Proposed Rule2022-23549
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Petition for Emergency Action To Close the Red King Crab Savings Area and Subarea to All Fishing Gear With Bottom Contact
Primary source
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Published
October 28, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces the receipt of a petition for emergency rulemaking under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) from the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC). This petition requests NMFS take action to close the Red King Crab Savings Area (RKCSA) and Red King Crab Savings Subarea (RKCSS) to all fishing gear to protect Bristol Bay red king crab (BBRKC) and their habitat at a time of historically low crab abundance for a period of 6 months from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 208 (Friday, October 28, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65183-65184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23549]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 679 and 680
[RTID 0648-XC495]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Petition for
Emergency Action To Close the Red King Crab Savings Area and Subarea to
All Fishing Gear With Bottom Contact
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Announcement of receipt of petition for rulemaking; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of a petition for emergency
rulemaking under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA) from the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC). This
petition requests NMFS take action to close the Red King Crab Savings
Area (RKCSA) and Red King Crab Savings Subarea (RKCSS) to all fishing
gear to protect Bristol Bay red king crab (BBRKC) and their habitat at
a time of historically low crab abundance for a period of 6 months from
January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023.
DATES: Submit comments on or before December 5, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID NOAA-NMFS-
2022-0111 by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0111 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS. Mail
comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address), 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly Cates, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This petition requests that NMFS take emergency action to close the
RKCSA and RKCSS to all fishing gear with bottom contact (i.e., bottom
trawl, pelagic trawl, pot gear and longline gear). Section 305(c)(1) of
the MSA states: ``If the Secretary finds that an emergency exists or
that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery,
he may promulgate emergency regulations or interim measures necessary
to address the emergency or overfishing, without regard to whether a
fishery management plan exists for such fishery.'' NMFS's Policy
Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules require that an emergency
must exist and that NMFS have an administrative record justifying
emergency regulatory action and demonstrating compliance with the MSA
and the National Standards (see NMFS Procedure 01-101-07; 62 FR 44421,
August 21, 1997). Emergency rulemaking is intended for circumstances
that are ``extremely urgent,'' where ``substantial harm to or
disruption of the . . . fishery . . . would be caused in the time it
would take to follow standard rulemaking procedures (62 FR 44421,
August 21, 1997).''
Under NMFS's Policy Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules, the
phrase ``an emergency exists involving any fishery'' is defined as a
situation that meets the following three criteria:
1. Results from recent, unforeseen events or recently discovered
circumstances;
2. Presents serious conservation or management problems in the
fishery; and
3. Can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking
process.
The RKCSA and RKCSS are areas of the Bering Sea that have been
identified by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
and NMFS as important for BBRKC conservation and subject to multiple
management actions over time to reduce non-directed fishery impacts to
the BBRKC stock. The petitioner's requested action would affect
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska managed under the
fishery management plan (FMP) for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI) King and Tanner Crab Fisheries (Crab FMP) and
the FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI. The Council prepared these FMPs
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.). Regulations implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 679 and
680.
The Crab FMP was approved by the Secretary of Commerce on June 2,
1989. The Crab FMP establishes a State/Federal cooperative management
regime that delegates crab management to the State of Alaska with
Federal oversight. State regulations are subject to the provisions of
the Crab FMP, including its goals and objectives, the MSA, and other
applicable Federal laws.
The abundance estimate calculated for mature female BBRKC using the
eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey (Trawl Survey) data in 2021 and
2022 were the lowest two abundances on record since 1995. Using the
data from the Trawl Survey, the State provided an abundance estimation
that was below the State of Alaska regulatory harvest strategy
threshold of 8.4 million mature female crab to open a directed fishery
in 2021 and in 2022. As a result, the directed fishery was closed for
the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. While BBRKC are closed to directed
fishing, the stock is not currently overfished or subject to
overfishing.
Information in the Petition
NMFS received the petition on September 29, 2022. The ABSC requests
that the Secretary undertake emergency rulemaking to close the RKCSA
and RKCSS to all fishing gears with bottom contact from January 1, 2023
to June 30, 2023 in order to protect BBRKC and their habitat at a time
of historically low crab abundance. According to the petition filed by
the ABSC, the reasons such action is needed through emergency
rulemaking are:
1. The RKCSA is already closed year-round to bottom trawl gear to
protect BBRKC and crab habitat from fishing impacts. In addition, in
years when the directed fishery is closed, the RKCSS, the additional
area to the south of the
[[Page 65184]]
RKCSA, is also closed year-round to bottom trawl to protect crab and
crab habitat.
2. BBRKC molting and mating occurs from January through June/July,
and during this period their shells are soft, providing less protection
from interaction with fishing gear and being handled. Therefore,
impacts to the stock may be more intensive during this time period.
3. Closing these areas to all fishing gears known to contact the
bottom (which would effectively add pelagic trawl, pot gear, and
longline gear to the existing closure to bottom trawl gear) would
provide additional protections for BBRKC and reduce impacts on their
habitat from fishing during a critical period of the crab life cycle.
This would help the stock rebuild to produce optimum yield over the
long-term.
NMFS solicits comments on whether the request for rulemaking meets
the requirements of section 305(c)(1) of the MSA and the likely
benefits and impacts of NMFS taking the requested action. Comments
received will be considered by NMFS in determining whether to proceed
with the development of the emergency action suggested by ABSC. The
Council will also consider the petition at its December Council Meeting
and accept public comments at that time. NMFS will consider all
comments submitted in response to this announcement and at the December
Council Meeting. If NMFS approves the petition and undertakes an
emergency rulemaking, the Assistant Administrator Fisheries, NOAA, will
publish a notice of the agency's decision or action in the Federal
Register.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 25, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-23549 Filed 10-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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