11916 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 42 / Friday, March 3, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

intend to absolve a vessel owner/

operator from accountability under the

VIP simply because groundfish are

harvested using large mesh trawl gear.

Dated: February 27, 1995.

David S. Crestin,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–5298 Filed 3–2–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 676

[Docket No. 950206039–5039–01; I.D.

081794A]

RIN 0648–AG98

Limited Access Management of

Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska;

Community Development Quota

Compensation Formula

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule

providing the method used for

determining Community Development

Quota (CDQ) compensation for the

Pacific halibut and sablefish Individual

Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program. This

action is necessary to codify the formula

used in calculating CDQ compensation

and is intended to inform interested

parties of the method used for

determining the compensation provided

to affected persons.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 3, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Lepore, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ

Program was intended by the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) to assist in revitalizing rural

communities in Western Alaska by

providing those communities with

access to fishery resources within their

geographical proximity. The CDQ

Compensation Formula was designed to

compensate persons for reductions in

the amount of Pacific halibut and

sablefish available for harvest with IFQ

in CDQ areas resulting from allocations

of those fishery resources to the CDQ

Program. Compensated persons would

be those who are initially issued quota

share (QS) in CDQ areas. This one-time

compensation adjustment would be in

the form of QS in each of the non-CDQ

areas.

The CDQ Compensation Formula

would affect all persons who are

initially issued QS, including those

persons who did not participate

historically in the Pacific halibut or

sablefish fisheries in CDQ areas. The

Council intended that all persons

initially issued QS share the burden of

compensating persons for reductions in

the amount of Pacific halibut and

sablefish available for harvest with IFQ

in CDQ areas. This would be

accomplished by distributing the

compensation burden among all persons

initially issued QS by reducing their

harvest privilege by a fixed percentage.

Even persons who receive compensation

would share the burden.

Persons eligible for compensation

would receive a portion of their total

amount of compensation in each nonCDQ area. Their compensation in each

non-CDQ area, in the form of QS, would

be proportional to the size of the QS

pool of that area. For example, a person

eligible for compensation QS for halibut

would receive the greatest amount of

compensation QS in area 3A, which has

the largest QS pool, and the least

amount in area 4A, which has the

smallest QS pool. The CDQ

Compensation Formula will be codified

at § 676.24(i)(3). Further information on

the methodology of the CDQ

Compensation Formula and an example

of how CDQ compensation would be

calculated is available in the preamble

to the proposed rule for the CDQ

Compensation Formula published in the

Federal Register on September 29, 1994

(59 FR 49637).

Changes Incorporated in the Final Rule

NMFS received no comments on the

proposed rule for the CDQ

Compensation Formula. The text at

§ 676.24(i)(3), however, was changed

from that proposed to clarify NMFS’

intent to issue CDQ Compensation QS to

all persons initially issued QS for IFQ

regulatory areas in which a portion of

the total allowable catch (TAC) is

allocated to the CDQ Program, no matter

when those persons may be initially

issued QS.

Classification

The regulatory impact review (RIR)

prepared for this rule incorporates by

reference the final regulatory flexibility

analysis (FRFA) prepared for the IFQ

Program, the program for which the

CDQ Compensation Formula was

designed. The FRFA supports the

determination that the IFQ Program may

have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

Further information on the FRFA can be

obtained by referring to the final rule for

the IFQ Program, published in the

Federal Register on November 9, 1993

(58 FR 59375).

A collection of information for the

IFQ Program was approved by the Office

of Management and Budget, OMB

control number 0648–0272. This action

will not affect the collection-ofinformation requirements already

approved for the IFQ Program.

This final rule has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 676

Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 27, 1995.

Nancy Foster,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 676 is amended

as follows:

PART 676—LIMITED ACCESS

MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL

FISHERIES IN AND OFF OF ALASKA

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR

part 676 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq. and 1801

et seq.

2. Section 676.24 is amended by

revising paragraph (i)(3) to read as

follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 42 / Friday, March 3, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 11917

§ 676.24 Western Alaska Community

Development Quota Program.

* * * * *

(i) * * *

(3) Compensation of halibut and

sablefish QS foregone due to the CDQ

program will be provided to those

persons initially issued QS for IFQ

regulatory areas in which a portion of

the TAC is allocated to the CDQ

Program and will be calculated for each

non-CDQ area using the following

formula:

QN = (QC×QSPN×RATE)/(SUMCDQ¥

[RATE×SUMTAC])

([1¥RATE]×TACAVE)

(QSPC×[CDQPCT¥RATE])

Where:

QN = quota share in non-CDQ area

QC = quota share in CDQ area

QSPN = quota share pool in non-CDQ

area (as existing on January 31,

1995)

RATE = SUMCDQ/average of the TAC

(1988–1994) for all CDQ and nonCDQ areas.

TACAVE = average of the TAC (1988–

1994) for CDQ area

QSPC = quota share pool in CDQ area (as

existing on January 31, 1995)

CDQPCT = CDQ percentage for CDQ area

SUMCDQ = sum [TACAVE×CDQPCT]

SUMTAC = sum [TACAVE]

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95–5297 Filed 3–2–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W