Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Scallop Fisheries Off Alaska; 1997-98 Harvest Specifications

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 970613138-7138-01; I.D. 060397E]

RIN 0648-AF81

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Scallop

Fisheries Off Alaska; 1997-98 Harvest Specifications

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final 1997-98 scallop harvest specifications; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces final specifications of total allowable catches

(TACs) and crab bycatch limits (CBLs) for the scallop fishery off

Alaska during the period July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998. NMFS also

is closing the scallop fishery in Registration Area A (Southeastern),

because the TAC specified for that area is zero. This action is

necessary to establish harvest limits and associated management

measures for scallops during the new fishing year. The intended effect

of this action is to conserve and manage the scallop resource under the

Fishery Management Plan for the Scallop Fishery off Alaska (FMP).

DATES: The final 1997-98 harvest specifications and closure in

Registration Area A are effective July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998,

or until changed by subsequent notification in the Federal Register.

Comments on the final 1997-98 harvest specifications must be received

at the following address by July 25, 1997.

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

Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK

99802-1668, Attn: Lori J. Gravel, or delivered to the Federal Building,

709 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK. The final 1997 Stock Assessment and

Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report, and the Final Environmental

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) prepared for Amendment 1

to the FMP are available from the North Pacific Fishery Management

Council, West 4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99510-2252 (907-271-

2809).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Lind, NMFS, 907-586-7228.

[[Page 34183]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The scallop fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Alaska

is managed by NMFS under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) under the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and

approved by NMFS on July 26, 1995. Amendment 1 to the FMP was

implemented on August 1, 1996 (61 FR 38099, July 23, 1996), and

established a joint state-Federal management regime under which NMFS

has implemented Federal management measures to parallel most State of

Alaska (State) management measures. Regulations implementing the FMP

are set out at 50 CFR part 679. General regulations that also affect

fishing in the EEZ are set out at 50 CFR part 600.

Under Amendment 1, scallop TACs and CBLs are specified annually by

NMFS after consultation with the Alaska State Board of Fisheries

(Board) and the Council. In March 1997, the Board reviewed scallop TAC

and CBL recommendations made by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

(ADF&G) and forwarded these recommendations to the Council for review

and adoption. The Council subsequently distributed the State's proposed

TAC and CBL specifications to the public in its newsletter and notified

the public of its intent to adopt final specifications at the April

1997 Council meeting. At its April 1997 meeting, the Council adopted

the State's recommended TACs and CBLs and forwarded them to NMFS for

approval and publication in the Federal Register. The Council invited

public comment on the 1997-98 scallop TACs and CBLs prior to and during

the April 1997 Council meeting. No written or oral comments were

received by the Council.

Scallop TACs

The regulations implementing Amendment 1 contain the following

requirements for specification of scallop TACs:

1. The total annual TAC amount for scallops off Alaska will be

established within the optimum yield (OY) range of 0 to 1.8 million lb

(0 to 815.5 mt) of shucked scallop meat.

2. The annual TACs for scallops in each Registration Area or part

thereof will be established as a weight in pounds of shucked scallop

meat, based on the best available information on the biological

condition of the scallop resource and socioeconomic considerations that

are consistent with the goals and objectives of the FMP.

3. Annual scallop TACs will be specified for the 12-month period

extending from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. An annual

TAC amount is available for harvest only for the registration area or

district specified, only during the applicable season set out in

Sec. 679.64 and only if no closure or other restriction or limitation

is applicable.

The TAC recommendations made by the State and adopted by the

Council fulfill these requirements and are set out in table 1 below.

With the exception of the Kamishak District of Registration Area H

(Cook Inlet) and Registration Area E (Prince William Sound), these TACs

are unchanged from the 1996-97 fishing year.

As a result of recent State surveys, the scallop TAC for the

Kamishak District of Registration Area H was raised from 20,000 lb

(9,074 kg) shucked meat to 28,000 lb (12,701 kg) shucked meat and the

scallop TAC for Registration Area E was lowered from 50,000 lb (22,686

kg) shucked meat to 17,400 lb (7,893 kg) shucked meat. These TACs are

based on estimates of exploitable biomass, a 10-percent harvest rate

and a conversion factor of 10 percent average meat weight to total

animal weight. Exploitable biomasses for the Kamishak District and

Registration Area E are calculated using area swept methods with

information from fishermen on bed size, average towing speed, and

pounds per tow.

Scallop TACs in all other areas remain unchanged from the 1996-97

fishing year. In the absence of surveys, the State's recommended TAC

for each area is established as the average of the historic catch from

1969 to 1994 minus years when no fishery and ``fishing-up effect''

occurs. The term ``fishing-up effect'' is used to describe the initial

exploitation phase of a new fishery or removal of accumulated stock.

The only known commercially viable scallop beds in Southeast Alaska

are found in the Fairweather Grounds in District 16. For purposes of

scallop management, this district has been shifted from the

Registration Area A (Southeastern) to the adjacent Registration Area D

(Yakutat). Because there are no other known commercially viable scallop

beds in Registration Area A, the TAC for this area is set at zero.

