[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 180 (Friday, September 17, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56976-56978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23254]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 100830407-0410-02]
RIN 0648-XY51
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. This HG is proposed 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. The proposed total HG for the
2010-2011 fishing year is 11,000 metric tons (mt) and is proposed to be
divided into a directed fishery HG of 8,000 mt and an incidental
fishery of 3,000 mt.
DATES: Comments must be received by October 18, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this proposed rule identified by
0648-XY51 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.
[[Page 56977]]
Fax: (562)980-4047, Att: Amber Morris
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 2009-2010 Fishing Year may be
obtained from the Southwest Regional Office (see ADDRESSES).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amber Morris, Southwest Region, NMFS,
(562) 980-3231.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS FMP, which is implemented by
regulation at 50 CFR part 660, subpart I, divides management unit
species into two categories: actively managed and monitored. The HGs
for actively managed species (Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) are
based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates.
The biomass and harvest specifications for each actively managed
species within the CPS FMP are reviewed every year by the Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council) at their public meetings. The
Scientific and Statistical Committee's (SSC) CPS Subcommittee, the
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (Team) and the Council's
Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (Subpanel) review and discuss
the biomass, the acceptable biological catch (ABC) and the status of
the fisheries and present their comments to the Council. Following
review by the Council and after hearing public comments, the Council
makes its HG recommendation to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS). A rule implementing the annual HG is published in the Federal
Register as close as practicable to the start of the fishing season.
A full assessment for Pacific mackerel was conducted and then
reviewed by a Stock Assessment Review (STAR) Panel in May 2009. This
assessment estimated the biomass of Pacific Mackerel to be 282,049
metric tons (mt). Based on this estimated biomass, the harvest control
rule in the CPS FMP produced an ABC of 55,408 mt. The Council depended
on the 2009 full assessment and 2009 landings to make management
decisions for the 2010 fishing season. Based on this information, the
Council recommended an ABC of 55,408 mt (calculated from the 2009
biomass estimate of 282,049 mt) and an overall HG for the July 1, 2010,
through June 30, 2011, fishing season of 11,000 mt with 8,000 mt
allocated to a directed fishery and 3,000 mt set aside for incidental
landings in other CPS fisheries should the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG
be attained. These proposed harvest levels are nearly identical to
those implemented in 2009, for which the HG was 10,000 mt with 8,000 mt
for the directed fishery and 2,000 mt for the incidental landings. The
proposed 1,000 mt increase in the set aside for incidental landings
this season was in response to comments by industry that Pacific
mackerel availability to the fleet may be increasing and that fishing
opportunities for other CPS could be forgone if the mackerel season
closed early.
The Council also recommended the following specifications for the
2010-2011 management of Pacific mackerel: First, NMFS will close the
directed fishery if the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG is attained, and
second, a 45-percent incidental catch allowance will be established for
landing Pacific mackerel with other CPS (in other words, no more than
45% by weight of the CPS landed per trip may be Pacific mackerel) with
the exception that up to 1 mt of Pacific mackerel could be landed per
trip without landing any other CPS.
NMFS proposes to set the overall HG for the Pacific mackerel 2010-
2011 fishing season at 11,000 mt with 8,000 mt allocated to a directed
fishery and 3,000 mt set aside for incidental landings in other CPS
fisheries should the 8,000 mt directed fishery HG be attained. If 8,000
mt are landed the directed fishery for Pacific mackerel will close and
a 45-percent by weight incidental trip allowance for landing Pacific
mackerel with other CPS will be implemented, with the exception that 1
mt may be landed per trip without any other CPS.
Information on the fishery and the stock assessment can be found in
the report Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Stock Assessment for
U.S. Management in the 2009-10 Fishing Year (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
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 for Fisheries 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 explained below:
The purpose of this proposed rule is to implement the 2010-2011
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[deg] N. latitude;
Point Arena, California) of the fishery. Sixty-two vessels are
currently permitted in the Federal CPS limited entry fishery off
California. All of 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
[[Page 56978]]
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.
During the 2008/2009 fishing year approximately 4,000 mt of
Pacific mackerel were landed with an estimated ex-vessel value of
$780,000 and during the 2009/2010 fishing year approximately 3,190
mt of Pacific mackerel were landed with an estimated ex-vessel value
of $622,230. The proposed HG for the 2010/2011 Pacific mackerel
fishing season (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010) is 11,000 mt. If
the fleet were to take the entire 2010/2011 HG, and assuming no
change in the coastwide average ex-vessel price per mt of
approximately $200, the potential revenue to the fleet would be
approximately $2 million.
The amount of Pacific mackerel caught each year depends greatly
on market forces within the fishery, as well as the other CPS
fisheries, and on the regional availability of the species to the
fleet and the fleets' ability to easily find schools relatively
close to port. If there is no change in market conditions (i.e., an
increase demand for Pacific mackerel product), it is not likely that
the full HG will be taken during the 2010-2011 fishing year, in
which case profits will be lower than if the entire HG were taken.
Additionally, the potential lack of regional availability of the
resource to the fleet can cause a reduction in the amount of Pacific
mackerel that is harvested, in turn, potentially reducing the total
revenue to the fleet.
The annual average U.S. Pacific mackerel harvest from 2001 to
2009 is 4,886 mt with average annual ex-vessel revenue of $861,775.
Based on this catch and revenue history for Pacific mackerel over
the nine years, NMFS does not anticipate a drop in profitability
based on this rule as the 2010/2011 available harvest (11,000 mt) is
twice the average catch during that time.
In addition, the revenue derived from harvesting Pacific
mackerel is only one factor determining the overall revenue of the
CPS fleet and therefore the economic impact to the fleet from the
proposed action cannot be viewed in isolation. CPS vessels typically
harvest a number of other species, including Pacific sardine, market
squid, northern anchovy, and tuna, with the focus on Pacific
sardine, which had an estimated ex-vessel of $12.5 million in 2009
and market squid which had an estimated ex-vessel of $56 million in
2009. Therefore, Pacific mackerel is only a small component of this
multi-species CPS fishery.
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: September 13, 2010.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-23254 Filed 9-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S