Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13593 

In November 2009 the Council 

reviewed the Highly Migratory Species 

Management Team’s (Management 

Team) recommendations on the range of 

issues related to amending the HMS 

FMP and provided further guidance on 

developing alternatives based on the 

following topics: 

(1) Classification of stocks in the HMS 

FMP as management unit species or 

ecosystem component species; 

(2) Potential application of the MSRA 

international exception for ACL 

requirements to management unit 

species in the HMS FMP; 

(3) Determining the primary fishery 

management plan for managed species 

covered by both the HMS FMP and the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council’s Pelagics Fishery Ecosystem 

Plan; and 

(4) Establishing biological reference 

points and accountability measures. 

At their April 2010 meeting, the 

Council adopted a set of alternatives for 

public review that were made available 

in the form of a preliminary draft 

environmental assessment. At the June 

2010 meeting the Council took final 

action to adopt the preferred alternative, 

addressing the four issue areas listed 

above in the following manner: Bigeye 

thresher, Alopias superciliosus, and 

pelagic thresher, A. pelagicus, would be 

reclassified as ecosystem component 

species resulting in a total of 11 

management unit species versus the 

current 13 management unit species 

under status quo. Based on these 

considerations there would be eight 

ecosystem component species included 

in the HMS FMP, including the two 

thresher shark species that are currently 

management unit species. 

The international exception to setting 

ACLs described at § 660.310(h)(2)(ii) 

would be applied to all management 

unit species because they are subject to 

management by the Inter-American 

Tropical Tuna Commission, of which 

the U.S. is a member. The HMS FMP 

would be amended to discuss the 

process by which NMFS would make a 

determination of the primary FMP in 

consultation with the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council. The 

determination will be based on the 

stock, or portion of the stock (if stock 

structure is poorly understood and catch 

data is limited), for which reference 

points will be identified. The existing 

numerical estimates of MSY (or 

proxies), OY, and SDC, including the 

overfishing limit, would be retained. 

Upon the receipt of any new 

information based on the best available 

science, the Council may periodically 

adjust the numerical estimates of MSY, 

OY, and SDC. The adjustment would 

follow an established protocol whereby 

the HMSMT proposes MSY and OY 

estimates based on the best available 

science, which are included in the draft 

HMS Stock Assessment and Fishery 

Evaluation (SAFE) document submitted 

to the Council in June. The Council’s 

Science and Statistical Committee 

would review the estimates and make a 

recommendation on their suitability for 

management. The Council would then 

decide whether to adopt updated 

numerical estimates of MSY and OY, 

which would be submitted as 

recommendations for NMFS to review 

as part of the management cycle 

process. This provides the opportunity 

for Secretarial review of revised MSY 

and OY estimates. In this process the 

Council would take final action in 

November and then NMFS would 

engage in rulemaking to implement the 

specifications and any management 

measures proposed by the Council. 

The Council has submitted a 

proposed rule to implement 

Amendment 2 for Secretarial review. 

NMFS expects to publish and request 

public comment on the proposed rule in 

the near future. 

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

Dated: March 9, 2011. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5868 Filed 3–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 680 

RIN 0648–AY33 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization 

Program; Amendment 34 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a 

proposed amendment to a fishery 

management plan; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council submitted 

Amendment 34 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Bering Sea/ 

Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs 

to NMFS for review. If approved, 

Amendment 34 would amend the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab 

Rationalization Program to exempt 

additional recipients of crab quota share 

from Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod and 

pollock harvest limits, called 

sideboards, which apply to some vessels 

and license limitation program licenses 

that are used to participate in these 

fisheries. The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council determined that 

these additional recipients 

demonstrated a sufficient level of 

historical participation in Gulf of Alaska 

Pacific cod or pollock fisheries, and that 

they should be exempt from the current 

sideboards. This action is necessary to 

give these recipients an opportunity to 

participate in the Gulf of Alaska Pacific 

cod and pollock fisheries at historical 

levels. This action is intended to 

promote the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Fishery Management Plan for Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner 

Crabs, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Comments on the amendment 

must be submitted on or before May 13, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. 

James Balsiger, Regional Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen 

Sebastian. You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘RIN 0648–AY33,’’ 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. No comments will be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 

public viewing until after the comment 

period has closed. Comments will 

generally be posted 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 (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

portable document file (pdf) formats 

only. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 34 to 

the Fishery Management Plan for Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner 


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13594 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

Crabs, the Environmental Assessment, 

the Regulatory Impact Review, and the 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

prepared for this action are available 

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

the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at 

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. The 

Environmental Impact Statement, 

Regulatory Impact Review, Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, and 

Social Impact Assessment prepared for 

the Crab Rationalization Program are 

available from the NMFS Alaska Region 

Web site at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Baker, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(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 of 

Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

a fishery management plan 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 

34 to the Fishery Management Plan for 

Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and 

Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP) is available for 

public review and comment. 

