Proposed Rule2025-19385
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify the Timing of Haul Designation for Trawl Catcher Processors in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fisheries
Primary source
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Published
October 2, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes to revise regulations to standardize the time limit in which trawl catcher/processors (C/Ps) participating in the groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management areas must assign a management program to each haul. This proposed rule is necessary to improve consistency for when trawl C/Ps are required to assign a specific management program to a haul. It would also allow additional time for vessel operators participating in the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) and non-CDQ fisheries on the same trip to determine which management program to assign to a haul. This rule is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Groundfish of the GOA and BSAI Management Areas, and other applicable laws.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 189 (Thursday, October 2, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 189 (Thursday, October 2, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47716-47719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19385]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 250915-0155]
RIN 0648-BL49
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify the
Timing of Haul Designation for Trawl Catcher Processors in the Gulf of
Alaska and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to revise regulations to standardize the time
limit in which trawl catcher/processors (C/Ps) participating in the
groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management areas must assign a management
program to each haul. This proposed rule is necessary to improve
consistency for when trawl C/Ps are required to assign a specific
management program to a haul. It would also allow additional time for
vessel operators participating in the Western Alaska Community
Development Quota (CDQ) and non-CDQ fisheries on the same trip to
determine which management program to assign to a haul. This rule is
intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the
Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Groundfish of the GOA and BSAI
Management Areas, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before November 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0154">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0154</a>. You may
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0154, by
any of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and type NOAA-NMFS-2024-0154 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon,
[[Page 47717]]
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
<bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Gretchen Harrington,
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="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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).
Electronic copies of the draft Regulatory Impact Review (referred
to as the ``Analysis'') and categorical exclusion prepared for this
proposed rule may be obtained from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
proposed rule may be submitted to NMFS at the above address and to
<a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caleb Taylor, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5231333e37307c26332b3e3d20123c3d33337c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80e3e1ece5e2aef4e1f9eceff2c0eeefe1e1aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>,
907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic
zone under the GOA FMP and under the BSAI FMP. The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared and recommended these
FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq. Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the FMPs for
groundfish of the GOA and BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. This
action is implemented under Magnuson-Stevens Act section 305(d) and is
necessary to carry out Section 3.9.1 of both the BSAI FMP and GOA FMP,
which describes the Council's recommended approach to recordkeeping and
reporting requirements. This section of both FMPs states that in
consultation with the Council, the Secretary of Commerce may require
recordkeeping that is necessary and appropriate to determine catch,
production, effort, price, and other information necessary for
conservation and management of the fisheries. The FMPs also state that
the Secretary should amend regulations as necessary to accomplish the
goals and objectives of the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable laws, consistent with Magnuson-Stevens Act section 305(d)
(16 U.S.C. 1855(d)). This action modifies recordkeeping and reporting
requirements that are necessary to attribute catch to specific fishery
management programs implemented under the BSAI and GOA FMPs.
Background
Trawl C/Ps are large vessels, ranging in length from 90 ft (27.43
meters (m)) to over 350 ft (106.68 m) length overall (LOA) that use
trawl gear to harvest catch and then process that catch at sea. In
2024, 30 trawl C/Ps fished for groundfish in the Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska, participating in the Amendment 80 Program, American
Fisheries Act Program (AFA), Central GOA Rockfish Program (Rockfish
Program), Aleutian Islands Pollock Program (AIP), open access
fisheries, and the CDQ Program. Recordkeeping and reporting
requirements necessary to attribute catch to specific fishery
management programs are specified at Sec. 679.5 and summarized in
Section 2.1.1 of the Analysis (See ADDRESSES).
Logbook requirements for trawl C/Ps have evolved over time,
beginning with the use of a paper daily cumulative production logbook
(DCPL) followed by development and use of a NMFS-approved electronic
logbook (ELB) (Sec. 679.5(f)). If active, the operator of a trawl C/P
using a NMFS-approved ELB must enter all information into its NMFS-
approved ELB that is required be entered into a DCPL (Sec.
679.5(c)(4), (c)(6)), subject to the same recording time limits for
DCPLs (Sec. 679.5(f)(2)(iii)(B)(1)).
