Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/09/02/2010-21996/magnuson-stevens-act-provisions-fisheries-of-the-northeastern-united-states-northeast-multispecies
Timestamp: 2017-02-27 20:17:19
Document Index: 77992987

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009648', '§\u2009304', '§\u2009603']

:: Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Proposed Rule To Implement Addenda to 17 Fishing Year (FY) 2010 Sector Operations Plans and Contracts
53939-53946
2010-21996
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2010-21996
A final rule published April 9, 2010 (75 FR 18113), approved FY 2010 sector operations plans and contracts and allocations of ACE for 17 NE multispecies sectors. The Amendment 16 regulations governing the development of sector operations plans and contracts allow for a sector to request exemptions from Federal fishing regulations through the sector operations plan and contract submitted to NMFS for approval on an annual or bi-annual basis (§ 648.87(b)(2)(xv)). Pursuant to § 648.87(c)(2), the Regional Administrator may exempt vessels participating in a sector from certain Federal fishing regulations, in addition to the Amendment 16 universal exemptions already approved for all sectors. Regulations prohibit sectors from requesting exemptions that involve NE multispecies year-round closure areas, permitting restrictions (e.g., vessel upgrades, etc.), gear restrictions designed to minimize habitat impacts (e.g., roller gear restrictions, etc.), and reporting requirements (not including days-at-sea (DAS) reporting requirements or Special Access Program (SAP)-specific reporting requirements). For FY 2010, the final rule implementing FY 2010 sectors approved several new exemptions from NE multispecies regulations for those sectors that requested them through their sector operations plans. Specifically, certain sectors received exemptions from the following measures: (1) 120-day blockout of the fishery required for Day gillnet vessels; (2) 20-day spawning blockout of the fishery required for all vessels; (3) limitation on the number of gillnets imposed on Day gillnet vessels; (4) prohibition on a vessel hauling another vessel's gillnet gear; (5) limitation on the number of gillnets that may be hauled on Georges Bank (GB) when fishing under a groundfish/monkfish DAS; (6) limits on the number of hooks that may be fished; and (7) DAS Leasing Program length and horsepower restrictions.
The sectors also requested several exemptions in the FY 2010 operations plans that NMFS subsequently disapproved, because they are prohibited from being requested or because similar exemption requests Start Printed Page 53940were being addressed in the Amendment 16 proposed rule. Among these was a request by the Sustainable Harvest Sector to participate in the GOM Haddock Sink Gillnet Pilot Program, a program proposed in Amendment 16 that would have allowed the seasonal use of 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh gillnets in the GOM RMA (as opposed to the current 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) mesh requirement) for the purposes of targeting GOM haddock.
Among the exemptions being proposed is a partial exemption from the requirement to retain and land all legal-sized fish of the 14 stocks allocated to sectors. Recently, NMFS has received correspondence from members of industry and sector managers expressing concerns with the prohibition on discarding legal-sized fish of allocated stocks by sector vessels, specifically legal-sized unmarketable fish. Regulations at § 648.87 (b)(1)(v)(A) specifically prohibit sector vessels from discarding legal-sized regulated species allocated to sectors. This requirement applies to all fish or pieces of fish above the minimum size, including fish that may be considered unmarketable, as well as carcasses. Sector members and managers have stated that the need to separate the unmarketable fish from the food-grade product within limited deck and storage space has created operational difficulties and potential safety hazards at sea. Although this problem was raised to the Council during the development of Amendment 16, no exceptions to this requirement were considered or recommended.
