[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82336-82338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25957]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD512]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the 
Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access 
Privilege Programs

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

ACTION: Notice of standard prices and fee percentage.

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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost 
recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) 
Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western 
Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea 
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2023 
are 1.37 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.26 percent for the AFA 
inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 1.07 percent 
for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2023 
standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment 
for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2023.

DATES: The standard prices and fee percentages are valid on November 
24, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Weeks, Fee Coordinator, 907-
586-7231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes and requires that NMFS 
collect cost recovery fees for limited access privilege programs and 
the CDQ Program. Cost recovery fees include NMFS' actual costs directly 
related to its management, data collection, and enforcement of the 
programs. Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates that cost 
recovery fees not exceed 3 percent of the annual ex-vessel value of 
fish harvested under any program subject to a cost recovery fee and 
that the fee be collected either at the time of landing, filing of a 
landing report, or sale of such fish during a fishing season or in the 
last quarter of

[[Page 82337]]

the calendar year in which the fish is harvested.
    NMFS manages the Amendment 80 Program, AFA Program, and AIP Program 
as limited access privilege programs. On January 5, 2016, NMFS 
published a final rule to implement cost recovery for these three 
limited access privilege programs and the CDQ program (81 FR 150). The 
designated representative (for the purposes of cost recovery) for each 
program is responsible for submitting the fee payment to NMFS on or 
before December 31 of the year in which the landings were made. The 
total dollar amount of the fee due is determined by multiplying the 
NMFS published fee percentage by the ex-vessel value of all landings 
under the program made during the fishing year. NMFS publishes this 
notice of the fee percentages for the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ 
programs in the Federal Register by December 1 each year.

Standard Prices

    The fee liability is based on the ex-vessel value of fish harvested 
in each program. For purposes of calculating cost recovery fees, NMFS 
uses a standard ex-vessel price (standard price) for each species. A 
standard price is determined using information on landings purchased 
(volume) and ex-vessel value paid (value). For most groundfish species, 
NMFS annually summarizes volume and value information for landings of 
all fishery species subject to cost recovery to estimate a standard 
price for each species. The standard prices are described in U.S. 
dollars per pound for landings made during the year. The standard 
prices for all species in the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ programs 
are provided in Table 1. Each landing made under each program is 
multiplied by the appropriate standard price to arrive at an ex-vessel 
value for each landing. These values are summed together to arrive at 
the ex-vessel value of each program (fishery value).

                     Table 1--Standard Ex-Vessel Prices by Species for the 2023 Fishing Year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Standard ex-
                                                                                                        vessel
                 Species                            Gear type                 Reporting period        price per
                                                                                                      pound ($)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrowtooth flounder......................  All........................  January to December........         0.24
Atka mackerel............................  All........................  January to December........         0.24
Flathead sole............................  All........................  January to December........         0.18
Greenland turbot.........................  All........................  January to December........         0.62
CDQ halibut..............................  Fixed gear.................  January to December........         5.25
Pacific cod..............................  Fixed gear.................  January to December........         0.53
                                           Trawl gear.................  January to December........         0.42
Pacific ocean perch......................  All........................  January to December........         0.18
Pollock..................................  All........................  January to December........         0.20
Rock sole................................  All........................  January to March...........         0.23
                                           All........................  April to December..........         0.19
Sablefish................................  Fixed gear.................  January to December........         1.38
                                           Trawl gear.................  January to December........         0.56
Yellowfin sole...........................  All........................  January to December........         0.18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fee Percentage

    Annually, NMFS calculates the applicable fee percentage for each of 
the four programs according to the factors and methods described at 50 
CFR 679 under Sec. Sec.  679.33(c)(2) for CDQ, 679.66(c)(2) for AFA, 
679.67(c)(2) for AIP, and 679.95(c)(2) for Amendment 80. NMFS 
determines the fee percentage that applies to landings made during the 
year by dividing the total costs directly related to the management, 
data collection, and enforcement of each program (direct program costs) 
during the year by the fishery value. NMFS captures direct program 
costs through an established accounting system that allows staff to 
track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and procurement costs. For 2023, 
the direct program costs for each program were tracked from October 1, 
2022 to September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year). The 2023 fee 
percentages for the Amendment 80 and CDQ Programs are more than the fee 
percentages calculated for them in 2022. The 2023 fee percentage for 
the AFA Program is less than the fee percentage calculated for it in 
2022. The 2023 percentage for the AIP Program is zero because there was 
no AIP fishery in 2023, thus no associated harvest.
    NMFS will provide an annual report that summarizes direct program 
costs for each of the programs in early 2024. NMFS calculates the 
values for each fishery as described earlier under the Standard Prices 
section of this notice.

