[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3651-3653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1456]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 981016260-9018-02; I.D. 090998B]
RIN 0648-AL20


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Vessel 
Moratorium Program

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to implement Amendment 59 to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering 
Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI), Amendment 57 to the 
FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, and Amendment 9 to the FMP 
for the Commercial King and Tanner Crab Fisheries in the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands submitted by the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council). These amendments extend the Vessel Moratorium 
Program (VMP) authorized under the subject FMPs from January 1, 1999, 
through December 31, 1999. This action is necessary to prevent a 1-year 
hiatus between the original expiration of the VMP on December 31, 1998, 
and the start of fishing under the License Limitation Program (LLP) on 
January 1, 2000. This action is intended to implement approved 
amendments to, and further the objectives of, the subject FMPs.

DATES: Effective January 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review for this action can 
be obtained from the Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, 
NMFS, 709 West 9th Street, Room 453, Juneau, AK 99801, or 
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802. Comments on the collection of 
information burden estimate or any other aspects of the data collection 
of this action can be sent to the preceding address and the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), Washington, DC. 20503 (Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Lepore, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the U.S. groundfish fisheries 
of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and the BSAI in the exclusive economic zone 
pursuant to the FMPs for groundfish in the respective management areas. 
The State of Alaska manages the commercial king crab and Tanner crab 
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands with Federal 
oversight, pursuant to the FMP for those fisheries. The Council 
prepared the FMPs pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801, et seq. 
Regulations implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR part 679. General 
regulations at 50 CFR part 600 also apply.
    NMFS implemented the VMP through regulations effective January 1, 
1996, to impose a temporary moratorium on the entry of new vessels into 
the commercial groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone of 
the GOA and the BSAI and the commercial king crab and Tanner crab 
fisheries in the BSAI (60 FR 40763, August 10, 1995). The purpose of 
the VMP originally was, and still is, to curtail increases in fishing 
capacity and provide industry stability while additional measures, such 
as the LLP, were developed and implemented.
    NMFS approved the LLP on September 12, 1997. However, fishing under 
the LLP will not begin until January 1, 2000. The extension of the VMP 
through December 31, 1999, under this final rule will eliminate the 1-
year hiatus between fishing under the LLP and the expiration of the VMP 
on December 31, 1998.
    NMFS published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for Amendments 59, 
57, and 9 in the Federal Register on September 18, 1998 (63 FR 49892). 
The comment period for the NOA ended on November 17, 1998. FMP 
amendments were required for this extension because the FMPs specified 
an expiration date of December 31, 1998, for the VMP. NMFS published 
the proposed rule to implement Amendments 59, 57, and 9 in the Federal 
Register on November 13, 1998 (63 FR 63442). NMFS received no comments 
on the proposed rule; however, NMFS received one comment from the U.S. 
Coast Guard during the comment period for the NOA. The U.S. Coast Guard 
indicated that all its enforcement and safety concerns were addressed 
by the amendments.
    NMFS approved the FMP amendments on December 16, 1998. The 
amendments include a provision to eliminate the potential for latent 
capacity entering the affected fisheries through a restriction on the 
submission of new moratorium permit applications during the extension. 
Under the original VMP, an applicant could apply for a new moratorium 
permit at any time during the VMP. To date, approximately 1,900 
moratorium permits, out of a potential of approximately 3,350 permits, 
have been issued. If the VMP were extended without a restriction on 
applications, up to 1,450 more moratorium permits could be applied for 
and issued. Therefore, this action extending the VMP through December 
31, 1999, provides that no person may apply for a new moratorium permit 
after the original VMP expiration date of December 31, 1998, unless the 
application is based on a moratorium qualification that was used as a 
basis for obtaining a moratorium permit issued on or before that date.
    Accordingly, NMFS will deny an application for a moratorium permit 
received after December 31, 1998, unless the moratorium qualification 
on which the application is based has been used as a basis for the 
issuance of a moratorium permit.
    To reduce the administrative costs of extending the VMP, this 
action will extend existing moratorium permits through December 31, 
1999, rather than authorizing the reissuance of new permits with the 
new expiration date. The only new moratorium permits that will be 
issued are those based on moratorium qualification transfers. These new 
permits will also expire on December 31, 1999.

[[Page 3652]]

Changes From the Proposed Rule to the Final Rule

    The final rule includes changes from the proposed rule that NMFS 
does not consider substantial. These changes concern the expiration 
date of the purpose and scope of the VMP and its definitions. An 
expiration date of December 31, 1998, originally was established for 
these items and inadvertently was left unchanged in the proposed rule. 
The purpose and scope and definitions are an integral part of the VMP. 
Therefore, in the final rule, NMFS corrected the expiration date of the 
purpose and scope and the following definitions to December 31, 1999: 
Catcher/processor, catcher vessel, directed fishing, maximum LOA, 
moratorium crab species, moratorium groundfish species, moratorium 
qualification, moratorium species, original qualifying LOA, original 
qualifying vessel, person, qualifying period, and reconstruction.

