Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 676

[Docket No. 940546-4146; I.D. 050494A]

RIN 0648-AD19

Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of

Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 30 to

the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands area (BSAI) and Amendment 34 to the FMP

for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), and to make regulatory

amendments affecting the Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in and

off of the State of Alaska (Alaska or State). This action is necessary

to raise the sablefish community development quota (CDQ) allocation

limit for qualified applicants from 12 percent to 33 percent, and to

clarify the evidence that may be used to verify vessel leases for the

Pacific halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.

It is intended to allow total allocation of the sablefish CDQ reserve

and to provide IFQ program applicants with information about the

evidence required for vessel lease verification.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 11, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries

Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709 W. 9th, Room 453, Juneau,

AK 99801 or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention: Lori J.

Gravel. Copies of Amendments 30 and 34 to the FMPs and the Regulatory

Impact Review may be obtained from the North Pacific Fishery Management

Council, P.O. Box 103136, Anchorage, AK 99510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, Fisheries Regulations

Specialist, Alaska Region, NMFS, at 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program was designed to

promote the revitalization of rural communities in Western Alaska by

providing those communities access to nearby fishery resources. The

program was developed under the authority, and is consistent with, the

management objectives of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut Act). The

current regulations permit the NMFS to allocate up to 12 percent of the

total sablefish CDQ reserve to any one applicant. This action would

implement Amendment 30 to the Bering Sea FMP, raising the sablefish CDQ

allocation limit for qualified applicants to 33 percent. Amendment 34

to the Gulf of Alaska FMP would correct the inadvertent inclusion of

the CDQ program in that FMP by removing and reserving section

4.4.1.1.8.

The 12 percent limit was designed to prevent monopolization of the

CDQ allocations and to ensure an adequate distribution of benefits from

the CDQ program (57 FR 57130, December 3, 1992). The 12 percent limit

for sablefish CDQ allocations was set by the North Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) during the development phase of the

Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ program, when 55 communities were

initially determined to be eligible to apply for sablefish CDQ

allocations. The 12 percent limit was designed to ensure that

sufficient amounts of the sablefish CDQ reserve would be available for

all communities without excessive, and inefficient, competition.

No limit was set for Pacific halibut CDQ allocations because the

Pacific halibut CDQ reserve will be allocated to eligible applicants

according to their geographical proximity to an International Pacific

Halibut Commission (IPHC) management area. This means that the Pacific

halibut CDQ reserve from an IPHC management area will generally go to

the community group or groups within that management area.

The pollock CDQ program was implemented while the Pacific halibut

and sablefish CDQ program was awaiting Secretarial approval. In

anticipation of participating in the pollock CDQ program, the 55

eligible communities decided to pool their efforts in producing

Community Development Plans (CDP) and managing CDQ harvest; they joined

together in six groups. The 12 percent limit on allocation in the

Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program is no longer feasible,

because allocations to the six groups would allocate only 72 percent of

the CDQ reserve resources.

The Council thus recommended raising the limit on sablefish CDQ

allocations in the Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ program.

Proposed Action Raising the Sablefish CDQ Allocation Limit

The proposed action would also change the terms ``community'' and

``communities'' to ``CDQ applicant'' and ``CDQ applicants,''

respectively. It would allow the Pacific halibut and sablefish CDQ

program to operate under the same CDQ reserve allocation limits as the

pollock CDQ program.

The proposed action would not change the amount of sablefish

available for harvest by fishermen participating in the Pacific halibut

and sablefish IFQ program. The sablefish CDQ reserve, 20 percent of the

annual fixed-gear total allowable catch of sablefish for each

management area in the BSAI, would be the same amount under the

proposed action as it is under the current management program.

Inclusion of IPHC Area 4A as a Compensating Non-CDQ Area

Currently, 50 CFR 676.24(i)(1) provides that:

The Regional Director will compensate persons that receive a

reduced halibut QS in IPHC regulatory areas 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E

because of the halibut CDQ program by adding halibut QS from IPHC

regulatory areas 2C, 3A, and 3B. This compensation of halibut QS

from areas 2C, 3A, and 3B will be allocated in proportion to the

amount of halibut QS foregone due to the CDQ allocation authorized

by this section.

No halibut quota from area 4A is being made available to the

halibut CDQ program, so area 4A should have been included with areas

(2C, 3A, and 3B) that compensate persons who receive reduced halibut QS

because of CDQ allocations.

To correct this omission, area 4A is added in the regulatory text

as an area that will provide halibut QS as compensation in proportion

to the amount of halibut QS foregone due to CDQ allocations.

Vessel Lease Verification

The current regulatory language, found at 50 CFR 676.20(a)(1)(iii),

provides that:

Evidence of a vessel lease shall be limited to a written vessel

lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel owner and

lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease agreement

at any time during the QS qualifying years.

