Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 40733 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 679 and 680 

[Docket No. 180327320–8320–01] 

RIN 0648–BH88 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Prohibit Directed 

Fishing for American Fisheries Act 

Program and Crab Rationalization 

Program Groundfish Sideboard Limits 

in the BSAI and GOA 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

modify management of the American 

Fisheries Act (AFA) Program and Crab 

Rationalization (CR) Program. This 

proposed rule has two related actions. 

The first action would modify 

regulations for AFA Program and CR 

Program vessels subject to limits on the 

catch of specific species (sideboard 

limits) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands (BSAI) Management Area and 

Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Management Area. 

The second action would remove the 

requirement for the designated 

representatives of AFA inshore 

cooperatives to submit a weekly catch 

report. This proposed rule is intended to 

reduce administrative burdens 

associated with managing sideboard 

limits through annual harvest 

specifications, although it would not 

change NMFS’s inseason management 

of sideboard limits and reduce reporting 

burdens for the designated 

representatives and members of AFA 

inshore cooperatives. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than September 17, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2018–0045, 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018- 

0045, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. 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 Regulatory 

Impact Review (the ‘‘Analysis’’) 

prepared for this proposed rule may be 

obtained from www.regulations.gov. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this rule may 

be submitted by mail to NMFS at the 

above address; and to OIRA by email to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or by 

fax to (202) 395–5806. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, (907) 586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for Action 

NMFS manages the groundfish 

fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 

of the BSAI and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) 

under the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(BSAI FMP), and the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). NMFS 

manages vessels subject to specific 

limitations on the catch of specific 

species or species groups (sideboard 

limits) under the AFA Program under 

the BSAI and GOA FMPs, and NMFS 

manages vessels and License Limitation 

Program (LLP) licenses subject to 

sideboard limits under the CR Program 

under the Fishery Management Plan for 

Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and 

Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP). The North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) prepared these FMPs under 

the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. Regulations implementing 

the BSAI and GOA FMPs are located at 

50 CFR part 679. Regulations 

implementing the Crab FMP are located 

at 50 CFR part 680. General regulations 

governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 

50 CFR part 600. 

Background 

This proposed rule includes two 

related actions. The first action would 

revise regulations at § 679.64 and 

§ 680.22 for sideboard limits that apply 

to two categories of vessels that operate 

in the BSAI or GOA: (1) AFA catcher/ 

processors (C/Ps) listed in regulation at 

§ 679.4(l)(2)(i) (described as AFA C/Ps 

in this proposed rule), and AFA catcher 

vessels (CVs) permitted to harvest 

Bering Sea pollock as established in 

regulation at § 679.4(l)(3); and (2) 

vessels and LLP licenses subject to 

sideboard restrictions in the GOA based 

on criteria as established in regulation at 

§ 680.22(a) under the CR Program. This 

first action would prohibit directed 

fishing for groundfish species or species 

groups that are subject to sideboard 

limits that are not large enough to 

support directed fishing as that term is 

defined at § 679.2. In addition, under 

the first action, this proposed rule 

would remove a sideboard limit at 

§ 679.64(a)(1)(ii)(B) for AFA C/Ps in one 

management area (Central Aleutian 

Islands (AI)) for one species (Atka 

mackerel) that is currently subject to a 

more restrictive limit under existing 

regulations at 50 CFR 679.91(c)(2)(ii) 

and Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679. 

The first action under this proposed 

rule is necessary to streamline and 

simplify NMFS’s management of 

applicable groundfish sideboard limits. 

NMFS calculates numerous AFA 

Program and CR Program sideboard 

limits as part of the annual BSAI and 

GOA harvest specifications process and 

publishes these limits in the Federal 

Register. Concurrently, NMFS prohibits 

directed fishing for the majority of the 

groundfish subject to these sideboard 

limits because most sideboard limits are 

too small each year to support directed 

fishing. The most recent example of the 

annual BSAI and GOA harvest 

specifications with the AFA Program 

and CR Program sideboard limits can be 

found at 83 FR 8365, February 27, 2018, 

for the BSAI, and at 83 FR 8768, March 

1, 2018, for the GOA. Rather than 

continue this annual process of 

calculating all sideboard limits and then 

closing most to directed fishing, the first 

action of this proposed rule would 

revise regulations to prohibit directed 

fishing by non-exempt AFA Program 

and CR Program vessels for those 

groundfish species and species groups 

subject to sideboard limits if those 

species or species groups have not been 

opened to directed fishing or are not 

expected to be opened to directed 

fishing in the foreseeable future (see 

Section 2.7 of the Analysis for 

additional detail on the management of 

AFA Program and CR Program 

sideboard limits). Also, NMFS would 

cease calculating and publishing each 


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40734 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

year the relevant sideboard limits and 

their corresponding directed fishing 

prohibitions in the BSAI and GOA 

groundfish harvest specifications. 

The second action of this proposed 

rule would remove the requirement for 

the designated representatives of AFA 

inshore cooperatives (described later in 

this preamble) to submit a weekly catch 

report described in regulation at 

§§ 679.5(o) and 679.62(b)(3). NMFS 

proposes to remove this requirement 

because the information in the weekly 

catch report is collected by NMFS 

through other recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements, and this weekly 

catch report is no longer necessary for 

NMFS to manage the AFA inshore 

pollock allocations. 

This first action of this proposed rule 

was initiated after the Council received 

a report on the AFA Program in October 

2016. As part of the review, NMFS 

identified potential improvements in 

the management of the AFA Program by 

streamlining and simplifying the 

management of the sideboard limits 

included under the AFA: NMFS 

recommended revising regulations to 

prohibit directed fishing by AFA vessels 

for those species or species groups (and 

any future break-out or combination of 

these species) where the sideboard 

limits are not large enough to support 

directed fishing and would not be large 

enough in the foreseeable future to 

support directed fishing. During 

subsequent review of this proposed 

action, NMFS expanded the scope of the 

review to include an analysis of revising 

regulations to prohibit crab vessels in 

the CR Program from directed fishing in 

the GOA for those species with 

sideboard limits that are not large 

enough to support directed fishing and 

would not be large enough in the 

foreseeable future to support directed 

fishing. At its February 2018 meeting, 

the Council selected Alternative 2 and 

Option 1 as its preferred 

recommendation to the Secretary of 

Commerce. The Council’s 

recommendation, implemented through 

this proposed rule, would prohibit 

directed fishing by regulation for all 

species or species groups with 

insufficient sideboard limits for directed 

fishing by vessels in both AFA and CR 

Programs, and would remove from 

regulation the sideboard limit on AFA 

C/Ps for Central AI Atka mackerel 

harvest because the harvest of Central 

AI Atka mackerel by AFA C/Ps is 

constrained by other, existing 

regulations. 

