Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Proposed Rules 34133

ADDRESS: The hearing will be at the

DOT Headquarters building, Room

2230, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590–0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

General Information. To request time to

be heard at the Washington hearing and

for other general information about the

Washington hearing and others

scheduled for later throughout the

country, contact Mr. Stanley Hamilton,

Office of Regulatory Development, (202)

366–0665. Specific Information. For

information concerning the rulemaking

contact Mr. David Miller, Office of Bus

and Truck Standards, (202) 366–1790,

or Mr. Charles Medalen, Office of the

Chief Counsel, Federal Highway

Administration, (202) 366–1354. Office

hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.,

et, Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 31502, and

31136; and 49 CFR 1.73.

Issued on: May 22, 2000.

Brian M. McLaughlin,

Director, Office of Policy Plans and

Regulations.

[FR Doc. 00–13284 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 000511130–0130–01; I.D.

032900C]

RIN 0648–AN25

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Allocation of Pacific

Cod among Vessels Using Hook-andLine or Pot Gear in the Bering Sea and

Aleutian Islands

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed Rule; proposed

revision to the 2000 harvest

specifications for Pacific cod; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to

implement Amendment 64 to the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea

and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP). This

proposed amendment would also

necessitate a revision to the 2000

harvest specifications for Pacific cod in

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

management area (BSAI). Amendment

64, submitted by the North Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council),

would apportion the hook-and-line or

pot gear (fixed gear) allocation of total

allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod in

the BSAI among hook-and-line catcherprocessor vessels, hook-and-line catcher

vessels, and pot gear vessels. This action

is necessary to respond to socioeconomic needs of the fishing industry

that have been identified by the Council

and is intended to promote the goals

and objectives of the FMP.

DATES: Comments must be received by

July 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to

Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668,

Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Lori Gravel.

Hand or courier delivered comments

may be sent to the Federal Building, 709

West 9th Street, Room 453, Juneau, AK

99801. Comments also may be sent via

facsimile (fax) to 907–586–7465.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

Copies of Amendment 64 and the

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA)

prepared for the amendments are

available from the North Pacific Fishery

Management Council at 605 West 4th

Ave. Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501,

telephone 907–271–2809.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Hale, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

manages the groundfish fisheries in the

Exclusive Economic Zone (3 to 200

miles offshore) of the BSAI under the

FMP, which the Council prepared and

NMFS approved in 1982 under the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act, P.

L. 94–265, 16 U.S.C. 1801 (MagnusonStevens Act).

The Council has submitted

Amendment 64 for Secretarial review.

NMFS published a Notice of

Availability (NOA) of the FMP

amendment in the Federal Register on

April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19354), with

comments on the FMP amendment

invited through June 12, 2000. Written

comments may address the FMP

amendment, the proposed rule, or both,

but must be received by June 20, 2000

to be considered in the decision to

approve or disapprove the FMP

amendment.

Background and Need for Action

Beginning in 1997, Amendment 46 to

the FMP allocated the TAC for BSAI

Pacific cod among vessels using jig gear,

trawl gear, and hook-and-line or pot

gear. Two percent of the TAC is

reserved for jig gear, 51 percent for

hook-and-line or pot gear, and 47

percent for trawl gear. The amendment

further split the trawl allocation equally

between catcher vessels and catcher/

processor vessels, but no split was

adopted for the 51 percent allocated to

hook-and-line or pot vessels.

Since the approval of Amendment 46,

increasing competition for Pacific cod

among catcher/processor and catcher

vessels using pot or hook-and-line gear

has given rise to new allocation issues.

Increased prices for Pacific cod, reduced

crab guideline harvest levels, and

shortened or canceled crab seasons due

to low resource abundance have

resulted in increased harvests of Pacific

cod by vessels using pot gear.

Fishermen displaced from crab fisheries

have expressed ongoing interest in

fishing for Pacific cod aggravating the

concerns of long-term Pacific cod

fishermen about erosion of their gear

harvest shares in the cod fishery in favor

of new entrants using pot gear who,

until very recently, focused harvest

activity in the BSAI crab fisheries.

