2656 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Darkblotched rockfish, 6.5 mt of Pacific 

Ocean Perch, 3.3 mt of Canary rockfish, 

and 48.3 mt of Widow rockfish allocated 

to the mothership sector for the Pacific 

whiting fishery in 2011, would not be 

used by December 31, 2011. 

This notice announces the 

reapportionment of 4.3 mt of 

Darkblotched rockfish, 6.5 mt of Pacific 

Ocean Perch, 3.3 mt of Canary rockfish, 

and 48.3 mt of Widow rockfish from the 

mothership sector to the catcher/ 

processor sector. The revised 

nonwhiting catch allocations between 

the catcher/processor and mothership 

sectors for these species are: 

Darkblotched rockfish, 12.8 mt, catcher/ 

processor sector, 1.7 mt, mothership 

sector; Pacific Ocean Perch, 16.7 mt, 

catcher/processor sector, 0.66 mt, 

mothership sector; Canary rockfish, 8.1 

mt, catcher/processor sector, 0.08 mt, 

mothership sector; and Widow rockfish, 

135 mt, catcher/processor sector, 12.86 

mt, mothership sector. 

Emails sent directly to fishing 

businesses and postings on the 

Northwest Region’s Internet site were 

used to provide actual notice to the 

affected fishers. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds that good 

cause exists for this notification to be 

issued without affording prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) because 

such notification would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. As previously noted, actual 

notice of the reapportionment was 

provided to fishers. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment was 

impracticable because NMFS had 

insufficient time to provide prior notice 

and the opportunity for public comment 

between the time NMFS was notified 

that the mothership sector had 

concluded its harvest and the time the 

fishery modifications had to be 

implemented in order to ensure that 

fisheries are managed based on the best 

available scientific information. 

Reapportioning as quickly as possible 

was necessary to allow fishers access to 

the available fish. For the same reasons, 

the AA also finds good cause to waive 

the 30-day delay in effectiveness 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

These actions are authorized by 50 

CFR 660.150(c)(4) and 660.150(c)(5) and 

are exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

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

Dated: January 13, 2012. 

Steven Thur, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–1007 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 101126521–0640–02] 

RIN 0648–XA940 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amounts of the Aleut 

Corporation’s pollock directed fishing 

allowance and the Community 

Development Quota from the Aleutian 

Islands subarea to the Bering Sea 

subarea directed fisheries. These actions 

are necessary to provide opportunity for 

harvest of the 2012 total allowable catch 

of pollock, consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), January 19, 2012, until the 

effective date of the final 2012 and 2013 

harvest specifications for Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish, 

unless otherwise modified or 

superseded through publication of a 

notification in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Furuness, (907) 586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

In the Aleutian Islands subarea, the 

portion of the 2012 pollock total 

allowable catch (TAC) allocated to the 

Aleut Corporation’s directed fishing 

allowance (DFA) is 15,500 metric tons 

(mt) and the Community Development 

Quota (CDQ) is 1,900 mt as established 

by the final 2011 and 2012 harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (76 FR 11139, March 1, 2011), as 

adjusted by two inseason adjustments 

(76 FR 12607, March 8, 2011 and 76 FR 

81876, December 29, 2011). 

As of January 20, 2012, the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, 

(Regional Administrator) has 

determined that 10,500 mt of Aleut 

Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of 

pollock CDQ in the Aleutian Islands 

subarea will not be harvested. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(4), NMFS 

reallocates 10,500 mt of Aleut 

Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of 

pollock CDQ from the Aleutian Islands 

subarea to the 2012 Bering Sea subarea 

allocations. The 1,900 mt of pollock 

CDQ is added to the 2012 Bering Sea 

CDQ DFA. The remaining 10,500 mt of 

pollock is apportioned to the AFA 

Inshore sector (50 percent), AFA 

catcher/processor sector (40 percent), 

and the AFA mothership sector (10 

percent). The 2012 pollock incidental 

catch allowance remains at 32,400 mt. 