The following discussion summarizes 

groundfish sideboard limits, the AFA 

Program and AFA sideboard limits, the 

CR Program and CR Program sideboard 

limits, the annual harvest specifications 

process and the management of AFA 

Program and CR Program sideboard 

limits through that annual process, AFA 

Inshore Cooperative reporting 

requirements, and this proposed rule. 

Groundfish Sideboard Limits 

The Council and NMFS generally 

establish catch limits, commonly called 

sideboard limits, when implementing 

Limited Access Privilege Programs 

(LAPP). The term ‘‘Limited Access 

Privilege’’ is defined in section 3(26) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 

1802). Sideboard limits are intended to 

prevent participants who benefit from 

receiving exclusive harvesting privileges 

in a LAPP from shifting effort into other 

fisheries. Sideboard limits establish 

limits on the annual amount of a 

particular groundfish total allowable 

catch (TAC) limit or prohibited species 

catch (PSC) limit that is available for 

participants in a given LAPP. 

The AFA Program and AFA Program 

Sideboard Limits 

The Bering Sea pollock fishery is 

managed under the authority of the AFA 

(16 U.S.C. 1851 note) and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. The AFA 

Program is a LAPP that established in 

the Bering Sea pollock fishery directed 

fishing allocations to an inshore and an 

offshore component (commonly called 

the inshore and offshore sectors). The 

AFA also determined eligible vessels 

and processors in the Bering Sea pollock 

fishery; allowed the formation of 

cooperatives of catcher vessels in 

association with specific processors in 

the inshore sector; established sideboard 

limits; and imposed special catch 

weighing and monitoring requirements 

on AFA C/Ps. The AFA was 

implemented by Amendment 61 to the 

BSAI FMP, Amendment 61 to the GOA 

FMP, Amendment 13 to the Crab FMP, 

and Amendment 8 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Scallop 

Fishery off Alaska (67 FR 79692; 

December 30, 2002). The final rule 

implementing the AFA (67 FR 79692, 

December 30, 2002) and Section 2.7.1 of 

the Analysis describe the AFA Program 

in detail and the basis for the sideboard 

limits established under the AFA 

Program. 

The final rule implementing the AFA 

established several different types of 

sideboard limits for vessels that are 

authorized to harvest pollock in the 

Bering Sea. These sideboard limits were 

established to protect the interests of 

fishermen and processors who do not 

directly benefit from the AFA from 

those fishermen and processors who 

received exclusive harvesting and 

processing privileges under the AFA. 

Essentially, the AFA Program sideboard 

limits protect non-AFA fishermen and 

processors by restricting the ability of 

AFA pollock fishermen and processors 

to target non-pollock groundfish species 

and species groups. Some of these 

sideboard limits were implemented 

through directed fishing closures in 

regulations, such as setting the Atka 

mackerel harvest limit to zero in the 

Bering Sea subarea and Eastern AI 

(§ 679.64(a)(1)(ii)(A)). Others were 

implemented through sideboard limits 

established through the annual harvest 

specifications process, which is 

described later in this preamble. 

Section 679.7(k)(1)(ii) prohibits listed 

AFA C/Ps from harvesting any species 

of fish in the GOA. Section 679.64(a)(1) 

establishes sideboard limits for AFA C/ 

Ps for Aleutian Islands Pacific ocean 

perch (§ 679.64(a)(1)(i)); Atka mackerel 

(§ 679.64(a)(1)(ii)); flathead sole, rock 

sole, and yellowfin sole 

(§ 679.64(a)(1)(iii)); and for the 

remaining groundfish species 

(§ 679.64(a)(1)(iv)). Section 

679.64(a)(1)(v) establishes an exemption 

to sideboard limits for AFA C/Ps for 

yellowfin sole under specific TAC 

conditions. Section 679.64(a)(2) 

establishes specific sideboard limits for 

Pacific halibut and crab incidentally 

harvested by AFA C/Ps while fishing for 

groundfish in the BSAI. The 

methodologies used to assign sideboard 

limits for these species vary and are 

described in § 679.64(a). 

Section 679.64(a)(1)(ii)(B) establishes 

a sideboard limit for Central AI (also 

referred to as Area 542 in regulation) 

Atka mackerel that is equal to 11.5 

percent of the annual TAC for Atka 

mackerel. In 2007, NMFS implemented 

the Amendment 80 Program (72 FR 

52668, September 14, 2007). The 

Amendment 80 Program modified the 

management of several non-pollock 

species in the BSAI that are subject to 

sideboard limits under the AFA 

Program. Under regulations that 

implemented the Amendment 80 

Program, no more than 10 percent of the 

Central AI Atka mackerel TAC may be 

harvested by vessels other than 

Amendment 80 vessels, which are 

designated as the BSAI trawl limited 

access sector and include AFA C/Ps 

(§ 679.91(c)(2)(ii) and Table 33 to 50 

CFR part 679). Therefore the maximum 

amount of the Central AI Atka mackerel 

TAC available to AFA C/Ps under 

regulations implementing Amendment 

80 (10 percent) is less than the 

sideboard limit established for AFA 

C/Ps when the AFA Program was 

implemented in 2000 (11.5 percent). By 

constraining the AFA C/Ps directed 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 40735 

fishing for Central AI Atka mackerel, the 

more restrictive allocation of TAC under 

the Amendment 80 Program is, 

effectively, a conservation and 

management measure that operates 

similar to the larger sideboard limit 

established for Central AI Atka mackerel 

under the AFA groundfish sideboard 

regulations. Additional detail on the 

Amendment 80 Program is provided in 

the final rule for that program (72 FR 

52668, September 14, 2007). 

Section 679.64(b) establishes 

sideboard limits for AFA CVs. Section 

679.64(b)(3)(i) through (iii) establishes 

sideboard limits for groundfish in the 

BSAI using a variety of methods that 

depend on the species (e.g., the method 

for calculating the sideboard limit for 

BSAI Pacific cod differs from yellowfin 

sole). These methods are described at 

§ 679.64(b)(3)(i) for BSAI groundfish 

other than Amendment 80 species; at 

§ 679.64(b)(3)(ii) for BSAI Pacific cod; 

and at § 679.64(b)(3)(iii) for Amendment 

80 species other than Pacific cod. 

Section 679.64(b)(3)(iv) establishes 

sideboard limits for AFA CVs for 

groundfish species in the GOA. The 

final rule implementing the AFA 

Program provides additional 

information on the management of 

sideboard limits for AFA CVs (67 FR 

79692, December 30, 2002). 

