Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13331 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pelagic 

fisheries in the U.S. western Pacific are 

managed under the FEP. The Council 

prepared Amendment 2 to address 

pelagic fishing concerns in the Mariana 

Archipelago (Guam and the CNMI). 

Pelagic fisheries in the Marianas consist 

mostly of small trolling fleets, several 

pelagic longline vessels, and purse seine 

vessels based there, but not fishing near 

the islands. Guam’s pelagic fishery 

consists of 300–400 mostly small 

trolling boats that catch skipjack tuna, 

yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, and 

Pacific blue marlin. Trolling is also the 

primary fishing method in the CNMI 

pelagic fishery. About 50–100 small 

vessels target skipjack tuna, and also 

catch yellowfin tuna and mahimahi. 

Pelagic longline vessels in the 

Marianas are typically larger than 50 ft 

(15 m) and can fish for more than 30 

days. Interest in the longline fishery has 

been variable; currently four Federallypermitted longline vessels are based in 

the CNMI and one is based in Guam. 

Longliners target yellowfin and bigeye 

tunas and retain incidental catches of 

albacore, blue marlin, mahimahi, 

skipjack tuna, and spearfish. 

About 36 U.S. purse seine vessels 

operate in the western and central 

Pacific Ocean, targeting skipjack and 

yellowfin tuna. Vessels range from 164 

to 377 ft (50 to 115 m). Fish-carrying 

capacities range from approximately 800 

to 1,500 mt (2.2 to 3.9 million lb). The 

U.S. purse seine catch in the western 

Pacific is made on the high seas, in 

foreign EEZs, and in the U.S. EEZ 

around American Samoa and the U.S. 

Pacific Remote Island Areas (i.e., Wake, 

Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, 

Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and 

Palmyra Atoll). Two U.S. purse seine 

vessels are based in Guam, but have not 

fished in the EEZ around the Mariana 

Archipelago. To date, limited purse 

seine activity has occurred adjacent to 

the EEZ around Guam since 1980, but 

no U.S. purse seine catches have been 

recorded within the EEZ. 

The Council is concerned about the 

potential impacts if purse seine fishing 

effort shifts to areas fished by domestic 

troll and longline fishermen of Guam 

and the CNMI. Those smaller vessels 

could experience reduced catch rates 

due to localized depletion and catch 

competition, or would have to travel 

further to maintain catch rates, 

potentially resulting in lost revenue and 

possible safety-at-sea issues. 

The Council is also concerned about 

the impact of purse seine fishing on the 

recruitment of juvenile bigeye tuna. 

While targeting skipjack tuna, purse 

seines may also catch juvenile yellowfin 

and bigeye tuna. Juvenile bigeye tuna 

caught by purse seines may be 

contributing to the overfishing status of 

bigeye tuna in the western and central 

Pacific Ocean. The impacts from an 

increase in juvenile catch of bigeye tuna 

can reduce the number of mature fish, 

thereby decreasing reproduction. This 

also decreases the future availability of 

adult fish for fisheries that target adult 

bigeye tuna, such as the longline 

fishery. 

The Council is further concerned that 

any future expansion of longline fishing 

around the Mariana Archipelago could 

result in adverse impacts to the CNMI 

troll fishery. If the number of CNMIbased longline vessels increases and 

move into areas traditionally utilized by 

the troll fleet (typically within 30 nm 

(55.6 km) of shore), there is potential for 

gear conflicts and catch competition 

between the two fleets, resulting in 

potential gear loss, increased costs, and 

decreased revenues. 

To address their concerns about the 

potential impact of purse seine fishing 

on the troll and longline fisheries in the 

Marianas, the Council recommends in 

Amendment 2 prohibiting U.S. purse 

seine vessels from fishing within the 

EEZ around Guam and the CNMI. 

Furthermore, under Amendment 2, to 

address their concerns about the 

potential impact of uncontrolled 

expansion in the CNMI longline fishery, 

the Council recommends prohibiting 

longline fishing within 30 nm (55.6 km) 

of the CNMI. The Council’s 

recommendations are intended to 

reduce temporary localized fish 

depletion, catch competition, and gear 

conflicts to sustain local troll and 

longline fisheries, and to limit the 

potential impacts of purse seine fishing 

on recruitment of juvenile bigeye tuna. 

Public comments on proposed 

Amendment 2 must be received by May 

10, 2011 to be considered by NMFS in 

the decision to approve, partially 

approve, or disapprove the amendment. 

NMFS expects to soon publish and 

request public comment on a proposed 

rule that would implement the measures 

recommended in Amendment 2. 