The CDQ Program was established to provide eligible western Alaska
villages with the opportunity to participate and invest in fisheries in
the BSAI, to support economic development in western Alaska, to
alleviate poverty and provide economic and social benefits for
residents of western Alaska, and to achieve sustainable and diversified
local economies in western Alaska (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)). The Council and
NMFS have implemented additional amendments over time to provide
flexibility and better meet the objectives of the CDQ Program.
The regulatory text at Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(2) was changed in
the final rule to implement amendment 91 to the BSAI FMP (75 FR 53026,
August 30, 2010). As part of that final rule, the time limit for
recording the CDQ number (Sec. 679.2 ``CDQ number'') to a haul was
changed for operators of C/Ps, catcher vessels delivering to
motherships, and motherships. Namely, operators were required to record
the CDQ number within 2 hours after completion of weighing on the scale
all catch in the haul (Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(2)). By contrast, under
current regulations at Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(1), trawl C/P's time
limit for assigning a management program to each non-CDQ program haul
is within 2 hours after completion of gear retrieval.
As a result, under current regulations, the CDQ Program hauls and
non-CDQ program hauls have separate time limits for when the management
program code needs to be reported. This timing discrepancy creates
potential confusion for trawl C/P vessel operators participating in
both CDQ Program and non-CDQ program fishing on the same fishing trip,
and does not allow trawl C/Ps adequate time to assess haul species
composition before assigning a haul to a non-CDQ program. This action
would revise Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(1) and (2) to state that a trawl
C/P haul must be assigned to a management program, including the CDQ
Program (specifying CDQ number if applicable), no later than 2 hours
after all catch in the haul has been weighed.
The requirement at Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(1) to record the
management program for non-CDQ program hauls within 2 hours after
completion of gear retrieval means that, if this logbook field is left
blank after that time passes, the haul could be interpreted as assigned
to a CDQ Program by default. Although Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(2)
allows more time for the vessel operator to record the CDQ number, a
default assignment of hauls to the CDQ Program after 2 hours of gear
retrieval does not provide the CDQ groups and their industry partners
the additional time needed to assess haul species composition to
determine whether a haul should be assigned to the CDQ Program or to a
non-CDQ management program.
In April 2019, the Council requested that NMFS review reporting
time limits for trawl C/Ps and clarify that trawl C/Ps must designate
the management program and/or CDQ number within 2 hours after all catch
in the net has been weighed. As a result of this review,
[[Page 47718]]
NMFS is now proceeding with this proposed rule.
Proposed Rule
This proposed rule would do the following: (1) modify when a
management program must be reported for each trawl C/P haul; and (2)
align the timing requirements for reporting a management program for
each haul across all management programs.
To accomplish this, this proposed rule would revise Sec.
679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B) to allow trawl C/P operators to assign hauls to any
management program in the GOA and BSAI management areas at the same
time. Language on when a haul must be designated to a non-CDQ
management program would be removed from Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(1).
Language would be removed from Sec. 679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(2) regarding
CDQ number, as it is duplicative given that Sec. 679.5(a)(1)(iii)
requires that the CDQ number must be recorded where harvest under the
CDQ program occurs. Language would be added to Sec.
679.5(c)(4)(ii)(B)(2) applying the same haul designation reporting
timing requirement to all management programs. This action would shift
the timing of when a non-CDQ management program code must be reported
from within 2 hours after completion of gear retrieval to within 2
hours after completion of weighing all catch in the haul. This change
would apply to all trawl C/P fishing activity in all applicable fishery
management programs off Alaska. This proposed rule does not modify
regulations governing the required reporting method or other reporting
requirements specified at Sec. 679.5.
The Expected Effects of and Need for This Action
This action is a technical change to reporting requirements that is
intended to revise and standardize when all trawl C/Ps must assign a
management program to each haul. This would remove any ambiguity as to
when a haul is considered to be assigned to the CDQ Program versus
other management programs, and would align regulations to apply the
same time limit for assigning a haul to a specific management program
across all management programs.
Impacts of this proposed rule are expected to be neutral or
minimally beneficial because all trawl C/P operators would be subject
to the same time limit for assigning a haul to a specific management
program across all management programs and because all trawl C/P
operators would have more time to report the management program for
each haul. This proposed action does not place any new regulatory
burden on groundfish fishery participants and would only change when
reporting must be completed, not the required reporting method.