In response to these concerns, the

Council initiated an analysis at its April

1999 meeting of the effects of splitting

the hook-and-line or pot gear allocation

of Pacific cod in the BSAI among hookand-line catcher/processor vessels,

hook-and-line catcher vessels, and all

vessels using pot gear. At its June 1999

meeting, the Council reviewed the

analysis and drafted the following

problem statement to guide further

analysis of alternatives for Amendment

64:

The hook-and-line and pot fisheries for

Pacific cod in the Bering Sea/Aleutian

Islands are fully utilized. Competition for

this resource has increased for a variety of

reasons, including increased market value of

cod products and a declining [acceptable

biological catch and total allowable catch.]

Longline and pot fishermen who have made

significant long-term investments, have long

catch histories, and are significantly

dependent on the BSAI cod fisheries need

protection from others who have little or

limited history and wish to increase their

participation in the fishery. This requires

prompt action to promote stability in the

BSAI fixed gear cod fishery until

comprehensive rationalization is completed.

The subsequent analysis reviewed, in

addition to the status quo, alternatives

for separate Pacific cod allocations for

the different hook-and-line and pot gear

users that approximate their historical

catches over the past 4 years. The

options analyzed determined those

percentages based on catch histories

from (1) 1996 and 1997, (2) 1997 and

1998, (3) 1996 through 1998, and (4)

1995 through 1998. In general, the

34134 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Proposed Rules

allocations that would result from these

options ranged between 80 and 85

percent to hook-and-line vessels and

between 15 and 20 percent to pot

vessels.

At its October 1999 meeting, the

Council adopted Amendment 64 to set

Pacific cod directed fishing allowances

for the different hook-and-line and pot

gear users (sectors) in the following

percentages: Hook-and-line catcher/

processor vessels, 80 percent; hook-andline catcher vessels, 0.3 percent; pot

gear vessels, 18.3 percent; and hookand-line or pot catcher vessels less than

60 feet length overall (LOA), 1.4

percent. These percentages represent

divisions of the hook-and-line or pot

gear TAC after a deduction of estimated

incidental catch of Pacific cod in other

groundfish hook-and-line or pot gear

fisheries.

The proposed amendment also

provides that harvests by pot and hookand-line catcher vessels less than 60 feet

LOA would accrue against the 1.4

percent allocation only after pot vessels

and hook-and-line catcher vessels

harvest the respective 18.3 percent and

0.3 percent allocations. Managing the

allocations in this manner would ensure

that cod is available to the smaller

catcher vessels even after the larger

vessels in their gear sector have taken

their allocation. Nevertheless, if the pot

gear fishery lasts longer than the hookand-line fishery, then the small hookand-line catcher vessels could begin

(and possibly finish) harvesting the 1.4

percent allocation before catcher vessels

under 60 feet using pot gear have an

opportunity to harvest any of the 1.4

percent set aside for smaller catcher

vessels.

Because a sector of the BSAI Pacific

cod fishery may not be able to harvest

its entire allocation in a year due to

halibut bycatch constraints or, in the

case of the jig fishery, insufficient effort

in the fishery, the Council also provided

direction on how projected unharvested

amounts of a gear’s directed fishing

allowance may be transferred to a

different user group. Unharvested

amounts (roll-overs) from the jig or

trawl gear allocations would be

apportioned between catcher-processors

using hook-and-line gear and vessels

equal to or greater than 60 ft LOA using

pot gear according to the actual harvest

of roll-overs by these two sectors during

the 3-year period from 1996–98.

Projections based on information in the

analysis for this proposed action

indicate that 94.7 percent of the cod

would be allocated to the hook-and-line

catcher-processor fleet and the

remaining 5.3 percent to the pot fleet. In

addition, any amounts of Pacific cod

annually allocated to catcher vessels

using hook-and-line gear or to vessels

less than 60 ft (18.3 meters(m)) LOA that

are projected to remain unharvested

would be rolled over to the hook-andline catcher-processor fleet in

September.

