42390 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

(g) Regional Administrator authority 

for Georges Bank cod recreational 

measures. For the 2023 and 2024 fishing 

years, the Regional Administrator, after 

consultation with the NEFMC, may 

adjust recreational measures for Georges 

Bank cod to prevent the recreational 

fishery from exceeding the annual catch 

target as determined by the NEFMC. 

Appropriate measures, including 

adjustments to fishing seasons, 

minimum fish sizes, or possession 

limits, may be implemented in a manner 

consistent with the Administrative 

Procedure Act, with the final measures 

published in the Federal Register prior 

to the start of the fishing year when 

possible. Separate measures may be 

implemented for the private and 

charter/party components of the 

recreational fishery. Measures in place 

in fishing year 2024 will be in effect 

beginning in fishing year 2025, and will 

remain in effect until they are changed 

by a Framework Adjustment or 

Amendment to the FMP, or through an 

emergency action. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 648.90, revise paragraph 

(a)(3)(i), paragraph (a)(4)(i) introductory 

text, and paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(D)(1) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.90 NE multispecies assessment, 

framework procedures and specifications, 

and flexible area action system. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * (i) Unless otherwise 

specified in this paragraph (a)(3), if final 

specifications are not published in the 

Federal Register for the start of a fishing 

year, as outlined in paragraph (a)(4) of 

this section, specifications for that 

fishing year shall be set at 75 percent of 

the previous year’s specifications for 

each NE multispecies stock, including 

the U.S./Canada shared resources, for 

the period of time beginning on May 1 

and ending on October 31, unless 

superseded by the final rule 

implementing the current year’s 

specifications. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * (i) ABC/ACL 

recommendations. As described in this 

paragraph (a)(4), with the exception of 

stocks managed by the Understanding, 

the PDT shall develop recommendations 

for setting an ABC, ACL, and OFL for 

each NE multispecies stock for each of 

the next 3 years as part of the biennial 

review process specified in paragraph 

(a)(2) of this section. ACLs can also be 

specified based upon updated 

information in the annual SAFE report, 

as described in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section, and other available information 

as part of a specification package, as 

described in paragraph (a)(6) of this 

section. For NE multispecies stocks or 

stock components managed under both 

the NE Multispecies FMP and the 

Understanding, the PDT shall develop 

recommendations for ABCs, ACLs, and 

OFLs for the pertinent stock or stock 

components for each of the next 2 years 

as part of the annual process described 

in this paragraph (a)(4) and 

§ 648.85(a)(2). 

* * * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(D) * * * 

(1) Sub-ACL values. The midwater 

trawl Atlantic herring fishery will be 

allocated sub-ACLs equal to 1 percent of 

the GOM haddock ABC, and 2 percent 

of the GB haddock ABC (U.S. share 

only), pursuant to the restrictions in 

§ 648.86(a)(3). The sub-ACLs will be set 

using the process for specifying ABCs 

and ACLs described in paragraph (a)(4) 

of this section. For the purposes of these 

sub-ACLs, the midwater trawl Atlantic 

herring fishery includes vessels issued a 

Federal Atlantic herring permit and 

fishing with midwater trawl gear in 

Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as 

defined in § 648.200(f)(1) and (3). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–15065 Filed 7–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 680 

[Docket No.: 220712–0153] 

RIN 0648–BL60 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization 

Program; C Shares 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency 

action. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues an emergency 

rule to temporarily suspend the active 

participation requirement for captains 

and crew holding crew quota or C 

shares under the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization 

Program (CR Program). This emergency 

action temporarily suspends the 

requirement to withhold Individual 

Fishing Quota (IFQ) and revoke quota 

share (QS) from individuals who do not 

meet active participation requirements 

for the 2022/2023 crab fishing year. This 

emergency rule is intended to provide 

flexibility to C share holders in the 

2022/2023 crab fishing year. This 

emergency rule does not modify other 

provisions of the CR Program. This 

emergency rule is intended to promote 

the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

Fishery Management Plan for Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner 

Crabs, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Effective July 15, 2022 through 

January 11, 2023. Comments must be 

received by August 15, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0067, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0067 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

the Assistant Regional Administrator, 

Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska 

Region NMFS. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

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 a 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). 

