[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 238 (Monday, December 11, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77470-77472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31371]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000105004-0260-02 ;I.D. 120400A]
RIN 0648-AI78


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fisheries; 2000 Specifications; Adjustment; Closure

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

ACTION: Inseason adjustment of the 2000 Atlantic herring 
specifications; closure of Area 1A.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY:  NMFS adjusts the 2000 annual specifications for the Atlantic 
herring fishery including total joint venture processing (JVPt), joint 
venture processing (JVP), internal waters processing (IWP), U.S. at-sea 
processing (USAP), and total allowable catch (TAC) for Areas 1A and 1B. 
The intent is to reapportion allowable catches of herring within the 
fishery sectors and areas to allow for the achievement of the 
objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring (FMP). 
NMFS also announces that the directed fishery for Atlantic herring in 
Area 1A in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) will be closed.

DATES: The closure of Area 1A is effective December 14, 2000 through 
0001 hours, January 1, 2001. After 0001 hours, December 14, 2000, 
vessels may not fish for, possess, catch, transfer, or land more than 
2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip and per calendar day. 
Comments on the inseason adjustment must be received by January 10, 
2001.

ADDRESSES:  Comments on the inseason adjustment should be sent to 
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional 
Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the outside of 
the envelope ``Comments on Inseason Adjustment of 2000 Atlantic herring 
specifications.'' Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to 
(978) 281-9371. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail 
or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9288, fax at (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Inseason Adjustment

    The inseason adjustment adjusts the 2000 specifications for the 
Atlantic herring fishery by transferring 5,000 mt specified for JVP and 
15,000 mt specified for IWP to USAP, and transferring 15,000 mt of 
Atlantic herring from the Area 1B TAC to the Area 1A TAC. This action 
is consistent with the FMP.
    JVP is the amount of herring purchased over the side from U.S. 
vessels and processed by foreign vessels in the EEZ; IWP is the amount 
of herring purchased over the side from U.S. vessels and processed by 
foreign vessels at anchor in state waters; JVPt is the sum of JVP and 
IWP; and USAP is the amount of herring purchased over the side from 
U.S. vessels and processed in the EEZ by U.S. vessels of the United 
States that are larger than 165 ft (50.3 m) in length overall or 
greater than 750 gross registered tons (680.4 mt). For fishing year 
2000, JVP allocations were specified for Areas 2 and 3.
     Regulations at Sec.  648.200(e) allow NMFS, after consulting with 
the New England Fishery Management Council (Council), to adjust annual 
specifications for the Atlantic herring fishery during the fishing year 
by publishing notification in the Federal Register stating the reasons 
for such action and providing an opportunity for public comment. Any 
adjustments must be consistent with the FMP objectives and other FMP 
provisions.

2000 Herring Specifications

    The FMP, which was submitted for Secretarial review by the Council 
on March 8, 1999, and partially approved on October 27, 1999, contains 
specifications for the 1999 fishery. The 2000 specifications are 
unchanged from those designated as 1999 specifications in the FMP (see 
Table 1). The FMP and the 2000 fishery specifications were implemented 
through a final rule published in the final rule section of this 
edition of the Federal Register.

[[Page 77471]]



       Table 1. 2000 Atlantic Herring Specifications (unadjusted)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Specification                   Recommended Amount (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC                                                              300,000
OY                                                               224,000
DAH                                                              224,000
DAP                                                              180,000
USAP                                                                   0
BT                                                                 4,000
JVPt                                                              40,000
JVP-Area 2                                                        10,000
JVP-Area 3                                                         5,000
IWP                                                               25,000
Reserve                                                                0
TAC-Area 1A                                                       45,000
TAC-Area 1B                                                       25,000
TAC-Area 2                                                        50,000
                                                    (54,000 TAC reserve)
TAC-Area 3                                                        50,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Since submission of the FMP, the Council has received new 
information that has prompted the Council to reconsider the 2000 
specifications and request NMFS to adjust those specifications for the 
remainder of the 2000 fishery. The adjusted specifications are 
presented in Table 2 and discussed here.

        Table 2. 2000 Atlantic Herring Specifications (adjusted)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Specification                   Recommended Amount (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC                                                              300,000
OY                                                               224,000
DAH                                                              224,000
DAP                                                              180,000
USAP                                                              20,000
BT                                                                 4,000
JVPt                                                              20,000
JVP-Area 2 and Area 3                                             10,000
IWP                                                               10,000
Reserve                                                                0
TAC-Area 1A                                                       60,000
TAC-Area 1B                                                       10,000
TAC-Area 2                                                        50,000
                                                    (54,000 TAC reserve)
TAC-Area 3                                                        50,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Adjustment to the TAC Specification for Herring in Areas 1A and 1B