The Council recommended that the

Pacific cod directed fishing allowances

proposed under Amendment 64 for the

different hook-and-line and pot gear

sectors would terminate on December

31, 2003. On that date, Pacific cod

allocation would revert to the current

regime unless the Council adopts and

NMFS approves a new FMP amendment

to continue the proposed allocations of

Pacific cod or implement new allocation

percentages after that date. In adopting

an expiration date for the proposed

amendment, the Council reasoned that 3

years would be sufficient time to

evaluate the impact of this action in

light of other impending changes for the

BSAI fixed gear fishery, such as,

proposed Amendment 67 to require

Pacific cod and gear endorsements on

permits issued under the License

Limitation Program (LLP). Whereas this

proposed action would establish

allocations for different sectors of the

fixed gear cod fishery, proposed

Amendment 67 would limit the

participants to those who meet certain

historical criteria.

In adopting Amendment 64, the

Council recognized that a separate

regulatory amendment would be needed

to apportion the 900 mt Pacific halibut

prohibited species mortality limit

established for nontrawl gear in

regulations at § 679.21(e)(2) among

catcher vessels and catcher/processor

vessels fishing for Pacific cod using

hook-and-line gear. Current regulations

only authorize a separate Pacific halibut

bycatch allowance to the ‘‘Pacific cod

hook-and-line fishery’’ defined at

§ 679.21(e)(4)(ii)(A). Thus, catcher/

processor vessels using hook-and-line

gear to fish for Pacific cod could attain

amounts of halibut bycatch mortality

that would result in prohibition of

directed fishing for Pacific cod by all

vessels using hook-and-line gear,

including catcher vessels using this gear

type under a separate Pacific cod

directed fishing allowance.

To respond to this concern, the

Council has requested staff to develop

an analysis of regulatory measures that

would authorize further allocation of

the Pacific halibut mortality limits

among vessels using hook-and-line or

pot gear. If adopted by the Council in

the future, this regulatory amendment

would be published as a separate

proposed rule for public review and

comment.

Incidental Catch Allowance

Pacific cod also are taken incidentally

in directed fisheries using hook-and-line

or pot gear for other species. To the

extent practicable, NMFS credits this

incidental harvest against the TAC to

ensure that Pacific cod are not

overharvested. The proposed rule to

implement Amendment 64 would

require the Administrator, Alaska

Region, NMFS, (Regional

Administrator), to annually establish an

incidental catch allowance for Pacific

cod taken in other directed hook-andline and pot fisheries for groundfish.

The incidental catch allowance would

be deducted from the overall hook-andline or pot gear allocation of the Pacific

cod TAC before that allocation is

divided among the different hook-andline and pot gear user groups.

NMFS acknowledges that incidental

catch of Pacific cod occurs in nongroundfish fisheries such as the hookand-line gear fishery for Pacific halibut

or crab pot gear fisheries. Sufficient data

currently are not collected from these

fisheries that would allow NMFS to

extrapolate useful estimates of

incidental catch for purposes of

specifying the annual ICA and

deducting these amounts from the

Pacific cod TAC allocated to vessels

using hook-and-line or pot gear as

directed fishing allowances. The total

incidental catch amount of Pacific cod

in the crab and Pacific halibut fisheries

likely exceeds several thousand metric

tons (mt) based on (1) anecdotal

information on the amount of

incidentally caught Pacific cod used as

bait in the crab fisheries, (2) the fact that

the Pacific halibut fishery during

summer months typically occurs in

relatively shallow water where Pacific

cod are prevalent, and (3) assumptions

on amount of gear deployed and

incidental catch rates. In the absence of

the quantitative data needed to estimate

incidental Pacific cod harvests in the

halibut and crab fisheries, NMFS

intends to estimate the ICA only on the

basis of incidental catch estimated for

the non-Pacific cod hook-and-line or pot

gear groundfish fisheries.