Electronic copies of this emergency 

rule may be obtained from https://

www.regulations.gov identified by 

Docket ID NOAA–NMFS–2021–0021 or 

from the NMFS Alaska Region website 

at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

region/alaska. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alicia M. Miller, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The king 

and Tanner crab fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone of the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) are 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for Bering Sea/ 

Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 42391 

FMP (FMP). The FMP was prepared by 

the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act) as amended by the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L 108– 

199, section 801). Regulations 

implementing the FMP, including the 

CR Program, are primarily located at 50 

CFR part 680. 

Background 

On June 10, 2022, the Council 

received a request from its Advisory 

Panel to consider emergency action 

under section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act to provide flexibility to CR 

Program participants who hold catcher 

vessel crew (CVC) quota share (QS) or 

catcher processor crew (CPC) QS in the 

2022/2023 crab fishing year. On June 13, 

2022, the Council recommended that 

NMFS implement an emergency rule to 

suspend the recent participation 

requirements under the CR Program for 

CVC QS and CPC QS holders and not 

withhold individual fishing quota (IFQ) 

or revoke QS in the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year. 

The following sections provide an 

overview of the CR Program and crew 

shares (C shares), the emergency rule, 

and justification for emergency action. 

Overview of CR Program and C Shares 

The CR Program is a limited access 

privilege program that allocates the 

harvest of certain crab fisheries 

managed under the FMP among 

harvesters, processors, and coastal 

communities. Under the CR Program, 

NMFS issued four types of QS to 

persons based on their qualifying 

harvest histories in certain BSAI crab 

fisheries during a specific period of time 

defined under the CR Program. The four 

types of QS are catcher vessel owner 

(CVO), catcher/processor owner (CPO), 

catcher vessel crew (CVC), and catcher 

processor crew (CPC). CVC and CPC QS 

are also known as ‘‘crew shares’’ or ‘‘C 

shares.’’ At the beginning of the CR 

Program, NMFS issued 97 percent of the 

QS as owner QS, either CVO or CPO, 

and issued the remaining three percent 

as C shares, either CVC or CPC. 

NMFS issued C shares to individuals 

holding State of Alaska Commercial 

Fisheries Entry Commission Interim Use 

Permits, generally vessel captains, who 

met specific historical and recent 

participation requirements in CR 

Program fisheries. NMFS did not issue 

C shares to individuals who did not 

meet both the historical and recent 

participation criteria. After the initial 

issuance of C shares individuals could 

only acquire C shares through transfer. 

On May 1, 2015, NMFS issued 

regulations to implement Amendment 

31 to the FMP (80 FR 15891, March 26, 

2015) to modify regulations governing 

the acquisition, use, and retention of C 

shares, under the CR Program. 

Regulations implementing Amendment 

31 temporarily expanded the eligibility 

requirements for individuals wishing to 

acquire C share QS by transfer; 

established the current regulations for 

minimum participation requirements for 

C share QS holders to be eligible to 

receive an annual allocation of IFQ; 

established minimum participation 

requirements for C share QS holders to 

be eligible to retain their C share QS as 

well as the administrative process for 

revocation of an individual’s C share QS 

if he or she fails to satisfy the minimum 

participation requirements. For more 

detailed descriptions of the regulations 

implementing Amendment 31 to the 

FMP and the rationale for those actions, 

please see the preamble of the proposed 

rule (79 FR 77427; December 24, 2014) 

and the preamble of the final rule (80 FR 

15891, March 26, 2015). 

Following the implementation of 

Amendment 31, in order to receive an 

annual allocation of C share IFQ, the 

regulations require a C share QS holder 

to have either (1) participated as crew in 

at least one delivery in a CR Program 

fishery in the three crab fishing years 

preceding the crab fishing year for 

which the holder is applying for IFQ; or 

(2) if the individual was an initial 

recipient of C shares, participated as 

crew in at least 30 days of fishing in a 

commercial fishery managed by the of 

State of Alaska or a U.S. commercial 

fishery in Federal waters off Alaska in 

the three crab fishing years preceding 

the crab fishing year for which the 

holder is applying for IFQ 

(§ 680.40(g)(2)). The regulations also 

require holders of C share QS to meet 

similar participation requirements over 

a span of 4 years in order to retain their 

C share QS (§ 680.40(m)). 

