82 FR 24092 - Pacific Island Fisheries; 2017-18 Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures; Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 100 (May 25, 2017)

NMFS proposes to specify an annual catch limit (ACL) of 306,000 lb for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for the 2017-18 fishing year, which will begin on September 1, 2017, and end on August 31, 2018. If NMFS projects that the fishery will reach the ACL, NMFS would close the commercial and non- commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for the remainder of the fishing year as an accountability measure (AM). The proposed ACL and AM support the long-term sustainability of Hawaii bottomfish.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 100 (Thursday, May 25, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24092-24094]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10704]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 170330338-7470-01]
RIN 0648-XF335


Pacific Island Fisheries; 2017-18 Annual Catch Limit and 
Accountability Measures; Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish

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

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to specify an annual catch limit (ACL) of 
306,000 lb for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for 
the 2017-18 fishing year, which will begin on September 1, 2017, and 
end on August 31, 2018. If NMFS projects that the

[[Page 24093]]

fishery will reach the ACL, NMFS would close the commercial and non-
commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for the remainder of the 
fishing year as an accountability measure (AM). The proposed ACL and AM 
support the long-term sustainability of Hawaii bottomfish.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments by June 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed 2017-18 ACL, 
identified by NOAA-NMFS-2017-0033, by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0033, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Send written comments to Michael D. Tosatto, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd. Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments sent by any other 
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end 
of the comment period. 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, etc.), 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).
    NMFS prepared an environmental analysis that describes the 
potential impacts on the human environment that could result from the 
proposed specification. The environmental analysis and other supporting 
documents are available at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Ellgen, NMFS PIR Sustainable 
Fisheries, 808-725-5173.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Western Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) manage the bottomfish fishery in Federal 
waters around Hawaii under the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaiian 
Archipelago (FEP), as authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Deep 7 
bottomfish are onaga (Etelis coruscans), ehu (E. carbunculus), gindai 
(Pristipomoides zonatus), kalekale (P. sieboldii), opakapaka (P. 
filamentosus), lehi (Aphareus rutilans), and hapuupuu (Hyporthodus 
quernus). The regulations at Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, 
part 665 (50 CFR 665.4) requires NMFS to specify an ACL for MHI Deep 7 
bottomfish each fishing year, based on a recommendation from the 
Council.
    NMFS proposes to specify an ACL of 306,000 lb of Deep 7 bottomfish 
in the MHI for the 2017-18 fishing year. The Council recommended the 
proposed ACL, based on a 2011 bottomfish stock assessment updated in 
2015 with three additional years of data, and taking into consideration 
the risk of overfishing, past fishery performance, the acceptable 
biological catch recommendation from its Scientific and Statistical 
Committee, and input from the public. This update to the 2011 NMFS 
bottomfish stock assessment estimated the overfishing limit for the MHI 
Deep 7 bottomfish stock complex to be 352,000 lb, which is 31,000 lb 
less than the estimated overfishing limit in the 2011 stock assessment. 
Based on this update, the Council recommended a three-year phased 
reduction of the ACL. NMFS prepared an environmental assessment, dated 
March 17, 2016 (available at www.regulations.gov), of the Council's 
three-year phased reduction of the ACL (entitled ``Specification of 
Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures for Main Hawaiian 
Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish Fisheries in Fishing Years 2015-16, 2016-17, 
and 2017-18''). The proposed ACL of 306,000 lb for 2017-18 is the third 
annual reduction in this phased approach, and is 12,000 lb less than 
the ACL that NMFS specified last year (82 FR 5429, January 18, 2017).
    The ACL is associated with a 39-percent probability of overfishing, 
and is more conservative than the 50-percent risk threshold allowed 
under NMFS guidelines for National Standard 1 of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. NMFS monitors Deep 7 bottomfish catches based on data provided by 
commercial fishermen to the State of Hawaii. If NMFS projects the 
fishery will reach this limit, NMFS would close the commercial and non-
commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for the remainder of the 
fishing year, as an accountability measure (AM). As an additional AM, 
in the event that NMFS and the Council determine that the final 2017-18 
Deep 7 bottomfish catch exceeds the ACL, NMFS would reduce the Deep 7 
bottomfish ACL for the 2018-19 fishing year by the amount of the 
overage.
    The fishery has not caught the specified limit in any year since 
2011. NMFS does not expect the proposed ACL and AM specifications for 
2017-18 to result in a change in fishing operations, or other changes 
to the conduct of the fishery that would result in significant 
environmental impacts. After considering public comments on the 
proposed ACL and AMs, NMFS will publish the final specifications.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries has determined that this 
proposed specification is consistent with the Hawaii FEP, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws, 
subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

Certification of Finding of No Significant Impact on Substantial Number 
of Small Entities