NMFS recognizes the potential

biological significance of not accounting

for all incidental catch of Pacific cod in

non-trawl fisheries and intends to

explore with the State of Alaska and the

International Pacific Halibut

Commission options to collect better

information on incidental catch rates of

non-target species in the crab and

Pacific halibut fisheries. NMFS further

anticipates that improved estimates of

incidental catch amounts in these

fisheries will be available to the Council

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Proposed Rules 34135

when it reassesses BSAI Pacific cod

allocation issues prior to the proposed

expiration date of Amendment 64. Until

then, NMFS’ stock assessment scientists

believe that, while the amounts of

Pacific cod taken in the crab and Pacific

halibut fisheries could exceed several

thousand mt, this level of mortality does

not pose significant concerns for

overfishing or sustainable resource

management of the Pacific cod resource

given the conservative management of

this species under the FMP. That being

said, NMFS firmly believes that steps

must be taken to collect the data

necessary to obtain better estimates of

overall mortality of Pacific cod in the

non-groundfish fisheries.

Subsequent to the Council’s October

1999 adoption of proposed Amendment

64, several owners of catcher/processor

vessels using pot gear to participate in

a directed fishery for Pacific cod

petitioned the Council to initiate a

separate FMP amendment that would

authorize separate Pacific cod directed

fishing allowances for catcher/processor

vessels using pot gear and catcher

vessels using pot gear. This petition was

based on the assumptions that increased

fishing effort for Pacific cod with pot

gear is due primarily to catcher vessels

using pot gear and that the historical

harvest share of cod by catcher/

processor vessels using pot gear is

threatened. In response to these

concerns, the Council requested staff to

develop a separate FMP amendment

that would authorize a further allocation

of Pacific cod between these two

sectors. If adopted by the Council in the

future, the proposed amendment and its

implementing rule would be published

in the Federal Register for public

review and comment.

In December 1999, the Council

recommended seasonal allowances for

the 51 percent of the Pacific cod TAC

allocated to the hook-and-line or pot

gear fisheries. The seasonal allowances

are authorized under § 679.20(a)(7)(iv)

and are based on the criteria set forth at

§ 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(B). The final 2000

harvest specifications for BSAI

groundfish were approved by NMFS

and published in the Federal Register

on February 18, 2000 (65 FR 8282).

If approved by NMFS, the final rule

implementing Amendment 64 would

revise the final 2000 harvest

specifications in concert with the hookand-line and pot gear allocations

proposed under the amendment. The

final 2000 harvest specifications set the

hook-and-line or pot gear allocation of

the 2000 Pacific cod TAC at 91,048 mt.

An incidental catch allowance of 500

mt, derived from estimates of incidental

catch of Pacific cod in other groundfish

fisheries from 1996–1999, would be

deducted from the hook-and-line or pot

gear allocation of the Pacific cod TAC

before the allocation is apportioned to

the separate gear sectors. Table 1 lists

the proposed revisions to the 2000

allocations and seasonal

apportionments of the Pacific cod TAC.

Consistent with § 679.20(a)(7)(iv)(C),

any portion of the first seasonal

allowance of the catcher/processor

hook-and-line gear allocation that is not

harvested by the end of the first season

would become available on September

1, the beginning of the third season. No

seasonal apportionment of the amounts

of Pacific cod allocated to catcher

vessels or to vessels using pot gear is

proposed for 2000.

TABLE 1.—GEAR SHARES AND SEASONAL APPORTIONMENTS OF THE BSAI PACIFIC COD HOOK-AND-LINE AND POT GEAR

ALLOCATION

Gear sector Percent Share

(mt)

Seasonal appointment 1

Date Amount (mt)

Hook-and-line Catcher-processors ............................................................. 80 72,438 Jan 1–Apr 30 .... 52,000

.......................... ........................ May 1–Aug 31 .. ........................

.......................... ........................ Sept 1–Dec 31 20,438

Hook-and-Line Catcher Vessels ................................................................. 0.3 272 Jan 1–Dec 31 ... ........................

