Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 3291 

(j) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs) 

(1) The Manager, ECO Branch, FAA, has 

the authority to approve AMOCs for this AD, 

if requested using the procedures found in 14 

CFR 39.19. In accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, 

send your request to your principal inspector 

or local Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the ECO Branch, send it to 

the attention of the person identified in 

paragraph (k). You may email your request 

to: ANE-AD-AMOC@faa.gov. 

(2) Before using any approved AMOC, 

notify your appropriate principal inspector, 

or lacking a principal inspector, the manager 

of the local flight standards district office/ 

certificate holding district office. 

(k) Related Information 

(1) For more information about this AD, 

contact Robert Green, Aerospace Engineer, 

ECO Branch, FAA, 1200 District Avenue, 

Burlington, MA 01803; phone: 781–238– 

7754; fax: 781–238–7199; email: 

robert.green@faa.gov. 

(2) Refer to MCAI European Aviation 

Safety Agency AD 2017–0151, dated August 

18, 2017, for more information. You may 

examine the MCAI in the AD docket on the 

internet at http://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating it in Docket No. 

FAA–2017–0967. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact GE Aviation Czech s.r.o., 

Beranovy ́ch 65, 199 02 Praha 9—Letnˇ any, 

Czech Republic; phone: +420 222 538 111; 

fax: +420 222 538 222. You may view this 

referenced service information at the FAA, 

Engine & Propeller Standards Branch, 1200 

District Avenue, Burlington, MA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 781–238–7759. 

Issued in Burlington, Massachusetts, on 

January 17, 2018. 

Robert J. Ganley, 

Manager, Engine and Propeller Standards 

Branch, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01124 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 171023999–8015–01] 

RIN 0648–BH31 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2018 

Tribal Fishery for Pacific Whiting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed 

rule for the 2018 Pacific whiting fishery 

under the authority of the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and the Pacific 

Whiting Act of 2006. This proposed rule 

would allocate 17.5 percent of the U.S. 

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of Pacific 

whiting for 2018 to Pacific Coast Indian 

tribes that have a Treaty right to harvest 

groundfish. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

must be received no later than February 

23, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2017–0160, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0160, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Barry A. Thom., Regional 

Administrator, West Coast Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Frank 

Lockhart. 

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 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, etc.), 

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). 

Additional background information 

and documents are available at the 

NMFS West Coast Region website at 

http://www.westcoast.

fisheries.noaa.gov/fisheries/ 

management/whiting/pacific_

whiting.html and at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. Comments from the 

public may be viewed on 

Regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Lockhart, phone: 206–526–6142, 

and email: Frank.Lockhart@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations at 50 CFR 660.50(d) 

outline the procedures for implementing 

the treaty rights that Pacific Coast treaty 

Indian tribes have to harvest groundfish 

in their usual and accustomed fishing 

areas in U.S. waters. Section 660.50(d) 

establishes the process by which the 

tribes with treaty fishing rights in the 

area covered by the FMP request 

allocations, set-asides, or regulations 

specific to the tribes, in writing, during 

the biennial harvest specifications and 

management measures process. The 

regulations state that the Secretary will 

develop tribal allocations and 

regulations in consultation with the 

affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, 

with tribal consensus. The procedures 

NMFS employs in implementing tribal 

treaty rights under the FMP were 

designed to provide a framework 

process by which NMFS can 

accommodate tribal treaty rights by 

setting aside appropriate amounts of 

fish in conjunction with the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council process 

for determining harvest specifications 

and management measures. 

Since the FMP has been in place, 

NMFS has been allocating a portion of 

the U.S. TAC (called Optimum Yield 

(OY) or Annual Catch Limit (ACL) prior 

to 2012) of Pacific whiting to the tribal 

fishery, following the process 

established in 50 CFR 660.50(d). The 

tribal allocation is subtracted from the 

U.S. Pacific whiting TAC before 

allocation to the non-tribal sectors. 

