Notice2023-10570
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Prohibited Species Donation Program
Primary source
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Published
May 18, 2023
Effective
May 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces the renewal of two prohibited species donation (PSD) permits to SeaShare, a non-profit and tax exempt organization, authorizing this organization to distribute Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut to hunger relief agencies, food bank networks, or food bank distributors under the PSD program. Salmon and halibut are caught incidentally during directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear off Alaska. This action is necessary to comply with provisions of the PSD program and is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 96 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31701-31703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10570]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC814]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Prohibited
Species Donation Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; selection of an authorized distributor.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the renewal of two prohibited species donation
(PSD) permits to SeaShare, a non-profit and tax exempt organization,
authorizing this organization to distribute Pacific salmon and Pacific
halibut to hunger relief agencies, food bank networks, or food bank
distributors under the PSD program. Salmon and halibut are caught
incidentally during directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear off
Alaska. This action is necessary to comply with provisions of the PSD
program and is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
DATES: The permits are effective from May 18, 2023 through May 25,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the PSD permits for salmon and halibut
prepared for this action may be obtained from the Alaska Region website
at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Fishing for groundfish by United States vessels in the exclusive
economic
[[Page 31702]]
zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) and
Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is managed by NMFS in accordance with the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI FMP) and the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP). These fishery management
plans (FMPs) were prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management
Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Regulations governing the Alaska
groundfish fisheries and implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts
600 and 679. Fishing for halibut in waters in and off Alaska is
governed by the Convention between the U.S. and Canada for the
Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the North Pacific Ocean and
Bering Sea (Convention). The International Pacific Halibut Commission
(IPHC) promulgates regulations pursuant to the Convention. The IPHC's
regulations are subject to approval by the Secretary of State with
concurrence from the Secretary of Commerce. After approval by the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, the IPHC regulations
are published in the Federal Register as annual management measures
pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62.
Retention of incidentally caught prohibited species is prohibited
in the groundfish fisheries except for salmon and halibut for the
purposes of the PSD program. Amendments 26 and 29 to the BSAI and GOA
FMPs, respectively, authorize a salmon donation program and were
approved by NMFS on July 10, 1996; a final rule implementing this
program was published in the Federal Register on July 24, 1996 (61 FR
38358). The salmon donation program was expanded to include halibut as
part of the PSD program under Amendments 50 and 50 to the FMPs that
were approved by NMFS on May 6, 1998. A final rule implementing
Amendments 50 and 50 was published in the Federal Register on June 12,
1998 (63 FR 32144). Although that final rule contained a sunset
provision for the halibut PSD program of December 31, 2000, the halibut
PSD program was permanently extended under a final rule published in
the Federal Register on December 14, 2000 (65 FR 78119). A full
description of, and background information on, the PSD program may be
found in the preambles to the proposed rules for Amendments 26 and 29,
and Amendments 50 and 50 (61 FR 24750, May 16, 1996, and 63 FR 10583,
March 4, 1998, respectively).
Section 679.26 authorizes the voluntary distribution of salmon and
halibut taken incidentally in the groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska
to hunger relief agencies, food bank networks, or food bank
distributors by tax-exempt organizations through an authorized
distributor. The Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional
Administrator), may select one or more tax-exempt organizations to be
authorized distributors, as defined by Sec. 679.2, based on the
information submitted by applicants under Sec. 679.26. After review of
qualified applicants, NMFS must announce the selection of each
authorized distributor in the Federal Register and issue one or more
PSD permits to each selected distributor.
Renewal of Permits to SeaShare
Currently, SeaShare, a tax-exempt organization founded to help the
seafood industry donate to U.S. hunger relief efforts, is the sole
authorized distributor of salmon and halibut taken incidentally in the
groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska. SeaShare's current salmon and
halibut PSD permits became effective June 2, 2020, and authorize
SeaShare to participate in the PSD program through May 28, 2023 (85 FR
33633, June 2, 2020).
On April 12, 2023, the Regional Administrator received applications
from SeaShare to renew its salmon and halibut PSD permits. The Regional
Administrator reviewed the applications (one for salmon and one for
halibut) and determined that both applications are complete and that
SeaShare continues to meet the requirements for an authorized
distributor of salmon and halibut under the PSD program. As required by
Sec. 679.26(b)(2), the Regional Administrator based his selection on
the following criteria:
1. The number and qualifications of applicants for PSD permits.
SeaShare is the only applicant for PSD permits at this time. NMFS,
under the Regional Administrator, has previously approved applications
submitted by SeaShare. As of the date of this notice, no other
applications have been approved by NMFS. SeaShare has been coordinating
the distribution of salmon taken incidentally in trawl fisheries since
1993, and of halibut taken incidentally in trawl fisheries since 1998,
under exempted fishing permits from 1993 to 1996 and under the PSD
program since 1996. SeaShare employs independent seafood quality
control experts to ensure product quality is maintained by cold storage
facilities and common carriers servicing the areas where salmon and
halibut donations would take place.
2. The number of harvesters and the quantity of fish that
applicants can effectively administer. Current participants in the PSD
program administered by SeaShare include 12 shoreside processors and
136 catcher vessels delivering to shoreside processors, 34 catcher
processors, and 3 motherships. Two secondary processing plants that
generate steaked salmon and halibut participate in the PSD program.
