Notice2023-25957
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access Privilege Programs
Primary source
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Published
November 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2023 are 1.37 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.26 percent for the AFA inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 1.07 percent for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2023 standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82336-82338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25957]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD512]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area; Cost Recovery Fee Notice for the
Western Alaska Community Development Quota and Trawl Limited Access
Privilege Programs
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of standard prices and fee percentage.
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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost
recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA)
Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western
Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2023
are 1.37 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.26 percent for the AFA
inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 1.07 percent
for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2023
standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment
for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2023.
DATES: The standard prices and fee percentages are valid on November
24, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charmaine Weeks, Fee Coordinator, 907-
586-7231.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes and requires that NMFS
collect cost recovery fees for limited access privilege programs and
the CDQ Program. Cost recovery fees include NMFS' actual costs directly
related to its management, data collection, and enforcement of the
programs. Section 304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act mandates that cost
recovery fees not exceed 3 percent of the annual ex-vessel value of
fish harvested under any program subject to a cost recovery fee and
that the fee be collected either at the time of landing, filing of a
landing report, or sale of such fish during a fishing season or in the
last quarter of
[[Page 82337]]
the calendar year in which the fish is harvested.
NMFS manages the Amendment 80 Program, AFA Program, and AIP Program
as limited access privilege programs. On January 5, 2016, NMFS
published a final rule to implement cost recovery for these three
limited access privilege programs and the CDQ program (81 FR 150). The
designated representative (for the purposes of cost recovery) for each
program is responsible for submitting the fee payment to NMFS on or
before December 31 of the year in which the landings were made. The
total dollar amount of the fee due is determined by multiplying the
NMFS published fee percentage by the ex-vessel value of all landings
under the program made during the fishing year. NMFS publishes this
notice of the fee percentages for the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ
programs in the Federal Register by December 1 each year.
Standard Prices
The fee liability is based on the ex-vessel value of fish harvested
in each program. For purposes of calculating cost recovery fees, NMFS
uses a standard ex-vessel price (standard price) for each species. A
standard price is determined using information on landings purchased
(volume) and ex-vessel value paid (value). For most groundfish species,
NMFS annually summarizes volume and value information for landings of
all fishery species subject to cost recovery to estimate a standard
price for each species. The standard prices are described in U.S.
dollars per pound for landings made during the year. The standard
prices for all species in the Amendment 80, AFA, AIP, and CDQ programs
are provided in Table 1. Each landing made under each program is
multiplied by the appropriate standard price to arrive at an ex-vessel
value for each landing. These values are summed together to arrive at
the ex-vessel value of each program (fishery value).
Table 1--Standard Ex-Vessel Prices by Species for the 2023 Fishing Year
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Standard ex-
vessel
Species Gear type Reporting period price per
pound ($)
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Arrowtooth flounder...................... All........................ January to December........ 0.24
Atka mackerel............................ All........................ January to December........ 0.24
Flathead sole............................ All........................ January to December........ 0.18
Greenland turbot......................... All........................ January to December........ 0.62
CDQ halibut.............................. Fixed gear................. January to December........ 5.25
Pacific cod.............................. Fixed gear................. January to December........ 0.53
Trawl gear................. January to December........ 0.42
Pacific ocean perch...................... All........................ January to December........ 0.18
Pollock.................................. All........................ January to December........ 0.20
Rock sole................................ All........................ January to March........... 0.23
All........................ April to December.......... 0.19
Sablefish................................ Fixed gear................. January to December........ 1.38
Trawl gear................. January to December........ 0.56
Yellowfin sole........................... All........................ January to December........ 0.18
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Fee Percentage
Annually, NMFS calculates the applicable fee percentage for each of
the four programs according to the factors and methods described at 50
CFR 679 under Sec. Sec. 679.33(c)(2) for CDQ, 679.66(c)(2) for AFA,
679.67(c)(2) for AIP, and 679.95(c)(2) for Amendment 80. NMFS
determines the fee percentage that applies to landings made during the
year by dividing the total costs directly related to the management,
data collection, and enforcement of each program (direct program costs)
during the year by the fishery value. NMFS captures direct program
costs through an established accounting system that allows staff to
track labor, travel, contracts, rent, and procurement costs. For 2023,
the direct program costs for each program were tracked from October 1,
2022 to September 30, 2023 (the end of the fiscal year). The 2023 fee
percentages for the Amendment 80 and CDQ Programs are more than the fee
percentages calculated for them in 2022. The 2023 fee percentage for
the AFA Program is less than the fee percentage calculated for it in
2022. The 2023 percentage for the AIP Program is zero because there was
no AIP fishery in 2023, thus no associated harvest.
NMFS will provide an annual report that summarizes direct program
costs for each of the programs in early 2024. NMFS calculates the
values for each fishery as described earlier under the Standard Prices
section of this notice.
Amendment 80 Program Standard Prices and Fee Percentage
The Amendment 80 Program allocates total allowable catches (TACs)
of groundfish species, other than Bering Sea pollock, to identified
trawl catcher/processors fishing in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program
allocates a portion of the BSAI TACs of six species: Atka mackerel,
Pacific cod, flathead sole, rock sole, yellowfin sole, and Aleutian
Islands Pacific ocean perch. In recent years, participants in the
Amendment 80 sector have established a cooperative to harvest these
allocations. Each Amendment 80 cooperative is responsible for payment
of the cost recovery fee for fish landed under the Amendment 80
Program. Cost recovery requirements for the Amendment 80 Program are at
Sec. 679.95.
