[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22307-22310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11070]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 676

[Docket No. 950223056-5109-02; I.D. 121594B]
RIN 0648-AG45


Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of 
Alaska; Improve IFQ Program

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule amending portions of the regulations 
implementing the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for the Pacific 
halibut and sablefish fixed gear fisheries in and off of Alaska. This 
action is necessary to further refine the IFQ Program and is intended 
to improve the ability of NMFS to manage the halibut and sablefish 
fisheries.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final rule and the Regulatory Impact Review 
(RIR) for this action may be obtained from: Fisheries Management 
Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709 W. 9th Street, Room 453, Juneau, AK 
99801, or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention: Lori J. Gravel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IFQ Program is a regulatory regime 
designed to promote the conservation and management of the fixed gear 
halibut and sablefish fisheries in and off of Alaska, and to further 
the objectives of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act. Further information on the 
implementation of this management program, and the rationale supporting 
it, is contained in the preamble to the final rule implementing the IFQ 
program published in the Federal Register on November 9, 1993 (58 FR 
59375).
    This action amends various portions of the regulations implementing 
the IFQ Program and is designed to make the IFQ Program more responsive 
to the conservation and management goals for the Nation's fishery 
resources. The following list gives a brief description of the 
regulatory provisions added or amended. Further information on these 
changes is contained in the preamble to the proposed rule published in 
the Federal Register on January 12, 1995 (60 FR 2935).
    1. Section 676.11: (a) A definition of ``clearing officer'' is 
added to mean a NMFS special agent, a NMFS fishery enforcement officer, 
or a NMFS enforcement aide who is authorized to provide vessel 
clearances and perform other duties as described in part 676; and (b) 
the definition of ``trip'' is changed to clarify that a vessel operator 
cannot begin a new trip merely by crossing regulatory area boundaries.
    2. Section 676.14(a) requires a vessel operator to provide the 
Alaska Region, NMFS, with the name and location of the registered 
buyer(s) to whom the IFQ species will be landed, the vessel 
identification, the estimated weight of IFQ species to be landed, the 
identification number(s) of the IFQ card(s) that will be used to make 
the landing, and the anticipated date and time of landing. This 
information must be reported at least 6 hours before landing IFQ 
species.
    3. Section 676.14(b)(2) is revised to allow persons authorized by 
the International Pacific Halibut Commission to sample all IFQ halibut 
landings for biological information. Also, this revision authorizes 
clearing officers, authorized officers, and observers to verify, 
inspect, and sample all IFQ landings and landings made by those 
vessels, and to board vessels making IFQ landings.
    4. Section 676.17(a) requires a vessel operator obtaining 
prelanding written clearance at a port in Alaska to provide the weight 
of IFQ species on board.
    5. Section 676.17(a)(1) requires a vessel operator obtaining a 
prelanding written clearance at a port in Alaska to obtain that 
clearance prior to departing the waters of the exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) adjacent to the jurisdictional waters of the State of Alaska, the 
territorial sea of the State of Alaska, or the internal waters of the 
State of Alaska.
    6. Section 676.17(a)(2) requires a vessel operator obtaining a 
prelanding written clearance at a port in a state other than Alaska to 
provide a departure report to NMFS, Alaska Region, prior to departing 
the waters of the EEZ adjacent to the jurisdictional waters of the 
State of Alaska, the territorial sea of the State of Alaska, or the 
internal waters of the State of Alaska. The departure report must 
include the weight of the IFQ species on board and the intended date 
and time the vessel will obtain prelanding vessel clearance.
    7. Section 676.17(a)(9) designates geographic locations of the 
primary ports where a vessel operator can obtain vessel clearance from 
a clearing officer. These geographical locations also provide a vessel 
operator with notification of the approximate locations where boardings 
may occur if deemed necessary by a clearing officer.
    8. Section 676.17(a)(3) requires a vessel operator to obtain vessel 
clearance from a clearing officer located at a primary port in the 
State of Alaska before that vessel operator lands IFQ species in a 
foreign port.
    9. Section 676.17(a)(4) designates Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, and 
Vancouver, British Columbia, as the only Canadian ports where IFQ 
species may be landed.
    10. Section 676.17(a)(5) requires a vessel operator having any IFQ 
species on board to land and weigh all species on board at the same 
time and place as the first landing of any species on board. For 
example, if a vessel had Pacific halibut (IFQ species), sablefish (IFQ 
species), and Pacific cod (non-IFQ species) on board, and the vessel 
operator wanted to offload the Pacific cod to a tender, the vessel 
operator also would be required to offload and weigh the Pacific 
halibut and sablefish.
    11. Section 676.17(b) describes the 10 percent adjustment policy 
for a person who harvests or lands IFQ species in an amount greater 
than the amount available in the person's annual IFQ account. A person 
that harvests or lands an amount that is greater than the amount 
available in the person's annual IFQ account will have the account 
adjusted in the year following a determination that the account was 
exceeded, if the amount exceeding the account is not greater than 10 
percent of the amount of IFQ available in the person's annual IFQ 
account at the time of landing. The adjustment would be a deduction of 
the amount of IFQ [[Page 22308]] harvested or landed in excess of the 
annual IFQ account from that account in the year following a 
determination that the account was exceeded. The adjustment would apply 
to whomever the affected IFQ is allocated in the year following a 
determination. The 10 percent adjustment policy, and the underage 
provision described below, are intended to provide persons who harvest 
IFQ species with a cushion around the exact amount of IFQ pounds 
available. NMFS anticipates that the average harvest over multiple 
seasons will be close to the amount available in a person's IFQ 
account. This adjustment policy should not be mistaken for an 
opportunity to routinely exceed an annual IFQ account or to exceed the 
account in an amount greater than that allowed under the adjustment 
policy. Such behavior would be subject to an enforcement action.
    12. Section 676.17(c) allows the addition of IFQ underages to a 
person's IFQ account for the following fishing year. Underages of up to 
10 percent of a person's annual IFQ account for the current fishing 
year would be added to that person's annual IFQ account for the 
following fishing year. Any amount of the underage exceeding 10 percent 
would expire at the end of the current fishing year.
    13. Section 676.22(i)(3) clarifies that vessel category lengths for 
vessels using catcher vessel IFQ specified at Sec. 676.20(a)(2) also 
apply to freezer vessels using catcher vessel IFQ. For example, a 
person may only use catcher vessel IFQ Category ``C'' on board a 
freezer vessel if that freezer vessel's length overall (LOA) is 
consistent with LOA categories in Sec. 676.20(a)(2)(iii) and the frozen 
product requirements in Sec. 676.22(i)(3).
    14. Section 676.22(c)(3)(i) references the appropriate product 
recovery rates for sablefish (Table 1 to Sec. 672.20) deductions made 
to a person's annual IFQ account.
    15. Section 676.22(c)(3)(ii) provides the appropriate conversion 
factors for Pacific halibut deductions made to a person's annual IFQ 
account.
    16. Section 676.24(j)(4) changes the last word in the first 
sentence of Sec. 676.24(j)(4) from ``section'' to ``part.''
    No public comments on the proposed action were received by NMFS.
Changes in the Final Rule From the Proposed Rule
    1. The proposed definitions of ``catcher vessel'' and ``freezer 
vessel'' are not adopted. NMFS proposed to change the definitions of 
``catcher vessel'' and ``freezer vessel'' in Sec. 676.11 so that a 
freezer vessel would be a vessel that was capable of processing some or 
all of its catch, rather than a vessel used to process some or all of 
its catch. NMFS decided that this definition change was confusing and 
that further analysis needed to be performed before any change to these 
definitions were implemented.
    2. Section 676.13 is not changed as proposed. Section 
676.13(a)(2)(ii) would have been removed and paragraph (a)(2)(iii) 
would have been redesignated as paragraph (a)(2)(ii). Section 
676.13(a)(2) also would have been revised to reflect this change. This 
change was proposed to avoid the implication that a registered buyer 
permit would be needed to harvest and land IFQ species at a shore-based 
processor located in the State of Alaska, but not located in a 
sablefish IFQ regulatory area. After further analysis, NMFS decided to 
leave the regulatory text in its original form. The phrase, ``[o]utside 
of an IFQ regulatory area,'' as used in Sec. 676.13(a)(2)(ii), means 
any of the IFQ regulatory areas defined in Sec. 676.11. This would 
eliminate the anomalous result of requiring a person who lands at a 
shore-based processor in the State of Alaska, but not in a sablefish 
regulatory area, to hold a registered buyer permit.
    3. The landing notification requirements in Sec. 676.14(a) of the 
final rule includes vessel identification. This requirement, like the 
other proposed requirements adopted in this final rule, will assist in 
ensuring that all IFQ landings are properly recorded. Appropriate 
vessel identification is the name of the vessel, or alternatively, if 
the vessel does not have a name, some identifying characteristics that 
can be used by NMFS Enforcement to recognize the vessel. The vessel 
identification requirement was analyzed in the RIR for the proposed 
rule; however, the requirement inadvertently was not included in the 
proposed regulatory text.
    4. Section 676.14(e) is revised to clarify that each instance of 
transshipment must be authorized by a clearing officer. This was the 
original intent of the change in the proposed rule; however, the text 
in the proposed rule implied that only the location needed to be 
authorized by a clearing officer.
    5. Section 676.17(b) is changed and Sec. 676.17(b)(1) and (b)(2) 
are added to reflect a change from the proposed method of adjusting an 
annual IFQ account for IFQ species harvested in an amount greater than 
the amount available in the IFQ account. NMFS determined that the new 
method of adjustment (see explanation in number 12 of the brief 
descriptions of the regulation) more accurately reflected the intent of 
the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for adjusting the annual 
IFQ account. Also, NMFS determined that it was no longer necessary to 
include the forfeiture provision or the 400 lb (181.4 kg) exemption to 
the forfeiture provision in the 10 percent adjustment policy.
    6. Proposed Sec. 676.17(a) provided that vessels obtaining 
prelanding written clearance at a port in Alaska must obtain that 
clearance prior to departing waters in or adjacent to the State of 
Alaska. Also, it provided that vessels obtaining clearance at the port 
in Washington or another state must report to NMFS, Alaska Region, 
prior to departing waters in or adjacent to the State of Alaska. To 
clarify this reference, waters in, or adjacent to, the State of Alaska 
refers to all waters under the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska; all 
waters of the EEZ, as defined at 50 CFR 620.2, that is adjacent to 
waters under the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska; and the maritime 
area of the United States, as defined at 50 CFR 301.2, that is adjacent 
to waters under the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska. Language has 
been added to new Sec. 676.17(a) (1) and (2) consistent with this 
interpretation.
    7. Section 676.17(a)(4) is changed to clarify that IFQ landings in 
Canada may only occur at the ports of Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, or 
Vancouver, British Columbia. The language in the proposed rule was 
vague when it referred to what could be landed (i.e., no person shall 
land IFQ species) and where it could be landed (i.e., in Canada at a 
port other than the ports of).

