Proposed Rule2021-13970
Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 9 to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific; Modifications to the American Samoa Longline Fishery Limited Entry Program
Primary source
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Published
June 30, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP). If approved, Amendment 9 would reduce regulatory barriers that may be limiting small vessel participation in the American Samoa longline fishery. Specifically, Amendment 9 would consolidate vessel class sizes, modify permit eligibility requirements, and reduce the minimum harvest requirements for small vessels. The Council recommended Amendment 9 to provide for sustained community and indigenous American Samoan participation in the small vessel longline fishery.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 123 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34711-34712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13970]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 665
RIN 0648-BH65
Pacific Island Fisheries; Amendment 9 to the Fishery Ecosystem
Plan for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific; Modifications to the
American Samoa Longline Fishery Limited Entry Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of availability of a fishery ecosystem plan
amendment; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Western Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) proposes to amend the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for
Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific (FEP). If approved, Amendment
9 would reduce regulatory barriers that may be limiting small vessel
participation in the American Samoa longline fishery. Specifically,
Amendment 9 would consolidate vessel class sizes, modify permit
eligibility requirements, and reduce the minimum harvest requirements
for small vessels. The Council recommended Amendment 9 to provide for
sustained community and indigenous American Samoan participation in the
small vessel longline fishery.
DATES: NMFS must receive comments on Amendment 9 by August 30, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0023, by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> and
enter NOAA-NMFS-2018-0023 in the Search box, click the ``Comment''
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto,
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp
Blvd. Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end
of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the public
record, and NMFS will generally post them for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Amendment 9 includes a draft environmental assessment (EA) that
analyzes the potential impacts of the proposed measures and
alternatives considered. Copies of Amendment 9, including the draft EA
and a Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and other supporting documents,
are available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, or from the Council, 1164
Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808-522-8220,
<a href="http://www.wpcouncil.org">www.wpcouncil.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate Taylor, Sustainable Fisheries,
NMFS PIR, 808-725-5182.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage the American
Samoa longline fishery under the FEP and implementing regulations. The
fishery targets primarily albacore, which are sold frozen to the fish
processing industry in Pago Pago, American Samoa. During the 1980s and
1990s, the longline fleet was mainly comprised of alia, locally-built
catamarans between 24 and 38 ft in length. In the early 2000s, the
longline fishery expanded rapidly with the influx of large (>=50 ft)
conventional vessels similar to the type used in the Hawaii-based
longline fishery, including some vessels from Hawaii.
To manage capacity in the then-rapidly developing fishery, the
Council in 2001 (through Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan
for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific, superseded by the FEP)
established a limited entry program with vessel size classes and
criteria for participation. In 2005, NMFS implemented the limited entry
program and issued 60 permits to qualified candidates among four vessel
size classes.
Only a few small vessels have been active in the fishery since
2007. Participation by large vessels was somewhat stable from 2001
through 2010, but has declined and remained below 20 active vessels
annually. In response, the Council developed Amendment 9 to reduce the
programmatic barriers that may be limiting small vessel participation.
The purpose of Amendment 9 is to reduce the complexity of the limited
entry program and provide for sustained community participation,
especially for small vessels. Amendment 9 could allow new entrants to
obtain a small vessel permit by removing requirements that previously
would have made some new entrants ineligible. If approved, Amendment 9
would do the following:
(a) Replace the four vessel classes with two, where Class A and B
vessels would be classified as ``small'' vessels, and Class C and D
vessels would be classified as ``large'' vessels;
(b) Restrict permit holders to U.S. citizens and nationals, and
eliminate the requirement to have documented history of participation
to be eligible for a permit, but maintain the priority ranking system
based on earliest documented history of fishing participation in vessel
class size, if there is competition between two or more applicants for
a permit;
(c) Require that permits can only be transferred among U.S.
citizens or nationals, and eliminate the requirement for documented
participation in the fishery to receive a transferred permit;
(d) Reduce the small vessel minimum harvest requirement to 500 lb
(227 kg) of pelagic management unit species within a 3-year period, but
maintain the existing 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) harvest requirement for large
vessels;
(e) Require that the entire minimum harvest amounts for the
respective vessel classes are to be landed in American Samoa within a
three-year permit period, but that the minimum harvests not be required
to be caught within the U.S. EEZ around American Samoa;
(f) Specify a fixed three-year permit period that is the same as
the three-year period to make a minimum harvest requirement; and
(g) Clarify that the minimum harvest period would not restart in
the event of a permit transfer. If the minimum harvest amount has not
been caught at the time of transfer, the new permit holder would be
required to meet the harvest requirement based on the following
formula: The product of percentage of time left within the three-year
permit period and the minimum harvest amount.
[[Page 34712]]
NMFS invites public comments on the proposed action and
specifically invites comments that address the impact of this proposed
action on cultural fishing in American Samoa. NMFS must receive
comments on Amendment 9, including a draft EA and RIR, by August 30,
2021 for consideration in the decision to approve, partially approve,
or disapprove the amendment. Concurrent with NMFS's review of the
amendment under the Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures, NMFS may publish
for public comment a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement
the draft measures described in Amendment 9.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.
Dated: June 24, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-13970 Filed 6-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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