If a C share QS holder fails to satisfy 

the participation requirements three 

crab fishing years in a row, NMFS will 

send that individual a notice of 

withholding and will not issue IFQ for 

the subsequent crab fishing year 

(§ 680.40(g)(3)(i)). If a C share QS holder 

fails to satisfy the participation 

requirements four crab fishing years in 

a row and does not divest his or her C 

share QS, NMFS will revoke the C share 

QS (§ 680.40(m)(4)). C share holders are 

permitted to lease their IFQ and join 

cooperatives; however, all C share QS 

holders must meet the participation 

requirements in order to receive C share 

IFQ and retain C share QS (§ 680.40(m)). 

Those C share QS holders who lease C 

share IFQ or join a cooperative are not 

exempt from the participation 

requirements. 

Each year, a QS holder submits a 

timely and complete ‘‘Application for 

Annual Crab Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Permit’’ in order to receive an 

exclusive harvest privilege for a portion 

of the total allowable catch (TAC) for 

each CR Program fishery in which the 

person holds QS (§ 680.40(g)). This 

harvest privilege is conferred as IFQ, 

and provides the QS holder with an 

annual allocation of pounds of crab for 

harvest in a specific CR Program crab 

fishery during the year in which it was 

allocated. The size of each annual IFQ 

allocation is based on the amount of QS 

held by a person in relation to the total 

QS pool in a crab fishery (§ 680.40(h)). 

For example, an individual holding C 

share QS equaling one percent of the C 

share QS pool in a crab fishery would 

receive IFQ to harvest one percent of the 

annual TAC allocated to C share QS in 

that crab fishery. Current regulations 

allow C share IFQ to be delivered to any 

registered crab receiver (see 

§ 680.40(b)(2)). Annually, C share IFQ is 

assigned based on the individual’s 

underlying QS. In a CR Program fishery, 

the annual allocation of IFQ assigned to 

any person is based on the TAC for that 

crab QS fishery less the allocation to the 

Western Alaska Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) Program and 

the Western Aleutian Islands golden 

king crab fishery. This annual 

calculation is expressed in regulations 

at § 680.40(h). 

In developing the CR Program and 

Amendment 31, the Council and NMFS 

intended that individuals holding C 

share QS are active in CR Program 

fisheries. In addition to the participation 

requirements applicable to the issuance 

of C share IFQ and retention of C share 

QS, the CR Program also includes 

participation criteria that must be 

satisfied for an individual to be eligible 

to receive C share QS by transfer. 

To receive C share QS by transfer, 

current regulations require an applicant 

to meet eligibility requirements at the 

time of transfer (§ 680.41(c)). To meet 

these eligibility requirements, an 

individual may submit an Application 

for CR Program Eligibility to Receive 

QS/PQS or IFQ/IPQ by Transfer in 

advance of, or concurrently with, their 

Application for Transfer of Crab Quota 

Share (QS) or Application for Transfer 

of Crab Processor Quota Share (PQS). 

The regulations require that an 

individual must be a U.S. citizen with 

(1) at least 150 days of sea time as part 

of a harvesting crew in any U.S. 

commercial fishery; and (2) 

participation as crew in one of the CR 


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42392 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Program fisheries in the 365 days prior 

to the date the transfer application is 

submitted to NMFS. If NMFS 

determines that an individual is eligible 

to receive C share QS by transfer, that 

individual would be required to submit 

proof of participation as crew in one of 

the CR Program fisheries in the 365 days 

prior to the date of their application to 

transfer QS if more than 365 days has 

elapsed between NMFS’s determination 

of eligibility and the submission of the 

transfer application 

(§ 680.41(c)(2)(ii)(C)). 

When NMFS implemented the CR 

Program in 2005, NMFS made initial 

allocations of C share QS to Commercial 

Fisheries Entry Commission permit 

holders that were individuals (i.e., a 

natural person who is not a corporation, 

partnership, association, or other such 

entity), U.S. citizens, and who met the 

historical and recent participation 

requirements established at the time. 