Classification

    An RIR was prepared for this action. An analysis was included in 
the RIR, which described and estimated the total number of small 
entities affected, and which analyzed the economic impact on those 
small entities of the vessel clearances, Canadian port designations, 
and offloading requirements. It is estimated that less than 20 percent 
of the 7,200 vessel/owners involved in the IFQ Program will be affected 
by these changes, which may increase compliance costs. Based on the 
analysis, it was determined that this action would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Copies of the RIR can be obtained from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    This rule has been categorically excluded from further 
environmental assessment pursuant to section 6.02b.3.(b)(ii) of NAO 
216-6. [[Page 22309]] 
    This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Public reporting burden for each year 
is estimated to average 6 minutes per response for notification of IFQ 
landings, 6 minutes per response for advance notification of 
transshipment, and 5 minutes per response for prelanding clearance. All 
reporting burden estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, 
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing 
the collection of information. The collection of this information has 
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB Control 
Number 0648-0272, for the Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ program, 
and OMB Control Number 0648-0269, for the Western Alaska CDQ program.
    This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of 
E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 676

    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: April 28, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 676 is amended 
as follows:

PART 676--LIMITED ACCESS MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL FISHERIES IN AND OFF 
OF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 676 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq. and 1801 et seq. 

    2. Section 676.11 is amended by revising the definition of ``Trip'' 
and by adding the definition of ``Clearing officer'' to read as 
follows:


Sec. 676.11  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Clearing officer means a NMFS special agent, a NMFS fishery 
enforcement officer, or a NMFS enforcement aide who performs the 
function of clearing vessels at one of the primary ports listed in 
Sec. 676.17(a)(4).
* * * * *
    Trip, as used in this part, means the period beginning when a 
vessel operator commences harvesting IFQ species and ending when the 
vessel operator lands any species.
* * * * *
    3. Section 676.13 is amended by revising paragraphs (f)(1), and 
(f)(2) to read as follows:


Sec. 676.13  Permits.

* * * * *
    (f) * * * (1) A legible copy of any IFQ permit issued under this 
section must be carried on board the vessel used by the permitted 
person to harvest IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish at all times that such 
fish are retained on board. Except as specified in Sec. 676.22(d), an 
individual who is issued an IFQ card must remain aboard the vessel used 
to harvest IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish with that card until all such 
fish are landed, and must present a copy of the IFQ permit and the 
original IFQ card for inspection on request of any authorized officer, 
clearing officer, or registered buyer purchasing IFQ species.
    (2) A legible copy of the registered buyer permit must be present 
at the location of an IFQ landing, and must be made available for 
inspection on request of any authorized officer or clearing officer.
* * * * *
    4. Section 676.14 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), (b)(1), 
(b)(2), (e), and (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 676.14  Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *
    (a) Prior notice of IFQ landings. The operator of any vessel that 
makes an IFQ landing must notify the Alaska Region, NMFS, no later than 
6 hours before landing IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish, unless permission 
to commence an IFQ landing within 6 hours of notification is granted by 
a clearing officer. Such notification of IFQ landings must be made to 
the toll-free telephone number specified on the IFQ permit between the 
hours of 0600 and 2400 Alaska local time. The notification must include 
the name and location of the registered buyer(s) to whom the IFQ 
halibut or IFQ sablefish will be landed, the vessel identification, the 
estimated weight of the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish that will be 
landed and the identification number(s) of the IFQ card(s) that will be 
used to land the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish, and the anticipated date 
and time of the landing.
    (b) * * *
    (1) IFQ landings may be made only between the hours of 0600 and 
1800 Alaska local time unless permission to land at a different time is 
granted in advance by a clearing officer. An IFQ landing may continue 
after this time period, if it was started during the period.
    (2) All vessels making IFQ landings, and the landings made by those 
vessels, are subject to verification, inspection, and sampling by 
authorized officers, clearing officers, and observers. Also, all IFQ 
halibut landings are subject to sampling for biological information by 
persons authorized by the IPHC.
* * * * *
    (e) Transshipment. No person may transship processed IFQ halibut or 
IFQ sablefish between vessels without authorization by a clearing 
officer. Authorization must be obtained for each instance of 
transshipment. An IFQ transshipper's request for authorization to 
transship must be received by a clearance officer at least 24 hours 
before the transshipment is intended to occur.
    (f) A copy of all reports and receipts required by this section 
must be retained by registered buyers and be available for inspection 
by an authorized officer or a clearing officer for a period of 3 years.
    5. Section 676.17 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (a)(1) 
through (a)(4) as paragraphs (a)(6) through (a)(9); by adding new 
paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(5), and (c); and by revising paragraphs 
(a) introductory text, newly redesignated paragraph (a)(9), (b), and 
(c) to read as follows:


Sec. 676.17  Facilitation of enforcement and monitoring.

* * * * *
    (a) Vessel clearance. Any person who makes an IFQ landing at any 
location other than in an IFQ regulatory area or in the State of Alaska 
must obtain prelanding written clearance of the vessel and provide the 
weight of IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish on board to the clearing 
officer.
    (1) Vessels obtaining prelanding written clearance at a port in the 
State of Alaska must obtain that clearance prior to departing the 
waters of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) adjacent to the 
jurisdictional waters of the State of Alaska, the territorial sea of 
the State of Alaska, or the internal waters of the State of Alaska.
    (2) Vessels obtaining prelanding written clearance at a port in the 
State of Washington or another state must provide a departure report to 
NMFS, Alaska Region, prior to departing the waters of the EEZ adjacent 
to the jurisdictional waters of the State of Alaska, the territorial 
sea of the State of Alaska, or the internal waters of the State of 
Alaska. The departure report must include the weight of the IFQ halibut 
or IFQ sablefish on board and the intended date and time the vessel 
will obtain prelanding written clearance at the port in the State of 
Washington or another state.
    (3) A vessel operator who lands IFQ species in a foreign port must 
first obtain vessel clearance from a clearing officer located at a 
primary port in the State of Alaska. [[Page 22310]] 
    (4) No person shall make an IFQ landing in Canada other than at the 
ports of Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, or Vancouver, British Columbia.
    (5) A vessel operator must land and report all IFQ species on board 
at the same time and place as the first landing of any species 
harvested during a fishing trip.
* * * * *
    (9) Unless specifically authorized on a case-by-case basis, vessel 
clearances will be issued only by clearing officers at the following 
primary ports:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Port                    North latitude   West longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akutan................................  54 deg.08'05''   165 deg.46'20''
Bellingham............................  48 deg.45'04''   122 deg.30'02''
Cordova...............................  60 deg.33'00''   145 deg.45'00''
Craig.................................  55 deg.28'30''   133 deg.09'00''
Dutch Harbor/Unalaska.................  53 deg.53'27''   166 deg.32'05''
Excursion Inlet.......................  58 deg.25'00''   135 deg.26'30''
Homer.................................  59 deg.38'40''   151 deg.33'00''
Ketchikan.............................  55 deg.20'30''   131 deg.38'45''
King Cove.............................  55 deg.03'20''   162 deg.19'00''
Kodiak................................  57 deg.47'20''   152 deg.24'10''
Pelican...............................  57 deg.57'30''   136 deg.13'30''
Petersburg............................  56 deg.48'10''   132 deg.58'00''
St. Paul..............................  57 deg.07'20''   170 deg.16'30''
Sand Point............................  55 deg.20'15''   160 deg.30'00''
Seward................................  60 deg.06'30''   149 deg.26'30''
Sitka.................................  57 deg.03'       135 deg.20'    
Yakutat...............................  59 deg.33'       139 deg.44'    
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) Ten Percent Adjustment Policy. A person's annual IFQ account 
will be adjusted in the year following a determination that the person 
harvested or landed IFQ species in an amount greater than the amount 
available in the person's annual IFQ account and if the amount greater 
than the amount available does not exceed 10 percent of the amount 
available in the person's annual IFQ account at the time of landing. 
The adjustment would be a deduction of the amount of IFQ species 
harvested or landed that was determined to exceed the amount available 
in the person's annual IFQ account, and will apply to any person to 
whom the affected IFQ is allocated in the year following a 
determination.
    (c) Underages. Underages of up to 10 percent of a person's total 
annual IFQ account for a current fishing year will be added to that 
person's annual IFQ account in the year following determination of the 
underage. This adjustment to the annual IFQ allocation will be specific 
to IFQ species, IFQ regulatory area, and vessel category for which an 
IFQ is calculated, and will apply to any person to whom the affected 
IFQ is allocated in the year following determination of an underage.
    6. Section 676.22 is amended by adding paragraphs (c)(3)(i) and 
(c)(3)(ii), and by revising paragraph (i)(3) to read as follows:


Sec. 676.22  Limitations on the use of QS and IFQ.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) The amount of sablefish to be reported to NMFS for debit from 
an IFQ account will be the round-weight equivalent determined by 
dividing the initial accurate scale weight of the sablefish product 
obtained at time of landing by the standard product recovery rates for 
sablefish in Table 1 to Sec. 672.20 of this chapter.
    (ii) The amount of halibut to be reported to NMFS for debit from an 
IFQ account will be the gutted, head-off weight determined by 
multiplying the initial accurate scale weight of the halibut obtained 
at the time of landing by the following conversion factors:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Product                                                      Conversion
  code                    Product description                   factor  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
01......  Whole fish........................................       0.75 
04......  Gutted, head on...................................       0.90 
05......  Gutted, head off..................................       1.00 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (i) * *  *
    (3) Catcher vessel IFQ may be used on a freezer vessel, provided 
that the length of the freezer vessel using the catcher vessel IFQ is 
consistent with the vessel category of the catcher vessel IFQ, as 
specified at Sec. 676.20(a)(2)(ii) through (iv), and no frozen or 
otherwise processed fish products are on board at any time during a 
fishing trip on which catcher vessel IFQ is being used. A vessel using 
catcher vessel IFQ may not land any IFQ species as frozen or otherwise 
processed product. Processing of fish on the same vessel that harvested 
those fish using catcher vessel IFQ is prohibited.
* * * * *
    7. Section 676.24 is amended by revising paragraph (j)(4) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 676.24  Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *
    (4) No person may alter, erase, or mutilate a CDQ permit, card, 
registered buyer permit, or any valid and current permit or document 
issued under this part. Any such permit, card, or document that has 
been intentionally altered, erased, or mutilated will be invalid.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-11070 Filed 5-2-95; 9:12 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W