This exemption is functionally equivalent to a pilot program that was proposed by the Council in Amendment 16 to allow vessels to potentially catch more haddock seasonally in the GOM. The regulations currently require a minimum mesh size of 6.5-in (16.51-cm) for gillnets in the GOM RMA (§ 648.80(a)(3)(iv)). Minimum mesh size requirements have been used, along with other management measures, to reduce overall mortality on groundfish stocks, as well as to reduce discarding and improve survival of sub-legal groundfish. This exemption would allow FY 2010 sector vessels to use 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh stand-up gillnets in the GOM RMA from January 1, 2011 to April 30, 2011, when fishing for haddock. The designation of this season is consistent with the original pilot program proposal and is the time period when haddock are most available in the GOM. Sector vessels utilizing this exemption would be prohibited from using tie-down gillnets during this period. The GOM Haddock Sink Gillnet Program, as proposed by the Council, included the provision that Day gillnet vessels would not be able to fish with, possess, haul, or deploy more than 30 nets per trip. Consistent with the original scope of the pilot program, NMFS is proposing that Day gillnet vessels utilizing this exemption also be limited to 30 nets per trip during this period. However, to maximize the flexibility for sector vessels fishing under this exemption, as well as the general utility of this exemption, NMFS is requesting public comment on a net limit between 30 and 150 stand-up nets for Day gillnet vessels utilizing the GOM Sink Gillnet Exemption. NMFS has analyzed the impacts of Day gillnet vessels using up to 150 nets, the most expansive number, in the supplemental EA prepared for this action. Day gillnet vessels participating in sectors granted the exemption from Day gillnet net limits, are exempt from the general net limit in the GOM RMA, and would be able to fish up to 150 nets in the GOM RMA when not participating in this program. The Letter of Authorization (LOA) issued to the sector vessels that qualify for this exemption will specify the net restrictions to help ensure the provision is enforceable. There would be no limit on the number of nets that participating Trip gillnet vessels would be able to fish with, possess, haul, or deploy, during this period, because Trip gillnet vessels are required to remove all gillnet gear from the water before returning to port at the end of a fishing trip.Start Printed Page 53942
This exemption would provide sector vessels the opportunity to potentially catch more haddock in the GOM, a fully rebuilt stock. Recent gillnet selectivity studies, explained in the Amendment 16 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), indicate that 6.5-inch (16.51 cm) sink gillnets retain few haddock and that 6-inch (15.24 cm) mesh gillnets might improve the ability for gillnets to better target haddock. However, the Amendment 16 FEIS also noted that gillnets are effective at catching cod and pollock and that, if the catch rates of these species were to be maintained or increased under the pilot program, mortality on these stocks could increase. NMFS disapproved the GOM Haddock Sink Gillnet Pilot Program in the final rule implementing Amendment 16 because of its potential to increase catch and fishing mortality of GOM cod and pollock, two stocks that, at the time, both required reductions in mortality under established rebuilding programs, without substantially increasing the catch of haddock. Recently, new scientific information has indicated that pollock is not overfished, overfishing is not occurring, and the stock is rebuilt. NMFS believes that impacts to allocated target stocks, like GOM cod, resulting from this exemption would be expected to be negligible, because fishing mortality by sector vessels is restricted by an ACE for allocated stocks, which caps overall mortality. This exemption may increase revenues for sectors fishing with gillnet gear, by allowing a greater catch of haddock to be retained, thus increasing efficiency and revenue in the fishery.
The regulations prohibit sector vessels from discarding any of the 14 legal-sized regulated species allocated to sectors (§ 648.87(b)(1)(v)(A)). Amendment 16 implemented this provision to ensure that the sector's ACE is accurately monitored. Members of industry have requested a partial exemption from this requirement with respect to unmarketable fish, because of concerns that retaining and landing large amounts of unmarketable fish and carcasses is creating operational difficulties and unsafe working conditions for sector vessels at sea. Available data from the Northeast Fishery Observer Program (NEFOP) for sector trips monitored during the first three months of FY 2010 indicate that sector vessels may land as much as 1,000 lb (453.59 kg) of damaged fish and carcasses on a given trip. To comply with this requirement, sector vessels have had to store this unmarketable fish on the vessel, in some cases in totes on deck, creating unsafe work conditions. Anecdotal information suggests that fish dealers typically dispose of unmarketable fish for sector vessels as a courtesy. However, there is currently little data available to indicate the scope of this occurrence among dealers, and any other methods of disposal used by sector vessels.