Based on those criteria, 239 individuals 

received initial allocations of C share 

QS. These individuals were mostly 

captains. The expanded eligibility 

requirements implemented with 

Amendment 31 to the FMP provided an 

opportunity from May 1, 2015, until 

May 1, 2019, for those individuals who 

may have been forced out of the crab 

fisheries due to fleet contraction at the 

beginning of the CR Program to obtain 

C shares to fish crab again. 

Upon implementation of Amendment 

31 to the FMP, one hundred and 

seventy-nine individuals held C shares. 

Of those individuals, 70 were estimated 

to have been part of the 239 individuals 

who received an initial allocation of C 

shares based on their historical 

participation. Currently, 155 individuals 

hold C shares. 

This Emergency Rule and Justification 

for Emergency Action 

This emergency rule temporarily 

suspends the active participation 

requirements for persons holding C 

shares QS by removing NMFS’s 

obligation to consider an individual’s 

recent participation in reviewing 2022 

applications for C share IFQ and to 

make decisions about whether to 

withhold IFQ or revoke QS in the 2022/ 

2023 crab fishing year. This emergency 

rule does not suspend the participation 

requirements applicable for an 

individual to be eligible to receive C 

share QS by transfer. This emergency 

rule is intended to provide temporary 

relief from the participation 

requirements for C share QS holders for 

the 2022/2023 crab fishing year. This 

emergency rule temporarily adds 

regulations at § 680.40(g)(4) and (m)(6) 

and § 680.43(d) instructing the NMFS 

Regional Administrator to not consider 

participation requirements for the 2022/ 

2023 crab fishing year upon review of 

an Application for Annual Crab 

Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Permit 

submitted in 2022. This emergency rule 

does not modify any other aspect of the 

CR Program and would not affect 

subsequent crab fishing years. 

In subsequent crab fishing years, in 

order to receive an annual allocation of 

C share IFQ, holders of C shares (CVC 

or CPC QS) must meet the recent 

participation requirements specified at 

§ 680.40(g)(2) and described above. 

Additionally, in subsequent crab fishing 

years holders of C share QS will be 

required to meet participation 

requirements over a span of the four 

preceding years in order to retain their 

C share QS, as specified at § 680.40(m). 

The temporary relief from participation 

requirements in the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year will provide some C share 

QS holders with the opportunity to 

participate in the fishery in 2022/2023, 

when they would otherwise have had 

their IFQ withheld or QS revoked in 

2022, and thus providing those 

individuals with the opportunity to 

meet requirements to retain their QS for 

the subsequent four crab fishing years 

and receive annual IFQ for the 

subsequent three crab fishing years. 

After the 2022/2023 crab fishing year, 

if a C share QS holder has failed to 

satisfy the recent participation 

requirements and does not divest his or 

her C share QS, NMFS will revoke the 

C share QS pursuant to §§ 680.40(m) & 

680.43. If a C share QS holder satisfies 

the participation requirements to 

receive C share IFQ pursuant to 

§ 680.40(g)(2), the holder also will 

satisfy the participation requirements 

for retention of C share QS. 

This emergency action does not 

impose additional restrictions on CR 

Program participants, but would 

temporarily provide relief to C share QS 

holders from the participation 

requirement for the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year. This emergency rule does 

not increase the amount of TAC 

available for harvest, increase the risk of 

overfishing, or otherwise modify 

conservation measures. This emergency 

rule is needed to provide relief to C 

share QS holders from the participation 

requirements for the years preceding the 

2022/2023 crab fishing year due to the 

impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic and 

significant reduction in the overall crab 

TAC in the 2021/2022 crab fishing year. 

This emergency rule does not modify 

existing requirements on the types of 

vessels and gear that could be used, 

monitoring requirements, record 

keeping regulations, or other aspects of 

the CR Program. 

Section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act authorizes the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) to promulgate 

regulations to address an emergency (16 

U.S.C. 1855(c)). Under that section, a 

Council may request that the Secretary 

promulgate emergency regulations. 