Section 679.64(b)(2) exempts specific 

AFA CVs from sideboard limits in the 

BSAI (§ 679.64(b)(2)(i)) and the GOA 

(§ 679.64(b)(2)(ii)) based on criteria 

described in § 679.64(b)(2). These 

exemptions are intended to provide 

opportunities for vessels that have 

historically fished in the BSAI or GOA 

for species other than pollock, but that 

also have some limited participation in 

the Bering Sea pollock fisheries. This 

proposed rule would not affect the 

management of exempt AFA catcher 

vessels. 

The CR Program and CR Program 

Sideboard Limits 

The CR Program is a LAPP that 

allocates nine BSAI crab species among 

harvesters, processors, and coastal 

communities. Participants in the CR 

Program receive exclusive harvesting 

and processing privileges for a portion 

of the annual TAC established for each 

crab fishery under the CR Program. The 

final rule implementing the CR Program 

describes the different elements of the 

program, including groundfish 

sideboard limits in the GOA for vessels 

and LLP licenses that received 

allocations of exclusive harvesting 

privileges (quota share) under the CR 

Program (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005). 

These sideboard limits were developed 

to protect participants in other non-CR 

Program groundfish fisheries from 

increased participation by CR Program 

vessels in the GOA, as discussed in 

Section 2.7.2 of the Analysis. 

Essentially, the CR Program sideboard 

limits protect non-CR Program 

participants by restricting the ability of 

CR Program participants to target noncrab fisheries (i.e., GOA groundfish 

fisheries). 

CR Program sideboard limits are 

established for a variety of species and 

species groups and gear types, including 

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

CR Program sideboard limits are only 

applicable in the GOA. Section 680.22 

establishes groundfish sideboard limits 

for vessels and LLP licenses with a 

history of participation in the Bering 

Sea snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) 

fishery. Sideboard harvest limits restrict 

these vessels’ catch to their collective 

historical landings in each GOA 

groundfish fishery. Sideboard limits 

also apply to landings made using an 

LLP license derived from the history of 

a restricted vessel, even if that LLP 

license is used on another vessel. CR 

Program sideboard limits do not apply 

to AFA catcher vessels because these 

vessels already are subject to GOA 

sideboard limits under the AFA 

Program. 

Various final rules implementing 

provisions of the CR Program describe 

the basis for these sideboard harvest 

limits. These final rules include 

Amendments 18 and 19 to the Crab FMP 

(70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005), 

Amendment 34 to the Crab FMP (76 FR 

35772, June 20, 2011), Amendment 83 

to the GOA FMP (76 FR 74670, 

December 1, 2011), and Amendment 45 

to the Crab FMP (80 FR 28539, May 19, 

2015). 

Annual Harvest Specifications Process 

and the Management of AFA Program 

and CR Program Sideboard Limits 

NMFS establishes the overfishing 

level, acceptable biological catch (ABC), 

and TAC for each species or species 

group through the annual groundfish 

harvest specifications process. NMFS 

allows vessels to retain incidental catch 

of species (if the TAC has not been 

reached) taken in other directed 

fisheries that are open, up to the 

maximum retainable amount (MRA) 

allowed in regulation (§ 679.20(e)). If a 

species is closed to directed fishing, and 

the TAC for that species is reached, 

NMFS prohibits retention of that 

species, and all catch of that species 

must be discarded. A MRA is calculated 

as a percentage of the retained amount 

of a species that is closed to directed 

fishing, relative to the retained amount 

of basis species or species groups open 

to directed fishing. Amounts that are 

caught greater than a particular MRA 

percentage must be discarded. 

In the annual harvest specifications, 

NMFS calculates sideboard limits for 

the AFA Program and the CR Program 

fisheries by multiplying a fixed ratio 

against the annual TAC or portion of the 

TAC for each BSAI and GOA groundfish 

species or species group. These ratios 

are derived based on the specific 

regulations described earlier in this 

preamble. The annual sideboard limit 

for most BSAI and GOA groundfish 

species is an amount that is much 

smaller than the overall TAC for each 

species. For the most recent example of 

the annual groundfish harvest 

specifications and associated AFA 

Program and CR Program sideboard 

limits, see the final 2018 and 2019 

harvest specifications for the BSAI and 

GOA (83 FR 8365, February 27, 2018, 

and 83 FR 8768, March 1, 2018, 

respectively). 

Consistent with regulations at 

§§ 679.64 and 680.22, NMFS manages 

the AFA Program and CR Program 

sideboard limits by establishing directed 

fishing closures for a species or species 

group subject to a sideboard limit. This 

closure could happen during the fishing 

year if a particular sideboard limit is 

reached. Alternatively, NMFS may issue 

a directed fishing closure in the harvest 

specifications prior to the fishing year, 

if the sideboard limit is not sufficient to 

support directed fishing for a species or 

species group. NMFS has prohibited 

directed fishing for the majority of AFA 

CV and C/P sideboard limits since the 

initial implementation of the AFA 

Program implementation in 2000 (65 FR 

4520, January 28, 2000). NMFS also has 

prohibited directed fishing for the 

majority of CR Program sideboard limits 

in the GOA since CR Program was 

implemented in 2006. Directed fishing 

prohibitions have been issued because 

the sideboard limits for most species 

were insufficient to provide for both 

directed fishing of a species and 

incidental catch of that same species in 

other target fisheries. 

Section 2.7.1 of the Analysis describes 

the groundfish species subject to AFA 

CV and C/P sideboard limits that have 

been closed to directed fishing each year 

in the annual harvest specifications, and 

the limited number of groundfish 

species that have sideboard limits that 

have been sufficiently large to allow for 

directed fishing. Section 2.7.2 of the 

Analysis describes the groundfish 

species in the GOA subject to CR 

Program sideboard limits that have been 

closed to directed fishing each year in 

the annual harvest specifications, and 

the one groundfish species (Pacific cod) 


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40736 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

and gear type (pot) that has sideboard 

limits that have been sufficiently large 

to allow for directed fishing. 

AFA Inshore Cooperative Weekly Catch 

Report Requirements 

In addition to the Council’s 

recommendations for proposed 

revisions to AFA Program and CR 

Program sideboard limits, NMFS also 

proposes to remove the requirement for 

the designated representatives of AFA 

inshore cooperatives to submit a weekly 

catch report described in regulation at 

§§ 679.5(o) and 679.62(b)(3) because this 

report is no longer necessary to manage 

the AFA inshore pollock allocations. 

NMFS obtains the necessary 

information required on the AFA 

inshore cooperative weekly report 

through other reporting requirements at 

§ 679.5(e). Removing this reporting 

requirement would reduce costs for the 

public to prepare and submit the weekly 

reports and for NMFS to review and 

process those weekly reports. 

