The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone in 33 CFR 165.1198 for the Military Ocean Terminal Concord, CA (MOTCO) regulated area from 12:01 a.m. on March 3, 2022, until 11:59 p.m. on March 8, 2022, or as announced via marine local broadcasts. This safety zone is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential explosion within the explosive arc. The regulation for this safety zone, § 165.1198, specifies the location of the safety zone which encompasses the navigable waters in the area between 500 yards of MOTCO Pier 2 in position 38°03′30″ N, 122°01′14″ W and 3,000 yards of the pier. During the enforcement periods, as reflected in § 165.1198(d), if you are the operator of a vessel in the regulated area you must comply with the instructions of the COTP or the designated on-scene patrol personnel. Vessel operators desiring to anchor or otherwise loiter within the safety zone must contact Sector San Francisco Vessel Traffic Service at 415-556-2760 or VHF Channel 14 to obtain permission.

In addition to this notification of enforcement in the Federal Register , the Coast Guard plans to provide notification of this enforcement period via marine information broadcasts.

The Department of Navy notified the Coast Guard that it will be conducting a diving exercise from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., each day from March 6, 2022, through March 17, 2022, along the entire length of the Gastineau Channel. Hazards associated with the exercise include collision and damage to remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and collision and injury to divers in the water. In response, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Security Zone for Navy Diving Exercise; Gastineau Channel, Juneau, AK” (87 FR 6450). We stated there why we issued the NPRM and invited comments on our proposed regulatory action related to this diving exercise. During the comment period that ended February 14, 2022, we received no comments.

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast Guard finds that good cause exists for making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register . Delaying the effective date of this rule would be impracticable because immediate action is needed to respond to the potential safety hazards associated with this diving exercise.

The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under authority in 46 U.S.C. 70034 (previously 33 U.S.C. 1231). The COTP has determined that potential hazards associated with the diving exercise will be a safety concern for anyone within a 200-yard radius of the Navy vessel displaying the Alpha (“Dive”) flag in the Gastineau Channel. The purpose of this rule is to ensure safety of vessels and the navigable waters in the security zone before, during, and after the scheduled event.

As noted above, we received no comments on our NPRM published on February 4, 2022. There are no changes in the regulatory text of this rule from the proposed rule in the NPRM.

This rule establishes a security zone from March 6, 2022, through March 17, 2022. The security zone will cover all navigable waters within 200 yards of a Navy vessel displaying the Alpha (“Dive”) flag in the Gastineau Channel. The duration of the zone is intended to ensure the safety of vessels and these navigable waters before, during, and after the diving exercise. No vessel or person will be permitted to enter the security zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a designated representative.

We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and Executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses based on a number of these statutes and Executive orders, and we discuss First Amendment rights of protestors.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits. This rule has not been designated a “significant regulatory action,” under Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, this rule has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This regulatory action determination is based on the size, location, and time of day of the security zone. Traffic is limited during the time of year when the security zone will be in effect. As a moving security zone assigned to a Navy vessel rather than a defined area of water, the impact to the waterway will be minimized. Moreover, the Coast Guard will issue a Broadcast Notice to Mariners via VHF-FM marine channel 16 about the zone, and the rule would allow vessels to seek permission to enter the zone.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as amended, requires Federal agencies to consider the potential impact of regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term “small entities” comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000. The Coast Guard received no comments from the Small Business Administration on this rulemaking. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

While some owners or operators of vessels intending to transit the security zone may be small entities, for the reasons stated in section V.A. above, this rule will not have a significant economic impact on any vessel owner or operator.

Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small entities in understanding this rule. If the rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, please call or email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Small businesses may send comments on the actions of Federal employees who enforce, or otherwise determine compliance with, Federal regulations to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these actions annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on actions by employees of the Coast Guard, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.

This rule will not call for a new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. We have analyzed this rule under that order and have determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 13132.

Also, this rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, because it does not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or more in any one year. Though this rule will not result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere in this preamble.

We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security Directive 023-01, Rev. 1, associated implementing instructions, and Environmental Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series), which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have determined that this action is one of a category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. This rule involves a security zone lasting 12 hours for twelve days that will prohibit entry within 200 yards of a Navy vessel displaying the Alpha (“Dive”) flag in the Gastineau Channel. It is categorically excluded from further review under paragraph L60(a) of Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Rev. 1. A Record of Environmental Consideration supporting this determination is available in the docket. For instructions on locating the docket, see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble.

The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. Protesters are asked to call or email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or security of people, places or vessels.

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

The Coast Guard is issuing this temporary rule without prior notice and opportunity to comment pursuant to authority under section 4(a) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). This provision authorizes an agency to issue a rule without prior notice and opportunity to comment when the agency for good cause finds that those procedures are “impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.” Under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Coast Guard finds that good cause exists for not publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with respect to this rule because it is impracticable. The Coast Guard did not receive final details for this event until January 25, 2022. It is impracticable to go through the full notice and comment rule making process because the Coast Guard must establish this safety zone by March 26, 2022 and lacks sufficient time to provide a reasonable comment period and to consider those comments before issuing the rule.

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast Guard finds that good cause exists for making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register . Delaying the effective date of this rule would be contrary to public interest because action is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from the potential safety hazards associated with the fireworks display near Yellow Bluff on the San Francisco Bay on March 26, 2022.

The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under authority 46 U.S.C. 70034 (previously 33 U.S.C. 1231). The Captain of the Port San Francisco has determined that potential hazards associated with the Jackson Fireworks Scattering on March 26, 2022, will be a safety concern for anyone within a 100-foot radius of the fireworks vessel during loading and staging, and anyone within a 500-foot radius of the fireworks vessel starting 30 minutes before the fireworks display is scheduled to commence and ending 30 minutes after the conclusion of the fireworks display. For this reason, this temporary safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment in the navigable waters around the fireworks vessel and during the fireworks display.

This rule establishes a temporary safety zone from 6 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. on March 26, 2022, during the loading, staging, and transit of the fireworks vessel in San Francisco Bay from Clipper Yacht Harbor to 500 yards off Yellow Bluff, Sausalito, CA, and until 30 minutes after completion of the fireworks display. During the loading, staging, and transit of the fireworks vessel scheduled to take place between 6 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on March 26, 2022, until 30 minutes prior to the start of the fireworks display, the safety zone will encompass the navigable waters around and under the fireworks vessel, from surface to bottom, within a circle formed by connection of all points 100 feet out from the fireworks vessel. The fireworks display is scheduled to start from 8 p.m. and end at approximately 8:15 p.m. on March 26, 2022, 500 yards from Yellow Bluff in Sausalito, CA.

The fireworks vessel will remain at Clipper Yacht Harbor until the start of its transit to the display location. Movement of the vessel from Clipper Yacht Harbor to the display location is scheduled to take place from 7:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 26, 2022, where it will remain until the conclusion of the fireworks display.

At 7:30 p.m. on March 26, 2022, 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the 15-minute fireworks display, the safety zone will increase in size and encompass the navigable waters around and under the fireworks vessel, from surface to bottom, within a circle formed by all connecting points 500 feet from the circle center at approximate position 37°50′12″ N, 122°28′01″ W (NAD 83). The safety zone will terminate at 8:45 p.m. on March 26, 2022 or as announced via Broadcast Notice to Mariners.

This regulation is necessary to keep persons and vessels away from the immediate vicinity of the fireworks loading, staging, transit, and display site. Except for persons or vessels authorized by the Captain of the Port San Francisco (COTP) or the COTP's designated representative, no person or vessel may enter or remain in the restricted area. A “designated representative” means a Coast Guard Patrol Commander, including a Coast Guard coxswain, petty officer, or other officer operating a Coast Guard vessel, or a Federal, State, or local officer designated by or assisting the COTP in the enforcement of the safety zone. This regulation is necessary to ensure the safety of participants, spectators, and transiting vessels.

We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and Executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses based on a number of these statutes and Executive orders, and we discuss First Amendment rights of protestors.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits. This rule has not been designated a “significant regulatory action,” under Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, this rule has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This regulatory action determination is based on the limited duration and narrowly tailored geographic area of the safety zone. Although this rule restricts access to the waters encompassed by the safety zone, the effect of this rule will not be significant because the local waterways users will be notified to ensure the safety zone will result in minimum impact. The vessels desiring to transit through or around the temporary safety zone may do so upon express permission from the COTP or the COTP's designated representative.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as amended, requires Federal agencies to consider the potential impact of regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term “small entities” comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

While some owners or operators of vessels intending to transit the safety zone may be small entities, for the reasons stated in section V.A. above, this rule will not have a significant economic impact on any vessel owner or operator.

Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small entities in understanding this rule. If the rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, please call or email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.

Small businesses may send comments on the actions of Federal employees who enforce, or otherwise determine compliance with, Federal regulations to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these actions annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on actions by employees of the Coast Guard, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.

This rule will not call for a new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. We have analyzed this rule under that order and have determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 13132.

Also, this rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, because it does not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or more in any one year. Though this rule will not result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere in this preamble.

We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security Directive 023-01, Rev. 1, associated implementing instructions, and Environmental Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series), which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have determined that this action is one of a category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. This rule involves a temporary safety zone in the navigable waters around the loading, staging, transit, and display of fireworks near Clipper Yacht Harbor and 500 yards off Yellow Bluff in San Francisco Bay. It is categorically excluded from further review under paragraph L60(a) of Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Rev. 1. A Record of Environmental Consideration supporting this determination is available in the docket. For instructions on locating the docket, see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble.

The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. Protesters are asked to call or email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or security of people, places, or vessels.

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) of Canada, under international agreement, jointly publish and presently administer the St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls (Schedule of Fees and Charges in Canada) in their respective jurisdictions.

The Tariff sets forth the level of tolls assessed on all commodities and vessels transiting the facilities operated by the GLS and the SLSMC. The GLS is revising 33 CFR 402.12, “Schedule of tolls”, to reflect the fees and charges levied by the SLSMC in Canada beginning in the 2022 navigation season. With one exception, the changes affect the tolls for commercial vessels and are applicable only in Canada. The collection of tolls by the GLS on commercial vessels transiting the U.S. locks is waived by law (33 U.S.C. 988a(a)).

The GLS is amending 33 CFR 402.12, “Schedule of tolls”, to increase the minimum charge per vessel per lock for full or partial transit of the Seaway from $29.72 to $30.31. This charge is for vessels that are not pleasure craft or subject in Canada to the tolls under items 1 and 2 of the Tariff. This increase is due to higher operating costs at the locks.

Regulatory Notices: Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit https://dms.dot.gov.

This regulation involves a foreign affairs function of the United States and therefore, Executive Order 12866 does not apply and evaluation under the Department of Transportation's Regulatory Policies and Procedures is not required.

I certify this regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls primarily relate to commercial users of the Seaway, the vast majority of whom are foreign vessel operators. Therefore, any resulting costs will be borne mostly by foreign vessels.

This regulation does not require an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (49 U.S.C. 4321, et reg.) because it is not a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

The Corporation has analyzed this rule under the principles and criteria in Executive Order 13132, dated August 4, 1999, and has determined that this rule does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant a Federalism Assessment.

The Corporation has analyzed this rule under Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, 109 Stat. 48) and determined that it does not impose unfunded mandates on State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector requiring a written statement of economic and regulatory alternatives.

This regulation has been analyzed under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and does not contain new or modified information collection requirements subject to the Office of Management and Budget review.

Accordingly, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation amends 33 CFR part 402 as follows:

The DMM currently provides that customers who submit a permanent change-of-address (COA) request generally receive mail forwarding service for 12 months at no cost. After the 12-month forwarding period, the mail is returned to the sender or disposed of by the USPS®.

The Postal Service initiated a Market Test, Extended Mail Forwarding service, (Docket No. MT2020-2, PRC Order No. 5591) on July 20, 2020, to provide customers with an option to extend their forwarding service for a fee. Extended Mail Forwarding service provides customers the option to extend forwarding service beyond the 12-month period in six-month increments or by an additional 6, 12, or 18 months, or any combination, not to exceed 18 months. Customers can extend a permanent COA order by purchasing Extended Mail Forwarding service at a Post Office or online through the COA Application (MoversGuide) on USPS.com.

On February 14, 2022, the Postal Service filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to make the Extended Mail Forwarding service market test a permanent offering. Documents pertinent to the request are available in Docket No. MC-2022-40.

The Postal Service believes this new offering will provide customers with a service that will enhance their mailing experience.

The Postal Service adopts the following changes to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1.

We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect these changes.

Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is amended as follows:

The proposed rule was published at 86 FR 15181 on March 22, 2021. The Petitioner filed comments in support of the petition reaffirming its commitment to apply for channel 35. In support of its channel substitution request, the Petitioner states that the Commission has recognized the deleterious effects manmade noise has on the reception of digital VHF signals, and that the propagation characteristics of these channels allow undesired signals and noise to be receivable at relatively farther distances compared to UHF channels, and also allow nearby electrical devices to cause interference. While the proposed channel 35 facility is predicted to result in loss of service to 15,460 persons, all but approximately 100 of those persons would continue to receive service from at least five other television stations, and no persons would receive service from fewer than four other television stations. The Commission is generally most concerned where there is a loss of an area's only network or non-commercial educational (NCE) TV service, or where the loss area results in an area becoming less than well-served, i.e., served by fewer than five full-power over-the-air signals. As a result, the loss area will continue to remain well-served and the number of persons that will receive less than five signals (approximately 100 persons) is considered to be de minimis.

This is a synopsis of the Commission's Report and Order, MB Docket No. 21-73; RM-11889; DA 22-179, adopted February 18, 2022, and released February 22, 2022. The full text of this document is available for download at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).

This document does not contain information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed information collection burden “for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees,” pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, do not apply to this proceeding.

The Commission will send a copy of the Report and Order in a report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 as follows:

Order Level Materials (OLMs) are supplies and/or services acquired in direct support of an individual task or delivery order placed against a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract or FSS blanket purchase agreement (BPA), when the supplies and/or services are not known at the time of FSS contract or FSS BPA award. OLMs must be acquired following the procedures in GSAR subpart 538.72. OLMs are currently approved for 59 subcategories under FSS contracts, see https://www.gsa.gov/olm. The GSAR currently requires the Senior Procurement Executive's (SPE) authorization for further use of OLMs under FSS. GSA is removing this requirement from the GSAR to provide revised internal operating guidance in the non-regulatory GSA Acquisition Manual (GSAM).

GSA is removing references from the OLM clause at 552.238-115 to the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) because those references unnecessarily conflate travel as being an order level material and complicate the procedures for ordering activities and contracting officers.

GSA is also updating the GSAR to accurately reflect terminology, acronyms, citations, and references in conformance with the new consolidated FSS schedule procedures (more information available at: https://www.gsa.gov/schedule ).

Title 40 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 121 authorizes GSA to issue regulations, including the GSAR, to control the relationship between GSA and contractors.

After an internal review of existing policy, GSA is removing the requirement for GSA SPE authorization for use of OLMs on FSS, because it is unnecessary and administratively burdensome to the agency. Revised operating guidance which will provide for a lower level of approval, will now be provided in the non-regulatory GSAM, because these are internal procedures only, and as a result references to changes to OLM procedures are removed from the GSAR.

GSAR clause 552.238-115, Special Ordering Procedures for the Acquisition of Order-Level Materials prescribes procedures for including OLMs when placing an order against an FSS contract or FSS BPA and references travel. The reference to travel in the clause, implying that it is an OLM, has caused confusion for contracting officers. To simplify acquisition procedures, this final rule removes travel from the OLM clause to allow ordering activities and contractors to include travel at the order level in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations Part 31 and may also include requirements from the FTR.

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. This rule has been reviewed and determined by OMB not to be a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not subject to review under section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993.

OIRA has determined that this rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (codified at 5 U.S.C. 801-808), also known as the Congressional Review Act or CRA, generally provides that before a “major rule” may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. The General Services Administration will submit a report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States. A major rule under the CRA cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register .

The statute that applies to the publication of the GSAR is the Office of Federal Procurement Policy statute (codified at title 41 of the United States Code). Specifically, 41 U.S.C. 1707(a)(1) requires that a procurement policy, regulation, procedure or form (including an amendment or modification thereof) must be published for public comment if it relates to the expenditure of appropriated funds, and has either a significant effect beyond the internal operating procedures of the agency issuing the policy, regulation, procedure, or form, or has a significant cost or administrative impact on contractors or offerors. This rule is not required to be published for public comment, because it does not have a significant effect or impose any new requirements on contractors or offers, the rule merely corrects citation references, removes confusing references for travel, and removes inconsistent language for authorizations for OLMs.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ) does not apply to this rule, because an opportunity for public comment is not required to be given for this rule under 41 U.S.C. 1707(a)(1) (see Section VI. of this preamble). Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required and none has been prepared.

