[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18116-18120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9907]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Parts 672 and 676

[Docket No. 960401095-6095-01; I.D. 032596A]
RIN 0648-AH61


Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska; 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: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a proposed rule to amend 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 proposed rule also would eliminate a prohibition 
pertaining to IFQ sablefish in the regulations governing the groundfish 
fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). After the first year of the IFQ 
Program's operation, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) and NMFS recognize aspects of the program that need further 
refinement. This action is necessary to make those refinements and is 
intended to improve the ability of NMFS to manage the Pacific halibut 
and sablefish fixed gear fisheries.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 24, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries 
Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802-1668; Attn: Lori J. Gravel, or deliver to Room 453, 709 W. 9th 
Street, Juneau, AK.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Regulations codified at 50 CFR part 676 implement the IFQ Program, 
a limited access system for management of the Pacific halibut 
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fixed gear 
fisheries in and off of Alaska, under the authority of the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act with respect to halibut and the Magnuson Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act with respect to sablefish. Further 
information on the rationale for and implementation of the IFQ Program 
is contained in the preamble to the final rule implementing that 
program published in the Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 FR 
59375), and in the preambles to subsequent rules amending those 
regulations.
    This action would amend various portions of the regulations 
implementing the IFQ Program and eliminate a prohibition in the GOA 
groundfish regulations that pertains to IFQ sablefish. These changes 
are intended to improve the ability of fishermen to conduct fishing 
operations under the IFQ Program, to refine NMFS' ability to administer 
the program effectively, and to make the program more responsive to 
conservation and management goals for Pacific halibut and sablefish 
fisheries.

Elimination of the 72-hour ``Fair Start'' Provision

    Section 672.7(k) would be repealed to eliminate the prohibition 
against deploying fixed gear during the 72-hour period preceding the 
opening of fixed gear sablefish fishing seasons. Currently, fishermen 
with hook-and-line gear legally deployed in other GOA fisheries during 
the 72-hour period immediately before the opening of sablefish seasons 
are prohibited from participating in those seasons. Under open access, 
this prohibition was designed to prevent such fishermen from gaining an 
advantage over fishermen who could not legally deploy hook-and-line 
gear until the opening of the sablefish season. The regulation, written 
in conformity with a similar restriction in the Pacific halibut fishery 
regulations (50 CFR part 301), was necessary under an open access 
system to ensure that all fishermen in fixed gear sablefish fisheries 
would have equitable opportunities for harvest during extremely brief 
fishing seasons. NMFS has determined that this prohibition is no longer 
necessary. Under the IFQ Program, which lengthened GOA fixed gear 
sablefish seasons, the race for fish and the preemption of grounds are 
no longer problems. The regulation at Sec. 672.7(k) would therefore be 
removed.

Revision of the Owner-aboard Restriction

    Section 676.13(f)(1) would be revised to allow fishermen to leave 
their vessels during the time between their arrival in port and the 
beginning of landing operations. Current IFQ regulations require IFQ 
holders to be aboard vessels used to harvest IFQ fish during all 
fishing operations. The Council intended this requirement to ensure 
that the catcher vessel fleet remain primarily an owner-operator fleet 
and that the IFQ Program not profoundly change the socio-economic 
character of the fixed gear fishing fleet or the coastal Alaskan 
communities where this fleet is based. To this end, Sec. 676.13(f)(1) 
requires IFQ holders to remain onboard vessels containing IFQ harvest 
until all IFQ species have been offloaded. A provision at 
Sec. 676.22(d) permits waiving of the owner-aboard restriction in the 
event of extreme personal emergency.
    While continuing to require that IFQ holders be aboard during 
harvest and landing of IFQ fish, except as allowed by the emergency 
waiver provision, the Council recognizes that less urgent occasions may 
oblige an IFQ holder to leave his or her vessel while in port but 
before offloading of IFQ fish has commenced. Section 676.14(b)(1) 
allows IFQ landings only between the hours of 0600 and 1800, Alaska 
local time (A.l.t.). A fisherman who arrives in port after 1800 hours 
(hrs), A.l.t., must remain on his or her vessel overnight until IFQ 
landings may commence the following day. Such inconveniences are not 
necessary to preserve the intent of the Council.

[[Page 18117]]

    Accordingly, the Council requested that NMFS remove the 
restriction. This action would amend regulations at
    Sec. 676.13(f)(1) to relieve the restriction that IFQ fishermen 
remain aboard in the interim between arriving in port and unloading IFQ 
harvests.

Delivery of IFQ Halibut Bycatch by Salmon Fishermen

    Exceptions to two landing requirements at Sec. 676.14 are proposed 
to encourage salmon fishermen with halibut IFQ to land incidental 
catches of halibut. A provision would be added at Sec. 676.14(a) to 
relieve salmon trollers of the IFQ Program's 6-hour prior notice of 
landing requirement for the purpose of delivering small amounts of IFQ 
halibut bycatch concurrently with legal salmon landings. Salmon troll 
fishermen who possess sufficient halibut IFQ are required to keep 
halibut bycatch. Under current regulations, such fishermen are 
prohibited from unloading IFQ species along with salmon harvests unless 
they have given NMFS the 6-hour prior notice of landing required of all 
IFQ landings.
    Salmon troll fishermen have requested some relief from the prior-
notice reporting requirement to manage small amounts of halibut bycatch 
taken incidental to salmon harvests. No prior notice of landing is 
required for salmon landings, and the fishermen wishing to unload 
salmon but who had not provided sufficient prior notice cannot offload 
IFQ halibut bycatch at the same time.
    Also, a provision would be added at Sec. 676.14(b) to relieve 
salmon fishermen of the restriction that IFQ landings be made between 
the hours of 0600 and 1800, A.l.t., only. This 12-hour landing window 
and the 6-hour prior notice requirement are integral aspects of the IFQ 
Program, providing NMFS with means by which to ensure compliance with 
program regulations. Nevertheless, NMFS recognizes that these 
requirements may contribute to the illegal discard of IFQ halibut 
bycatch in the salmon fishery. Therefore, NMFS would exempt fishermen 
from the 6-hour prior notice requirement and the 12-hour landing window 
for the sole purpose of landing 500 lb (0.227 metric tons (mt)) or less 
of IFQ halibut bycatch concurrently with legal salmon landings. IFQ 
landing reports for such landings would still be required as currently 
prescribed. NMFS reasons that 500 lbs (0.227 mt) is large enough to 
cover halibut bycatches in the salmon troll fishery but not so large as 
to jeopardize the effective monitoring of IFQ landings.

Revision of Shipment Report Requirement

    This action would revise Sec. 676.14(c)(2) to modify IFQ Shipment 
Report requirements. The IFQ Program contains a number of enforcement 
checks designed to discourage and detect illegal transactions and 
marketing of IFQ harvests. By requiring that a Shipment Report 
accompany the transportation of IFQ species beyond the landing point, 
NMFS has the ability to detect the shipment or marketing of IFQ species 
illegally harvested or landed. Current regulations at Sec. 676.14(c)(1) 
require a Shipment Report to be submitted to NMFS before a shipment 
commences. Regulations at Sec. 676.14(c)(2) further require that a 
Shipment Report or a bill of lading containing the same information 
accompany a shipment of IFQ fish to all points of sale within Alaska 
and to the first point of sale outside of Alaska. After the first year 
of the IFQ Program's operation, NMFS believes the current requirement 
to be unnecessary to monitor and enforce the IFQ Program effectively. 
The proposed regulation would modify the current regulation to require 
that the Shipment Report be filled out prior to shipment and submitted 
to NMFS within 1 week after the date on which the shipment occurred. 
The proposed regulation also would require that the Shipment Report or 
a bill of lading accompany a shipment of IFQ species to the first 
destination beyond the landing point only. These changes would relieve 
a reporting requirement on shipments of IFQ fish by allowing Shipment 
Reports to be submitted up to 1 week after the shipment occurred. In 
addition, a registered buyer would be relieved of the requirement to 
produce multiple copies of the Shipment Report.