Classification

    The Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, determined that FMP 
Amendments 59, 57, and 9 are necessary for the conservation and 
management of the commercial groundfish fishery off Alaska and the 
commercial king and Tanner crab fisheries in the BSAI in and off Alaska 
and that these FMP amendments are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act and other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    At the proposed rule stage, 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 rule would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not prepared.
    OMB approved a collection-of-information requirement for this rule 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) under control number 0648-
0282. Public reporting burden for applications for moratorium permits, 
or to transfer a moratorium permit, are estimated to average 30 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. Send comments 
regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this data 
collection, including suggestions for the burden, to NMFS and to OMB 
(see ADDRESSES).
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall 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.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds there is 
good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness because (1) this rule does not establish any new 
requirements with which affected parties must come into compliance, (2) 
delay in effectiveness would frustrate the Council's intent to 
eliminate a hiatus in the VMP, and (3) delay in effectiveness may cause 
confusion to the affected industry concerning VMP requirements.
    The President has directed Federal agencies to use plain language 
in their communications with the public, including regulations. To 
comply with this directive, we seek public comment on any ambiguity or 
unnecessary complexity arising from the language used in this final 
rule.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: January 15, 1999.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended to 
read 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., and 3631 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 679.1, revise the heading of paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.1  Purpose and scope.

* * * * *
    (c) Moratorium on entry (applicable through December 31, 1999). * * 
*
(1) * * *


Sec. 679.2  [Amended]

    3. In Sec. 679.2, remove the date ``December 31, 1998'' and add in 
its place the date ``December 31, 1999'' in the following definitions:
    Catcher/processor, paragraph (2)
    Catcher vessel, paragraph (2)
    Directed fishing, paragraph (2)
    Maximum LOA (MLOA), paragraph (1)
    Moratorium crab species
    Moratorium groundfish species
    Moratorium qualification
    Moratorium species, paragraph (2)
    Original qualifying LOA
    Original qualifying vessel
    Person, paragraph (3)
    Qualifying period
    Reconstruction
    4. In Sec. 679.4, the heading of paragraph (c), paragraphs 
(c)(1)(ii), (c)(1)(iii)(E), (c)(6), and (c)(7) are revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 679.4  Permits.

* * * * *
    (c) Moratorium permits (applicable through December 31, 1999)
    (1) * * *
    (ii) Duration. Notwithstanding the expiration date printed on the 
permit, a moratorium permit is valid through December 31, 1999, unless 
otherwise specified.
    (iii) * * *
    (E) The permit's term indicates an expiration of December 31, 1998, 
or December 31, 1999.
* * * * *
    (6) Application for permit--(i) General. A moratorium permit will 
be issued to the owner of a vessel of the United States if he/she 
submits to the Regional Administrator a complete application that is 
subsequently accepted and approved and if the vessel's LOA does not 
exceed the maximum LOA as specified in Sec. 679.2.
    (ii) Contents of application. A complete application for a 
moratorium permit must include the following information for each 
vessel:
    (A) Name of the vessel, state registration number of the vessel, 
and the USCG documentation number of the vessel, if any;
    (B) Name(s), business address(es), and telephone and fax numbers of 
the owner of the vessel;
    (C) Name of the managing company;
    (D) Valid documentation of the vessel's moratorium qualification, 
if requested by the Regional Administrator due to an absence of 
landings records for the vessel from January 1, 1988, through February 
9, 1992;
    (E) Reliable documentation of the vessel's original qualifying LOA, 
if requested by the Regional Administrator, such as a vessel survey, 
builder's plan, state or Federal registration certificate, fishing 
permit records, or other reliable and probative documents that clearly 
identify the vessel and its LOA and that are dated before June 24, 
1992;

[[Page 3653]]

    (F) Specifications of the fishing gear(s) used from January 1, 
1988, through February 9, 1992, and, if necessary, the fishing gear(s) 
used from February 10, 1992, through December 11, 1994;
    (G) Specification of the vessel as either a catcher vessel or a 
catcher/processor vessel;
    (H) If applicable, transfer authorization if a permit request is 
based on the transfer of moratorium qualification pursuant to paragraph 
(c)(9) of this section; and
    (I) Signature of the person who is the owner of the vessel or the 
person who is responsible for representing the vessel owner.
    (iii) An application for a moratorium permit received after 
December 31, 1998, will be denied unless it is based on a moratorium 
qualification for which a moratorium permit was issued on or before 
December 31, 1998.
    (7) Moratorium qualification--(i) Qualification by landings. A 
vessel has moratorium qualification if:
    (A) The vessel is an original qualifying vessel based on a legal 
landing of moratorium species between January 1, 1988, and February 9, 
1992;
    (B) The vessel is not a moratorium exempt vessel under paragraph 
(c)(2) of this section;
    (C) The vessel's moratorium qualification has not been transferred; 
and
    (D) A moratorium permit for the vessel's moratorium qualification 
has been issued based on an application submitted on or before December 
31, 1998.
    (ii) Qualification by transfer. A vessel has moratorium 
qualification if:
    (A) The vessel receives a valid moratorium qualification by a 
transfer approved by the Regional Administrator under paragraph (c)(9) 
of this section;
    (B) The vessel is not a moratorium exempt vessel under paragraph 
(c)(2) of this section;
    (C) The moratorium qualification received by transfer has not been 
subsequently transferred; and
    (D) A moratorium permit for the vessel's moratorium qualification 
has been issued based on an application submitted on or before December 
31, 1998.
    (iii) Expiration of moratorium qualification. A vessel's moratorium 
qualification will expire on December 31, 1998, unless a moratorium 
permit has been applied for on or before December 31, 1998, and 
subsequently issued based on that moratorium qualification.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-1456 Filed 1-19-99; 4:22 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F