Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 206 / Friday, October 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 63577 

to the both sectors and the common 

pool, depending on the size of the 

allocation, the degree of change in the 

allocation, and the catch rate of a 

particular stock. Further, these 

adjustments are based purely on 

objective sector enrollment data and are 

not subject to our discretion, so there 

would be no benefit to allowing time for 

prior notice and comment. 

Waiving the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness allows harvesting in a 

manner that prevents catch limits of 

species from being exceeded in fisheries 

that are important to coastal 

communities. Until the final stock 

allocations are made, the affected 

fishing entities will not know how many 

fish of a particular stock they can catch 

without going over their ultimate limits. 

Fishermen may make both short- and 

long-term business decisions based on 

the catch limits in a given sector or the 

common pool. Any delays in adjusting 

these limits may cause the affected 

fishing entities to slow down, or speed 

up, their fishing activities during the 

interim period before this rule becomes 

effective. Both of these reactions could 

negatively affect the fishery and the 

businesses and communities that 

depend on them. The fishing industry 

and the communities it supports could 

be affected by potentially reducing 

harvests and delaying profits. Lastly, the 

catch limit and allocation adjustments 

are not controversial and the need for 

them was clearly explained in the 

proposed and final rules for fishing year 

2014 sector operations plans and 

contracts. As a result, the NE 

multispecies permit holders are 

expecting these adjustments and 

awaiting their implementation. 

Therefore, it is important to implement 

adjusted catch limits and allocations as 

soon as possible. For these reasons, we 

are waiving the public comment period 

and the 30-day delay in effectiveness for 

this rule, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B) and (d), respectively. 

Because advanced notice and the 

opportunity for public comment are not 

required under the Administrative 

Procedure Act, or any other law, the 

analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, 

et seq., do not apply to this rule. 

Therefore, no final regulatory flexibility 

analysis is required and none has been 

prepared. 

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

Dated: October 20, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25307 Filed 10–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 131021878–4158–02] 

RIN 0648–XD565 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Halibut Prohibited Species Catch 

Allowances in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating 

projected unused amounts of the 2014 

halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) 

allowance from the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands trawl (BSAI) limited 

access sector to the Amendment 80 

cooperatives in the BSAI management 

area. This action is necessary to allow 

the Amendment 80 cooperatives to fully 

harvest their 2014 groundfish 

allocations. 

DATES: Effective October 21, 2014, 

through 2400 hrs, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), December 31, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7269. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI according to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP) prepared by 

the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

Regulations governing fishing by U.S. 

vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, has determined that 80 metric 

tons of halibut PSC allowance from the 

BSAI trawl limited access sector will 

not be needed to support BSAI trawl 

limited access fisheries. Therefore, in 

accordance with § 679.91(f)(4), NMFS is 

reallocating this halibut PSC allowance 

from the BSAI trawl limited access 

sector to the Amendment 80 

cooperatives in the BSAI. 

In accordance with § 679.91(f)(1), 

NMFS will reissue cooperative quota 

permits for the reallocated halibut PSC 

allowances following the procedures set 

forth in § 679.91(f)(4). 

In accordance with § 679.91(f)(4)(i), 

NMFS will reallocate 95 percent of the 

halibut PSC reallocated from the BSAI 

trawl limited access sector to the 

Amendment 80 cooperatives, which is 

76 metric tons. 

The 2014 harvest specifications for 

halibut PSC allowances included in the 

final 2014 and 2015 harvest 

specifications in the BSAI (79 FR 12108, 

March 4, 2014 and 79 FR 35958, June 

25, 2014) are revised as follows in 

Tables 10, 12, and 14: 

TABLE 10—FINAL 2014 AND 2015 APPORTIONMENT OF PROHIBITED SPECIES CATCH ALLOWANCES TO NON-TRAWL GEAR, 

THE CDQ PROGRAM, AMENDMENT 80, AND THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS SECTORS

PSC species and area 1 Total non-trawl 

PSC 

Non-trawl PSC 

remaining after 

CDQ PSQ 2

Total trawl 

PSC 

Trawl PSC 

remaining after 

CDQ PSQ 2

CDQ PSQ 

reserve 2

Amendment 

80 sector 3

BSAI trawl 

limited access 

fishery 

2014 Halibut mortality 

(mt) BSAI .................. 900 832 3,675 3,349 393 2,401 795 

2015 Halibut mortality 

(mt) BSAI .................. 900 832 3,675 3,349 393 2,325 875 

Herring (mt) BSAI ........ n/a n/a 2,172 n/a n/a n/a n/a 

Red king crab (animals) 

Zone 1 ...................... n/a n/a 97,000 86,621 10,379 43,293 26,489 

C. opilio (animals) 

COBLZ ...................... n/a n/a 11,185,892 9,989,002 1,196,890 4,909,594 3,210,465 