    Area 1A and 1B together comprise Area 1, also referred to as the 
Gulf of Maine (GOM) stock component of the herring fishery. In 
preparing the FMP and specifications for the 1999 fishery, the Council 
received management advice from Stock Assessment Workshop 27 that 
cautioned that any increase in catch in the herring fishery should not 
come from Area 1. Information available at that time indicated that the 
historic fishery harvested, on average, approximately 70,000 mt per 
year from Area 1. Therefore, the Council established a TAC of 70,000 mt 
for Area 1, consistent with the scientific advice.
     The 2000 specifications for herring contained in the FMP divided 
the 70,000 mt Area 1 TAC into a TAC of 45,000 mt in Area 1A and 25,000 
mt in Area 1B. In setting the Area 1 TAC in the FMP, the Council noted 
that estimated landings from the area were relatively low in 1998 and 
early 1999. Area 1A landings for 1998 totaled only 43,586 mt, down from 
67,608 mt in 1997. Since the majority of herring spawning occurs in 
Area 1A, the Council reacted to the reduction in landings in that area 
by specifying a TAC of only 45,000 mt TAC, to afford more protection 
for the spawning stock, noting that there was uncertainty as to whether 
the decline in 1998 was due to a drastic change in stock size or simply 
due to a change in availability. However, landings from Area 1A 
rebounded to an estimated 63,195 mt in 1999, causing the Council to 
reconsider the appropriate TAC for Area 1A. The Council concluded that 
the reduction in landings in 1998 was not a result of low herring 
abundance, but only in availability of fish in Area 1A in 1998. 
Therefore, the Council determined that there was no biological risk in 
increasing the TAC in Area 1A to 60,000 mt, while reducing the TAC in 
Area 1B to 10,000 mt. In addition, the Council noted in its request 
that any conservation concerns regarding spawning potential for Area 1A 
herring are further alleviated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission's decision to close sub-areas in Area 1A to directed fishing 
during peak spawning periods.
    The Council determined that the maintenance of a 45,000-mt TAC in 
Area 1A for the 2000 fishery could result in an unnecessary and 
unintended adverse economic impact, since TAC in Area 1A in 2000 would 
be approximately 23,000 mt less than estimated 1999 landings. In Table 
E.58 of the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) accompanying the FMP, the 
Council estimated that a 60,000-mt TAC in Area 1A, relative to 1997 
landings, would yield a gain in total revenues of $121,275, while a TAC 
of 45,000 mt would yield a loss in total revenue of $1,863,225, 
relative to 1997.

Adjustment to JVP and USAP

     In July 1999, the Council approved recommendations for herring 
specifications for the 2000 fishery and subsequently submitted those 
recommendations to NMFS with an accompanying environmental analysis and 
RIR. The public was invited to comment on those recommendations at 
meetings of the Herring Committee and Council. At that time, the 
Council assumed that final regulations implementing the FMP would be 
effective prior to the beginning of the 2000 fishing year. However, in 
the final rule implementing the FMP, NMFS extended the 1999 
specifications approved in the FMP to the 2000 fishery. NMFS informed 
the Council that its submission would be considered as an adjustment to 
the 2000 specifications, once the final rule implementing the FMP was 
published.
     The 2000 specifications implemented by the FMP set USAP at 0 mt, 
JVPt at 40,000 mt, JVP at 15,000 mt, and IWP at 25,000 mt. In its 
submission, the Council recommended an adjustment that transfers 20,000 
mt from JVPt, including 5,000 mt from JVP and 15,000 mt from IWP, to 
USAP, resulting in a USAP of 20,000 mt, a JVPt of 20,000 mt, and JVP 
and IWP of 10,000 mt each. In addition, the 10,000 mt specification of 
JVP now reflects the combined allocation in Areas 2 and 3, whereas, the 
2000 specifications allocated 5,000 mt to Area 2 and 10,000 mt to Area 
3.
    There are currently no large U.S. vessels processing herring at sea 
in Areas 1, 2, or 3. However, the Council determined that capacity 
exists to process 20,000 mt. The Council does not want to deprive large 
U.S. vessels of the opportunity to accept herring over the side and 
process it at sea; large foreign boats have the potential to do this 
under joint venture arrangements. Specification of USAP is consistent 
with an objective of the FMP that directs the Council to adopt measures 
that would maximize domestic use and encourage value-added product 
utilization.

Closure of Area 1A

    The regulations at 50 CFR 648.202 require NMFS to close, by 
notification action, the directed Atlantic herring fishery in any of 
the four management areas designated in the FMP, if the harvest of 
Atlantic herring is projected to reach 95 percent of the TAC allocated 
to that area. NMFS determined, based on available data, that 95 percent 
of the adjusted Area 1A TAC of 60,000 mt has been harvested. Therefore, 
NMFS

[[Page 77472]]

announces that the directed fishery for Atlantic herring in Area 1A in 
the EEZ will be closed. The closure of Area 1A is effective December 
14, 2000 through 0001 hours, January 1, 2001. After 0001 hours, 
December 14, 2000, vessels may not fish for, possess, catch, transfer, 
or land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip. In 
addition, vessels may not land more than one trip or 2,000 lb (907.2 
kg) of Atlantic herring per calendar day. Vessels may transit Area 1A 
with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring on board providing all 
fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as required 
by Sec. 648.23(b).

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: December 4, 2000.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-31371 Filed 12-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22-S