[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 37 (Friday, February 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11716-11718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03900]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 210219-0028]
RIN 0648-BK18


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Removing the 
Processing Restriction on Incidentally Caught Squids and Sculpins in 
the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish 
Fisheries

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to remove the regulatory 
restriction that limits processing of squids and sculpins to fishmeal 
only. This proposed rule is necessary to allow the processing and sale 
of squids and sculpins as products other than fishmeal and thereby to 
help prevent waste of the incidental catch of these ecosystem component 
species. This proposed rule is intended to promote the goals and 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plans (FMP) for 
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Management Area (BSAI) (Groundfish FMPs), and other applicable 
laws.

DATES: Submit comments on or before March 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by FDMS 
Docket Number NOAA-NMFS-2020-0160, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0160, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant 
Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region 
NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802-1668.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the draft Regulatory Impact Review (referred 
to as the ``Analysis'') and the draft Categorical Exclusion prepared 
for this proposed rule may be obtained from www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority for Action

    NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic 
zone (EEZ) of the BSAI and GOA under the Groundfish FMPs. The North 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared the Groundfish 
FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the 
Groundfish FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    All relevant comments submitted on this proposed rule and received 
by the end of the comment period (See DATES) will be considered by NMFS 
and addressed in the response to comments in the final rule.

Background

    Squids and sculpins are defined in the ecosystem component (EC) 
category of the Groundfish FMPs. Directed fishing for EC species is 
prohibited. Incidental catch of squid species is retained in some 
groundfish fisheries and often utilized to prevent waste. Typically, 
sculpins are not retained but can be in some circumstances.
    The Council's 2017 and 2019 actions to reclassify squids and 
sculpins, respectively, into the EC category of the Groundfish FMPs 
were based on the best available scientific information and were 
consistent with the National Standard guidelines. The Federal 
rulemakings to implement the Council's actions prohibited the use or 
sale of incidentally caught squids and sculpins unless processed into 
fishmeal, in accordance with the regulations governing other EC species 
(85 FR 41427, July 10, 2020 (sculpin); 83 FR 31460, July 6, 2018 
(squid)). The purpose of this action is to provide flexibility for the 
use of incidentally caught squids and sculpins, thereby reducing the 
waste of these EC species, and to align the regulations with the long-
standing use of incidentally caught squid species as bait.
    The following sections of this preamble provide:
    <bullet> A brief history of the restriction on processing and sale 
of squids and sculpins,
    <bullet> The expected effects of and need for this action, and
    <bullet> A description of the regulatory change proposed in this 
action.

Brief History of the Restriction on Processing and Sale of Squids and 
Sculpins

    EC species are stocks that a fishery management council (council) 
or the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) has determined do not require 
conservation and management, but desire to list in an FMP in order to 
achieve ecosystem management objectives (50 CFR 600.305(c)(5) & (d)(13) 
and 50 CFR 600.310(d)(1)). Retention and personal use of some EC 
species in the Groundfish FMPs (forage fish, grenadiers, squids, and 
sculpins) is allowed up to the applicable maximum retainable amount 
(MRA), which is the proportion or percentage of retained catch of a 
species closed for directed fishing (incidental catch species) to the 
retained catch of a species open for directed fishing (basis species) 
(50 CFR 679.20(e) & (i)). Current Federal regulations at 50 CFR 
679.20(i)(4) & (5) prohibit the processing, barter, trade, and sale of 
EC species in Alaska (forage fish, grenadiers, squids, and sculpins) 
unless they are processed as fishmeal.
    Amendment 96 to the BSAI FMP and Amendment 87 to the GOA FMP 
(Amendments 96/87) (75 FR 61639, October 6, 2010) established the EC 
category and designated prohibited species (defined in Table 2b to 50 
CFR part 679, to include salmon, steelhead trout, crab, halibut, and 
herring) and forage fish (defined in Table 2c to 50 CFR part 679 and 
Sec.  679.20(i)) as EC species in both the Groundfish FMPs.

[[Page 11717]]

    When Amendments 96/87 were recommended by the Council in 2010, the 
Council's stated intention was that prohibited species and forage fish 
would be in the new EC category. Because the retention, processing, and 
sale of prohibited species and forage fish was not permitted before 
their placement in the EC category, those restrictions remained in 
place and unchanged under Amendments 96/87. The Council did not 
indicate whether it intended that species added to the EC category at a 
later date would be subject to those same restrictions.
    When the Council took action to recommend reclassifying squids in 
the EC category in 2017, harvesters and processors expected that 
incidentally caught squids in the groundfish fisheries could be 
processed and sold as bait, consistent with long-standing and common 
practice. Similarly, when the Council recommended reclassifying 
sculpins in the EC category in 2019, there was some interest in 
exploring food fish markets for incidentally caught sculpins, which 
have rarely been retained or processed. However, once squids and 
sculpins were reclassified in the EC category, existing Federal 
regulations at 50 CFR 679.20(i) applied to all EC species and 
prohibited the processing, barter, trade, and sale of squids and 
sculpins as anything other than fishmeal.
    In October 2019, the Council initiated an analysis to reconsider 
the processing and sale restrictions on squids and sculpins in the EC 
category. No other species in the EC category were considered in this 
analysis. As a result, processing and sale restrictions will remain in 
place for prohibited species, forage fish, and grenadiers under this 
action.