As a result, the harvest specifications for 

pollock in the Aleutian Islands subarea 

included in the final 2011 and 2012 

harvest specifications for groundfish in 

the BSAI (76 FR 11139, March 1, 2011) 

are revised as follows: 5,000 mt to Aleut 

Corporation’s DFA and 0 mt to CDQ 

pollock. Furthermore, pursuant to 

§ 679.20(a)(5), Table 3 of the final 2011 

and 2012 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (76 FR 11139, 

March 1, 2011), as adjusted by two 

inseason adjustments (76 FR 12607, 

March 8, 2011 and 76 FR 81873, 

December 29, 2011), is revised to make 

2012 pollock allocations consistent with 

this reallocation. This reallocation 

results in adjustments to the 2012 Aleut 

Corporation and CDQ pollock 

allocations established at § 679.20(a)(5). 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 2657 

TABLE 3—FINAL 2011 AND 2012 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE

CDQ DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1

[All amounts in metric tons] 

Area and sector 2011 

Allocations 

2011 A season 1 2011 B 

season 1

2012 

Allocations 

2012 A season 1 2012 B 

season 1

A season 

DFA 

SCA harvest limit 2 B season 

DFA 

A season 

DFA 

SCA harvest limit 2 B season 

DFA 

Bering Sea subarea ...................................................... 1,266,400 n/a n/a n/a 1,212,400 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ............................................................... 127,290 50,916 35,641 76,374 121,900 48,760 34,132 73,140

ICA1 ....................................................................... 33,804 n/a n/a n/a 32,400 n/a n/a n/a 

AFA Inshore ........................................................... 552,653 221,061 154,743 331,592 529,050 211,620 148,134 317,430 

AFA Catcher/Processors 3 ..................................... 442,122 176,849 123,794 265,273 423,240 169,296 118,507 253,944 

Catch by C/Ps ................................................. 404,542 161,817 n/a 242,725 387,265 154,906 n/a 232,359 

Catch by CVs 3 ............................................... 37,580 15,032 n/a 22,548 35,975 14,390 n/a 21,585 

Unlisted C/P Limit 4 .................................. 2,211 884 n/a 1,326 2,116 846 n/a 1,270 

AFA Motherships ................................................... 110,531 44,212 30,949 66,318 105,810 42,324 29,627 63,486 

Excessive Harvesting Limit 5 .................................. 193,429 n/a n/a n/a 185,168 n/a n/a n/a 

Excessive Processing Limit 6 ................................. 331,592 n/a n/a n/a 317,430 n/a n/a n/a 

Total Bering Sea DFA .................................... 1,105,306 442,122 309,486 663,184 1,058,100 423,240 296,268 634,860 

Aleutian Islands subarea 1 ............................................ 4,600 n/a n/a n/a 6,600 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ............................................................... 0 0 n/a 0 .................... 0 n/a 0 

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

Aleut Corporation ................................................... 3,000 3,000 n/a 0 5,000 5,000 n/a 0 

Bogoslof District ICA7 ................................................... 150 n/a n/a n/a 150 n/a n/a n/a 

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

follows: Inshore sector—50 percent, catcher/processor sector (C/P)—40 percent, and mothership sector—10 percent. In the Bering Sea subarea, 40 percent of the 

DFA is allocated to the A season (January 20–June 10) and 60 percent of the DFA is allocated to the B season (June 10–November 1). Pursuant to 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2)(i) and (ii), the annual AI pollock TAC, after subtracting first for the CDQ directed fishing allowance (10 percent) and second the ICA (1,600 mt), 

is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a directed pollock fishery. In the AI subarea, the A season is allocated 40 percent of the ABC and the B season is allocated 

the remainder of the directed pollock fishery. 2 In the Bering Sea subarea, no more than 28 percent of each sector’s annual DFA may be taken from the SCA before April 1. The remaining 12 percent of the annual DFA allocated to the A season may be taken outside of SCA before April 1 or inside the SCA after April 1. If less than 28 percent of the annual DFA is taken inside the SCA before April 1, the remainder will be available to be taken inside the SCA after April 1. 3Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), not less than 8.5 percent of the DFA allocated to listed catcher/processors shall be available for harvest only by eligible catcher 

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

allocation of pollock. 5Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs. 6Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30.0 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ pollock DFAs. 

7The Bogoslof District is closed by the final harvest specifications to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for ICA only and are not apportioned by 

season or sector. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

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

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the reallocation of AI pollock. 

Since the pollock fishery is currently 

open, it is important to immediately 

inform the industry as to the final 

Bering Sea subarea pollock allocations. 

Immediate notification is necessary to 

allow for the orderly conduct and 

efficient operation of this fishery; allow 

the industry to plan for the fishing 

season and avoid potential disruption to 

the fishing fleet as well as processors; 

and provide opportunity to harvest 

increased seasonal pollock allocations 

while value is optimum. NMFS was 

unable to publish a notice providing 

time for public comment because the 

most recent, relevant data only became 

available as of January 6, 2012. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

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

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

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: January 13, 2012. 

Steven Thur, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–993 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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