[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58528-58529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29051]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 676

[Docket No. 951116269-5269-01; I.D. 110795C]
RIN 0648-AD19


Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of 
Alaska; Interpretation

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

ACTION: Interpretive rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues an interpretive rule to clarify the definitions of 
``qualified person'' that are published in 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 restate NMFS' consistent practice in applying the 
definitions to determine a person's qualification for the IFQ Program. 
This interpretive rule is intended to restate clearly the regulatory 
language defining the qualifications necessary for entry into the IFQ 
Program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 28, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hale, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The IFQ Program is a regulatory regime designed to promote the 
conservation and management of the Pacific halibut and sablefish stocks 
in and off of Alaska, in accordance with the objectives of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act) and the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act. The IFQ Program manages the fishing effort for 
these species by limiting access to halibut and sablefish fixed gear 
fisheries. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
developed the IFQ Program and in 1992, under authority of the Magnuson 
Act, recommended it to NMFS, which approved the program the following 
year. Further information about the origins and elements of the IFQ 
Program can be found in the preambles to the proposed and final 
implementing regulations published December 3, 1992 (57 FR 57130) and 
November 9, 1993 (58 FR 59375), respectively.
    The IFQ Program for fixed gear Pacific halibut and sablefish 
fisheries in and off of Alaska implements essentially two separate 
limited access systems, one for the fixed gear fishery of Pacific 
halibut (Hypoglossus stenolepis) and one for the fixed gear fishery of 
sablefish (Anaplopoma fimbria). The IFQ Program limits access to the 
fixed gear halibut fishery to persons who qualify for an initial 
allocation of halibut quota share (QS) or who receive an approved 
transfer of halibut QS. Similarly, the fixed gear sablefish fishery is 
limited by the IFQ Program to persons who qualify for an initial 
allocation of sablefish QS or who receive an approved transfer of 
sablefish QS.

Qualification for Initial Allocation of QS

    To qualify for an initial allocation of halibut QS, a person had to 
have owned or leased a vessel that made legal landings of halibut 
during the qualifying years (1988, 1989, and 1990); to qualify for an 
initial allocation of sablefish QS, a person had to have owned or 
leased 

[[Page 58529]]
a vessel that made legal landings of sablefish during the qualifying 
years. The amount of a qualified person's legal landings of halibut 
harvested with fixed gear from a vessel that person owned or leased 
during the halibut base years (1984-90) determined the amount of 
halibut QS that person received, specific to vessel category and IFQ 
regulatory area. The amount of a qualified person's legal landings of 
sablefish harvested with fixed gear from a vessel that person owned or 
leased during the sablefish base years (1985-90) determined the amount 
of that person's sablefish QS, specific to vessel category and IFQ 
regulatory area. The amount of QS a person holds determines the annual 
amount of halibut or sablefish IFQ that a person may harvest using a 
specified vessel category and in a specified regulatory area.
    The IFQ Program regulations governing the halibut fishery pertain 
exclusively to Pacific halibut; IFQ Program regulations governing the 
sablefish fishery pertain exclusively to sablefish. As is evident from 
the administrative record of the IFQ Program's development, the Council 
intended to create two clearly distinguished limited access systems, 
one for the halibut fixed gear fishery and one for the sablefish fixed 
gear fishery.
    NMFS has been informed that this intent may not be entirely clear 
from the regulatory text at Sec. 676.20(a)(1), which reads as follows:

    As used in this section, a ``qualified person'' means a 
``person,'' as defined in Sec. 676.11 of this part, that owned a 
vessel that made legal landings of halibut or sablefish, harvested 
with fixed gear, from any regulatory area in any QS qualifying year. 
A person is a qualified person also if (s)he leased a vessel that 
made legal landings of halibut or sablefish, harvested with fixed 
gear, from any IFQ regulatory area in any QS qualifying year* * *.

    This text indicates that qualification for initial allocation of 
halibut or sablefish QS is limited to persons who, qualifying in all 
other respects, either owned or leased the fishing vessel when legal 
landings of halibut and sablefish were made. This text may be 
misinterpreted to suggest that fixed gear harvest and legal landing of 
either species will qualify a person for QS of both species. That 
interpretation would be erroneous.
    The use of the phrase ``legal landings of halibut or sablefish, 
harvested with fixed gear'' delineates in brief the additional 
qualifications for entry into the IFQ Program and in no instance 
combines the separate qualifications necessary for halibut QS and 
sablefish QS. This interpretive rule simply restates NMFS' consistent 
practice in determining eligibility for halibut QS and sablefish QS.

Classification

    This final rule is issued under the Magnuson Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
seq.
    In that this rule merely interprets an existing regulation without 
creating any new rights or duties, it is not subject to the requirement 
of notice and opportunity for public comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). 
Similarly, as an interpretive rule, this rule is not subject to a 30-
day delay in effective date pursuant to authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(2).
    This rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

    Dated: November 21, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-29051 Filed 11-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F