Proposed Rule 

Action 1: Establishing Sideboard Limits 

in Regulation 

Under Action 1, NMFS would no 

longer publish AFA Program or CR 

Program sideboard amounts for specific 

species or species groups in the Federal 

Register as part of the annual 

groundfish harvest specifications, but 

would specify in regulation those 

species with sideboard limits that are 

subject to a directed fishing closure. 

Specification through regulation of 

these directed fishing closures will 

streamline and simplify NMFS’s 

management of these applicable 

groundfish sideboard limits. NMFS 

would no longer need to calculate the 

applicable sideboard limits, prepare the 

necessary tables, and publish those 

sideboard limits and their 

corresponding directed fishing 

prohibitions each year in the BSAI and 

GOA groundfish harvest specifications. 

This will reduce staff time and annual 

costs to prepare and publish the BSAI 

and GOA groundfish harvest 

specifications. 

This proposed rule would not modify 

the ability of sideboard-restricted 

vessels to retain incidental catch of 

species closed to directed fishing while 

targeting other species. Vessels are 

allowed to retain incidental catch of 

species up to the MRA if the TAC of that 

species has not been reached, and once 

the TAC is reached, all retention of that 

species is prohibited. The regulations 

governing incidental catch, MRAs, and 

PSC status apply when a species is 

closed to directed fishing, whether 

closed to directed fishing through the 

annual BSAI and GOA harvest 

specifications or through a specific 

regulation. Accordingly, under this 

proposed rule, sideboard restricted 

vessels will remain subject to the same 

regulations governing the incidental 

catch of species or species groups with 

sideboard limits that are closed to 

directed fishing, and this proposed rule 

would not change NMFS’s inseason 

management of sideboard limits. 

Moreover, the proposed approach that 

continues directed fishing closures for 

sideboard limits for AFA and CR 

Program vessels would continue to 

protect non-AFA and non-CR Program 

participants in other fisheries, in 

accordance with the original intent of 

creating sideboard limits (see Section 

2.7.1 and 2.7.2 of the Analysis). 

This proposed rule would affect the 

sideboard limits for AFA CVs in the 

BSAI, AFA CVs in the GOA, AFA C/Ps 

in the BSAI, and non-AFA crab vessels 

in the GOA. For AFA CVs fishing in the 

BSAI, NMFS sets sideboard limits for 16 

different groundfish species or species 

groups; however, in the annual harvest 

specifications, NMFS has closed most 

sideboard species to directed fishing by 

AFA CVs. Often, the sideboard amounts 

for these species are insufficient to 

support a directed fishery by the AFA 

CVs that are subject to the sideboard 

limit. Also, some sideboard species are 

not opened to AFA CVs for directed 

fishing because the species is fully 

allocated to the Amendment 80 Program 

(e.g., flathead sole, rock sole) or because 

there are no PSC sideboard limits 

apportioned to support directed fishing 

(e.g., Greenland turbot, arrowtooth 

flounder, Kamchatka flounder). A list of 

BSAI species or species groups with 

sideboard limits that are proposed to be 

closed in regulation to directed fishing 

by AFA CVs is provided in Table 2–5 

of the Analysis. In the BSAI, AFA CVs 

have historically targeted two 

sideboard-limited species (Pacific cod 

and yellowfin sole), and this proposed 

rule would not change the management 

of those sideboard fisheries that have 

opened for directed fishing in the past 

and that likely would continue to 

support a directed fishery for those 

species and for certain gear types for 

Pacific cod (see Table 2–6 of the 

Analysis). 

Similarly, for AFA CVs fishing in the 

GOA, NMFS sets sideboard limits for 

different groundfish species or species 

groups, and through the harvest 

specifications NMFS closes many of 

those sideboard species to directed 

fishing by AFA CVs. In the GOA, many 

of the sideboards amounts cannot 

support a directed fishery by the AFA 

CVs that are subject to the sideboard 

limits. A list of the GOA species or 

species groups with sideboard limits 

that are proposed to be closed in 

regulation to directed fishing by AFA 

CVs is provided in Table 2–7 of the 

Analysis, while Table 2–8 of the 

Analysis lists those sideboard limits that 

will remain open to directed fishing 

because the sideboard limits for those 

species have been sufficient and likely 

will remain sufficient to support a 

directed fishery by AFA CVs. 

For AFA C/Ps in the BSAI, many of 

the BSAI groundfish harvesting 

sideboards are also not open for directed 

fishing, for reasons similar to the 

management of AFA CVs in the BSAI. 

First, many of the sideboard limits are 

insufficient to support a directed fishery 

by the AFA C/Ps that are subject to the 

sideboard limit. In addition, some 

sideboards for AFA C/Ps are not 

available for directed fishing because 

the species is fully allocated to the 

Amendment 80 Program (e.g., flathead 

sole, rock sole, Western AI Atka 

mackerel) or because there are no PSC 

limits apportioned to support directed 

fishing. A list of the BSAI species or 

species groups with sideboard limits 

that are proposed to be closed in 

regulation to directed fishing by AFA C/ 

Ps is provided in Table 2–9 of the 

Analysis, while Table 2–10 of the 

Analysis lists those sideboard limits that 

will remain open to directed fishing 

because the sideboard limits for those 

species have been sufficient and likely 

will remain sufficient to support a 

directed fishery by AFA C/Ps. 

As explained earlier, the CR Program 

regulations establish sideboard limits to 

restrict the ability of non-AFA crab 

vessels to target groundfish species and 

species groups in the GOA. Since 

implementation of the CR Program 

sideboard limits in 2006, the only 

sideboard limits large enough to support 

directed fishing have been the Western 

and Central GOA Pacific cod pot catcher 

vessel sideboard limits, and in some 

years the Western GOA Pacific cod pot 

catcher/processor sideboard limit. All 

other sideboard limits have been closed 

for directed fishing because they are not 

sufficient to provide for a directed 

fishery by crab vessels. A list of the 

GOA sideboard limits that would be 

replaced with a prohibition on directed 

fishing is provided in Table 2–11 of the 

Analysis, while Table 2–12 shows 

sideboard limits for those Western and 

Central GOA Pacific cod pot catcher 

vessels that would not be affected by the 

proposed action and that likely would 

remain open for directed fishing. 

