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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86116-86117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27188]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD560]

Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery; Trawl Rationalization Program; 2024 Cost Recovery Fee Notice

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

ACTION: Notice. 2024 cost recovery fee percentages and average 
mothership cooperative program pricing.

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SUMMARY: This action provides participants in the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program with the 2024 cost recovery 
fee percentages and the average mothership (MS) price per pound to be 
used in the catcher/processor (C/P) Co-operative (Co-op) program to 
calculate the fee amount for the upcoming calendar year. For the 2024 
calendar year, NMFS announces the following fee percentages by sector 
specific program: 3 percent for the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota 
(IFQ) Program; 0.1 percent for the C/P Co-op Program; and 1.8 percent 
for the MS Co-op Program. For 2024, the MS pricing to be used as a 
proxy by the C/P Co-op Program is $0.11 per pound for Pacific whiting.

DATES: This action is effective January 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Biegel, (206) 247-8252, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 304(d)(2)(A) of the 
Magnuson[hyphen]Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) 
authorizes and requires NMFS to collect fees to recover the costs 
directly related to the management, data collection and analysis, and 
enforcement connected to and in support of a limited access privilege 
program (LAPP) (16 U.S.C. 1854(d)(2)), also called ``cost recovery.'' 
Cost recovery fees recover the actual costs directly related to the 
management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement of the 
programs (MSA section 303A(e), 16 U.S.C. 1853a(e)). Section 
304(d)(2)(B) of the MSA mandates that cost recovery fees not exceed 3 
percent of the annual ex-vessel value of fish harvested by a 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 the calendar year in 
which the fish is harvested.
    The Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program is a 
LAPP, implemented in 2011, and consists of three sector-specific 
programs: the Shorebased IFQ Program, the MS Co-op Program, and the C/P 
Co-op Program. In accordance with the MSA, and based on a recommended 
structure and methodology developed in coordination with the Pacific 
Fishery Management Council (Council), NMFS began collecting mandatory 
fees of up to three percent of the ex-vessel value of groundfish from 
each program (Shorebased IFQ Program, MS Co-op Program, and C/P Co-op 
Program) in 2014. NMFS collects the fees to recover the incremental 
costs of management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement of 
the Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program. Additional background can 
be found in the cost recovery proposed rule (78 FR 7371, February 1, 
2013) and final rule (78 FR 75268, December 11, 2013). The details of 
cost recovery for the Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program are in 
regulation at 50 CFR 660.115 (Trawl fishery--cost recovery program), 
Sec.  660.140 (Shorebased IFQ Program), Sec.  660.150 (MS Co-op 
Program), and Sec.  660.160 (C/P Co-op Program).
    By December 31 of each year, NMFS announces the next year's fee 
percentages and the applicable MS pricing for the C/P Co-op Program. To 
calculate the fee percentages, NMFS used the formula specified in 
regulation at Sec.  660.115(b)(1), where the fee percentage by sector 
equals the lower of 3 percent or direct program costs (DPC) for that 
sector divided by total ex-vessel value (V) for that sector multiplied 
by 100.
    ``DPC,'' as defined in the regulations at Sec.  660.115(b)(1)(i), 
are the actual incremental costs for the previous fiscal year directly 
related to the management, data collection and analysis, and 
enforcement of each program (Shorebased IFQ Program, MS Co-op Program, 
and C/P Co-op Program). Actual incremental costs means those net costs 
that would not have been incurred but for the implementation of the 
Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program, including both increased 
costs for new requirements of the program and reduced costs resulting 
from any program efficiencies or adjustments to costs from previous 
years.
    ``V,'' as specified at Sec.  660.115(b)(1)(ii), is the total ex-
vessel value, as defined at Sec.  660.111, for each sector from the 
previous calendar year. To determine the ex-vessel value for the 
Shorebased IFQ Program, NMFS used the ex-vessel value for calendar year 
2022 as reported in the Pacific Fisheries Information Network from 
Shorebased IFQ electronic fish tickets as this was the most recent 
complete set of data. To determine the ex-vessel value for the MS Co-op 
Program and the C/P Co-op Program, NMFS used the retained catch 
estimates (weight) for each sector as reported in the North Pacific 
Observer Program database multiplied by the average price of Pacific 
whiting as reported by participants in the MS Co-op program for 2022.
    The fee calculations for the 2024 fee percentages are described 
below.

IFQ Program:

     3.5 percent = ($1,927,301.37/$54,406,343.00) x 100.

[[Page 86117]]

C/P Co-op Program:

     0.1 percent = ($29,364.40/$33,367,530.60) x 100.

MS Co-op Program:

     1.8 percent = ($280,187.19/$15,425,857.68) x 100.
    However, the calculated fee percentage cannot exceed the statutory 
limit of 3 percent. The IFQ Program fee calculation (3.5 percent) 
exceeds this limit, therefore, the 2024 fee percentage for the IFQ 
Program is 3 percent. The final 2024 fee percentages are 3.0 percent 
for the IFQ Program, 0.1 percent for the C/P Co-op Program, and 1.8 
percent for the MS Co-op Program.

MS Average Pricing

    MS pricing is the average price per pound that the C/P Co-op 
Program will use to determine the fee amount due for that sector. The 
C/P sector value is calculated by multiplying the retained catch 
estimates (weight) of Pacific whiting harvested by the vessel 
registered to a C/P-endorsed limited entry trawl permit by the MS 
pricing. NMFS has calculated the 2024 MS pricing to be used as a proxy 
by the CP Co-op Program as: $0.11 per pound for Pacific whiting.
    Cost recovery fees are submitted to NMFS by fish buyers via Pay.gov 
(https://www.pay.gov). Fees are only accepted in Pay.gov by credit/
debit card or bank transfers. Cash or checks cannot be accepted. Fish 
buyers registered with Pay.gov can login in the upper right-hand corner 
of the screen. Fish buyers not registered with Pay.gov can go to the 
cost recovery forms directly from the website below. The links to the 
Pay.gov forms for each program (IFQ, MS, or C/P) are listed below:
     IFQ: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58062865;
     MS: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58378422; and
     C/P: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/58102817.
    As stated in the preamble to the cost recovery proposed and final 
rules, in the spring of each year, NMFS will release an annual report 
documenting the details and data used for the fee percentage 
calculations. Annual reports are available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/sustainable-fisheries/west-coast-groundfish-trawl-catch-share-program#cost-recovery.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.773 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 
7001 et seq.

    Dated: December 6, 2023.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-27188 Filed 12-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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