[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59298-59299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29025]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 960531152-7241-05; I.D. 082897A]
RIN 0648-AI18


Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Technical 
Amendment

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

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a technical amendment correcting minor errors in 
the regulations implementing the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program 
for fixed gear Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in and off of 
Alaska. This action is necessary to correct a number of inadvertent 
errors in the regulations implementing the IFQ Program. The intent of 
this action is to improve the clarity and coherence of the IFQ 
regulations.

DATES: November 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Chief, Fisheries Management 
Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, 709 West 9th Street, Room 453, Juneau, 
AK 99801 or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK, Attn: Lori J. Gravel. Send 
comments regarding burden estimates or any other aspect of the data 
requirements, including suggestions for reducing the burdens, to NMFS 
and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20530, Attn: NOAA Desk 
Officer.

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 of Alaska. Under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 
1982 (Halibut Act), NMFS implemented the IFQ Program in 1995, on the 
recommendation of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council).
    At 50 CFR 679.1(d)(2), the regulations state that the term ``fixed 
gear'' is described in 16 U.S.C. 773(d). The term ``fixed gear'' is not 
defined in 16 U.S.C. 773(d). However, it is defined, as an ``authorized 
fishing gear'' in 50 CFR 679.2, Definitions. The reference is 
corrected.
    On August 9, 1996, at 61 FR 41523, NMFS published a final rule 
implementing a number of regulatory changes in the IFQ Program. Among 
these changes, the requirements for submitting IFQ Shipment Reports at 
50 CFR 679.5(l)(2)(iii)(A) were revised to require that Shipment 
Reports be submitted to NMFS within 7 days of the date of shipment, not 
prior to the shipment as was formerly required. In the revised 
regulations, the reference to submission of Shipment Reports in 50 CFR 
679.5(l)(2)(ii)(A) should also have been revised to be consistent with 
the new requirement. Moreover, this section is redundant and awkward. 
To correct the inconsistency and clarify the requirements for shipping 
reports, NMFS revises in its entirety Sec. 679.5(l)(2).
    Finally, a final rule published at 61 FR 43312, on August 22, 1996, 
revised the definitions of vessel categories to which quota share and 
IFQ can be assigned (Sec. 679.40(a)(5)(ii)(B)), and included an 
exception to the revised definitions elsewhere in the regulations 
(Sec. 679.42(a)). The exception is not referenced in the definitions 
themselves. For the sake of clarity, this action revises the 
regulations defining QS categories to reference the exception.

Classification

    Because this technical amendment makes only minor, non-substantive 
corrections to an existing rule, prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment would serve no purpose. Accordingly, the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), finds for 
good cause that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are 
unnecessary. Because this is a non-substantive rule, 5 USC(d) does not 
require a delay in the effective date.
    Because this rule is being issued without prior notice, it is not 
subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act requirement for a regulatory 
flexibility analysis, and none has been prepared.
    This rule makes minor technical changes to a rule that has been 
determined to be not significant under E.O. 12866. No change in the 
regulatory impact previously reviewed and analyzed will result from 
implementation of this technical amendment.
    This rule repeats a collection-of-information requirement subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The requirement for an IFQ 
shipment report has been approved by the Office of Management Budget, 
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 the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding these burden 
estimates or any other aspect of the data requirements, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection-of-information subject to the requirements 
of the PRA, unless that collection -of-information displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 27, 1997.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is 
amended as follows:

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

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 679.1, paragraph (d)(2) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 679.1  Purpose and scope.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) Halibut. Regulations in this part govern commercial fishing for 
halibut by vessels of the United States using fixed gear, as that term 
is defined in 50 CFR 679.2, in and off of Alaska.
* * * * *

[[Page 59299]]

    3. In Sec. 679.5, paragraph (l)(2) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 679.5  Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *
    (l) * * *
    (2) IFQ shipment report--(i) Registered buyer. Each registered 
buyer, other than those conducting dockside sales, must:
    (A) Report on a shipment report any shipments or transfers of IFQ 
halibut and IFQ sablefish to the first destination beyond the location 
of the IFQ landing.
    (B) Complete a shipment report for each shipment or transfer from 
that register buyer prior to shipment and assure that the shipment 
report is submitted to, and received by, the NMFS Alaska Enforcement 
Division, within 7 days of the date shipment or transfer commenced;
    (C) Assure that a copy of the shipment report or a bill of lading 
containing the same information accompanies the shipment to its first 
destination beyond the location of the IFQ landing; and
    (D) 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 NMFS Alaska Enforcement 
Division, within 7 days of the change.
    (ii) Shipment report. (A) A shipment report must be submitted to 
NMFS Alaska Enforcement Division in a manner prescribed on the 
registered buyer permit.
    (B) A shipment report must specify: Species and product type being 
shipped, number of shipping units, fish product weight, names of the 
shipper and receiver, names and addresses of the consignee and 
consignor, mode of transportation, and intended route.
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 679.40, paragraph (a)(5)(ii)(B) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.40  Sablefish and halibut QS.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (5) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (B) Category B QS and associated IFQ, which authorizes an IFQ 
cardholder to harvest IFQ species on a vessel of any length, except as 
provided in Sec. 679.42(a);
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 97-29025 Filed 10-31-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F