Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 20, 2008 / Proposed Rules 49157 

ensure total harvest remains below the 

ABC. 

Information on the fishery and the 

stock assessment are found in the report 

Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) 

Stock Assessment for U.S. Management 

in the 2008–09 Fishing Season (see 

ADDRESSES). 

The harvest control rule formula in 

the FMP uses the following factors to 

determine the ABC: 

1. Biomass. The estimated stock 

biomass of Pacific mackerel age one and 

above for the 2008–2009 management 

season is 264,732 mt. 

2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level 

below which no commercial fishery is 

allowed. The FMP established this level 

at 18,200 mt. 

3. Distribution. The portion of the 

Pacific mackerel biomass estimated in 

the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast is 70 

percent and is based on the average 

historical larval distribution obtained 

from scientific cruises and the 

distribution of the resource according to 

the logbooks of aerial fish-spotters. 

4. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the 

percentage of the biomass above 18,200 

mt that may be harvested. The FMP 

established this at 30 percent. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the CPS FMP, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

These proposed specifications are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities as 

follows: 

The purpose of this proposed rule is to 

implement the 2008–2009 HG for Pacific 

mackerel in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast. 

The CPS FMP and its implementing 

regulations require NMFS to set an annual 

HG for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on 

the harvest formula in the FMP. The harvest 

formula is applied to the current stock 

biomass estimate to determine the ABC, from 

which the HG is then derived. 

Pacific mackerel harvest is one component 

of CPS fisheries off the U.S. West Coast 

which primarily includes the fisheries for 

Pacific sardine, Northern anchovy, Jack 

mackerel and Market squid. Pacific mackerel 

are principally caught off southern California 

within the limited entry portion (south of 39 

N. latitude; Point Arena, California) of the 

fishery. Sixty-two vessels are currently 

permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry 

fishery off California. These vessels are 

considered small business entities by the 

U.S. Small Business Administration since the 

vessels do not have annual receipts in excess 

of $4.0 million. This proposed rule has an 

equal effect on all of these small entities. 

Therefore, there would be no 

disporportionate impacts on large and small 

business entities under the proposed action. 

The profitability of these vessels as a result 

of this proposed rule is based on the average 

Pacific mackerel ex-vessel price per mt. 

NMFS used average Pacific mackerel exvessel price per mt to conduct a profitability 

analysis because cost data for the harvesting 

operations of CPS finfish vessels was 

unavailable. 

For the 2007/2008 fishing year, the HG was 

set at 40,000 mt with an estimated ex-vessel 

value of approximately $5.3 million. Around 

6,200 mt of this HG was actually harvested 

during the 2007/2008 fishing season valued 

at an estimated $900,000. 

The proposed harvest guideline for the 

2008/2009 Pacific mackerel fishing season 

(July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009) is 40,000 

metric tons (mt). This HG recommendation is 

the same as the HG recommended by the 

Council and approved by NMFS for the 2007/ 

2008 fishing year. If the fleet were to take the 

entire 2008/2009 HG, and assuming no 

change in the coastwide average ex-vessel 

price per mt of $146, the potential revenue 

to the fleet would be approximately $5.8 

million. A potential lack of availability of the 

resource to the fishing fleet however, could 

cause a reduction in the amount of Pacific 

mackerel harvested, in which case profits 

would be lower than if the total HG were 

taken. Additionally, if there is no change in 

market conditions (i.e., a lack in demand for 

Pacific mackerel product), it is not likely that 

the full HG will be taken during the 2008–

2009 fishing year, in which case profits will 

again be lower than if the entire HG were 

taken. However, because the average U.S. 

harvest since the year 2000 is only 5,700 mt, 

the potential reduced revenues would not be 

a result of the proposed HG. 

NMFS does not anticipate a drop in 

profitability based on this rule because it 

allows fishermen to harvest the same amount 

of fish as the previous fishing season. Based 

on the disproportionality and profitability 

analysis above, this rule if adopted, will not 

have a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of these small entities. 

As a result, an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

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

Dated: August 14, 2008. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator For 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–19309 Filed 8–19–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

RIN 0648–AV28 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish 

Fisheries; Management Measures for 

the Northern Mariana Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) proposes to amend 

the Fishery Management Plan for the 

Bottomfish & Seamount Groundfish 

Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region. 

If approved by the Secretary of 

Commerce, Amendment 10 would 

establish Federal permitting and 

reporting requirements for all 

commercial bottomfish fishing in the 

U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 

around the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The 

amendment would also close waters 

within 50 nm (80.5 km) of the southern 

CNMI and within 10 nm (18.5 km) of 

the northern island of Alamagan to 

bottomfish fishing by vessels over 40 ft 

(12.2 m) in length, which also would be 

required to carry and operate shipboard 

vessel monitoring system units, and 

whose operators would be required to 

submit bottomfish sales reports in 

addition to catch reports. The proposed 

amendment would ensure adequate 

collection of information about the 

CNMI bottomfish fishery, provide for 

sustained community participation in 

the CNMI bottomfish fishery, and 

encourage consistent availability of 

locally-caught bottomfish to CNMI 

consumers. Combined, these measures 

are intended to prevent the depletion of 

bottomfish stocks in the CNMI, and 

sustain the fisheries that depend on 

them. 