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

Dated: March 8, 2011. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5683 Filed 3–10–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 100201056–0076–01] 

RIN 0648–AY65 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Revisions to Pacific 

Cod Fishing in the Parallel Fishery in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulatory 

amendment that would limit access of 

Federally permitted pot and hook-andline catcher/processors (C/P) to the 

Pacific cod fishery in State of Alaska 

waters adjacent to the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). The affected fishery is 

commonly known as the ‘‘parallel’’ 

fishery. The parallel fishery occurs off 

the coast of Alaska, within 3 nautical 

miles of shore and is managed by the 

State of Alaska concurrent with the 

Federal pot and hook-and-line fishery 

for Pacific cod in the BSAI. This 

proposed rule would limit access to the 

parallel fishery for Pacific cod in three 

ways. First, it would require that an 

owner of a Federally permitted pot or 

hook-and-line C/P vessel used to catch 

Pacific cod in the State of Alaska 

parallel fishery be issued the same 

endorsements on their Federal fisheries 

permit (FFP) or license limitation 

program (LLP) license as currently are 

required for catching Pacific cod in the 

Federal waters of the BSAI. Second, an 

operator of any Federally permitted pot 

or hook-and-line C/P vessel used to 

catch Pacific cod in the parallel fishery 

would also be required to comply with 

the same seasonal closures of Pacific 

cod that apply in the Federal fishery. 

Third, an owner of a pot or hook-andline C/P vessel who surrenders an FFP 

would not be reissued a new FFP within 

the 3-year term of the permit. These 

three measures are necessary to limit 

some C/Ps from catching a greater 

amount of Pacific cod in the parallel 

fishery than have been allocated to their 

sector from the BSAI Total Allowable 

Catch. Maintaining Pacific cod catch 

amounts within sector allocations 

would also reduce the potential for 

shortened Pacific cod seasons for C/Ps 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
13332 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

in the Federal fishery. These three 

measures also would improve the 

coverage of NMFS catch accounting and 

monitoring requirements on vessels 

participating in the parallel fishery. This 

action is intended to promote the goals 

and objectives of the Fisheries 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutians Islands 

Management Area, the Magnuson– 

Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, and other applicable 

laws. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by April 11, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. You may submit 

comments, identified by RIN number 

0648–AY65, by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802. 

• Fax: (907) 586–7557. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK. 

All comments received are a part of 

the public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (e.g., name, address) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

portable document file (pdf) formats 

only. 

Electronic copies of the 

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory 

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) 

prepared for this action may be obtained 

from http://www.regulations.gov or from 

the Alaska Region Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to NMFS at the 

above address, e-mailed to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or 

faxed to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Hartman, 907–586–7442. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area (BSAI) under the 

Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP). The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) 

prepared the FMP pursuant to the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq. Regulations implementing the 

FMP appear at 50 CFR part 679. General 

regulations that pertain to U.S. fisheries 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600. 

Background 

The Council and NMFS annually 

establish biological thresholds and 

annual total allowable catch limits 

(TACs) for groundfish species to ensure 

the sustainability of the groundfish 

fisheries in the BSAI and to assist in the 

allocation of groundfish TACs among 

various user groups. To achieve these 

objectives, NMFS requires vessel 

operators participating in groundfish 

fisheries in the BSAI to comply with 

various restrictions, such as fishery 

closures to maintain catch within 

specified TACs and prohibited species 

catch limits, and associated sector and 

seasonal allocation apportionments. 

NMFS also requires various permits that 

authorize or limit access to the 

groundfish fisheries, such as a Federal 

fisheries permit (FFP) and a license 

limitation program (LLP) license. Many 

of the catch monitoring regulations that 

apply to vessels designated on an FFP 

or an LLP license while participating in 

Federal fisheries also apply to these 

vessels when fishing in parallel fisheries 

in State of Alaska (State) waters. Parallel 

fisheries are open concurrently with 

Federal fisheries, and groundfish catch 

in the parallel fisheries is deducted from 

Federal TACs and any sector and 

seasonal allocations of the Federal 

TACs. State waters fisheries that are not 

parallel are referred to as ‘‘non-parallel 

State fisheries’’. Targeted groundfish 

catch in the non-parallel State fisheries 

are deducted from a State guideline 

harvest level (GHL), rather than a 

Federal TAC. Currently, non-parallel 

State fisheries for BSAI groundfish are 

established only for pollock, Pacific cod, 

and sablefish in specified areas 

shoreward of the Aleutian Islands 

Subarea (AI). 

Federal groundfish fisheries in the 

EEZ from 3 to 200 nm off the coast of 

Alaska may be opened by NMFS to 

directed fishing for selected groundfish 

species. Parallel fisheries for groundfish 

species in State waters (from 0 nm to 3 

nm) may be opened by the 

Commissioner for the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) 

through emergency order under the 

authority of State regulations at 5 AAC 

28.086. Non-parallel-State fisheries (also 

occurring from 0 to 3 nm) may be 

opened and closed by the ADF&G to 

fishing but during distinct seasons that 

generally do not overlap with the 

parallel and Federal groundfish seasons. 

