Source: https://www.global-regulation.com/law/united-states/31537/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska%253b-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-crab-rationalization-program.html
Timestamp: 2018-02-20 01:50:41
Document Index: 768069497

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 902', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', 'art 904', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680', '§ 680']

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program (United States)
Link to law: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/text/raw_text/201/506/928.txt
Electronic copies of Amendment 31 to the FMP, the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the Categorical Exclusion prepared for this action may be obtained from http://www.regulations.gov or from the Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. The Environmental Impact Statement, RIR, and Social Impact Assessment prepared for the CR Program are available from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
This final rule implements Amendment 31 to the FMP and regulatory amendments to the CR Program. NMFS published a notice of availability (NOA) for Amendment 31 on December 15, 2014 (79 FR 74058). The comment period on the NOA for Amendment 31 ended on February 13, 2015. The Secretary approved Amendment 31 on March 12, 2015, after accounting for information from the public, and determining that Amendment 31 is consistent with the FMP, the MSA, and other applicable law. NMFS published a proposed rule to implement Amendment 31 and the regulatory amendments on December 24, 2014 (79 FR 77427). The comment period on the proposed rule ended on January 23, 2015. NMFS received three comment letters during the comment periods on Amendment 31 and the proposed rule. The letters contained three unique comments. A summary of these comments and NMFS's responses are provided in the Comments and Responses section of this preamble.
Below is a brief description of the CR Program and the elements of that Program that apply to Amendment 31 and this final rule. For a more detailed description of the CR Program, please see section 2.3 of the RIR/IRFA (see ADDRESSES ) and the preamble of the proposed rule (79 FR 77427; December 24, 2014).
Implementation of the CR Program resulted in a significant reduction in harvesting vessel fleet size and a commensurate reduction in employment opportunities for vessel crew. Efficiencies gained under the CR Program provide harvesting vessels the option to not participate in each fishing season for each CR Program crab species. These changes in fishing practices have made it difficult for individuals who wish to acquire C share QS to satisfy the participation requirement of making a landing of CR Program crab in the year preceding the application to acquire C share QS.
The crab fishing year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. Annually, QS and PQS holders must apply for allocations of IFQ and IPQ, respectively, for the upcoming crab fishing year. QS holders apply for annual IFQ through an individual application. Currently, they must indicate on this application whether or not they are joining a cooperative. If they are joining a cooperative that year, the cooperative's annual IFQ application must include the QS holder's annual IFQ application (or a copy of that application). Because IPQ is not subject to cooperative management, a PQS holder applies for IPQ directly to NMFS, and NMFS issues IPQ directly to the PQS holder. Prior to this final rule, all applications for IFQ, IPQ, and cooperative IFQ had to be filed with the NMFS Restricted Access Management Program (RAM) by August 1. To aid QS and PQS holders in meeting the application deadline, NMFS provides application forms on its Web site (see ADDRESSES ), highlights the application deadline on the site, and sends notices to QS and PQS holders near the end of the crab fishing year reminding them to apply for IFQ or IPQ for the next crab fishing year.
Below are brief descriptions of the actions implemented by this final rule. For more detailed descriptions of the actions and the rationale for these actions, please see section 2.4 of the RIR/IRFA (see ADDRESSES ) and the preamble of the proposed rule (79 FR 77427; December 24, 2014).
NMFS received three letters of public comment during the public comment periods for Amendment 31 and the proposed rule. A summary of the comments received and NMFS' responses follow.
One adds the phrase “as crew” to § 680.41(c)(1)(vii)(B)( 2 )( ii ) to make the paragraph consistent with other paragraphs requiring participation as crew.
The second change adds language to § 680.40(g)(2)(i) and (ii) and § 680.40(m)(2)(i) and (ii) that explains how NMFS will account for years in which a crab fishery is closed to fishing when determining whether an individual has satisfied the participation requirements for IFQ issuance and C share QS retention. NMFS received an inquiry, not formally submitted as a comment, regarding the participation requirements for individuals who hold C shares in a crab fishery that is closed, or in a crab fishery that closes in the future. NMFS recognizes that there are some individuals who hold C share QS in a single crab fishery and that some CR Program crab fisheries are closed to fishing periodically or for extended periods of time. It is neither the Council's nor NMFS' intent to penalize a C share QS holder for not participating when the only crab fishery for which the individual holds C share QS is closed to fishing. Therefore, the final rule clarifies that if an individual holds C share QS in a single CR Program crab fishery and that fishery is closed to fishing for an entire crab fishing year, NMFS will exclude that crab fishing year when determining whether the individual has satisfied the participation requirements for IFQ issuance and C share QS retention. NMFS emphasizes that the exclusion of years applies solely to those individuals who hold C share QS in just one CR Program crab fishery and that fishery is closed for an entire crab fishing year. NMFS will not exclude crab fishing years when an individual holds C share QS in more than one CR Program crab fishery, some of which may be closed for the entire crab fishing year and some of which may be open during that same year.