The Expected Effects of and Need for This Action

    This action would continue to manage squids and sculpins as EC 
species in the Groundfish FMPs. Directed fishing of squids and sculpins 
would continue to be prohibited, and retention of squids and sculpins 
up to the MRA of 20 percent would continue to be permitted. 
Recordkeeping and reporting requirements would be maintained. The only 
proposed change to current regulations would be to remove the 
processing restrictions limiting processing and sale of squids and 
sculpins to fishmeal, and include new regulations on allowable fish 
products for squids and sculpins. Specifically, the proposed 
regulations would provide that retained catch of squids and sculpins 
not exceeding the MRA may be sold to a processor or processed into any 
product form, including (but not limited to) fishmeal, bait, and whole 
fish/food fish, for sale, barter, or trade. All other regulations 
pertaining to EC species would remain in place.
    This proposed action would allow squid species to be processed as 
whole bait and be available to local fixed gear fisheries, which may 
reduce costs for those vessels. While there has never been a 
significant market for sculpin products, this action would allow for 
the exploration of potential markets for incidentally caught sculpins 
up to the MRA.
    The potential social impacts of the alternatives on the fishing 
community are primarily economic in nature. Processing squid species 
into bait provides some revenue to shore-based processors (see Table 4-
5 of the Analysis) and may reduce costs to local fleets, which 
currently purchase more expensive, imported bait. The potential 
economic impacts are limited, the potential benefits would be marginal, 
and no impacts were identified that would create adverse economic 
impacts on any fishing community or cause any other adverse social 
impacts.
    The Council determined, and NMFS agrees, that this proposed action 
would provide groundfish harvesters and processors with additional 
flexibility to conduct their business in an efficient manner by 
providing them with more options for the processing and sale of 
incidentally caught squids and sculpins up to the MRA, and would help 
reduce waste of these incidentally caught species.

Proposed Rule

    This proposed rule would remove the regulatory restriction that 
limits processing of incidentally caught squids and sculpins to 
fishmeal only, and would allow retained catch of squids and sculpins 
not exceeding the MRA to be sold to a processor or to be processed into 
any product form. This proposed rule is necessary to allow the 
processing and sale of squids and sculpins as products other than 
fishmeal and to help prevent waste of the incidental catch of these 
species. To make that change, this proposed rule would revise language 
in 50 CFR 679.20(i).

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Groundfish FMPs, 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 
the purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    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.
    This proposed rule would remove the regulatory restriction that 
limits processing of squids and sculpins to fishmeal only. The purpose 
of this action is to allow processing and sale of squids and sculpin 
products to provide enhanced economic opportunity and to prevent waste 
of the incidental catch of these species in the BSAI and GOA groundfish 
fisheries.
    Entities that would be directly regulated by this proposed rule 
include the owners and operators of catcher vessels (CVs), catcher/
processor vessels (C/Ps), and motherships in the groundfish fisheries 
of the BSAI and GOA, and eligible shore-based processing facilities. 
These are the participants currently regulated by the prohibition at 50 
CFR 679.20(i).
    In 2018, there were 182 CVs and 3 C/Ps in the BSAI, 756 CVs and 3 
C/Ps in the GOA, and three motherships that met the definition of small 
entities. There also may be one or more shore-based processors that 
could be considered small entities because the processing company and 
its affiliates, worldwide, may employ fewer than 750 people. However, 
total employment numbers of processing companies and their affiliates, 
worldwide, are not available to make that small entity threshold 
determination. Based on the scope of this action, impacts to small, 
directly regulated entities are expected to be neutral or beneficial if 
the entities decide to use the flexibility this rule affords to process 
squids and sculpins into product forms in addition to fishmeal.
    As described above, this action does not place any new regulatory 
burden on groundfish fishery participants. Instead, it allows increased 
flexibility for the processing and sale of squids and sculpins. For all 
of the reasons described above, this proposed action is not expected to 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of the small 
entities directly regulated by this proposed action. As a result, an 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required, and none has 
been prepared.

[[Page 11718]]

Regulatory Impact Review

    A Regulatory Impact Review was prepared to assess the costs and 
benefits of available regulatory alternatives. The Council recommended 
and NMFS proposes these regulations based on those measures that 
maximize net benefits to the Nation. A copy of this analysis is 
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 22, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 CFR 
part 679 as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

0
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; Pub. L. 111-281.

0
2. In Sec.  679.20, revise paragraph (i) to read as follows:


Sec.  679.20  General limitations.

* * * * *
    (i) Forage fish, grenadiers, squids, and sculpins--(1) Definition. 
See Table 2c to this part.
    (2) Applicability. The provisions of this paragraph (i) apply to 
all vessels fishing for groundfish in the BSAI or GOA, and to all 
vessels processing groundfish harvested in the BSAI or GOA.
    (3) Closure to directed fishing. Directed fishing for forage fish, 
grenadiers, squids, and sculpins is prohibited at all times in the BSAI 
and GOA.
    (4) Limits on sale, barter, trade, and processing of forage fish 
and grenadiers. The sale, barter, trade, or processing of forage fish 
and grenadiers is prohibited, except as provided in paragraph (i)(5) of 
this section.
    (5) Allowable fishmeal production of forage fish and grenadiers. 
Retained catch of forage fish or grenadiers not exceeding the maximum 
retainable amount may be processed into fishmeal for sale, barter, or 
trade.
    (6) Allowable fish products for squids and sculpins. Retained catch 
of squids and sculpins not exceeding the maximum retainable amount may 
be sold to a processor or processed into any product form, including 
(but not limited to) fishmeal, bait, and whole fish/food fish, for 
sale, barter, or trade.
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[FR Doc. 2021-03900 Filed 2-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P