The 120-day block requirement out of the fishery for Day gillnet vessels was implemented in 1997 under Framework 20 (62 FR 15381, April 1, 1997) to help ensure that management measures for Day gillnet vessels were comparable to effort controls placed on other fishing gear types, given that gillnets continue to fish as long as they are in the water. Regulations at § 648.82(j)(1)(ii) require that each NE multispecies gillnet vessel declared into the Day gillnet category declare and take 120 days out of the non-exempt gillnet fishery. Each period of time taken must be a minimum of 7 consecutive days, and at least 21 of the 120 days must be taken between June 1 Start Printed Page 53943and September 30. An exemption to this requirement was previously approved for the following six sectors in the final rule approving FY 2010 sector operations plans and contracts: Northeast Fishery Sectors (NEFS) III and XI, the GB Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Tri-State Sector, and the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector. This action proposes that eight additional sectors would be exempted from this Day gillnet requirement through an operations plan addendum: Northeast Fishery Sectors II, V-VIII, X and XII, and the Tri-State Sector. This exemption was previously approved for the FY 2010 sectors that originally requested this based upon the rationale that this measure was designed to control fishing effort and, therefore, is no longer necessary for sectors because sectors are restricted to an ACE for each groundfish stock, which limits overall fishing mortality. Under this proposed rule, this exemption for all sectors would increase the operational flexibility of sector vessels and would be expected to increase profit margins of sector fishermen. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively.
Regulations at § 648.82(g) require vessels to declare out and be out of the NE multispecies DAS program for a 20-day period each calendar year between March 1 and May 31, when spawning is most prevalent in the GOM. This regulation was developed to reduce fishing effort on spawning groundfish stocks and was previously approved for FY 2010 sectors based upon the rationale that the sector's ACE will restrict fishing mortality, making this measure no longer necessary as an effort control. Exemption from this requirement would provide vessel owners with greater flexibility to plan operations according to fishing and market conditions. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively. This exemption was previously approved for the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Tri-State Sector, and the Northeast Coastal Communities Sector. An additional 13 sectors would receive this exemption through this action: Northeast Fishery Sectors II and III, and V-XIII, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, and the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector.
Current gear restrictions in the groundfish RMAs restrict Day gillnet vessels from fishing more than: 100 gillnets (of which no more than 50 can be groundfish gillnets) in the GOM RMA (§ 648.80(a)(3)(iv)); 50 gillnets in the GB RMA (§ 648.80(a)(4)(iv)); and 75 gillnets in the Mid-Atlantic (MA) RMA (§ 648.80(b)(2)(iv)). This exemption, as previously approved for the Sustainable Harvest Sector in the final sector rule for FY 2010, allows sector vessels to fish up to 150 nets (any combination of flatfish or groundfish nets) in each of the RMAs, and would provide greater operational flexibility to sector vessels in deploying gillnet gear. This exemption was previously approved because it is designed to control fishing effort and is no longer necessary for sector vessels, since each sector is restricted by an ACE for each stock, which caps overall fishing mortality. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively. Since publication of the final sector rule for FY 2010, this exemption has been requested by 12 additional sectors: The Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, the Tri-State Sector, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the Northeast Fishery Sectors II and III, V-VIII, and X-XII.
Northeast Fishery Sectors III and XI received an exemption for FY 2010 from current regulations that prohibit one vessel from hauling another vessel's gillnet gear (§§ 648.14(k)(6)(ii)(A) and 648.84) in order to share fixed gear among sector vessels. This exemption was originally approved to allow sector vessels to reduce costs by pooling gillnet gear, and because it was determined that the regulations pertaining to hauling and setting responsibilities are no longer necessary when sectors are confined to an ACE for each stock. Consistent with the exemption as originally approved, the sectors requesting this exemption have proposed that all vessels utilizing community fixed gear be jointly liable for any violations associated with that gear. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively. This exemption is proposed for an 11 additional sectors: The Northeast Fishery Sectors II, V-VIII, X and XII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector and the Tri-State Sector.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector received an exemption for FY 2010 from the limit on the number of gillnets that may be hauled on GB when fishing under a groundfish/monkfish DAS. Current regulations at § 648.80(a)(4)(iv) prohibit Day gillnet vessels fishing on a groundfish DAS from possessing, deploying, fishing, or hauling more than 50 nets on GB. This exemption was previously approved, because it would allow nets deployed under existing net limits of the Monkfish FMP to be hauled more efficiently by vessels dually permitted under both FMPs. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively. This exemption is proposed for an additional 12 sectors for FY 2010: Northeast Fishery Sectors II and III, V-VIII, and X-XII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, and the Tri-State Sector.
The GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector was granted an exemption for FY 2010 from the number of hooks that a vessel may fish on a given fishing trip. Current regulations (§ 648.80) prohibit vessels from fishing or possessing more than 2,000 rigged hooks in the GOM RMA, more than 3,600 rigged hooks in the GB RMA, more than 2,000 rigged hooks in the Southern New England (SNE) RMA, or 4,500 rigged hooks in the MA RMA. This exemption was approved in the final sector rule for FY 2010 because it would allow sector vessels to more efficiently harvest ACE and is no longer a necessary control on effort by sector vessels. For additional information on this exemption, please refer to the proposed and final sector rule (74 FR 68015 and 75 FR 18113), respectively. This exemption has been granted to the GB Cod Hook Sector every year since 2004. This action proposes that an additional 13 sectors would be exempted from this requirement: the Northeast Fishery Sectors II and III, V-VIII, and X-XII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, the Tri-State Sector, and the Northeast Coastal Communities Sector.Start Printed Page 53944
Pursuant to § 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the NE Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
An initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), consisting of this section, the preamble of this proposed rule, and the supplemental EA prepared for this action, was prepared as required by § 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). This IRFA describes the economic impact that the proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities. A description of the action, why it is being considered, and the legal basis for this action are contained in the preamble to this proposed rule and in Sections 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 of the supplemental EA prepared for this action. A summary of the analysis follows.
The GOM Haddock Sink Gillnet Exemption is being requested by Northeast Fishery Sectors II and III, V-VIII, and X-XII, the Sustainable Harvest Sector, the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, and the Tri-State Sector, which represent 616 permits. The exemption would allow the use of 6-inch (15.24 cm) mesh gillnets in the GOM RMA from January 1, 2011-April 30, 2011. This exemption would provide participating sector vessels an opportunity to potentially retain more GOM haddock, a healthy stock, and share in the benefits from the stock recovery. To utilize this exemption, it would be necessary for participating sector vessels to purchase 6-inch (15.24 cm) mesh gillnets. However, it would allow a greater catch of haddock, which may increase revenues for gillnet fishermen and the ports where they land their fish, particularly if participating Start Printed Page 53945vessels are able to change fishing behavior to selectively target this stock and minimize catch of other allocated target stocks.
The Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, and Northeast Fishery Sectors II-XIII, request exemption from regulations that currently limit leasing of DAS to vessels within specified length and horsepower restrictions. Current restrictions create a system in which a small vessel may lease DAS from virtually any other vessel, but is limited in the number of vessels that small vessels may lease to. The opposite is true for larger vessels. Exemption from these restrictions would allow greater flexibility to lease DAS between vessels of different sizes and may be expected to expand the market of potential lessees for some vessels. The efficiency gains of this exemption as approved for the Tri-State Sector and the Sustainable Harvest Sector were limited because the exemption would only apply to leases between Tri-State Start Printed Page 53946Sector and Sustainable Harvest Sector members, representing 135 permits. This proposed action would extend this exemption to an additional 609 permits, which would not only potentially increase efficiency for the additional sectors for which this exemption is approved, but also for members of the Tri-State and Sustainable Harvest Sectors by expanding the pool of potential lessees with this exemption. Since DAS would not be required while fishing for groundfish, the economic importance of this exemption would be associated with the need to use groundfish DAS when fishing in other fisheries, for example, monkfish.
This proposed rule contains no collection-of-information requirement subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act