There are four tribes that can 

participate in the tribal Pacific whiting 

fishery: The Hoh Tribe, the Makah 

Tribe, the Quileute Tribe and the 

Quinault Indian Nation (collectively, 

the ‘‘Treaty Tribes’’). The Hoh Tribe has 

not expressed an interest in 

participating to date. The Quileute Tribe 

and Quinault Indian Nation have 

expressed interest in commencing 

participation in the Pacific whiting 

fishery. However, to date, only the 

Makah Tribe has prosecuted a tribal 

fishery for Pacific whiting. They have 

harvested Pacific whiting since 1996 

using midwater trawl gear. Tribal 

allocations have been based on 

discussions with the Tribes regarding 

their intent for those fishing years. Table 

1 below provides a history of U.S. TACs 

and annual tribal allocation in metric 

tons (mt). 


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3292 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 1—U.S. TOTAL ALLOWABLE

CATCH AND ANNUAL TRIBAL ALLOCATION IN METRIC TONS (MT) 

Year U.S. TAC 1 Tribal 

allocation 

2007 ............. 242,591 mt ... 35,000 mt. 

2008 ............. 269,545 mt ... 35,000 mt. 

2009 ............. 135,939 mt ... 50,000 mt. 

2010 ............. 193,935 mt ... 49,939 mt. 

2011 ............. 290,903 mt ... 66,908 mt. 

2012 ............. 186,037 mt ... 48,556 mt. 

2013 ............. 269,745 mt ... 63,205 mt. 

2014 ............. 316,206 mt ... 55,336 mt. 

2015 ............. 325,072 mt ... 56,888 mt. 

2016 ............. 367,553 mt ... 64,322 mt. 

2017 ............. 441,433 mt ... 77,251 mt. 

1Beginning in 2012, the United States started using the term Total Allowable Catch, or 

TAC, based on the Agreement between the 

Government of the United States of America 

and the Government of Canada on Pacific 

Hake/Whiting. Prior to 2012, the terms Optimal 

Yield (OY) and Annual Catch Limit (ACL) were 

used. 

In 2009, NMFS, the states of 

Washington and Oregon, and the Treaty 

Tribes started a process to determine the 

long-term tribal allocation for Pacific 

whiting; however, no long-term 

allocation has been determined. In order 

to ensure Treaty Tribes continue to 

receive allocations, this rule proposes 

the 2018 tribal allocation of Pacific 

whiting. This allocation is not intended 

to set precedent for allocations in future 

years. 

Tribal Allocation for 2018 

In exchanges between NMFS and the 

Treaty Tribes during 2017, the Makah 

Tribe indicated their intent to 

participate in the tribal Pacific whiting 

fishery in 2018, and requested 17.5 

percent of the U.S. TAC. The Quinault 

Indian Nation informed the Region that 

they will not participate in the 2018 

fishery. Quileute Indian Tribe has not 

responded to inquiries about their 

whiting fishing intent for 2018, and has 

not pursued a whiting fishery to date. 

The Hoh Indian Tribe has in previous 

years indicated in conversation with 

Frank Lockhart, Groundfish & Coastal 

Pelagic Species Senior Policy Advisor at 

NMFS, that they have no plans to fish 

for whiting in the foreseeable future and 

will contact NMFS if that changes. 

NMFS will again contact the tribes 

during the proposed rule comment 

period to refine, if necessary, the 2017 

allocation before a final decision is 

made. NMFS proposes a tribal 

allocation that accommodates the 

Makah request, specifically 17.5 percent 

of the U.S. TAC. NMFS believes that the 

current scientific information regarding 

the distribution and abundance of the 

coastal Pacific whiting stock suggests 

that the 17.5 percent is within the range 

of the tribal treaty right to Pacific 

whiting. 

The Joint Management Committee, 

which was established pursuant to the 

Agreement between the United States 

and Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting 

(the Agreement), is anticipated to 

recommend the coastwide and 

corresponding U.S./Canada TACs no 

later than March 25, 2018. The U.S. 

TAC is 73.88 percent of the coastwide 

TAC. Until this TAC is set, NMFS 

cannot propose a specific amount for 

the tribal allocation. The Pacific whiting 

fishery typically begins in May, and the 

final rule establishing the Pacific 

whiting specifications for 2018 is 

anticipated to be published by early 

May. Therefore, in order to provide for 

public input on the tribal allocation, 

NMFS is issuing this proposed rule 

without the final 2018 TAC. However, 

to provide a basis for public input, 

NMFS is describing a range of potential 

tribal allocations in this proposed rule, 

applying the proposed approach to 

determining the tribal allocation to a 

range of potential TACs derived from 

past harvest levels. 