For Amendment 80 species other than rock sole, NMFS annually
summarizes volume and value information for landings of all fishery
species subject to cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price
for each fishery species. Regulations specify that for rock sole, NMFS
shall calculate a separate standard price for two periods, January 1
through March 31 and April 1 through October 31, which has historically
accounted for a substantial difference in estimated rock sole prices
during the first quarter of the year relative to the remainder of the
year. The volume and value information are obtained from the First
Wholesale Volume and Value Report submitted by catcher/processors that
harvested Amendment 80 or CDQ species, and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel
Volume and Value Report submitted by shoreside processors and
motherships
[[Page 82338]]
that processed landings of BSAI or CDQ Pacific cod.
Using the fee percentage formula described generally above, the
estimated percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the
2023 calendar year is 1.37 percent for the Amendment 80 Program. For
2023, NMFS applied the fee percentage to each Amendment 80 species
landing that was debited from an Amendment 80 cooperative quota
allocation between January 1 and December 31 to calculate the Amendment
80 fee liability for each Amendment 80 cooperative. The 2023 fee
payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2023.
Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set forth
in Sec. 679.95(a)(3)(iv).
AFA Standard Price and Fee Percentages
The AFA Program allocates the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery
TAC to three sectors: catcher/processor, mothership, and inshore. Each
sector has established cooperatives to harvest the sector's exclusive
allocation. In 2023, each cooperative for the inshore sector is
responsible for paying the fee for Bering Sea pollock landed under the
AFA Program. Cost recovery requirements for the AFA sectors are found
at Sec. 679.66.
NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings
data. Due to the time required to compile the data, there is a 1-year
delay between the gross earnings data year and the fishing year to
which it is applied. For example, NMFS used 2022 gross earnings data to
calculate the standard price for 2023 pollock landings.
Under the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2023
calendar year is 0.26 percent for the AFA inshore sector. To calculate
the 2023 fee liabilities, NMFS applied the respective fee percentages
to the landings of Bering Sea pollock debited from each cooperative's
fishery allocation that occurred between January 1 and December 31. The
2023 fee payments must be submitted to NMFS on or before December 31,
2023. Payment must be made in accordance with the payment methods set
forth in Sec. 679.66(a)(4)(iv).
AIP Program Standard Price and Fee Percentage
The AIP Program allocates the Aleutian Islands directed pollock
fishery TAC to the Aleut Corporation, consistent with the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-109) and implementing
regulations. Annually, prior to the start of the pollock season, the
Aleut Corporation provides NMFS with the identity of its designated
representative for harvesting the Aleutian Islands directed pollock
fishery TAC. The same individual is responsible for the submission of
all cost recovery fees for pollock landed under the AIP Program. Cost
recovery requirements for the AIP Program are at Sec. 679.67.
NMFS calculates the standard price for pollock using the most
recent annual value information reported to the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report and compiled
in the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Gross Earnings data
for Aleutian Islands pollock. As explained above, due to the time
required to compile the data, there is a 1-year delay between the gross
earnings data year and the fishing year to which it is applied.
For the 2023 fishing year, the Aleut Corporation did not select any
participants to harvest or process the Aleutian Islands directed
pollock fishery TAC, and most of that TAC was reallocated to the Bering
Sea directed pollock fishery TAC. Since there was no fishery for the
AIP Program in 2023, the fee percentage is zero.
CDQ Standard Price and Fee Percentage
The CDQ Program was implemented in 1992 to provide access to BSAI
fishery resources to villages located in Western Alaska. Section 305(i)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act identifies 65 villages eligible to
participate in the CDQ Program and the six CDQ groups to represent
these villages. CDQ groups receive exclusive harvesting privileges of
the TACs for a broad range of crab species, groundfish species, and
halibut. NMFS implemented a CDQ cost recovery program for the BSAI crab
fisheries in 2005 (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and published the cost
recovery fee percentage for the 2022/2023 crab fishing year on August
3, 2023 (88 FR 51301). This notice provides the cost recovery fee
percentage for the CDQ Program with respect to groundfish and halibut.
Each CDQ group is subject to cost recovery fee requirements and the
designated representative of each CDQ group is responsible for
submitting payment for their CDQ group. Cost recovery requirements for
the CDQ Program are at Sec. 679.33.
For most CDQ groundfish species, NMFS annually summarizes volume
and value information for landings of all fishery species subject to
cost recovery in order to estimate a standard price for each fishery
species. The volume and value information are obtained from the First
Wholesale Volume and Value Report and the Pacific Cod Ex-Vessel Volume
and Value Report. For CDQ halibut and fixed-gear sablefish, NMFS
calculates the standard prices using information from the Individual
Fishing Quota (IFQ) Ex-Vessel Volume and Value Report, which collects
information on both IFQ and CDQ volume and value.
Using the fee percentage formula described above, the estimated
percentage of direct program costs to fishery value for the 2023
calendar year is 1.07 percent for the CDQ Program. For 2023, NMFS
applied the calculated CDQ fee percentage to all CDQ groundfish and
halibut landings made between January 1 and December 31 to calculate
the CDQ fee liability for each CDQ group. The 2023 fee payments must be
submitted to NMFS on or before December 31, 2023. Payment must be made
in accordance with the payment methods set forth in Sec.
679.33(a)(3)(iv).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 20, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-25957 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 24, 2023.
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