Classification
NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Following previous actions taken by the Council
and transmitted to NMFS under section 304(b), the FMP authorizes NMFS
to take this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed
rule is consistent with the GOA and BSAI FMPs and other applicable
laws, subject to further consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866.
This proposed rule is not an Executive Order 14192 regulatory
action because this rule is not significant under Executive Order
12866.
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)
An RIR was prepared to assess costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives. A copy of this analysis is available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES). NMFS is recommending the regulatory revisions in this
proposed rule based on those measures that maximized net benefits to
the Nation.
Certification Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
NMFS requests comments on this certification for this proposed rule.
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
This proposed rule would revise and standardize the time limit for
assigning a management program to each haul for trawl C/Ps. Entities
that would be directly regulated by this proposed rule include open
access fisheries participants and participants of the following limited
access programs: AFA, AIP, Amendment 80, CDQ Program, and the Rockfish
Program. Within these programs, there was an average of 34 active
vessels participating as trawl C/Ps from 2016 to 2024, of which one is
considered a small entity. The owners and operators of these vessels
would be directly regulated by this proposed rule, however there would
only be one directly regulated small entity.
The proposed provisions would create standardized haul reporting
time limits while increasing the time period for assigning a haul to a
management program, providing increased flexibility to all directly-
regulated entities. Therefore, no directly-regulated entities are
expected to be adversely impacted by the proposed action. Potential
impacts of this proposed rule are expected to be neutral or minimally
beneficial as the time to assign hauls to a management program would be
consistent across all management programs and more time would be
allowed to assign hauls to a management program. As described above,
this action would not place any new regulatory burden on groundfish
fishery participants. Instead, this action would increase consistency
and flexibility for C/P trawl participants by allowing them to assign
hauls to any management program in the GOA and BSAI FMP management
areas in the same reporting time limit: within 2 hours after completion
of weighing all catch in the haul. For the reasons described above,
this proposed action is not expected to have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of the small entities directly regulated
by this proposed action. As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility
analysis is not required, and none has been prepared.
Collection-of-Information Requirements
This proposed rule contains collection-of-information requirements
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This proposed rule
revises the existing requirements for the collection of information for
OMB Control Number 0648-0515 (Alaska Interagency Electronic Reporting
System).
This information collection would be revised because this proposed
rule would change the reporting time limit for when the operator of a
C/P using trawl gear must report the management program to within 2
hours after completion of weighing all catch in the haul. This rule
does not change the data required to be collected submitted in the ELB.
The timing change does not change the number of respondents or
responses for this logbook and is not expected to change its time or
cost burdens. Therefore, subject to public comment, no change is made
to the estimated reporting or cost burdens for the C/P eLogbook.
[[Page 47719]]
Public reporting burden per individual response for the C/P
eLogbook is estimated to average 15 minutes, including the time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information.
Public Comment on Collection-of-Information Requirements
Public comment is sought regarding the following: whether this
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden
estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information, including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Submit
comments on these or any other aspects of the collection of information
at <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is required
to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for failure to
comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of
the PRA, unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid OMB control number.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 15, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 CFR
part 679 as follows:
PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et seq.; 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 108-447; Pub. L. 111-281.
0
2. In Sec. 679.5, revise paragraphs (c)(4)(ii)(B)(1) and (2) to read
as follows:
Sec. 679.5 Recordkeeping and reporting (R&R).
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(4) * * *
(ii) * * *
(B) Catcher/processor. The operator of a catcher/processor using
trawl gear must record in the DCPL or submit via eLandings the
information in the following table for each haul within the specified
time limit:
Reporting Time Limits, Catcher/Processor Trawl Gear
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Record in Time limit for
Required information DCPL Submit via eLandings recording
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(1) Haul number, time and date gear set, time X ....................... Within 2 hours after
and date gear hauled, begin and end positions completion of gear
of gear, and, if not required to weigh catch on retrieval.
a scale approved by NMFS, total estimated hail
weight for each haul.
(2) Management program and, if required to weigh X ....................... Within 2 hours after
catch on a scale approved by NMFS, the scale completion of weighing
weight of total catch for each haul. all catch in the haul.
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[FR Doc. 2025-19385 Filed 10-1-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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