Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 2, January 5, 2009, Pages 201-392 Page: 253
vi, 191, ii p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Federal Register/Vol. 74, No. 2/Monday, January 5, 2009 /Proposed Rules
remainder of the period, any incidental
Pacific sardine landings would be
counted against that period's incidental
set-aside. The proposed incidental
fishery would also be constrained to a
20 percent by weight incidental catch
rate when Pacific sardine are landed
with other CPS so as to minimize the
targeting of Pacific sardine. In the event
that an incidental set aside is projected
to be attained, all fisheries will be
closed to the retention of Pacific sardine
for the remainder of the period. If the
set-aside is not fully attained or is
exceeded in a given seasonal period, the
directed harvest allocation in the
following seasonal period would
automatically be adjusted to account for
the discrepancy. Additionally, if during
any seasonal period the directed harvest
allocation is not fully attained or is
exceeded, then the following period's
directed harvest total would be adjusted
to account for this discrepancy as well.
If the total HG or these apportionment
levels for Pacific sardine are reached or
are expected to be reached, the Pacific
sardine fishery would be closed via
appropriate rulemaking until it re-opens
either per the allocation scheme or the
beginning of the next fishing season.
The Regional Administrator would
publish a notice in the Federal Register
announcing the date of such closures.
Detailed information on the fishery
and the stock assessment are found in
the report "Assessment of Pacific
Sardine Stock for U.S. Management in
2009" (see ADDRESSES).
The formula in the CPS FMP uses the
following factors to
determine the HG:
1. Biomass. The estimated stock
biomass of Pacific sardine age one and
above for the 2009 management season
is 662,886 mt.
2. Cutoff. This is the biomass level
below which no commercial fishery is
allowed. The FMP established this level
at 150,000 mt.
3. Distribution. The portion of the
Pacific sardine biomass estimated in the
EEZ off the Pacific coast is 87 percent
and is based on the average historical
larval distribution obtained from
scientific cruises and the distribution of
the resource according to the logbooks
of aerial fish-spotters.
4. Fraction. The harvest fraction is the
percentage of the biomass above 150,000
mt that may be harvested. The fraction
used varies (5-15 percent) with current
ocean temperatures; a higher fraction for
warmer ocean temperatures and a lower
fraction for cooler temperatures.
Warmer ocean temperatures favor the
production of Pacific sardine. For 2009,the fraction used was 15 percent, based
on three seasons of sea surface
temperature at Scripps Pier, California.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with the CPS FMP, other provisions of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
These proposed specifications are
exempt from review under Executive
Order 12866.
An IRFA was prepared, as required by
section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act, 5 U.S.C. note. The IRFA describes
the economic impact this proposed rule,
if adopted, would have on small
entities. A description of the action,
why it is being considered, and the legal
basis for this action are contained at the
beginning of this section in the
preamble and in the SUMMARY section of
the preamble. The results of the analysis
are stated below. For copies of the IRFA,
and instructions on how to send
comments on the IRFA, please see the
ADDRESSES section above.
The purpose of this proposed rule is
to implement the 2009 HG for Pacific
sardine in the U.S. EEZ off the Pacific
coast. The HG is proposed according to
the regulations implementing the CPS
FMP and establishes allowable harvest
levels for Pacific sardine off the Pacific
coast. The HG is determined using an
environmentally-based formula
accounting for the effect of ocean
conditions on stock productivity.
The HG is apportioned based on the
following allocation scheme: 35 percent
of the HG is allocated coastwide on
January 1; 40 percent of the HG, plus
any portion not harvested from the
initial allocation is then reallocated
coastwide on July 1; and on September
15 the remaining 25 percent, plus any
portion not harvested from earlier
allocations will be released. If the total
HG or these apportionment levels for
Pacific sardine are reached at any time,
the Pacific sardine fishery is closed
until either it re-opens per the allocation
scheme or the beginning of the next
fishing season. There is no limit on the
amount of catch that any single vessel
can take during an allocation period or
the year; the HG and seasonal
allocations are available until fully
utilized by the entire CPS fleet.
The small entities that would be
affected by the proposed action are the
vessels that compose the West Coast
CPS finish fleet. Approximately 107
vessels are permitted to operate in the
sardine fishery component of the CPSfishery off the U.S. West Coast; 63
permits in the Federal CPS limited entry
fishery off California (south of 39 N.
lat.), and a combined 44 permits in
Oregon and Washington's state Pacific
sardine fisheries. This proposed rule has
an equal effect on all of these small
entities and therefore will impact a
substantial number of these small
entities in the same manner. These
vessels are considered small business
entities by the U.S. Small Business
Administration since the vessels do not
have annual receipts in excess of $4.0
million. Therefore, there would be no
economic impacts resulting from
disproportionality between small and
large business entities under the
proposed action.
The profitability of these vessels as a
result of this proposed rule is based on
the average Pacific sardine ex-vessel
price per mt. NMFS used average Pacific
sardine ex-vessel price per mt to
conduct a profitability analysis because
cost data for the harvesting operations of
CPS finfish vessels was unavailable.
For the 2008 fishing year the HG was
set at 89,093 mt. Approximately 87,000
mt (58,000 in California and 29,000 in
Oregon and Washington) of this HG was
harvested during the 2008 fishing
season with an estimated ex-vessel
value of $14.5 million. Although the
2008 HG was 42 percent lower than the
HG for 2007, due to an increase in
average annual ex-vessel price per
pound annual ex-vessel revenue for
2008 was similar to that in 2007.
The proposed HG for the 2009 Pacific
sardine fishing season (January 1, 2009
through December 31, 2009) is 65,732
metric tons (mt). This HG is 25 percent
lower than the HG for 2008. If the fleet
were to take the entire 2009 HG, and
assuming a coastwide average ex-vessel
price per mt of $168, the potential
revenue to the fleet would be
approximately $11 million. This would
be similar to the average total coastwide
ex-vessel value achieved from 2002-
2007. Whether this will occur depends
greatly on market forces within the
fishery and on the regional availability
of the resource to the fleets and the
fleets' ability to find pure schools of
Pacific sardine. A change in the market
and/or the potential lack of availability
of the resource to the fleets could cause
a reduction in the amount of Pacific
sardine that is harvested, in turn,
reducing the total revenue to the fleet
from Pacific sardine.
There will likely be a drop in
profitability based on this rule
compared to last season due to the
lower HG this year. However, from 2002
through 2007 the average coastwide
annual ex-vessel revenue was $11million, therefore at current ex-vessel
253
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 2, January 5, 2009, Pages 201-392, periodical, January 5, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc132864/m1/60/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.