C. bairdi crab (animals) 

Zone 1 ...................... n/a n/a 980,000 875,140 104,860 368,521 411,228 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
63578 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 206 / Friday, October 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 10—FINAL 2014 AND 2015 APPORTIONMENT OF PROHIBITED SPECIES CATCH ALLOWANCES TO NON-TRAWL GEAR, 

THE CDQ PROGRAM, AMENDMENT 80, AND THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS SECTORS—Continued 

PSC species and area 1 Total non-trawl 

PSC 

Non-trawl PSC 

remaining after 

CDQ PSQ 2

Total trawl 

PSC 

Trawl PSC 

remaining after 

CDQ PSQ 2

CDQ PSQ 

reserve 2

Amendment 

80 sector 3

BSAI trawl 

limited access 

fishery 

C. bairdi crab (animals) 

Zone 2 ...................... n/a n/a 2,970,000 2,652,210 317,790 627,778 1,241,500 

1 Refer to § 679.2 for definitions of zones. 

2Section 679.21(e)(3)(i)(A)(2) allocates 326 mt of the trawl halibut mortality limit and § 679.21(e)(4)(i)(A) allocates 7.5 percent, or 67 mt, of the 

non-trawl halibut mortality limit as the PSQ reserve for use by the groundfish CDQ program. The PSQ reserve for crab species is 10.7 percent of 

each crab PSC limit. 3The Amendment 80 program reduced apportionment of the trawl PSC limits by 150 mt for halibut mortality and 20 percent for crab. These reductions are not apportioned to other gear types or sectors. 

Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding. 

TABLE 12—FINAL 2014 AND 2015 PROHIBITED SPECIES BYCATCH ALLOWANCES FOR THE BSAI TRAWL LIMITED ACCESS

SECTOR

BSAI trawl limited access fisheries 

Prohibited species and area 1

2014 Halibut 

mortality (mt) 

BSAI 

2015 Halibut 

mortality (mt) 

BSAI 

Red king crab 

(animals) Zone 

1 

C. opilio (animals) COBLZ 

C. bairdi (animals) 

Zone 1 Zone 2 

Yellowfin sole ........................................... 227 167 23,338 3,026,465 346,228 1,185,500 

Rock sole/flathead sole/other flatfish2 ..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Turbot/arrowtooth/sablefish3 .................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Rockfish April 15—December 31 ............ 5 5 0 5,000 0 1,000 

Pacific cod ................................................ 353 453 2,954 129,000 60,000 50,000 

Pollock/Atka mackerel/other species4 ..... 210 250 197 50,000 5,000 5,000 

Total BSAI trawl limited access PSC ...... 795 875 26,489 3,210,465 411,228 1,241,500 

1 Refer to § 679.2 for definitions of areas. 

2 ‘‘Other flatfish’’ for PSC monitoring includes all flatfish species, except for halibut (a prohibited species), flathead sole, Greenland turbot, rock 

sole, yellowfin sole, Kamchatka flounder, and arrowtooth flounder. 3Arrowtooth flounder for PSC monitoring includes Kamchatka flounder. 

4 ‘‘Other species’’ for PSC monitoring includes skates, sculpins, sharks, squids, and octopuses. 

Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding. 

TABLE 14—FINAL 2014 PROHIBITED SPECIES BYCATCH ALLOWANCE FOR THE BSAI AMENDMENT 80 COOPERATIVES

Cooperative 

Prohibited species and zones 1

Halibut 

mortality 

(mt) BSAI 

Red king crab 

(animals) 

Zone 1 

C. opilio 

(animals) 

COBLZ 

C. bairdi (animals) 

Zone 1 Zone 2 

Alaska Seafood Cooperative ............................................... 1,654 29,285 3,150,269 257,941 431,195 

Alaska Groundfish Cooperative ........................................... 747 14,008 1,759,325 110,580 196,583 

1 Refer to § 679.2 for definitions of zones. 

Note: Sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding. 

This will enhance the socioeconomic 

well-being of harvesters of groundfish 

dependent upon these halibut PSC 

allowances. The Regional Administrator 

considered the following factors in 

reaching this decision: (1) The current 

catch and stated future harvesting intent 

of BSAI trawl limited access sector 

fisheries and, (2) the harvest capacity 

and stated intent on future harvesting 

patterns of the Amendment 80 

cooperatives that participates in this 

BSAI fishery. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the reallocation of halibut PSC 

allowances from the BSAI trawl limited 

access sector to the Amendment 80 

cooperatives in the BSAI. Since the 

fisheries are currently open, it is 

important to immediately inform the 

industry as to the revised allocations. 

Immediate notification is necessary to 

allow for the orderly conduct and 

efficient operation of these fisheries, to 

allow the industry to plan for the fishing 

season, and to avoid potential 

disruption to the fishing fleet as well as 

processors. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of October 14, 2014. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 206 / Friday, October 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 63579 

This action is required by § 679.91 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: October 21, 2014. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25366 Filed 10–21–14; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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