The final rule does not contain any information collection requirements that require the approval of the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Therefore, GSA amends 48 CFR parts 538 and 552 as set forth below:

The North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis, hereafter referred to as right whale) population has been in decline since 2010, with the most recent published estimate of right whale population size in 2019 at 368 whales (±11) with a strong male bias (Pace et al. 2017, Pace 2021). Preliminary 2020 and 2021 data suggest the decline has continued and that fewer than 350 individuals remain (Pettis et al. 2022). Though this population estimate is not final and still undergoing final peer review, it relies upon the same peer-reviewed population models used in Pace et al. (2017) and Pace (2021) and is not expected to change significantly in the final publication. The steep population decline is a result of high levels of human-caused mortality caused by entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes in both the U.S. and Canada. An Unusual Mortality Event, as defined in section 410 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), was declared for the population in 2017 as a result of high rates of entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. As of January 2022, the Event includes 34 detected mortalities (17 in 2017, 3 in 2018, 10 in 2019, 2 in 2020, and 2 in 2021). In 2020, 16 serious injuries were documented (2 in 2017, 5 in 2018, 1 in 2019, 4 in 2020, and 4 in 2021; see: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/marine-life-distress/2017-2021-north-atlantic-right-whale-unusual-mortality-event ). Mortality is higher than what has been observed, according to population models that estimate that 64 percent of all mortalities are not observed and accounted for in the right whale observed incident data (Pace 2021, Pace et al. 2021).

The North Atlantic right whale is listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, and considered a strategic stock under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). NMFS is required by the MMPA to reduce the risk of serious injury and death caused by entanglement in commercial fishing gear to a rate below the potential biological removal level (PBR), prescribed as the maximum number of animals that can be removed annually while allowing a marine mammal stock to reach or maintain its optimal sustainable population level. PBR for the North Atlantic right whale population was 0.7 whales per year in the most recently published draft stock assessment report (NMFS 2021a). Between 2010 and 2021, there has only been one year where observed mortality and serious injury of right whales fell below the PBR at the time, which was an individual with a partial serious injury given a prorated quantity of 0.75. With the total estimated mortality well above PBR, additional measures are urgently needed to reduce the impact of U. S. Atlantic fisheries on right whales.

The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan) was originally developed pursuant to section 118 of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1387) to reduce mortality and serious injury of three stocks of large whales (fin, humpback, and North Atlantic right) incidental to Category I and II fisheries. Under the MMPA, a strategic stock of marine mammals is defined as a stock: (1) For which the level of direct human-caused mortality exceeds the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level; (2) which, based on the best available scientific information, is declining and is likely to be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 within the foreseeable future; or (3) which is listed as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA or is designated as depleted under the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1362(19)). When incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals from commercial fishing exceeds a stock's PBR level, the MMPA directs NMFS to convene a take reduction team made up of stakeholders, including: representatives of Federal agencies; each coastal state which has fisheries which interact with the species or stock; appropriate Regional Fishery Management Councils; interstate fisheries commissions, academic and scientific organizations; environmental groups; all commercial and recreational fisheries groups and gear types which incidentally take the species or stock; and, if relevant, Alaska Native organizations or Indian tribal organizations. 1

The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) was established in 1996 and has 60 members, including about 22 trap/pot and gillnet fishermen or fishery representatives. The background for the take reduction planning process and initial development of the Plan is provided in the preambles to the proposed (62 FR 16519, April 7, 1997), interim final (62 FR 39157, July 22, 1997), and final (64 FR 7529, February 16, 1999) rules implementing the initial plan. The Team met and recommended modifications to the Plan, implemented by NMFS through rulemaking, several times since 1997 in an ongoing effort to meet the MMPA take reduction goals.

Mortalities and serious injuries of right whales in U.S. fishing gear and first seen in U.S. waters at levels above PBR have continued. NMFS informed the Team in late 2017 that it was necessary to reconvene to develop recommendations to reduce the impacts of U.S. commercial fisheries on large whales with a focus on reducing risk to the declining North Atlantic right whale population. During a Team meeting in April 2019, the Team recommended a framework of measures to modify lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot trawls within the Northeast Region Trap/Pot Management Area (Northeast Region). The recommended measures intended to reduce risk of mortality and serious injury to right whales incidentally entangled in buoy lines in those fisheries by at least 60 percent, which was the best estimate at the time of the minimum amount of risk necessary to get annual severe entanglement rates below PBR based on observed entanglement incidents. NMFS published a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on July 2, 2021 (86 FR 35288), with a 30-day comment period. The Record of Decision was signed on August 30, 2021, and the final rule was published on September 17, 2021 (86 FR 51970). The new rule was estimated to meet the minimum 60-percent reduction in risk recommended by the Team in 2019. Greater detail on right whale population estimates, the stock's decline, changes in distribution and reproductive rates, and entanglement-related mortalities and serious injuries documented in recent years can be found in Chapters 2 and 4 of the FEIS (NMFS 2021b) and the preamble to the 2021 final rule (86 FR 51970).

New population information published since the 2019 Team meeting and recent 2021 final rule suggest that a greater amount of risk reduction is needed to reduce mortality and serious injury of right whales in U.S. commercial fisheries below PBR, as required by the MMPA. NMFS presented the new minimum risk reduction needed to the team in a webinar on November 2, 2021, estimating an increase from the minimum of 60-percent risk reduction estimated in Phase 1 based on observed incidents, to at least a 90-percent total risk reduction based on estimated mortality. Phase 1 is intended to achieve an estimated 60-percent reduction in entanglement risk from Northeast lobster and Jonah crab trap pot fisheries, which make up approximately 93 percent of fixed gear buoy lines in the right whale range within U.S. waters. A rulemaking process for Phase 2 modifications to the Plan began on August 11, 2021, with a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that aims to further reduce risk in all fisheries covered under the plan coastwide. However, a single mortality or serious injury of a North Atlantic right whale in a U.S. fishery would exceed PBR. Therefore, observations in 2021 and new information submitted to NMFS merit emergency measures in an area of anticipated acute risk of entanglement to the population while long-term measures are being developed.

One measure included in the 2021 final rule (86 FR 51970, September 17, 2021) has left a critical gap in protection where right whale distribution information identifies a high risk of overlap between right whales and buoy lines. Right whale monthly distribution data identifies risk in unrestricted waters encapsulated on three sides by the expanded Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) during the month of April. The 2021 expansion of the geographic extent of the MRA to include Massachusetts State waters north to the New Hampshire border (MRA Expansion, Figure 1) mirrors the Massachusetts 2021 modification of the State water closure (322 CMR 12.04(2)). With the implementation of the MRA Expansion, approximately 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) of Federal waters remain open to trap/pot fishing between State and Federal closures creating a wedge where 2021 data indicate that trap/pot gear is concentrated during the closure period (MRA Wedge, Figure 2). During aerial surveys in April 2021, the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) observed right whales within this wedge alongside the presence of aggregated fishing gear (Figure 2). The gear in this area is thought to be a mix of actively fished gear and staged gear that is placed in preparation for Federal waters within the MRA to open in May. In addition, during April, fishermen anticipating the May 1 opening of Federal waters of the MRA may start bringing gear offshore to prepare to move into the MRA. This, in addition to the gear from fishermen already actively fishing outside of the buoy line closure area, increases gear density in the area. Finally, weak insertion requirements that reduce risk of serious entanglements included in the 2021 final rule will not yet be required in Federal waters until May 1, 2022. Given the dense concentration of high-strength vertical lines in an area with persistent right whale presence, this wedge area presents an imminent entanglement threat.

This emergency rule implements a fishery closure in the waters nearly circumscribed by Federal and State waters of the MRA, where the use of persistent trap/pot buoy lines is prohibited in April 2022 (Figure 2). This closure period is only a portion of the existing MRA closure season as implemented in the 2021 final rule (86 FR 51970, September 17, 2021), which is closed as of February 1 and continues through April 30 in Federal waters, and in Massachusetts State waters February 1 through May 15 with an option to open earlier or close later, depending on right whale occurrence under State regulations (322 CMR 12.04(2)). Risk reduction and change in right whale co-occurrence were calculated for this emergency measure using the same version of the Decision Support Tool (V 3.1.0) that was used in the 2021 FEIS (NMFS 2021b). The area restricted by this emergency rule includes approximately 200 square miles (518 square kilometers and represents about 2.2 percent of the pre-final rule risk of Northeast lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot fisheries. Closure of this area to buoy lines in April would result in 2- to 2.2-percent risk reduction, and 1.3- to 1.5-percent reduction in co-occurrence with right whales, depending on whether gear is relocated or removed, respectively. When combined with the 2021 final rule (86 FR 51970, September 17, 2021), this one-month closure adds at least an additional 1.6-percent risk reduction due to the interactive effects of an added closure during April with other measures that weaken, reduce, or relocate buoy lines. Though this additional reduction seems small, it offers measurable reduction in a relatively small area for a very short time period.

The Decision Support Tool used to estimate risk reduction of these measures relies on whale distribution data through 2018 and line estimates from recent years before the new seasonal restricted area was implemented. These data likely underestimate the risk reduction given 2020 and 2021 observations of right whale distribution and the 2021 restrictions may have pushed more gear into this area. Furthermore, the right whale habitat density model produced by Duke University and used within the Decision Support Tool estimates that approximately 4.6 whales are likely to be present in this locality during the month of April, but observation data collected during April 2021 suggest that in 2022 there may be more right whales in the area than the model predicts (Figure 2). Given the empirical evidence collected in 2021, it is likely that the risk reduction estimated in this small area may have even greater value to the right whale population than the percent reduction suggests, particularly in years when right whale aggregations are high.

The economic impact of an April fishery closure to lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot buoy lines is estimated to be small relative to the total value of the fishery. It is estimated to impact approximately 37 vessels and represents a landing value of approximately $2,210 per vessel for a total cost of $82,869. This estimate is a worse-case scenario that assumes the gear is removed rather than relocated elsewhere. The number of vessels impacted was calculated from the average number of vessels fishing within the MRA Wedge during April from 2015 to 2019 according to Vessel Trip Report (VTR) data, and was adjusted based on the average percentage of Lobster Management Area 1 lobster-only vessels required to provide VTR data in Massachusetts, which is 42 percent. Landing values were similarly averaged for April using landing pounds from VTR data and April lobster prices in Massachusetts from dealer reports.

The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this emergency rule is consistent with the Plan, with the emergency rulemaking authority under section 118(g) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and with other applicable laws. Further evaluation of this authority and environmental impacts can be found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alwtrp. This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866.

This emergency final rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility Act because the rule will not include prior notice or an opportunity for public comment.

This emergency final rule contains no information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries finds prior notice and public comment is not required because it would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest. Right whale monthly distribution data identifies risk in unrestricted waters encapsulated on three sides by the expanded Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA) during the month of April. The 2021 expansion of the geographic extent of the MRA to include Massachusetts State waters north to the New Hampshire border (MRA Expansion, Figure 1) mirrors the Massachusetts 2021 modification of the State water closure (322 CMR 12.04(2)). With the implementation of the MRA Expansion, approximately 200 square miles (518 square km) of Federal waters remain open to trap/pot fishing between State and Federal closures creating a wedge where 2021 data indicates that trap/pot gear is concentrated during the closure period (MRA Wedge, Figure 2). During aerial surveys in April 2021, the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) observed right whales within this wedge alongside the presence of aggregated fishing gear (Figure 2). The gear in this area is thought to be a mix of actively fished gear and staged gear that is placed in preparation for Federal waters within the MRA to open in May. In addition, during April fishermen anticipating the May 1 opening of Federal waters of the MRA may start bringing gear offshore to prepare to move into the MRA. This, in addition to the gear from fishermen already actively fishing outside of the buoy line closure area, could increase gear density in the area. Finally, weak insertion requirements that reduce risk of serious entanglements, included in the 2021 final rule, will not yet be required in Federal waters until May 1, 2022. Given the dense concentration of high-strength vertical lines in an area with persistent right whale presence, this wedge area presents an imminent entanglement threat.

In summary, this emergency action is necessary to prevent risk to right whales in an area of elevated risk in Massachusetts Bay in April 2022. Providing prior notice through proposed rulemaking and public comment period in the normal rulemaking process would be counter to public interest by delaying implementation of emergency measures intended to provide relief for this time sensitive management problem. For the reasons outlined above, NMFS finds it impracticable and contrary to the public interest to provide prior notice and public comment on these emergency measures.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 229 is amended as follows:

The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish in the Gulf includes king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and cobia, and is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. NMFS implements the FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622. All weights for the Gulf migratory group of king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) apply as either round or gutted weight.

The commercial fishery for Gulf king mackerel is divided into western, northern, and southern zones. The southern zone for Gulf king mackerel encompasses an area of the Gulf EEZ off Collier and Monroe Counties in south Florida, which is the EEZ south of a line extending due west from the boundary of Lee and Collier Counties on the Florida west coast, and south of a line extending due east from the boundary of Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties on the Florida east coast (50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(iii)).

The commercial ACL for Gulf king mackerel is divided into separate ACLs for hook-and-line and run-around gillnet gear. The use of run-around gillnets for king mackerel is restricted to the Gulf southern zone. The commercial gillnet quota (equivalent to the commercial gillnet ACL) for Gulf king mackerel is normally 575,400 lb (260,997 kg) and the current fishing year is from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022 (50 CFR 622.384(b)(1)(iii)(B)). However, on October 5, 2021, NMFS published a temporary rule in the Federal Register to reduce the commercial gillnet ACL for the 2021-2022 fishing year (86 FR 54871, October 5, 2021). NMFS determined that landings in the 2020-2021 fishing year of king mackerel harvested by run-around gillnet gear exceeded the commercial quota of 575,400 lb (260,997 kg) by 11,920 lb (5,407 kg). The AM specified in 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1)(iii) states if commercial landings of king mackerel caught by run-around gillnet gear exceed the ACL, then NMFS will reduce the commercial gillnet ACL in the following fishing year by the amount of the ACL overage. Therefore, NMFS reduced the 2021-2022 commercial gillnet ACL to 563,480 lb (255,590 kg) for the 2021-2022 fishing year.

Further, regulations at 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1) require NMFS to close any component of the king mackerel commercial sector when its applicable quota has been reached, or is projected to be reached, by filing a notification to that effect with the Office of the Federal Register. NMFS has determined that for the 2021-2022 fishing year, landings have reached the commercial quota for Gulf king mackerel on vessels using run-around gillnet gear in the southern zone. Accordingly, commercial fishing using such gear in the southern zone is closed at 12 p.m. local time on March 2, 2022. The next fishing season begins at 6 a.m. local time on January 17, 2023, i.e., the day after the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal holiday. Vessel operators that have been issued a Federal commercial permit to harvest Gulf king mackerel using run-around gillnet gear in the southern zone must have landed ashore and bartered, traded, or sold such king mackerel prior to 12 p.m. local time on March 2, 2022.

Persons on a vessel using hook-and-line gear in the southern zone for which a Federal commercial permit for Gulf king mackerel has been issued, except persons on such a vessel also issued a Federal commercial permit to harvest Gulf king mackerel using run-around gillnet gear, may fish for or retain Gulf king mackerel unless the southern zone commercial quota for hook-and-line gear has been met and the hook-and-line component of the commercial sector has been closed. In addition, as long as the recreational sector for Gulf king mackerel is open (50 CFR 622.384(e)(1)), a person on a vessel that has a valid Federal commercial gillnet permit for king mackerel may continue to retain king mackerel under the recreational bag and possession limits set forth in 50 CFR 622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2).

During the commercial closure, Gulf king mackerel harvested using run-around gillnet gear in the southern zone may not be purchased or sold. This prohibition does not apply to Gulf king mackerel harvested using run-around gillnet gear in the southern zone that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor (50 CFR 622.384(e)(2)).

NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice and comment is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such procedure is unnecessary because the regulations associated with the commercial quota and associated AM for Gulf king mackerel have already been subject to notice and public comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the closure. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on this action is contrary to the public interest because of the need to immediately implement the closure to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource. The capacity of the commercial fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the commercial quota, and any delay in the closure could result in the commercial quota being exceeded. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment would require time and would potentially result in a harvest that exceeds the commercial quota.

For the previously stated reasons, there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness of this action.

