6568 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 0170.1. 

■ 2. Add § 165.T08–0020 to read as 

follows: 

§ 165.T08–0020 Safety Zone; Lower 

Mississippi river, Mile Marker 368 and 370, 

Natchez, MS. 

(a) Location. The following area is a 

safety zone: All navigable waters of the 

Lower Mississippi River from Mile 

Marker (MM) 368 through MM 370. 

(b) Regulations. (1) Under the general 

safety zone regulations in subpart C of 

this part, you may not enter the safety 

zone described in paragraph (a) of this 

section unless authorized by the Captain 

of the Port Sector Lower Mississippi 

River (COTP) or the COTP’s designated 

representative. A designated 

representative is a commissioned, 

warrant, or petty officer of the U.S. 

Coast Guard assigned to units under the 

operational control of USCG Sector 

Lower Mississippi River. 

(2) To seek permission to enter, 

contact the COTP or the COTP’s 

representative via VHF–FM channel 16 

or by telephone at 901–521–4822. Those 

in the safety zone must comply with all 

lawful orders or directions given to 

them by the COTP or the COTP’s 

designated representative. 

(c) Effective period. This section is 

effective without actual notice from 

January 22, 2021 until February 5, 2021. 

For the purposes of enforcement, actual 

notice will be used from January 14, 

2021 until January 22, 2021. 

(d) Information broadcasts. The COTP 

or a designated representative will 

inform the public of the enforcement 

times and date for this safety zone 

through Broadcast Notices to Mariners, 

Local Notices to Mariners, and/or Safety 

Marine Information Broadcasts, as 

appropriate. 

Dated: January 13, 2021. 

R.S. Rhodes, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Sector Lower Mississippi River. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01329 Filed 1–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Copyright Royalty Board 

37 CFR Part 390 

[Docket No. 19–CRB–0009 AA] 

Determination and Allocation of Initial 

Administrative Assessment To Fund 

Mechanical Licensing Collective 

AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, 

Library of Congress. 

ACTION: Final rule; amended 

determination. 

SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges 

are amending regulations to revise the 

allocation of the initial administrative 

assessment To fund the mechanical 

licensing collective. 

DATES: Effective: January 22, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Docket: For access to the 

docket to read submitted documents, go 

to eCRB, the Copyright Royalty Board’s 

electronic filing and case management 

system at https://app.crb.gov/ and 

search for docket number 19–CRB–0009 

AA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anita Blaine, CRB Program Specialist, 

by telephone at (202) 707–7658 or by 

email at crb@loc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 8, 

2019, the Copyright Royalty Board 

initiated the Determination and 

Allocation of Initial Administrative 

Assessment to Fund Mechanical 

Licensing Collective proceeding by 

notice published in the Federal Register 

at 84 FR 32475, pursuant to the Orrin 

G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music 

Modernization Act, Public Law 115– 

264, 132 Stat. 3676 (Oct. 11, 2018), 17 

U.S.C. 115(d)(7)(D)(vi) and 801(b)(8) 

(2018). The purpose of this proceeding 

was to determine the initial 

administrative assessment that digital 

music providers and any significant 

nonblanket licensees must pay to fund 

the collective total costs of the 

mechanical licensing collective. 

Pursuant to a settlement of that 

proceeding, the Copyright Royalty 

Judges (‘‘Judges’’) adopted a negotiated 

agreement that had been agreed to by 

the mechanical licensing collective 

(MLC) and the digital licensee 

coordinator (DLC) as to both the amount 

of the assessment and the method of 

allocation of that assessment among 

digital music providers and significant 

nonblanket licensees and published 

final regulations implementing that 

settlement. See 85 FR 832 (Jan. 8, 2020); 

see also 37 CFR 390. 

On December 18, 2020, the DLC and 

the MLC jointly filed a motion with the 

Judges to modify the terms of 

implementation of the initial 

administrative assessment, invoking the 

Judges’ authority under 17 U.S.C. 

