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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 38 / Monday, March 1, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
one of the other significant alternatives to the rule considered by the agency which affect the impact on small entities was rejected.
A description of this final rule and the need for and objectives of this rule are contained in the preamble to the proposed rule 85 FR 55243, September 4, 2020 and final rule and are not repeated here.
Public and Chief Counsel for Advocacy Comments on the IRFA
An IRFA was prepared in the Classification section of the preamble to the proposed rule. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA did not file any comments on the proposed rule. NMFS
received no comments specifically on the IRFA.
Number and Description of Small Entities Regulated by This Final Rule This final rule will directly regulate the owners and operators of catcher vessels, catcher/processor vessels, and shoreside processors eligible to participate in the CGOA Rockfish Program. In 2019 the most recent year of complete data, 54 vessel owners participated in the Rockfish Program, 19
of which are considered small entities based on the $11 million threshold. No catcher/processor vessels are classified as small entities because their combined gross income through affiliation with the Amendment 80 cooperative exceeds the $11 million first wholesale value threshold. In 2018 and 2019, six shorebased cooperatives were associated with a unique shoreside processor under the Rockfish Program. Reliable information is not available on ownership affiliations among individual processing operations or employment for the fish processors directly regulated by this final rule. Therefore, NMFS assumes that all of the processors directly regulated by this final rule could be small. Additional detail is included in Sections 3.5.5 and 3.9 in the Analysis prepared for this final rule see ADDRESSES.
In addition to the main program, this final rule also maintains the entry level fishery for the longline sector.
Since participation in that fishery is voluntary, the number of small entities participating in future years cannot be reliably predicted. From 2012 to 2019, an average of 4 vessels targeted CGOA
rockfish in the entry level longline sector. Participation in this fishery has typically included vessels using jig gear and are considered small entities.
Therefore, it is likely that a substantial portion of the entry level longline fishery participants will be small entities.

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Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Other Compliance Requirements This final rule will modify recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the Rockfish Program to 1 clarify that only shoreside processors receiving Rockfish Program CQ must submit the Rockfish Ex-vessel Volume and Value Report; 2
modify cooperative check-in times from 48 to 24 hours; 3 remove the requirement for an annual Rockfish Program cooperative report to be submitted to NMFS; 4 remove the requirement for rockfish cooperatives to submit a fishing plan with its annual application for cooperative quota; and 5 require NMFS to annually publish a Rockfish Program cost recovery report.
These recordkeeping and reporting changes will clarify existing provisions of the program and remove unnecessary reporting requirements, slightly reducing the reporting burden for all directly regulated entities including small entities. The impacts of these changes are described in more detail in Section 3.7 of the Analysis prepared for this final rule See ADDRESSES.
Description of Significant Alternatives Considered to the Final Action That Minimize Adverse Impacts on Small Entities The final rule builds upon the Rockfish Pilot Program and the previously implemented Rockfish Program. The Rockfish Pilot Program was originally enacted through congressional direction to address economic inefficiencies in the fishery that primarily affected small entities. In recommending this final rule, the Council considered two alternatives, as it evaluated the potential for the continued rationalization of the CGOA
rockfish fisheries. The two alternatives are the no action alternative Alternative 1 that allows the Rockfish Program to expire on December 31, 2021
and an action alternative Alternative 2
reauthorizing the Rockfish Program with numerous alternative elements to address a suite of potential management revisions. The Council considered alternatives that would modify the duration of the Rockfish Program: 1
Remove the sunset date, or 2
implement a new sunset date of 10 to 20 years; and select from numerous alternative elements to revise administrative provisions of the Rockfish Program. The Council selected Alternative 2 with the suite of elements included in this final rule to remove the sunset date and modify specific provisions of the Rockfish Program.

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Based upon the best available scientific data, and in consideration of the Councils objectives of this action, it appears that there are no significant alternatives to the final rule that have the potential to accomplish the stated objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and any other applicable statutes and that have the potential to minimize any significant adverse economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities.
After public process, the Council concluded that the proposed Rockfish Program will best accomplish the stated objectives articulated in the preamble for this final rule, and in applicable statutes, and will minimize to the extent practicable adverse economic impacts on the universe of directly regulated small entities.
Duplicate, Overlapping, or Conflicting Federal Rules NMFS has not identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict between this final rule and existing Federal rules.
Collection-of-Information Requirements This final rule contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act PRA.
This rule changes the existing requirements for two collections of informationOMB Control Numbers 06480678 Alaska Council Cooperative Annual Reports and 06480545 Alaska Rockfish Program: Permits and Reportsand requests extension of OMB Control Number 06480545.
OMB Control Number 06480678
This rule revises the information collection requirements contained in OMB Control Number 06480678 to remove the requirement for an annual Rockfish Program cooperative report to be submitted to NMFS. This requirement is unnecessary, and removing it decreases the respondents reporting costs. Another revision, which is not connected to this final rule, removes the AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Agreement as a separate component of this collection because this is already included as an appendix to the AFA Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report, which is approved under OMB Control Number 06480678. The public reporting burden is estimated to average per individual response 40 hours for the AFA Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report and 25 to 40 hours for the annual Rockfish Program cooperative report submitted to the Council. The burden hours reported in the proposed rule
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