternative Pacific cod TAC allocations considered by the Council and 
summarizes the Council's rationale for the proposed allocations.
    Before adopting its preferred alternatives for Amendment 109, the 
Council considered a range of alternatives and options (see Sections 2 
and 4.6 of the Analysis for more detail on alternatives and options). 
The Council determined, and NMFS agrees, that Amendment 109 will reduce 
operational and management inefficiencies in the CGOA and WGOA trawl CV 
Pacific cod fisheries by changing seasonal Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod 
apportionments to allow greater harvest opportunities earlier in the 
year.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 109 
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to 
publish in the Federal Register and seeks public comment on the 
proposed rule that would implement Amendment 109 following NMFS's 
evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Respondents do not need to submit the same comments on Amendment 
109 and the proposed rule. All relevant written comments received by 
the end of the comment period for Amendment 109, whether specifically 
directed to the FMP amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered 
by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision for Amendment 109 and 
addressed in the response to comments in the final decision. Comments 
received after the end of the comment period for Amendment 109 will not 
be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 109. 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: February 3, 2020.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-02372 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P