SeaShare has the capacity to receive and distribute salmon and halibut
from up to 60 processors and the associated catcher vessels. Therefore,
it is anticipated that SeaShare has more than adequate capacity for any
foreseeable expansion of donations.
Table 1 shows the total pounds of headed-and-gutted and steaked
salmon and halibut donated to food bank organizations from 2019 through
early April of 2023. NMFS does not have information to convert
accurately the net weights of salmon and halibut to numbers of salmon
and numbers of halibut.
Table 1--Headed-and-Gutted (H&G) and Steaked Salmon and Halibut Donated to Food Bank Organizations
[Pounds]
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2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Total
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Salmon H&G.............................................. 3,293 2,150 0.00 292 0.00 5,735
Salmon steaked.......................................... 368,650 234,520 136,700 181,682 47,051 968,603
Halibut H&G............................................. 35,895 19,693 4,100 3,643 0.00 63,331
Halibut steaked......................................... 14,313 11,336 9,852 12,1678 1,200 49,379
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Total Inventory..................................... 422,151 267.699 150,652 198,295 48,251 1,087,048
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3. The anticipated level of salmon and halibut incidental catch
based on salmon and halibut incidental catch from previous years. The
incidental catch of salmon and incidental catch mortality of halibut in
the GOA and BSAI trawl fisheries are shown in Table 2.
Table 2--Incidental Catch of Salmon and Incidental Catch Mortality of Halibut in the GOA and BSAI Trawl
Fisheries
[In number of fish or metric tons (mt)]
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Area fishery 2019 2020 2021 2022
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BSAI Trawl Chinook Salmon 31,467 fish....... 34,955 fish....... 15,880 fish....... 8,336 fish
Incidental Catch \1\.
BSAI Trawl Other Salmon 358,804 fish...... 346,245 fish...... 550,645 fish...... 245,160 fish
Incidental Catch \2\.
GOA Trawl Chinook Salmon 23,903 fish....... 11,753 fish....... 17,180 fish....... 14,565 fish
Incidental Catch \3\.
GOA Trawl Other Salmon 6,413 fish........ 3,232 Fish........ 3,566 Fish........ 5,241 Fish
Incidental Catch \4\.
BSAI Trawl Halibut Mortality \5\ 2,270 mt.......... 1,577 mt.......... 1,426 mt.......... 2,057 mt
GOA Trawl Halibut Mortality \6\. 1,099 mt.......... 788 mt............ 367 mt............ 353 mt
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\1\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chinook_salmon_mortality2023.html">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chinook_salmon_mortality2023.html</a>.
\2\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html</a>.
\3\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/goasalmonmort2023.html">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/goasalmonmort2023.html</a>.
\4\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/akro/chum_salmon_mortality2023.html</a>.
\5\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#bsai-prohibited-species">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#bsai-prohibited-species</a>.
\6\ <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#goa-prohibited-species">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/fisheries-catch-and-landings-reports#goa-prohibited-species</a> species.
Halibut incidental catch amounts are constrained by an annual
prohibited species catch (PSC) limit in the BSAI and GOA. Future
halibut incidental catch levels likely will be similar to those
experienced from 2019 through 2022.
Chinook salmon PSC limits (which are in number of fish) are
established for the Bering Sea and central and western GOA pollock
fisheries that, when attained, result in the closure of pollock
fishing. The Chinook salmon PSC limits for the Bering Sea pollock
fisheries were originally established by Amendment 91 to the BSAI FMP
(75 FR 53026, August 30, 2010) and established for the central and
western GOA pollock fisheries by Amendment 93 to the GOA FMP (77 FR
42629, July 20, 2012). In 2016, Amendment 110 to the BSAI FMP was
implemented to improve the management of Chinook and chum salmon
bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery by creating a comprehensive
salmon bycatch avoidance program (81 FR 37534, June 10, 2016). In 2015,
Amendment 97 to the GOA FMP established annual Chinook salmon PSC
limits for the groundfish trawl fisheries, except for pollock trawl
fisheries, in the Western and Central GOA (79 FR 71350, December 2,
2014). While salmon incidental catch amounts tend to vary between
years, making it difficult to accurately predict future incidental take
amounts, the total, or maximum, amount of annual Chinook salmon
incidental catch in the Bering Sea and GOA pollock fisheries is
constrained by the PSC limits.
4. The number of vessels and processors participating in the PSD
program. For the 2023 permit renewal, there will be 12 shoreside
processors. Catcher processors will decrease from 34 to 31 under the
2023 permit renewal. Motherships will increase from three to four.
Catcher vessels delivering to shoreside processors as well as
motherships will decrease slightly from 151 to 140. Secondary
processors will increase from two to three.
NMFS issues PSD permits to SeaShare for a 3-year period unless the
permits are suspended or revoked under Sec. 679.26. The permits may
not be transferred; however, they may be renewed following the
application procedures in Sec. 679.26. If the authorized distributor
modifies the list of participants in the PSD program or delivery
locations, the authorized distributor must submit a modified list of
participants or a modified list of delivery locations to the Regional
Administrator within 30 days of the list modification.
These permits may be suspended, modified, or revoked under 15 CFR
part 904 for violation of Sec. 679.26 or other regulations in 50 CFR
part 679.
This action is taken under Sec. 679.26.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub.
L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.
Dated: May 12, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10570 Filed 5-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 18, 2023.
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