[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67421-67422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26395]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No.: 191202-0096]
RIN 0648-BJ42
Control Date for Catcher/Processors Using Pot Gear in the Bering
Sea and Aleutian Islands Pacific Cod Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); control date.
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SUMMARY: At the request of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council), this notice announces a control date of December 10, 2019,
that may be used as a reference date for a future management action to
limit
[[Page 67422]]
future access to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod
pot catcher/processor sector. This notice is intended to promote
awareness of possible rulemaking and provide notice to the public that
any participation in the BSAI Pacific cod pot catcher/processor sector
after the control date may not ensure continued access to this fishery
under a future management action. This notice is also intended to
discourage speculative entry into this fishery while the Council
considers whether and how access to the fishery may be further limited
under a future management action.
DATES: December 10, 2019, shall be known as the control date for the
BSAI Pacific cod pot catcher/processor sector fishery and may be used
as a reference date for participation in a future management action
that is consistent with the Council's objectives and applicable Federal
laws.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt Iverson: 907-586-7228 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the
U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI under the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (FMP). The Council prepared, and NMFS approved, the FMP
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the FMP appear at
50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking would apply to owners
and operators of catcher/processor vessels that participate in Federal
groundfish fisheries with pot gear in the BSAI. The BSAI is defined at
Sec. 679.2 and shown in Figure 1 to 50 CFR part 679.
The Council and NMFS annually establish overfishing limits and
annual total allowable catch limits for groundfish species to
sustainably manage the groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. To achieve
these objectives, NMFS requires vessel operators participating in BSAI
Pacific cod fisheries to comply with various regulatory restrictions,
such as fishery closures and limits on participation and effort, to
maintain catch within specified total allowable catch limits.
The Council and NMFS have long sought to control fishing effort in
the North Pacific Ocean to ensure that fisheries are conservatively
managed and do not exceed established biological thresholds. One of the
measures used by the Council and NMFS is the license limitation program
(LLP), which limits access to the federally managed groundfish, crab,
and scallop fisheries in the BSAI and the Gulf of Alaska. For
groundfish, the LLP requires that persons hold and assign a license to
each vessel that is used to fish in federally managed fisheries, with
some limited exemptions. The preamble to the final rule implementing
the groundfish LLP provides a more detailed explanation of the
rationale for specific provisions in the LLP (October 1, 1998; 63 FR
52642).
A vessel participating in groundfish fisheries in Federal waters in
the BSAI or GOA is required to have an LLP license with the applicable
area, gear, and operation type endorsements, and a sufficient maximum
length overall (MLOA) In 2019, there were a total of eight LLP licenses
with a BS Pacific cod pot catcher/processor (C/P) endorsement. Of those
eight LLP licenses, five LLP licenses also had an AI Pacific cod pot C/
P endorsement, three LLP licenses also had a BS Pacific cod HAL C/P
endorsement, and three LLP licenses also had an AI Pacific cod HAL C/P
endorsement.
In October 2019, the Council reviewed a discussion paper and
received public testimony from participants in the BSAI Pacific cod pot
C/P sector. These participants indicated that a new vessel entered the
fishery in recent years and this new entry may negatively impact the
ability of historical fishery participants to maintain groundfish
harvests and processing in the BSAI.
After considering this public testimony, the Council stated its
intent to evaluate methods for further limiting access to the BSAI
Pacific cod pot catcher/processor sector in a future management action.
To dampen the effect of speculative entry into this sector during this
deliberative period, the Council announced a control date. This date
corresponds to the date of publication of this advance notice of
proposed rulemaking after the end of the 2019 fishing season and prior
to the start of the 2020 fishing season.
The control date may be used as a reference date for a future
management action to further limit access to the BSAI Pacific cod pot
catcher/processor sector. The Council clarified that the control date
would not obligate the Council to use this control date in any future
management action. Further, the control date would not obligate the
Council to take any action or prevent the Council from selecting
another control date. Accordingly, this notice is intended to promote
awareness that the Council may develop a future management action to
achieve its objectives for the BSAI Pacific cod pot catcher/processor
sector fishery; to provide notice to the public that any current or
future access to the Pacific cod pot catcher/processor fishery may be
affected or restricted; and to discourage speculative participation and
behavior in the fisheries while the Council considers whether to
initiate a management action to further limit access to this fishery.
Any measures the Council considers may require changes to the FMP. Such
measures may be adopted in a future amendment to the FMP, which would
include opportunity for further public participation and comment.
NMFS encourages public participation in the Council's consideration
of a management action to further limit access to BSAI Pacific cod
fishery. Please consult the Council's website at http://www.npfmc.org/
for information on public participation in the Council's decision-
making process. The Council is scheduled to receive an initial review
draft Analysis at its meeting scheduled for March 30, 2020 through
April 7, 2020.
This notification and control date do not impose any legal
obligations, requirements, or expectations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 2, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-26395 Filed 12-9-19; 8:45 am]
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