On June 11, 2020, NMFS published a final rule on vessel movement, monitoring, and declaration management that revised reporting and monitoring provisions for vessels participating in the Pacific coast groundfish fishery (85 FR 35594). The rule increased the vessel position frequency to improve NMFS's ability to enforce fishing activity around restricted areas. The rule required an increase in the position transmission rate from once every 60 minutes to once every 15 minutes for groundfish vessels using NMFS type-approved VMS units. This increase in frequency produces more course, location, and speed data to improve NMFS's ability to identify whether vessels are continuously transiting in restricted areas or not. The Council discussed and recommended an exemption to the increased transmission rate for vessels fishing in the pink shrimp trawl fishery because this fishery is not subject to restrictions against trawling in Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) and because the Council and NMFS Office of Law Enforcement did not have concerns with enforcing pink shrimp trawling restrictions in Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Conservation Areas. However, the exemption for pink shrimp trawl vessels was inadvertently not included in the original proposed or final rule. This final rule adds the exemption to the increased ping rate for pink shrimp trawl vessels, corrects a citation error in the midwater trawl exemption at 50 CFR 660.14(d)(3)(ii)(B), and corrects a typographical error in the prohibitions section of the trawl fishery regulations at 50 CFR 660.112(b)(1)(x).

Between September 2014 and April 2016, the Council developed and considered management measures to address a range of vessel and gear movement issues and aggregated these issues under a single vessel movement monitoring agenda item. Additional details about the Council's considerations are included in the Council's analytical document (see ADDRESSES ). The Council's public scoping document includes several references to making an exemption for the increase in ping rate for pink shrimp trawl vessels, specifically in Section 1.5.6.

During the development of the management measures for the Vessel Movement and Monitoring Rule finalized in 2020, the Council noted that the pink shrimp fishery was required to maintain a VMS unit at a ping rate of one per hour. This ping rate is sufficient to allow enforcement of the closed EFH Conservation Areas that vessels in this fishery are subject to. The Council considered that there are no restrictions for the pink shrimp trawl fishery from fishing in RCAs and that a vessel is required to declare the type of gear being used for each trip, which verifies its authorization to fish in the RCA. Therefore, the Council decided that additional monitoring for vessels participating in the pink shrimp trawl fishery is not necessary.

This section discusses the regulatory revisions that will carry out the Council's recommendation. The regulatory changes in this final rule are identical to the regulatory changes specified in the proposed rule published on October 26, 2021 (86 FR 59109).

This final rule:

• Restores the position transmission rate requirement of once every 60 minutes for vessels participating in the pink shrimp trawl fishery;

• Corrects a citation in the ping rate exemption for midwater trawl fishing vessels at 50 CFR 660.14(d)(3)(ii)(B); and

• Corrects a typographical error in the prohibitions section of the trawl fishery regulations at 50 CFR 660.112(b)(1)(x).

These revisions relieve vessels participating in the pink shrimp fishery from the added burden of more frequent position transmissions, consistent with the Council's recommendation and clarify a cross-citation from the previous rulemaking on this issue.

NMFS received one comment letter during the comment period for the proposed rule. The comment letter came from Oceana, an environmental organization, and can be viewed along with the proposed rule and supporting documents for this action at www.regulations.gov. Following are the specific comments in the comment letter, along with the response to each:

Comment 1: Oceana opposed the rule based on the statement in the proposed rule that pink shrimp trawlers do not have restrictions on where they can trawl.

Response: NMFS clarifies that pink shrimp trawlers do have restrictions on where they can trawl, including EFH Conservation Areas, as well as state conservation areas. NMFS does not enforce state regulations within state waters, including trawling within a state conservation area, though NMFS would refer observed violations to the appropriate agency. NMFS does enforce the appropriate federal regulations, including VMS carriage and declaration requirements. However, as the proposed rule stated, pink shrimp trawlers do not have restrictions against trawling in RCAs, the largest of the groundfish closed areas. The Council decision documents establishing the Alternatives for the Vessel Movement and Monitoring Rule from November 14-15, 2015, and the decision document for the Final Action on Regulations for Vessel Movement Monitoring (VMM) from April 9-14, 2016, include an exemption for pink shrimp trawl vessels from the increased VMS ping rate because the Council determined that the higher ping rates were not necessary for enforcing the EFH Conservation Area closures for pink shrimp vessels, and because vessels in this sector are not held to the scale of closed areas that other vessels in Federal fisheries off the West Coast are held to.

Comment 2: Oceana contends that the higher ping rate is necessary to enforce pink shrimp trawling restrictions in EFH Conservation Areas and state conservation areas.

Response: The Council recommended, and NMFS agrees, that the higher ping rate is not necessary to enforce pink shrimp trawl restrictions in EFH Conservation Areas. NMFS found no history of concern with enforcement of trawling by pink shrimp vessels in EFH Conservation Areas or state conservation areas. While NMFS may refer violations observed in state conservation areas to the appropriate agency, the Federal requirements for VMS and declarations are not used to enforce trawling in state conservation areas.

Comment 3: Oceana commented that NMFS should expand its use of enhanced electronic monitoring systems, including gear sensors that can indicate when fishing activity is occurring and Global Positioning Satellites units that can make detailed and accurate records of vessel positions.

Response: NMFS encourages all fishery stakeholders, including the Fishery Management Councils, to consider implementing electronic technology (ET) options where appropriate to meet science, management, and data needs. NMFS released a national Policy on Electronic Technologies and Fishery-dependent Data Collection in 2013 to provide guidance on the implementation of ET solutions and in fisheries. An updated policy was released in May 2019. In 2015, NMFS implemented regional ET implementation plans informed by a series of national-level planning documents. These plans were created to help move beyond pilot projects by identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing implementation of promising ET in specific fisheries around the country. We recently updated these plans, highlighting the lessons learned from the last four years and looking forward to 2024.

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is consistent with the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. In making the final determination, NMFS considered the data, views, and comments received during the public comment period.

The Office of Management and Budget has determined that this final rule is not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866. As this rule is correcting an oversight in an earlier rule and would result in no change to the status quo for regulated entities, there are not expected to be any economic or regulatory impacts on these entities.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not required and none was prepared.

This final rule contains no information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended as follows:

NMFS manages the GOA groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone of the GOA under the FMP. The Council prepared the FMP under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600, 679, and 680.

The FMP and its implementing regulations require that NMFS, after consultation with the Council, specify the total allowable catch (TAC) for each target species, the sum of which must be within the optimum yield (OY) range of 116,000 to 800,000 metric tons (mt) (50 CFR 679.20(a)(1)(i)(B)). Section 679.20(c)(1) further requires that NMFS publish and solicit public comment on proposed annual TACs and apportionments thereof, Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits, and seasonal allowances of pollock and Pacific cod. Upon consideration of public comment received under § 679.20(c)(1), NMFS must publish notice of final harvest specifications for up to two fishing years as annual TACs and apportionments, Pacific halibut PSC limits, and seasonal allowances of pollock and Pacific cod, per § 679.20(c)(3)(ii). The final harvest specifications set forth in Tables 1 through 29 of this rule reflect the outcome of this process, as required at § 679.20(c).

The proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications for groundfish of the GOA and Pacific halibut PSC limits were published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2021 (86 FR 68982). Comments were invited and accepted through January 5, 2022. NMFS did not receive any comments on the proposed harvest specifications. In December 2021, NMFS consulted with the Council regarding the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications. After considering public comment at public meetings, as well as biological and socioeconomic data that were available at the Council's December 2021 meeting, NMFS is implementing the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, as recommended by the Council. For 2022, the sum of the TAC amounts is 448,118 mt. For 2023, the sum of the TAC amounts is 443,615 mt.

In December 2021, the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), its Advisory Panel (AP), and the Council reviewed the most recent biological and harvest information about the condition of the GOA groundfish stocks. The Council's GOA Groundfish Plan Team (Plan Team) compiled and presented this information in the 2021 SAFE report for the GOA groundfish fisheries, dated November 2021 (see ADDRESSES ). The SAFE report contains a review of the latest scientific analyses and estimates of each species' biomass and other biological parameters, as well as summaries of the available information on the GOA ecosystem and the economic condition of the groundfish fisheries off Alaska. From these data and analyses, the Plan Team recommends, and the SSC sets, an overfishing level (OFL) and ABC for each species or species group. The 2021 SAFE report was made available for public review during the public comment period for the proposed harvest specifications.

In previous years, the greatest changes from the proposed to the final harvest specifications have been based on recent NMFS stock surveys, which provide updated estimates of stock biomass and spatial distribution, and changes to the models used for producing stock assessments. At the November 2021 Plan Team meeting, NMFS scientists presented updated and new survey results, changes to stock assessment models, and accompanying stock assessment estimates for groundfish species and species groups that are included in the 2021 SAFE report per the stock assessment schedule found in the 2021 SAFE report introduction. The SSC reviewed this information at the December 2021 Council meeting. Changes from the proposed to the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications are discussed below.

The final 2022 and 2023 OFLs and ABCs are based on the best available biological information, including projected biomass trends, information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and revised methods used to calculate stock biomass, and the final 2022 and 2023 TACs are based on the best available biological and socioeconomic information. The FMP specifies the formulas, or tiers, to be used to compute OFLs and ABCs. The formulas applicable to a particular stock or stock complex are determined by the level of reliable information available to fisheries scientists. This information is categorized into a successive series of six tiers to define OFL and ABC amounts, with Tier 1 representing the highest level of information quality available and Tier 6 representing the lowest level of information quality available. The Plan Team used the FMP tier structure to calculate OFL and ABC amounts for each groundfish species. The SSC adopted the final 2022 and 2023 OFLs and ABCs recommended by the Plan Team for most groundfish species, with the exception of Pacific cod and demersal shelf rockfish.

For Pacific cod, the SSC did not accept the Plan Team's recommended model for the 2021 stock assessment. The Plan Team recommended the 2021 stock assessment use a model that incorporated additional complexity over the model used in the 2020 stock assessment. However, the SSC recommended continuing to use the model that was used for the 2020 Pacific cod stock assessment (model 19.1), which resulted in higher Pacific cod 2022 and 2023 ABCs than those that resulted from the Plan Team's recommended model. The SSC concluded that the additional complexity included in the Plan Team's recommended model is premature at this time without further explanation and exploration of the individual changes incorporated into it. Each change should be supported with a sufficient rationale and an assessment of model improvements.

For demersal shelf rockfish, the SSC did not agree with the methodology used in the stock assessment for estimating the biomass for the demersal shelf rockfish complex. The SSC recommended that the assessment incorporate more standard methodology for estimating biomass, which resulted in higher 2022 and 2023 ABCs than recommended by the Plan Team.

The Council adopted the SSC's OFLs and ABCs and the AP's TAC recommendations. The final TAC recommendations are based on the ABCs and are adjusted for other biological and socioeconomic considerations, including maintaining the sum of all TACs within the required OY range of 116,000 to 800,000 mt.

The Council recommended 2022 and 2023 TACs that are equal to ABCs for pollock in the Southeast Outside (SEO) District, sablefish, shallow-water flatfish in the Central GOA and the West Yakutat and SEO Districts, deep-water flatfish, rex sole, arrowtooth flounder in the Central GOA and the West Yakutat District, flathead sole in the West Yakutat and SEO Districts, Pacific ocean perch (a rockfish species), northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, dusky rockfish, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, demersal shelf rockfish, thornyhead rockfish, “other rockfish” in the Western/Central GOA and West Yakutat District, big skate, longnose skate, other skates, sharks, and octopuses in the GOA. The Council recommended TACs for 2022 and 2023 that are less than the ABCs for pollock for the combined Western and Central GOA and West Yakutat District area, Pacific cod, shallow-water flatfish in the Western GOA, arrowtooth flounder in the Western GOA and the SEO District, flathead sole in the Western and Central GOA, Atka mackerel, and “other rockfish” in the SEO District.

The combined Western, Central, and West Yakutat pollock TAC and the GOA Pacific cod TACs are set to accommodate the State of Alaska's (State's) guideline harvest levels (GHLs) so that the ABCs for pollock and Pacific cod are not exceeded. The Western GOA shallow-water flatfish, Western GOA arrowtooth flounder, and Western GOA flathead sole TACs are set to allow for increased harvest opportunities for these target species while conserving the halibut PSC limit for use in other, more fully utilized fisheries. Similarly, the SEO District arrowtooth flounder TAC and the Central GOA flathead sole TAC are set lower than ABC to conserve halibut PSC limit for use in other fisheries or because there is limited commercial interest and participation in these fisheries. The Atka mackerel TAC is set to accommodate incidental catch amounts in other fisheries. The “other rockfish” TAC in the SEO District is set to reduce the amount of discards of the species in that complex.

The final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications approved by the Secretary of Commerce are unchanged from those recommended by the Council, and are consistent with the preferred harvest strategy alternative outlined in the FMP and EIS (see ADDRESSES ).

NMFS finds that the Council's recommended OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are consistent with the biological condition of the groundfish stocks as described in the final 2021 SAFE report. NMFS also finds that the Council's recommendations for TACs are consistent with the biological condition of groundfish stocks as adjusted for other biological and socioeconomic considerations, including maintaining the sum of all TACs within the OY range. NMFS reviewed the Council's recommended TACs and apportionments, and NMFS approves these harvest specifications under 50 CFR 679.20(c)(3)(ii). The apportionment of TAC amounts among gear types and sectors, processing sectors, and seasons is discussed below.

Tables 1 and 2 list the final 2022 and 2023 OFLs, ABCs, TACs, and area apportionments of groundfish in the GOA. The 2022 harvest specifications set in this final action supersede the 2022 harvest specifications previously set in the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021). The 2023 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2023 when the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications are published. Pursuant to this final action, the 2022 harvest specifications therefore will apply for the remainder of the current year (2022), while the 2023 harvest specifications are projected only for the following year (2023) and will be superseded in early 2023 by the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications. Because this final action (published in early 2022) will be superseded in early 2023 by the publication of the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, it is projected that this final action will implement the harvest specifications for the Gulf of Alaska for approximately one year.

NMFS's apportionment of groundfish species is based on the distribution of biomass among the regulatory areas over which NMFS manages the species. Additional regulations govern the apportionment of pollock, Pacific cod, and sablefish and are described below.

The ABC for the pollock stock in the combined Western and Central Regulatory Areas and the West Yakutat (WYK) District of the Eastern Regulatory Area (the W/C/WYK) includes the amount for the GHL established by the State for the Prince William Sound (PWS) pollock fishery. The Plan Team, SSC, AP, and Council have recommended that the sum of all State water and Federal water pollock removals from the GOA not exceed ABC recommendations. For 2022 and 2023, the SSC recommended and the Council approved the W/C/WYK pollock ABC, including the amount to account for the State's PWS GHL. At the November 2021 Plan Team meeting, State fisheries managers recommended setting the PWS pollock GHL at 2.5 percent of the annual W/C/WYK pollock ABC. For 2022, this yields a PWS pollock GHL of 3,327 mt, an increase of 684 mt from the 2021 PWS pollock GHL of 2,643 mt. For 2023, the PWS pollock GHL is 3,298 mt, an increase of 655 mt from the 2021 PWS pollock GHL of 2,643 mt. After the GHL reductions, the 2022 and 2023 pollock ABCs for the combined W/C/WYK areas are then apportioned between four statistical areas (Areas 610, 620, 630, and 640) as both ABCs and TACs, as described below and detailed in Tables 1 and 2. The total ABCs and TACs for the four statistical areas, plus the State PWS GHL, do not exceed the combined W/C/WYK ABC.

Apportionments of pollock to the W/C/WYK areas are considered to be “apportionments of annual catch limits (ACLs)” rather than “ABCs.” This more accurately reflects that such apportionments address management, rather than biological or conservation, concerns. In addition, apportionments of the ACL in this manner allow NMFS to balance any transfer of TAC among Areas 610, 620, and 630 pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B) to ensure that the combined W/C/WYK ACL, ABC, and TAC are not exceeded.

NMFS establishes pollock TACs in the Western (Area 610) and Central (Areas 620 and 630) Regulatory Areas and the West Yakutat (Area 640) and the SEO (Area 650) Districts of the GOA (see Tables 1 and 2). NMFS also establishes seasonal apportionments of the annual pollock TACs in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA among Statistical Areas 610, 620, and 630. Additional detail on area apportionments and seasonal allowances is provided in a subsequent section in this rule, titled “Apportionments of Pollock TAC Among Seasons and Regulatory Areas, and Allocations for Processing by Inshore and Offshore Components;” Tables 3 and 4 list these amounts.

The 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs are set to accommodate the State's GHLs for Pacific cod in State waters in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas, as well as in PWS. The Plan Team, SSC, AP, and Council recommended that the sum of all State water and Federal water Pacific cod removals from the GOA not exceed ABC recommendations. The Council set the 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs in the Western, Central, and Eastern Regulatory Areas to account for State GHLs. Therefore, the 2022 Pacific cod TACs are less than the ABCs by the following amounts: (1) Western GOA, 2,983 mt; (2) Central GOA, 4,938 mt; and (3) Eastern GOA, 779 mt. The 2023 Pacific cod TACs are less than the ABCs by the following amounts: (1) Western GOA, 2,610 mt; (2) Central GOA, 4,321 mt; and (3) Eastern GOA, 682 mt. These amounts reflect the State's 2022 and 2023 GHLs in these areas, which are 30 percent of the Western GOA ABC and 25 percent of the Eastern and Central GOA ABCs.

The Western and Central GOA Pacific cod TACs are allocated among various gear and operational sectors. NMFS also establishes seasonal apportionments of the annual Pacific cod TACs in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas. The Pacific cod sector and seasonal apportionments are discussed in detail in a subsequent section, titled “Annual and Seasonal Apportionments of Pacific Cod TAC,” and in Tables 5 and 6 of this rule.

The Council's recommendation for sablefish area apportionments takes into account the prohibition on the use of trawl gear in the SEO District of the Eastern Regulatory Area (§ 679.7(b)(1)) and makes available 5 percent of the combined Eastern Regulatory Area TACs to vessels using trawl gear for use as incidental catch in other trawl groundfish fisheries in the WYK District (§ 679.20(a)(4)(i)). Tables 7 and 8 list the final 2022 and 2023 allocations of sablefish TAC to fixed gear and trawl gear in the GOA.

In October 2021, the Council's recommendations for the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (86 FR 68982, December 6, 2021) were based largely on information contained in the final 2020 SAFE report for the GOA groundfish fisheries, dated November 2020. The final 2020 SAFE report for the GOA is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES ). The Council proposed that the final OFLs, ABCs, and TACs established for the 2022 groundfish fisheries (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021) be used for the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (86 FR 68982, December 6, 2021), pending completion and review of the 2021 SAFE report at the Council's December 2021 meeting.

As described previously, the SSC recommended the final 2022 and 2023 OFLs and ABCs as recommended by the Plan Team, with the exception of the Pacific cod and demersal shelf rockfish OFLs and ABCs. The Council adopted as its recommendations the SSC's OFL and ABC recommendations and the AP's TAC recommendations for 2022 and 2023.

The final 2022 ABCs are higher than the proposed 2022 ABCs published in the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (86 FR 68982, December 6, 2021) for pollock, rex sole, flathead sole, Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, dusky rockfish, demersal shelf rockfish, longnose skate, and other skates. The final 2022 ABCs are lower than the proposed 2022 ABCs for Pacific cod, sablefish, shallow-water flatfish, deep-water flatfish, arrowtooth flounder, shortraker rockfish, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, and big skate.

The final 2023 ABCs are higher than the proposed 2023 ABCs for pollock, rex sole, flathead sole, Pacific ocean perch, demersal shelf rockfish, longnose skate, and other skates. The final 2023 ABCs are lower than the proposed 2023 ABCs for Pacific cod, sablefish, shallow-water flatfish, deep-water flatfish, arrowtooth flounder, northern rockfish, shortraker rockfish, dusky rockfish, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, and big skate. For the remaining target species (thornyhead rockfish, other rockfish, Atka mackerel, sharks, and octopuses), the Council recommended the final 2022 and 2023 ABCs that are the same as the proposed 2022 and 2023 ABCs.

Additional information explaining the changes between the proposed and final ABCs is included in the final 2021 SAFE report, which was not completed and available when the Council made its proposed ABC and TAC recommendations in October 2021. At that time, the most recent stock assessment information was contained in the final 2020 SAFE report. The final 2021 SAFE report contains the best and most recent scientific information on the condition of the groundfish stocks, as previously discussed in this preamble, and is available for review (see ADDRESSES ). The Council considered the 2021 SAFE report in December 2021 when it made recommendations for the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications. In the GOA, the total final 2022 TAC amount is 448,118 mt, an increase of 9.6 percent from the total proposed 2022 TAC amount of 409,039 mt. The total final 2023 TAC amount is 443,615 mt, an increase of 8.5 percent from the total proposed 2023 TAC amount of 409,039 mt. Table 1a summarizes the difference between the proposed and final TACs.

Annual stock assessments incorporate a variety of new or revised inputs, such as survey data or catch information, as well as changes to the statistical models used to estimate a species' biomass and population trend. Changes to biomass and ABC estimates are primarily based on fishery catch updates to species' assessment models. Some species, such as pollock and sablefish, have additional surveys conducted on an annual basis, which resulted in additional data being available for the 2021 assessments for these stocks.

The changes for individual species or species groups from the proposed 2022 TACs to the final 2022 TACs are within a range of plus 42 percent or minus 35 percent, and the changes from the proposed 2023 TACs to the final 2023 TACs are within a range of plus 42 percent or minus 36 percent. Based on changes in the estimates of overall biomass in the stock assessment for 2022 and 2023, as compared to the estimates previously made for 2021 and 2022, the species or species group with the greatest TAC percentage increases are pollock, rex sole, Pacific ocean perch, demersal shelf rockfish, and other skates. Based on changes in the estimates of biomass, the species or species group with the greatest TAC percentage decreases are Pacific cod, sablefish, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, and big skate. For all other species and species groups, changes from the proposed 2022 TACs to the final 2022 TACs and changes from the proposed 2023 TACs to the final 2023 TACs are less than a 10 percent change (either increase or decrease). These TAC changes correspond to associated changes in the ABCs and TACs, as recommended by the SSC, AP, and Council.

Detailed information providing the basis for the changes described above is contained in the final 2021 SAFE report. The final TACs are based on the best scientific information available, including biological and socioeconomic information. These TACs are specified in compliance with the harvest strategy described in the proposed and final rules for the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications.

The final 2022 and 2023 TAC amounts for the GOA are within the OY range established for the GOA and do not exceed the ABC for any species or species group. Tables 1 and 2 list the final OFL, ABC, and TAC amounts for GOA groundfish for 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Section 679.20(b)(2) requires NMFS to set aside 20 percent of each TAC for pollock, Pacific cod, flatfish, sharks, and octopuses in reserve for possible apportionment at a later date during the fishing year. For 2022 and 2023, NMFS proposed reapportionment of all the reserves in the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2021 (86 FR 68982). NMFS did not receive any public comments on the proposed reapportionments. For the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, NMFS reapportions, as proposed, all the reserves for pollock, Pacific cod, flatfish, sharks, and octopuses back to the original TAC limit from which the reserve was derived (§ 679.20(b)(3)). This is being done because NMFS expects, based on recent harvest patterns, that such reserves are not necessary or that the entire TAC for each of these species will be caught. The TACs listed in Tables 1 and 2 reflect reapportionments of reserve amounts to the original TAC limit for these species and species groups, i.e., each final TAC for the above mentioned species or species groups contains the full TAC recommended by the Council.

In the GOA, pollock is apportioned by season and area, and is further allocated for processing by inshore and offshore components. The pollock TACs in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA are apportioned among Statistical Areas 610, 620, and 630. These apportionments are divided into two equal seasonal allowances of 50 percent to the A season (January 20 through May 31) and 50 percent to the B season (September 1 through November 1) (§§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B) and 679.23(d)(2)).

Regulatory changes that were effective in 2021 revised the number of GOA pollock seasons to two seasons from four seasons (85 FR 38093, June 25, 2020). The GOA pollock stock assessment continues to use a four-season methodology to determine pollock distribution in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA to maintain continuity in the historical pollock apportionment time-series. Pollock TACs in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA are apportioned among Statistical Areas 610, 620, and 630 in proportion to the distribution of pollock biomass determined by the most recent NMFS surveys, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(A). The pollock chapter of the 2021 SAFE report (see ADDRESSES ) contains a comprehensive description of the apportionment and reasons for the minor changes from past apportionments. For purposes of specifying pollock TAC between two seasons for the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA, NMFS has summed the A and B season apportionments and the C and D season apportionments as calculated in the 2021 GOA pollock assessment. This yields the seasonal amounts specified for the A season and the B season, respectively.

Within any fishing year, the amount by which a pollock seasonal allowance is underharvested or overharvested may be added to, or subtracted from, subsequent seasonal allowances for the Western and Central Regulatory Areas in a manner to be determined by the Regional Administrator (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B)). The rollover amount is limited to 20 percent of the subsequent seasonal TAC apportionment for the statistical area. Any unharvested pollock above the 20-percent limit could be further distributed to the other statistical areas, in proportion to the estimated biomass in the subsequent season in those statistical areas and in an amount no more than 20 percent of the seasonal TAC apportionment in those statistical areas (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B)). The pollock TACs in the WYK and the SEO Districts of 6,722 mt and 11,363 mt, respectively, in 2022, and 6,663 mt and 11,363 mt, respectively, in 2023, are not allocated by season.

Tables 3 and 4 list the final 2022 and 2023 seasonal biomass distribution of pollock in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas, area apportionments, and seasonal allowances. The amounts of pollock for processing by the inshore and offshore components are not shown. Section 679.20(a)(6)(i) requires the allocation of 100 percent of the pollock TAC in all GOA regulatory areas and all seasonal allowances to vessels catching pollock for processing by the inshore component after subtraction of pollock amounts projected by the Regional Administrator to be caught by, or delivered to, the offshore component incidental to directed fishing for other groundfish species. Thus, the amount of pollock available for harvest by vessels harvesting pollock for processing by the offshore component is that amount that will be taken as incidental catch during directed fishing for groundfish species other than pollock, up to the maximum retainable amounts allowed by § 679.20(e) and (f). At this time, these incidental catch amounts of pollock are unknown and will be determined during the fishing year during the course of fishing activities by the offshore component.

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(12)(i), NMFS seasonally allocates the 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA among gear and operational sectors. In the Western and Central Regulatory Areas, a portion of the annual TAC is apportioned to the A season for hook-and-line, pot, and jig gear from January 1 through June 10, and for trawl gear from January 20 through June 10, and a portion of the annual TAC is apportioned to the B season for jig gear from June 10 through December 31, for hook-and-line and pot gear from September 1 through December 31, and for trawl gear from September 1 through November 1 (§§ 679.20(a)(12) and 679.23(d)(3)). NMFS also allocates the Pacific cod TACs annually between the inshore (90 percent) and offshore (10 percent) components in the Eastern Regulatory Area of the GOA (§ 679.20(a)(6)(ii)).

In the Central GOA, the Pacific cod TAC is apportioned seasonally first to vessels using jig gear, and then among catcher vessels (CVs) less than 50 feet in length overall using hook-and-line gear, CVs equal to or greater than 50 feet in length overall using hook-and-line gear, catcher/processors (CPs) using hook-and-line gear, CVs using trawl gear, CPs using trawl gear, and vessels using pot gear (§ 679.20(a)(12)(i)(B)). In the Western GOA, the Pacific cod TAC is apportioned seasonally first to vessels using jig gear, and then among CVs using hook-and-line gear, CPs using hook-and-line gear, CVs using trawl gear, CPs using trawl gear, and vessels using pot gear (§ 679.20(a)(12)(i)(A)). Excluding seasonal apportionments to the jig sector, NMFS seasonally apportions the remainder of the annual Pacific cod TACs in the Western GOA as 63.84 percent to the A season and 36.16 percent to the B season, and in the Central GOA as 64.16 percent to the A season and 35.84 percent to the B season.

Under § 679.20(a)(12)(ii), any overage or underage of the Pacific cod season allowance from the A season may be subtracted from, or added to, the subsequent B season allowance. In addition, any portion of the hook-and-line, trawl, pot, or jig sector allocations that is determined by NMFS as likely to go unharvested by a sector may be reallocated to other sectors for harvest during the remainder of the fishery year.

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(12)(i)(A) and (B), a portion of the annual Pacific cod TACs in the Western and Central GOA will be allocated to vessels with a Federal fisheries permit that use jig gear before the TACs are apportioned among other non-jig sectors. In accordance with the FMP, the annual jig sector allocations may increase to up to 6 percent of the annual Western and Central GOA Pacific cod TACs, depending on the annual performance of the jig sector (see Table 1 of the rulemaking to implement Amendment 83 to the FMP for a detailed discussion of the jig sector allocation process (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011)). Jig sector allocation increases are established for a minimum of two years.

NMFS has evaluated the historical harvest performance of the jig sector in the Western and Central GOA, and is establishing the 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod apportionments to this sector based on its historical harvest performance through 2021. NMFS did not evaluate the 2020 performance of the jig sectors in the Western and Central GOA; since NMFS prohibited directed fishing for all Pacific cod sectors in 2020, the catch for the jig sectors could not reach 90 percent of the annual allocation that is required for a performance increase in the following year's allocation (86 FR 68982, December 6, 2021; 84 FR 70438, December 23, 2019). For 2022 and 2023, NMFS allocates the jig sector 3.5 percent of the annual Pacific cod TAC in the Western GOA. The 2022 and 2023 allocations consist of a base allocation of 1.5 percent of the Western GOA Pacific cod TAC, and prior additional performance increases of 2.0 percent. For 2022 and 2023, NMFS allocates the jig sector 1.0 percent of the annual Pacific cod TAC in the Central GOA. The 2022 and 2023 allocations consist of a base allocation of 1.0 percent of the Central GOA Pacific cod TAC, and no additional performance increase in the Central GOA.

For 2022 and 2023, NMFS is apportioning the jig sector allocations for the Western and Central GOA between the A season (60 percent) and the B season (40 percent), pursuant to § 679.20(a)(12)(i). This is the same jig sector seasonal apportionments implemented in prior groundfish harvest specifications for the GOA and is consistent with Amendment 83 to the FMP (76 FR 44700, July 26, 2011).

Tables 5 And 6 list the seasonal apportionments and allocation of the 2022 and 2023 Pacific Catch TACs.

Section 679.20(a)(4)(i) and (ii) require allocations of sablefish TACs for each of the regulatory areas and districts to fixed and trawl gear. In the Western and Central Regulatory Areas, 80 percent of each TAC is allocated to fixed gear, and 20 percent of each TAC is allocated to trawl gear. In the Eastern Regulatory Area, 95 percent of the TAC is allocated to fixed gear, and 5 percent is allocated to trawl gear. The trawl gear allocation in the Eastern Regulatory Area may only be used to support incidental catch of sablefish using trawl gear while directed fishing for other target species (§ 679.20(a)(4)(i)).

In recognition of the prohibition against trawl gear in the SEO District of the Eastern Regulatory Area, the Council recommended and NMFS approves specifying for incidental catch the allocation of 5 percent of the combined Eastern Regulatory Area sablefish TAC to trawl gear in the WYK District of the Eastern Regulatory Area. The remainder of the WYK District sablefish TAC is allocated to vessels using fixed gear. NMFS allocates 100 percent of the sablefish TAC in the SEO District to vessels using fixed gear. This action results in 2022 allocations of 455 mt to trawl gear and 2,982 mt to fixed gear in the WYK District, a 2022 allocation of 5,665 mt to fixed gear in the SEO District, and a 2023 allocation of 428 mt to trawl gear in the WYK District. Table 7 lists the allocations of the 2022 sablefish TACs to fixed and trawl gear. Table 8 lists the allocations of the 2023 sablefish TACs to trawl gear.

The Council recommended that a trawl sablefish TAC be established for two years so that retention of incidental catch of sablefish by trawl gear could commence in January in the second year of the groundfish harvest specifications. Both the 2022 and 2023 trawl allocations are specified in these final harvest specifications, in Tables 7 and 8, respectively.

The Council also recommended that the fixed gear sablefish TAC be established annually to ensure that this Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fishery is conducted concurrently with the halibut IFQ fishery and is based on the most recent survey information. Since there is an annual assessment for sablefish and since the final harvest specifications are expected to be published before the IFQ season begins in March 2022, the Council recommended that the fixed gear sablefish TAC be set annually, rather than for two years, so that the best scientific information available could be considered in establishing the sablefish TACs. Accordingly, Table 7 lists the 2022 fixed gear allocations, and the 2023 fixed gear allocations will be specified in the 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications.

With the exception of the trawl allocations that are provided to the Rockfish Program (see Table 28c to 50 CFR part 679), directed fishing for sablefish with trawl gear in the GOA is closed during the fishing year. Also, fishing for groundfish with trawl gear is prohibited prior to January 20 (§ 679.23(c)). Therefore, it is not likely that the sablefish allocation to trawl gear would be reached before the effective date of these final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications.

These final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications for the GOA include the fishery cooperative allocations and sideboard limitations established by the Rockfish Program. Rockfish Program participants are primarily trawl CVs and trawl CPs, with limited participation by vessels using longline gear. The Rockfish Program assigns quota share and cooperative quota to participants for primary species (Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, and dusky rockfish) and secondary species (Pacific cod, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, sablefish, shortraker rockfish, and thornyhead rockfish), allows a participant holding a license limitation program (LLP) license with rockfish quota share to form a rockfish cooperative with other persons, and allows holders of CP LLP licenses to opt out of the fishery. The Rockfish Program also has an entry level fishery for rockfish primary species for vessels using longline gear. Longline gear includes hook-and-line, jig, troll, and handline gear.

Under the Rockfish Program, rockfish primary species in the Central GOA are allocated to participants after deducting for incidental catch needs in other directed groundfish fisheries (§ 679.81(a)(2)). Participants in the Rockfish Program also receive a portion of the Central GOA TAC of specific secondary species. In addition to groundfish species, the Rockfish Program allocates a portion of the halibut PSC limit (191 mt) from the third season deep-water species fishery allowance for the GOA trawl fisheries to Rockfish Program participants (§ 679.81(d) and Table 28d to 50 CFR part 679). The Rockfish Program also establishes sideboard limits to restrict the ability of harvesters operating under the Rockfish Program to increase their participation in other, non-Rockfish Program fisheries. These restrictions and halibut PSC limits are discussed in a subsequent section in this rule titled “Rockfish Program Groundfish Sideboard and Halibut PSC Limitations.”

Section 679.81(a)(2)(ii) and Table 28e to 50 CFR part 679 require allocations of 5 mt of Pacific ocean perch, 5 mt of northern rockfish, and 50 mt of dusky rockfish to the entry level longline fishery in 2022 and 2023. The allocations for the entry level longline fishery may increase incrementally each year if the catch exceeds 90 percent of the allocation of a species. The incremental increase in the allocation would continue each year until it reaches the maximum percent of the TAC for that species. In 2021, the catch of Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, and dusky rockfish did not attain the 90 percent threshold, and those final allocations for 2022 remain the same as the 2021 allocations. The remainder of the TACs for the rockfish primary species are allocated to the CV and CP cooperatives (§ 679.81(a)(2)(iii)). Table 9 lists the allocations of the 2022 and 2023 TACs for each rockfish primary species to the entry level longline fishery, the potential incremental increases for future years, and the maximum percent of the TACs assigned to the Rockfish Program that may be allocated to the rockfish entry level longline fishery.

Section 679.81 requires allocations of rockfish primary species among various sectors of the Rockfish Program. Tables 10 and 11 list the final 2022 and 2023 allocations of rockfish primary species in the Central GOA to the entry level longline fishery, and rockfish CV and CP cooperatives in the Rockfish Program. NMFS also is setting aside incidental catch amounts (ICAs) for other directed fisheries in the Central GOA of 2,500 mt of Pacific ocean perch, 300 mt of northern rockfish, and 250 mt of dusky rockfish. These amounts are based on recent average incidental catches of these species in the Central GOA by other groundfish fisheries.

Allocations among vessels belonging to CV or CP cooperatives are not included in these final harvest specifications. Rockfish Program applications for CV cooperatives and CP cooperatives are not due to NMFS until March 1 of each calendar year; therefore, NMFS cannot calculate 2022 and 2023 allocations in conjunction with these final harvest specifications (§ 679.81(f)). After receiving the Rockfish Program applications, NMFS will calculate the 2022 allocations for CV and CP cooperatives, as set forth in § 679.81(b), (c), and (e); NMFS will post the 2022 allocations on the Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-fisheries-management-reports#central-goa-rockfish when they become available after March 1.

Section 679.81(c) and Table 28c to 50 CFR part 679 require allocations of rockfish secondary species to CV and CP cooperatives in the Central GOA. CV cooperatives receive allocations of Pacific cod, sablefish from the trawl gear allocation, and thornyhead rockfish. CP cooperatives receive allocations of sablefish from the trawl gear allocation, rougheye and blackspotted rockfish, shortraker rockfish, and thornyhead rockfish. Tables 12 and 13 list the apportionments of the 2022 and 2023 TACs of rockfish secondary species in the Central GOA to CV and CP cooperatives.

Section 679.21(d) establishes annual halibut PSC limit apportionments to trawl gear and hook-and-line gear, and authorizes the establishment of apportionments for pot gear. In December 2021, the Council recommended halibut PSC limits of 1,706 mt for trawl gear, 257 mt for hook-and-line gear, and 9 mt for the demersal shelf (DSR) rockfish fishery in the SEO District for both 2022 and 2023, consistent with § 679.21.

The DSR fishery in the SEO District is defined at § 679.21(d)(2)(ii)(A). This fishery is apportioned 9 mt of the halibut PSC limit in recognition of its small-scale harvests of groundfish (§ 679.21(d)(2)(i)(A)). The separate halibut PSC limit for the DSR fishery is intended to prevent that fishery from being impacted from the halibut PSC incurred by other GOA fisheries. NMFS estimates low halibut bycatch in the DSR fishery because (1) the duration of the DSR fishery and the gear soak times are short, (2) the DSR fishery occurs in the winter when there is less overlap in the distribution of DSR and halibut, and (3) the directed commercial DSR fishery has a low DSR TAC. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game sets the commercial GHL for the DSR fishery after deducting estimates of DSR incidental catch in all fisheries (including halibut and subsistence) and allocation to the DSR sport fishery. In 2021, the commercial fishery for DSR was closed due to concerns about declining DSR biomass.

The FMP authorizes the Council to exempt specific gear from the halibut PSC limits. NMFS, after consultation with the Council, exempts pot gear, the sablefish IFQ fixed gear fishery categories, and jig gear from the non-trawl halibut PSC limit for 2022 and 2023. The Council recommended, and NMFS approves, these exemptions because: (1) The pot gear fisheries have low annual halibut bycatch mortality; (2) IFQ program regulations prohibit discard of halibut if any halibut IFQ permit holder on board a catcher vessel holds unused halibut IFQ for that vessel category and the IFQ regulatory area in which the vessel is operating (§ 679.7(f)(11)); (3) some sablefish IFQ fishermen hold halibut IFQ permits and are therefore required to retain the halibut they catch while fishing sablefish IFQ; and (4) NMFS estimates negligible halibut mortality for the jig gear fisheries given the small amount of groundfish harvested by jig gear, the selective nature of jig gear, and the high survival rates of halibut caught and released with jig gear.

The best available information on estimated halibut bycatch consists of data collected by fisheries observers during 2021. The calculated halibut bycatch mortality through December 31, 2021, is 360 mt for trawl gear and 68 mt for hook-and-line gear for a total halibut mortality of 428 mt. This halibut mortality was calculated using groundfish and halibut catch data from the NMFS Alaska Region's catch accounting system. This accounting system contains historical and recent catch information compiled from each Alaska groundfish fishery.

Section 679.21(d)(4)(i) and (ii) authorize NMFS to seasonally apportion the halibut PSC limits after consultation with the Council. The FMP and regulations require that the Council and NMFS consider the following information in seasonally apportioning halibut PSC limits: (1) Seasonal distribution of halibut; (2) seasonal distribution of target groundfish species relative to halibut distribution; (3) expected halibut bycatch needs on a seasonal basis relative to changes in halibut biomass and expected catch of target groundfish species; (4) expected bycatch rates on a seasonal basis; (5) expected changes in directed groundfish fishing seasons; (6) expected actual start of fishing effort; and (7) economic effects of establishing seasonal halibut allocations on segments of the target groundfish industry. The Council considered information from the 2021 SAFE report, NMFS catch data, State of Alaska catch data, International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) stock assessment and mortality data, and public testimony when apportioning the halibut PSC limits. NMFS concurs with the Council's recommendations listed in Table 14, which shows the final 2022 and 2023 Pacific halibut PSC limits, allowances, and apportionments.

Section 679.21(d)(4)(iii) and (iv) specify that any unused amounts, or overages, of a seasonal apportionment of a halibut PSC limit will be added to or deducted from the next respective seasonal apportionment within the fishing year.

Section 679.21(d)(3)(ii) authorizes further apportionment of the trawl halibut PSC limit to trawl fishery categories listed in § 679.21(d)(3)(iii). The annual apportionments are based on each category's proportional share of the anticipated halibut bycatch mortality during the fishing year and optimization of the total amount of groundfish harvest under the halibut PSC limit. The fishery categories for the trawl halibut PSC limits are: (1) A deep-water species fishery, composed of sablefish, rockfish, deep-water flatfish, rex sole, and arrowtooth flounder; and (2) a shallow-water species fishery, composed of pollock, Pacific cod, shallow-water flatfish, flathead sole, Atka mackerel, and “other species” (sharks and octopuses) (§ 679.21(d)(3)(iii)). Halibut mortality incurred while directed fishing for skates with trawl gear accrues towards the shallow-water species fishery halibut PSC limit (69 FR 26320, May 12, 2004).

NMFS will combine available trawl halibut PSC limit apportionments during a portion of the second season deep-water and shallow-water species fisheries for use in either fishery from May 15 through June 30 (§ 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(D)). This is intended to maintain groundfish harvest while minimizing halibut bycatch by these sectors to the extent practicable. This provides the deep-water and shallow-water species trawl fisheries additional flexibility and the incentive to participate in fisheries at times of the year that may have lower halibut PSC rates relative to other times of the year.

Table 15 lists the final 2022 and 2023 apportionments of trawl halibut PSC limits between the trawl gear deep-water and shallow-water species fishery categories.

Table 28d to 50 CFR part 679 specifies the amount of the trawl halibut PSC limit that is assigned to the CV and CP sectors that are participating in the Rockfish Program. This includes 117 mt of halibut PSC limit to the CV sector and 74 mt of halibut PSC limit to the CP sector. These amounts are allocated from the trawl deep-water species fishery's halibut PSC third seasonal apportionment. After the combined CV and CP halibut PSC limit allocation of 191 mt to the Rockfish Program, 150 mt remains for the trawl deep-water species fishery's halibut PSC third seasonal apportionment.

Section 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(B) limits the amount of the halibut PSC limit allocated to Rockfish Program participants that could be re-apportioned to the general GOA trawl fisheries during the current fishing year to no more than 55 percent of the unused annual halibut PSC limit apportioned to Rockfish Program participants. The remainder of the unused Rockfish Program halibut PSC limit is unavailable for use by any person for the remainder of the fishing year (§ 679.21(d)(4)(iii)(C)).

Section 679.21(d)(2)(i)(B) requires that the “other hook-and-line fishery” halibut PSC limit apportionment to vessels using hook-and-line gear must be apportioned between CVs and CPs in accordance with § 679.21(d)(2)(iii) in conjunction with these harvest specifications. A comprehensive description and example of the calculations necessary to apportion the “other hook-and-line fishery” halibut PSC limit between the hook-and-line CV and CP sectors were included in the proposed rule to implement Amendment 83 to the FMP (76 FR 44700, July 26, 2011) and are not repeated here.

Pursuant to § 679.21(d)(2)(iii), the hook-and-line halibut PSC limit for the “other hook-and-line fishery” is apportioned between the CV and CP sectors in proportion to the total Western and Central GOA Pacific cod allocations, which vary annually based on the proportion of the Pacific cod biomass between the Western, Central, and Eastern GOA. Pacific cod is apportioned among these three management areas based on the percentage of overall biomass per area, as calculated in the 2021 Pacific cod stock assessment. Updated information in the final 2021 SAFE report describes this distributional calculation, which allocates ABC among GOA regulatory areas on the basis of the three most recent stock surveys. For 2022 and 2023, the distribution of the total GOA Pacific cod ABC is 29 percent to the Western GOA, 61 percent to the Central GOA, and 10 percent to the Eastern GOA. Therefore, the calculations made in accordance with § 679.21(d)(2)(iii) incorporate the most recent information on GOA Pacific cod distribution and allocations with respect to establishing the annual halibut PSC limits for the CV and CP hook-and-line sectors. Additionally, the annual halibut PSC limits for both the CV and CP sectors of the “other hook-and-line fishery” are divided into three seasonal apportionments, using seasonal percentages of 86 percent, 2 percent, and 12 percent.

For 2022 and 2023, NMFS apportions halibut PSC limits of 150 mt and 107 mt to the hook-and-line CV and hook-and-line CP sectors, respectively. Table 16 lists the final 2022 and 2023 apportionments of halibut PSC limits between the hook-and-line CV and the hook-and-line CP sectors of the “other hook-and-line fishery.”

No later than November 1 of each year, NMFS will calculate the projected unused amount of halibut PSC limit by either of the CV or CP hook-and-line sectors that comprise the two sectors of the “other hook-and-line fishery” for the remainder of the year. The projected unused amount of halibut PSC limit is made available to the other sector for the remainder of that fishing year (§ 679.21(d)(2)(iii)(C)), if NMFS determines that an additional amount of halibut PSC is necessary for that sector to continue its directed fishing operations.

The IPHC annually assesses the abundance and potential yield of the Pacific halibut stock using all available data from the commercial and sport fisheries, other removals, and scientific surveys. Additional information on the Pacific halibut stock assessment may be found in the IPHC's 2021 Pacific halibut stock assessment (December 2021), available on the IPHC website at www.iphc.int. The IPHC considered the 2021 Pacific halibut stock assessment at its January 2022 annual meeting when it set the 2022 commercial halibut fishery catch limits.

To monitor halibut bycatch mortality allowances and apportionments, the Regional Administrator uses observed halibut incidental catch rates, halibut discard mortality rates (DMRs), and estimates of groundfish catch to project when a fishery's halibut bycatch mortality allowance or seasonal apportionment is reached. Halibut incidental catch rates are based on observers' estimates of halibut incidental catch in the groundfish fishery. DMRs are estimates of the proportion of incidentally caught halibut that do not survive after being returned to the sea. The cumulative halibut mortality that accrues to a particular halibut PSC limit is the product of a DMR multiplied by the estimated halibut PSC. DMRs are estimated using the best scientific information available in conjunction with the annual GOA stock assessment process. The DMR methodology and findings are included as an appendix to the annual GOA groundfish SAFE report.

In 2016, the DMR estimation methodology underwent revisions per the Council's directive. An interagency halibut working group (IPHC, Council, and NMFS staff) developed improved estimation methods that have undergone review by the GOA Plan Team, SSC, and the Council. A summary of the revised methodology is contained in the GOA proposed 2017 and 2018 harvest specifications (81 FR 87881, December 6, 2016), and the comprehensive discussion of the working group's statistical methodology is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES ). The DMR working group's revised methodology is intended to improve estimation accuracy, transparency, and transferability in the methodology used for calculating DMRs. The working group will continue to consider improvements to the methodology used to calculate halibut mortality, including potential changes to the reference period (the period of data used for calculating the DMRs). Future DMRs may change based on additional years of observer sampling, which could provide more recent and accurate data and which could improve the accuracy of estimation and progress on methodology. The new methodology will continue to ensure that NMFS is using DMRs that more accurately reflect halibut mortality, which will inform the different sectors of their estimated halibut mortality and allow specific sectors to respond with methods that could reduce mortality and, eventually, the DMR for that sector.

At the December 2021 meeting, the SSC, AP, and the Council concurred with the revised DMR estimation methodology, and NMFS adopts for 2022 and 2023 the DMRs calculated under the revised methodology, which uses an updated 2-year reference period. The final 2022 and 2023 DMRs in this rule are unchanged from the DMRs in the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (86 FR 68982, December 6, 2021). Table 17 lists these final 2022 and 2023 DMRs.

Amendment 93 to the FMP (77 FR 42629, July 20, 2012) established separate Chinook salmon PSC limits in the Western and Central GOA in the directed pollock trawl fishery. These limits require that NMFS close the pollock directed fishery in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA if the applicable Chinook salmon PSC limit in that regulatory area is reached (§ 679.21(h)(8)). The annual Chinook salmon PSC limits in the pollock directed fishery of 6,684 salmon in the Western GOA and 18,316 salmon in the Central GOA are set at § 679.21(h)(2)(i) and (ii).

Amendment 97 to the FMP (79 FR 71350, December 2, 2014) established an initial annual PSC limit of 7,500 Chinook salmon for the trawl non-pollock groundfish fisheries in the Western and Central GOA. This limit is apportioned among the three sectors that conduct directed fishing for groundfish species other than pollock: 3,600 Chinook salmon to trawl CPs; 1,200 Chinook salmon to trawl CVs participating in the Rockfish Program; and 2,700 Chinook salmon to trawl CVs not participating in the Rockfish Program (§ 679.21(h)(4)). NMFS will monitor the Chinook salmon PSC in the trawl non-pollock groundfish fisheries and close an applicable sector if it reaches its Chinook salmon PSC limit.

The Chinook salmon PSC limit for two sectors, trawl CPs and trawl CVs not participating in the Rockfish Program, may be increased in subsequent years based on the performance of these two sectors and their ability to minimize their use of their respective Chinook salmon PSC limits. If either or both of these two sectors limits its use of Chinook salmon PSC to a specified threshold amount in 2021 (3,120 for trawl CPs and 2,340 for Non-Rockfish Program trawl CVs), that sector will receive an incremental increase to its 2022 Chinook salmon PSC limit (§ 679.21(h)(4)). In 2021, the trawl CP sector did not exceed 3,120 Chinook salmon PSC; therefore, the 2022 trawl CP sector Chinook salmon PSC limit will be 4,080 Chinook salmon. In 2021, the Non-Rockfish Program trawl CV sector exceeded 2,340 Chinook salmon PSC; therefore, the 2022 Non-Rockfish Program trawl CV sector Chinook salmon PSC limit will be 2,700 Chinook salmon.

Section 679.64 establishes groundfish harvesting and processing sideboard limitations on AFA CPs and CVs in the GOA. These sideboard limits are necessary to protect the interests of fishermen and processors who do not directly benefit from the AFA as compared to those fishermen and processors who receive exclusive harvesting and processing privileges under the AFA. Section 679.7(k)(1)(ii) prohibits listed AFA CPs and CPs designated on a listed AFA CP permit from harvesting any species of groundfish in the GOA. Additionally, § 679.7(k)(1)(iv) prohibits listed AFA CPs and CPs designated on a listed AFA CP permit from processing any pollock harvested in a directed pollock fishery in the GOA and any groundfish harvested in Statistical Area 630 of the GOA.

AFA CVs that are less than 125 feet (38.1 meters) length overall, have annual landings of pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) less than 5,100 mt, and have made at least 40 GOA groundfish landings from 1995 through 1997 are exempt from GOA CV groundfish sideboard limits under § 679.64(b)(2)(ii). Sideboard limits for non-exempt AFA CVs in the GOA are based on their traditional harvest levels of TAC in groundfish fisheries covered by the FMP. Section 679.64(b)(3)(iv) establishes the CV groundfish sideboard limitations in the GOA based on the aggregate retained catch of non-exempt AFA CVs of each sideboard species or species group from 1995 through 1997 divided by the sum of the TACs for that species or species group available to CVs over the same period. NMFS published a final rule (84 FR 2723, February 8, 2019) that implemented regulations to prohibit non-exempt AFA CVs from directed fishing for specific groundfish species or species groups subject to sideboard limits (§ 679.20(d)(1)(iv)(D) and Table 56 to 50 CFR part 679). Sideboard limits not subject to the final rule (84 FR 2723, February 8, 2019) continue to be calculated and included in the GOA annual harvest specifications.

Tables 18 and 19 list the final 2022 and 2023 groundfish sideboard limits for non-exempt AFA CVs. NMFS will deduct all targeted or incidental catch of sideboard species made by non-exempt AFA CVs from the sideboard limits listed in Tables 18 and 19.

The halibut PSC sideboard limits for non-exempt AFA CVs in the GOA are based on the aggregate retained groundfish catch by non-exempt AFA CVs in each PSC target category from 1995 through 1997 divided by the retained catch of all vessels in that fishery from 1995 through 1997 (§ 679.64(b)(4)(ii)). Table 20 lists the final 2022 and 2023 non-exempt AFA CV halibut PSC sideboard limits for vessels using trawl gear in the GOA.

Section 680.22 establishes groundfish catch limits for vessels with a history of participation in the Bering Sea snow crab fishery to prevent these vessels from using the increased flexibility provided by the Crab Rationalization (CR) Program to expand their level of participation in the GOA groundfish fisheries. Sideboard limits restrict these vessels' catch to their collective historical landings in each GOA groundfish fishery (except the fixed-gear sablefish fishery). Sideboard limits also apply to catch made using an LLP license derived from the history of a restricted vessel, even if that LLP license is used on another vessel.

The basis for these sideboard limits is described in detail in the final rules implementing the major provisions of the CR Program, including Amendments 18 and 19 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP) (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005), Amendment 34 to the Crab FMP (76 FR 35772, June 20, 2011), Amendment 83 to the GOA FMP (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011), and Amendment 45 to the Crab FMP (80 FR 28539, May 19, 2015). Also, NMFS published a final rule (84 FR 2723, February 8, 2019) that implemented regulations to prohibit non-AFA crab vessels from directed fishing for all groundfish species or species groups subject to sideboard limits, except for Pacific cod apportioned to CVs using pot gear in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas (§ 680.22(e)(1)(iii)). Accordingly, the GOA annual harvest specifications will include the non-AFA crab vessel groundfish sideboard limits for only Pacific cod apportioned to CVs using pot gear in the Western and Central Regulatory Areas.

Tables 21 and 22 list the final 2022 and 2023 groundfish sideboard limitations for non-AFA crab vessels. All targeted or incidental catch of sideboard species made by non-AFA crab vessels or associated LLP licenses will be deducted from these sideboard limits.

The Rockfish Program establishes three classes of sideboard provisions: CV groundfish sideboard restrictions, CP rockfish sideboard restrictions, and CP opt-out vessel sideboard restrictions (§ 679.82(c)(1)). These sideboards are intended to limit the ability of rockfish harvesters to expand into other GOA groundfish fisheries.

CVs participating in the Rockfish Program may not participate in directed fishing for dusky rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and northern rockfish in the West Yakutat District and Western GOA from July 1 through July 31. Also, CVs may not participate in directed fishing for arrowtooth flounder, deep-water flatfish, and rex sole in the GOA from July 1 through July 31 (§ 679.82(d)).

CPs participating in Rockfish Program cooperatives are restricted by rockfish and halibut PSC sideboard limits. These CPs are prohibited from directed fishing for dusky rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and northern rockfish in the West Yakutat District and Western GOA from July 1 through July 31 (§ 679.82(e)(2)). Holders of CP-designated LLP licenses that opt out of participating in a Rockfish Program cooperative will be able to access that portion of each rockfish sideboard limit that is not assigned to rockfish cooperatives (§ 679.82(e)(7)). The sideboard ratio for each fishery in the West Yakutat District and the Western GOA is set forth in § 679.82(e)(3) and (4). Tables 23 and 24 list the final 2022 and 2023 Rockfish Program CP sideboard limits in the West Yakutat District and the Western GOA. Due to confidentiality requirements associated with fisheries data, the sideboard limits for the West Yakutat District are not displayed.

Under the Rockfish Program, the CP sector is subject to halibut PSC sideboard limits for the trawl deep-water and shallow-water species fisheries from July 1 through July 31 (§ 679.82(e)(3) and (5)). Halibut PSC sideboard ratios by fishery are set forth in § 679.82(e)(5). No halibut PSC sideboard limits apply to the CV sector, as CVs participating in cooperatives receive a portion of the annual halibut PSC limit. CPs that opt out of the Rockfish Program are able to access that portion of the deep-water and shallow-water halibut PSC sideboard limit not assigned to CP rockfish cooperatives. The sideboard provisions for CPs that elect to opt out of participating in a rockfish cooperative are described in § 679.82(c), (e), and (f). Sideboard limits are linked to the catch history of specific vessels that may choose to opt out. After March 1, NMFS will determine which CPs have opted-out of the Rockfish Program in 2022, and NMFS will know the ratios and amounts used to calculate opt-out sideboard ratios. NMFS will then calculate any applicable opt-out sideboards for 2022 and post these limits on the Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-fisheries-management- reports#central-goa-rockfish. Table 25 lists the final 2022 and 2023 Rockfish Program halibut PSC sideboard limits for the CP sector.

Amendment 80 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (Amendment 80 Program) established a limited access privilege program for the non-AFA trawl CP sector. The Amendment 80 Program established groundfish and halibut PSC catch limits for Amendment 80 Program participants to limit the ability of participants eligible for the Amendment 80 Program to expand their harvest efforts in the GOA.

Section 679.92 establishes groundfish harvesting sideboard limits on all Amendment 80 program vessels, other than the fishing vessel (F/V) Golden Fleece, to amounts no greater than the limits listed in Table 37 to 50 CFR part 679. Under § 679.92(d), the F/V Golden Fleece is prohibited from directed fishing for pollock, Pacific cod, Pacific ocean perch, dusky rockfish, and northern rockfish in the GOA.

Groundfish sideboard limits for Amendment 80 Program vessels operating in the GOA are based on their average aggregate harvests from 1998 through 2004 (72 FR 52668, September 14, 2007). Tables 26 and 27 list the final 2022 and 2023 groundfish sideboard limits for Amendment 80 Program vessels. NMFS will deduct all targeted or incidental catch of sideboard species made by Amendment 80 Program vessels from the sideboard limits in Tables 26 and 27.

The halibut PSC sideboard limits for Amendment 80 Program vessels in the GOA are based on the historic use of halibut PSC by Amendment 80 Program vessels in each PSC target category from 1998 through 2004. These values are slightly lower than the average historic use to accommodate two factors: Allocation of halibut PSC cooperative quota under the Rockfish Program and the exemption of the F/V Golden Fleece from this restriction (§ 679.92(b)(2)). Table 28 lists the final 2022 and 2023 halibut PSC sideboard limits for Amendment 80 Program vessels. These tables incorporate the maximum percentages of the halibut PSC sideboard limits that may be used by Amendment 80 Program vessels as contained in Table 38 to 50 CFR part 679. Any residual amount of a seasonal Amendment 80 halibut PSC sideboard limit may carry forward to the next season limit (§ 679.92(b)(2)).

Pursuant to § 679.20(d)(1)(i), if the Regional Administrator determines (1) that any allocation or apportionment of a target species or species group allocated or apportioned to a fishery will be reached; or (2) with respect to pollock and Pacific cod, that an allocation or apportionment to an inshore or offshore component or sector allocation will be reached, then the Regional Administrator may establish a directed fishing allowance (DFA) for that species or species group. If the Regional Administrator establishes a DFA and that allowance is or will be reached before the end of the fishing season or year, NMFS will prohibit directed fishing for that species or species group in the specified GOA subarea, regulatory area, or district (§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii)).

The Regional Administrator has determined that the TACs for the species listed in Table 29 are necessary to account for the incidental catch of these species in other anticipated groundfish fisheries for the 2022 and 2023 fishing years.

Consequently, in accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), the Regional Administrator establishes the DFA for the species or species groups listed in Table 29 as zero mt. Therefore, in accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for those species, areas, gear types, and components in the GOA listed in Table 29 effective at 1200 hours, A.l.t., March 2, 2022, through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 2023.

Closures implemented under the 2021 and 2022 GOA harvest specifications for groundfish (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021) remain effective under authority of these final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications and until the date specified in those closure notices. Closures are posted at the following website under the Alaska filter for Management Areas: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/rules-and-announcements/bulletins.

While these closures are in effect, the maximum retainable amounts at § 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time during a fishing trip. These closures to directed fishing are in addition to closures and prohibitions found at 50 CFR part 679. NMFS may implement other closures during the 2022 and 2023 fishing years as necessary for effective conservation and management.

NMFS did not receive any comments during the public comment period for the proposed groundfish harvest specifications.

NMFS has determined that the final harvest specifications are consistent with the FMP and with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.

This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

NMFS prepared an EIS for the Alaska groundfish harvest specifications and alternative harvest strategies (see ADDRESSES ) and made it available to the public on January 12, 2007 (72 FR 1512). On February 13, 2007, NMFS issued the ROD for the EIS. In January 2022, NMFS prepared a SIR for this action to provide a subsequent assessment of the action and to address the need to prepare a Supplemental EIS (SEIS; 40 CFR 1501.11(b); § 1502.9(d)(1)). Copies of the EIS, ROD, and annual SIRs for this action are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES ). The Final EIS analyzes the environmental, social, and economic consequences of the groundfish harvest specifications and alternative harvest strategies on resources in the action area. Based on the analysis in the Final EIS, NMFS concluded that the preferred Alternative (Alternative 2) provides the best balance among relevant environmental, social, and economic considerations and allows for continued management of the groundfish fisheries based on the most recent, best scientific information. The preferred alternative is a harvest strategy in which TACs are set at a level within the range of ABCs recommended by the Council's SSC; the sum of the TACs must achieve the OY specified in the FMP. While the specific numbers that the harvest strategy produces may vary from year to year, the methodology used for the preferred harvest strategy remains constant.

The annual SIR evaluates the need to prepare a SEIS for the 2022 and 2023 groundfish harvest specifications. An SEIS should be prepared if (1) the agency makes substantial changes in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns, or (2) significant new circumstances or information exist relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts (40 CFR 1502.9(d)(1)). After reviewing the information contained in the SIR and SAFE report, the Regional Administrator has determined that (1) approval of the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, which were set according to the preferred harvest strategy in the EIS, does not constitute a substantial change in the action; and (2) there are no significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the action or its impacts. Additionally, the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications will result in environmental, social, and economic impacts within the scope of those analyzed and disclosed in the EIS. Therefore, an SEIS is not necessary to implement the 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications.

Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 604) requires that, when an agency promulgates a final rule under 5 U.S.C. 553, after being required by that section, or any other law, to publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency shall prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA). The following constitutes the FRFA prepared in the final action.

Section 604 of the RFA describes the required contents of a FRFA: (1) A statement of the need for, and objectives of, the rule; (2) a statement of the significant issues raised by the public comments in response to the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), a statement of the assessment of the agency of such issues, and a statement of any changes made in the proposed rule as a result of such comments; (3) the response of the agency to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in response to the proposed rule, and a detailed statement of any change made to the proposed rule in the final rule as a result of the comments; (4) a description of and an estimate of the number of small entities to which the rule will apply or an explanation of why no such estimate is available; (5) a description of the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements of the rule, including an estimate of the classes of small entities which will be subject to the requirement and the type of professional skills necessary for preparation of the report or record; and (6) a description of the steps the agency has taken to minimize the significant economic impact on small entities consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, including a statement of the factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other significant alternatives to the rule considered by the agency that affect the impact on small entities was rejected.

A description of this action, its purpose, and its legal basis are contained at the beginning of the preamble to this final rule and are not repeated here.

NMFS published the proposed rule on December 6, 2021 (86 FR 68982). NMFS prepared an IRFA to accompany the proposed action, and included the IRFA in the proposed rule. The comment period closed on January 5, 2022. No comments were received on the IRFA or on the economic impacts of the rule more generally. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration did not file any comments on the proposed rule.

The entities directly regulated by this action are: (1) Entities operating vessels with groundfish Federal fishing permits (FFPs) catching FMP groundfish in Federal waters; (2) all entities operating vessels, regardless of whether they hold groundfish FFPs, catching FMP groundfish in the State-waters parallel fisheries; and (3) all entities operating vessels fishing for halibut inside 3 miles (5.6 km) of the shore (whether or not they have FFPs).

For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) is classified as a small business if it is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation (including its affiliates), and has combined annual gross receipts not in excess of $11 million for all its affiliated operations worldwide.

Using the most recent data available (2020), the estimated number of directly regulated small entities includes approximately 699 individual catcher vessel and CP entities with gross revenues meeting small entity criteria. This estimate does not account for corporate affiliations among vessels, and for cooperative affiliations among fishing entities, since some of the fishing vessels operating in the GOA are members of AFA inshore pollock cooperatives, GOA rockfish cooperatives, or BSAI CR Program cooperatives. Vessels that participate in these cooperatives are considered to be large entities within the meaning of the RFA because the aggregate gross receipts of all participating members exceed the $11 million threshold. After accounting for membership in these cooperatives, there are an estimated 696 small CV entities and 3 small CP entities remaining in the GOA groundfish sector. However, the estimate of these 696 CVs may be an overstatement of the number of small entities. This latter group of vessels had average gross revenues that varied by gear type. Average gross revenues for hook-and-line CVs, pot gear CVs, and trawl gear CVs, are estimated to be $340,000, $650,000, and $1.71 million, respectively. Average gross revenues for CP entities are confidential.

This final rule contains no information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

This action implements the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, apportionments, and halibut PSC limits for the groundfish fishery of the GOA. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2022 and 2023 fishing years and is taken in accordance with the FMP prepared by the Council pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The establishment of the final harvest specifications is governed by the Council's harvest strategy for the catch of groundfish in the GOA. The harvest strategy was selected previously from among five alternatives, with the preferred alternative harvest strategy being one in which the TACs fall within the range of ABCs recommended by the SSC. Under this preferred alternative harvest strategy, TACs are set within the range of ABCs recommended by the SSC; the sum of the TACs must achieve the OY specified in the FMP; and while the specific TAC numbers that the harvest strategy produces may vary from year to year, the methodology used for the preferred harvest strategy remains constant. This final action implements the preferred alternative harvest strategy previously chosen by the Council to set TACs that fall within the range of ABCs recommended through the Council harvest specifications process and as recommended by the Council. This is the method for determining TACs that has been used in the past.