The king and Tanner crab fisheries in 

the exclusive economic zone of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 

are managed under the Crab FMP. The 

groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone of the Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA) are managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska. The North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

prepared the Crab FMP and the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska under the MagnusonStevens Act. Amendments 18 and 19 

amended the Crab FMP to include the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab 

Rationalization Program (CR Program). 

Regulations implementing Amendments 

18 and 19 were published on March 2, 

2005 (70 FR 10174), and are located at 

50 CFR part 680. Regulations governing 

GOA groundfish fisheries are located at 

50 CFR part 679. 

The CR Program allocates BSAI crab 

resources among harvesters, processors, 

and coastal communities. The CR 

Program is a limited access privilege 

program for nine BSAI crab fisheries, in 

which participants receive exclusive 

harvesting and processing privileges for 

a portion of the total allowable catch 

(TAC) assigned to each crab fishery in 

the CR Program. 

Under the CR Program, persons 

received quota share (QS) based on their 

historical participation in one or more 

of the CR Program crab fisheries during 

a specific time period. Quota share 

represents an exclusive but revocable 

privilege to receive an annual allocation 

to harvest a specific percentage of the 

TAC from a CR Program fishery. NMFS 

allocated QS to eligible harvesters in 

2005, prior to the first year of crab 

fishing under the CR Program. Each 

year, a person who holds crab QS and 

submits a timely and complete crab 

permit application to NMFS receives an 

exclusive harvest privilege for a portion 

of the annual TAC for that crab fishery. 

This harvest privilege, called individual 

fishing quota (IFQ), is the annual 

allocation of pounds of crab for harvest 

that represent a QS holder’s percentage 

of the TAC. Crab QS holders may form 

voluntary crab harvesting cooperatives 

to combine and cooperatively manage 

their aggregate QS holdings. Each 

cooperative that is approved by NMFS 

receives the amount of cooperative IFQ 

yielded by the aggregate QS holdings of 

all of the members of the cooperative. 

The Council anticipated that crab 

harvesting cooperatives would 

significantly increase operating 

flexibility for crab fishermen because 

they could choose when and where to 

fish for IFQ. Crab fishermen in 

cooperatives also could potentially 

reduce costs by harvesting crab IFQs on 

fewer vessels during an extended 

season. The Council was concerned that 

increased flexibility for BSAI crab 

fishermen could give them an incentive 

to increase effort in other fisheries, 

which could economically disadvantage 

other participants in these fisheries. 

The Council developed sideboards to 

prevent Bering Sea snow crab 

(Chionoecetes opilio) quota share 

recipients from increasing their 

participation in GOA groundfish 

fisheries, particularly in the GOA 

Pacific cod fishery. However, in order to 

enable those Bering Sea snow crab quota 

share recipients who also had 

significant participation in, or 

dependence on, the GOA Pacific cod 

fishery to maintain historical 

participation levels, the Council 

exempted certain qualified vessels and 

license limitation program (LLP) 

licenses from the GOA Pacific cod 

sideboard. 

The CR Program’s GOA groundfish 

sideboards were implemented in 2006. 

Under current regulations, CR Program 

sideboard limits apply to vessels that: 

(1) Harvest any species of GOA 

groundfish with the exception of 

sablefish harvested with fixed gear; (2) 

are not authorized to conduct directed 

fishing for pollock under the American 

Fisheries Act (AFA) of 1998 (Public Law 

105–277, Title II of Division C); and (3) 

meet one or both of the following 

criteria: (a) Made a legal landing of 

Bering Sea snow crab between January 

1, 1996, and December 31, 2000, that 

generated any amount of Bering Sea 

snow crab QS; or (b) are named on a 

GOA groundfish LLP license that was 

generated by the fishing history of a 

vessel that also generated Bering Sea 

snow crab QS. Vessels that meet these 

criteria subsequently will be referred to 

as ‘‘non-AFA crab vessels.’’ The CR 

Program did not establish sideboard 

limits for AFA vessels with historical 

participation in the Bering Sea snow 

crab fishery because these vessels are 

subject to GOA harvesting and 

processing restrictions under the AFA 

and in implementing regulations for the 

AFA (50 CFR 679.64(b)). 

