[Federal Register: August 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 162)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 49156-49157]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20au08-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 0808051050-81056-01]
RIN 0648-XJ42
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species
Fisheries; Annual Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulation to implement the annual harvest
guideline (HG) for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing season of July 1, 2008,
through June 30, 2009. This HG has been calculated according to the
regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) and establishes allowable harvest levels for
Pacific mackerel off the Pacific coast.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 19, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule identified by
0648-XJ42 by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov
Mail: Rodney R. McInnis, Regional Administrator, Southwest
Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802.
Fax: (562)980-4047, Att: Joshua Lindsay
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Copies of the report Pacific Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock
Assessment for U.S. Management in the 2008-2009 Fishing Year may be
obtained from the Southwest Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Lindsay, Southwest Region,
NMFS, (562) 980-4034.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP, which was implemented by
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register on December 15,
1999 (64 FR 69888), divides management unit species into two
categories: actively managed and monitored. Harvest guidelines (HG) for
actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are
based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates. Biomass
estimates are not calculated for species that are only monitored (jack
mackerel, northern anchovy, and market squid).
During public meetings each year, the biomass for each actively
managed species within the CPS FMP is presented to the Pacific Fishery
Management Council's (Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team
(CPSMT), the Council's Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel
(CPSAS) and the CPS Subcommitee of the Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC). At that time, the biomass, the acceptable biological
catch (ABC) and the status of the fisheries are reviewed and discussed.
This information is then presented to the Council along with HG
recommendations and comments from the Team and Subpanel. Following
review by the Council and after hearing public comments, the Council
makes its HG recommendation to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS). The annual HG is published in the Federal Register as close as
practicable to the start of the fishing season. The Pacific mackerel
season begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of each year.
For the 2008-2009 Pacific mackerel management season an updated
assessment for Pacific mackerel was conducted and then reviewed by the
SSC CPS Subcommittee, the CPSMT and the CPSAS during a series of
meetings May 13-15, 2008, in Long Beach California. During these
meetings the current stock assessment for Pacific mackerel, which
included a preliminary biomass estimate and ABC, were presented and
reviewed in accordance with the procedures of the FMP. Based on a total
stock biomass estimate of 264,732 metric tons (mt) the harvest control
rule in the CPS FMP produces an ABC of 51,772 mt for the 2008-2009
management season.
In June, the Council held a public meeting in Foster City,
California, during which time the Council reviewed the current stock
assessment, biomass numbers and ABC as well as heard statements from
the SSC, Team and Subpanel. The SSC endorsed the assessment as the best
available science for use in management. Both the Team and Subpanel
recommended setting the 2008-2009 HG below ABC and no higher than
40,000 mt.
Following the SSC, Team and Subpanel reports the Council adopted a
HG of 40,000 mt for the 2008-2009 fishing year. This HG recommendation
is the same as the one recommended and implemented by NMFS for the
2007-2008 fishing season. Establishing a HG for the directed fishery
substantially below the ABC was recommended in response to uncertainty
associated with changes to assessment modeling parameters and the
estimate made in the FMP that the domestic fishery appears to be market
limited to roughly 40,000 mt. The Council also adopted the Subpanel
recommendation that in the event that the 40,000 mt is attained by the
fishery, that Pacific mackerel fishing be closed to directed harvest
and only incidental harvest be allowed. The proposed incidental fishery
would be constrained to a 45 percent by weight incidental catch rate
when Pacific mackerel are landed with other CPS, except that up to one
metric ton of Pacific mackerel could be landed per trip without landing
any other CPS.
The Council may schedule an inseason review of the Pacific mackerel
fishery at the nearest appropriate Council meeting, towards a possible
consideration of either releasing a portion of the incidental allotment
to the directed fishery or further constraining incidental landings to
[[Page 49157]]
ensure total harvest remains below the ABC.
Information on the fishery and the stock assessment are found in
the report Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock Assessment for
U.S. Management in the 2008-09 Fishing Season (see ADDRESSES).
The harvest control rule formula in the FMP uses the following
factors to determine the ABC:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock biomass of Pacific mackerel age one
and above for the 2008-2009 management season is 264,732 mt.
2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level below which no commercial
fishery is allowed. The FMP established this level at 18,200 mt.
3. Distribution. The portion of the Pacific mackerel biomass
estimated in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast is 70 percent and is
based on the average historical larval distribution obtained from
scientific cruises and the distribution of the resource according to
the logbooks of aerial fish-spotters.
4. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the percentage of the biomass
above 18,200 mt that may be harvested. The FMP established this at 30
percent.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the CPS FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after
public comment.
These proposed specifications are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
as follows:
The purpose of this proposed rule is to implement the 2008-2009
HG for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific coast. The
CPS FMP and its implementing regulations require NMFS to set an
annual HG for the Pacific mackerel fishery based on the harvest
formula in the FMP. The harvest formula is applied to the current
stock biomass estimate to determine the ABC, from which the HG is
then derived.
Pacific mackerel harvest is one component of CPS fisheries off
the U.S. West Coast which primarily includes the fisheries for
Pacific sardine, Northern anchovy, Jack mackerel and Market squid.
Pacific mackerel are principally caught off southern California
within the limited entry portion (south of 39 N. latitude; Point
Arena, California) of the fishery. Sixty-two vessels are currently
permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off California.
These vessels are considered small business entities by the U.S.
Small Business Administration since the vessels do not have annual
receipts in excess of $4.0 million. This proposed rule has an equal
effect on all of these small entities. Therefore, there would be no
disporportionate impacts on large and small business entities under
the proposed action.
The profitability of these vessels as a result of this proposed
rule is based on the average Pacific mackerel ex-vessel price per
mt. NMFS used average Pacific mackerel ex-vessel price per mt to
conduct a profitability analysis because cost data for the
harvesting operations of CPS finfish vessels was unavailable.
For the 2007/2008 fishing year, the HG was set at 40,000 mt with
an estimated ex-vessel value of approximately $5.3 million. Around
6,200 mt of this HG was actually harvested during the 2007/2008
fishing season valued at an estimated $900,000.
The proposed harvest guideline for the 2008/2009 Pacific
mackerel fishing season (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009) is
40,000 metric tons (mt). This HG recommendation is the same as the
HG recommended by the Council and approved by NMFS for the 2007/2008
fishing year. If the fleet were to take the entire 2008/2009 HG, and
assuming no change in the coastwide average ex-vessel price per mt
of $146, the potential revenue to the fleet would be approximately
$5.8 million. A potential lack of availability of the resource to
the fishing fleet however, could cause a reduction in the amount of
Pacific mackerel harvested, in which case profits would be lower
than if the total HG were taken. Additionally, if there is no change
in market conditions (i.e., a lack in demand for Pacific mackerel
product), it is not likely that the full HG will be taken during the
2008-2009 fishing year, in which case profits will again be lower
than if the entire HG were taken. However, because the average U.S.
harvest since the year 2000 is only 5,700 mt, the potential reduced
revenues would not be a result of the proposed HG.
NMFS does not anticipate a drop in profitability based on this
rule because it allows fishermen to harvest the same amount of fish
as the previous fishing season. Based on the disproportionality and
profitability analysis above, this rule if adopted, will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of these small
entities.
As a result, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not
required and none has been prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 14, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-19309 Filed 8-19-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S