NMFS’s Policy Guidelines for the Use of 

Emergency Rules require that an 

emergency must exist and that NMFS 

have an administrative record justifying 

emergency regulatory action and 

demonstrating compliance with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National 

Standards (see NMFS Procedure 01– 

101–07; 62 FR 44421, August 21, 1997). 

Emergency rulemaking is intended for 

circumstances that are ‘‘extremely 

urgent,’’ where ‘‘substantial harm to or 

disruption of the . . . fishery . . . 

would be caused in the time it would 

take to follow standard rulemaking 

procedures (62 FR 44421, August 21, 

1997).’’ 

Under NMFS’s Policy Guidelines for 

the Use of Emergency Rules, the phrase 

‘‘an emergency exists involving any 

fishery’’ is defined as a situation that 

meets the following three criteria: 

1. Results from recent, unforeseen 

events or recently discovered 

circumstances; 

2. Presents serious conservation or 

management problems in the fishery; 

and 

3. Can be addressed through 

emergency regulations for which the 

immediate benefits outweigh the value 

of advance notice, public comment, and 

deliberative consideration of the 

impacts on participants to the same 

extent as would be expected under the 

normal rulemaking process. 

The following sections describe why 

the Council and NMFS determined that 

this action meets these criteria. 

Criterion 1—Recent, Unforeseen Events 

or Recently Discovered Circumstances 

The combined impact of two 

unforeseen events—the COVID–19 

pandemic and the sudden and recent 

reduction of the overall crab TACs in 

the 2021/2022 crab fishing year—led to 

the recently discovered circumstance 

that a number of CVC and CPC QS 

holders may be subject to withholding 

of IFQ or revocation of QS because there 

was insufficient opportunity to 

participate in the CR fisheries in recent 

years. Beginning in March 2020 (the last 

quarter of the 2019/2020 crab fishing 

year), fishing activity has been impacted 

by the unexpected COVID–19 

pandemic. Vessel operations continued 

to be impacted by ongoing outbreaks of 

the COVID–19 pandemic throughout the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 42393 

2020/2021 and 2021/2022 crab fishing 

years. While vessels and crew attempted 

to adapt, the extent and duration of the 

COVID–19 pandemic presented 

unforeseen challenges in the 

prosecution of the crab fisheries in 

Alaska. This included travel restrictions 

and health mandates that broadly 

impacted fishing operations. By the last 

quarter of the 2021/2022 crab fishing 

year, substantial progress had been 

made to safely move forward and get 

back to more normal routines including 

the use of vaccines and treatments for 

severe illness, preparing for new 

variants, ending the closure of schools 

and businesses, and returning to the 

office. 

In October 2021, NMFS determined 

the Bering Sea snow crab stock to be 

overfished. The sudden decline of the 

snow crab biomass resulted in an 88 

percent reduction in overall BSAI crab 

TAC in the 2021/2022 crab fishing year. 

This large reduction in overall crab TAC 

reduced available crew jobs because 

fewer vessels operated in the fishery 

and made fewer CR Program landings in 

the 2021/2022 crab fishing year. In the 

2021/2022 crab fishing year, there were 

380 vessel landings in the CR Program 

fisheries. This is less than half the 

annual average number of landings 

made by vessels in the preceding 5 year 

period at approximately 837 per year. 

The combination of the COVID–19 

pandemic and sudden decline in CR 

Program TACs limited the ability of 

CVC and CPC QS holders to meet 

participation requirements necessary to 

receive an annual allocation of IFQ and 

retain C share QS. In particular, the 

health risks of the pandemic may have 

limited crew jobs in the 2019/2020, 

2020/2021, and 2021/2022 crab fishing 

years, a situation compounded by the 

large reduction of overall BSAI crab 

TAC in the 2021/2022 crab fishing year. 

The impacts of these events have 

resulted in the recently discovered 

circumstances that it will be difficult for 

CVC and CPC QS holders to 

demonstrate compliance with recent 

participation requirements when 

applying for IFQ for the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year and for retaining C shares 

QS. 