The proposed change to 50 CFR 676.20(a)(1)(iii) would provide that:

Conclusive evidence of a vessel lease will include a written

vessel lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel

owner and lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease

agreement at any time during the QS qualifying years. Conclusive

evidence of a vessel lease must identify the leased vessel and

indicate the name of the lease holder and the period of time during

which the lease was in effect. Other evidence, which may not be

conclusive, but may tend to support a vessel lease, may also be

submitted.

The types of evidence that can be submitted to verify a vessel

lease would be expanded. The Council intends to open the appeals

process to persons who claim they had a lease but who are unable to

produce the specific evidence required under the current regulatory

language. Other types of evidence that could be submitted under the

proposed rule include canceled checks or receipts for IPHC or

Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permits, Internal Revenue Service

tax forms showing a business deduction for the lease, or 1099 tax forms

demonstrating the payment of crew.

The proposed language, like the current language, would not assure

that the evidence submitted would verify the vessel lease claimed. NMFS

will carefully evaluate all evidence submitted to verify a vessel lease

agreement.

Classification

The General Counsel of the Department of Commerce has certified to

the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted,

will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small

entities. The 55 communities eligible to apply for sablefish CDQ

allocations are expected to apply as six groups. This creates an

inability to allocate all of the sablefish CDQ reserve, with the 12

percent limit, to achieve 100 percent allocation. Of the affected

entities, only the estimated six CDQ applicants (made up of the 55

eligible communities) would be affected. While a substantial number of

the CDQ groups would be affected by this action, there is no evidence

that any of the criteria for significant economic impact on the CDQ

groups would occur.

This proposed rule is exempt from prepublication review for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 676

Fisheries; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: May 24, 1994.

Charles Karnella,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 676 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 676--LIMITED ACCESS MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL FISHERIES IN AND OFF

OF ALASKA

1. The authority citation for part 676 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq. and 1801 et seq.

2. Section 676.20(a)(1)(iii) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 676.20 Individual allocations.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(1) * * *

(iii) Conclusive evidence of a vessel lease will include a written

vessel lease agreement or a notarized statement from the vessel owner

and lease holder attesting to the existence of a vessel lease agreement

at any time during the QS qualifying years. Conclusive evidence of a

vessel lease must identify the leased vessel and indicate the name of

the lease holder and the period of time during which the lease was in

effect. Other evidence, which may not be conclusive, but may tend to

support a vessel lease, may also be submitted.

* * * * *

3. Section 676.24 is amended by revising paragraphs (b), (e)(1) and

(i)(1) to read as follows:

Sec. 676.24 Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program.

* * * * *

(b) Sablefish CDQ Program. In the proposed and final harvest limit

specifications required under Sec. 675.20(a) of this chapter, NMFS will

specify 20 percent of the fixed gear allocations of sablefish in each

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands subarea, as provided under

Sec. 675.24(c) of this chapter, as a sablefish CDQ reserve, exclusive

of issued QS. Portions of the CDQ reserve for each subarea may be

allocated for the exclusive use of CDQ applicants in accordance with

CDPs approved by the Governor in consultation with the Council and

approved by the Secretary. NMFS will allocate no more than 33 percent

of the total CDQ for all subareas combined to any one applicant with an

approved CDQ application.

* * * * *

(e) Secretarial review and approval of CDPs. (1) Upon receipt by

the Secretary of the Governor's recommendation for approval of proposed

CDPs, the Secretary will review the record to determine whether the CDQ

applicant eligibility criteria and the evaluation criteria set forth in

paragraph (f) of this section have been met. The Secretary will then

approve or disapprove the Governor's recommendation within 45 days of

its receipt. In the event of approval, the Secretary will notify the

Governor and the Council in writing, including the Secretary's reasons

for approval. The decision, including the percentage of the sablefish

and halibut CDQ reserves allocated to each CDP and the availability of

the findings, will be published in the Federal Register. NMFS will

allocate no more than 33 percent of the sablefish CDQ reserve to any

one applicant with an approved CDP. A CDQ applicant may not

concurrently receive more than one halibut CDQ or more than one

sablefish CDQ, and only one application for each type of CDP per CDQ

applicant will be accepted.

* * * * *

(i) Compensation for CDQ allocations. (1) The Regional Director

will compensate persons who receive a reduced halibut QS in IPHC

regulatory areas 4B, 4C, 4D, or 4E because of the halibut CDQ program

by adding halibut QS from IPHC regulatory areas 2C, 3A, 3B, and 4A.

This compensation of halibut QS from areas 2C, 3A, 3B, and 4A will be

allocated in proportion to the amount of halibut QS forgone due to the

CDQ allocation authorized by this section.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 94-13132 Filed 5-25-94; 10:10 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F