DATES: Comments on Amendment 10, 

which includes an environmental 

assessment, must be received by 

October 20, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 

amendment, identified by 0648–AV28, 

may be sent to either of the following 

addresses: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS
49158 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 20, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov; or 

• Mail: William L. Robinson, 

Regional Administrator, NMFS, Pacific 

Islands Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani 

Blvd, Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–

4700. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (if you wish to 

remain anonymous, enter ‘‘NA’’ in the 

required name and organization fields). 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word or 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

Copies of Amendment 10, including 

an environmental assessment, are 

available from the Council, 1164 Bishop 

St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 

808–522–8220, fax 808–522–8226, or 

www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Harman, NMFS PIR, 808–944–2271. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Federal Register document is accessible 

via the the Office of the Federal Register 

website www.gpoaccess.gov/fr. 

The bottomfish fishery around the 

CNMI is managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Bottomfish 

and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of 

the Western Pacific Region (Bottomfish 

FMP), which was developed by the 

Council, and approved and 

implemented by NMFS. The Council 

has submitted Amendment 10 to NMFS 

for review under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. This notice announces that the 

amendment is available for public 

review and comment for 60 days. NMFS 

will consider public comments received 

during the comment period in 

determining whether to approve, 

partially approve, or disapprove 

Amendment 10. 

CNMI nearshore areas have been 

fished for years by bottomfish fishermen 

who engage in a mix of subsistence, 

recreational, and small-scale 

commercial fishing. These fishermen 

typically operate small vessels (less than 

25 ft (7.6 m)), and tend to fish more in 

the summer months when weather and 

sea conditions are calmer. Most of these 

small vessels target shallow-water 

bottomfishes, but some also target deepwater species. The catch from these 

small vessels is usually not exported, 

but is destined for local markets. 

In addition to these small vessels, 

vessels over 40 ft (12.2 m) in length also 

target deep-water bottomfish at offshore 

seamounts and banks. In 2006, there 

were six of these larger vessels targeting 

bottomfish around the CNMI, and one in 

2007. Landings are offloaded on Saipan 

and in other CNMI commercial ports, 

and are often exported by air to Japan. 

The CNMI is close to Guam, and it is 

possible for large bottomfish vessels 

based in Guam to travel to fishing 

grounds in the CNMI. NMFS recently 

implemented a final rule that prohibits 

large vessels (greater than 50 ft (15.2 m)) 

from bottomfish fishing within 50 miles 

(80.5 km) around Guam (71 FR 64474; 

November 2, 2006). Without similar 

closed areas around the CNMI, operators 

of large Guam-based vessels may choose 

to fish for bottomfish within U.S. EEZ 

waters around the CNMI. This could 

result in excessive fishing pressure on 

bottomfish stocks at nearshore banks, 

potentially threatening both the fish 

stocks and the fisheries that have 

historically been dependent on these 

resources. 

In addition to the possibility of Guambased vessels entering the CNMI 

bottomfish fishery, the Council is 

concerned about several other issues 

regarding bottomfish fishing in the 

CNMI. First, existing data collection 

programs in the CNMI are insufficient to 

comprehensively monitor catches and 

determine the impacts of the fishery on 

the stock(s) being harvested, or to 

determine the species composition and 

amount of discarded bycatch. Second, 

large bottomfish vessels need to harvest 

relatively large catches to cover 

operational costs. These large catches 

could deplete nearshore stocks, which 

would threaten sustained community 

participation in the bottomfish fishery. 

Small vessels would not be able to 

continue operating if catch rates were 

significantly reduced due to heavy 

fishing by the larger vessels. Finally, 

traditional patterns of supply and 

consumption of bottomfish in the local 

community would be disrupted by 

reduced community participation and/ 

or large exports of bottomfish fish from 

the CNMI by the operators of the large 

vessels. 

In response to these concerns, the 

Council developed Amendment 10 with 

the following objectives: (1) ensure that 

adequate information is routinely 

collected on the CNMI’s offshore 

bottomfish fishery; (2) provide for 

sustained community participation in 

the CNMI bottomfish fishery; and (3) 

encourage the consistent availability of 

locally caught deepwater bottomfish to 

CNMI markets and consumers. 

Public comments on the proposed 

amendment must be received by 

October 20, 2008 to be considered by 

NMFS in the decision to approve, 

partially approve, or disapprove the 

amendment. A proposed rule to 

implement the amendment has been 

submitted for Secretarial review and 

approval. NMFS expects to publish and 

request public comment on the 

proposed regulation in the near future. 

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

Dated: August 14, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–19337 Filed 8–19–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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