In both the BSAI and GOA, many of 

the sideboard limits are not large 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 40737 

enough to support a directed fishery by 

AFA CVs and C/Ps and crab vessels, 

which means that NMFS cannot actively 

manage those fisheries to ensure a 

timely closure and prevent retention in 

excess of the TAC set for that year. It is 

highly unlikely that the TACs of any of 

the sideboard species would increase 

significantly enough in the foreseeable 

future to result in a large enough 

sideboard limit to allow directed fishing 

of the sideboard allowance. Because 

factors such as TAC are not likely to 

change significantly enough to provide 

AFA vessels and crab vessels with 

groundfish sideboard limits sufficient to 

support a directed fishery, NMFS has 

determined it would be more efficient to 

close those sideboard limits to directed 

fishing in regulation, rather than 

continuing to specify those sideboard 

limits and close them to directed fishing 

every year through the annual harvest 

specifications. 

Accordingly, under Action 1, this 

proposed rule would implement the 

Council’s recommendation (Option 1 to 

Alternative 2, the preferred alternative) 

to: 

• Prohibit directed fishing for most 

AFA Program and CR Program 

groundfish sideboard limits by adding 

Tables 54, 55, and 56 to 50 CFR part 679 

to list the AFA Program sideboard 

species prohibited to directed fishing; 

and by adding Table 11 to 50 CFR part 

680 to list the CR Program sideboard 

species prohibited to directed fishing; 

• remove a regulation 

(§ 679.64(a)(1)(ii)(B)) establishing the 

annual Central AI Atka mackerel 

sideboard limit for AFA C/Ps; and 

• make other minor regulatory 

amendments necessary to establish 

directed fishery closures for specific 

species and species groups in 

regulation. 

This proposed rule would revise 

§ 679.20(d) by adding a new paragraph 

to prohibit directed fishing for the 

species sideboard limits listed in 

proposed Tables 54, 55, and 56 to 50 

CFR part 679. Existing regulations 

associated with establishing sideboard 

directed fishing allowances would be 

retained, as they are needed for those 

species or species groups that would 

continue to have sideboard limits 

established through the annual harvest 

specifications. In addition, 

§ 679.64(a)(3) would be revised to add a 

paragraph describing that proposed 

Table 54 to 50 CFR part 679 contains the 

BSAI species or species groups 

prohibited for directed fishing by AFA 

C/Ps. Similarly, § 679.64(b)(5) would be 

revised to add a paragraph that 

describes proposed Tables 55 and 56 to 

50 CFR part 679. These two tables list 

the species or species groups for which 

directed fishing by AFA CVs is 

prohibited in the BSAI and GOA, 

respectively. 

Regarding the Central AI Atka 

mackerel sideboard limit for AFA C/Ps, 

this proposed rule would remove 

§ 679.64(a)(1)(ii)(B). That regulation 

specifies the AFA C/Ps Central AI Atka 

mackerel sideboard limit of 11.5 percent 

of the annual Central AI TAC, which is 

based on the sideboard limit set forth in 

Section 211(b)(2)(C)(i)) of the AFA. 

However, since the implementation of 

the Amendment 80 Program in 2008, the 

percentage of the initial TAC for the 

sector in which AFA C/Ps are 

authorized to participate (the BSAI 

trawl limited access sector) is only 10 

percent. Therefore, the maximum 

amount of the Central AI Atka mackerel 

TAC available to AFA C/Ps under 

regulations implementing Amendment 

80 (10 percent) is less than the 

sideboard limit established for AFA C/ 

Ps when the AFA Program was 

implemented in 2000 (11.5 percent). 

Since the BSAI trawl limited access 

sector allocation is less than the 

sideboard limit, the sideboard limit no 

longer constrains AFA C/Ps. NMFS 

believes that the proposed revision to 

remove the regulation that specifies the 

sideboard limit for Central AI Atka 

mackerel for AFA C/Ps is consistent 

with Section 211 of the AFA. Section 

211(a) of the AFA allows the Council to 

recommend, and NMFS to approve, 

conservation and management measures 

necessary to protect other fisheries from 

the adverse impacts caused by the AFA. 

The current allocation of Atka mackerel 

available to AFA C/Ps (10 percent of the 

TAC) is effectively a conservation and 

management measure that protects 

participants in other non-AFA fisheries 

by limiting the amount of Atka mackerel 

that AFA C/Ps can potentially harvest to 

less than 11.5 percent of the TAC 

available to AFA C/Ps under the 

existing sideboard limit established 

under Section 211(b)(2)(C)(i) of the 

AFA. Under the proposed rule, NMFS 

would no longer specify the AFA C/P 

sideboard limit for Central AI Atka 

mackerel; however, that fishery would 

remain open to directed fishing, and 

AFA C/Ps as part of the BSAI trawl 

limited access sector would remain 

constrained under existing regulations 

to harvesting up to the 10 percent of the 

allocation to the BSAI trawl limited 

access sector (50 CFR 679.91(c)(2)(ii) 

and Table 33 to 50 CFR part 679). 

For the CR Program sideboard limits, 

this proposed rule would revise 

§ 680.22(e) to describe the permanent 

prohibition for directed fishing for most 

GOA groundfish species by non-AFA 

crab vessels in the GOA. This paragraph 

would include a reference to proposed 

Table 11 to 50 CFR part 680, which lists 

the species or species groups for which 

directed fishing for sideboard limits is 

prohibited. 

Action 2: Removal of the AFA Inshore 

Cooperative Catch Report From 

Regulation 

In addition to the Council’s 

recommendation for revising the 

management of AFA Program and CR 

Program sideboard limits, NMFS also 

proposes to remove the requirements for 

the AFA inshore cooperative weekly 

catch report described in regulations at 

§§ 679.5(o) and 679.62(b)(3). This report 

is no longer necessary to manage the 

AFA inshore pollock allocations. NMFS 

has direct and immediate access to 

observer and landings data to track 

catch by the cooperatives and does not 

need the information submitted by the 

cooperatives to monitor the Bering Sea 

pollock fisheries. Eliminating this 

weekly reporting requirement will 

reduce the burden on the designated 

representatives of AFA inshore 

cooperatives to prepare and submit 

these reports to NMFS weekly, will 

reduce costs to the members of the AFA 

inshore cooperatives to pay for the 

preparation and submission of these 

weekly reports, and will reduce the time 

and costs that NMFS incurs in 

processing and reviewing the weekly 

reports. 

Classification 

Pursuant to sections 304(b)(1)(A) and 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 

NMFS Assistant Administrator has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with the BSAI FMP, the GOA 

FMP, the Crab FMP, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration of comments received 

during the public comment period. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) 

An RIR was prepared to assess the 

costs and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives. A copy of this analysis is 

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

The Council recommended the 

regulatory revisions in this proposed 

rule based on those measures that 

maximized net benefits to the Nation. 

Specific aspects of the economic 

analysis related to the impact of this 

proposed rule on small entities are 

discussed below in the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis section. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
40738 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(IRFA) 

This IRFA was prepared for this 

proposed rule, as required by section 

603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA) (5 U.S.C. 603), to describe the 

economic impact this proposed rule, if 

adopted, would have on small entities. 

An IRFA describes why this action is 

being proposed; the objectives and legal 

basis for the proposed rule; the number 

of small entities to which the proposed 

rule would apply; any projected 

reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

compliance requirements of the 

proposed rule; any overlapping, 

duplicative, or conflicting Federal rules; 

and any significant alternatives to the 

proposed rule that would accomplish 

the stated objectives, consistent with 

applicable statutes, and that would 

minimize any significant adverse 

economic impacts of the proposed rule 

on small entities. Descriptions of this 

proposed rule, its purpose, and the legal 

basis are contained earlier in this 

preamble and are not repeated here. 

Number and Description of Small 

Entities Regulated by This Proposed 

Rule 

NMFS has determined that vessels 

that are members of a fishing 

cooperative are affiliated when 

classifying them for the RFA analyses. 

In making this determination, NMFS 

considered the Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) ‘‘principles of 

affiliation’’ at 13 CFR 121.103. 

Specifically, in § 121.103(f), SBA refers 

to ‘‘[a]ffiliation based on identity of 

interest,’’ which states affiliation may 

arise among two or more persons with 

an identity of interest. Individuals or 

firms that have identical or substantially 

identical business or economic interests 

(such as family members, individuals or 

firms with common investments, or 

firms that are economically dependent 

through contractual or other 

relationships) may be treated as one 

party with such interests aggregated. If 

business entities are affiliated, then the 

threshold for identifying small entities 

is applied to the group of affiliated 

entities rather than on an individual 

entity basis. 

There are 93 active AFA catcher 

vessels that are restricted by sideboard 

limits in the BSAI and GOA, 17 active 

catcher/processors that are restricted by 

sideboard limits in the BSAI, and 95 CR 

Program active catcher vessels that are 

restricted by sideboard limits in the 

GOA. These vessels are members of an 

AFA cooperative for Bering Sea pollock 

or a Bering Sea Crab Cooperative and 

are therefore considered to be large 

entities via their cooperative affiliation. 

Other than these vessels, there are 18 

vessels that are restricted by sideboard 

limits in the BSAI and GOA and that are 

not members of an AFA or crab 

cooperative. These 18 vessels may be 

considered small entities under the RFA 

because they likely have combined 

annual gross receipts not in excess of 

$11.0 million. 

This proposed rule would directly 

regulate those vessel operators that are 

restricted by AFA Program and CR 

Program groundfish sideboard limits in 

the BSAI and GOA, and AFA inshore 

cooperatives that are required to submit 

an AFA inshore cooperative weekly 

report. All persons required to submit 

an AFA inshore cooperative weekly 

report are also subject to sideboard 

limits under the AFA Program. 

Therefore, the number of directly 

regulated entities under this proposed 

rule is equal to the number of vessel 

operators restricted by AFA Program 

and CR Program groundfish sideboard 

limits in the BSAI and GOA. The 

thresholds applied to determine if an 

entity or group of entities are ‘‘small’’ 

under the RFA depend on the industry 

classification for the entity or entities. 

Businesses classified as primarily 

engaged in commercial fishing are 

considered small entities if they have 

combined annual gross receipts not in 

excess of $11.0 million for all affiliated 

operations worldwide (81 FR 4469; 

January 26, 2016). Businesses classified 

as primarily engaged in fish processing 

are considered small entities if they 

employ 750 or fewer persons on a fulltime, part-time, temporary, or other 

basis, at all affiliated operations 

worldwide. Since at least 1993, NMFS 

Alaska Region has considered catcher/ 

processors to be predominantly engaged 

in fish harvesting rather than fish 

processing. Under this classification, the 

threshold of $11.0 million in annual 

gross receipts is appropriate. 

Based on this analysis, NMFS 

preliminarily determines that there are 

18 entities that may be considered small 

and would be affected by this proposed 

rule. However, due to the complexity of 

the affiliation among the entities and the 

overlay of affiliation due to ownership 

and affiliation based on the contractual 

relationship among members of 

cooperatives, it is not certain these 18 

entities are small entities, as defined by 

the RFA, that could be affected by this 

proposed rule. Nonetheless, NMFS has 

prepared this IRFA, which provides 

potentially affected small entities an 

opportunity to provide comments on 

this IRFA. NMFS will evaluate any 

comments received on the IRFA and 

may consider certifying under section 

605 of the RFA (5 U.S.C. 605) that this 

action will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities prior to 

publication of the final rule. 

The only potential adverse economic 

impacts on directly regulated small 

entities that have been identified for this 

proposed rule are if the ABC and 

corresponding TAC for the species for 

which directed fishing would be closed 

significantly increased. With respect to 

potential changes in ABCs and TACs, 

NMFS does not anticipate that there 

will be significant increases to the 

groundfish species’ ABCs and TACs 

associated with this action to the degree 

that the increases could allow for a 

directed fishery for a given species. 

Sideboard limits represent a very small 

proportion of a given annual groundfish 

TAC. If a particular species’ biomass, 

ABC, and TAC increased to a level that 

could potentially allow for a directed 

fishery for that species’ sideboard limit, 

such a substantial change in biomass 

and harvest control rules would also 

give rise to other potential management 

considerations beyond just increasing 

sideboard limits. With regards to the 

potential that the Amendment 80 

Program allocations of groundfish 

(specifically Central AI Atka mackerel) 

could change, NMFS considers that 

prospect highly unlikely. The AFA and 

Amendment 80 fishery management 

programs in the BSAI are currently 

stable. The groundfish allocations 

established by these programs have not 

been modified since they were 

implemented, and there are no 

foreseeable changes in the allocations 

established under the Amendment 80 

Program. If such allocative changes were 

proposed, the Council and NMFS would 

conduct a comprehensive analysis as 

part of any potential future action of 

how such changes could affect the 

sideboard limits associated with this 

action. 

Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Other 

Compliance Requirements 

This proposed rule would remove a 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirement for the submittal of AFA 

inshore cooperative weekly catch 

reports. Such reports are no longer 

necessary to assist NMFS with 

managing the AFA inshore pollock 

fisheries, as the information in such 

reports has been superseded by more 

contemporary, electronic data reporting. 

The proposal to remove these 

requirements is anticipated to reduce 

the cost in total to the public by 

approximately $8,475 per year, and is 

anticipated to reduce costs to NMFS by 

approximately $5,400 per year. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 40739 

No small entity is subject to reporting 

requirements that are in addition to or 

different from the requirements that 

apply to all directly regulated entities. 

Duplicate, Overlapping, or Conflicting 

Federal Rules 

No duplication, overlap, or conflict 

between this proposed rule and existing 

Federal rules has been identified. 

Description of Significant Alternatives 

That Minimize Adverse Impacts on 

Small Entities 

No significant alternatives were 

identified that would accomplish the 

stated objectives for streamlining the 

management of AFA and CR Program 

sideboard limits by prohibiting in 

regulation certain species sideboard 

limits, are consistent with applicable 

statutes, and that would reduce costs to 

potentially affected small entities more 

than the proposed rule. The Council and 

NMFS considered two alternatives for 

action one of this proposed rule. 

Alternative 1 is the no action 

alternative. This alternative would 

continue the annual establishment of 

the sideboard limits for all the species 

listed in proposed Tables 54, 55, and 56 

to 50 CFR part 679, as well as proposed 

Table 11 to 50 CFR part 680, and would 

maintain the sideboard limit for Central 

AI Atka mackerel for AFA C/Ps. These 

sideboard species have insufficient 

sideboard limits to support directed 

fishing, are fully allocated to other catch 

share programs, or for a variety of other 

reasons are closed to directed fishing. 

NMFS would continue to prohibit 

directed fishing for these sideboard 

fisheries via the annual harvest 

specifications, except for the Central AI 

Atka mackerel sideboard limit for AFA 

C/Ps. 

Alternative 2, along with Option 1 

(the preferred alternative), provides the 

greatest economic benefits. The primary 

economic benefit of this proposed rule 

is to reduce NMFS’s administrative 

burden of managing most AFA Program 

and CR Program sideboards through the 

annual harvest specifications process. 

Implementation of Alternative 2 through 

this proposed rule would streamline the 

preparation of the BSAI and GOA 

annual harvest specifications, simplify 

NMFS’s annual programming changes to 

the groundfish catch accounting system, 

and reduce the future costs of 

publishing the annual harvest 

specifications in the Federal Register 

each year. The economic effects on 

fishery participants that are affected by 

this proposed action primarily are 

neutral. The removal of the AFA inshore 

cooperative weekly catch report 

requirement would, however, provide a 

modest economic benefit for AFA 

inshore cooperatives. 

Collection-of-Information Requirements 

This proposed rule addresses a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) and which has been approved 

by OMB under control number 0648– 

0401 (AFA Reports). The proposed rule 

would not add any new information 

collection requirements, but would 

remove the regulatory requirement for 

the AFA inshore cooperative weekly 

catch report. The public reporting 

burden for the AFA inshore cooperative 

weekly catch report is estimated to 

average 45 minutes per response, which 

includes the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information. 

The proposal to remove this collection 

of information requirement has been 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

Public comment is sought regarding 

the proposal to remove the requirement 

for the AFA inshore cooperative weekly 

catch report and the burden hour 

estimate for this report. Send comments 

on these or any other aspects of the 

collection of information to NMFS 

Alaska Region (see ADDRESSES) and to 

OIRA by email to OIRA_Submission@

omb.eop.gov or by fax to (202) 395– 

5806. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

All currently approved NOAA 

collections of information may be 

viewed at http://www.cio.noaa.gov/ 

services_programs/prasubs.html. 

List of Subjects 

50 CFR Part 679 

Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

50 CFR Part 680 

Alaska, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: August 9, 2018. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 679 and part 680 as follows: 

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE 

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF 

ALASKA 

■ 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. 

§ 679.5 Recordkeeping and reporting 

(R&R) [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 679.5, remove and reserve 

paragraph (o). 

■ 3. In § 679.20, add paragraph 

(d)(1)(iv)(D) to read as follows: 

§ 679.20 General limitations. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(D) Species or species groups for 

which directed fishing for sideboard 

limits by AFA vessels is prohibited are 

listed in Tables 54, 55, and 56 to this 

part. 

* * * * * 

§ 679.62 Inshore sector cooperative 

allocation program [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 679.62, remove paragraph 

(b)(3). 

■ 5. In § 679.64, 

■ a. Revise paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A); 

■ b. Remove paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B); 

■ c. Redesignate paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(C) 

as paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B); and 

■ d. Revise paragraphs (a)(3) and (b)(5) 

to read as follows: 

§ 679.64 Harvesting sideboard limits in 

other fisheries. 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) Bering Sea subarea and Eastern 

Aleutian Islands, zero; and 

* * * * * 

(3) How will AFA catcher/processor 

sideboard limits be managed? (i) The 

Regional Administrator will manage 

groundfish harvest limits and PSC 

bycatch limits for AFA catcher/ 

processors through directed fishing 

closures in fisheries established under 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section in 

accordance with the procedures set out 

in §§ 679.20(d)(1)(iv) and 

679.21(b)(4)(iii). 

(ii) Directed fishing for the BSAI 

groundfish sideboard limits listed in 

Table 54 of this part is prohibited. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) How will catcher vessel sideboard 

limits be managed? (i) The Regional 

Administrator will manage groundfish 

harvest limits and PSC bycatch limits 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
40740 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

for AFA catcher vessels using directed 

fishing closures according to the 

procedures set out at §§ 679.20(d)(1)(iv) 

and 679.21(d)(7) and (e)(3)(v). 

(ii) Directed fishing for the BSAI 

groundfish sideboard limits listed in 

Table 55 of this part and the GOA 

groundfish sideboard limits listed in 

Table 56 of this part is prohibited. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Add and reserve Table 52 to part 

679. 

■ 7. Add and reserve Table 53 to part 

679. 

■ 8. Add Table 54 to part 679 to read as 

follows: 

TABLE 54—BSAI SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY LISTED AFA 

CATCHER/PROCESSORS AND CATCHER/PROCESSORS DESIGNATED ON LISTED AFA CATCHER/PROCESSOR PERMITS

IS PROHIBITED

Species or species group Management area or subarea 

Sablefish, trawl gear ................................................................................. Bering Sea (BS) subarea of the BSAI. 

Aleutian Islands (AI). 

Atka mackerel ........................................................................................... BS/Eastern Aleutian District. 

Western Aleutian District. 

Rock sole .................................................................................................. BSAI. 

Greenland turbot ....................................................................................... Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI. 

AI. 

Arrowtooth flounder .................................................................................. BSAI. 

Kamchatka flounder .................................................................................. BSAI. 

Flathead sole ............................................................................................ BSAI. 

Alaska plaice ............................................................................................ BSAI. 

Other flatfish ............................................................................................. BSAI. 

Pacific ocean perch .................................................................................. Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI. 

Eastern Aleutian District. 

Central Aleutian District. 

Western Aleutian District. 

Northern rockfish ...................................................................................... BSAI. 

Shortraker rockfish ................................................................................... BSAI. 

Rougheye rockfish .................................................................................... Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI/Eastern Aleutian District. 

Central Aleutian District/Western Aleutian District. 

Other rockfish ........................................................................................... BS. 

AI. 

Skates ....................................................................................................... BSAI. 

Sculpins .................................................................................................... BSAI. 

Sharks ....................................................................................................... BSAI. 

Octopuses ................................................................................................. BSAI. 

■ 9. Add Table 55 to part 679 to read as 

follows: 

TABLE 55—BSAI SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY NONEXEMPT AFA CATCHER VESSELS IS PROHIBITED

Species or species group Management area or subarea Gear type 

Pacific cod ......................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. Jig. 

Hook-and-line catcher vessel ≥60 ft. 

Hook-and-line catcher vessel ≤60 ft. 

Pot. 

Sablefish, trawl gear .......................... Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI ..................................................... All. 

AI ...................................................................................................... All. 

Atka mackerel .................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Rock sole ........................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Greenland turbot ................................ BS ..................................................................................................... All. 

AI ...................................................................................................... All. 

Arrowtooth flounder ........................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Kamchatka flounder ........................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Alaska plaice ..................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Other flatfish ...................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Flathead sole ..................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Pacific ocean perch ........................... BS ..................................................................................................... All. 

Eastern Aleutian District ................................................................... All. 

Central Aleutian District ................................................................... All. 

Western Aleutian District .................................................................. All. 

Northern rockfish ............................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Shortraker rockfish ............................ BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Rougheye rockfish ............................. Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI/Eastern Aleutian District .............. All. 

Central Aleutian District/Western Aleutian District ........................... All. 

Other rockfish .................................... Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI ..................................................... All. 

AI ...................................................................................................... All. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
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TABLE 55—BSAI SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY NONEXEMPT AFA CATCHER VESSELS IS PROHIBITED—Continued 

Species or species group Management area or subarea Gear type 

Skates ................................................ BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Sculpins ............................................. BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Sharks ................................................ BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

Octopuses .......................................... BSAI ................................................................................................. All. 

■ 10. Add Table 56 to part 679 to read 

as follows: 

TABLE 56—GOA SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY NONEXEMPT AFA CATCHER VESSELS IS PROHIBITED

Species or species group 

Management or regulatory area and 

processing component 

(if applicable) 

Pacific cod ........................................................................................................................................... Eastern GOA, inshore component. 

Eastern GOA, offshore component. 

Western GOA. 

Sablefish .............................................................................................................................................. Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Shallow-water flatfish ........................................................................................................................... Eastern GOA. 

Deep-water flatfish ............................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Rex sole ............................................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Arrowtooth flounder ............................................................................................................................. Western GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Flathead sole ....................................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Pacific ocean perch ............................................................................................................................. Western GOA. 

Northern rockfish ................................................................................................................................. Western GOA. 

Shortraker rockfish ............................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Dusky rockfish ..................................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Rougheye rockfish ............................................................................................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Demersal shelf rockfish ....................................................................................................................... Southeast Outside District. 

Thornyhead rockfish ............................................................................................................................ Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Other rockfish ...................................................................................................................................... Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Atka mackerel ...................................................................................................................................... GOA. 

Western GOA. 

Big skates ............................................................................................................................................ Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Longnose skates .................................................................................................................................. Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Other skates ........................................................................................................................................ GOA. 

Sculpins ............................................................................................................................................... GOA. 

Sharks .................................................................................................................................................. GOA. 

Octopuses ............................................................................................................................................ GOA. 

* * * * * 

PART 680—FISHERIES OF THE 

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF 

ALASKA 

■ 11. The authority citation for part 680 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862; Pub. L., 109– 

241; Pub. L. 109–479. 

■ 12. In § 680.22, revise paragraph 

(e)(1)(i) to read as follows: 

§ 680.22 Sideboard protections for GOA 

groundfish fisheries 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) Except as provided in paragraph 

(e)(1)(ii) of this section, annual 

sideboard harvest limits for each 

groundfish species, except fixed-gear 

sablefish, will be established by 

multiplying the sideboard ratios 

calculated under paragraph (d) of this 

section by the proposed and final TACs 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
40742 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

in each area for which a TAC is 

specified. If a TAC is further 

apportioned by season, the sideboard 

harvest limit also will be apportioned by 

season in the same ratio as the overall 

TAC. The resulting harvest limits 

expressed in metric tons will be 

published in the annual GOA 

groundfish harvest specification notices, 

except for those species for which 

directed fishing for sideboard limits is 

prohibited (see paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of 

this section and Table 11 to this part). 

* * * * * 

■ 13. Add Table 11 to part 680 to read 

as follows: 

TABLE 11—GULF OF ALASKA SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY

NON-AFA CRAB VESSELS IS PROHIBITED

Species or species group Management area or regulatory area, processing component (if applicable), and gear type (if 

applicable) 

Pollock ................................................................ Shumagin (Management Area 610). 

Chirikof (Management Area 620). 

Kodiak (Management Area 630). 

Western Yakutat District. 

Southeast Outside District. 

Area Gear, vessel type 

Pacific cod .......................................................... Western GOA ................................................... Jig. 

Hook-and-line Catcher Vessel. 

Trawl Catcher Vessel. 

Central GOA ..................................................... Jig. 

Hook-and-line Catcher Vessel. 

Trawl Catcher Vessel. 

Eastern GOA, inshore component. 

Eastern GOA, offshore component. 

Sablefish, trawl gear .......................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Shallow-water flatfish ......................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Deep-water flatfish ............................................. Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Rex sole ............................................................. Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Arrowtooth Flounder .......................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Flathead sole ..................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Pacific ocean perch ........................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Northern rockfish ................................................ Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Shortraker rockfish ............................................. Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Dusky rockfish .................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Rougheye rockfish ............................................. Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Demersal shelf rockfish ..................................... Southeast Outside District. 

Thornyhead rockfish .......................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 159 / Thursday, August 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules 40743 

TABLE 11—GULF OF ALASKA SPECIES AND SPECIES GROUPS FOR WHICH DIRECTED FISHING FOR SIDEBOARD LIMITS BY

NON-AFA CRAB VESSELS IS PROHIBITED—Continued 

Other rockfish ..................................................... Western/Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Atka mackerel .................................................... GOA. 

Big skates .......................................................... Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Longnose skates ................................................ Western GOA. 

Central GOA. 

Eastern GOA. 

Other skates ....................................................... GOA. 

Sculpins .............................................................. GOA. 

Sharks ................................................................ GOA. 

Octopuses .......................................................... GOA. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–17538 Filed 8–15–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS