[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40253-40255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20166]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 980715175-8175-01; I.D. 070198B]
RIN 0648-AL35


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Vessel Tracking 
System Power Down Exemption

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 this rule to amend the regulations implementing 
the Atlantic Sea Scallop and Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management 
Plans (FMP). This action would change the name Vessel Tracking System 
(VTS) to Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and would change the VMS 
operating requirements for vessels to allow the VMS unit to be turned 
off if the vessel is out of the water continuously for more than 72 
consecutive hours, provided the vessel obtains and complies with a 
letter of exemption. The change in VMS operating requirements is 
necessary to address the problem of

[[Page 40254]]

the lack of available power to keep VMS units operational when vessels 
are taken out of the water for repair and maintenance.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 27, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to Jon 
Rittgers, Acting Administrator, Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, One 
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the 
envelope, ``Comments on VMS Power Down Exemption.''
    Comments on burden-hour estimates for collection-of-information 
requirements contained in this proposed rule should be sent to Jon 
Rittgers and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20502 (Attention: 
NOAA Desk Officer).
    Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review supporting this action may 
be obtained from Jon Rittgers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Sec. 648.10(d), from May 1, 1998, 
through April 30, 1999, multispecies vessels issued an Individual DAS 
or Combination Vessel (regarding multispecies fishery) permit are 
temporarily authorized to use the call-in system of notification 
(Sec. 648.10(c)) in lieu of the VTS, hereinafter referred to as VMS 
(the proposed name change to VMS is for consistency with other 
Regions). Under current regulations, required VMS units in the Atlantic 
sea scallop fishery must be fully operational at all times and transmit 
a signal indicating the vessel's accurate position at least every hour, 
24 hours a day, without interruption, throughout the year.  A vessel 
out of the water for repair and maintenance may not have a power supply 
reasonably available and in operation with which to power its VMS unit 
so that it may transmit hourly position reports. This action proposes 
to amend the operating requirements for a VMS to allow vessels in those 
fisheries to turn off the VMS unit if the vessel is going to be out of 
the water continuously for more than 72 hours. Owners of such vessels 
must first obtain a letter of exemption. This amendment is consistent 
with the primary intent of the original requirement, which was to 
monitor the at-sea activity of these vessels for compliance with the 
regulatory requirements.

Classification

    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 proposed rule would change the operating 
requirements for a VMS to allow the owners of vessels to turn off the 
VMS unit if the vessel is going to be out of the water continuously for 
more than 72 hours. Such vessel owners must first request and obtain a 
letter of exemption.
    The proposed action will not affect a substantial number of small 
business entities. The maximum estimated number of respondents is 
estimated to be less than 10 percent of the total vessels with full-
time and part-time scallop limited access days at sea permits that are 
required to use a VMS unit, or 28 vessels. Efforts to minimize the 
burden include requiring vessel owners to submit only a minimal amount 
of information in a one-page letter. The cost of preparing and 
submitting this letter is estimated to be $7.82, and, therefore, will 
not result in a significant economic impact on these vessel owners. 
This cost is offset by the cost of having to maintain power to the VMS 
unit when there is no power supply reasonably available. This action 
will not increase costs for small entities, compared to large entities, 
because all scalloping operations are small entities. As a result, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
    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 (PRA) unless that collection of 
information displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The rule contains one new collection-of-information requirement 
subject to the PRA. A request to collect this information has been 
submitted to OMB for approval. The new reporting requirement is a VMS 
power-down authorization request, which is estimated to take 30 minutes 
per response. This estimate includes the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection-of-information requirements. Send comments regarding burden 
estimates, or any other aspect of the data collection, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
    Public comment is sought regarding whether this proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of functions of 
the agency and whether the information has practical utility, the 
accuracy of burden estimate, and ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected, and to minimize the 
burden of collection of information, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 22, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

    1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 648.9, the acronym ``VTS'' in the section heading is 
replaced with the acronym ``VMS'' and paragraph (b)(2), the first 
sentence of paragraph (b)(5), and paragraphs (b)(7) and (c) are revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 648.9  VMS requirements.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (2) The VMS shall be fully automatic and operational at all times, 
regardless of weather and environmental conditions, unless exempted 
under paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
* * * * *
    (5) The VMS shall provide accurate hourly position transmissions 
every day of the year unless exempted under paragraph (c)(2) of this 
section. * * *
* * * * *
    (7) The VMS vendor shall be capable of transmitting position data 
to a NMFS-designated computer system via a modem at a minimum speed of 
9600 baud. Transmission shall be in a file format acceptable to NMFS.
* * * * *
    (c) Operating requirements. (1) All required VMS units must 
transmit a signal indicating the vessel's accurate position at least 
every hour, 24 hours a

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day, unless such vessel is exempted under paragraph (c)(2) of this 
section.
    (2) Power Down Exemption. (i) Any vessel required to have on board 
a fully operational VMS unit at all times, as specified in paragraph 
(b)(2) of this section, is exempt from this requirement provided the 
vessel meets the following requirements and conditions:
    (A) The vessel will be continuously out of the water for more than 
72 consecutive hours; and
    (B) A valid letter of exemption obtained pursuant to paragraph 
(c)(2)(ii) of this section has been issued to and is on board the 
vessel, and, the vessel is in compliance with all conditions and 
requirements of said letter.
    (ii) Letter of Exemption--(A) Application. A vessel owner may apply 
for a letter of exemption from the operating requirements specified in 
paragraph (c)(1) of this section by sending a written request to the 
Regional Administrator and providing the following: Sufficient 
information to determine that the vessel will be out of the water for 
more than 72 continuous hours; the location of the vessel during the 
time an exemption is sought; and, the exact time period for which an 
exemption is needed (i.e., the time the VMS will be turned off and 
turned on again).
    (B) Issuance. Upon receipt of an application, the Regional 
Administrator may issue a letter of exemption if it is determined that 
the vessel owner provided sufficient information as required under 
paragraph (c)(2)(ii)(A) of this section and that the issuance of the 
letter of exemption will not jeopardize accurate monitoring of the 
vessel's DAS. Any change in the period of time for which an exemption 
is needed may be granted upon written request.
* * * * *
    3. In addition to the amendment set forth above, the words ``vessel 
tracking system'' are replaced with the words ``vessel monitoring 
system'' and the acronym ``VTS'' is replaced with the acronym ``VMS'' 
whenever they appear throughout 50 CFR part 648.
[FR Doc. 98-20166 Filed 7-27-98; 8:45 am]
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