Federal Fisheries Permit Requirements 

All vessels used to fish for groundfish 

in the Federal groundfish fisheries of 

the BSAI must be designated by name 

on an FFP. Operators of a vessel 

designated on an FFP must comply with 

NMFS observer and recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements in both Federal 

groundfish and parallel fisheries. In 

addition, operators of vessels designated 

on an FFP must comply with NMFS 

vessel monitoring system (VMS) 

reporting requirements if they 

participate in the directed Atka 

mackerel, Pacific cod, or pollock 

fisheries in Federal EEZ or Alaska State 

waters. However, a vessel used to fish 

exclusively in Alaska State waters is not 

required to be designated on an FFP, 

and the operator of a vessel that is not 

designated on an FFP is not subject to 

NMFS observer, VMS, or recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements. 

An FFP is issued on a 3-year cycle 

and is in effect from the date of issuance 

through the end of the current 3-year 

cycle. A person issued an FFP may 

surrender it at any time and have the 

FFP reissued at any time later in the 3- 

year cycle. There is no limit on the 

number of times an FFP may be 

surrendered and reissued within the 3- 

year permit cycle. The flexibility 

provided by allowing a vessel owner to 

surrender an FFP and have it reissued 

in a short period of time is intended to 

provide a vessel opportunities to 

participate in Alaska State waters 

fisheries, for which no FFP is required, 

without having to comply with all the 

Federal requirements associated with an 

FFP. 

FFPs may include many 

endorsements, such as, type of gear (pot, 

hook-and-line, and trawl), vessel 

operation category (catcher/processor 

(C/P) or catcher vessel (CV)), and 

management area (BSAI or Gulf of 

Alaska (GOA)) in which a licensed 

vessel may fish, and in some cases a 

species endorsement. These 

endorsements are required for a vessel 

to participate in a particular fishery. For 

example, vessels used to participate in 

Federal fisheries for Atka mackerel, 

Pacific cod, or pollock must be 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13333 

designated on an FFP with 

endorsements that indicate the use of 

pot, trawl, or hook-and-line gear in 

these fisheries. With the exception of 

the GOA inshore processing 

endorsement, an FFP may be amended 

to remove an endorsement any number 

of times during a year. While any vessel 

owner may apply for an FFP with a 

C/P or CV endorsement (or both) as well 

as any area, gear, or species 

endorsements, an FFP with a specific 

set of endorsements, by itself, does not 

authorize the operator of the vessel to 

participate in the Pacific cod fishery in 

the BSAI. In most cases, an LLP license 

also is required to participate in this 

fishery. 

License Limitation Program 

Requirements 

Most vessels deployed in a directed 

fishery for groundfish in the BSAI are 

required to be named on an LLP license. 

The LLP authorizes a vessel to be used 

in a particular directed groundfish 

fishery under specified vessel operation, 

gear, area, and (where applicable) 

species and operation type 

endorsements. For some groundfish 

species, such as Pacific cod, additional 

endorsements may be required. For 

example, if the operator of a pot C/P 

wished to participate in a directed 

fishery for groundfish in the AI, the 

C/P must be named on an LLP with 

endorsements for C/P vessel operation, 

non-trawl gear, and AI area. In addition, 

to engage in the AI directed fishery for 

Pacific cod, the vessel also must be 

designated on an LLP license with an 

endorsement for Pacific cod in the AI 

for a C/P using pot gear. Unlike the FFP, 

the endorsements on an LLP license are 

not severable from the license. An LLP 

license with its associated endorsements 

may be assigned to a different vessel 

only once per year. 

There are several exceptions to the 

requirement for a vessel to be 

designated on an LLP license to fish for 

groundfish in the BSAI: (1) Vessels less 

than 32 ft length overall (LOA); (2) 

vessels not directed fishing for LLP 

groundfish species that may retain 

incidentally caught groundfish up to the 

maximum retainable amounts 

(including individual fishing quota 

halibut or sablefish); and (3) catcher 

vessels less than 60 ft LOA that are 

exempted from having a Pacific cod 

endorsement on their LLP license to 

participate in the fixed gear BSAI 

Pacific cod fishery. In addition, vessels 

fishing in the parallel fisheries are not 

required to be designated on an LLP 

license because these fisheries occur 

only in State waters. 

Sectors and Sector Allocations 

The TAC for BSAI Pacific cod is 

divided into sector allocations, which 

include allocations of separate portions 

of the TAC to pot C/Ps, pot CVs, hookand-line C/Ps and hook-and-line CVs. 

Each sector allocation for Pacific cod is 

further divided into two or more 

seasonal allocations. These sector and 

seasonal allocations were implemented 

under Amendment 67 to the BSAI FMP 

(67 FR 18129, April 15, 2002) and 

Amendment 85 to the BSAI FMP (72 FR 

50788, September 4, 2007). These two 

FMP amendments limited the number of 

vessels in each sector and implemented 

sector allocations of Pacific cod to 

vessels in each sector. These 

amendments limited access and reduced 

competition in the derby-style Pacific 

cod fishery that has existed throughout 

much of the last two decades. 

