[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58554-58555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18530]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD277]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod 
Trawl Cooperative Program; Public Workshop

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

ACTION: Notification of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: NMFS will present a public workshop on the implementation of 
the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC Program or Program) for 
potentially eligible participants and other interested parties. The 
PCTC Program allocates Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying 
groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) license holders and 
qualifying processors and requires participants to form cooperatives to 
harvest the quota. At the workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of 
the PCTC Program, discuss the key PCTC Program elements, describe the 
process for participating in the Program, and answer questions. NMFS is 
conducting this public workshop to provide assistance to fishery 
participants in understanding and reviewing this Program.

DATES: The same workshop will be presented in Seattle and then via 
webinar. The first workshop will be held in-person on Wednesday, 
September 20, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time in 
Seattle, Washington and will not have a webinar option. The second 
workshop will be held via webinar on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: The first workshop on September 20 will be held in Seattle, 
Washington at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center, 7700 Sand Point 
Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. The second workshop will be held via webinar 
and the link to the meeting is: https://meet.google.com/oky-ajgw-nhm. A 
phone connect is also available by calling +1 502-518-3401 and entering 
the following pin number: 163 659 782.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Warpinski, 
[email protected], (907)-586-7234.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule that implements 
Amendment 122 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area 
(BSAI) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) on (88 FR 53704, August 
8, 2023). The PCTC Program assigns Pacific cod harvest quota to 
qualifying groundfish LLP license holders and qualifying processors. 
The Program is a limited access privilege program for the harvest of 
Pacific cod in the BSAI trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector. Under the 
Program, participants holding quota share (QS) form harvesting 
cooperatives in association with a processor to harvest the annual 
harvest privilege of Pacific cod.
    The PCTC Program implements a complex suite of measures to improve 
fishery conditions for all participants. This Program establishes 
criteria for harvesters and processors in the BSAI trawl CV sector 
Pacific cod fishery to qualify for and receive QS, criteria for 
allocating QS in the initial year of implementation, and criteria for 
the transfer of QS. QS holders are required to join a cooperative 
(harvesters) or associate with a cooperative (processors). The 
aggregate QS of cooperative members and associated processors yields an 
exclusive harvest privilege for PCTC Program cooperatives, which NMFS 
will issue as cooperative quota (CQ) each year. CQ represents a portion 
of the A and B season BSAI trawl CV sector Pacific cod Directed Fishing 
Allowance (DFA). Of the total annual CQ, 77.5 percent is derived from 
QS issued to LLP licenses, and 22.5 percent is derived from QS issued 
to processors. The DFA for the C season remains available for harvest 
as a limited access fishery open to all CVs with the required trawl 
gear and area endorsements on the LLP license assigned to the vessel.
    As required under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 303A(c)(5)(D), the 
PCTC Program includes ownership and use caps to prevent a permit holder 
from acquiring an excessive share of the fishery. No person is 
permitted to hold more than 5 percent of harvester-issued QS or 20 
percent of processor-issued QS. In addition, no vessel is allowed to 
harvest more than 5 percent of the annual CQ, and no company is allowed 
to process more than 20 percent of the annual CQ. The PCTC Program also 
includes legacy exemptions for persons over these ownership and use 
caps at the time of PCTC Program

[[Page 58555]]

implementation, allowing participants to maintain levels of historical 
participation rather than forcing divestiture.
    The PCTC Program reduces the halibut and crab Prohibited Species 
Catch (PSC) limits for participating trawl CVs during the A and B 
seasons. NMFS will apportion halibut and crab PSC limits to PCTC 
Program cooperatives during the annual harvest specifications process 
based on the percentage of total BSAI Pacific cod CQ allocated to each 
cooperative.
    To support the sustained participation of AI communities in the 
Pacific cod trawl CV fishery, cooperatives are required to collectively 
set-aside 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to an Aleutian 
Islands shoreplant (AI CQ set-aside) during years in which an AI 
community representative notifies NMFS of their intent to process 
Pacific cod.
    At this time, NMFS mailed out official records to eligible 
participants who have until October 10, 2023 to submit the Application 
for PCTC Program QS to NMFS. Any participants who do not join or 
associate with a cooperative by November 1 will not receive benefits 
from their QS for the 2024 fishing season. On November 1, 2023, all 
cooperatives must submit Applications for PCTC Program Cooperative 
Quota to NMFS. For the calendar year 2023, to provide for 
implementation of the Program during its first year, NMFS will allow 
each cooperative to submit the inter-cooperative agreement on or before 
December 31, 2023, after the November 1 deadline for the Application 
for PCTC Program CQ.
    NMFS is conducting two public workshops to provide assistance to 
fishery participants in reviewing the requirements of the Program. At 
the workshops, NMFS will provide an overview of the Program, and 
discuss the key Program elements, including the process to apply for 
QS; cooperative and limited access participation provisions; 
cooperative quota transfer provisions; the appeals process; monitoring 
and enforcement; and electronic reporting. Additionally, NMFS will 
answer questions from workshop participants. For further information on 
the Program, please visit the NMFS Alaska Region website here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-122-fishery-management-plan-groundfish-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-management.

Special Accommodations

    Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Stephanie Warpinski, 
[email protected], at least 5 working days prior to the 
meeting date.

    Dated: August 23, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-18530 Filed 8-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P