Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program; Amendment 45; Pacific Cod Sideboard Allocations in the Gulf of Alaska
Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)
Federal Register Volume 80, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)
Proposed Rules
Pages 7817-7826
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2015-02911
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 680
Docket No. 130820737-5111-01
RIN 0648-BD61
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program; Amendment 45; Pacific Cod Sideboard Allocations in the Gulf of Alaska
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 issues a proposed rule that would implement Amendment 45 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP). If approved, Amendment 45 would establish, for a limited period of time, a process for NMFS to permanently remove Pacific cod catch limits, known as sideboard limits, which are applicable to certain hook-and-line catcher/processors in the Central and Western Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Regulatory Areas. This action would authorize NMFS to remove these Pacific cod sideboard limits in the Central and/or Western GOA if all eligible participants in the hook-
and-line catcher/processor sector in a regulatory area sign and submit a request that NMFS remove the sideboard limit. Each eligible participant would be required to submit the request to NMFS within 1 year of the date of publication of a final rule implementing Amendment 45, if it is approved by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). This action is necessary to provide participants in the Central and Western GOA hook-and-line catcher/processor sectors with an opportunity to cooperatively coordinate harvests of Pacific cod through private arrangement to the participants' mutual benefit, which would remove the need for sideboard limits in these regulatory areas. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Crab FMP, and other applicable laws.
DATES: Submit comments on or before March 16, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2013-0133, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0133, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. 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 www.regulations.gov 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). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Electronic copies of the following documents may be obtained from http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov:
The Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (RIR/IRFA), and the Categorical Exclusion prepared for this action (collectively referred to as the ``Analysis'');
The Harvest Specifications Supplemental Information Report (SIR) prepared for the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications;
The Final Environmental Assessment/Final RIR/Initial IRFA for Amendment 83 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP) Allocation of Pacific cod Among Sectors in the Western and Central GOA; and
The Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications Final Environmental Impact Statement (Harvest Specifications EIS).
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this action may be submitted to NMFS at the above address and by email to OIRA_
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Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to 202-395-5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seanbob Kelly, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: MFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 45 to the Crab FMP. The king and Tanner crab fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are managed under the Crab FMP. While the groundfish fisheries in the EEZ of the Gulf of Alaska are managed primarily under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA FMP), some aspects of groundfish fishing in the Gulf of Alaska are managed under the Crab FMP. The Council prepared each fishery management plan pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws. Regulations implementing the Crab FMP appear at 50 CFR part 680. Regulations implementing the GOA FMP appear at 50 CFR part 679. General regulations governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600.
This proposed action would establish, for a limited period of time, a regulatory process for NMFS to permanently remove Pacific cod catch limits, known as sideboard limits, that are applicable to some participants in the Central GOA Regulatory Area (Central GOA) and Western GOA Regulatory Area (Western GOA) hook-and-line catcher/
processor sectors. This proposed rule would modify regulations at 50 CFR 680.22(e) that currently require NMFS to establish Pacific cod sideboard limits for hook-and-line catcher/processors during the annual harvest specification process. Under this proposed rule, NMFS would not establish these sideboard limits for the Central or Western GOA if all participants eligible to use a hook-and-line catcher/processor to fish for Pacific cod in the regulatory area sign and submit to NMFS a request that NMFS remove the sideboard limit for that regulatory area. Each eligible participant would be required to submit that request to NMFS within 1 year of the date of publication of a final rule implementing Amendment 45, if approved by the Secretary. Each eligible participant in the Central and/or Western GOA must sign an affidavit, included on a form, to request that NMFS no longer establish Pacific cod sideboard limits for the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector in the Central and/or Western GOA. If NMFS receives the required affidavits within the time provided, NMFS would announce the permanent removal of the Central and/or Western GOA sideboard limits during the annual GOA groundfish specification process and would no longer establish Pacific cod sideboard limits for the hook-and-line catcher/
processor sector in the Central and/or Western GOA. If NMFS does not receive the required affidavits within the time provided, NMFS would continue to establish GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits for the hook-
and-line catcher/processor sectors through the annual GOA groundfish specification process.
To understand the proposed action, the following sections of the preamble describe: (1) General management of Pacific cod in the Central and Western GOA; (2) GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits established under the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) Crab Rationalization Program; (3) recent allocations of Pacific cod in the GOA; (4) the effect of Pacific cod sideboard limits on hook-and-line catcher/processors in the Central and Western GOA; and (5) the proposed action.
General Management of Pacific Cod in the Central and Western GOA
NMFS implements conservation and management measures, such as catch limits, to prevent overfishing while achieving the optimum yield in federally managed fisheries. Catch limits for GOA Pacific cod are established as part of the annual harvest specifications process for GOA groundfish. A detailed description of the annual harvest specification process is provided in the Harvest Specifications EIS (see ADDRESSES), the Harvest Specifications SIR (see ADDRESSES), and the final 2014 and 2015 harvest specifications for groundfish of the GOA (79 FR 12890, March 6, 2014).
Regulations at Sec. 679.20(a) require that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) annually recommend, and NMFS specify, an amount of catch at which overfishing is occurring (i.e., overfishing level or OFL), an acceptable biological catch (ABC), and a total allowable catch (TAC) for each stock or stock complex (i.e., species or species group). NMFS defines the ABC as the level of a species or species group's annual catch that accounts for the scientific uncertainty in the estimate of OFL and any other scientific uncertainty. The ABC is always set below the OFL. The TAC is defined as the annual catch target for a species or species group that is derived from the ABC after considering social and economic factors and management uncertainty. Separate TACs are calculated using the apportionment of TAC for specific regulatory areas to limit catch and ensure that fisheries can be effectively managed. Similarly, sideboard limits are calculated as a portion of the TACs for some groundfish species and established in the annual harvest specifications. Sideboard limits constrain harvests by specific vessels based on regulatory requirements established under various management programs.
Specific to this proposed action, the Council recommends, and NMFS implements an OFL and ABC for Pacific cod in the GOA, and separate TACs for the Eastern, Central, and Western GOA Pacific cod fisheries. NMFS limits harvest by vessels participating in the Pacific cod fisheries to these TACs to provide for a conservatively managed sustainable yield throughout the GOA. Once the TACs have been established, NMFS apportions each TAC among various gear types (e.g., pot or trawl gear), operation types (e.g., catcher vessels and catcher/processors), and sectors (e.g., hook-and-line catcher/processors) as required by regulation (see regulations at Sec. 679.20(a)). Based on the regulatory area TACs for Eastern, Central, and Western GOA, as divided by the A season and B season, NMFS establishes sideboard limits for Pacific cod, as required by regulations (for example, see regulations at Sec. 680.22(a) and (d)). The resulting sideboard limits, expressed in metric tons, are published in the annual GOA groundfish harvest specification notices (for the most recent example, see 79 FR 12890, March 6, 2014). As described in more detail in the following sections of this preamble, NMFS manages vessels subject to Pacific cod sideboard limits to ensure that these limits are not exceeded.
NMFS also manages Pacific cod fisheries through the License Limitation Program (LLP). A vessel is required to be named on an LLP license before it can be deployed to directed fish (i.e., specifically target) for groundfish in Federal fisheries in the GOA. The term ``directed fishing'' is defined in regulation at Sec. 679.2. NMFS has issued a specific number of LLP licenses, which establish an upper limit on the total number of potential participants in GOA groundfish fisheries. LLP licenses are assigned endorsements for specific areas (e.g., Central or Western GOA), specific gear (e.g., trawl or hook-and-
line gear), operation type (e.g., catcher vessel or catcher/processor), and in the case of vessels using hook-and-line or pot gear in the Central and Western GOA Pacific cod fisheries, a Pacific cod endorsement. LLP licenses must have the necessary endorsements for the fishing to be conducted. For example, in order for a vessel to be used to conduct directed fishing for Pacific cod in the
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Central GOA as a hook-and-line catcher/processor, the vessel must be named on an LLP license that has hook-and-line, catcher/processor, and Pacific cod endorsements for the Central GOA. Additional detail on the LLP is available in the final rule implementing the LLP (63 FR 52642, October 1, 1998), and in the final rule implementing Amendment 86 to the GOA FMP, which established Pacific cod endorsement requirements for hook-and-line and pot gear in the Central and Western GOA (March 22, 2011, 76 FR 15826).
GOA Pacific Cod Sideboard Limits Established Under the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program
The BSAI Crab Rationalization Program (CR Program) was implemented in 2005 and established a catch share program that allocates BSAI crab resources among harvesters, processors, and coastal communities (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005). As part of the CR Program, eligible vessel owners and vessel captains were allocated quota share (QS) in several valuable crab fisheries, including the Bering Sea snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery (see Table 1 to 50 CFR part 680 and Sec. 680.40(a) for a complete list of fisheries). The amount of crab QS assigned to each harvester is based on historic landings in these fisheries (see regulations at Sec. 680.40(c)). The QS allocated to historic participants in the crab fisheries represents an exclusive harvest privilege, commonly known as a catch share. A catch share provides each qualified harvester with an annual allocation of a portion of the available TAC for each target species.
As a catch share program, the CR Program benefits eligible harvesters by allowing them to tailor their fishing to their specific exclusive harvest allocation. This allows harvesters to avoid a ``race for fish,'' in which participants compete against each other to maximize their catch before the TAC is reached. The CR Program provides increased flexibility for crab fishermen to choose when and where to fish or whether to lease their crab QS and fish for species other than crab. The Council and NMFS recognized that the benefits of the CR Program could create incentives for recipients of snow crab QS to increase their level of participation in groundfish fisheries, especially Pacific cod fisheries in the Central and Western GOA. Vessel owners that received snow crab QS were active in Pacific cod fisheries, and to a lesser extent pollock and other groundfish fisheries, in the GOA. Therefore, vessel owners receiving snow crab QS could increase their fishing effort in GOA groundfish fisheries because the allocation of snow crab QS provides an exclusive harvest privilege to each eligible vessel owner that can be leased, thereby providing the opportunity for those vessel owners to forgo crab harvests in the BSAI to directed fish for Pacific cod and other groundfish in the GOA.
Regulations implementing the CR Program established catch restrictions, known as CR Program GOA sideboards, to limit the potential adverse effects of the CR Program on GOA groundfish fisheries. These sideboards prevent CR Program participants from preempting fishermen in the GOA that did not receive benefits from the CR Program. The final rule implementing the CR Program (70 FR 10174, March 2, 2005) and Section 1.1.3 of the Analysis provide additional detail on the rationale for specific provisions of CR Program GOA sideboards. This preamble provides a summary of relevant provisions.
CR Program GOA sideboards apply to the owners and operators of vessels that (1) are not authorized to conduct directed fishing for pollock under the American Fisheries Act (AFA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-
227, Title II of Division C); and (2) were used to fish for Bering Sea snow crab from 1996 through 2000. For this preamble, these vessels are termed ``non-AFA crab vessels.'' CR Program GOA sideboards also apply to any vessel that fishes under the authority of an LLP license originally issued to a non-AFA crab vessel. For this preamble, these LLP licenses are termed ``non-AFA crab LLP licenses.''
When developing the CR Program GOA sideboards, the Council and NMFS recognized that individual non-AFA crab vessels and associated non-AFA crab LLP licenses had varying levels of historical participation in the GOA groundfish fisheries. Therefore, the Council and NMFS established two broad categories of CR Program GOA sideboards: (1) Sideboard limits for groundfish species other than Pacific cod that apply to all non-AFA crab vessels and non-AFA crab LLP licenses; and (2) sideboard provisions for Pacific cod that apply to all non-AFA crab vessels and non-AFA crab LLP licenses but that vary depending on the specific harvest patterns of the non-AFA crab vessel and its associated non-AFA crab LLP license. Because this proposed action would not modify GOA sideboard limits for groundfish species other than Pacific cod, only the GOA Pacific cod sideboard provisions are further described in this preamble.
The CR Program establishes three separate GOA Pacific cod sideboard provisions based on historic fishing patterns for Bering Sea snow crab and GOA Pacific cod by non-AFA crab vessels from 1996 through 2000. Many vessels active in the Bering Sea snow crab fisheries during this time also used pot gear to fish for Pacific cod in the GOA because the gear is similar to the pot gear used for fishing crab, and the vessels were well-suited to fishing for Pacific cod. Specifically, some non-AFA crab vessels, and the non-AFA crab LLP licenses associated with those vessels, had relatively little participation in GOA Pacific cod fisheries and relatively high levels of participation in Bering Sea snow crab fisheries; some had relatively high levels of participation in GOA Pacific cod fisheries and relatively little participation in Bering Sea snow crab fisheries; and some had relatively moderate levels of participation in both GOA Pacific cod fisheries and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries.
To recognize these three different participation patterns, the CR Program established three types of GOA Pacific cod sideboard provisions for non-AFA crab vessels and non-AFA crab LLP licenses. These three CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard provisions are: (1) A prohibition on directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod for those non-AFA crab vessels and LLP licenses that had relatively little participation in GOA Pacific cod fisheries and relatively high levels of participation in Bering Sea snow crab fisheries; (2) a GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit for those non-AFA crab vessels and LLP licenses that had relatively moderate levels of participation in both GOA Pacific cod fisheries and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries; and (3) an exemption from the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits for those non-AFA crab vessels and LLP licenses that had relatively high levels of participation in GOA Pacific cod fisheries and relatively little participation in Bering Sea snow crab fisheries. Because this proposed action would not modify the prohibition on directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod or the exemption from CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits, only the sideboard provision described under (2) above that imposes GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits is further described in this preamble.
Those non-AFA crab vessels and non-AFA crab LLP licenses that are not prohibited from directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod or exempt from GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits are subject to specific annual limits on the maximum amount of Pacific cod that can be caught. These annual limits are known as CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits. These CR Program
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GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits are calculated based on the proportion of the GOA Pacific cod TACs in the Eastern, Central, and Western GOA harvested from 1996 through 2000 by non-AFA crab vessels subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits (see regulations at Sec. 680.22(a)(1)).
The CR Program created separate Pacific cod sideboard limits for the Eastern, Central, and Western GOA. CR Program GOA sideboard limits are established through the annual harvest specifications. Because the final annual harvest specifications for 2005 were effective before the final rule for the CR Program was effective, the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits were first implemented in 2006 in the final 2006 and 2007 harvest specifications for groundfish of the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006).
During a fishing year, NMFS manages CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits by tracking all catch of vessels subject to a sideboard limit to make sure the sideboard limits are not exceeded. NMFS opens directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod in a specific regulatory area by vessels subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit when it determines that all Pacific cod catch by those vessels, in directed fisheries and as incidental catch, would not exceed the sideboard limit in that area (see regulations at Sec. 680.22(e)). NMFS prohibits directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod in a specific regulatory area by vessels subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit when it determines that the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit is reached or the remainder of the sideboard limit is needed to account for incidental catch of Pacific cod by those vessels in other fisheries. NMFS will prohibit directed fishing for GOA Pacific cod in a specific regulatory area by vessels subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit through the annual harvest specifications if NMFS determines at the start of the fishing year that the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limit is insufficient to support a directed fishery by those vessels (see regulations at Sec. 680.22(e)(2) and (3)).
Some of the vessels and LLP licenses active in the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector are subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits. In general, the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector operates primarily in the BSAI, and to a lesser extent in the Central and Western GOA. The hook-and-line catcher/processor sector primarily targets Pacific cod. Recent estimates indicate that nearly 90 percent of the revenue from the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector is generated from directed fishing for Pacific cod (Section 1.6.2 of the Analysis provides additional detail on catch and revenue by the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector).
According to Section 1.6 of the Analysis, the hook-and-line catcher/processor sector operating in the EEZ off Alaska currently consists of 36 vessels. NMFS has determined that eight of these 36 vessels are subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits. The Federal Fisheries Permit (FFP) issued by NMFS to each of these eight vessels includes a designation indicating that the vessel is subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits. Of the LLP licenses that authorize a vessel to participate in the Central and/or Western GOA Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector, NMFS has determined that five LLP licenses are subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits. These five LLP licenses include a designation indicating that the license is subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits (see Section 1.6 of the Analysis for more detail).