Amendment 67 to the BSAI FMP was 

intended to limit vessel participation 

with hook-and-line and pot gear in the 

BSAI Pacific cod fishery, and thus 

authorized exclusive participation in 

the hook-and-line and pot gear BSAI 

Pacific cod fisheries. It was 

implemented by issuing LLP license 

endorsements to LLP holders 

demonstrating historic and recent 

participation, and economic 

dependence in the Pacific cod fishery. 

Of four separate Pacific cod 

endorsements, one was created for 

Pacific cod pot C/P and one for Pacific 

cod hook-and-line C/P. 

Amendment 85 to the BSAI FMP 

modified previously established 

allocations of Pacific cod among ten 

fishery sectors created in Amendment 

67, to better reflect the historical 

dependency and use of Pacific cod by 

each sector. Two of the industry sectors 

that received modified allocations under 

Amendment 85 were the pot C/P sector 

and the hook-and-line C/P sector. 

There is a substantial difference in the 

amount of Pacific cod allocated between 

the pot and hook-and-line sectors. The 

pot C/P sector has historically caught a 

small amount of Pacific cod. The 

Amendment 85 allocation to the pot 

C/P sector is only 1.5 percent of the 

BSAI Pacific cod TAC after subtraction 

of the allocation to the Western Alaska 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

reserve. The C/P hook-and-line 

allocation of Pacific cod is substantially 

larger at 48.5 percent of the TAC after 

subtraction of the allocation to the CDQ 

reserve. The hook-and-line C/P sector 

recently completed a voluntary capacity 

reduction program, and in January 2008 

the owners of vessels in this fleet began 

repaying a $35 million Federal loan. 

The hook-and-line C/P sector’s ability to 

repay the loan is based on a secure 

annual allocation of Pacific cod to the 

sector participants who have been 

issued the appropriate Amendment 67 

endorsed LLP licenses. 

Statement of Problem 

At the October 2008 Council meeting, 

the members of the BSAI groundfish pot 

and hook-and-line C/P sectors informed 

the Council that following the 

implementation of Amendment 85, 

Federally-permitted pot and hook-andline C/Ps have been participating in 

increasing numbers in the Pacific cod 

parallel fishery. Owners of several of 

these C/Ps have not been issued FFPs 

and LLP licenses with the endorsements 

necessary to fish in the Pacific cod 

fishery in the BSAI EEZ. However, the 

catch of Pacific cod in the parallel 

fishery from these C/P vessels accrues 

against the sector allocations in the 

Federal fishery that were designed to be 

available only to vessels with the 

appropriate Pacific cod endorsements 

issued under Amendment 67. 

In April 2009, information prepared 

for the EA/RIR/IRFA (See ADDRESSES) 

confirmed that several operators of 

hook-and-line C/Ps that have been 

participating in the parallel Pacific cod 

fishery have not been issued all the FFP 

and LLP licenses and endorsements that 

are necessary to participate in the 

Federal Pacific cod fishery. The EA/RIR/ 

IRFA also confirmed that hook-and-line 

C/Ps that have been issued all the FFP 

and LLP license endorsements required 

to fish as C/Ps in the Federal Pacific cod 

fishery, also fish as C/Ps in the parallel 

fishery. However, if the hook-and-line 

C/P sector’s season closes in the Federal 

fishery and vessels in the hook-and-line 

C/P sector continue to fish in the 

parallel fishery as hook-and-line C/Ps, 

NMFS continues to credit that catch in 

the parallel fishery to the hook-and-line 

C/P sector allocation. That additional 

amount credited to the C/P sector 

allocation in the current season could 

result in a reduction in the allocation 

available to the C/P sector participants 

during a subsequent season of that year. 

The Council concluded that the 

additional catch of Pacific cod resulting 

from this activity, while only a fraction 

of a percent of the BSAI Pacific cod 

allocation, may be circumventing the 

intent of previous decisions made by the 

Council regarding license limitation and 

endorsements, sector allocations, and 

catch reporting. While the additional 

fishing activity had not violated Federal 

permit and license regulations, the 

Council concluded that additional 

fishing activity in the Pacific cod 

parallel fishery has reduced ‘‘or 

circumvented’’ the intended 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
13334 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

effectiveness of Pacific cod sector 

allocations and the capacity reduction 

program. 

The EA/RIR/IRFA prepared for this 

action (See ADDRESSES) highlighted how 

increased participation in BSAI C/P 

hook-and-line sector in recent parallel 

fisheries has undermined the capacity 

reduction program undertaken by 

particular members of that sector. The 

increased participation has eroded the 

opportunity of historical participants to 

harvest the Pacific cod allocated to the 

C/P sector under Amendment 85. The 

increased participation in the parallel 

fishery involved Federally-permitted 

C/Ps without an Amendment 67 Pacific 

cod endorsement, or an AI area 

endorsement. These vessel owners and 

operators are recent entrants to the 

Pacific cod fishery and have not 

demonstrated long-term economic 

dependence on the fishery. 