115(d)(7)(D)(vi) which gives the Judges 

‘‘continuing authority to amend a 

determination of an administrative 

assessment . . . to modify the terms of 

implementation, for good cause.’’ In 

particular, the motion sought 

modification of the existing regulations 

to provide a revised method of 

allocation of the administrative 

assessment to provide flat fee rates for 

smaller licensees and services that 

exclusively operate download stores 

under pass-through licenses received 

from record labels. The motion also 

sought certain clarifications and 

technical changes in terms based upon 

the DLC and MLC’s improved 

understanding of operational needs 

gained since the initial administrative 

assessment was adopted. The proposed 

amendments do not affect the amount of 

the assessments. 

Based on the representations that the 

current allocation methodology could 

have ‘‘significant impacts on smaller 

Licensees’’, that the revised allocation 

methodology ‘‘is specifically calculated 

to address market participation by 

smaller Licensees and pass-through 

download stores in an equitable 

manner, and has support from a diverse 

cross-section of the Licensee industry’’, 

and that the MLC also supports the 

amendments and has determined that 

they are administrable, the Judges find 

good cause to amend the regulations 

pursuant to their authority under 17 

U.S.C. 115(d)(7)(D)(vi). 

List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 390 

Copyright, Licensing and registration, 

Music, Phonorecords, Recordings, 

Royalties. 

Final Regulations 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Copyright Royalty Judges 

amend 37 CFR part 390 as follows: 

PART 390—AMOUNTS AND TERMS 

FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 

ASSESSMENTS TO FUND 

MECHANICAL LICENSING 

COLLECTIVE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 390 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 17 U.S.C. 115, 801(b). 

■ 2. Revise § 390.1 to read as follows: 

§ 390.1 Definitions. 

Administrative assessment has the 

meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 115(e)(3). 

Aggregate Sound Recordings Count 

means the sum of the Unique Sound 

Recordings Counts of each and every 

Allocated Licensee, calculated over the 

respective Quarterly Allocation 

calculation period. 

Allocated Licensees mean licensees as 

set forth in § 390.3(a) who are allocated 

an additional share of assessments 

beyond the annual minimum fee. 

Allocated Licensee Assessment Pool 

means an amount equaling 50% of each 

Annual Assessment and Quarterly 

Allocation. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 6569 

Annual Assessment means the 

administrative assessment for each 

calendar year beginning with the 

calendar year 2021. 

Annual Calculation Period means the 

calculation period for annual minimum 

fees, as set forth in § 390.3(b). 

Annual minimum fee means the 

minimum amount each Licensee shall 

pay for each Annual Assessment period, 

as set forth in § 390.3. 

Blanket Licensee means a digital 

music provider that is engaged, in all or 

in part, in covered activities pursuant to 

a compulsory blanket license described 

in 17 U.S.C. 115(d). 

Certified Minimum Fee Disclosure 

means a Licensee’s certified statement 

setting forth its Unique Sound 

Recordings Count for the respective 

calculation period. 

Covered activity has the meaning set 

forth in 17 U.S.C. 115(e)(7). 

Digital licensee coordinator or DLC 

has the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 

115(e)(9). 

ECI means the Employment Cost 

Index for total compensation (not 

seasonally adjusted), all civilian 

workers, as published on the website of 

the United States Department of Labor, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the most 

recent 12-month period for which data 

are available on the date that is 60 days 

prior to the start of the calendar year. 

Flat Fee Licensees mean licensees as 

set forth in § 390.3(a) who are not 

allocated an additional share of 

assessments beyond the annual 

minimum fee. 

License availability date has the 

meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 

115(e)(15). 

Licensee means either a Blanket 

Licensee or a Significant Nonblanket 

Licensee. 

Mechanical licensing collective or 

MLC has the meaning set forth in 17 

U.S.C. 115(e)(18). 

New Licensee means a Licensee that 

begins engaging in covered activities on 

or after the license availability date. 

Notice of license has the meaning set 

forth in 17 U.S.C. 115(e)(22). 

Notice of nonblanket activity has the 

meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 

115(e)(23). 

Quarterly Allocation means each of 

four equal parts of each Annual 

Assessment, to be paid on a calendar 

quarterly basis. 

Significant Nonblanket Licensee has 

the meaning set forth in 17 U.S.C. 

115(e)(31). 

Startup Assessment means the onetime administrative assessment for the 

startup phase of the MLC. 

Threshold Licensee means an 

Allocated Licensee that reports at least 

7.5% of the Aggregate Sound 

Recordings Count of all Allocated 

Licensees. 

Threshold Licensee Assessment Pool 

means an amount equaling 50% of each 

Annual Assessment and Quarterly 

Allocation. 

Unique Sound Recordings Count 

means, for each Licensee, the number of 

unique sound recordings used and 

reported per month by such Licensee in 

Section 115 covered activities, such as 

would be reflected in the information 

required to be reported under 17 U.S.C. 

115(d), calculated as a monthly average 

over the respective calculation period, 

except that a sound recording of a 

musical work that is in the public 

domain and designated as such in a 

monthly report of use shall not count 

towards the Licensee’s Unique Sound 

Recordings Count. For example, a 

Licensee’s Unique Sound Recordings 

Count for a Quarterly Allocation 

calculation period will be calculated by 

adding together the counts of unique 

sound recordings reported by such 

Licensee to the MLC during each month 

of that quarter and dividing that sum by 

three. A Licensee’s Unique Sound 

Recordings Count for an Annual 

Calculation Period will be calculated by 

adding together the counts of unique 

sound recordings reported by such 

Licensee to the MLC during each month 

of that twelve-month period and 

dividing that sum by twelve. In the case 

of a Licensee that was engaged in 

covered activities only for part of a 

Quarterly Allocation calculation period 

or Annual Calculation Period, the 

monthly average shall be calculated 

using only the calendar months that the 

Licensee was engaged in covered 

activities. In the case of a Licensee that 

was not engaged in covered activities 

during any part of a Quarterly 

Allocation calculation period or Annual 

Calculation Period, the monthly average 

shall be zero. Within each month’s 

usage reports from a particular Licensee, 

a sound recording reported multiple 

times with the same metadata would be 

counted as a single sound recording, 

and a sound recording reported multiple 

times each with different metadata 

would be counted multiple times, once 

for each reporting with new or different 

metadata. 

■ 3. Revise § 390.3 to read as follows: 

§ 390.3 Annual minimum fees. 

(a) Amounts. Subject to paragraph (e) 

of this section, Licensees shall pay 

annual minimum fees as follows— 

(1) In general. Except as provided in 

paragraph (a)(2) of this section— 

(i) Licensees that have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count of 10,000 or 

less during the relevant Annual 

Calculation Period shall pay $2,500 and 

shall be Flat Fee Licensees for the 

respective Annual Assessment; 

(ii) Licensees that have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count of between 

10,001 and 25,000 during the relevant 

Annual Calculation Period shall pay 

$5,000 and shall be Flat Fee Licensees 

for the respective Annual Assessment; 

(iii) Licensees that have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count of between 

25,001 and 50,000 during the relevant 

Annual Calculation Period shall pay 

$10,000 and shall be Flat Fee Licensees 

for the respective Annual Assessment, 

where such Annual Calculation Period 

is for the Annual Assessment for the 

calendar year 2024 or earlier; otherwise 

such Licensees shall pay $60,000 and 

shall be Allocated Licensees for the 

respective Annual Assessment; 

(iv) Licensees that have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count of between 

50,001 and 100,000 during the relevant 

Annual Calculation Period shall pay 

$20,000 and shall be Flat Fee Licensees 

for the respective Annual Assessment, 

where such Annual Calculation Period 

is for the Annual Assessment for the 

calendar year 2024 or earlier; otherwise 

such Licensees shall pay $60,000 and 

shall be Allocated Licensees; and 

(v) Licensees that have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count greater than 

100,000 during the relevant Annual 

Calculation Period shall pay an annual 

minimum fee of $60,000 and shall be 

Allocated Licensees for the respective 

Annual Assessment. 