Amendment 80 Program Standard Prices and Fee Percentage

    The Amendment 80 Program allocates total allowable catches (TACs) 
of groundfish species, other than Bering Sea pollock, to identified 
trawl catcher/processors fishing in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program 
allocates a portion of the BSAI TACs of six species: Atka mackerel, 
Pacific cod, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, and Aleutian 
Islands Pacific ocean perch. In recent years, participants in the 
Amendment 80 sector have established a cooperative to harvest these 
allocations. Each Amendment 80 cooperative is responsible for payment 
of the cost recovery fee for fish landed under the Amendment 80 
Program. Cost recovery requirements for the Amendment 80 Program are at 
Sec.  679.95.
    For Amendment 80 species other than rock sole, NMFS annually 
summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery 
species subject to cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price 
for each fishery species. Regulations specify that for rock sole, NMFS 
shall calculate a separate standard price for two periods, January 1 
through March 31 and April 1 through October 31, which has historically 
accounted for a substantial difference in estimated rock sole prices 
during the first quarter of the year relative to the remainder of the 
year. The volume and value information are obtained from the First 
Wholesale Volume and Value Report submitted by catcher/processors that 
harvested Amendment 80 or CDQ species, and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel 
Volume and Value Report submitted by shoreside processors and 
motherships

[[Page 82338]]

that processed landings of BSAI or CDQ Pacific cod.
    Using the fee percentage formula described generally above, the 
estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 
2023 calendar year is 1.37 percent for the Amendment 80 Program. For 
2023, NMFS applied the fee percentage to each Amendment 80 species 
landing that was debited from an Amendment 80 cooperative quota 
allocation between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the Amendment 
80 fee liability for each Amendment 80 cooperative. The 2023 fee 
payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2023. 
Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth 
in Sec.  679.95(a)(3)(iv).

AFA Standard Price and Fee Percentages

    The AFA Program allocates the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery 
TAC to three sectors: catcher/processor, mothership, and inshore. Each 
sector has established cooperatives to harvest the sector's exclusive 
allocation. In 2023, each cooperative for the inshore sector is 
responsible for paying the fee for Bering Sea pollock landed under the 
AFA Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AFA sectors are found 
at Sec.  679.66.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings 
data. Due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year 
delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to 
which it is applied. For example, NMFS used 2022 gross earnings data to 
calculate the standard price for 2023 pollock landings.
    Under the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2023 
calendar year is 0.26 percent for the AFA inshore sector. To calculate 
the 2023 fee liabilities, NMFS applied the respective fee percentages 
to the landings of Bering Sea pollock debited from each cooperative's 
fishery allocation that occurred between January 1 and December 31. The 
2023 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 
2023. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set 
forth in Sec.  679.66(a)(4)(iv).

AIP Program Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The AIP Program allocates the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC to the Aleut Corporation, consistent with the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-109) and implementing 
regulations. Annually, prior to the start of the pollock season, the 
Aleut Corporation provides NMFS with the identity of its designated 
representative for harvesting the Aleutian Islands directed pollock 
fishery TAC. The same individual is responsible for the submission of 
all cost recovery fees for pollock landed under the AIP Program. Cost 
recovery requirements for the AIP Program are at Sec.  679.67.
    NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most 
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled 
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data 
for Aleutian Islands pollock. As explained above, due to the time 
required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross 
earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied.
    For the 2023 fishing year, the Aleut Corporation did not select any 
participants to harvest or process the Aleutian Islands directed 
pollock fishery TAC, and most of that TAC was reallocated to the Bering 
Sea directed pollock fishery TAC. Since there was no fishery for the 
AIP Program in 2023, the fee percentage is zero.

CDQ Standard Price and Fee Percentage

    The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992 to provide access to BSAI 
fishery resources to villages located in Western Alaska. Section 305(i) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act identifies 65 villages eligible to 
participate in the CDQ Program and the six CDQ groups to represent 
these villages. CDQ groups receive exclusive harvesting privileges of 
the TACs for a broad range of crab species, groundfish species, and 
halibut. NMFS implemented a CDQ cost recovery program for the BSAI crab 
fisheries in 2005 (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and published the cost 
recovery fee percentage for the 2022/2023 crab fishing year on August 
3, 2023 (88 FR 51301). This notice provides the cost recovery fee 
percentage for the CDQ Program with respect to groundfish and halibut. 
Each CDQ group is subject to cost recovery fee requirements and the 
designated representative of each CDQ group is responsible for 
submitting payment for their CDQ group. Cost recovery requirements for 
the CDQ Program are at Sec.  679.33.
    For most CDQ groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume 
and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to 
cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery 
species. The volume and value information are obtained from the First 
Wholesale Volume and Value Report and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume 
and Value Report. For CDQ halibut and fixed-gear sablefish, NMFS 
calculates the standard prices using information from the Individual 
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report, which collects 
information on both IFQ and CDQ volume and value.
    Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated 
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2023 
calendar year is 1.07 percent for the CDQ Program. For 2023, NMFS 
applied the calculated CDQ fee percentage to all CDQ groundfish and 
halibut landings made between January 1 and December 31 to calculate 
the CDQ fee liability for each CDQ group. The 2023 fee payments must be 
submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2023. Payment must be made 
in accordance with the payment methods set forth in Sec.  
679.33(a)(3)(iv).
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 20, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-25957 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P