An increase in recent parallel fishery 

participation by vessels in the pot and 

hook-and-line C/P sectors has 

correspondingly increased fishing 

competition in the BSAI Pacific cod 

fishery. This increased fishing pressure 

has resulted in shortened Federal 

seasons, has exacerbated the race for 

fish, and has increased the 

concentration of Pacific cod harvest in 

State waters relative to catch in the 

Federal waters. The increased fishing 

competition and catch from these 

sectors in the parallel Pacific cod fishery 

have also increased the complexity and 

difficulty in managing sector allocations 

and seasonal apportionments. 

Furthermore, owners of some vessels 

used to fish for Pacific cod in a Federal 

groundfish fishery have surrendered 

their FFPs before fishing in a parallel 

fishery or in the non-parallel-State 

waters Pacific cod fishery to avoid 

NMFS observer and recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. Operators of 

vessels designated on an FFP are subject 

to NMFS observer, VMS, and 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements while fishing in Federal 

and State water groundfish fisheries. 

Some Pacific cod C/Ps may have 

avoided complying with these 

important NMFS enforcement and 

recordkeeping tools while fishing in the 

State waters by surrendering or 

amending their FFP. As a consequence, 

these vessels may be degrading the 

quality of information available to 

NMFS to manage the Pacific cod fishery. 

The Proposed Action 

In consideration of the effects of these 

practices on the allocation of Pacific cod 

and data quality, the Council 

recommended three actions at its June 

2009 meeting to further restrict 

participation of pot or hook-and-line 

C/Ps in the Pacific cod parallel fishery. 

These three actions would amend 

regulations for pot and hook-and-line 

C/Ps by extending FFP and LLP 

endorsement requirements that apply in 

Federal fisheries to the Pacific cod 

parallel fishery: placing restrictions on 

reissuing or amending an FFP, and 

requiring operators of these pot and 

hook-and-line C/Ps participating in the 

parallel fishery to comply with seasonal 

closures of Pacific cod in the BSAI. 

Endorsements for the State Parallel 

Fishery 

The first of three actions 

recommended by the Council would 

add requirements for additional 

endorsements on an FFP and LLP 

license. The endorsements would apply 

to vessels designated on an FFP that fish 

for Pacific cod in the parallel fishery, 

use pot or hook-and-line gear, and catch 

and process Pacific cod. The proposed 

rule would implement this 

recommendation by amending 

§ 679.7(c)(3) to prohibit a person from 

using pot or hook-and-line gear from a 

vessel designated on an FFP to catch 

and process Pacific cod in the parallel 

fishery in the BSAI unless: 

1. The FFP has a C/P vessel operation 

endorsement; a pot or hook-and-line 

gear endorsement; and a BSAI area 

endorsement; and 

2. The LLP license has a C/P vessel 

operation endorsement; a non-trawl gear 

endorsement; an Aleutian Islands area 

endorsement or a Bering Sea area 

endorsement; and a BSAI C/P Pacific 

cod hook-and-line or BSAI C/P Pacific 

cod pot endorsement. 

The prohibitions would clarify that 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act, the endorsements listed in 

1 and 2, and any conditions of these 

FFP and LLP endorsements, apply to 

Federally permitted pot or hook-andline C/P vessels fishing for Pacific cod 

in the parallel fishery. 

Reissuing and Amending an FFP 

The second action recommended by 

the Council is to prohibit the owner of 

a C/P using pot or hook-and-line gear in 

the BSAI from surrendering his or her 

FFP during the 3-year term of the FFP. 

Rather than prohibiting surrender of an 

FFP, NMFS proposes to implement the 

Council’s recommendation by not 

reissuing an FFP once it is surrendered. 

The proposed rule would add paragraph 

(B) at § 679.4(b)(4)(ii) to state that, once 

surrendered, NMFS will not reissue an 

FFP to the owner of a vessel with a C/ 

P vessel operation, pot or hook-and-line 

gear type, and BSAI area endorsement 

during the remainder of the 3-year term 

of the original FFP. 

This approach would be more 

efficient for NMFS to administer 

because it would only require NMFS to 

track the number of vessel owners 

applying for a new FFP with a pot or 

hook-and-line C/P endorsement who 

had previously surrendered an FFP 

rather than track whether each permit 

holder who submitted a request to 

surrender an FFP had participated as a 

pot or hook-and-line C/P in the BSAI 

within the 3-year term of the 

surrendered permit. 

The proposed rule also would add 

paragraph (B) to § 679.4(b)(4)(iii) to 

prohibit the owner of a vessel named on 

an FFP with endorsements for C/P 

vessel operation category, pot or hookand-line gear, and BSAI area groundfish 

endorsement from amending the FFP by 

removing the C/P operation, pot or 

hook-and-line gear, or BSAI area 

endorsements. 

The proposed rule also would revise 

§ 679.4(b)(4)(iii) to refer to the ‘‘owner’’ 

of a vessel who applied for and held an 

FFP rather than to the ‘‘owner or 

operator’’. The term operator would be 

removed because FFPs may only be 

issued to vessel owners. 

Seasonal Closures 

The third action recommended by the 

Council is to clarify that Pacific cod 

seasonal closure requirements for 

Federally permitted pot and hook-andline C/Ps apply in both Federal and 

parallel Pacific cod fisheries. The 

proposed rule would implement this 

recommendation by adding paragraph 

(4) to § 679.7(c), to prohibit operators of 

vessels in the pot or hook-and-line C/P 

sector that are named on an FFP from 

fishing for Pacific cod in the parallel 

fishery once the directed fishery for 

Pacific cod for their sector is closed in 

Federal waters. 

Notice; Pacific Cod Caught in Parallel 

Fisheries Are Deducted From the TAC 

Owners of Federally permitted pot or 

hook-and-line C/Ps, intending to catch 

and process Pacific cod from the 

parallel fishery, would receive actual 

and/or constructive notice from NMFS 

that any Pacific cod caught by that 

vessel in parallel fisheries will be 

deducted from the Federal TAC. The 

notice would improve enforceability of 

regulations proposed under § 679.7(c)(3) 

and (c)(4), by clarifying that a Federally 

permitted pot or hook-and-line C/P 

would be in violation of these 

prohibitions for catching and processing 

Pacific cod in parallel fisheries without 

the required FFP and LLP license 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13335 

endorsements or during a Pacific cod 

seasonal closure. 

What the Amendments Accomplish 

The requirements in this proposed 

action for pot and hook-and-line C/Ps to 

be issued specific permits and 

endorsements to fish for Pacific cod in 

the parallel fishery, combined with 

proposed restrictions on surrendering 

and reissuing an FFP would address the 

Council’s problem statement by 

requiring that, once a vessel owner of a 

pot or hook-and-line C/P is issued an 

FFP, he or she must choose to fish for 

Pacific cod predominantly in the 

Federal fishery or surrender his or her 

FFP and fish in State waters for the 

remainder of the 3-year term of the FFP. 

Owners of pot or hook-and-line C/Ps 

eligible to participate in the Federal 

fisheries are unlikely to surrender their 

FFP and give up the opportunity to 

continue to fish Pacific cod in the 

Federal fishery, unless they are close to 

the end of the 3-year term of the FFP. 

Relying exclusively on Pacific cod catch 

in parallel and non-parallel State 

fisheries for up to 3 years would 

represent a significant loss in revenue 

for many C/Ps because most Pacific cod 

are located in and caught in the Federal 

waters of the BSAI. Although these 

proposed regulatory amendments would 

not prohibit a C/P without an FFP or 

LLP license from participating in the 

parallel fishery, it would discourage the 

current practice of surrendering an FFP 

or removing an endorsement from an 

FFP before participating in the parallel 

fishery to avoid NMFS observer, VMS, 

and recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. 

Conservation and Management 

This action implements the 

conservation and management of 

Federal fisheries as provided by 

Amendments 67 and 85 to the BSAI 

FMP. Amendment 67 created exclusive 

pot C/P and hook-and-line C/P sectors 

for participating in the BSAI Pacific cod 

fishery through a license limitation 

program (LLP). The creation of sectors 

effectively removed some vessels that 

did not historically participate in these 

Pacific cod fisheries, and reduced 

competition that contributed to the race 

for fish. Some of the C/Ps that did not 

qualify for the necessary LLP 

endorsement in Amendment 67 

continue to fish for Pacific cod in the 

parallel fishery off of allocations for the 

C/P pot and hook-and-line sectors 

created by Amendment 85. This 

proposed rule would apply the same 

LLP endorsements required for 

Federally permitted pot or hook-andline C/Ps to participate in the BSAI 

Pacific cod fishery to the parallel Pacific 

cod fishery, limiting ability of C/Ps 

without an LLP or the appropriate LLP 

endorsements to fish off of these Pacific 

cod sector allocations in the parallel 

fishery. Thus, this proposed action 

would contribute to conservation and 

management objectives by preventing 

C/Ps without an LLP or the appropriate 

endorsements to continue to participate 

in parallel fishery, reducing the pool of 

vessels competing for limited 

allocations to the C/P pot and hook-andline sectors, and limiting the race for 

fish in the BSAI. 

The interim final rule for Steller sea 

lion (SSL) protection measures (75 FR 

77535, December 13, 2010, corrected 75 

FR 81921, December 29, 2010) establish 

closures in critical habitat waters 0 nm 

to 3 nm around certain rookeries and 

haulouts in the Aleutian Islands 

subarea. The harvest of Pacific cod in 

the parallel fisheries was included in 

the action considered in the November 

2010 biological opinion on the Alaska 

Federal groundfish fisheries. In the 

analysis of the action in the biological 

opinion, the parallel fisheries were 

expected to be managed with the same 

closures as specific for the Federal 

Pacific cod fisheries as shown in Table 

12 to 50 CFR part 679. The interim final 

rule closed State waters occurring inside 

Steller sea lion critical habitat. On 

January 11, 2011, the State issued an 

emergency order that allows for Pacific 

cod harvest by hook-and-line vessels 58 

ft or less and by pot vessels 60 feet or 

less in State waters critical habitat 

between 175 degrees W longitude and 

178 degrees W longitude that are closed 

to Federally permitted vessels. NMFS 

has initiated an Endangered Species Act 

Section 7 consultation on the State’s 

emergency order. This proposed action 

would discourage a pot or hook-and-line 

C/P from surrendering its FFP and 

fishing in the parallel fisheries in those 

areas closed in Table 12 to 50 CFR part 

679 but open under State parallel 

management. This proposed action 

would facilitate implementation of the 

closure areas for the protection of Steller 

sea lion critical habitat, as provided in 

the interim final rule (75 FR 77535, 

December 13, 2010, corrected 75 FR 

81921, December 29, 2010) and required 

by the biological opinion. 

Classification 

Pursuant to sections 304(b)(1)(A) and 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 

NMFS Assistant Administrator has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with the FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) was prepared, as 

required by section 603 of the RFA 

(RFA). The IRFA describes the 

economic impact this proposed rule, if 

adopted, would have on small entities. 

A description of the action, why it is 

being considered, and the legal basis for 

this action are contained at the 

beginning of this section in the 

preamble and in the SUMMARY section of 

the preamble. A summary of the 

remainder of the IRFA follows. A copy 

of this analysis is available from NMFS 

(see ADDRESSES). 

The directly regulated entities for this 

proposed action are the members of the 

commercial fishing industry that 

operate groundfish pot or hook-and-line 

C/Ps in the BSAI and State parallel 

waters. Under a conservative 

application of the Small Business 

Administration criterion and the best 

available data, there are four small 

entities out of a total of 44 vessels in 

2008 that would be directly regulated by 

the proposed action. To provide these 

estimates, earnings from all Alaskan 

fisheries for 2008 were matched with 

the vessels that participated in the BSAI 

pot or hook-and-line fishery for that 

year. 

To minimize impacts on small 

entities, this action would not apply to 

pot or hook-and-line C/Ps of less than 

32 ft LOA, or to pot or hook-and-line 

CVs. The CVs participating in these 

fisheries are generally operating in nonparallel-State and parallel fisheries only, 

and are not required by NMFS to be 

designated on an LLP license or FFP to 

participate in these groundfish fisheries. 

In addition to the proposed 

alternative, the Council evaluated an 

alternative to prohibit any vessel with a 

C/P endorsement on its FFP from 

amending the C/P endorsement, and 

only allow surrender or reactivation of 

the FFP at the end of the FFP permit 

cycle. That alterative was rejected 

because it would have applied to jig and 

trawl C/Ps, and was beyond the scope 

of the Council’s problem statement and 

analysis. 

The Council also evaluated the no 

action alternative, which would 

maintain the fishery under the status 

quo, but it was rejected because it 

would not address the problem 

statement. 

The majority of the directly regulated 

entities under this action are not 

considered small entities, as defined 

under the Regulatory Flexibility 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
13336 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

Analysis. Within the universe of small 

entities that are the subject of this IRFA, 

impacts may accrue differently (i.e., 

some small entities would be negatively 

affected and others positively affected). 

Thus, the proposed action represents 

tradeoffs in terms of impacts on small 

entities. However, the Council 

deliberately sought to provide options 

for the smallest of the small entities 

under this amendment by excluding 

CVs from the proposed regulatory 

changes. The restrictions on 

participation in the BSAI Pacific cod 

parallel fishery would only apply to pot 

and hook-and-line C/Ps; therefore only 

these C/Ps are considered here. 

Overall, it is unlikely that the 

combination of these proposed 

restrictions would preclude vessels with 

a high degree of economic dependence 

upon the pot or hook-and-line 

groundfish fisheries from participating 

in the Pacific cod parallel fishery. Most 

of the vessel owners who are highly 

dependent on these fisheries were 

issued an LLP license with pot or hookand-line Pacific cod endorsements, in 

2003 under Amendment 67 by 

demonstrating recent catch history in 

the BSAI Pacific cod fishery. Most of the 

vessel owners who have not been issued 

an LLP license with a Pacific cod 

endorsement, and who have fished in 

parallel fisheries, are recent entrants to 

the fishery and have not demonstrated 

long-term economic dependence on the 

fishery. These vessel owners would 

continue to have access to the State 

Pacific cod fishery after implementation 

of the proposed action. 

Based upon the best available 

scientific data, and consideration of the 

objectives of this action, it appears that 

there are no alternatives to the proposed 

action 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 

proposed rule on small entities. The 

analysis did not identify any Federal 

rules that would duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with the proposed rule. This 

rule requires revisions to some existing 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements but imposes no new 

requirements on the effected vessel 

owners or operators. 

Collection-of-Information Requirements 

This proposed rule contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA). This requirement has been 

submitted to OMB for approval under 

OMB Control No. 0648–0206. Public 

reporting burden for an Application for 

a Federal Fisheries Permit is estimated 

to average 21 minutes per response, 

including the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection information. 

This rule also contains a collection-ofinformation that has been approved by 

OMB under OMB Control No. 0334. 

Total public reporting burden for the 

License Limitation Program is estimated 

at 268 hours. 

Public comment is sought regarding: 

whether this proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

the accuracy of the burden estimate; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Send comments 

on these or any other aspects of the 

collection of information to NMFS 

Alaska Region at the ADDRESSES above, 

and by e-mail to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679 

Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: March 8, 2011. 

John Oliver, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operations, National Marine Fisheries 

Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE 

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF 

ALASKA 

1. The authority citation for part 679 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et 

seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 108–447. 

2. In § 679.4, paragraphs (b)(4)(ii) and 

(iii) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 679.4 Permits. 

(b) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(ii) Surrendered permit. (A) An FFP 

permit may be voluntarily surrendered 

in accordance with paragraph (a)(9) of 

this section. Except as provided under 

paragraph (b)(4)(ii)(B) of this section, if 

surrendered, an FFP may be reissued to 

the permit holder of record in the same 

fishing year in which it was 

surrendered. Contact NMFS/RAM by 

telephone, at 907–586–7202 (Option #2) 

or toll-free at 800–304–4846 (Option 

#2). 

(B) NMFS will not reissue an FFP to 

the owner of a vessel named on an FFP 

that has been issued with endorsements 

for catcher/processor vessel operation 

type, pot or hook-and-line gear type, 

and the BSAI area, until after the 

expiration date of the surrendered FFP. 

(iii) Amended permit. (A) An owner 

who applied for and received an FFP 

must notify NMFS of any change in the 

permit information by submitting an 

FFP application found at the NMFS 

Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. The owner 

must submit the application as 

instructed on the application form. 

Except as provided under paragraph 

(b)(4)(iii)(B) of this section, upon receipt 

and approval of a permit amendment, 

the Program Administrator, RAM, will 

issue an amended FFP. 

(B) NMFS will not approve an 

application to amend an FFP to remove 

a catcher/processor vessel operation 

endorsement, pot gear type 

endorsement, hook-and-line gear type 

endorsement or BSAI area endorsement 

from an FFP that has been issued with 

endorsements for catcher/processor 

vessel operation type, pot or hook-andline gear type, and the BSAI area. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 679.7, paragraphs (c)(3) and 

(c)(4) are added to read as follows: 

§ 679.7 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(3) Parallel fisheries. Use a vessel 

designated or required to be designated 

on an FFP to catch and process Pacific 

cod from waters adjacent to the BSAI 

when Pacific cod caught by that vessel 

is deducted from the Federal TAC 

specified under section 

679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A)(4) of this part for pot 

gear or (a)(7)(ii)(A)(6) of this part for 

hook-and-line gear unless that vessel is 

designated on both: 

(i) An LLP license issued under 

section 679.4(k) of this part with the 

following endorsements: 

(A) A catcher/processor endorsement; 

(B) A BSAI catcher/processor Pacific 

cod hook-and-line, or a BSAI catcher/ 

processor Pacific cod pot endorsement; 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13337 

(C) An Aleutian Islands area 

endorsement or Bering Sea area 

endorsement; and 

(D) A non-trawl endorsement; and 

(ii) An FFP issued under section 

679.4(b) of this part with the following 

endorsements: 

(A) A catcher/processor endorsement; 

(B) A BSAI endorsement; and 

(C) A pot or hook-and-line gear type 

endorsement. 

(4) Parallel fishery closures. (i) Use a 

vessel designated or required to be 

designated on an FFP to catch and 

process Pacific cod with pot gear from 

waters adjacent to the BSAI when 

Pacific cod caught by that vessel is 

deducted from the Federal TAC 

specified under section 

679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A)(4) of this part for pot 

gear if the BSAI is open to directed 

fishing for Pacific cod but is not open 

to directed fishing for Pacific cod by a 

catcher/processor using pot gear. 

(ii) Use a vessel designated or 

required to be designated on an FFP, to 

catch and process Pacific cod with 

hook-and-line gear from waters adjacent 

to the BSAI when Pacific cod caught by 

that vessel is deducted from the Federal 

TAC specified under section 

679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A)(6) of this part for 

hook-and-line gear, if the BSAI is open 

to directed fishing for Pacific cod but is 

not open to directed fishing for Pacific 

cod by a catcher/processor using hookand-line gear. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2011–5667 Filed 3–10–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS