[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67665-67668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24418]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BL42


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Halibut Abundance-Based Management of Amendment 80 
Prohibited Species Catch Limit

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
submitted Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI 
FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, 
Amendment 123 would amend regulations governing Pacific halibut 
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) (halibut) prohibited species catch (PSC), or 
bycatch, limits in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) to link 
the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 commercial groundfish trawl 
fleet in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to halibut abundance. This 
action is necessary to comply with the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
In particular, National Standard 9 and National Standard 1 require 
fishery management plans to minimize halibut PSC to the extent 
practicable while achieving optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish 
fisheries on a continuing basis. Further, National Standard 4 requires 
fishery management plans to ensure that when it becomes necessary to 
allocate or assign fishing privileges among various U.S. fishermen, 
such allocation shall be fair and equitable, reasonably calculated to 
promote conservation, and carried out in such manner that no particular 
individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of 
such privileges. National Standard 8 requires that conservation and 
management measures take into account the importance of fishery 
resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data 
that are based upon the best scientific information available in order 
to provide for the sustained participation of such communities and, to 
the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such 
communities. Amendment 123 is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the BSAI FMP, and other 
applicable laws.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than January 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0088, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter [NOAA-NMFS-2022-0088] in the Search box. 
Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and 
enter or attach your comments. Mail: Submit written comments to Josh 
Keaton, Acting Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 
Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to 
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the final Environmental Impact Statement and 
the Regulatory Impact Review (collectively referred to as the 
``Analysis'') prepared for this proposed rule may be obtained from 
www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bridget Mansfield, 907-586-7642.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
regional fishery management council submit any fishery management plan 
amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or 
partial approval by the Secretary. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also 
requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP amendment, immediately 
publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the amendment 
is available for public review and comment. This notice announces that 
proposed Amendment 123 to the BSAI FMP is available for public review 
and comment.
    NMFS manages the U.S. groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone under the BSAI FMP. The Council prepared the BSAI FMP 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
seq.). Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the BSAI 
FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The International Pacific 
Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage Pacific halibut fisheries 
through regulations established under the authority of the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act) (16 U.S.C. 773-773k). The 
IPHC adopts regulations governing the target fishery for Pacific 
halibut under the Convention between the United States and Canada for 
the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean 
and Bering

[[Page 67666]]

Sea (Halibut Convention). For the United States, regulations governing 
the fishery for Pacific halibut developed by the IPHC are subject to 
acceptance by the Secretary of State with concurrence from the 
Secretary of Commerce. This action regulates bycatch in the groundfish 
fisheries under the BSAI FMP. Therefore, the proposed action was 
developed within the Council process and recommended to NMFS for 
implementation.
    Pacific halibut is fully utilized in Alaska as a target species in 
subsistence, personal use, recreational (sport), and commercial halibut 
fisheries. Halibut has significant social, cultural, and economic 
importance to fishery participants and fishing communities throughout 
the geographical range of the resource. Halibut is also incidentally 
taken as bycatch in commercial groundfish fisheries. In recent years, 
catch limits for the commercial halibut fishery in the BSAI have 
declined in response to decreasing halibut spawning biomass although 
halibut catch limits increased in 2021, while limits on the maximum 
amount of halibut bycatch allowed in the groundfish fisheries have 
remained constant since 2015, when they were reduced under BSAI FMP 
Amendment 111. This BSAI FMP amendment, if approved, would set annual 
halibut PSC limits in the BSAI Amendment 80 sector groundfish fisheries 
based on halibut abundance, which is the sector with the largest share 
of PSC limits. This proposed approach is consistent with the 
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to minimize bycatch to the 
extent practicable while achieving, on a continuing basis, optimum 
yield from the groundfish fisheries.
    Halibut is not a groundfish species under the BSAI FMP and, 
therefore, is not subject to provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requiring the establishment of an annual overfishing limit (OFL), an 
acceptable biological catch (ABC), or a total allowable catch (TAC) 
limit. This is because it is subject to the Halibut Convention. 
Although halibut is not managed under an OFL, ABC, or TAC, the IPHC has 
developed a harvest policy to control removals during conditions of 
declining or poor stock abundance. The IPHC harvest policy includes a 
harvest control rule that reduces commercial harvest rates if the stock 
is estimated to have fallen below established thresholds for female 
spawning biomass. The harvest control rule would severely curtail 
removals during times of particularly poor stock conditions. The 
harvest control rule has not been triggered, even during the most 
recent years of relatively low exploitable biomass (see Section 3.1.1.1 
and Section 3.1.2.1 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement and the 
Regulatory Impact Review (collectively referred to as the 
``Analysis'')).
    The IPHC conducts an annual stock assessment for the coastwide 
halibut stock. Based on the most recent stock assessment for Pacific 
halibut, the estimated spawning stock biomass has been stable since 
2010. Stock assessment models used by the IPHC in 2020 project a 
decreasing female spawning biomass over the next few years, assuming 
current removal rates from all sources. Advice from the most recent 
stock assessment ensemble is presented annually to the IPHC as a risk-
based decision matrix that combines different catch levels and various 
performance metrics. In 2017, the previous IPHC harvest policy was 
replaced with an interim harvest strategy policy while a management 
strategy evaluation process is underway. This approach sets a coastwide 
commercial catch limit considering mortality from all sources and then 
distributes the commercial catch limit across IPHC Regulatory Areas 
using estimates of stock distribution from the IPHC fishery independent 
setline survey and relative harvest rates.
    The commercial halibut fishery in the BSAI is managed by NMFS under 
the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and Community Development Quota 
(CDQ) Programs that allocate exclusive harvest privileges. The IFQ 
Program was implemented in 1995 (58 FR 59375, November 9, 1993). The 
Council and NMFS designed the IFQ Program to end a wasteful and unsafe 
``race for fish,'' and to maintain the social and economic character of 
the fixed-gear fisheries and the coastal fishing communities where many 
of these fisheries are based. The CDQ Program was established in 1992 
(57 FR 54936, November 23, 1992) and amended substantially by the Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-241)). Under 
Section 305(i)(1)(D) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 65 villages are 
authorized to participate in the CDQ Program, represented by 6 CDQ 
groups (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)(D)). CDQ groups manage and administer 
allocations of crab, groundfish, and halibut, and use the revenue 
derived from the harvest of CDQ allocations to fund economic 
development activities and provide employment opportunities on behalf 
of the villages they represent. The amount of halibut for commercial 
harvest allocated to the CDQ Program varies by halibut management area 
and ranges from 20 to 100 percent of the commercial catch limits 
assigned to Areas 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E.
    The combined CDQ and IFQ halibut fisheries in Area 4 were harvested 
by an average of approximately 120 vessels from 2015 through 2019. The 
CDQ and IFQ halibut fisheries provide revenue to vessel owners and crew 
that harvest halibut. These fisheries also provide economic benefits to 
shore-based halibut processors and socioeconomic benefits to BSAI 
fishing communities that provide support services to the halibut 
harvesting and processing sectors. From 2015 through 2019, Area 4 
halibut ex-vessel revenues declined by 32 percent, resulting in 
negative economic impacts for fishery participants and affected fishing 
communities due to changing market conditions, while catch of halibut 
in Area 4 has remained relatively constant.
    In Area 4, the specific proportion of halibut removals that are 
taken as PSC in the groundfish fisheries versus catch in the commercial 
halibut fishery has shifted over time. From 1990 to 1996, commercial 
halibut fisheries averaged 37 percent and PSC averaged 60 percent of 
total halibut removals. From 1997 to 2011, commercial halibut fishery 
removals increased as a portion of total removals; commercial halibut 
fisheries averaged 57 percent and PSC averaged 41 percent of total 
halibut removals. From 2012 through 2014, commercial halibut fishery 
removals decreased as a portion of total removals; commercial halibut 
fishery averaged 41 percent and PSC averaged 55 percent of total 
removals. From 2016 through 2019, commercial halibut fishery averaged 
52 percent and PSC averaged 47 percent of total removals.
    Halibut PSC is taken by vessels using all gear types, but it occurs 
primarily in the trawl and hook-and-line groundfish fisheries. NMFS 
manages halibut bycatch in the BSAI by (1) establishing halibut PSC 
limits for trawl and non-trawl fisheries; (2) apportioning those 
halibut PSC limits to groundfish sectors, fishery categories, and 
seasons; and (3) managing groundfish fisheries to prevent PSC from 
exceeding established limits.
    Current halibut PSC limits for BSAI groundfish fisheries were 
established by Amendment 111 to the BSAI FMP in 2016 (81 FR 24714, 
April 27, 2016). The current total annual halibut PSC limit for BSAI 
groundfish fisheries is 3,515 metric tons (mt). Of that, 1,745 mt are 
apportioned to the Amendment 80 sector, which is comprised of 27 non-
pollock trawl catcher/processors. Of the four BSAI groundfish fishery 
sectors, the Amendment 80 sector is apportioned the majority of halibut 
PSC

[[Page 67667]]

in the BSAI (approximately 50 percent). For this and several reasons 
described in the proposed rule implementing Amendment 123, the Council 
recommended, and NMFS agrees, that this proposed amendment should only 
affect the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 sector.
    The Amendment 80 sector halibut PSC limit of 1,745 mt is 
apportioned between Amendment 80 cooperatives and the Amendment 80 
limited access fishery according to the process specified at 50 CFR 
679.91. Amendment 80 cooperatives are responsible for coordinating 
fishing activities to ensure the cooperative halibut PSC allocation is 
not exceeded. The Amendment 80 groundfish fisheries provide revenue to 
Amendment 80 vessel owners and crew members that harvest and process 
groundfish. In addition, the fisheries provide socioeconomic benefits 
to fishing communities that provide support services for Amendment 80 
vessel operations.
    The halibut PSC limit established for each BSAI groundfish sector 
is an upper limit on halibut PSC for that sector for each year. 
However, the amount of halibut PSC used by a BSAI groundfish sector is 
almost always less than its halibut PSC limit. Halibut PSC use is less 
than the halibut PSC limit due to a range of operational factors, 
including the need to avoid a closure or enforcement action if a PSC 
allocation is reached. The current halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 
80 sector is 1,745 mt, the non-Amendment 80 trawl limited access sector 
limit is 745 mt, the CDQ limit is 315 mt, and the non-trawl sector 
limit is 710 mt. From 2010 through 2020, the Amendment 80 sector has 
accounted for roughly 60 percent of the overall BSAI groundfish trawl 
PSC mortality. In recent years, catch limits for the commercial halibut 
fishery in the BSAI have declined, while these limits on the maximum 
amount of halibut PSC have remained constant, making halibut bycatch a 
larger proportion of total removal.
    Therefore, consistent with the Council's purpose and need statement 
for this amendment to prevent halibut PSC from becoming a larger 
proportion of total removals in the BSAI as halibut abundance declines, 
the Amendment 80 halibut PSC limit should decline in proportion to 
reduced amounts of halibut available for harvest by all users. The 
proposed amendment balances the interests of the two largest halibut 
user groups in the BSAI, the directed commercial halibut fishery and 
the Amendment 80 sector, as well as other users including subsistence 
and recreational, by establishing abundance-based halibut PSC limits 
for the Amendment 80 sector. This abundance-based approach is 
consistent with the IPHC management approach for the directed 
commercial halibut fisheries off Alaska, which establishes annual catch 
limits that vary with halibut abundance.
    In any given year, results from the most recent IPHC setline survey 
index for halibut in Area 4ABCDE would be categorized into one of four 
ranges including very low, low, medium, and high. Annual results from 
the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Eastern Bering Sea 
(EBS) trawl survey index for halibut would be categorized into a high 
or low range. Under this proposed amendment, each year the intercept of 
the most recent survey results in the proposed index table would 
establish the annual halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 sector. 
Those limits would range from the current Amendment 80 halibut PSC 
limit when abundance is high in the IPHC setline survey to 35 percent 
below the current limit when abundance is very low in the IPHC setline 
survey.
    In December 2021, the Council recommended, and NMFS now proposes, 
Amendment 123 to link the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 
commercial groundfish trawl fleet in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to 
halibut abundance. In recommending Amendment 123, the Council intends 
to minimize halibut PSC to the extent practicable while achieving 
optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish fisheries on a continuing basis. 
The amendment, if approved, would be expected to provide incentives for 
the Amendment 80 fleet to minimize halibut mortality at all times. 
Achievement of these objectives could result in additional harvest 
opportunities in the directed commercial halibut fisheries, helping to 
provide for the sustained participation of such communities that 
participate in those directed fisheries and allowing for a fair and 
equitable allocation of the resource. Based on a review of the 
scientific information and consideration of the revised National 
Standard guidelines, the Council and NMFS determined that reducing 
halibut PSC with declining halibut abundance provides conservation 
benefits, as defined by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Council and NMFS 
determined that this proposed amendment, if approved, may provide 
additional harvest opportunities for the commercial halibut fisheries.
    Amendment 123 would amend Sections 3.6.2 and 3.7.5 of the BSAI FMP 
to establish the link between the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 
80 sector in the BSAI groundfish fisheries and halibut abundance. 
Amendment 123 would allow NMFS to annually set the halibut PSC limit 
for the Amendment 80 sector according to halibut abundance indices from 
the most recent annual IPHC setline survey and the NMFS AFSC EBS shelf 
trawl survey. Section 3.7.5.2 of the BSAI FMP currently apportions the 
halibut PSC limit in the BSAI between the Amendment 80 sector and the 
BSAI trawl limited access sector and sets the annual halibut mortality 
PSC limit for the Amendment 80 sector at 1,745 mt. This static limit 
would be replaced by instructions indicating that the limit would be 
set annually. Section 3.6.2.1.4 of the BSAI FMP reiterates the halibut 
PSC limit in the BSAI for the Amendment 80 sector is set at 1,745 mt. 
The revision in this section would replace the static limit with the 
process for setting the annual halibut mortality PSC limit for the 
Amendment 80 sector. That process would be based on a table with pre-
established halibut abundance ranges from the IPHC survey setline index 
in Area 4ABCDE and the AFSC EBS shelf trawl survey index. The annual 
Amendment 80 sector halibut PSC limit would be set at the value found 
at the intercept of the results from the most recent IPHC setline 
survey in Area 4ABCDE and the most recent AFSC EBS shelf trawl survey.
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on proposed Amendment 123 
through the end of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to 
publish in the Federal Register and to seek public comment on a 
proposed rule that would implement Amendment 123, following NMFS's 
evaluation of the proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

[[Page 67668]]

    Respondents do not need to submit the same comments on Amendment 
123 and the proposed rule. All relevant written comments received by 
the end of the applicable comment period, whether specifically directed 
to the BSAI FMP amendment or the proposed rule will be considered by 
NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision for Amendments 123 and 
addressed in the response to comments in the final decision. Comments 
received after the end of the applicable comment period will not be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 123. To be 
considered, comments must be received, not just postmarked or otherwise 
transmitted, by the last day of the comment period (see DATES).

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

    Dated: November 3, 2022.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-24418 Filed 11-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P