466 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910131363–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XA121 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Inseason Adjustment 

to the 2011 Bering Sea Pollock Total 

Allowable Catch Amount 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

adjustment; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the 2011 

total allowable catch (TAC) amount for 

the Bering Sea pollock fishery. This 

action is necessary because NMFS has 

determined this TAC is incorrectly 

specified. This action will ensure the 

Bering Sea pollock TAC is the 

appropriate amount based on the best 

available scientific information for 

pollock in the Bering Sea subarea. This 

action is consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), January 5, 2011, until the 

effective date of the final 2011 and 2012 

harvest specifications for BSAI 

groundfish, unless otherwise modified 

or superseded through publication of a 

notification in the Federal Register. 

Comments must be received at the 

following address no later than 4:30 

p.m., A.l.t., January 20, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to James W. 

Balsiger, Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may 

submit comments, identified by RIN 

0648–XA121, by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal 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. Comment will 

generally be posted without change. All 

Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

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). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228. 

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 (Council) 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens 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 2011 pollock TAC in the Bering 

Sea subarea was set at 1,110,000 metric 

tons (mt) by the final 2010 and 2011 

harvest specification for groundfish in 

the BSAI (75 FR 11778, March 12, 

2010). 

In December 2010, the Council 

recommended a 2011 pollock TAC of 

1,252,000 mt for the Bering Sea subarea. 

This amount is more than the 1,110,000 

mt established by the final 2010 and 

2011 harvest specification for 

groundfish in the BSAI (75 FR 11778, 

March 12, 2010). The TAC 

recommended by the Council is based 

on the Stock Assessment and Fishery 

Evaluation report (SAFE), dated 

November 2010, which NMFS has 

determined is the best available 

scientific information for this fishery. 

Regulations at § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(B) 

apportion the pollock TAC allocated to 

the Bering Sea directed pollock fisheries 

seasonally to distribute catch over time 

because pollock is a principal prey 

species for Steller sea lions listed as 

endangered under the Endangered 

Species Act. The first seasonal 

apportionment can be harvested 

quickly, and must reflect the TAC based 

on the best available scientific 

information to provide the opportunity 

to harvest available TAC in a manner 

consistent with the established Steller 

sea lion protection measures. 

In accordance with 

§ 679.25(a)(2)(i)(B), the Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), has determined that, 

based on the November 2010 SAFE 

report for this fishery, the current Bering 

Sea pollock TAC is incorrectly 

specified. Consequently, the Regional 

Administrator is adjusting the 2011 

pollock TAC to 1,252,000 mt in the 

Bering Sea subarea. 

Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5), Table 3 of 

the final 2010 and 2011 harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (75 FR 11778, March 12, 2010), as 

adjusted by a reallocation of a portion 

of the 2010 incidental catch allowance 

(75 FR 54792, September 9, 2010), is 

revised for the 2011 pollock TACs 

consistent with this adjustment. 

TABLE 3—FINAL 2010 AND 2011 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE

CDQ DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1

[Amounts are in metric tons] 

Area and sector 2010 

Allocations 

2010 A season 1 2010 

B season 1

2011 

Allocations 

2011 A season 1 2011 

B season 1

A season 

DFA 

SCA 

harvest 

limit 2

B season 

DFA 

A season 

DFA 

SCA 

harvest 

limit 2

B season 

DFA 

Bering Sea subarea 813,000 n/a n/a n/a 1,252,000 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ................. 81,300 32,520 22,764 48,780 125,200 50,080 35,056 75,120 

ICA1 ......................... 24,768 n/a n/a n/a 33,804 n/a n/a n/a 

AFA Inshore ............. 353,466 140,486 98,340 212,980 546,498 218,599 153,019 327,899 

AFA Catcher/Processors 3 ................. 282,773 112,389 78,672 170,384 437,198 174,879 122,416 262,319 