Pot Gear Vessels ........................................................................................ 18.3 16,570 Jan 1–Dec 31

272.

16,570

Catcher Vessels under 60 feet LOA using Hook-and-line or Pot Gear ..... 1.4 1,268 Jan 1–Dec 31 ... 1,268

Sub-total .............................................................................................. 100 90,548 ........................... 90,548

Incidental Catch Allowance ........................................................................ .......................... 500 ........................... 500

Total hook-and-line and pot gear allocation of Pacific cod TAC .......................... 91,048 ........................... 91,048

1Any unused portion of the first seasonal Pacific cod allowance specified for catcher/processors using hook-and-line fishery will be reapportioned to the third seasonal allowance.

Implementation

In the event that NMFS approves this

action and implements it mid-season

during the 2000 fishing year, any

overage of a sector’s annual allocation of

Pacific cod would be deducted

proportionately from the other sectors’

allocation remaining for the year.

Classification

At this time, NMFS has not

determined that the FMP amendment

this rule would implement is consistent

with the national standards of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other

applicable laws. NMFS, in making that

determination, will take into account

the data, views, and comments received

during the comment period.

The Council prepared an EA for this

FMP amendment that discusses the

impact on the environment as a result

of this rule. A copy of this EA is

available from the Council (see

ADDRESSES).

The Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis (IRFA) prepared for this action

indicates that the proposed amendment

could negatively affect a number of

small entities. For purposes of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), all

catcher vessels fishing for Pacific cod

using hook-and-line or pot gear can be

considered small businesses, with

annual receipts of less than $3 million.

Under the current LLP, approximately

330 catcher vessels would be authorized

to participate in the Bering Sea Pacific

cod hook-and-line or pot gear fishery. Of

the 98 catcher-processor vessels

potentially authorized under the LLP to

fish for Pacific cod, approximately onethird could be considered small entities.

34136 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Proposed Rules

Five of the ten shore-based plants and

floating processors operating within

Alaskan state waters and processing

most of the Pacific cod harvested by

hook-and-line or pot gear catcher

vessels would be considered small

businesses under RFA, processing less

than 2 percent of the total shoreside

landings of Pacific cod by catcher

vessels in 1998. Other small entities

affected by the proposed amendment

include the three Alaskan communities

that are home to processing plants that

process limited amounts of BSAI Pacific

cod: King Cove, Egegik, and Kenai.

The proposed amendment would

allocate a portion of the Pacific cod

resource away from the longline

catcher-processor fleet and move it to

the catcher vessels delivering to shorebased processors. Because the longline

catcher-processor fleet comprises the

highest number of large entities of any

sector fishing off Alaska, this allocation

would tend to favor small entities. By

implementing the allocations by gear

sector without limiting the number of

vessels in any gear sector that may enter

the fishery, this action may have the

effect of increasing competition among

users. However, the Council at its April

2000 meeting took final action to

mitigate the effect of this action on

competition within gear sectors by

recommending for approval by NMFS a

proposed amendment to require gear

and species endorsements on licenses of

those who wish to participate in the

fixed gear BSAI Pacific cod fishery.

The magnitude of the proposed

amendment’s impact cannot be

conclusively determined with the data

currently available. Most persons

operating in the fishery affected by the

proposed action are small entities given

their expected annual gross revenues of

less than $3 million, and revenues could

potentially be decreased by more than 5

percent, but that depends on the level

of catch that might have been achieved

in the absence of an allocation. Also,

impacts of this action on potential

revenues cannot be isolated from other

factors including price fluctuation,

amount of effort exerted by latent

permits, and stock fluctuation of

alternative fisheries such as crab.

This action would not limit the

number of vessels moving into the

Pacific cod fishery from the crab fishery

because of downward trends in the

Bering Sea crab stocks, and any increase

in participation of crab vessels in the

Pacific cod pot gear fishery would

increase competition for the 18.3

percent of the fixed gear Pacific cod

TAC allocated to pot gear vessels and

the 1.4 percent allocated to vessels

under 60 ft LOA. As noted here, the

Council intends to mitigate this impact

with proposed Amendment 67, which

would require gear and species

endorsements based on historical

participation in the fishery.

Nothing in this proposed action

would result in any changes in reporting

or recordkeeping requirements, or any

obvious disproportionment regulatory

impacts to small entities relative to

large. From one perspective, setting a

percentage allocation will keep one

sector from increasing its share relative

to what it could do under the status quo.

From the information in the analysis,

and from public testimony before the

Council, it appears likely that the pot

sector would increase its relative share

in the absence of a quota split. From

another perspective, adoption of the

Council’s preferred alternative would

serve to increase the current share of the

smallest entities. In deliberations on this

action, the Council considered

alternative allocation options, based on

historical percentages of catch by the

different gear sectors, that would have

had varying degrees of impact on small

entities in the fixed gear Pacific cod

fishery. For longline catcher processors,

the annual average harvests ranged from

80 percent of the fixed gear Pacific cod

TAC for the years 1996–97 to 86.5

percent for the years 1997–98. For this

gear sector the Council chose the lower

end of the range, thus leaving a larger

percentage of the TAC remaining for

longline catcher vessels, pot vessels,

and both longline and pot vessels under

60 ft LOA. The allocation options

reviewed for longline catcher vessels

ranged from 0 percent in the years

1996–97 to 0.25 percent for the years

1995–98. The Council chose a slightly

higher percentage (3.0 percent) than the

highest average reviewed in the options.

For pot vessels, the options ranged from

an average harvest of 13.5 percent for

the years 1997–98 to 21 percent for

1996–97. While the higher average

would have had less impact on small

entities in the pot sector, the Council

chose to set the pot allocation at 18.3

percent and provided for small entities

that are pot or longline vessels under 60

ft LOA by setting aside for those vessels

an allocation that represents a larger

percentage of the TAC than vessels

under 60 ft LOA have historically

harvested.

This analysis did not reveal any

existing Federal rules that duplicate,

overlap, or conflict with any to the

actions proposed in the alternatives.

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for the

purposes of E.O. 12866.

The President has directed Federal

agencies to use plain language in their

communications with the public,

including regulations. To comply with

that directive, we seek public comment

on any ambiguity or unnecessary

complexity arising from the language

used in this rule.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and

reporting requirements.

Dated: May 19, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF

ALASKA

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR

part 679 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq, 1801 et

seq., and 3631 et seq.

2. In § 679.20, paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C) is

redesignated as paragraph (a)(7)(i)(D),

paragraph (a)(7)(ii)(B) is redesignated as

paragraph (a)(7)(ii)(C), redesignated

paragraphs (a)(7)(i)(D) and (a)(7)(ii)(C)

and paragraphs (a)(7)(iv)(A), (a)(7)(iv)(C)

and (b)(1)(v) are revised, paragraph

(a)(7)(iii) is removed, and new

paragraphs (a)(7)(i)(C) and (a)(7)(ii)(B)

are added to read as follows:

§ 679.20 General limitations.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(7) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) Allocations among vessels using

hook-and-line or pot gear (Applicable

through December 31, 2003). (1) The

Regional Administrator annually will

estimate the amount of Pacific cod taken

as incidental catch in directed fisheries

for groundfish other than Pacific cod by

vessels using hook-and-line or pot gear

and deduct that amount from the

portion of Pacific cod TAC annually

allocated to hook-and-line or pot gear

under paragraph (a)(7)(i)(A) of this

section. The remainder will be further

allocated as directed fishing allowances

as follows:

(i) 80 percent to catcher/processor

vessels using hook-and-line gear;

(ii) 0.3 percent to catcher vessels

using hook-and-line gear;

(iii) 18.3 percent to vessels using pot

gear; and

(iv) 1.4 percent to catcher vessels less

than 60 feet LOA that use either hookand-line or pot gear.

