[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