Criterion 2—Presents Serious 

Conservation or Management Problems 

in the Fishery 

The C shares were included in the 

BSAI CR Program to protect the interests 

of qualifying crew by allocating 3 

percent of the initial QS pool to C 

shares. In creating the CR Program, the 

Council and NMFS intended the 

economic benefits of C shares and 

resulting IFQ to flow to at-sea 

participants in the fisheries by 

including an active participation 

requirement for C share QS holders. 

The active participation requirement 

was expected to influence the market for 

C shares to be more active and fluid, 

since individuals who retire or exit the 

fisheries would have an incentive to 

transfer their C shares before NMFS 

would revoke C share QS and remove it 

from the C share QS pool. 

Due to the impacts of the COVID–19 

pandemic and significant reduction in 

the overall crab TAC in the 2021/2022 

crab fishing year, CVC and CPC QS 

holders may not meet participation 

requirements necessary to receive an 

annual allocation of IFQ and retain C 

share QS for the 2022/2023 crab fishing 

year. Additionally, low market value for 

C shares due to the recent declines in 

CR Program TACs may limit market 

opportunities to divest C shares on the 

QS market. 

As part of Amendment 31 to the FMP, 

the Council and NMFS implemented 

specific C share provisions to address 

concerns of crews displaced by fleet 

consolidation to provide opportunity for 

those interested in acquiring C shares to 

maintain an interest in the fisheries. The 

potential withholding of C share IFQ 

and revocation of C share QS due to 

COVID–19 pandemic impacts and 

significant crab TAC reduction presents 

a serious management problem for the 

BSAI CR Program. 

Criterion 3—Can Be Addressed Through 

Emergency Rulemaking for Which the 

Immediate Benefits Outweigh the Value 

of Notice and Comment Rulemaking 

NMFS and the Council have 

determined that the emergency situation 

created by the combined impact of the 

COVID–19 pandemic and the sudden 

and recent reduction of overall crab 

TACs on C share QS holders’ ability to 

meet active participation requirements 

can be addressed by emergency 

regulations. The Council requested 

emergency action at its regularly 

scheduled June 2022 meeting. The 

application deadline for the 2022/2023 

crab fishing year is June 15, 2022, after 

which NMFS will review applications 

for annual IFQ including documentation 

submitted to demonstrate compliance 

with recent participation requirements. 

NMFS will make initial decisions about 

withholding annual IFQ or revoking C 

share QS prior to the issuance of IFQ for 

the opening of the crab fishing season, 

which is anticipated to occur on or after 

July 15, 2022. The Council and NMFS 

believe the value of emergency action to 

suspend withholding of C share IFQ and 

revocation of C share QS outweighs the 

value of notice and comment 

rulemaking for the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year. 

To address the emergency in a timely 

manner, NMFS must implement an 

emergency rule that waives the noticeand-comment rulemaking period. The 

benefits of waiving notice-and-comment 

rulemaking will serve the affected C 

share QS holders by temporarily 

suspending the requirement for NMFS 

to withhold IFQ and revoke QS from 

individuals that do not meet active 

participation requirements for the 2022/ 

2023 crab fishing year. Any delay of 

implementing this emergency rule could 

result in adverse economic harm to 

individuals who may have their annual 

IFQ withheld or C share QS revoked for 

the 2022/2023 crab fishing year. 

The Council could not recommend 

and NMFS cannot implement 

regulations through the conventional 

notice-and-comment rulemaking 

process before NMFS must make initial 

decisions about withholding annual IFQ 

or revoking C share QS prior to the 

issuance of IFQ for the opening of the 

crab fishing season, which is anticipated 

to occur on or after July 15, 2022. 

Typically, the process of Council 

analysis and NMFS rulemaking takes at 

least one year to implement. For this 

action, NMFS received the request for 

emergency action on June 13, 2022. In 

the same motion requesting emergency 

action to provide immediate relief to C 

share QS holders, the Council initiated 

an analysis to consider permanently 

modifying the CVC QS and CPC QS 

recent participation requirements in 

order to address the ongoing impacts of 

the COVID–19 pandemic and the 

decline of the CR Program TACs. If the 

Council recommends further action to 

implement a longer-term solution to 

revise regulations that would occur 

through conventional notice-andcomment rulemaking. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