(2) Download store annual fee. 

Licensees that engage in covered 

activities exclusively under authority 

obtained from licensors of sound 

recordings to make and distribute 

permanent downloads of musical works 

embodied in such sound recordings 

pursuant to individual download 

licenses or voluntary licenses shall be 

Flat Fee Licensees and pay the 

following amounts: 

(i) $2,500 if the Licensee has a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count of 50,000 or 

less during the relevant Annual 

Calculation Period. 

(ii) $5,000 if the Licensee has a 

Unique Sound Recordings Count of 

between 50,001 to 100,000 during the 

prior Annual Calculation Period. 

(iii) $10,000 if the Licensee has a 

Unique Sound Recordings Count of 

between 100,001 to 250,000 during the 

prior Annual Calculation Period. 

(iv) $20,000 if the Licensee has a 

Unique Sound Recordings Count of 

between 250,001 to 500,000 during the 

prior Annual Calculation Period. 

(v) $60,000 if the Licensee has a 

Unique Sound Recordings Count of 


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6570 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

greater than 500,000 during the prior 

Annual Calculation Period. 

(b) Annual Calculation Period. The 

calculation period for annual minimum 

fees shall be the 12-month period that 

ends on the September 30th 

immediately preceding the start of the 

assessment period (e.g., the annual 

minimum fee calculation period for the 

2021 Annual Assessment shall be 

October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020). 

(c) Calculation by Licensee 

certification (2021 and 2022)—(1) 2021. 

Each Licensee in operation on or before 

the license availability date shall submit 

to the MLC,—no later than February 15, 

2021, its Certified Minimum Fee 

Disclosure for the 2021 annual 

minimum fee (i.e., for the period from 

October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020). 

Each Licensee shall submit the 

appropriate annual minimum fee as 

calculated under paragraph (a) of this 

section for the 2021 Assessment 

simultaneously with its Certified 

Minimum Fee Disclosure. 

(2) 2022. Each Licensee shall submit 

to the MLC by November 1, 2021, a 

Certified Minimum Fee Disclosure for 

the 2022 Assessment and shall pay by 

January 15, 2022, the appropriate 

annual minimum fee. 

(d) Calculation by the MLC (2023 and 

subsequent years). Beginning with the 

2023 Assessment and continuing in 

subsequent years, the MLC will 

calculate each Licensee’s annual 

minimum fee based on usage reporting 

received from Licensees pursuant to 17 

U.S.C. 115(d)(4). The MLC shall send 

invoices for the appropriate annual 

minimum fee to each Licensee. 

Licensees shall pay the annual 

minimum fee invoices from the MLC by 

the later of: 

(1) 30 days from receipt of the invoice 

from the MLC; or 

(2) January 15th of the respective 

Annual Assessment year. 

(e) New licensees. (1) A New Licensee 

shall remit the lowest annual fee set 

forth in paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this 

section, as applicable, along with its 

notice of license or notice of nonblanket 

activity to be attributable to the calendar 

year in which such Licensee begins 

engaging in covered activities. 

(2) A New Licensee shall initially be 

deemed a Flat Fee Licensee. When the 

MLC calculates the Quarterly Allocation 

with the first calculation period 

pursuant to § 390.4(b) during which the 

New Licensee was engaged in covered 

activities, whether such activities were 

for all or part of the calculation period, 

the MLC shall calculate the New 

Licensee’s Unique Sound Recording 

Count for that calculation period. In the 

event that such New Licensee has not 

provided timely reporting, the MLC may 

instead, in its discretion, use the most 

recent reporting from that New Licensee 

for such calculation. If such New 

Licensee is calculated to have a Unique 

Sound Recordings Count that exceeds 

the amount that would qualify it to be 

a Flat Fee Licensee under paragraph 

(a)(1) of this section, it shall be deemed 

an Allocated Licensee for that Quarterly 

Allocation and the remainder of the 

calendar year and shall be invoiced and 

pay the assessment as calculated in 

§ 390.4 for the respective quarters, with 

such New Licensee’s Unique Sound 

Recordings Count to be included in the 

Aggregate Sound Recording Count for 

such quarters. 

(3) A New Licensee shall be subject to 

the provisions of paragraphs (a) through 

(d) of this section, as applicable, to 

determine the amount and timing of the 

annual minimum fees owed for the 

calendar year following the year when 

the Licensee begins engaging in covered 

activities, and for such purposes a New 

Licensee shall be treated as having a 

Unique Sound Recordings Count of zero 

for the Annual Calculation Period if it 

began engaging in covered activities 

after the end of the Annual Calculation 

Period. A New Licensee that has been 

deemed an Allocated Licensee pursuant 

to paragraph (e)(2) of this section shall 

be subject to the provisions of 

paragraphs (a) through (d) of this 

section, as applicable, to determine its 

status as a Flat Fee Licensee or 

Allocated Licensee, for calendar years 

following the calendar year in which it 

is first deemed an Allocated Licensee. 

■ 4. Revise § 390.4 to read as follows: 

§ 390.4 Annual Assessment allocation and 

payment. 

(a) Allocation formula. Each Annual 

Assessment shall be divided into four 

equal Quarterly Allocations, after first 

subtracting annual fees payable by Flat 

Fee Licensees. The MLC may adjust 

Quarterly Allocations to compensate for 

any adjustments to the Flat Fee Licensee 

annual fees that occur after the initial 

division of the Annual Assessment. 

Each Quarterly Allocation shall be 

allocated and paid on a calendar 

quarterly basis. Each Quarterly 

Allocation shall be divided into two 

equal parts, allocated among Licensees 

according to the following formula: 

(1) Allocated Licensee Assessment 

Pool. The Allocated Licensee 

Assessment Pool shall be allocated on a 

pro rata basis across all Allocated 

Licensees based on each Licensee’s 

share of the Aggregate Sound 

Recordings Count. 

(2) Threshold Licensee Assessment 

Pool. The Threshold Licensee 

Assessment Pool shall be allocated on a 

pro rata basis across Threshold 

Licensees based on each Threshold 

Licensee’s share of the aggregate Unique 

Sound Recordings Counts of all 

Threshold Licensees. In the event that 

no Threshold Licensees exist for a 

Quarterly Allocation, the Threshold 

Licensee Assessment Pool shall become 

payable by all Allocated Licensees in 

the same manner as the Allocated 

Licensee Assessment Pool. 

(b) Calculation periods and timing. 

The calculation period for each 

Quarterly Allocation shall be the threemonth period that ends three months 

prior to the start of the respective 

quarter, except that the calculation 

period for the Quarterly Allocation for 

the first and second quarters of 2021 

shall be the same as for the annual 

minimum fee for the 2021 Annual 

Assessment and shall be calculated 

based upon the information provided in 

the Certified Minimum Fee Disclosures, 

as required by this part. The MLC shall 

make all calculations for each respective 

period based upon the reporting for 

such period received from Licensees as 

of the time of calculation by the MLC, 

which calculation time shall not be 

earlier than the legal deadline for 

submission of reporting by Licensees for 

the respective period. In the event that 

a Licensee has not provided timely 

reporting for the respective calculation 

period at the time the MLC calculates a 

Quarterly Allocation, the MLC may 

instead use, in its discretion, the most 

recent reporting from that Licensee to 

determine that Licensee’s Unique Sound 

Recordings Count, for the purposes of 

calculating the Quarterly Allocation. 

(c) Invoicing and payment of 

allocation—(1) Deadline for payment. (i) 

Invoices from the MLC for Quarterly 

Allocation shares shall be payable 

pursuant to the MLC invoice no later 

than 45 days after receipt of the invoice 

from the MLC. 

(ii) Invoices from the MLC to 

Licensees shall be deemed received on 

the business day after electronic 

transmission. 

