[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34711-34712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13970]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

RIN 0648-BH65


Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 9 to the Fishery Ecosystem 
Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific; Modifications to the 
American Samoa Longline Fishery Limited Entry Program

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

ACTION: Notification of availability of a fishery ecosystem plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for 
Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP). If approved, Amendment 
9 would reduce regulatory barriers that may be limiting small vessel 
participation in the American Samoa longline fishery. Specifically, 
Amendment 9 would consolidate vessel class sizes, modify permit 
eligibility requirements, and reduce the minimum harvest requirements 
for small vessels. The Council recommended Amendment 9 to provide for 
sustained community and indigenous American Samoan participation in the 
small vessel longline fishery.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments on Amendment 9 by August 30, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0023, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
enter NOAA-NMFS-2018-0023 in the Search box, click the ``Comment'' 
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd. Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments sent by any other 
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end 
of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the public 
record, and NMFS will generally post them for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. 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).
    Amendment 9 includes a draft environmental assessment (EA) that 
analyzes the potential impacts of the proposed measures and 
alternatives considered. Copies of Amendment 9, including the draft EA 
and a Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and other supporting documents, 
are available at https://www.regulations.gov, or from the Council, 1164 
Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220, 
www.wpcouncil.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Taylor, Sustainable Fisheries, 
NMFS PIR, 808-725-5182.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage the American 
Samoa longline fishery under the FEP and implementing regulations. The 
fishery targets primarily albacore, which are sold frozen to the fish 
processing industry in Pago Pago, American Samoa. During the 1980s and 
1990s, the longline fleet was mainly comprised of alia, locally-built 
catamarans between 24 and 38 ft in length. In the early 2000s, the 
longline fishery expanded rapidly with the influx of large (>=50 ft) 
conventional vessels similar to the type used in the Hawaii-based 
longline fishery, including some vessels from Hawaii.
    To manage capacity in the then-rapidly developing fishery, the 
Council in 2001 (through Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan 
for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific, superseded by the FEP) 
established a limited entry program with vessel size classes and 
criteria for participation. In 2005, NMFS implemented the limited entry 
program and issued 60 permits to qualified candidates among four vessel 
size classes.
    Only a few small vessels have been active in the fishery since 
2007. Participation by large vessels was somewhat stable from 2001 
through 2010, but has declined and remained below 20 active vessels 
annually. In response, the Council developed Amendment 9 to reduce the 
programmatic barriers that may be limiting small vessel participation. 
The purpose of Amendment 9 is to reduce the complexity of the limited 
entry program and provide for sustained community participation, 
especially for small vessels. Amendment 9 could allow new entrants to 
obtain a small vessel permit by removing requirements that previously 
would have made some new entrants ineligible. If approved, Amendment 9 
would do the following:
    (a) Replace the four vessel classes with two, where Class A and B 
vessels would be classified as ``small'' vessels, and Class C and D 
vessels would be classified as ``large'' vessels;
    (b) Restrict permit holders to U.S. citizens and nationals, and 
eliminate the requirement to have documented history of participation 
to be eligible for a permit, but maintain the priority ranking system 
based on earliest documented history of fishing participation in vessel 
class size, if there is competition between two or more applicants for 
a permit;
    (c) Require that permits can only be transferred among U.S. 
citizens or nationals, and eliminate the requirement for documented 
participation in the fishery to receive a transferred permit;
    (d) Reduce the small vessel minimum harvest requirement to 500 lb 
(227 kg) of pelagic management unit species within a 3-year period, but 
maintain the existing 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) harvest requirement for large 
vessels;
    (e) Require that the entire minimum harvest amounts for the 
respective vessel classes are to be landed in American Samoa within a 
three-year permit period, but that the minimum harvests not be required 
to be caught within the U.S. EEZ around American Samoa;
    (f) Specify a fixed three-year permit period that is the same as 
the three-year period to make a minimum harvest requirement; and
    (g) Clarify that the minimum harvest period would not restart in 
the event of a permit transfer. If the minimum harvest amount has not 
been caught at the time of transfer, the new permit holder would be 
required to meet the harvest requirement based on the following 
formula: The product of percentage of time left within the three-year 
permit period and the minimum harvest amount.

[[Page 34712]]

    NMFS invites public comments on the proposed action and 
specifically invites comments that address the impact of this proposed 
action on cultural fishing in American Samoa. NMFS must receive 
comments on Amendment 9, including a draft EA and RIR, by August 30, 
2021 for consideration in the decision to approve, partially approve, 
or disapprove the amendment. Concurrent with NMFS's review of the 
amendment under the Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures, NMFS may publish 
for public comment a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement 
the draft measures described in Amendment 9.

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

    Dated: June 24, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-13970 Filed 6-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P