Vessel operators wishing to explore for new scallop beds in this area

would apply for an experimental fishing permit under Sec. 679.6.

Table 1.--Scallop TAC Amounts for the Period July 1, 1997, Through June

30, 1998, in Pounds and Kilograms of Shucked Scallop Meat by Scallop

Registration Area and District

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scallop registration area lb kg

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Area A (Southeastern)............................. zero zero

Area D (Yakutat):.................................

District 16..................................... 35,000 15,876

All other districts............................. 250,000 113,398

Area E (Prince William Sound)..................... 17,400 7,893

Area H (Cook Inlet):..............................

Kamishak District............................... 28,000 12,701

Area K (Kodiak)................................... 400,000 181,437

Area M (Alaska Peninsula)......................... 200,000 90,718

Area O (Dutch Harbor)............................. 170,000 77,111

Area Q (Bering Sea)............................... 600,000 272,155

Area R (Adak)..................................... 75,000 34,019

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Total....................................... 1,775,400 805,308

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Crab Bycatch Limits

CBLs are established in registration areas where crab bycatch in

the scallop fishery is a management concern. ADF&G has recommended CBLs

be specified for all registration areas of concern, except Registration

Area Q (Bering Sea), according to the following formula: If crab stocks

in a registration area are sufficiently healthy to support a commercial

crab fishery, the CBL for that area is established at 1 percent of the

most recent crab population estimate for that area; if crab stocks in a

registration area are insufficiently healthy to support a commercial

crab fishery, the CBL for that area is established as 0.5 percent of

the most recent crab population estimate.

In Registration Area Q, regulations require that CBLs be specified

according to the following formulas: For red king crab, the CBL must be

specified within the range of 500 to 3,000 crab. Because red king crab

populations in the Bering Sea are currently depressed, the Council

adopted the lower end of the acceptable range--500 crab for 1997-98.

Red king crab bycatch in the Area Q scallop fishery during 1996-97 was

significantly below 500 crab and is expected to remain low in 1997-98,

because the Area Q scallop fishery is not typically conducted in areas

frequented by red king crab. For Chionoecetes opilio Tanner crab, the

CBL is set at 0.003176 percent of the best available estimate of C.

opilio abundance in Registration Area Q. For C. bairdi Tanner crab, the

CBL is set at 0.13542 percent of the best available estimate of

[[Page 34184]]

C. bairdi abundance in Registration Area Q.

The CBLs for the period July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998, are

shown in table 2.

Table 2.--Crab Bycatch Limits for the Period July 1, 1997, Through June 30, 1998, in Numbers of Crabs by Scallop

Registration Area and District

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scallop registration area Red king C. bairdi C. opilio

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Area A (Southeastern).................................................... ........... ........... ...........

Area D (Yakutat)......................................................... ........... ........... ...........

Area E (Prince William Sound)............................................ ........... 630 ...........

Area H (Cook Inlet):

Kamishak District.................................................... 60 29,000 ...........

Outer/Eastern Districts.............................................. 98 2,170 ...........

Area K (Kodiak):

Shelikof District.................................................... 35 51,000

Northeast District................................................... 50 91,600

Area M (Alaska Peninsula)................................................ 79 45,300

Area O (Dutch Harbor).................................................... 10 10,700

Area Q (Bering Sea)...................................................... 500 238,000 172,000

Area R (Adak)............................................................ 50 10,000 ...........

Total.............................................................. 882 478,400 172,000

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Closure in Registration Area A

In Registration Area A, the final scallop TAC amount for the period

July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998, is zero. Therefore, under

Sec. 679.62(c), NMFS is prohibiting the catch and retention of scallops

in Registration Area A from July 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998.

Classification

This action is authorized under 50 CFR part 679 and is exempt from

review under E.O. 12866.

The FMP takes into consideration, in the establishment of annual

harvest guidelines, the timing of the receipt, development, review, and

analysis of the fishery information necessary for setting the

specifications, and the need to have the specifications in effect at

the beginning of the 1997 fishing year to coordinate the Federal and

State scallop fisheries. Amendment 1 to the FMP, implemented on August

1, 1996, recognized these considerations and established a public

notification process through Federal Register publication and Council

mailings, of relevant meetings at which scallop fishery specifications

will be developed. This FMP process was designed to provide an

opportunity for public input during the annual development of the

harvest guidelines. Thus, as the interested public had an opportunity

to comment on the formulation of these specifications at the March 1997

Board meeting and the April 1997 Council meeting, there is good cause

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and opportunity for

public comment as such additional procedures would be unnecessary.

Additional public comment on the specifications will be accepted for 30

days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. The

Assistant Administrator (AA) will consider all comments made during

this additional public comment period and may make modifications as

appropriate. The specifications and closure announced in this rule do

not revise the conservation and management measures currently in effect

in a manner that would require time to plan or prepare for those

revisions. Therefore, the AA finds good cause, under 5 U.S.C.(d)(3), to

have a delayed effectiveness period shorter than the statutorily

required 30 days, and makes these actions effective on July 1, 1997.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq. and 3631 et seq.

Dated: June 19, 1997.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 97-16619 Filed 6-24-97; 8:45 am]

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