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

APA to waive prior notice and the 

opportunity for public comment 

because it would be impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest. The 

benefits of waiving notice-and-comment 

rulemaking will temporarily provide 

relief to C share QS holders from 

participation requirements for the 2022/ 

2023 crab fishing year and prevent 

NMFS from withholding any annual C 

share IFQ or revoking C share QS. Any 

delay to implementation of this 

rulemaking could result in adverse 

economic harm to individuals who may 

have their annual IFQ withheld or C 

share QS revoked in the 2022/2023 crab 


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42394 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

fishing year. The time required for 

notice-and-comment rulemaking would 

not provide relief to affected C share QS 

holders before NMFS must make initial 

decisions about withholding annual C 

share IFQ or revoking C share QS prior 

to the issuance of IFQ for the opening 

of the crab fishing season, which is 

anticipated to occur on or after July 15, 

2022. This emergency rule will provide 

immediate relief to individual C share 

QS holders that outweighs the value of 

the deliberative notice-and-comment 

rulemaking process. 

Similarly, for the reasons above that 

support the need to implement this 

emergency rule in a timely manner, the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 

finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness provision of the APA and 

make the emergency rule effective 

immediately upon publication in the 

Federal Register. NMFS must make 

initial decisions about withholding 

annual C share IFQ or revoking C share 

QS prior to the issuance of IFQ for the 

opening of the crab fishing season, 

which is anticipated to occur on or after 

July 15, 2022. Waiving the 30-day delay 

in effectiveness is necessary to avoid an 

unnecessary delay in the issuance of 

IFQ permits. 

This emergency rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This emergency rule is exempt from 

the procedures of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 

because the rule is issued without 

opportunity to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public. Accordingly, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is required 

and none has been prepared. 

Collection-of-Information Requirements 

This emergency rule does not contain 

a change to a collection of information 

requirement for purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

existing collection of information 

requirements would continue to apply 

under OMB Control Number 0648–0514, 

Alaska Region Crab Permits. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of 

the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

All currently approved NOAA 

collections of information may be 

viewed at: https://www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 680 

Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: July 12, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 680 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 680—SHELLFISH FISHERIES OF 

THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE 

OFF ALASKA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 680 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1862; Pub. L. 109– 

241; Pub. L. 109–479. 

■ 2. In § 680.40, add paragraphs (g)(4) 

and (m)(6) to read as follows: 

§ 680.40 Crab Quota Share (QS), 

Processor QS (PQS), Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ), and Individual Processor 

Quota (IPQ) Issuance. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(4) Emergency rule suspending 

withholding of CVC or CPC IFQ. Under 

emergency measures effective July 15, 

2022, and notwithstanding any other 

section of this part, the Regional 

Administrator will not consider 

participation requirements at paragraph 

(g)(2) of this section in reviewing a CVC 

or CPC QS holder’s Application for 

Annual Crab Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Permit for the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year and will not withhold IFQ 

from an individual holding CVC or CPC 

QS. 

* * * * * 

(m) * * * 

(6) Under emergency measures 

effective July 15, 2022, and 

notwithstanding any other section of 

this part, the Regional Administrator 

will not consider participation 

requirements set forth in paragraph 

(m)(2) of this section in reviewing a CVC 

or CPC QS holder’s Application for 

Annual Crab Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Permit for the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year or in making any other 

determinations about whether to revoke 

CVC or CPC QS in the 2022/2023 crab 

fishing year. 

■ 2. In § 680.43, add paragraph (d) to 

read as follows: 

§ 680.43 Revocation of CVC and CPC QS. 

* * * * * 

(d) Emergency rule suspending 

revocation of CVC and CPC QS. Under 

emergency measures effective July 15, 

2022, and notwithstanding any other 

section of this part, the Regional 

Administrator will not consider 

participation requirements set forth in 

§ 680.40(m) and will not revoke an 

individual’s CVC QS or CPC QS for the 

2022/2023 crab fishing year and will not 

begin proceedings to revoke any CVC 

QS or CPC QS upon reviewing an 

Application for Annual Crab Individual 

Fishing Quota (IFQ) Permit submitted in 

2022. 

[FR Doc. 2022–15193 Filed 7–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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