[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 239 (Friday, December 12, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65417-65419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32475]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 112897C]
Vessel Registration and Fisheries Information System
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Sustainable Fisheries Act, passed in October 1996, added
various amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). As a result, Section 401 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to
deliver an implementation plan for a national fishing vessel
registration and fisheries information system (System) in a Report to
Congress. This notice outlines the approach taken by NMFS and its
Federal, regional, state, and industry partners on behalf of the
Secretary to develop the implementation plan required in the Report to
Congress.
DATES: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft version of the Report
to Congress will be published in the
[[Page 65418]]
Federal Register on or about March 2, 1998. A sixty (60) day public
comment period will commence immediately thereafter. The final Report
to Congress will be delivered in July 1998.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning this notice to: Section 401,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East West Highway F/ST1, Room
12245, Silver Spring, MD 20910; (301) 713-2328; fax (301) 713-4137. See
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for electronic access instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Holliday, (301) 713-2328.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Because it is one of the major legislative
Acts that directs the activities of the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies various programs and
initiatives for the conservation and stewardship of the nation's marine
fisheries. Section 401 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, amended in 1996,
directs the Secretary to deliver a Report to Congress on the
implementation of a national vessel registration and fisheries
information system.
NMFS, the U.S. Coast Guard, coastal states, the three regional
commissions (Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Gulf States
Marine Fisheries Commission, and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission), and the eight regional Fishery Management Councils (New
England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean,
Pacific, North Pacific, Western Pacific) play various roles in
commercial fishing vessel registration and marine fisheries data
collection. Consistent with the Assistant Administrator's previous
directions, NMFS has been engaged in a highly collaborative process to
develop joint data collection and planning activities with these
organizations and the regional fisheries information networks (Atlantic
Coast Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP), Alaska Fisheries
Information Network (AKFIN), Pacific Fisheries Information Network
(PACFIN), Southeast Fisheries Information Network FIN(SE) and Western
Pacific Fisheries Information Network (WESTPACFIN).
Most, if not all, of these governmental bodies maintain or
contribute information to various state, regional, and national
information systems. Section 401 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act directs
the Secretary, in cooperation with the various constituents and
stakeholders, to streamline and integrate these vessel registration and
fisheries information systems into a national system.
Section 401 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act sets a number of benchmarks
for a national vessel registration and fisheries information system. It
also defines several overarching principles that should guide the
system's development and result in an integrated vessel registration
and fisheries information system. Perhaps the most visible and easily
measured requirement is the reduction of information reporting burdens
on industry and the use of existing data collection and information
management systems to the furthest extent possible.
To better organize the project planning activity, NMFS divided the
task into two primary components: the Vessel Registration System (VRS)
and the Fisheries Information System (FIS). Within these components,
NMFS is addressing information management architecture, integration and
harmonization of data collection programs, and the institutional
arrangements and accountability. The project team is evaluating these
components simultaneously both to determine the optimal system
requirements and configuration based on data needs and to leverage
current data collection and planning efforts.
Vessel Registration System: Vessel registration, licensing, and
permitting systems among the coastal states, territories, tribal
entities and the U.S. Coast Guard are currently under project team
review. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requests a plan for a national system
that contains the following information for each fishing vessel: (1)
The name and official number or other identification, together with the
address of the owner or operator or both; (2) gross tonnage, vessel
capacity, type and quantity of fishing gear, mode of operation, and
other such pertinent information with respect to vessel characteristics
as the Secretary may require; and (3) identification of the fisheries
in which the fishing vessel participates. Currently, no vessel
registration system at any level fully satisfies these criteria.
The NMFS is aware of the Coast Guard's Vessel Identification System
(VIS). Designed as a national boating information network, it will
comprise the Coast Guard's vessel documentation system and, on a
voluntary basis, the states/territories vessel information. NMFS has
been in consultation with the VIS programmatic personnel to ascertain
how and whether the VIS could be utilized to fulfill the requirements
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Originally scheduled to be tested in the
fall of 1997, the VIS program will not begin pilot testing until
January 1998. As a consequence of the delay, NMFS is not yet in the
position to evaluate the operational capabilities of VIS and how and
whether it can be utilized in the VRS.
Fisheries Information System: The project team is studying
fisheries data collection programs and information management systems
at the regional levels (Pacific, Gulf, Atlantic) as specified in the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. State and Federal data collection programs and
information management systems have developed independently over time
and reflect varying degrees of integration and management efficiency.
Through participation in ACCSP, AKFIN, FIN(SE), PACFIN, and WESTPACFIN,
NMFS has spent considerable time and money supporting these partners in
joint statistics planning and integration efforts. These efforts have
definite timeframes and outcomes planned, and NMFS has relied on these
processes to support the Section 401 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
activity to avoid duplication of effort and maximize partner
participation. During the consultation process, NMFS determined that
compliance with the schedule set by section 401 of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act will conflict with (and may even be detrimental to) critical path
planning stages currently in progress. The fishery information networks
are still in the formative stages. For example, ACCSP planning for its
coastwide information management system will not produce required
inputs for FIS design until February 1998. NMFS is working closely with
these groups to develop plans for integration and implementation into a
fisheries information system.
Process: NMFS strategy has been to seek the highest level of detail
possible in the draft report to produce specific and justifiable
estimates of implementation resource requirements. It could be argued
that the report NMFS is developing provides more detail than called for
in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. However, the stakeholders (particularly
the Commissions) have supported this level of analysis and have worked
with us to develop this detail so that they fully understand the
regional implications of a national umbrella program. Due to the
complex nature of this task, NMFS received requests from the
Commissions for additional consultation on integration. NMFS agrees
that to cut off the consultative process at this time could jeopardize
the collaborative process, and result in a report that is short on
substance and lacking support from our constituents.
[[Page 65419]]
To integrate additional information, NMFS decided that a 6 month
delay was appropriate to accomplish the task. The benefit of the delay
will be a report that will contain well-described courses of action
that will actually improve statistics for NMFS and our partners
stewardship responsibilities. In particular, NMFS wants to reach a
consensus among stakeholders on a VRS and FIS program which will allow
determination of a realistic budget consistent with requirements set
forth in section 401(a)(5) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act so that Congress
can consider the recommendations during the fiscal year, FY 99,
appropriations process. The proposed target date will coincide with
Congressional timeframes and allow all constituents an opportunity to
seek a common goal. Given the current stage of state and commission
planning, delivering a report by the original due date would result in
little or no consensus on level and documentation of an FY 99 funding
request.
The goal for the next 6 months is to craft an acceptable
implementation plan that includes unified VRS/FIS system guidelines,
proposed rules and legislation, and budgets. NMFS intends to hold
additional meetings in January and February with the Commissions and
Councils to resolve integration/implementation requirements.
Additionally, the pilot testing of the Coast Guard's VIS will allow
NMFS the opportunity to develop the necessary integration requirements.
This comprehensive plan will be available for public comment upon
publication of the NOA of the draft Report to Congress in March 1998.
Stakeholders: Stakeholders (or constituents) in the implementation
of the vessel registration and fisheries information system include the
(1) three regional marine fisheries commissions, (2) the eight fishery
management councils, (3) 24 coastal states, (4) U.S. territories, (5)
U.S. Coast Guard, (6) tribal entities, (7) industry and trade groups,
and (8) other interested parties. In addition to directly consulting
with the project's stakeholders over the next 6 months, all parties
will have the opportunity for input on the proposed implementation plan
through the public comment period commencing in March 1998, when the
draft report is available.
Comments on this notice may be submitted to the NMFS Division of
Fisheries Statistics and Economics by sending electronic mail to:
[email protected].
Authority: Pub. L. 104-297.
Dated: December 8, 1997.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-32475 Filed 12-11-97; 8:45 am]
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