Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2004 / Proposed Rules 70973

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 041130335–4335–01; I.D. 

112404B]

RIN 0648–AS17

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in 

the Western Pacific; Coastal Pelagic 

Species Fisheries; Annual 

Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulation 

to implement the annual harvest 

guideline for Pacific sardine in the U.S. 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the 

Pacific coast for the fishing season 

January 1, 2005, through December 31, 

2005. This harvest guideline has been 

calculated according to the regulations 

implementing the Coastal Pelagic 

Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) and establishes allowable harvest 

levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific 

coast.

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 23, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule, identified by [I.D. 

112404B] by any of the following 

methods:

• E-mail: 0648–AS17.SWR@noaa.gov. 

Include the I.D. number in the subject 

line of the message.

• Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http:/

/www.regulations.gov. Following the 

instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional 

Administrator, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 

4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213.

• Fax: (562) 980–4047.

Copies of the report Assessment of 

Pacific Sardine Stock for U.S. 

Management in 2005 and the Regulatory 

Impact Review may be obtained from 

the Southwest Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tonya L. Wick, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP, 

which was implemented by publication 

of the final rule in the Federal Register

on December 15, 1999 (64 FR 69888), 

divides management unit species into 

two categories: actively managed and 

monitored. Harvest guidelines for 

actively managed species (Pacific 

sardine and Pacific mackerel) are based 

on formulas applied to current biomass 

estimates. Biomass estimates are not 

calculated for species that are only 

monitored (jack mackerel, northern 

anchovy, and market squid).

At a public meeting each year, the 

biomass for each actively managed 

species is reviewed by the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council’s 

(Council) Coastal Pelagic Species 

Management Team (Team). The 

biomass, harvest guideline, and status of 

the fisheries are then reviewed at a 

public meeting of the Council’s CPS 

Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel). This 

information is also reviewed by the 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC). The Council reviews 

reports from the Team, Subpanel, and 

SSC and, after providing time for public 

comment, makes its recommendation to 

NMFS. The annual harvest guideline 

and season structure are published by 

NMFS in the Federal Register as soon 

as practicable before the beginning of 

the appropriate fishing season. The 

Pacific sardine season begins on January 

1 and ends on December 31 of each 

year.

Public meetings of the Team and 

Subpanel were held at the Southwest 

Regional Office in Long Beach, CA, on 

September 28, 29, and 30, 2004 (69 FR 

55144, September 13, 2004). The 

Council reviewed the report at its 

November meeting in Portland, OR, and 

listened to comments from its advisory 

bodies and the public. The Council then 

adopted the 2005 harvest guideline for 

Pacific sardine.

Based on a biomass estimate of 

1,193,515 metric tons (mt), the harvest 

guideline for Pacific sardine for January 

1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, is 

136,179 mt. The biomass estimate is 

102,928 mt higher (approximately 10 

percent higher) than last year’s estimate.

The harvest guideline is allocated 

one-third for Subarea A, which is north 

of 39° 00′ N. lat. (Pt. Arena, CA) to the 

Canadian border, and two-thirds for 

Subarea B, which is south of 39° 00′ N. 

lat. to the Mexican border. Under this 

proposed rule, the northern allocation 

for 2004 would be 45,393 mt; the 

southern allocation would be 90,786 mt. 

In 2004, the northern allocation was 

40,916 mt and the southern allocation 

was 81,831 mt.

Normally, an incidental landing 

allowance of sardine in landings of 

other CPS is set at the beginning of the 

fishing season. The incidental 

allowance would become effective if the 

harvest guideline is reached and the 

fishery closed. A landing allowance of 

sardine up to 45 percent by weight of 

any landing of CPS is authorized by the 

FMP. An incidental allowance prevents 

fishermen from being cited for a 

violation when sardine occur in schools 

of other CPS, and it minimizes bycatch 

of sardine if sardine are inadvertently 

caught while fishing for other CPS. 

Sardine landed with other species also 

requires sorting at the processing plant, 

which adds to processing costs. Mixed 

species in the same load may damage 

smaller fish. The size of the sardine 

population was estimated using a newly 

modified version of the integrated stock 

assessment model called Age-structured 

Assessment Program (ASAP). Using this 

new ASAP model was recommended by 

the Coastal Pelagic Species Stock 

Assessment Review panel held in June 

2004 in La Jolla, CA. This new ASAP 

model replaces the old Catch-at-AgeAnalysis of Sardine-Two Area Model 

(CANSAR-TAM, a forward-casting, agestructured analysis) used in previous 

years. ASAP is a flexible forwardsimulation that allows for the efficient 

and reliable estimation of a large 

number of parameters. ASAP uses 

fishery dependent and fishery 

independent data to obtain annual 

estimates of sardine abundance, yearclass strength, and age-specific fishing 

mortality for 1983 through 2004. The 

ASAP model allows one to account for 

the expansion of the Pacific sardine 

stock northward to include waters off 

the northwest Pacific coast and for the 

incorporation of data from the Mexican 

sardine fishery. Information on the 

fishery and the stock assessment are 

found in the report Assessment of 

Pacific Sardine Stock for U.S. 

Management in 2005 (see ADDRESSES).

The formula in the FMP uses the 

following factors to determine the 

harvest guideline:

1. The biomass of age one sardine and 

above. For 2005, this estimate is 

1,193,515 mt.

2. The cutoff. This is the biomass 

level below which no commercial 

fishery is allowed. The FMP established 

this level at 150,000 mt.

3. The portion of the sardine biomass 

that is in U.S. waters. For 2005, this 

estimate is 87 percent, based on the 

average of larval distribution obtained 

from scientific cruises and the 

distribution of the resource obtained 

from logbooks of aerial fish-spotters.

4. The harvest fraction. This is the 

percentage of the biomass above 150,000 

mt that may be harvested. The fraction 

used varies (5–15 percent) with current 

ocean temperatures. A higher fraction is 

used for warmer ocean temperatures, 

which favor the production of Pacific 

sardine, and a lower fraction is used for 

cooler temperatures. For 2005, the 

70974 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 235 / Wednesday, December 8, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

fraction was 15 percent based on three 

seasons of sea surface temperature at 

Scripps Pier, California.

Based on the estimated biomass of 

1,193,515 mt and the formula in the 

FMP, a harvest guideline of 136,179 mt 

was determined for the fishery 

beginning January 1, 2005. The harvest 

guideline is allocated one-third for 

Subarea A, which is north of 39° 00′ N. 

lat. (Pt. Arena, CA) to the Canadian 

border, and two-thirds for Subarea B, 

which is south of 39° 00′ N. lat. to the 

Mexican border. The northern allocation 

is 45,393 mt; the southern allocation is 

90,786 mt.

Classification

These proposed specifications are 

issued under the authority of, and 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that it is in accordance with, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

FMP, and the regulations implementing 

the FMP at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I.

This proposed rule is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities as 

follows:

The purpose of the proposed rule is to 

inform the public of the 2005 harvest 

guideline for Pacific sardine in the EEZ off 

the Pacific coast. The CPS FMP and its 

implementing regulations require NMFS to 

set an annual harvest guideline for Pacific 

sardine based on the formula in the FMP. 

The harvest guideline is derived by a formula 

applied to the current biomass estimate. The 

formula leaves little latitude for discretion 

except when errors are found in the 

calculations or in the data then those 

adjustments may be made. There is no 

alternative to the harvest guideline as 

specified; there is no discretion to use an 

adjusted formula. Further, there is only one 

stock assessment method available to 

establish the adult biomass used to derive the 

harvest guideline. No changes are proposed 

in the regulations governing the fishery.

The proposed harvest guideline for the 

2005 fishing season is 136,179 mt, which is 

approximately 10 percent higher than that of 

the 2004 harvest guideline which could 

result in increased revenue to the fleet. 

Whether this occurs depends on market 

forces and the ability of the fishing fleet to 

find pure schools of Pacific sardine. If the 

fleet were to take the full harvest guideline, 

and assuming no change in average exvessel 

price from the current level, the total revenue 

to the fleet would be $15 million. However, 

even if there is no change in market 

conditions, it is not likely that the full 

harvest guideline will be taken in the 2005 

fishing year (because of the availability of the 

fleet to find pure schools of Pacific sardine), 

in which case total revenue would likely be 

lower. The Pacific sardine season begins on 

January 1, 2005, and ends on December 31, 

2005, or when the harvest guideline is caught 

and the fishery is closed.

The harvest guideline would apply to the 

CPS purse seine fleet, which consists of 62 

small vessels fishing under a limited entry 

program within U.S. waters. They have been 

actively regulated since the year 2000 

without difficulty. The limited entry program 

was initiated because before 2000 the fleet 

was overcapitalized characterized by 

excessive harvest capacity for current 

biomass conditions. As a fishery becomes 

overcapitalized, economic efficiency is 

reduced and pressure to over harvest stocks 

increases. Setting the Pacific sardine harvest 

guideline under the limited entry program 

may affect the CPS vessels but will affect 

them less than if there were no limited entry 

program. Specifically that overcapitalization 

would be a greater risk (economic efficiency 

is reduced, pressure to over harvest stocks 

increases, and other serious biological 

[resource depletion] and practical problems 

[short seasons, wastage, dangerous fishing 

practices] are typical of open access 

conditions) to their income than that of 

setting a harvest guideline under the limited 

entry program. These vessels fish for small 

pelagic fish (Pacific sardine, Pacific 

mackerel) all year and for market squid in the 

winter, and may harvest tuna in the U.S. 

exclusive economic zone seasonally when 

they are available, usually late in the summer 

and early fall. These vessels are considered 

small business entities. There should not be 

any significant economic impact to a 

substantial number of these small entities.

As a result, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared.

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

Dated: December 2, 2004.

William T. Hogarth,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–26953 Filed 12–7–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 041126332–4332–01; I.D. 

112204A]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands; 2005 and 2006 

Proposed Harvest Specifications for 

Groundfish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: 2005 and 2006 proposed harvest 

specifications for groundfish; request for 

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2005 and 

2006 harvest specifications and 

prohibited species catch (PSC) 

allowances for the groundfish fishery of 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area (BSAI). This action is 

necessary to establish harvest limits for 

groundfish during the 2005 and 2006 

fishing years and to accomplish the 

goals and objectives of the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP). The intended 

effect of this action is to conserve and 

manage the groundfish resources in the 

BSAI in accordance with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act).

DATES: Comments must be received by 

January 7, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Lori Durall. Comments may be 

submitted by:

• Mail to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802;

• Hand Delivery to the Federal 

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK;

• E-mail to 

2005AKgroundfish.tacspecs@noaa.gov

and include in the subject line of the email comments the document identifier: 

2005 Proposed Specifications (E-mail 

comments, with or without attachments, 

are limited to 5 megabytes);

• FAX to 907–586–7557; or

• Webform at the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions at that site for submitting 

comments.

Copies of the draft Environmental 

Assessment/Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) prepared 

for this action are available from NMFS 

at the addresses above or from the 

Alaska Region website at 

www.fakr.noaa.gov. Copies of the final 

2003 Stock Assessment and Fishery 

Evaluation (SAFE) report for the 

groundfish resources of the BSAI, dated 

November 2003, are available from the 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council), West 4th Avenue, 

Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99510–2252 

(907–271–2809), or from its website at 

www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Furuness, 907–586–7228, or email at mary.furuness@noaa.gov.