The final 2022 and 2023 TACs associated with preferred harvest strategy are those recommended by the Council in December 2021. OFLs and ABCs for the species were based on recommendations prepared by the Council's Plan Team, and reviewed by the Council's SSC. The Council based its TAC recommendations on those of its AP, which were consistent with the SSC's OFL and ABC recommendations. The sum of all TACs remains within the OY for the GOA consistent with § 679.20(a)(1)(i)(B).

The final 2022 and 2023 OFLs and ABCs are based on the best available biological information, including projected biomass trends, information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and revised technical methods to calculate stock biomass. The final 2022 and 2023 TACs are based on the best available biological and socioeconomic information. The final 2022 and 2023 OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are consistent with the biological condition of groundfish stocks as described in the 2021 SAFE report, which is the most recent, completed SAFE report. Accounting for the most recent biological information to set the final OFLs, ABCs, and TACs is consistent with the objectives for this action, as well as National Standard 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1851(a)(2)) that actions shall be based on the best scientific information available.

Under this action, the final ABCs reflect harvest amounts that are less than the specified overfishing levels. The final TACs are within the range of final ABCs recommended by the SSC and do not exceed the biological limits recommended by the SSC (the ABCs and overfishing levels). For most species and species groups in the GOA, the Council recommended, and NMFS sets, final TACs equal to final ABCs, which is intended to maximize harvest opportunities in the GOA, unless other conservation or management reasons support setting TAC amounts less than the ABCs.

For the following species and species groups, the Council recommended and NMFS sets TACs that are less than the ABCs: For pollock for the combined Western and Central GOA and West Yakutat District area; Pacific cod; shallow-water flatfish in the Western GOA; arrowtooth flounder in the Western GOA and the SEO District; flathead sole in the Western and Central GOA, Atka mackerel; and “other rockfish” in the SEO District. These specific reductions were reviewed and recommended by the Council's AP, and the Council in turn adopted the AP's recommendations for the final 2022 and 2023 TACs.

Moreover, increasing TACs for some species may not result in increased harvest opportunities for those species. This is due to a variety of reasons. There may be a lack of commercial or market interest in some species. Additionally, there are fixed, and therefore constraining, PSC limits associated with the harvest of the GOA groundfish species that can lead to an underharvest of flatfish TACs. For this reason, the shallow-water flatfish, arrowtooth flounder, and flathead sole TACs are set to allow for increased harvest opportunities for these target species while conserving the halibut PSC limit for use in other fisheries. The Atka mackerel TAC is set to accommodate incidental catch amounts in other fisheries. The “other rockfish” TAC in the SEO District is set to reduce the amount of discards of the species in that complex. Finally, the TACs for two species (pollock and Pacific cod) cannot be set equal to ABC, as the TAC must be reduced to account for the State's GHLs in these fisheries. The W/C/WYK Regulatory Area pollock TAC and the GOA Pacific cod TACs are therefore set to account for the State's GHLs for the State water pollock and Pacific cod fisheries so that the ABCs are not exceeded.

Based upon the best available scientific data, and in consideration of the Council's objectives of this action, there are no significant alternatives to the final rule that have the potential to accomplish the stated objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and any other applicable statutes and that have the potential to minimize any significant adverse economic impact of the final rule on small entities. This action is economically beneficial to entities operating in the GOA, including small entities. The action specifies TACs for commercially-valuable species in the GOA and allows for the continued prosecution of the fishery, thereby creating the opportunity for fishery revenue. After public process, during which the Council solicited input from stakeholders, the Council concluded that these final harvest specifications would best accomplish the stated objectives articulated in the preamble for this final rule and in applicable statutes and would minimize to the extent practicable adverse economic impacts on the universe of directly regulated small entities.

Adverse impacts on marine mammals, or endangered or threatened species, resulting from fishing activities conducted under this rule are discussed in the Final EIS and its accompanying annual SIRs (see ADDRESSES ).

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date of effectiveness for this rule because delaying this rule is contrary to the public interest. The Plan Team review of the 2021 SAFE report occurred in November 2021, and, based on the 2021 SAFE report, the Council considered and recommended the final harvest specifications in December 2021. Accordingly, NMFS's review of the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications could not begin until after the December 2021 Council meeting, and after the public had time to comment on the proposed action. Thus, some affected fisheries could close soon, as they are already close to reaching their TACs, and such closures would cause unnecessary economic harm to the fisheries in the cases where this final rule increases some of the groundfish TACs.

For all fisheries not currently closed because the TACs established under the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021) have not yet been reached, it is possible that they would be closed prior to the expiration of a 30-day delayed effectiveness period, because those fisheries have nearly reached those previously set TACs. If implemented immediately, this final rule would allow these fisheries to continue fishing, because some of the new TACs implemented by this rule are higher than the TACs under which they are currently fishing.

In addition, immediate effectiveness of this action is required to provide consistent management and conservation of fishery resources based on the best available scientific information. This is particularly pertinent for those species that have lower 2022 ABCs and TACs than those established in the 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021), including target species such as sablefish. If implemented immediately, this rule would ensure that NMFS can properly manage those fisheries for which this rule sets lower 2022 ABCs and TACs, which are based on the most recent biological information on the condition of stocks. The changes between the proposed 2022 ABCs and TACs are discussed earlier in the section titled “Changes from the Proposed 2022 and 2023 Harvest Specifications in the GOA.”

Certain fisheries, such as those for pollock, are intensive, fast-paced fisheries. Other fisheries, such as those for sablefish, flatfish, rockfish, Atka mackerel, skates, sharks, and octopuses, are critical either as directed fisheries or as incidental catch in other fisheries. Thus, for those species that have higher 2022 TACs under the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications (86 FR 10184, February 19, 2021) than the TACs established by this final rule, there is some risk of exceeding some of these TAC limits. U.S. fishing vessels have demonstrated the capacity to catch the TAC allocations in many of these fisheries. If the date of effectiveness of this rule were to be delayed 30 days and a TAC was reached during those 30 days, NMFS would be required to close directed fishing or prohibit retention for the applicable species. Such closures and unnecessary discards would cause confusion to the industry and potential economic harm to fishermen, undermining the intent of this rule. Waiving the 30-day delay in the date of effectiveness allows NMFS to prevent this potential economic harm that could occur should the previously set 2022 TACs (as set under the 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications) be reached during such a delay. In addition, determining which fisheries may close in advance is nearly impossible because these fisheries are affected by several factors, including fishing effort, weather, movement of fishery stocks and market price, which cannot be predicted. Furthermore, the closure of one fishery has a cascading effect on other fisheries; the closure would free up fishing vessels, allowing them to move from closed fisheries to open fisheries, thereby increasing the fishing capacity in those open fisheries, and potentially causing them to close sooner.

In fisheries subject to declining sideboard limits, a failure to implement the updated sideboard limits before the initial season's end could deny the intended economic protection to the non-sideboarded sectors. Conversely, in fisheries with increasing sideboard limits, economic benefit could be denied to the sideboard-limited sectors.

If the final harvest specifications are not effective by March 6, 2022, which is the start of the 2022 Pacific halibut season as specified by the IPHC, the fixed gear sablefish fishery will not begin concurrently with the Pacific halibut IFQ season. This would result in confusion for the industry and economic harm from unnecessary discard of sablefish that are caught along with Pacific halibut, as both fixed gear sablefish and Pacific halibut are managed under the same IFQ program. Immediate effectiveness of these final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications will allow the sablefish IFQ fishery to begin concurrently with the Pacific halibut IFQ season.

Finally, immediate effectiveness also provides the fishing industry the earliest possible opportunity to plan and conduct its fishing operations with respect to new information about TACs. Therefore, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), NMFS finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date of effectiveness.

This final rule is a plain language guide to assist small entities in complying with this final rule as required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This final rule's primary purpose is to announce the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications and prohibited species bycatch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the GOA. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits and associated management measures for groundfish during the 2022 and 2023 fishing years, and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the FMP. This action affects all fishermen who participate in the GOA fisheries. The specific OFL, ABC, TAC, and PSC amounts are provided in tables in this rule to assist the reader. These tables also are individually available online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfish-harvest-specifications. NMFS will announce closures of directed fishing in the Federal Register and information bulletins released by the Alaska Region. Affected fishermen should keep themselves informed of such closures.

Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 679 implement the FMP and govern the groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The Council prepared the FMP, and NMFS approved it, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. General regulations governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600.

The FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS, after consultation with the Council, to specify annually the total allowable catch (TAC) for each target species category. The sum of all TAC for all groundfish species in the BSAI must be within the optimum yield (OY) range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million metric tons (mt) (see § 679.20(a)(1)(i)(A)). This final rule specifies the sum of the TAC at 1,871,000 mt for 2022 and 2.0 million mt for 2023. NMFS also must specify apportionments of TAC; prohibited species catch (PSC) allowances and prohibited species quota (PSQ) reserves established by § 679.21; seasonal allowances of pollock, Pacific cod, and Atka mackerel TAC; American Fisheries Act allocations; Amendment 80 allocations; Community Development Quota (CDQ) reserve amounts established by § 679.20(b)(1)(ii); and acceptable biological catch (ABC) surpluses and reserves for CDQ groups and any Amendment 80 cooperatives for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. The final harvest specifications set forth in Tables 1 through 22 of this action satisfy these requirements.

Section 679.20(c)(3)(i) further requires that NMFS consider public comment on the proposed harvest specifications and, after consultation with the Council, publish final harvest specifications in the Federal Register . The proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications for the groundfish fishery of the BSAI were published in the Federal Register on December 3, 2021 (86 FR 68608). Comments were invited and accepted through January 3, 2022. As discussed in the Response to Comments section below, NMFS received no comments during the public comment period for the proposed BSAI groundfish harvest specifications.

NMFS consulted with the Council on the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications during the December 2021 Council meeting. After considering public comments during public meetings, as well as biological and socioeconomic data that were available at the Council's December meeting, NMFS implements in this final rule the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications as recommended by the Council.

The final ABC amounts for Alaska groundfish are based on the best available biological information, including projected biomass trends, information on assumed distribution of stock biomass, and revised technical methods used to calculate stock biomass. In general, the development of ABCs and overfishing levels (OFLs) involves sophisticated statistical analyses of fish populations. The FMP specifies a series of six tiers to define OFL and ABC amounts based on the level of reliable information available to fishery scientists. Tier 1 represents the highest level of information quality available, while Tier 6 represents the lowest.

In December 2021, the Council, its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), and its Advisory Panel (AP) reviewed current biological and harvest information about the condition of the BSAI groundfish stocks. The Council's BSAI Groundfish Plan Team (Plan Team) compiled and presented this information in the 2021 SAFE report for the BSAI groundfish fisheries, dated November 2021 (see ADDRESSES ). The SAFE report contains a review of the latest scientific analyses and estimates of each species' biomass and other biological parameters, as well as summaries of the available information on the BSAI ecosystem and the economic condition of groundfish fisheries off Alaska. NMFS notified the public of the comment period for these harvest specifications—and of the publication of the 2021 SAFE report—in the notice of proposed harvest specifications. From the data and analyses in the SAFE report, the Plan Team recommended an OFL and ABC for each species or species group at the November 2021 Plan Team meeting.

In December 2021, the SSC, AP, and Council reviewed the Plan Team's recommendations. The final TAC recommendations were based on the ABCs, and were adjusted for other biological and socioeconomic considerations, including maintaining the sum of all the TACs within the required OY range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million mt. As required by annual catch limit rules for all fisheries (74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009), none of the Council's recommended 2022 or 2023 TACs exceed the final 2022 or 2023 ABCs for any species or species group. NMFS finds that the Council's recommended OFLs, ABCs, and TACs are consistent with the preferred harvest strategy outlined in the FMP and the biological condition of groundfish stocks as described in the 2021 SAFE report that was approved by the Council. Therefore, this final rule provides notice that the Secretary of Commerce approves the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications as recommended by the Council.

The 2022 harvest specifications set in this final action supersede the 2022 harvest specifications previously set in the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications (86 FR 11449, February 25, 2021). The 2023 harvest specifications herein will be superseded in early 2023 when the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications are published. Pursuant to this final action, the 2022 harvest specifications therefore will apply for the remainder of the current year (2022), while the 2023 harvest specifications are projected only for the following year (2023) and will be superseded in early 2023 by the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications. Because this final action (published in early 2022) will be superseded in early 2023 by the publication of the final 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, it is projected that this final action will implement the harvest specifications for the BSAI for approximately one year.

For 2022 and 2023, the Board of Fisheries (BOF) for the State of Alaska (State) established the guideline harvest level (GHL) for vessels using pot gear in State waters in the Bering Sea subarea (BS) equal to 11 percent of the Pacific cod ABC in the BS. The State's pot gear BS GHL will increase one percent annually up to 15 percent of the BS ABC, if 90 percent of the GHL is harvested by November 15 of the preceding year. If 90 percent of the 2022 BS GHL is not harvested by November 15, 2022, then the 2023 BS GHL will remain at the same percentage as the 2022 BS GHL (11 percent). If 90 percent of the 2022 BS GHL is harvested by November 15, 2022, then the 2023 BS GHL will increase by one percent and the 2023 BS TAC will be set to account for the increased BS GHL. Also, for 2021 and 2022, the BOF established an additional GHL for vessels using jig gear in State waters in the BS equal to 45 mt of Pacific cod in the BS. The Council and its Plan Team, SSC, and AP recommended that the sum of all State and Federal water Pacific cod removals from the BS not exceed the ABC recommendations for Pacific cod in the BS. Accordingly, the Council recommended, and NMFS approves, that the 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs in the BS account for the State's GHLs for Pacific cod caught in State waters in the BS.

For 2022 and 2023, the BOF for the State established the GHL in State waters in the Aleutian Islands subarea (AI) equal to 39 percent of the AI ABC. The AI GHL will increase annually by 4 percent of the AI ABC, if 90 percent of the GHL is harvested by November 15 of the preceding year, but may not exceed 39 percent of the AI ABC or 15 million pounds (6,804 mt). For 2022, 39 percent of the AI ABC is 8,034 mt, which exceeds the AI GHL limit of 6,804 mt. The Council and its Plan Team, SSC, and AP recommended that the sum of all State and Federal water Pacific cod removals from the AI not exceed the ABC recommendations for Pacific cod in the AI. Accordingly, the Council recommended, and NMFS approves, that the 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs in the AI account for the State's GHL of 6,804 mt for Pacific cod caught in State waters in the AI.

At the December 2021 meeting, the Council recommended that the ABM Program that would determine the annual Amendment 80 halibut PSC limit be based on the most recent survey values and the PSC limit value associated with those survey values. Under this ABM Program, the Amendment 80 halibut PSC limit would increase and decrease according to the survey indices of abundance, and would be responsive to changing halibut stock conditions that affect all halibut users, while never exceeding the current Amendment 80 PSC limit. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the rulemaking implementing this action would occur in either 2023 (mid-year) or the beginning of the 2024 fishing year and supersede the current Amendment 80 halibut PSC limits.

The Council's recommendations for the proposed 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications (86 FR 68608, December 3, 2021) were based largely on information contained in the 2020 SAFE report for the BSAI groundfish fisheries. Through the proposed harvest specifications, NMFS notified the public that these harvest specifications could change, as the Council would consider information contained in the 2021 SAFE report; recommendations from the Plan Team, SSC, and AP; and public comments when making its recommendations for final harvest specifications at the December 2021 Council meeting. NMFS further notified the public that, as required by the FMP and its implementing regulations, the sum of the TACs must be within the OY range of 1.4 million and 2.0 million mt.

Information contained in the 2021 SAFE report indicates biomass changes from the 2020 SAFE report for several groundfish species. The 2021 SAFE report was made available for public review during the public comment period for the proposed harvest specifications. At the December 2021 Council meeting, the SSC recommended the 2022 and 2023 OFLs and ABCs based on the best and most recent information contained in the 2021 SAFE report. The SSC's recommendation resulted in an ABC sum total for all BSAI groundfish species in excess of 2.0 million mt for both 2022 and 2023.

Based on lower spawning biomass estimates, the Council recommends final BS pollock TACs decrease by 289,000 mt in 2022 and 111,000 mt in 2023 compared to the proposed 2022 and 2023 BS pollock TACs. The large reduction in pollock TAC leads to more available TAC for other fisheries while still maintaining an overall total TAC within the required OY range of 1.4 to 2.0 million mt. This leads to an increase to almost all non-pollock TACs in 2022 and 2023, except for TACs for those species restricted by biomass limitations. Specifically, there were no other decreases in non-pollock TACs in 2022. In 2023, there were small decreases in terms of tonnage and percentage decrease from proposed TACs for Bering Sea (BS) Greenland turbot, Aleutian Islands (AI) Greenland turbot, BS Pacific ocean perch, Central Aleutian Islands (CAI) Pacific ocean perch, and Eastern Aleutian Islands (EAI) Pacific ocean perch.

