Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 128 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 116 to the FMP for the Groundfish Fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska; Small Sablefish Release

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted amendment 128 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) and amendment 116 to the FMP for Groundfish fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, these amendments would increase operational flexibility to allow vessels fishing for sablefish with fixed gear under the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program or Western Alaska Community Development (CDQ) Program to release sablefish and would revise the annual allocation process to account for sablefish discards. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the BSAI and GOA FMPs, and other applicable laws.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 214 (Friday, November 6, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 214 (Friday, November 6, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70041-70043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22695]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-BO62


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Amendment 
128 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area and Amendment 116 to the FMP for the Groundfish 
Fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska; Small Sablefish Release

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
submitted amendment 128 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI 
FMP) and amendment 116 to the FMP for Groundfish fisheries of the Gulf 
of Alaska (GOA FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If 
approved, these amendments would increase operational flexibility to 
allow vessels fishing for sablefish with fixed gear under the 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program or Western Alaska Community 
Development (CDQ) Program to release sablefish and would revise the 
annual allocation process to account for sablefish discards. This 
action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
the BSAI and GOA FMPs, and other applicable laws.

DATES: Submit comments on or before January 5, 2027.

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed action is 
available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2026-2542">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2026-2542</a>. 
You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2026-
2542, by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit 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-2026-2542 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 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 amendment 128 to the BSAI FMP, amendment 116 
to the GOA FMP, the Draft Environmental

[[Page 70042]]

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Analysis for Proposed Amendment 128 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Management Area and Proposed Amendment 116 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska Release 
of IFQ/CDQ Sablefish (referred to as the ``Analysis''), and the draft 
finding of no significant impact prepared for this action are available 
from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> with a search for 0648-BO62 or from 
the NMFS 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: Mason Smith, 907-586-7228, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#741915071b1a5a07191d001c341a1b15155a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1e737f6d7170306d73776a765e70717f7f30797168">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that each 
regional fishery management council submit any FMP amendment it 
prepares to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval by the Secretary of Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also 
requires that NMFS, after a council's transmittal of an FMP amendment, 
immediately publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that 
the amendment is available for public review and comment. This notice 
announces that proposed amendment 128 to the BSAI FMP and proposed 
amendment 116 to the GOA FMP are available for public review and 
comment.
    Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is managed as a groundfish species 
under the BSAI FMP and GOA FMP. The Council prepared, and the Secretary 
of Commerce (Secretary) approved, the BSAI FMP and GOA FMP under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 
Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and implementing the BSAI FMP and 
GOA FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
    The directed sablefish fishery in Alaska is managed under the IFQ 
Program established in 1995 (58 FR 59375, November 9, 1993). The IFQ 
Program allocates a specific portion of the non-trawl total allowable 
catch (TAC) to individual fishermen or groups, known as quota share 
owners. Fishermen are then issued individual quotas, dictating the 
amount of sablefish they are allowed to catch over the fishing season. 
Issuance of quota shares under the IFQ Program was originally based on 
participation in the fisheries during historical qualifying periods. 
However, quota share is transferable and new fishery participants can 
purchase quota share or lease IFQ. Quota shares and the resulting IFQ 
are designated for specific geographic IFQ regulatory areas and vessel 
categories, which authorize harvest by vessels of different size 
categories or harvesting and processing activity as specified in 
regulations at Sec.  679.40(a)(5). This system aims to prevent 
overfishing, reduce bycatch, and provide economic stability for 
fishermen.
    The CDQ Program is an economic development program associated with 
federally managed fisheries in the BSAI management area (57 FR 54936, 
November 23, 1992). The purposes of the CDQ Program are (1) to provide 
eligible western Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate 
and invest in fisheries in the BSAI management area; (2) to support 
economic development in western Alaska; (3) to alleviate poverty and 
provide economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska; 
and (4) to achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in 
western Alaska (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)(A)). The CDQ Program consists of 
six different non-profit managing organizations (CDQ groups) 
representing different geographical regions in Alaska. The CDQ Program 
receives annual allocations of TAC for a variety of commercially 
valuable species in the BSAI groundfish, crab, and halibut fisheries, 
which are in turn allocated among the CDQ groups. Each year, prior to 
establishing the IFQ allocations, NMFS allocates a percentage of the 
fixed gear TAC in the BSAI to the CDQ Program for use in each subarea.
    Beginning in 2014, there have been several years with record-
breaking year classes of Alaska sablefish. By 2017, these fish had 
grown large enough to be caught by the commercial fleet as an 
overwhelming number of small fish. Juvenile sablefish tend to be 
smaller in size and yield a lower commercial value by weight than large 
fish, particularly under current market conditions. Because of the 
lower prices resulting from large catches of small sablefish, 
stakeholders appealed for management action to provide relief from the 
prohibition on discarding sablefish in the fixed gear sablefish IFQ 
fleet. Sections 3.7.1.7 of the BSAI and GOA FMPs prohibit discarding of 
sablefish by persons holding sablefish IFQs and those fishing under the 
CDQ Program.
    The Council recommended amendment 128 to the BSAI FMP and amendment 
116 to the GOA FMP in April 2025. These amendments would (1) revise 
retention requirements to allow discards of small sablefish by catcher 
vessels (CVs) in the IFQ and CDQ programs as authorized in regulations, 
(2) revise retention requirements to allow discards of sablefish by 
catcher/processors (C/Ps) in the CDQ Program, (3) require all sablefish 
discarded by vessels in the IFQ and CDQ Programs to be carefully 
released as specified in regulation, (4) revise the methods for 
determining annual IFQs to account for a sablefish discard allowance 
(SDA) for the BSAI and an SDA for the GOA, and (5) make non-substantive 
technical edits to revise the use of ``freezer longliner'' language to 
refer to category A quota shares and C/Ps to increase alignment with 
Federal regulations. As a housekeeping measure, Amendment 116 would 
additionally remove unnecessary language referring to the CDQ Program 
in the GOA FMP.
    These amendments would modify the sablefish discard prohibition to 
allow discards of small sablefish by CVs using fixed gear. These 
amendments would allow C/Ps participating in the fixed gear sablefish 
CDQ fishery to discard sablefish by excluding them from the revised 
prohibition on discarding, while retaining the status quo for C/Ps 
participating in the fixed gear sablefish IFQ fishery to continue to 
discard sablefish. These amendments would establish an SDA for the BSAI 
and an SDA for the GOA to account for projected discard mortality of 
sablefish by fixed gear vessels engaged in fishing for sablefish in the 
IFQ and CDQ programs. Annually, the SDA would be deducted from the 
fixed gear TAC after any CDQ adjustments, as described in regulations, 
and prior to deriving sablefish IFQ. A discard mortality rate (DMR) 
would be recommended by the Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee and would be used to account for discard mortality towards 
the SDA throughout the fishery season. DMRs are estimates of the 
proportion of sablefish bycatch that do not survive after being 
returned to the sea. The cumulative sablefish mortality that accrues to 
the SDA is the product of a DMR multiplied by the estimated number of 
discarded sablefish.
    These amendments are expected to have a positive impact on private 
sector harvesters participating in the fixed gear IFQ or CDQ sablefish 
fisheries due to the increased flexibility in retaining higher value 
fish. Because the fixed gear sablefish TAC has historically been fully 
allocated to the IFQ and CDQ sablefish fisheries due to the full 
retention requirements, the proportional SDA deductions from the 
regulatory area TACs would be necessary to provide a buffer mechanism 
to avoid exceeding the TACs. It is necessary to establish a separate 
SDA to account for vessel level discard estimates because accounting

[[Page 70043]]

for discards against IFQ permits issued is not possible.
    These amendments would make housekeeping changes to revise the use 
of ``Freezer Longliner'' language to refer instead to category A quota 
shares and C/Ps, and update initial issuance language from the 1990s. 
These non-substantive technical changes would update language used in 
the FMP to increase alignment with Federal regulations. Currently, the 
BSAI and GOA FMPs define ``Freezer Longliner'' as, ``any vessel engaged 
in fishing in the fixed gear fishery which, during a given trip, 
utilizes freezer capacity and delivers some or all of its groundfish 
catch in a frozen state,'' and designates vessel categories, transfer 
provisions, and use and ownership provisions based on that term. To 
align with Federal regulations and common usage, the term ``Freezer 
Longliner'' would be expanded to include the term ``Catcher/
processor,'' which is defined in regulations as a vessel that is used 
for catching fish and processing that fish (50 CFR 679.2). 
Additionally, for these vessels, the designation of vessel categories, 
transfer provisions, and use and ownership provisions will be specified 
as ``category A quota shares,'' which authorize an IFQ permit holder to 
harvest and process IFQ species on a vessel of any length (50 CFR 
679.40(a)(5)(ii)(A)).
    NMFS is soliciting public comments on the proposed amendment 128 to 
the BSAI FMP and proposed amendment 116 to the GOA FMP through the end 
of the comment period (see DATES). NMFS intends to publish in the 
Federal Register and seek public comment on a proposed rule that would 
implement amendments 128 and 116, following NMFS's evaluation of the 
proposed rule under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Respondents do not need to submit the same comments on amendment 
128 to the BSAI FMP and amendment 116 to the GOA FMP and the proposed 
rule. All relevant written comments received by the end of the comment 
period for this notice will be considered by NMFS in the approval/
disapproval decision for amendment 128 to the BSAI FMP and amendment 
116 to the GOA FMP and also considered in the decision on the proposed 
rule and addressed in the response to comments in the final decision on 
the proposed rule. Comments received after the end of the comment 
period for this rule will not be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on amendment 128 to the BSAI FMP and amendment 116 to the GOA 
FMP. To be considered, comments must be received, not just postmarked 
or otherwise transmitted, by the last day of the comment period (see 
DATES).

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 4, 2026.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-22695 Filed 11-5-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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