[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