Notice2023-18530
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program; Public Workshop
Primary source
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Published
August 28, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS will present a public workshop on the implementation of the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC Program or Program) for potentially eligible participants and other interested parties. The PCTC Program allocates Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) license holders and qualifying processors and requires participants to form cooperatives to harvest the quota. At the workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of the PCTC Program, discuss the key PCTC Program elements, describe the process for participating in the Program, and answer questions. NMFS is conducting this public workshop to provide assistance to fishery participants in understanding and reviewing this Program.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 165 (Monday, August 28, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58554-58555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18530]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD277]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod
Trawl Cooperative Program; Public Workshop
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: NMFS will present a public workshop on the implementation of
the Pacific cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC Program or Program) for
potentially eligible participants and other interested parties. The
PCTC Program allocates Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying
groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) license holders and
qualifying processors and requires participants to form cooperatives to
harvest the quota. At the workshop, NMFS will provide an overview of
the PCTC Program, discuss the key PCTC Program elements, describe the
process for participating in the Program, and answer questions. NMFS is
conducting this public workshop to provide assistance to fishery
participants in understanding and reviewing this Program.
DATES: The same workshop will be presented in Seattle and then via
webinar. The first workshop will be held in-person on Wednesday,
September 20, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time in
Seattle, Washington and will not have a webinar option. The second
workshop will be held via webinar on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.
ADDRESSES: The first workshop on September 20 will be held in Seattle,
Washington at The Mountaineers Seattle Program Center, 7700 Sand Point
Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. The second workshop will be held via webinar
and the link to the meeting is: <a href="https://meet.google.com/oky-ajgw-nhm">https://meet.google.com/oky-ajgw-nhm</a>. A
phone connect is also available by calling +1 502-518-3401 and entering
the following pin number: 163 659 782<greek-i>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Warpinski,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cfbcbbaabfa7aea1a6aae1b8aebdbfa6a1bca4a68fa1a0aeaee1a8a0b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bccfc8d9ccd4ddd2d5d992cbddceccd5d2cfd7d5fcd2d3dddd92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>, (907)-586-7234.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule that implements
Amendment 122 to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area
(BSAI) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) on (88 FR 53704, August
8, 2023). The PCTC Program assigns Pacific cod harvest quota to
qualifying groundfish LLP license holders and qualifying processors.
The Program is a limited access privilege program for the harvest of
Pacific cod in the BSAI trawl catcher vessel (CV) sector. Under the
Program, participants holding quota share (QS) form harvesting
cooperatives in association with a processor to harvest the annual
harvest privilege of Pacific cod.
The PCTC Program implements a complex suite of measures to improve
fishery conditions for all participants. This Program establishes
criteria for harvesters and processors in the BSAI trawl CV sector
Pacific cod fishery to qualify for and receive QS, criteria for
allocating QS in the initial year of implementation, and criteria for
the transfer of QS. QS holders are required to join a cooperative
(harvesters) or associate with a cooperative (processors). The
aggregate QS of cooperative members and associated processors yields an
exclusive harvest privilege for PCTC Program cooperatives, which NMFS
will issue as cooperative quota (CQ) each year. CQ represents a portion
of the A and B season BSAI trawl CV sector Pacific cod Directed Fishing
Allowance (DFA). Of the total annual CQ, 77.5 percent is derived from
QS issued to LLP licenses, and 22.5 percent is derived from QS issued
to processors. The DFA for the C season remains available for harvest
as a limited access fishery open to all CVs with the required trawl
gear and area endorsements on the LLP license assigned to the vessel.
As required under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 303A(c)(5)(D), the
PCTC Program includes ownership and use caps to prevent a permit holder
from acquiring an excessive share of the fishery. No person is
permitted to hold more than 5 percent of harvester-issued QS or 20
percent of processor-issued QS. In addition, no vessel is allowed to
harvest more than 5 percent of the annual CQ, and no company is allowed
to process more than 20 percent of the annual CQ. The PCTC Program also
includes legacy exemptions for persons over these ownership and use
caps at the time of PCTC Program
[[Page 58555]]
implementation, allowing participants to maintain levels of historical
participation rather than forcing divestiture.
The PCTC Program reduces the halibut and crab Prohibited Species
Catch (PSC) limits for participating trawl CVs during the A and B
seasons. NMFS will apportion halibut and crab PSC limits to PCTC
Program cooperatives during the annual harvest specifications process
based on the percentage of total BSAI Pacific cod CQ allocated to each
cooperative.
To support the sustained participation of AI communities in the
Pacific cod trawl CV fishery, cooperatives are required to collectively
set-aside 12 percent of the A season CQ for delivery to an Aleutian
Islands shoreplant (AI CQ set-aside) during years in which an AI
community representative notifies NMFS of their intent to process
Pacific cod.
At this time, NMFS mailed out official records to eligible
participants who have until October 10, 2023 to submit the Application
for PCTC Program QS to NMFS. Any participants who do not join or
associate with a cooperative by November 1 will not receive benefits
from their QS for the 2024 fishing season. On November 1, 2023, all
cooperatives must submit Applications for PCTC Program Cooperative
Quota to NMFS. For the calendar year 2023, to provide for
implementation of the Program during its first year, NMFS will allow
each cooperative to submit the inter-cooperative agreement on or before
December 31, 2023, after the November 1 deadline for the Application
for PCTC Program CQ.
NMFS is conducting two public workshops to provide assistance to
fishery participants in reviewing the requirements of the Program. At
the workshops, NMFS will provide an overview of the Program, and
discuss the key Program elements, including the process to apply for
QS; cooperative and limited access participation provisions;
cooperative quota transfer provisions; the appeals process; monitoring
and enforcement; and electronic reporting. Additionally, NMFS will
answer questions from workshop participants. For further information on
the Program, please visit the NMFS Alaska Region website here: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-122-fishery-management-plan-groundfish-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-management">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-122-fishery-management-plan-groundfish-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-management</a>.
Special Accommodations
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Stephanie Warpinski,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9babdacb9a1a8a7a0ace7bea8bbb9a0a7baa2a089a7a6a8a8e7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c2f28392c343d323539722b3d2e2c35322f37351c32333d3d723b332a">[email protected]</span></a>, at least 5 working days prior to the
meeting date.
Dated: August 23, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-18530 Filed 8-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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