The changes to TACs between the proposed and final harvest specifications are based on the most recent scientific and socioeconomic information and are consistent with the FMP, regulatory obligations, and harvest strategy as described in the proposed and final harvest specifications, including the required OY range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million mt. These changes are compared in Table 1A.

Table 1 lists the Council's recommended final 2022 OFL, ABC, TAC, initial TAC (ITAC), CDQ reserve allocations, and non-specified reserves of the BSAI groundfish species or species groups; and Table 2 lists the Council's recommended final 2023 OFL, ABC, TAC, ITAC, CDQ reserve allocations, and non-specified reserves of the BSAI groundfish species or species groups. NMFS concurs in these recommendations. These final 2022 and 2023 TAC amounts for the BSAI are within the OY range established for the BSAI and do not exceed the ABC for any species or species group. The apportionment of TAC amounts among fisheries and seasons is discussed below.

Section 679.20(b)(1)(i) requires that NMFS reserve 15 percent of the TAC for each target species (except for pollock, hook-and-line and pot gear allocation of sablefish, and Amendment 80 species) in a non-specified reserve. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that NMFS allocate 20 percent of the hook-and-line or pot gear allocation of sablefish to the fixed-gear sablefish CDQ reserve for each subarea. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D) requires that NMFS allocate 7.5 percent of the trawl gear allocations of sablefish in the BS and AI and 10.7 percent of the BS Greenland turbot and arrowtooth flounder TACs to the respective CDQ reserves. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) requires that NMFS allocate 10.7 percent of the TACs for Atka mackerel, AI Pacific ocean perch, yellowfin sole, rock sole, flathead sole, and Pacific cod to the respective CDQ reserves. Sections 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A) and 679.31(a) also require that 10 percent of the BS pollock TAC be allocated to the pollock CDQ directed fishing allowance (DFA). Sections 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 2 )( i ) and 679.31(a) require that 10 percent of the AI pollock TAC be allocated to the pollock CDQ DFA. The entire Bogoslof District pollock TAC is allocated as an ICA pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(ii) because the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock by regulation (§ 679.22(a)(7)(B)). With the exception of the hook-and-line or pot gear sablefish CDQ reserve, the regulations do not further apportion the CDQ allocations by gear.

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 1 ), NMFS allocates a pollock ICA of 49,500 mt of the BS pollock TAC after subtracting the 10 percent CDQ DFA. This allowance is based on NMFS's examination of the pollock incidental catch, including the incidental catch by CDQ vessels, in target fisheries other than pollock from 2000 through 2021. During this 22-year period, the pollock incidental catch ranged from a low of 2.2 percent in 2006 to a high of 4.6 percent in 2014, with a 22-year average of 3 percent. Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 2 )( i ) and ( ii ), NMFS establishes a pollock ICA of 2,500 mt of the AI pollock TAC after subtracting the 10 percent CDQ DFA. This allowance is based on NMFS's examination of the pollock incidental catch, including the incidental catch by CDQ vessels, in target fisheries other than pollock from 2003 through 2021. During this 19-year period, the incidental catch of pollock ranged from a low of 5 percent in 2006 to a high of 17 percent in 2014, with a 19-year average of 9 percent.

After subtracting the 10.7 percent CDQ reserve and pursuant to § 679.20(a)(8) and (10), NMFS allocates ICAs of 3,000 mt of flathead sole, 6,000 mt of rock sole, 4,000 mt of yellowfin sole, 10 mt of WAI Pacific ocean perch, 60 mt of CAI Pacific ocean perch, 100 mt of EAI Pacific ocean perch, 20 mt of WAI Atka mackerel, 75 mt of CAI Atka mackerel, and 800 mt of EAI and BS Atka mackerel. These ICA allowances are based on NMFS's examination of the incidental catch in other target fisheries from 2003 through 2021.

The regulations do not designate the remainder of the non-specified reserve by species or species group. Any amount of the reserve may be apportioned to a target species that contributed to the non-specified reserves during the year, provided that such apportionments are consistent with § 679.20(a)(3) and do not result in overfishing (see § 679.20(b)(1)(i)). The Regional Administrator has determined that the ITACs specified for certain species listed in Tables 1 and 2 need to be supplemented from the non-specified reserve because U.S. fishing vessels have demonstrated the capacity to catch the full TAC allocations. Therefore, in accordance with § 679.20(b), NMFS is apportioning the amounts shown in Table 3 from the non-specified reserve to increase the ITAC for AI “other rockfish” by 15 percent of the “other rockfish” TAC in 2022 and 2023.

Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A) requires that the BS pollock TAC be apportioned as a DFA, after subtracting 10 percent for the CDQ program and 4.95 percent in 2022 and 4.27 percent in 2023 for the ICA, as follows: 50 percent to the inshore sector, 40 percent to the catcher/processor (CP) sector, and 10 percent to the mothership sector. In the BS, 45 percent of the DFA is allocated to the A season (January 20-June 10), and 55 percent of the DFA is allocated to the B season (June 10-November 1) (§§ 679.20(a)(5)(i)(B)( 1 ) and 679.23(e)(2)). The AI directed pollock fishery allocation to the Aleut Corporation is the amount of pollock TAC remaining in the AI after subtracting 1,900 mt for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and 2,500 mt for the ICA (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 2 )). In the AI, the total A season apportionment of the TAC (including the AI directed fishery allocation, the CDQ DFA, and the ICA) may equal up to 40 percent of the ABC for AI pollock, and the remainder of the TAC is allocated to the B season (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 3 )). Tables 4 and 5 list these 2022 and 2023 amounts.

Section 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)( 6 ) sets harvest limits for pollock in the A season (January 20 to June 10) in Areas 543, 542, and 541. In Area 543, the A season pollock harvest limit is no more than 5 percent of the AI pollock ABC. In Area 542, the A season pollock harvest limit is no more than 15 percent of the AI pollock ABC. In Area 541, the A season pollock harvest limit is no more than 30 percent of the AI pollock ABC.

Section 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)( 4 ) also includes several specific requirements regarding BS pollock allocations. First, it requires that 8.5 percent of the pollock allocated to the CP sector be available for harvest by AFA catcher vessels (CVs) with CP sector endorsements, unless the Regional Administrator receives a cooperative contract that allows for the distribution of harvest among AFA CPs and AFA CVs in a manner agreed to by all members. Second, AFA CPs not listed in the AFA are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the pollock allocated to the CP sector. Tables 4 and 5 list the 2022 and 2023 allocations of pollock TAC. Table 20 lists the AFA CP prohibited species sideboard limits, and Tables 21 and 22 list the AFA CV groundfish and prohibited species sideboard limits. The tables for the pollock allocations to the BS inshore pollock cooperatives and open access sector will be posted on the Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/alaska-groundfish-fisheries-management.

Tables 4 and 5 also list seasonal apportionments of pollock and harvest limits within the Steller Sea Lion Conservation Area (SCA). The harvest of pollock within the SCA, as defined at § 679.22(a)(7)(vii), is limited to no more than 28 percent of the annual pollock DFA before 12:00 noon, April 1, as provided in § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C). The A season pollock SCA harvest limit will be apportioned to each sector in proportion to each sector's allocated percentage of the DFA.

Section 679.20(a)(8) allocates the Atka mackerel TACs to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors, after subtracting the CDQ reserves, ICAs for the BSAI trawl limited access sector and non-trawl gear sector, and the jig gear allocation (Tables 6 and 7). The percentage of the ITAC for Atka mackerel allocated to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is listed in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and in § 679.91. Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(8)(i), up to 2 percent of the EAI and the BS Atka mackerel TAC may be allocated to vessels using jig gear. The percent of this allocation is recommended annually by the Council based on several criteria, including, among other criteria, the anticipated harvest capacity of the jig gear fleet. The Council recommended, and NMFS approves, a 0.5 percent allocation of the Atka mackerel ITAC in the EAI and BS to the jig gear sector in 2022 and 2023.

Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) apportions the Atka mackerel TAC into two equal seasonal allowances. Section 679.23(e)(3) sets the first seasonal allowance for directed fishing with trawl gear from January 20 through June 10 (A season), and the second seasonal allowance from June 10 through December 31 (B season). Section 679.23(e)(4)(iii) applies Atka mackerel seasons to CDQ Atka mackerel trawl fishing. The ICAs and jig gear allocations are not apportioned by season.

Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)( 1 )( i ) and ( ii ) limits Atka mackerel catch within waters 0 nmi to 20 nmi of Steller sea lion sites listed in Table 6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located west of 178° W longitude to no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543, and equally divides the annual TACs between the A and B seasons as defined at § 679.23(e)(3). Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)( 2 ) requires that the annual TAC in Area 543 will be no more than 65 percent of the ABC in Area 543. Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(D) requires that any unharvested Atka mackerel A season allowance that is added to the B season be prohibited from being harvested within waters 0 nmi to 20 nmi of Steller sea lion sites listed in Table 6 to 50 CFR part 679 and located in Areas 541, 542, and 543.

Tables 6 and 7 list these 2022 and 2023 Atka mackerel seasonal and area allowances, and the sector allocations. One Amendment 80 cooperative has formed for the 2022 fishing year. Because all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative, no allocation to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is required for 2022. The 2023 allocations for Atka mackerel between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2022.

The Council separated BSAI subarea OFLs, ABCs, and TACs for Pacific cod in 2014 (79 FR 12108, March 4, 2014). Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C) allocates 10.7 percent of the BS TAC and the AI TAC to the CDQ program. After CDQ allocations have been deducted from the respective BS and AI Pacific cod TACs, the remaining BSAI Pacific cod TACs are combined for calculating further BSAI Pacific cod sector allocations. If the non-CDQ Pacific cod TAC is or will be reached in either the BS or the AI subareas, NMFS will prohibit non-CDQ directed fishing for Pacific cod in that subarea as provided in § 679.20(d)(1)(iii).

Sections 679.20(a)(7)(i) and (ii) allocate to the non-CDQ sectors the Pacific cod TAC in the combined BSAI, after subtracting 10.7 percent for the CDQ program, as follows: 1.4 percent to vessels using jig gear; 2.0 percent to hook-and-line or pot CVs less than 60 ft (18.3 m) length overall (LOA); 0.2 percent to hook-and-line CVs greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA; 48.7 percent to hook-and-line CPs; 8.4 percent to pot CVs greater than or equal to 60 ft (18.3 m) LOA; 1.5 percent to pot CPs; 2.3 percent to AFA trawl CPs; 13.4 percent to Amendment 80 sector; and 22.1 percent to trawl CVs. The ICA for the hook-and-line and pot sectors will be deducted from the aggregate portion of Pacific cod TAC allocated to the hook-and-line and pot sectors. For 2022 and 2023, the Regional Administrator establishes an ICA of 400 mt based on anticipated incidental catch by these sectors in other fisheries.

The ITAC allocation of Pacific cod to the Amendment 80 sector is established in Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679 and § 679.91. One Amendment 80 cooperative has formed for the 2022 fishing year. Because all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative, no allocation to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is required for 2022. The 2023 allocations for Pacific cod between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2022.

The sector allocations of Pacific cod are apportioned into seasonal allowances to disperse the Pacific cod fisheries over the fishing year (see §§ 679.20(a)(7)(i)(B), 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(A), and 679.23(e)(5)). In accordance with § 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B) and (C), any unused portion of a Pacific cod seasonal allowance for any sector, except the jig sector, will become available at the beginning of that sector's next seasonal allowance.

Section 679.20(a)(7)(vii) requires that the Regional Administrator establish an Area 543 Pacific cod harvest limit based on Pacific cod abundance in Area 543 as determined by the annual stock assessment process. Based on the 2021 stock assessment, the Regional Administrator determined for 2022 and 2023 the estimated amount of Pacific cod abundance in Area 543 is 15.7 percent of the total AI abundance. To calculate the Area 543 Pacific cod harvest limit, NMFS first subtracts the State GHL Pacific cod amount from the AI Pacific cod ABC. Then NMFS determines the harvest limit in Area 543 by multiplying the percentage of Pacific cod estimated in Area 543 (15.7 percent) by the remaining ABC for AI Pacific cod. Based on these calculations, the Area 543 harvest limit is 2,166 mt for 2022 and 2023.

On March 21, 2019, the final rule adopting Amendment 113 to the FMP (81 FR 84434, November 23, 2016) was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ( Groundfish Forum v. Ross, No. 16-2495 (D.D.C. March 21, 2019)), and the corresponding regulations implementing Amendment 113 are no longer in effect. Therefore, this final rule is not specifying amounts for the AI Pacific Cod Catcher Vessel Harvest Set-Aside Program (see § 679.20(a)(7)(viii)).

Table 8 and Table 9 list the CDQ and non-CDQ seasonal allowances by gear, as well as the non-CDQ sector allocations, based on the final 2022 and 2023 Pacific cod TACs.

Sections 679.20(a)(4)(iii) and (iv) require allocation of the sablefish TAC for the BS and AI subareas between the trawl gear and hook-and-line or pot gear sectors. Gear allocations of the sablefish TAC for the BS are 50 percent for trawl gear and 50 percent for hook-and-line or pot gear. Gear allocations of the TAC for the AI are 25 percent for trawl gear and 75 percent for hook-and-line or pot gear. Section 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(B) requires that NMFS apportions 20 percent of the hook-and-line or pot gear allocation of sablefish TAC to the CDQ reserve for each subarea. Also, § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(D)( 1 ) requires that in the BS and AI 7.5 percent of the trawl gear allocation of sablefish TAC from the non-specified reserve, established under § 679.20(b)(1)(i), be assigned to the CDQ reserve.

The Council recommended that only trawl sablefish TAC be established biennially. The harvest specifications for the hook-and-line gear or pot gear sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fisheries are limited to the 2022 fishing year to ensure those fisheries are conducted concurrently with the halibut IFQ fishery. Concurrent sablefish and halibut IFQ fisheries reduce the potential for discards of halibut and sablefish in those fisheries. The sablefish IFQ fisheries remain closed at the beginning of each fishing year until the final harvest specifications for the sablefish IFQ fisheries are in effect. Table 10 lists the 2022 and 2023 gear allocations of the sablefish TAC and CDQ reserve amounts.

Sections 679.20(a)(10)(i) and (ii) require that NMFS allocate AI Pacific ocean perch, and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole ITACs between the Amendment 80 sector and the BSAI trawl limited access sector, after subtracting 10.7 percent for the CDQ reserves and ICAs for the BSAI trawl limited access sector and vessels using non-trawl gear. The allocations of the ITACs for AI Pacific ocean perch, and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole to the Amendment 80 sector are established in accordance with Tables 33 and 34 to 50 CFR part 679 and § 679.91.

One Amendment 80 cooperative has formed for the 2022 fishing year. Because all Amendment 80 vessels are part of the sole Amendment 80 cooperative, no allocation to the Amendment 80 limited access sector is required for 2022. The 2023 allocations for Amendment 80 species between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 limited access sector will not be known until eligible participants apply for participation in the program by November 1, 2022. Tables 11 and 12 list the 2022 and 2023 allocations of the AI Pacific ocean perch, and BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole TACs.

Section 679.2 defines the ABC surplus for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole as the difference between the annual ABC and TAC for each species. Section 679.20(b)(1)(iii) establishes ABC reserves for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. The ABC surpluses and the ABC reserves are necessary to mitigate the operational variability, environmental conditions, and economic factors that may constrain the CDQ groups and the Amendment 80 cooperatives from fully harvesting their allocations and to improve the likelihood of achieving and maintaining, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish fisheries. NMFS, after consultation with the Council, may set the ABC reserve at or below the ABC surplus for each species, thus maintaining the TAC below ABC limits. An amount equal to 10.7 percent of the ABC reserves will be allocated as CDQ ABC reserves for flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole. Section 679.31(b)(4) establishes the annual allocations of CDQ ABC reserves among the CDQ groups. The Amendment 80 ABC reserves are the ABC reserves minus the CDQ ABC reserves. Section 679.91(i)(2) establishes each Amendment 80 cooperative ABC reserve to be the ratio of each cooperatives' quota share units and the total Amendment 80 quota share units, multiplied by the Amendment 80 ABC reserve for each respective species. Table 13 lists the 2022 and 2023 ABC surplus and ABC reserves for BSAI flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole.