[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31701-31703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10570]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC814]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Prohibited 
Species Donation Program

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

ACTION: Notice; selection of an authorized distributor.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the renewal of two prohibited species donation 
(PSD) permits to SeaShare, a non-profit and tax exempt organization, 
authorizing this organization to distribute Pacific salmon and Pacific 
halibut to hunger relief agencies, food bank networks, or food bank 
distributors under the PSD program. Salmon and halibut are caught 
incidentally during directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear off 
Alaska. This action is necessary to comply with provisions of the PSD 
program and is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

DATES: The permits are effective from May 18, 2023 through May 25, 
2026.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the PSD permits for salmon and halibut 
prepared for this action may be obtained from the Alaska Region website 
at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Fishing for groundfish by United States vessels in the exclusive 
economic

[[Page 31702]]

zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) and 
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is managed by NMFS in accordance with the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (BSAI FMP) and the Fishery Management Plan for 
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). These fishery management 
plans (FMPs) were prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Regulations governing the Alaska 
groundfish fisheries and implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 
600 and 679. Fishing for halibut in waters in and off Alaska is 
governed by the Convention between the U.S. and Canada for the 
Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the North Pacific Ocean and 
Bering Sea (Convention). The International Pacific Halibut Commission 
(IPHC) promulgates regulations pursuant to the Convention. The IPHC's 
regulations are subject to approval by the Secretary of State with 
concurrence from the Secretary of Commerce. After approval by the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, the IPHC regulations 
are published in the Federal Register as annual management measures 
pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.
    Retention of incidentally caught prohibited species is prohibited 
in the groundfish fisheries except for salmon and halibut for the 
purposes of the PSD program. Amendments 26 and 29 to the BSAI and GOA 
FMPs, respectively, authorize a salmon donation program and were 
approved by NMFS on July 10, 1996; a final rule implementing this 
program was published in the Federal Register on July 24, 1996 (61 FR 
38358). The salmon donation program was expanded to include halibut as 
part of the PSD program under Amendments 50 and 50 to the FMPs that 
were approved by NMFS on May 6, 1998. A final rule implementing 
Amendments 50 and 50 was published in the Federal Register on June 12, 
1998 (63 FR 32144). Although that final rule contained a sunset 
provision for the halibut PSD program of December 31, 2000, the halibut 
PSD program was permanently extended under a final rule published in 
the Federal Register on December 14, 2000 (65 FR 78119). A full 
description of, and background information on, the PSD program may be 
found in the preambles to the proposed rules for Amendments 26 and 29, 
and Amendments 50 and 50 (61 FR 24750, May 16, 1996, and 63 FR 10583, 
March 4, 1998, respectively).
    Section 679.26 authorizes the voluntary distribution of salmon and 
halibut taken incidentally in the groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska 
to hunger relief agencies, food bank networks, or food bank 
distributors by tax-exempt organizations through an authorized 
distributor. The Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional 
Administrator), may select one or more tax-exempt organizations to be 
authorized distributors, as defined by Sec.  679.2, based on the 
information submitted by applicants under Sec.  679.26. After review of 
qualified applicants, NMFS must announce the selection of each 
authorized distributor in the Federal Register and issue one or more 
PSD permits to each selected distributor.

Renewal of Permits to SeaShare

    Currently, SeaShare, a tax-exempt organization founded to help the 
seafood industry donate to U.S. hunger relief efforts, is the sole 
authorized distributor of salmon and halibut taken incidentally in the 
groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska. SeaShare's current salmon and 
halibut PSD permits became effective June 2, 2020, and authorize 
SeaShare to participate in the PSD program through May 28, 2023 (85 FR 
33633, June 2, 2020).
    On April 12, 2023, the Regional Administrator received applications 
from SeaShare to renew its salmon and halibut PSD permits. The Regional 
Administrator reviewed the applications (one for salmon and one for 
halibut) and determined that both applications are complete and that 
SeaShare continues to meet the requirements for an authorized 
distributor of salmon and halibut under the PSD program. As required by 
Sec.  679.26(b)(2), the Regional Administrator based his selection on 
the following criteria:
    1. The number and qualifications of applicants for PSD permits. 
SeaShare is the only applicant for PSD permits at this time. NMFS, 
under the Regional Administrator, has previously approved applications 
submitted by SeaShare. As of the date of this notice, no other 
applications have been approved by NMFS. SeaShare has been coordinating 
the distribution of salmon taken incidentally in trawl fisheries since 
1993, and of halibut taken incidentally in trawl fisheries since 1998, 
under exempted fishing permits from 1993 to 1996 and under the PSD 
program since 1996. SeaShare employs independent seafood quality 
control experts to ensure product quality is maintained by cold storage 
facilities and common carriers servicing the areas where salmon and 
halibut donations would take place.
    2. The number of harvesters and the quantity of fish that 
applicants can effectively administer. Current participants in the PSD 
program administered by SeaShare include 12 shoreside processors and 
136 catcher vessels delivering to shoreside processors, 34 catcher 
processors, and 3 motherships. Two secondary processing plants that 
generate steaked salmon and halibut participate in the PSD program. 
SeaShare has the capacity to receive and distribute salmon and halibut 
from up to 60 processors and the associated catcher vessels. Therefore, 
it is anticipated that SeaShare has more than adequate capacity for any 
foreseeable expansion of donations.
    Table 1 shows the total pounds of headed-and-gutted and steaked 
salmon and halibut donated to food bank organizations from 2019 through 
early April of 2023. NMFS does not have information to convert 
accurately the net weights of salmon and halibut to numbers of salmon 
and numbers of halibut.

                           Table 1--Headed-and-Gutted (H&G) and Steaked Salmon and Halibut Donated to Food Bank Organizations
                                                                        [Pounds]
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                                                               2019            2020            2021            2022            2023            Total
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Salmon H&G..............................................           3,293           2,150            0.00             292            0.00           5,735
Salmon steaked..........................................         368,650         234,520         136,700         181,682          47,051         968,603
Halibut H&G.............................................          35,895          19,693           4,100           3,643            0.00          63,331
Halibut steaked.........................................          14,313          11,336           9,852         12,1678           1,200          49,379
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Inventory.....................................         422,151         267.699         150,652         198,295          48,251       1,087,048
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[[Page 31703]]

    3. The anticipated level of salmon and halibut incidental catch 
based on salmon and halibut incidental catch from previous years. The 
incidental catch of salmon and incidental catch mortality of halibut in 
the GOA and BSAI trawl fisheries are shown in Table 2.

     Table 2--Incidental Catch of Salmon and Incidental Catch Mortality of Halibut in the GOA and BSAI Trawl
                                                    Fisheries
                                     [In number of fish or metric tons (mt)]
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          Area fishery                   2019                2020                2021                2022
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BSAI Trawl Chinook Salmon         31,467 fish.......  34,955 fish.......  15,880 fish.......  8,336 fish
 Incidental Catch \1\.
BSAI Trawl Other Salmon           358,804 fish......  346,245 fish......  550,645 fish......  245,160 fish
 Incidental Catch \2\.
GOA Trawl Chinook Salmon          23,903 fish.......  11,753 fish.......  17,180 fish.......  14,565 fish
 Incidental Catch \3\.
GOA Trawl Other Salmon            6,413 fish........  3,232 Fish........  3,566 Fish........  5,241 Fish
 Incidental Catch \4\.
BSAI Trawl Halibut Mortality \5\  2,270 mt..........  1,577 mt..........  1,426 mt..........  2,057 mt
GOA Trawl Halibut Mortality \6\.  1,099 mt..........  788 mt............  367 mt............  353 mt
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\1\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chinook_salmon_mortality2023.html.
\2\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html.
\3\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/goasalmonmort2023.html.
\4\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html.
\5\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#bsai-prohibited-species.
\6\ https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#goa-prohibited-species species.

    Halibut incidental catch amounts are constrained by an annual 
prohibited species catch (PSC) limit in the BSAI and GOA. Future 
halibut incidental catch levels likely will be similar to those 
experienced from 2019 through 2022.
    Chinook salmon PSC limits (which are in number of fish) are 
established for the Bering Sea and central and western GOA pollock 
fisheries that, when attained, result in the closure of pollock 
fishing. The Chinook salmon PSC limits for the Bering Sea pollock 
fisheries were originally established by Amendment 91 to the BSAI FMP 
(75 FR 53026, August 30, 2010) and established for the central and 
western GOA pollock fisheries by Amendment 93 to the GOA FMP (77 FR 
42629, July 20, 2012). In 2016, Amendment 110 to the BSAI FMP was 
implemented to improve the management of Chinook and chum salmon 
bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery by creating a comprehensive 
salmon bycatch avoidance program (81 FR 37534, June 10, 2016). In 2015, 
Amendment 97 to the GOA FMP established annual Chinook salmon PSC 
limits for the groundfish trawl fisheries, except for pollock trawl 
fisheries, in the Western and Central GOA (79 FR 71350, December 2, 
2014). While salmon incidental catch amounts tend to vary between 
years, making it difficult to accurately predict future incidental take 
amounts, the total, or maximum, amount of annual Chinook salmon 
incidental catch in the Bering Sea and GOA pollock fisheries is 
constrained by the PSC limits.
    4. The number of vessels and processors participating in the PSD 
program. For the 2023 permit renewal, there will be 12 shoreside 
processors. Catcher processors will decrease from 34 to 31 under the 
2023 permit renewal. Motherships will increase from three to four. 
Catcher vessels delivering to shoreside processors as well as 
motherships will decrease slightly from 151 to 140. Secondary 
processors will increase from two to three.
    NMFS issues PSD permits to SeaShare for a 3-year period unless the 
permits are suspended or revoked under Sec.  679.26. The permits may 
not be transferred; however, they may be renewed following the 
application procedures in Sec.  679.26. If the authorized distributor 
modifies the list of participants in the PSD program or delivery 
locations, the authorized distributor must submit a modified list of 
participants or a modified list of delivery locations to the Regional 
Administrator within 30 days of the list modification.
    These permits may be suspended, modified, or revoked under 15 CFR 
part 904 for violation of Sec.  679.26 or other regulations in 50 CFR 
part 679.
    This action is taken under Sec.  679.26.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. 
L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.

    Dated: May 12, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10570 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
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