Catch by C/Ps .......... 258,737 102,836 n/a 155,901 400,037 160,015 n/a 240,022 

Catch by CVs 3 ......... 24,036 9,553 n/a 14,483 37,162 14,865 n/a 22,297 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 467 

TABLE 3—FINAL 2010 AND 2011 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE

CDQ DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1—Continued 

[Amounts are in metric tons] 

Area and sector 2010 

Allocations 

2010 A season 1 2010 

B season 1

2011 

Allocations 

2011 A season 1 2011 

B season 1

A season 

DFA 

SCA 

harvest 

limit 2

B season 

DFA 

A season 

DFA 

SCA 

harvest 

limit 2

B season 

DFA 

Unlisted C/P Limit 4 .. 1,414 562 n/a 852 2,186 874 n/a 1,312 

AFA Motherships ..... 70,693 28,097 19,668 42,596 109,300 43,720 30,604 65,580 

Excessive Harvesting 

Limit 5 .................... 123,714 n/a n/a n/a 191,274 n/a n/a n/a 

Excessive Processing Limit 6 ........ 212,080 n/a n/a n/a 327,899 n/a n/a n/a 

Total Bering Sea 

DFA ............... 706,932 280,973 196,681 425,959 1,092,996 437,198 306,039 655,798 

Aleutian Islands subarea 1 .................... 19,000 n/a n/a n/a 19,000 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ................. 1,900 760 n/a 1,140 1,900 760 n/a 1,140 

ICA ........................... 1,600 800 n/a 800 1,600 800 n/a 800 

Aleut Corporation ..... 15,500 15,500 n/a 0 15,500 15,500 n/a 0 

Bogoslof District 

ICA7 ..................... 50 n/a n/a n/a 150 n/a n/a n/a 

1Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock, after subtraction for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and the ICA (3 percent), is 

allocated as a DFA as follows: Inshore sector—50 percent, catcher/processor sector (C/P)—40 percent, and mothership sector—10 percent. In 

the Bering Sea subarea, 40 percent of the DFA is allocated to the A season (January 20–June 10) and 60 percent of the DFA is allocated to the 

B season (June 10–November 1). Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)(i) and (ii), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second the ICA (1,600 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a directed pollock fishery. In the AI 

subarea, the A season is allocated 40 percent of the ABC and the B season is allocated the remainder of the directed pollock fishery. 2 In the Bering Sea subarea, no more than 28 percent of each sector’s annual DFA may be taken from the SCA before April 1. The remaining 

12 percent of the annual DFA allocated to the A season may be taken outside of SCA before April 1 or inside the SCA after April 1. If less than 

28 percent of the annual DFA is taken inside the SCA before April 1, the remainder will be available to be taken inside the SCA after April 1. 3Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), not less than 8.5 percent of the DFA allocated to listed catcher/processors shall be available for harvest 

only by eligible catcher vessels delivering to listed catcher/processors. 4Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted catcher/processors are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the catcher/ 

processors sector’s allocation of pollock. 5Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ 

pollock DFAs. 6Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30.0 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ 

pollock DFAs. 7The Bogoslof District is closed by the final harvest specifications to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for ICA only and 

are not apportioned by season or sector. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

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 

require the Bering Sea pollock harvests 

to be lower than the appropriate 

allocations for pollock based on the best 

scientific information available. NMFS 

was unable to publish a notice 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of December 

15, 2010, and additional time for prior 

public comment would result in 

conservation concerns for the ESAlisted Steller sea lions. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

Under § 679.25(c)(2), interested 

persons are invited to submit written 

comments on this action to the above 

address until January 20, 2011. 

This action is required by § 679.22 

and § 679.25 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: December 29, 2010. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–33303 Filed 12–30–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910131363–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XA120 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Inseason Adjustment 

to the 2011 Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands Pacific Cod Total Allowable 

Catch Amount 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

adjustment; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the 2011 

total allowable catch (TAC) amount for 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

(BSAI) Pacific cod fishery. This action is 

necessary because NMFS has 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES