[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6039-6040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2496]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 950126029-5029-01; I.D. 011095A]
RIN 0648-AH80


Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Emergency Rule to Extend the 
Application Period To Renew Permits for 1995

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

ACTION: Emergency rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this emergency rule to amend the implementing 
regulations for the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) to provide an additional 4 months during which limited entry 
permit owners may apply for permit renewals for 1995. This action is 
necessary to rectify an administrative requirement that is overly 
restrictive for the first year of permit renewals in the limited entry 
fishery. The intended effect of this rule is to allow continued 
participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by permit owners 
who failed to apply for a permit renewal by November 30, 1994.

DATES: Effective January 27, 1995 through May 2, 1995. Comments will be 
accepted through March 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest 
Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, BIN-
C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director 
Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean 
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Documentation supporting 
this emergency action is available at the Northwest Regional Office, 
NMFS, at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at (206) 526-6140; 
or Rodney McInnis at (310) 980-4030. For further information on 
application procedures, phone (206) 526-4353.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS issues this emergency rule under the 
authority of section 305(c)(1) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson Act). An emergency rule that changes a fishery 
management plan is treated as an amendment to such plan for the period 
during which such regulation is in effect.
    The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared, and NMFS 
approved and implemented, an amendment (Amendment 6) to the FMP, that 
established a limited entry program for the Pacific Coast groundfish 
fishery off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Final 
regulations implementing the limited entry program were published on 
November 16, 1992 (57 FR 54001) and the program went into effect on 
January 1, 1994.
    The final regulations, at 50 CFR 663.41(c), require permits to be 
renewed each year between October 1 and November 30, in order to remain 
in force the following year. In addition, 50 CFR 663.41(c)(3) specifies 
that a limited entry permit that is allowed to expire will not be 
renewed unless the Northwest Region, NMFS, Fisheries Management 
Division determines that failure to renew was proximately caused by the 
illness, injury, or death of the permit holder.
    Amendment 6, section 4.10, provided the following rationale as to 
why the administrative procedures should be so rigid:

    As initially worded, the draft license limitation program of 
Amendment 6 provided no means by which the number of permits with 
'A' endorsements might be reduced through attrition. A vessel could 
leave the fishery without transferring the permit to another vessel, 
and a number of years later the permit could be resurrected 
[[Page 6040]] and effort reintroduced. The Council requested an 
option be developed such that, if a permit holder failed to maintain 
continuous interest in participating in the fishery, as evidenced by 
annual permit renewal, the permit would expire. In this way, when 
attrition occurs, i.e., someone discontinues interest in the fishery 
without transferring the access rights to someone else, that 
attrition may be 'locked in' and the permit may not be brought back 
'on-line' at a later date.

    Section 14.3.5 of Amendment 6, specified very limited exceptions to 
the timely permit renewal requirement: ``With respect to permit 
renewal, only illness, injury or death of one of the vessel owners will 
be considered good cause.''
    NMFS has determined that this administrative requirement is overly 
restrictive for the program's first annual renewal period. During such 
period, some permit owners may not have been aware of the need to renew 
by November 30, 1994, or the penalty for failing to do so. Permanent 
loss of the permit is too severe a consequence for a late renewal 
application the first year.
    NMFS has determined that it is necessary to provide immediate 
relief from the overly restrictive administrative requirements at 50 
CFR 663.41(c)(3) and to allow permit owners to continue to fish in 
1995. All permit owners, even those who failed to submit their first 
annual renewal by November 30, 1994, demonstrated substantial 
participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by meeting 
initial permit issuance qualifications. Ensuring an opportunity for 
each permit holder's continued participation is consistent with the 
goals and objectives of the FMP. In the absence of an amendment to the 
regulations, permit owners who applied for permit renewal late or whose 
permits were not renewed by November 30, could lose their permits 
forever and face a potential loss of livelihood. Allowing the extra 
time for renewal does not frustrate the program's ultimate goal of 
``locking in'' attrition, because permit owners still need to renew 
within a reasonable period of time.
    Under this emergency rule, a permit owner who did not apply for 
limited entry permit renewal by November 30, 1994, has until March 31, 
1995, to submit a request for annual renewal. If NMFS approves the 
renewal, the permit shall be reissued for the remainder of 1995.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that this rule is necessary to respond to an 
emergency situation and is consistent with the Magnuson Act and other 
applicable law.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds that the 
reasons justifying implementation of this rule on an emergency basis 
are good cause not to provide prior notice and opportunity for public 
comment under section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). 
NMFS has determined that limiting the period for applying for a permit 
renewal to 2 months in this first year of the limited entry program is 
unnecessarily restrictive. In order to allow fishermen, who otherwise 
would forgo their fishing opportunities in 1995, to renew their permits 
and fish early in 1995, and to keep their permits from permanently 
expiring, NMFS has determined it is impracticable and contrary to 
provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment. Further, 
pursuant to section 553(d)(1) of the APA, these emergency regulations 
are being made effective on filing because they relieve a restriction.
    This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    No environmental assessment was prepared under the provisions of 
the National Environmental Policy Act because this rule makes a minor 
change and is within the scope of the Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement prepared for the limited entry plan (Amendment 6 to the FMP).
    This emergency rule is in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act. This rule will not increase the information collection burden of 
the existing limited entry permit program. The emergency rule does not 
alter the types of information required in a limited entry permit 
application, as approved by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB 
Control Number 0648-0203.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 663

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: January 26, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 663 is amended 
as follows:

PART 663--PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH FISHERY

    1. The authority citation for part 663 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 663.41, a new paragraph (c)(4) is added to read as 
follows:


Sec. 663.41  Limited entry permits.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (4) Notwithstanding Sec. 663.41(c)(1) and (3), limited entry 
permits that expired at the end of 1994 may be renewed after November 
30, 1994, but not later than March 31, 1995, in order to remain in 
force during 1995.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-2496 Filed 1-27-95; 4:51 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F