(2) Harvests of Pacific cod made by

catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m)

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 103 / Friday, May 26, 2000 / Proposed Rules 34137

LOA using pot gear will not accrue to

the 1.4 percent allocation under

paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(iv) of this

section until vessels using pot gear have

harvested the 18.3 percent allocated to

all vessels using pot gear under

paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(iii) of this

section.

(3) Harvests of Pacific cod made by

catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m)

LOA using hook-and-line gear will not

accrue to the 1.4 percent allocation

under paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(iv) of this

section until catcher vessels using hookand-line gear have harvested the 0.3

percent allocated to all catcher vessels

using hook-and-line gear under

paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(ii) of this

section.

(D) The Regional Administrator may

establish separate directed fishing

allowances and prohibitions authorized

under paragraph (d) of this section for

vessels harvesting Pacific cod using

trawl gear, jig gear, hook-and-line gear,

or pot gear.

(ii) * * *

(A) * * *

(B) Reallocation among vessels using

hook-and-line or pot gear. If, during a

fishing year, the Regional Administrator

determines that catcher vessels using

hook-and-line gear or vessels less than

60 ft (18.3 m) LOA using hook-and-line

or pot gear will not be able to harvest

the directed fishing allowance of Pacific

cod allocated to those vessels under

paragraphs (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(ii) or

(a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(iv) of this section, NMFS

may reallocate the projected unused

amount of Pacific cod as a directed

fishing allowance to catcher/processor

vessels using hook-and-line gear

through notification in the Federal

Register.

(C) Reallocation between vessels using

trawl or non-trawl gear. If, during a

fishing year, the Regional Administrator

determines that vessels using trawl gear,

hook-and-line gear, pot gear or jig gear

will not be able to harvest the entire

amount of Pacific cod in the BSAI

allocated to those vessels under

paragraphs (a)(7)(i)(A), (a)(7)(i)(B) or

(a)(7)(i)(C) of this section, NMFS may

reallocate the projected unused amount

of Pacific cod to vessels harvesting

Pacific cod using the other gear type(s)

through notification in the Federal

Register, except as provided below:

(1) Reallocation of TAC specified for

jig gear. On September 15 of each year,

the Regional Administrator will

reallocate any projected unused amount

of Pacific cod in the BSAI allocated to

vessels using jig gear only to vessels

using hook-and-line or pot gear through

notification in the Federal Register.

(2) Reallocation of TAC to catcher/

processor vessels using hook-and-line

gear or vessels using pot gear. Any

unharvested amounts of Pacific cod

TAC that are reallocated from vessels

using trawl or jig gear to catcher/

processor vessels using hook-and-line

gear or vessels using pot gear to increase

directed allowances established under

paragraphs (a)(7)(i)(C)(1)(i) or

(a)(7)(i)(C)(1) (iii) of this section, will be

apportioned so that catcher/processor

vessels using hook-and-line gear will

receive 95 percent and vessels using pot

gear will receive 5 percent of any such

reallocation.

(iv) * * *

(A) Time periods. NMFS, after

consultation with the Council, may

divide the directed fishing allowances

allocated to vessels using hook-and-line

or pot gear under paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C)

of this section among the following

three periods: January 1 through April

30, May 1 through August 31, and

September 1 through December 31.

(B)* * *

(C) Unused seasonal allowances. Any

unused portion of a seasonal allowance

of Pacific cod allocated to vessels using

hook-and-line or pot gear under

paragraph (a)(7)(i)(C) will be reallocated

to the remaining seasons during the

current fishing year in a manner

determined by NMFS, after consultation

with the Council.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(v) Pacific cod Any amounts of the

BSAI nonspecific reserve that are

apportioned to Pacific cod as provided

by paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section

must be apportioned among vessels

using jig, hook-and-line or pot, and

trawl gear in the same proportion

specified in paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this

section, unless the Regional

Administrator determines under

paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section that

vessels using a certain gear type will not

be able to harvest the additional amount

of Pacific cod. In this case, the

nonspecific reserve will be apportioned

to vessels using the other gear type(s).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–13188 Filed 5–25–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P