In order to project a range of potential 

tribal allocations for 2018, NMFS is 

applying its proposed approach to 

determining the tribal allocation to the 

range of U.S. TACs over the last 10 

years, 2008 through 2017 (plus or minus 

25 percent to capture variability in stock 

abundance). The range of U.S. TACs in 

that time period was 135,939 mt (2009) 

to 441,433 mt (2017). Applying the 25 

percent variability results in a range of 

potential TACs of 101,954 mt to 551,791 

mt for 2018. Therefore, using the 

proposed allocation rate of 17.5 percent, 

the potential range of the tribal 

allocation for 2018 would between 

17,842 and 96,563 mt. 

This proposed rule would be 

implemented under authority of section 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

which gives the Secretary responsibility 

to ‘‘carry out any fishery management 

plan or amendment approved or 

prepared by him, in accordance with the 

provisions of this Act.’’ With this 

proposed rule, NMFS, acting on behalf 

of the Secretary, would ensure that the 

FMP is implemented in a manner 

consistent with treaty rights of four 

Treaty Tribes to fish in their ‘‘usual and 

accustomed grounds and stations’’ in 

common with non-tribal citizens. 

United States v. Washington, 384 F. 

Supp. 313 (W.D. 1974). 

Classification 

NMFS has preliminarily determined 

that the management measures for the 

2018 Pacific whiting tribal fishery are 

consistent with the national standards 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable laws. In making the final 

determination, NMFS will take into 

account the data, views, and comments 

received during the comment period. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this proposed rule 

is not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. This proposed 

rule is not expected to be an Executive 

Order 13771 regulatory action because 

this proposed rule is not significant 

under Executive Order 12866. 

As required by section 603 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), an 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(IRFA) was prepared. The IRFA 

describes the economic impact this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A summary of the 

analysis follows. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS. 

Under the RFA, the term ‘‘small 

entities’’ includes small businesses, 

small organizations, and small 

governmental jurisdictions. A small 

organization is any nonprofit enterprise 

that is independently owned and 

operated and is not dominant in its 

field. Small governmental jurisdictions 

such as governments of cities, counties, 

towns, townships, villages, school 

districts, or special districts are 

considered small jurisdictions if their 

populations are less than 50,000. The 

Small Business Administration has 

established size criteria for entities 

involved in the fishing industry that 

qualify as small businesses. A business 

involved in fish harvesting is a small 

business if it is independently owned 

and operated and not dominant in its 

field of operation (including its 

affiliates) and if it has combined annual 

receipts, not in excess of $11 million for 

all its affiliated operations worldwide 

(see 80 FR 81194, December 29, 2015). 

A wholesale business servicing the 

fishing industry is a small business if it 

employs 100 or fewer persons on a full 

time, part time, temporary, or other 

basis, at all its affiliated operations 

worldwide. A seafood processor is a 

small business if it is independently 

owned and operated, not dominant in 

its field of operation, and employs 750 

or fewer persons on a full time, part 

time, temporary, or other basis, at all its 

affiliated operations worldwide. For 

purposes of rulemaking, NMFS is also 

applying the seafood processor standard 

to catcher processors because Pacific 

whiting Catcher-Processors (C/Ps) earn 

the majority of the revenue from 

processed seafood product. 

This proposed rule would affect how 

Pacific whiting is allocated to the 

following sectors/programs: Tribal, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 3293 

Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Program Trawl Fishery, 

Mothership (MS) Coop Program— 

Whiting At-sea Trawl Fishery, and C/P 

Coop Program—Whiting At-sea Trawl 

Fishery. The amount of Pacific whiting 

allocated to these sectors is based on the 

U.S. TAC. 

Currently, the Shorebased IFQ 

Program is composed of 180 Quota 

Share permits/accounts, 154 vessel 

accounts, and 47 first receivers, only a 

portion of which participate in the 

Pacific whiting fishery, listed below. 