NMFS has determined that the number of vessels subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits and that have been used as hook-and-line catcher/processors in the GOA (eight vessels) is slightly more than the number of vessels identified in the analysis available to the Council at the time the Council recommended this proposed action (six vessels). NMFS has identified the following list of eight vessels that have operated as hook-and-line catcher/processors in the GOA and that are subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits: Aleutian Lady; Baranof; Beauty Bay; Bering Prowler; Blue Attu; Courageous; Siberian Sea; and US Liberator. NMFS has revised the Analysis to provide a full description of the vessels subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits and updated the assessment of the impacts of this proposed action. Section 1.6 of the Analysis provides additional detail.
The following sections of the preamble describe the allocation of Pacific cod in the GOA and the effects of this allocation on the management of CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits in the Central and Western GOA.
Allocations of Pacific Cod in the GOA
For the last 20 years, Pacific cod in the GOA has been managed under two management regimes--inshore/offshore management from the early 1990s through 2011 and sector management under Amendment 83 to the GOA FMP (Amendment 83) from 2012 until the present. Prior to 2012, Pacific cod in the GOA was apportioned on the basis of processor component (i.e., an inshore and an offshore component) and season, commonly known as inshore/offshore management. Under inshore/offshore management, 90 percent of the Eastern, Central, and Western GOA Pacific cod TACs were allocated to vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the inshore component, and 10 percent to vessels catching Pacific cod for processing by the offshore component. In 2007, the Council recognized that, under inshore/offshore management, competition among participants in the Central and Western GOA Pacific cod fisheries had intensified beginning around 2005 relative to prior years. Because the Central and Western GOA Pacific cod TACs were divided by inshore and offshore processing components and not among gear or operation types, a race for fish existed among vessels in the inshore and the offshore components. All vessels using various types of gear (i.e., hook-and-
line, jig, pot, and trawl) competed against each other for the harvest of the GOA Pacific cod TACs.
In response to this race for fish, the Council recommended, and NMFS approved, Amendment 83 in 2011 (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011). Regulations implementing Amendment 83 became effective on January 1, 2012. Amendment 83 removed inshore/offshore management for Pacific cod in the Central and Western GOA and allocated Central and Western GOA Pacific cod TACs among a number of sectors composed of combinations of various gear types, operation types, and vessel size classes. The final rule implementing Amendment 83 defines these Pacific cod sectors (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011). Sector allocations limit the amount of Central and Western GOA Pacific cod that each sector is authorized to catch. Amendment 83 was intended to reduce competition and support stability in the Pacific cod fishery. Amendment 83 did not change Pacific cod management in the Eastern GOA because the same level of competition, or race for fish, did not exist in the Eastern GOA compared to the Central and Western GOA. Therefore, Pacific cod in the Eastern GOA is still subject to inshore/offshore management.
Under the regulations implementing Amendment 83, allocations from the Central and Western GOA Pacific cod TACs are made first to the jig sector, and then to all other sectors. The allocations made to the various sectors, other than jig gear, were based on harvest during a range of years that reflected historic and recent patterns of harvest by each sector
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(see the final rule implementing Amendment 83 for additional detail (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011)). Specific to this proposed action, regulations implementing Amendment 83 established sector allocations for hook-and-line catcher/processors in the Central GOA and the Western GOA. The hook-and-line catcher/processor sector receives 5.10 percent of the Central GOA Pacific cod TAC after allocation to jig gear, and 19.80 percent of the Western GOA Pacific cod TAC after allocation to jig gear (see Sec. 679.20(a)(12)(i)(A) and (B)).
The allocations of Central and Western GOA Pacific cod to the hook-
and-line catcher/processor sector can be harvested only by vessels that are named on an LLP license with Central and/or Western GOA, Pacific cod, hook-and-line, and catcher/processor endorsements (76 FR 74670, December 1, 2011). A total of 23 LLP licenses are endorsed for the Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector in the Central GOA, and 18 LLP licenses are endorsed for the Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector in the Western GOA (See Section 1.5 of the Analysis). Some of these LLP licenses are endorsed for both the Central and Western GOA; therefore, a total of 30 LLP licenses are endorsed for the Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector in the Central or Western GOA. Twenty-seven of these 30 LLP licenses are also endorsed for the Bering Sea or Aleutian Islands Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector. The three remaining LLP licenses are not endorsed for the BSAI Pacific cod hook-and-line catcher/processor sector, and fish exclusively in the GOA (see Section 1.5.4 of the Analysis for additional detail).
