View Rule

On March 9, 2021 the Pacific Fishery Management Council (the Council) requested National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiate an emergency action to temporarily allow at-sea Pacific whiting processing platforms to operate as both a mothership (MS) and a catcher-processor (C/P) during the 2021 Pacific whiting fishery. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan prohibits vessels in the at-sea Pacific whiting sector from operating as both a MS and C/P during the same calendar year. At the March 2021 Council meeting, members of the Pacific whiting industry submitted a letter requesting the Council and NMFS take emergency action to lift this restriction in response to impacts to fishing operations from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 whiting season, several at-sea processing vessels were forced to cease operations due to COVID-19 outbreaks onboard resulting in delays and lost processing capacity. In response, NMFS issued an emergency rule in June of 2020 to allow whiting vessels to operate as both a MS and C/P in the same calendar year. However, it was unforeseen that whiting fishery participants would still be dealing with effects of a COVID-19 pandemic a year later. There is continued risk to whiting vessels and loss of processing capacity should a COVID-19 outbreak occur onboard a processing platform. Because of this risk and uncertainty, members of industry and the Council Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) recommended the Council take emergency action to allow available vessels to operate as either type of processing platform for the 2021 fishing year and avoid potential economic hardships. This emergency action would temporarily allow eligible MS and C/P vessels to operate as both a MS and C/P during the 2021 Pacific whiting fishing year, instead of opting into a single sector at the beginning of the season. However, vessels would continue to not be allowed to operate as both an MS and C/P on the same fishing trip.  In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak onboard one platform, this flexibility could allow other processing platforms to process to harvest MS sector whiting allocations at-sea whiting catcher vessels would not otherwise be able to deliver to a MS vessel.

NMFS has considered this action under E.O. 12866. Based on that review, this action is not expected to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, or have an adverse effect in a material way on the economy. Furthermore, this action would not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; or materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or raise novel or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President’s priorities, or the principles set forth in this E.O.