These regulations also directly affect 

participants in the MS Coop Program, a 

general term to describe the limited 

access program that applies to eligible 

harvesters and processors in the MS 

sector of the Pacific whiting at-sea trawl 

fishery. This program currently consists 

of six MS processor permits, and a 

catcher vessel fleet currently composed 

of a single coop, with 34 Mothership/ 

Catcher Vessel (MS/CV) endorsed 

permits (with three permits each having 

two catch history assignments). These 

regulations also directly affect the C/P 

Coop Program, composed of 10 C/P 

endorsed permits owned by three 

companies that have formed a single 

coop. These co-ops are considered large 

entities from several perspectives; they 

have participants that are large entities, 

and have in total more than 750 

employees worldwide including 

affiliates. Although there are three nontribal sectors, many companies 

participate in two sectors and some 

participate in all three sectors. As part 

of the permit application processes for 

the non-tribal fisheries, based on a 

review of the Small Business 

Administration size criteria, permit 

applicants are asked if they considered 

themselves a ‘‘small’’ business, and they 

are asked to provide detailed ownership 

information. After accounting for cross 

participation, multiple QS account 

holders, and affiliation through 

ownership, NMFS estimates that there 

are 103 non-tribal entities directly 

affected by these proposed regulations, 

89 of which are considered ‘‘small’’ 

businesses. We also expect one tribal 

entity to fish in 2018. Tribes are not 

considered small entities for the 

purposes of RFA. 

This rule will allocate fish between 

tribal and non-tribal harvesters (a 

mixture of small and large businesses). 

Tribal fisheries consist of a mixture of 

fishing activities that are similar to the 

activities that non-tribal fisheries 

undertake. Tribal harvests are delivered 

to both shoreside plants and 

motherships for processing. These 

processing facilities also process fish 

harvested by non-tribal fisheries. The 

effect of the tribal allocation on nontribal fisheries will depend on the level 

of tribal harvests relative to their 

allocation and the reapportionment 

process. If the tribes do not harvest their 

entire allocation, there are opportunities 

during the year to reapportion 

unharvested tribal amounts to the nontribal fleets. For example, in 2017 NMFS 

reapportioned 41,000 mt of the original 

77,251 mt tribal allocation. This 

reapportionment was based on 

conversations with the tribes and the 

best information available at the time, 

which indicated that this amount would 

not limit tribal harvest opportunities for 

the remainder of the year. In 2017, the 

tribal Pacific whiting catch was 

approximately 6,000 mt in a fishery that 

spanned early August to December and 

delivered to a shoreside processing 

plant. This reapportioning process 

allows unharvested tribal allocations of 

Pacific whiting to be fished by the nontribal fleets, benefitting both large and 

small entities. The revised Pacific 

whiting allocations for 2017 following 

the reapportionment were: Tribal 36,251 

mt, C/P Coop 137,252 mt; MS Coop 

96,884 mt; and Shorebased IFQ Program 

169,547 mt. 

The prices for Pacific whiting are 

largely determined by the world market 

because most of the Pacific whiting 

harvested in the U.S. is exported. The 

U.S. Pacific whiting TAC is highly 

variable, as have subsequent harvests 

and ex-vessel revenues. For the years 

2011 to 2016, the total Pacific whiting 

fishery (tribal and non-tribal) averaged 

harvests of approximately 292,000 mt 

annually. As of October 23, 2017, the 

U.S. fishery had an unprecedentedly 

high catch of almost 320,000 mt from 

the all-time high TAC of 441,433 mt. 

In 2015, the MS whiting fleet had $6.8 

million in revenue, generated $19.1 

million in income, and supported 461 

jobs on the West Coast. The C/P fleet 

generated $7.1 million in revenue, 

driving $88.8 million in income and 

supporting 1,670 jobs. However, in 

2015, bycatch constraints, anomalous 

ocean conditions, and a Russian import 

ban contributed to atypically low 

harvests and revenues and a historic 

low attainment of a high TAC. With 

similarly high (and increasing) TACs, 

attainment remained at average levels in 

2014, 2016, and 2017. Thus, economic 

results from the 2015 season, the last 

year for which detailed economic data 

are available, are not a reasonable 

forecast of the 2018 season. 