(2) Format of invoices. (i) The 

quarterly invoices issued by the MLC 

shall include at least the following 

information, where applicable: 

(A) Invoice issuance date; 

(B) Invoice payment due date; 

(C) Amount owed, by share of 

Allocated Licensee Assessment Pool 

and Threshold Licensee Assessment 

Pool; 

(D) Allocation of Startup Assessment; 

(E) Offset of minimum fee payment 

against quarterly assessment; and 

(F) Amount of credit for un-recouped 

minimum fee. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 6571 

(ii) Invoices issued as a result of an 

allocation adjustment shall include all 

of the information set forth in 

paragraphs (c)(2)(i)(A) through (F) of 

this section that may be relevant, as well 

as an explanation of the change from the 

prior invoices that are affected, and the 

reason(s) for the adjustment. 

(d) Late reporting. The MLC shall 

promptly notify the DLC of any known 

Licensees who have not timely 

submitted reports of usage as required 

each month pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 

115(d) and 37 CFR part 210. 

(e) Recalculation of Allocated 

Assessment invoices. The MLC may, in 

its discretion, recalculate allocations 

and adjust prior invoices, with the 

written consent of the DLC, within 

twelve months after the initial issuance 

of such invoices, in circumstances 

including, but not limited to, where new 

usage reporting is received or where a 

correction would alter one or more of 

any Licensee’s Quarterly Allocation 

shares by at least 10%. 

(f) Recoupment of minimum-fee. Each 

Allocated Licensee’s minimum fee will 

be offset against its Quarterly Allocation 

shares, if any, and additional payment 

will not be due from a Licensee unless 

and until its total Quarterly Allocation 

shares exceed its annual minimum fee 

payment. To the extent that an 

Allocated Licensee’s minimum fee 

exceeds that Licensee’s Quarterly 

Allocation shares for a given 

Assessment period, the excess amounts 

will be pooled and credited pro rata to 

all Allocated Licensees based on the 

Quarterly Allocation shares for the first 

quarter of the following year. 

(g) Reports to DLC. The MLC shall 

report to the DLC no later than 75 days 

after the end of every quarter the 

Aggregate Sound Recordings Count for 

that quarter. 

(h) Startup Assessment allocation and 

payment. The Startup Assessment shall 

be allocated and paid in the same 

manner and on the same dates as the 

2021 Annual Assessment, including as 

to each of the applicable provisions 

above, and shall be separately itemized 

in invoices from the MLC to Licensees. 

Pursuant to § 390.3, a single annual 

minimum fee shall be assessed for the 

2021 Annual Assessment, and no 

additional annual minimum fee shall be 

assessed for the Startup Assessment. 

Dated: December 29, 2020. 

Jesse M. Feder, 

Chief Copyright Royalty Judge. 

Approved by: 

Carla D. Hayden, 

Librarian of Congress. 

[FR Doc. 2020–29194 Filed 1–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–72–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 200227–0066; RTID 0648– 

XA770] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by Pot 

Catcher/Processors in the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by catcher/ 

processors using pot gear in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands management 

area (BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the A season 

apportionment of the 2021 Pacific cod 

total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to 

catcher/processors using pot gear in the 

BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), January 16, 2021, 

through 1200 hours, A.l.t., September 1, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Krista Milani, 907–581–2062. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The A season apportionment of the 

2021 Pacific cod TAC allocated to 

catcher/processors using pot gear in the 

BSAI is 850 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the final 2020 and 2021 

harvest specifications for groundfish in 

the BSAI (85 FR 13553, March 9, 2020) 

and inseason adjustment (85 FR 83473, 

December 22, 2020). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), has 

determined that the A season 

apportionment of the 2021 Pacific cod 

TAC allocated as a directed fishing 

allowance to catcher/processors using 

pot gear in the BSAI will soon be 

reached. Consequently, NMFS is 

prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific 

cod by pot catcher/processors in the 

BSAI. 

While this closure is effective the 

maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 679, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest, as it would prevent 

NMFS from responding to the most 

recent fisheries data in a timely fashion 

and would delay the closure of Pacific 

cod by catcher processors using pot gear 

in the BSAI. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of January 14, 2021. 

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

Dated: January 15, 2021. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01354 Filed 1–15–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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