The Council primarily intended GOA 

groundfish sideboards to restrict vessels 

with Bering Sea snow crab catch 

history. However, the Council 

determined that, because LLP licenses 

are transferable, GOA groundfish 

sideboard limits should also apply to 

GOA groundfish LLP licenses derived 

from vessels with catch history that also 

generated Bering Sea snow crab QS. The 

LLP was implemented in 2000 to limit 

the number, size, and operation type 

(gear designation) of vessels that may be 

deployed in the groundfish fisheries in 

the exclusive economic zone of the 

BSAI and GOA, and in crab fisheries in 

the BSAI. Regulations require, with 

limited exceptions, that a vessel must be 

named on a legible copy of a valid LLP 

license that is on board the vessel in 

order to participate in a directed fishery 

for LLP species. NMFS issued LLP 

licenses based on the catch history of a 

vessel in specific fisheries (i.e., a 

vessel’s qualifying catch history 

generated an LLP license). The Council 

extended the CR Program GOA 

groundfish sideboards to GOA 

groundfish LLP licenses derived from 

vessels with catch history that also 

generated Bering Sea snow crab quota to 

prevent crab QS recipients from 

circumventing the GOA groundfish 

sideboards by transferring an LLP 

license for use on a vessel that is not 

subject to the sideboards. Thus, any 

vessel named on a GOA groundfish LLP 

license that was generated by the GOA 

groundfish catch history of a non-AFA 

vessel that also generated Bering Sea 

crab QS is subject to the CR Program 

GOA non-AFA groundfish sideboards, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13595 

even if the vessel named on the LLP 

license did not have historical landings 

that generated Bering Sea snow crab QS. 

While most vessels and LLP licenses 

with catch history that generated Bering 

Sea snow crab QS are subject to the CR 

Program sideboard limits in GOA 

groundfish fisheries, some are exempt 

from the GOA Pacific cod sideboard. 

The Council established an exemption 

from the GOA Pacific cod sideboard 

limits for non-AFA crab vessels that 

demonstrated minimal participation in, 

or dependence on, the Bering Sea snow 

crab fishery and sufficient participation 

in, or dependence on, the GOA Pacific 

cod fishery from 1996 through 2000. 

Non-AFA crab vessels that are exempt 

from the GOA Pacific cod sideboard 

limits do not have to stop fishing for 

GOA Pacific cod when the sideboard 

limit is reached and may continue to 

fish as long as directed fishing for 

Pacific cod is open. The catch history of 

exempt participants is not included in 

the GOA Pacific cod non-AFA crab 

vessel sideboard limit calculations, and 

NMFS does not count the GOA Pacific 

cod catch of exempt vessels toward the 

non-AFA crab vessel sideboard limit. 

Each year, NMFS calculates the nonAFA crab vessel sideboard limits for 

GOA groundfish species. The sideboard 

limit is calculated as a ratio of the 

amount of each groundfish species 

retained by non-AFA crab vessels from 

1996 to 2000, relative to the total 

retained catch of each species by all 

vessels during the same period. This 

calculation yields a fixed ratio, or 

percentage, that is multiplied by the 

annual TAC for each GOA groundfish 

sideboard species to determine the nonAFA crab vessel sideboard limit (in 

metric tons) for GOA groundfish 

species. 

NMFS opens directed fishing for a 

sideboard species for non-AFA crab 

vessels only when it determines that 

any directed fishery harvest for that 

species—and the incidental catch needs 

for that species by non-AFA crab vessels 

in other fisheries—would not exceed the 

sideboard limit. The CR Program GOA 

groundfish sideboard limits restrict the 

catch of non-AFA crab vessels in the 

aggregate. All targeted or incidental 

catch of a GOA groundfish sideboard 

species made by non-AFA crab vessels 

subject to the sideboard is deducted 

from the sideboard limit. NMFS closes 

directed fishing for vessels subject to a 

sideboard limit when NMFS determines 

that the remainder of a GOA groundfish 

sideboard limit is needed for incidental 

catch by non-AFA crab vessels in other 

fisheries. 

Since 2006, NMFS has determined 

that only Pacific cod non-AFA crab 

vessel sideboard limits in two GOA 

management areas were large enough to 

open a directed sideboard fishery. 

