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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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2020. Accordingly, NMFSs review of the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications could not begin until after the December 2020 Council meeting, and after the public had time to comment on the proposed action.
For all fisheries not currently closed because the TACs established under the final 2020 and 2021 harvest specifications 85 FR 13802, March 10, 2020 were not reached, it is possible that they would be closed prior to the expiration of a 30-day delayed effectiveness period because their TACs could be reached within that period. If implemented immediately, this rule would allow these fisheries to continue fishing because some of the new TACs implemented by this rule are higher than the TACs under which they are currently fishing.
In addition, immediate effectiveness of this action is required to provide consistent management and conservation of fishery resources based on the best available scientific information. This is particularly pertinent for those species that have lower 2021 ABCs and TACs than those established in the 2020 and 2021
harvest specifications 85 FR 13802, March 10, 2020. If implemented immediately, this rule would ensure that NMFS can properly manage those fisheries for which this rule sets lower 2021 ABCs and TACs, which are based on the most recent biological information on the condition of stocks, rather than managing species under the higher TACs set in the previous years harvest specifications.
Certain fisheries, such as those for pollock, are intensive, fast-paced fisheries. Other fisheries, such as those for sablefish, flatfish, rockfish, Atka mackerel, skates, sharks, and octopuses, are critical as directed fisheries and as incidental catch in other fisheries. U.S.
fishing vessels have demonstrated the capacity to catch the TAC allocations in many of these fisheries. If the effectiveness of this rule were delayed
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30 days and if a TAC were reached during those 30 days, NMFS would close directed fishing or prohibit retention for the applicable species. Any delay in allocating the final TACs in these fisheries would cause confusion to the industry and potential economic harm through unnecessary discards, thus undermining the intent of this rule.
Waiving the 30-day delay allows NMFS
to prevent economic loss to fishermen that could otherwise occur should the 2021 TACs set under the 2020 and 2021
harvest specifications be reached.
Determining which fisheries may close is nearly impossible because these fisheries are affected by several factors that cannot be predicted in advance, including fishing effort, weather, movement of fishery stocks, and market price. Furthermore, the closure of one fishery has a cascading effect on other fisheries by freeing-up fishing vessels, allowing them to move from closed fisheries to open ones, increasing the fishing capacity in those open fisheries, and causing them to close at an accelerated pace.
In fisheries subject to declining sideboard limits, a failure to implement the updated sideboard limits before initial seasons end could deny the intended economic protection to the non-sideboarded sectors. Conversely, in fisheries with increasing sideboard limits, economic benefit could be denied to the sideboard-limited sectors.
If the final harvest specifications are not effective by March 6, 2021, which is the start of the 2021 Pacific halibut season as specified by the IPHC, the fixed gear sablefish fishery will not begin concurrently with the Pacific halibut IFQ season. This would result in confusion for the industry and economic harm from unnecessary discard of sablefish that are caught along with Pacific halibut, as both fixed gear sablefish and Pacific halibut are managed under the same IFQ program.
Immediate effectiveness of the final 2021 and 2022 harvest specifications
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will allow the sablefish IFQ fishery to begin concurrently with the Pacific halibut IFQ season.
Finally, immediate effectiveness also would provide the fishing industry the earliest possible opportunity to plan and conduct its fishing operations with respect to new information about TACs.
Therefore, NMFS finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness under 5 U.S.C. 553d3.
Small Entity Compliance Guide This final rule is a plain language guide to assist small entities in complying with this final rule as required by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This final rules primary purpose is to announce the final 2021 and 2022
harvest specifications and prohibited species bycatch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the GOA. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits and associated management measures for groundfish during the 2021
and 2022 fishing years, and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the FMP. This action affects all fishermen who participate in the GOA
fisheries. The specific OFL, ABC, TAC, and PSC amounts are provided in tables to assist the reader. NMFS will announce closures of directed fishing in the Federal Register and information bulletins released by the Alaska Region.
Affected fishermen should keep themselves informed of such closures.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 16 U.S.C.
1540 f, 1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 3631 et seq.;
Pub. L. 105277; Pub. L. 10631; Pub. L.
106554; Pub. L. 108199; Pub. L. 108447;
Pub. L. 109241; Pub. L 109479.
Dated: February 11, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch III, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service.
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