The third change adds a limited exemption at § 680.40(g)(2)(iii) and § 680.40(m)(5) to the participation requirements for IFQ issuance and C share QS retention for those individuals who acquire C share QS using the expanded eligibility criteria at § 680.41(c)(1)(vii)(B). NMFS determined that the participation requirements established by this final rule will be immediately applicable to individuals who acquire C share QS using the expanded eligibility criteria at § 680.41(c)(1)(vii)(B) but that those individuals may not be able to satisfy the participation requirements at the time of acquisition. By design, the expanded eligibility requirements do not require an eligible individual to have participated in a CR Program crab fishery in the 365 days prior to acquisition of the C share QS and create the possibility that an individual who is eligible to acquire C share QS under the expanded eligibility criteria would fail to satisfy the participation requirements for issuance of IFQ and retention of C share QS. Therefore, NMFS has included in the final rule a limited exemption to the participation requirements for individuals acquiring C share QS under the expanded eligibility criteria. The exemption would postpone the withholding of C share IFQ or revocation of C share QS until after these individuals had held the acquired C share QS for four full crab fishing years.
The Administrator, Alaska Region, determined that Amendment 31 is necessary for the conservation and management of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island CR Program fisheries and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for which an agency is required to prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis, the agency shall publish one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, and shall designate such publications as “small entity compliance guides.” The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. The preamble to the proposed rule (79 FR 77427; December 24, 2014) and the preamble to this final rule serve as the small entity compliance guide. This rule does not require any additional compliance from small entities that is not described in the preamble to the proposed rule (79 FR 77427; December 24, 2014) and this final rule. Copies of the proposed rule and this final rule are available from NMFS at the following Web site: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.
One hundred and seventy-nine individuals currently hold C shares. Of these individuals, 70 are estimated to have been part of the 239 individuals who received an initial allocation of C shares based on their historical participation record. About 750 individuals, who were active in the crab fisheries as captain and crew prior to the implementation of the CR Program, are no longer active as captain or crew; the final rule allows those 750 individuals to acquire C shares by transfer for a period of four years. Thus, approximately 1100 individuals (750 who were active prior to rationalization, 239 who were initial recipients, and 109 who have since acquired C shares) would be impacted by the change in the regulations regarding the eligible individuals who would be able to acquire C shares by transfer in this rule. Based on the SBA's size standard, the Council and NMFS believe that all holders of C shares are small entities for purposes of the RFA.
Entities holding PQS with fewer than 500 employees are “small entities” according to the RFA. As of 2011, 21 entities hold PQS. Of these 21 entities, 10 are large entities and 11 are small entities for RFA purposes.
A FRFA must describe the steps the agency has taken to minimize the significant economic impact on small entities consistent with the stated objectives of applicable statues, including a statement of the factual, policy, and legal reasons for selecting the alternative adopted in the final rule and why each one of the other significant alternatives to the rule considered by the agency that affect the impact on small entities was rejected. “Significant alternatives” are those that achieve the stated objectives for the action, consistent with prevailing law with potentially lesser adverse economic impacts on small entities, as a whole.
The Council did not consider an alternative to the regulatory mechanism to ensure three percent of the TAC for each CR Program fishery is allocated to holders of C share QS. Under the current regulations, approximately three percent of the IFQ pool is allocated as C share IFQ and 97 percent is allocated as owner share IFQ, as is required by the CR Program. However, with the new active participation provisions, and the potential for IFQ not to be allocated to entities which do not meet these provisions, there is a possibility that the C share IFQ allocation would be reduced. To ensure that the C share IFQ pool remains at its intended levels, the Council requested a mechanism put in place to maintain the C share IFQ pool at three percent of the IFQ pool, regardless of whether some holders of C share receive their annual IFQ allocation.
Send comments regarding these burden estimates, or any other aspects of the information collections, to NMFS (see ADDRESSES ) and by email to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to 202-395-5806.
2. In § 902.1, in the table in paragraph (b), under the entry “50 CFR”:
a. Remove the entry for “680.4(a) through (p)”
b. Add an entry in alphanumeric order for “680.4(a) through (q)”; and
c. Revise entries for “680.5(a) and (h) through (l)”; “680.5(f)”; `680.5(g)”; and “680.5(m)”.