Until 2016 economic data are 

available, this makes the 2014 season 

the last representative year for which 

detailed economic information is 

available. In 2014, the MS fleet had 

$46.4 million in wholesale revenue, and 

generated $42 million in income and 

supported 926 jobs on the west coast 

from Pacific whiting (2014 Economic 

Data Collection (EDC) Mothership 

Report). The C/P fleet, which had $99.2 

million in wholesale revenue in 2014, 

generated $142 million in income and 

supported 1,895 jobs on the west coast 

from Pacific whiting (2014 Economic 

Data Collection (EDC) C/P Report). In 

2014, eight shoreside Pacific whiting 

companies processed 61,000 mt of 

Pacific whiting, for a wholesale revenue 

of $71 million. The number of 

companies processing shoreside did not 

change in 2015. 

Impacts to Makah catcher vessels who 

elect to participate in the tribal fishery 

are measured with an estimate of exvessel revenue. In lieu of more complete 

information on tribal deliveries, total exvessel revenue is estimated with the 

2016 average IFQ ex-vessel price of 

Pacific whiting, which was $165 per mt. 

At that price, the proposed 2018 Tribal 

allocation (potentially 17,842–96,563 

mt) would have an ex-vessel value 

between $2.9 million and $15.9 million. 

NMFS considered two alternatives for 

this action: The ‘‘No-Action’’ and the 

‘‘Proposed Action.’’ NMFS did not 

consider a broader range of alternatives 

to the proposed allocation because the 

tribal allocation is based primarily on 

the requests of the tribes, and these 

requests reflect the level of participation 

in the fishery that will allow them to 

exercise their treaty right to fish for 

Pacific whiting. Consideration of a 

percentage lower than the tribal request 

of 17.5 percent is not appropriate in this 

instance. As a matter of policy, NMFS 

has historically supported the harvest 

levels requested by the tribes. Based on 

the information available to NMFS, the 

tribal request is within their tribal treaty 

rights. A higher percentage would 

arguably also be within the scope of the 

treaty right. However, a higher 

percentage would unnecessarily limit 

the non-tribal fishery. 

Under the Proposed Action 

alternative, NMFS proposes to set the 

tribal allocation percentage at 17.5 

percent, as requested by the tribes. This 

would yield a tribal allocation of 

between 17,842 and 96,563 mt for 2018. 

Under the no-action alternative, 

NMFS would not make an allocation to 

the tribal sector. This alternative was 

considered, but the regulatory 

framework provides for a tribal 

allocation on an annual basis only. 

Therefore, the no-action alternative 

would result in no allocation of Pacific 

whiting to the tribal sector in 2018, 

which would be inconsistent with 

NMFS’ responsibility to manage the 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
3294 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

fishery consistent with the tribes’ treaty 

rights. Given that there is a tribal 

request for allocation in 2018, this 

alternative received no further 

consideration. 

NMFS believes this proposed rule 

would not adversely affect small 

entities. The reapportioning process 

allows unharvested tribal allocations of 

Pacific whiting, fished by small entities, 

to be fished by the non-tribal fleets, 

benefitting both large and small entities. 

NMFS has prepared an IRFA and is 

requesting comments on this 

conclusion. See ADDRESSES. 

There are no reporting, recordkeeping 

or other compliance requirements in the 

proposed rule. 

No Federal rules have been identified 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this action. 

Pursuant to Executive Order 13175, 

this proposed rule was developed after 

meaningful consultation and 

collaboration with tribal officials from 

the area covered by the FMP. Consistent 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Act at 16 

U.S.C. 1852(b)(5), one of the voting 

members of the Pacific Council is a 

representative of an Indian tribe with 

federally recognized fishing rights from 

the area of the Council’s jurisdiction. In 

addition, NMFS has coordinated 

specifically with the tribes interested in 

the Pacific whiting fishery regarding the 

issues addressed by this rule. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Indian fisheries. 

Dated: January 18, 2018. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST 

COAST STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

U.S.C. 773 et seq., and 16 U.S.C. 7001 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 660.50, revise paragraph (f)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 660.50 Pacific Coast treaty Indian 

fisheries. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(4) Pacific whiting. The tribal 

allocation for 2018 will be 17.5 percent 

of the U.S. TAC. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–01182 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS