[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7993-7994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4263]



[[Page 7993]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 970206022-7022-01; I.D. 012197C]
RIN 0648-AJ35


Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Modify Prior 
Notice of Landing Requirement

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 proposes to implement a regulatory amendment to the 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for fixed gear Pacific halibut 
and sablefish fisheries in and off Alaska. This action would redefine 
the length of time within which a 6-hour prior notice of landing is 
valid and require that a new prior notice of IFQ landing be submitted 
to NMFS if the landing originally reported will take place either 
before or more than 2 hours after the date and time scheduled in the 
original prior notice of IFQ landing. This action is necessary to 
reinforce the enforcement rationale underlying the original requirement 
and improve compliance with IFQ regulations. This action is intended to 
improve the IFQ Program's ability to manage Pacific halibut and 
sablefish resources efficiently.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule and Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) 
must be received by March 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Ronald J. Berg, Chief, Fisheries 
Management Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Room 453, 709 West 9th 
Street, Juneau, AK 99801, or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, 
Attention: Lori J. Gravel. Copies of the RIR for this action may be 
obtained from the same address.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The fixed gear halibut and sablefish fisheries are managed by the 
IFQ Program, a limited access system for fixed gear Pacific halibut 
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fisheries 
in and off Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council), under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 
(Halibut Act), recommended the IFQ Program, which NMFS implemented in 
1995. The IFQ Program was designed to reduce excessive fishing 
capacity, while maintaining the social and economic character of the 
fixed gear fishery and the Alaskan coastal communities where many of 
these fishermen are based.
    In the implementing rules for the IFQ Program, NMFS requires that a 
vessel operator wishing to land IFQ species notify NMFS no less than 6 
hours prior to the landing and include in this notification the name 
and location of the registered buyer to whom the fish will be landed 
and the anticipated date and time of landing (Sec. 679.5(l)(1)(i)). The 
intent of this prior-notice regulation is to provide NMFS with advance 
notice of a pending landing so that NMFS Enforcement personnel may be 
present to monitor the landing and ensure compliance with program 
regulations.
    After the first 2 years of the IFQ Program, NMFS has found that 
this regulation does not adequately serve the enforcement function and 
proposes to revise it to reflect more clearly the intended purpose of 
the 6-hour prior notice requirement. The current regulations do not 
require fishermen to make the landing at the time scheduled in the 
prior-notice report; they are restricted only from making the landing 
before 6 hours have elapsed since the prior-notice report was 
submitted. Moreover, the current regulation requires only an 
``anticipated date and time of landing'' and states that the prior-
notice report must be given ``no fewer than 6 hours before the 
landing.'' The prior notice of landing can be waived at the discretion 
of clearing officers on a case-by-case basis, but NMFS Enforcement can 
neither enforce an ``anticipated date and time'' nor currently require 
fishermen to land at the time reported in the prior-notice report as 
long as the landing is not made within 6 hours from the time the prior-
notice report is submitted. The current regulation prevents efficient 
use of enforcement resources, because it fails to require that 
fishermen land IFQ species at the time scheduled in the prior notice 
(or within a reasonable time thereof) so that enforcement personnel may 
be present for the landing.
    NMFS proposes a regulatory amendment to modify the requirement by 
defining the length of time within which a 6-hour prior notice is 
valid. This action would require that fishermen land IFQ species at the 
time specified in the prior notice or within 2 hours after the 
specified time. In the event that a vessel does not make the landing 
within the 2-hour limit on an original prior-notice report, this action 
would require the vessel operator to submit a new prior-notice report 
subject to all the requirements of the original report. Note also that 
a vessel operator wishing to make a landing earlier than the time 
originally scheduled in a prior-notice report must still have a 6-hour 
margin of time within which to submit a new 6-hour prior notice of 
landing.
    Also, the current regulations require that the prior-notice report 
include the name and location of the registered buyer to whom a landing 
will be made. ``Location'' may be misinterpreted to mean the business 
address of the registered buyer rather than, as was intended, the 
actual location of the landing. This action would clarify that the 
prior notice report must provide NMFS with the location of the landing.
    The prior-notice report is crucial to NMFS Enforcement's ability to 
monitor IFQ landings. The proposed regulatory change would improve a 
reporting requirement that is necessary to the integrity of the program 
as a conservation and management tool.

Classification

    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction At (PRA). The requirement for a 6-
hour prior notice of IFQ landings has been approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 0648-0272. Public reporting 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 12 
minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, 
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data 
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
    Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through use of automated collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology. Send comments on this or another aspects of 
the information collection to NMFS (See ADDRESSES) above, and to OMB at 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 (Attn: NOAA Desk Officer).
    Not withstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply

[[Page 7994]]

with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the 
PRA, unless that collection 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 as follows.

    This change constitutes a minor regulatory amendment needed to 
reinforce the intended purpose of the 6-hour prior notice of 
landing. The current regulations do not require, as was intended, 
fishermen to make the landing at the time scheduled in the Prior 
Notice; they are restricted only from making the landing before 6 
hours have elapsed since the Prior Notice was given. This action 
would define the length of time within which a 6-hour prior notice 
is valid and require that fishermen land IFQ species at the time 
specified in the prior notice or within 2 hours after the specified 
time.
    The estimate of the reporting burden associated with the prior 
notice of landing is .2 hours and $2.00 per response, as described 
in the Supporting Statement for Collection of Information submitted 
for OMB authorization of the IFQ Program (OMB control number 0648-
0272). NMFS expects instances when a vessel operator inadvertently 
miscalculates the expected time of landing and thus needs to submit 
an additional prior notice to be relatively infrequent. Hence, the 
economic impact of this rule would not be significant.

    Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR 679

    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 13, 1997.
Nancy Foster
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR Part 679 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 679.5, paragraph (l)(1)(i)(B) is revised and paragraph 
(l)(1)(i)(D) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 679.5  Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *
    (l) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) Notification must include: Name of the registered buyer(s) to 
whom the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish will be landed and the location 
of the landing; vessel identification; estimated weight of the IFQ 
halibut or IFQ sablefish that will be landed; identification number(s) 
of the IFQ card(s) that will be used to land the IFQ halibut or IFQ 
sablefish; and the date and time that the landing will take place.
* * * * *
    (D) The operator of any vessel wishing to land IFQ halibut or IFQ 
sablefish before the date and time reported in the prior notice or 
later than 2 hours after the date and time reported in the prior notice 
must submit a new prior notice of IFQ landing in compliance with the 
provisions set forth in paragraphs (l)(1)(i)(A) through (C) of this 
section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 97-4263 Filed 2-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F