680.4(a) through (q)
680.5(f)
4. In § 680.4, revise paragraphs (f)(1) and (n)(1)(i), and add paragraph (q) to read as follows:
(1)(i) A complete application must be received by NMFS no later than June 15 (or postmarked by this date, if sent via U.S. mail or a commercial carrier) for the upcoming crab fishing year for which a person or crab harvesting cooperative is applying to receive converted CPO QS and the IFQ derived from that converted CPO QS. If a complete application is not received by NMFS by this date, or postmarked by this date, the person or crab harvesting cooperative will not receive converted CPO QS and the IFQ derived from that converted CPO QS for the upcoming crab fishing year. In the event that NMFS has not received a complete and timely application by June 15, NMFS will presume that the application was timely filed if the applicant can provide NMFS with proof of timely filing.
5. In § 680.5, revise paragraphs (m)(2) and (3) to read as follows:
6. In § 680.21, revise paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2) introductory text, and (d)(1) to read as follows:
(1) Transfer of QS. A member of a crab harvesting cooperative may acquire or divest QS at any time in accordance with the transfer procedures in § 680.41. However, transfers of QS that occur after the June 15 deadline for crab harvesting cooperative IFQ permit applications will not be reflected in the type or amount of IFQ permit issued to the crab harvesting cooperative for that crab fishing year.
7. In § 680.40:
a. Revise paragraphs (g) and (h)(1); and
§ 680.40
(g) Annual allocation of IFQ —(1) General. IFQ is assigned based on the underlying QS. Except for CVC and CPC QS permit holders who fail to meet the participation requirements at paragraph (g)(2) of this section, the Regional Administrator shall assign crab IFQs to each person who holds QS and submits a complete annual application for crab IFQ/IPQ permit as described under § 680.4. IFQ will be assigned to a crab QS fishery with the appropriate regional designation, QS sector, and IFQ class. This amount will represent the maximum amount of crab that may be harvested from the specified crab QS fishery by the person to whom it is assigned during the specified crab fishing year, unless the IFQ assignment is changed by the Regional Administrator because of an approved transfer, revoked, suspended, or modified under 15 CFR part 904.
(i) Notice of C Share IFQ Withholding. The Regional Administrator will issue a Notice of C Share IFQ Withholding to an individual holding CVC or CPC QS if, after reviewing the CVC or CPC QS holder's Application for Annual Crab IFQ Permit, the Regional Administrator determines that the CVC or CPC QS holder has failed to meet the participation requirements in paragraph (g)(2) of this section. A CVC or CPC QS holder who receives a Notice of C Share IFQ Withholding will have 30 days to provide the Regional Administrator with information demonstrating participation as crew that meets the requirements of paragraph (g)(2) of this section.
(A) IFQ TAC f = TAC f − (CDQ Reserve f + Allocation for the Western Aleutian Island golden king crab fishery)
(B) IFQ pf = IFQ TAC f × (QS pf /QS pool f )
(ii) CVO, CPO, CVC, and CPC IFQ. Each year, 3 percent of the IFQ TAC f will be allocated as CVC IFQ or CPC IFQ and 97 percent of the IFQ TAC f will be allocated as CVO IFQ or CPO IFQ. Expressed algebraically, the formulas for the annual IFQ allocations are as follows:
(A) CVC/CPC IFQ f = IFQ TAC f × 0.03
(B) CVO/CPO IFQ f = IFQ TAC f × 0.97
8. In § 680.41, revise paragraphs (b)(1), (c)(1)(vii) and (viii), (c)(2)(ii)(C), and (e)(3) to read as follows:
9. Revise § 680.43 to read as follows:
§ 680.43
(a) Beginning July 1, 2019, the Regional Administrator will revoke all CVC QS and CPC QS held by an individual who has not met the participation requirements set forth in § 680.40(m). The Regional Administrator will revoke an individual's CVC QS or CPC QS in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section.
(b) Notice of C Share QS Inactivity. The Regional Administrator will issue a Notice of C Share QS Inactivity to an individual holding CVC or CPC QS if, after reviewing the CVC or CPC QS holder's Applications for Annual Crab IFQ Permit, the Regional Administrator determines that the CVC or CPC QS holder has failed to meet the participation requirements in § 680.40(m). A CVC or CPC QS holder who receives such a Notice will have 60 days to provide the Regional Administrator with information demonstrating participation as crew that meets the requirements of § 680.40(m).
[FR Doc. 2015-06928 Filed 3-25-15; 8:45 am]