The Effect of Pacific Cod Sideboard Limits on Hook-and-Line Catcher/
Processors in the Central and Western GOA
The CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits affected the eight vessels and the five LLP licenses subject to the sideboard limits differently starting in 2012 under Amendment 83 than under inshore/
offshore management when the CR Program was first implemented in 2006 through 2011. When the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits were implemented in 2006, CR Program Pacific cod GOA sideboard limits were divided between the inshore and offshore components in order to be consistent with inshore/offshore management measures in effect for Pacific cod at that time. From 2006 through 2011, the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits were calculated by adding up the amount of harvest of all vessels subject to sideboards in the inshore or offshore components and dividing that by the catches of all vessels in either the inshore or offshore component to yield a sideboard ratio for the inshore and offshore components. The sideboard ratio was annually multiplied by the inshore or offshore TAC for the applicable area (e.g., Central or Western GOA) to yield a sideboard limit for that year. Finally, the sideboard limit was divided into the seasonal apportionments established for the Central and Western GOA and published in the Federal Register as part of the harvest specifications. For example, the Central GOA inshore component sideboard ratio for the Pacific cod A season (January 1 to June 10) was 0.0383, or 3.08%of the A season TAC, and the Western GOA inshore component sideboard ratio for the A season was 0.0902, or 9.02% of the A season TAC. Additional detail on this allocation process is provided in Table 16 of the final 2006 and 2007 harvest specifications for groundfish of the GOA (71 FR 10870, March 3, 2006) and in Section 1.5.3 of the Analysis.
Because the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits were allocated among the inshore and offshore components, and not allocated among gear-specific sectors (e.g., hook-and-line gear, pot gear), the owners and operators of the eight sideboarded hook-and-line catcher/
processors and the hook-and-line catcher/processors assigned to the five sideboarded LLP licenses competed with the other sideboarded participants in the inshore or offshore component, including vessels using other gear types (e.g., pot gear). This created a ``race for sideboards'' as the various vessels subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits in the inshore and offshore components competed amongst each other. The hook-and-line catcher/processor sector was able to effectively harvest a large portion of the Pacific cod sideboard limits in the Central and Western GOA under these management conditions, as noted in Section 1.6.2 of the Analysis.
As illustrated in Table 1, the hook-and-line catcher/processor participants subject to CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits catch more Pacific cod in the BSAI than in the GOA; however, these participants increased participation in the GOA Pacific cod fishery from 2001 through 2004 and had relatively higher Pacific cod catch rates following the implementation of the CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits from 2006 through 2011 as compared to catch rates during the historic period used to calculate the sideboards (1996-
2000). Since the implementation of operation and gear-specific CR Program GOA Pacific cod sideboard limits under Amendment 83 in 2012, hook-and-line catcher/processors subject to these sideboards have not harvested GOA Pacific cod.
Table 1--Average Catch in the GOA and BSAI by Hook-and-Line Catcher/Processors That Are Currently Subject to the CR Program GOA Pacific Cod Sideboards
Relative to the Average Pacific Cod TAC Amounts for all Sectors in the BSAI and GOA: 1996 Through 2000, Catch During the Period Used To Calculate CR
Program Sideboards; 2001-2004, Catch Prior To Implementation of CR Program; 2005-2011, Catch Following Implementation of CR Program; and 2012-2013,
Catch Following Implementation of Gear and Operation Type Specific CR Program GOA Pacific Cod Sideboards Under Amendment 83
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BSAI GOA Percent of
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GOA catch
relative to
Time period total BSAI
TAC (mt) Catch (mt) Percent of TAC (mt) Catch (mt) Percent of and GOA
TAC TAC Pacific cod
catch
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1996-2000.................................................... 224,000 7,988 4 65,345 266