Revision of Transshipment Requirements

    Section 676.14(e) would be revised to clarify requirements 
governing transshipment of IFQ species. The current regulation may be 
misinterpreted to mean that 24-hour prior notice of a transshipment is 
sufficient to ``authorize'' a transshipment. Authorization of 
transshipments allows NMFS the opportunity to monitor the movement of 
IFQ harvests and thus ensure compliance with program regulations. 
Unless such requests are approved by NMFS 24 hours in advance and 
apprise NMFS of the specific location where a transshipment would 
occur, the enforcement rationale underlying the requirement would be 
lost. The proposed amendment would specify that authorization from a 
clearing officer to transship IFQ species must itself be obtained by 
the prospective transshipper 24 hours before the proposed transshipment 
could occur. The amendment would further require that the request for 
authorization specify the date and location of the proposed 
transshipment.

Tagged Halibut and Sablefish

    A new section would be added to part 676 to allow tagged halibut 
and sablefish to be landed without being debited to a person's IFQ 
halibut or IFQ sablefish quota. The International Pacific Halibut 
Commission (IPHC) has requested that IFQ regulations be amended to 
encourage the landing of tagged halibut in support of the IPHC's 
biological research on halibut. The recapture of tagged fish yields 
important scientific data on growth and migration. The IPHC is 
concerned that such data could be lost if the landing and reporting of 
tagged halibut would place a fisherman in violation of IFQ regulations. 
Accordingly, NMFS would add to IFQ regulations a provision that tagged 
halibut landed pursuant to Sec. 301.18 of Pacific Halibut Fisheries 
Regulations not be counted against an IFQ holder's annual Pacific 
halibut quota. This provision would also apply to the capture of tagged 
sablefish to promote NMFS' fisheries research.

Elimination of Certified Mail Requirements

    Sections 676.20(f)(3) and 676.21(c)(3) would be amended to 
eliminate certified mail requirements. The regulations implementing the 
IFQ Program require NMFS to send IFQ permits and notification of 
eligibility for quota share (QS) transfer by certified mail. The 
purpose of this requirement was to ensure timely receipt of such 
permits and notices. In practice, this requirement has been 
ineffective, since certified mail ensures timely delivery but not 
timely receipt; a substantial number of certified mailings remained 
uncollected in post office boxes, thus defeating the purpose of the 
requirements and providing no substantial benefit to participants in 
the program. To make the IFQ Program more cost-effective, NMFS would 
eliminate certified mail requirements but retain the right to use 
certified mailings on a discretionary basis.

Revisions to the Transfer Process

    The transfer process for QS and IFQ would be revised to address two 
issues identified by NMFS and the fishing industry during the first 
year of fishing

[[Page 18118]]

under the IFQ Program. First, the provision for leasing QS at 
Sec. 676.21(g) would be revised to allow leasing of IFQ under the same 
conditions. Under the current regulations, persons are prohibited from 
leasing more than 10 percent of their QS assigned to vessel categories 
B, C, or D. The Council intended to allow all persons holding QS 
assigned to vessel categories B, C, or D to lease up to 10 percent of 
that QS for a period of 3 years. This intent was partially thwarted by 
Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery 
of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area and Amendment 35 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, more 
commonly known as the Modified Block Provision to the IFQ Program. The 
Modified Block Provision prohibited the transfer of any QS block except 
as an undivided whole. Because leasing is considered a transfer of QS, 
this prevented a person from leasing blocked QS, unless the blocked QS 
to be leased was less than or equal to 10 percent of the QS held by 
that person for an IFQ species in an IFQ regulatory area. NMFS 
determined that allowing the lease of IFQ separate from QS would 
restore the full benefit of the Council's intent. This would allow a 
person to transfer up to 10 percent of their annual allocation of IFQ 
for an IFQ species in an IFQ regulatory area, whether the QS from which 
the IFQ was derived is blocked or unblocked, because only QS, and not 
IFQ, is blocked. Regulations at Sec. 676.21(a), (f)(1), and (f)(2) also 
would be revised to reflect this change.
    Second, new paragraphs Sec. 676.21(i)(1) and (2) would be added to 
provide for the transfer of all QS and IFQ to the surviving spouse of a 
deceased individual holder of QS or IFQ by right of survivorship, 
unless contrary intent was expressed by the deceased holder of QS or 
IFQ in a probated will. This provision also would allow the surviving 
spouse, first, to transfer any current year's IFQ for the duration of 
the allocation year and, second, to transfer annual allocations of IFQ 
resulting from the total QS transferred by right of survivorship for 3 
calendar years from the date of the death of the deceased holder of QS 
or IFQ. The transfer of QS and IFQ to the surviving spouse is proposed 
in response to requests to NMFS from the industry and is consistent 
with the Council's intent for the IFQ program as evidenced by the FMP 
sections cited above. This action also would benefit surviving spouses 
who were not initially issued QS or who are not IFQ crew members 
because without meeting those criteria the surviving spouse would not 
be eligible to harvest IFQ species. The new provision would allow a 
surviving spouse to transfer the total IFQ resulting from QS for a 
period of 3 years and thereby obtain pecuniary benefit from the QS for 
that period. NMFS determined that 3 years would provide the surviving 
spouse with adequate time to resolve permanently any issues that may 
arise due to receiving QS or IFQ by right of survivorship, including 
subsequent transfers. An Application for Transfer of QS or IFQ to the 
surviving spouse would be approved by the Director, Alaska Region, 
NMFS, when sufficient evidence, such as a death certificate, has been 
provided to verify the death of the holder of QS or IFQ. If the 
deceased provided for distribution of the QS or IFQ in a will that is 
probated, then the QS or IFQ would be transferred under the provisions 
for transfer as a result of court order or operation of law set out in 
Sec. 676.21(e) and other transfer provisions of Sec. 676.21.

Classification

    This proposed rule would not require the collection of information 
not already approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The 
collection of information originally authorized for the IFQ Program 
included in the request for transshipment authorization information 
regarding the primary port location of the proposed transshipment. The 
requirement that transshipments take place in primary ports only was 
subsequently removed from regulations implementing the IFQ Program. 
However, the information required remains accounted for and approved by 
OMB (OMB control number 0648-0272) regarding IFQs for Pacific halibut 
and sablefish. This proposed action simply reinstates the requirement 
that requests for transshipment authorization include notice of the 
location of the proposed transshipment, although that location no 
longer need be a primary port. The estimated response time for the 
transshipment notice is 6 minutes. The proposed action also restates 
existing requirements for prior notices of landing, shipment reports, 
and applications for transfer of IFQs, all also approved under OMB 
control number 0648-0272. The respective estimated response times for 
these requirements are 12 minutes, 12 minutes, and 2 hours. No 
additional burden is required of the public for information not already 
projected for IFQ recordkeeping and reporting requirements. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to 
respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to 
comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information 
displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. The changes contained in this action would: (1) Relax 
restrictions and eliminate prohibitions that have proven unnecessary 
during the IFQ Program's first year of operation that would provide 
fishermen greater freedom to conduct operations in a manner more 
personally and economically convenient; (2) reduce NMFS' administrative 
costs by eliminating the certified mail requirements of the IFQ Program 
that would make administration of the IFQ Program more cost-effective, 
with no reduction of services and at no expense to IFQ Program 
participants or related businesses; (3) clarify a reporting requirement 
that may be ambiguous by simply reinstating the requirement that 
requests for authorization include notice of the location, although 
that location no longer need be a primary port; and (4) provide 
additional benefits to IFQ cardholders and their families by revising 
the transfer process to allow QS and IFQ to be used by spouses of 
deceased IFQ cardholders and allow IFQ to be transferred similarly to 
QS. This action comprises regulatory and administrative adjustments 
meant to improve the IFQ Program's benefits to fishermen and remove 
inhibitions on the ability of small businesses to compete within the 
IFQ Program. None of these changes would impose any additional cost or 
burden on small entities participating in or affected by the IFQ 
Program, nor would these changes require any additional effort or 
information from IFQ fishermen. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not prepared.
List of Subjects
50 CFR Part 672
    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
50 CFR Part 676
    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

[[Page 18119]]

    Dated: April 17, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR parts 672 and 676 
are proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 672--GROUNDFISH OF THE GULF OF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for part 672 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 672.7, paragraph (k) is removed and reserved.

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

    3. The authority citation for part 676 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    4. In Sec. 676.13, paragraph (f)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 676.13  Permits.

* * * * *
    (f) Inspection. (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 that is issued an IFQ card must remain aboard the vessel 
used to harvest IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish with that card during all 
fishing operations until arrival at the point of landing and during all 
IFQ landings. The IFQ cardholder 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. 
Nothing in this paragraph would prevent an individual that is issued an 
IFQ card from being absent from the vessel used to harvest IFQ halibut 
or IFQ sablefish between the time the vessel arrives at the point of 
landing until the commencement of landing.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 676.14, paragraphs (a), (b)(1), (c), and (e) are revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 676.14  Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *
    (a) Prior notice of landing. Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) 
of this section, the operator of any vessel making 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.
    (1) Prior notice of landings required by this section 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 landing.
    (2) The operator of a category ``B,'' ``C,'' or ``D'' vessel, as 
defined at Sec. 676.20(a)(2), making an IFQ landing of IFQ halibut of 
500 lb (0.227 mt) or less of weight determined pursuant to 
Sec. 676.22(c)(3)(ii) and concurrent with a legal landing of salmon is 
exempt from the prior notice of landing required by this section.
    (b) * * *
    (1) IFQ landings may commence only between the hours of 0600 and 
1800 Alaska local time unless:
    (i) Permission to land at a different time is granted in advance by 
a clearing officer; or
    (ii) IFQ halibut of 500 lb (0.227 mt) or less of weight determined 
pursuant to Sec. 676.22(c)(3)(ii) is landed concurrently with a legal 
landing of salmon by a category ``B,'' ``C,'' or ``D'' vessel, as 
defined at Sec. 676.20(a)(2).
* * * * *
    (c) Shipment Report. All registered buyers, other than those 
conducting dockside sales, must report their shipments or transfers of 
IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish. A Shipment Report must be submitted for 
any shipment or transfer of IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish to any 
location other than the location of the IFQ landing. Shipment Reports 
must specify the species and product type being shipped, the number of 
shipping units, fish product weight, the name of the shipper and 
receiver, the name and address of the consignee and consignor, the mode 
of transportation, and the intended route.
    (1) A registered buyer must complete a Shipment Report for each 
shipment or transfer from that registered buyer within 12 hours of its 
commencement and ensure that the Shipment Report is submitted to, and 
received by, the Alaska Region, NMFS, within 7 days of the date 
shipment or transfer commenced.
    (2) A registered buyer must ensure that a copy of the Shipment 
Report or a bill of lading that contains the same information 
accompanies the shipment to its first destination.
    (3) A registered buyer must submit a revised Shipment Report if any 
information on the original Shipment Report changes prior to the first 
destination of the shipment. A revised Shipment Report must be clearly 
labeled ``Revised Shipment Report,'' and must be received by the Alaska 
Region, NMFS, within 7 days of the change.
* * * * *
    (e) Transshipment. No person may transship processed IFQ halibut or 
IFQ sablefish between vessels without authorization by a clearing 
officer. Authorization from a clearing officer must be obtained for 
each instance of transshipment at least 24 hours before the 
transshipment is intended to commence. Requests for authorization must 
specify the date and location of the transshipment.
* * * * *
    6. Section 676.19 is added to Subpart B to read as follows:


Sec. 676.19  Tagged halibut and sablefish.

    (a) Nothing contained in this part shall prohibit any person at any 
time from retaining and landing a Pacific halibut or sablefish that 
bears at the time of capture a research tag from any state, Federal, or 
international agency, provided that the halibut or sablefish is:
    (1) A Pacific halibut landed pursuant to 50 CFR 301.18; or
    (2) A sablefish landed in accordance with the Tagged Groundfish 
Research Program.
    (b) Tagged halibut or sablefish landed pursuant to paragraphs 
(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section shall not be calculated as part of an 
individual's IFQ harvest or be debited against an individual's halibut 
or sablefish IFQ.
    7. In Sec. 676.20, paragraph (f)(3) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 676.20  Individual allocations.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (3) The Regional Director shall issue to each QS holder, pursuant 
to Sec. 676.13, an IFQ permit accompanied by a statement specifying the 
maximum amount of halibut and sablefish that may be harvested with 
fixed gear in a specified IFQ regulatory area and vessel category as of 
January 31 of that year. Such IFQ permits will be mailed to each QS 
holder at the address on record for that person after the beginning of 
each fishing year but prior to the start of the annual IFQ fishing 
season.
* * * * *

[[Page 18120]]

    8. In Sec. 676.21, paragraphs (a), (c)(3), (f)(1), (f)(2), and (g) 
are revised, and paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 676.21  Transfer of QS and IFQ.

* * * * *
    (a) Transfer procedure. An Application for Transfer of QS/IFQ 
(Application for Transfer) must be approved by the Regional Director 
before a person may use IFQ to harvest IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish, 
whether the IFQ was the result of a direct transfer or the result of a 
QS transfer. An Application for Transfer will not be approved until the 
Regional Director has reviewed and approved the transfer agreement 
signed by the parties to the transaction. The Regional Director shall 
provide an Application for Transfer form to any person on request. 
Persons who submit an Application for Transfer to the Regional Director 
for approval will receive notification of the Regional Director's 
decision to approve or disapprove the Application for Transfer, and, if 
applicable, the reason(s) for disapproval, by mail posted on the date 
of that decision, unless another communication mode is requested on the 
Application for Transfer. QS or IFQ accounts affected by an approved 
Application for Transfer will change on the date of approval. New QS 
certificates and IFQ permits, as necessary, will be sent with the 
notice of the Regional Director's decision.
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Applicants will be notified by mail of the Regional Director's 
approval of an application for eligibility.
* * * * *
    (f) Transfer restrictions. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) 
or paragraph (f)(2) of this section, only persons who are IFQ crew 
members or who were initially issued QS assigned to vessel categories 
B, C, or D, and meet the other requirements in this section, may 
receive by transfer QS assigned to vessel categories B, C, or D, or the 
IFQ resulting from it.
    (2) Except as provided in paragraph (f)(3) of this section, only 
persons who are IFQ crew members, and meet the other requirements in 
this section, may receive by transfer QS assigned to vessel categories 
B, C, or D, or the IFQ resulting from it, in IFQ regulatory area 2C for 
halibut or in the IFQ regulatory area east of 140 deg. W. long. for 
sablefish.
* * * * *
    (g) Transfer of IFQ. (1) Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, 
an Application for Transfer must be approved by the Regional Director 
before a person may use any IFQ that results from a direct transfer to 
harvest halibut or sablefish. After approving the Application for 
Transfer, the Regional Director will change any IFQ accounts affected 
by the approved transfer and issue all necessary IFQ permits.
    (2) (Applicable until January 2, 1998). A person may transfer no 
more than 10 percent of the total IFQ resulting from QS held by that 
person and assigned to vessel categories B, C, or D for any IFQ species 
in any IFQ regulatory area to one or more persons for any fishing year.
* * * * *
    (i) Transfer to the surviving spouse. (1) On the death of an 
individual who holds QS or IFQ, the surviving spouse receives all QS 
and IFQ held by the decedent by right of survivorship unless a contrary 
intent was expressed by the decedent in a will which is probated. The 
Regional Director will approve an Application for Transfer to the 
surviving spouse when sufficient evidence has been provided to verify 
the death of the individual.
    (2) The Regional Director will approve, for 3 calendar years 
following the date of death of an individual, an Application for 
Transfer of IFQ from the surviving spouse to a person eligible to 
receive IFQ under the provisions of this section, notwithstanding the 
limitations on transfers of IFQ in paragraph (g)(2) of this section.
[FR Doc. 96-9907 Filed 4-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F