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that these proposed specifications, if adopted, would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. A description of the action, why it is being considered, and 
the legal basis for it are contained in the preamble to these proposed 
specifications.
    NMFS proposes to specify an ACL of 306,000 lb for MHI Deep 7 
bottomfish, as recommended by the Council, for the 2017-18 fishing 
year, which will begin on September 1, 2017, and end on August 31, 
2018. NMFS monitors MHI Deep 7 bottomfish catches based on data 
provided by commercial fishermen to the State of Hawaii. If NMFS 
projects that the fishery will reach this limit, NMFS would close the 
commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish for 
the remainder of the fishing year as an AM. The proposed ACL is 12,000 
lb less than the ACL that NMFS implemented for the 2016-17 fishing 
year, 20,000 lb less than the ACL that NMFS implemented for the 2015-16 
fishing year, and 40,000 lb less than the ACL that NMFS implemented in 
each of the four fishing years, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2014-15. 
The AM would remain the same. Over the past five fishing seasons, the 
highest reported annual landings, 309,485 lb, occurred during the 2013-
14 fishing year. NMFS does not expect that the fishery would reach the 
limit during the 2017-18 fishing year. Additionally, the proposed AM 
would allow NMFS to close the fishery to prevent the fishery from 
exceeding the proposed ACL. NMFS is preparing a new stock

[[Page 24094]]

assessment that would account for fishery performance in previous 
years, which NMFS and the Council would consider in recommending an ACL 
for fishing year 2018-2019.
    This rule would affect commercial and non-commercial fishermen who 
catch MHI Deep 7 bottomfish. Specifically, during the 2015-16 fishing 
year, 368 fishermen reported landing 259,530 lb of MHI Deep 7 
bottomfish. With regard to the 2016-17 fishing year, which is currently 
underway, as of March 28, 2017, 302 fishermen have caught 180,951 lb of 
Deep 7 bottomfish, which represents 57% of the 2016-17 ACL for Deep 7 
bottomfish. For Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes only, NMFS has 
established a small business size standard for businesses, including 
their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 
CFR 200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS 
code 11411) is classified as a small business if it is independently 
owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation 
(including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts not in 
excess of $11 million or all its affiliated operations worldwide.
    Based on available information, NMFS has determined that all 
affected entities--vessels in the commercial and non-commercial 
fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish--are small entities under the NMFS 
standard, as they are engaged in the business of fish harvesting, 
independently owned or operated, not dominant in their field of 
operation, and have annual gross receipts not in excess of $11 million. 
Therefore, there would be no disproportionate economic impacts between 
large and small entities. Furthermore, there would be no 
disproportionate economic impacts among the universe of vessels based 
on gear, home port, or vessel length.
    As for revenues earned by fishermen from MHI Deep 7 bottomfish, 
State of Hawaii records report that 328 of the 368 fishermen sold their 
MHI Deep 7 bottomfish catch during the 2015-16 fishing year. These 328 
individuals sold a combined total of 240,183 lb (92.5 percent of 
reported catch) at a value of $1,716,313. Based on these revenues, the 
average price for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish in 2015-16 was approximately 
$7.15/lb. NMFS assumed that either the remaining 40 commercial 
fishermen sold no Deep 7 bottomfish, or the State of Hawaii reporting 
program did not capture their sales. With regard to the 2016-17 fishing 
year currently underway, as of March 28, 2016, revenues from sales of 
Deep 7 bottomfish totaled $1,138,531 from 147,274 lb sold, yielding an 
average price of $7.73 per lb.
    Assuming the fishery attains the ACL of 306,000 in 2017-18, and 
using the 2015-16 average price of $7.15/lb, NMFS expects the potential 
fleet wide revenue during 2017-18 to be $2,187,900 (or approximately 
$2,023,808 under the assumption that 92.5 percent of catch is sold). If 
Deep 7 bottomfish catch reached the ACL during the 2017-18 fishing year 
and all catch were to be sold by the same number of fishermen with 
sales during 2015-16, each of these 328 commercial fishermen could 
potentially earn on average $6,671 from the sale of 933 lb of Deep 7 
bottomfish. If the fishery reaches the ACL, with 92.5 percent of all 
Deep 7 bottomfish catch to be sold, then these 328 commercial fishermen 
would sell an average of 863 lb of Deep 7 bottomfish valued at about 
$6,171, which is well below the $11 million threshold.
    In general, the relative importance of MHI bottomfish to commercial 
participants as a percentage of overall fishing or household income is 
unknown, as the total suite of fishing and other income-generating 
activities by individual operations across the year has not been 
examined.
    Even though this proposed specification would apply to a 
substantial number of vessels, i.e., 100 percent of the bottomfish 
fleet, as NMFS does not expect this rule to have a significantly 
adverse economic impact on individual vessels. Landings information 
from the past five fishing years suggest that Deep 7 bottomfish 
landings are not likely to exceed the ACL proposed for 2017-18. 
Therefore, pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, this proposed 
action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. As a result, an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis is not required, and none has been prepared.

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

    Dated: May 19, 2017.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-10704 Filed 5-24-17; 8:45 am]
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