Although NMFS opened directed 

fishing for Pacific cod for non-AFA crab 

vessels subject to the sideboard limit, 

the relatively small sideboard limit 

amounts prompted NMFS to close 

directed fishing for these vessels earlier 

than it closed directed fishing for 

vessels that were not subject to 

sideboard limits. All other GOA 

sideboard species, including pollock, 

have been closed to directed fishing by 

non-AFA crab vessels subject to the CR 

Program groundfish sideboard limits 

because the sideboard limits were 

determined by NMFS to be insufficient 

to support both directed and incidental 

catch needs for these vessels. 

The Council was prompted to 

reexamine the CR Program GOA 

groundfish sideboard limits by non-AFA 

crab vessel operators who testified that 

some sideboard limits were too 

restrictive. These operators indicated 

that they had historically participated in 

GOA Pacific cod and pollock fisheries at 

levels that demonstrated sufficient 

dependence on these fisheries and had 

received Bering Sea crab quota share at 

levels that demonstrated minimal 

dependence on the Bering Sea snow 

crab fishery. Some Bering Sea snow crab 

QS recipients testified to the Council 

that the earlier closure of directed 

fishing for Pacific cod for non-AFA crab 

vessels subject to sideboard limits, as 

well as the complete closure of directed 

fishing for pollock for vessels subject to 

sideboard limits, represented a lost 

fishing opportunity for their vessels and 

thus, potential lost revenue from Pacific 

cod and pollock catch. Based on this 

public testimony and a review of the 

effects of the sideboard limits in the 

2005/2006 and 2006/2007 crab fishing 

years, the first 2 years of the CR 

Program, the Council determined that 

the sideboard restrictions for the GOA 

Pacific cod and pollock fisheries should 

be re-examined. The Council initiated 

an analysis in December 2007 to 

examine alternatives that would expand 

the criteria for non-AFA crab vessels to 

qualify for an exemption from the 

Pacific cod sideboard limits and would 

extend a similar exemption to the 

pollock sideboard limits. In October 

2008, the Council recommended 

Amendment 34 to the Crab FMP to 

exempt additional vessels and 

groundfish LLP licenses from the GOA 

Pacific cod and pollock sideboard 

limits. 

Amendment 34 would implement two 

actions. Action 1 would revise the GOA 

Pacific cod sideboard limit exemption 

criteria for non-AFA crab vessels. 

Action 2 would establish new GOA 

pollock sideboard limit exemption 

criteria for non-AFA crab vessels. NMFS 

estimates that, in addition to the five 

vessels and five groundfish LLP licenses 

that are currently exempt, the Council’s 

preferred alternative for Action 1 would 

exempt three non-AFA crab vessels and 

three groundfish LLP licenses from GOA 

Pacific cod sideboard limits, for an 

estimated total of eight vessels and eight 

LLP licenses that would be exempt from 

the GOA Pacific cod sideboard. For 

Action 2, NMFS estimates that the 

Council’s preferred alternative would 

exempt one non-AFA crab vessel and 

one groundfish LLP license from the 

GOA pollock sideboard limits. 

Exemptions from the sideboard harvest 

limits would provide an opportunity for 

these crab QS recipients to participate 

in the GOA Pacific cod and pollock 

fisheries at historical levels. The 

Council determined that the potential 

increased participation by these 

participants in GOA Pacific cod and 

pollock fisheries was unlikely to 

significantly impact other participants 

in these fisheries. 

The Regulatory Impact Review and 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

prepared for this action describes the 

costs and benefits of the proposed 

amendment (see ADDRESSES). All of the 

directly regulated entities would be 

expected to benefit from this action 

relative to the status quo because the 

proposed amendment would allow crab 

QS recipients with demonstrated 

dependence on GOA Pacific cod and 

pollock fisheries to participate in these 

fisheries at historical levels. 

Public comments are being solicited 

on proposed Amendment 34 to the Crab 

FMP through the end of the comment 

period (see DATES). NMFS intends to 

publish in the Federal Register, and 

seek public comment on, a proposed 

rule that would implement Amendment 

34, following NMFS’s evaluation of the 

proposed rule under the MagnusonStevens Act. Public comments on the 

proposed rule must be received by the 

end of the comment period on 

Amendment 34 (see DATES) to be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision on Amendment 34. All 

comments received by the end of the 

comment period, whether specifically 

directed to Amendment 34 or the 

proposed rule, will be considered in the 

FMP approval/disapproval decision. To 

be considered, comments must be 

received, not just postmarked or 

otherwise transmitted, by the close of 

business on the last day of the comment 

period. Comments received after that 

date will not be considered in the 


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13596 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 49 / Monday, March 14, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

approval/disapproval decision on the 

amendment. 

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

Dated: March 9, 2011. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5854 Filed 3–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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