[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48594-48605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23221]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 990520139-9221-02; I.D. 050799B]
RIN 0648-AM68


Disaster Assistance for Northeast Multispecies Fishery Failure

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

ACTION: Notice of final program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes a final program for disbursing funds to assist 
persons who have incurred losses from a commercial fishery failure due 
to the declining stocks of groundfish which has caused harm to the 
Northeast multispecies fishery. This document provides information 
concerning criteria for eligibility, limitations and conditions for 
receiving disaster assistance.

DATES: Effective September 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Questions or requests for information about financial 
assistance may be sent to: Leo Erwin, Chief, Division of Financial 
Services, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. All other 
inquiries should be sent to: Kevin Chu, NMFS, 166 Water St., Woods 
Hole, MA. 02543.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Chu, Northeast Region (508) 495-
2367).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations section of the FY 1999 
Appropriations Act (Public Law No. 105-277), Congress appropriated $5 
million to NOAA to provide emergency disaster assistance to persons or 
entities in the Northeast multispecies fishery who have incurred losses 
from a commercial fishery failure under a fishery resource disaster 
declaration made in 1994 pursuant to section 308(b) of the 
Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (IFA) of 1986. Although the funds are 
available until used, NMFS is not obligated to compensate every 
individual affected by the Northeast multispecies collapse or to expend 
all the funding on assistance.
    Pursuant to his authority under this section of the IFA, former 
Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown declared a fishery resource disaster on 
March 18, 1994, for the Northeast multispecies fishery. This disaster 
has extended through this year and is expected to continue, causing a 
number of additional fishery closures in New England and economic 
hardship in the fishery.
    The Gulf of Maine stocks of groundfish have declined drastically 
over the past three decades. Since the first declaration of a fishery 
disaster in 1994, recovery measures for Northeastern groundfish have 
improved the prospects for commercially important cod, haddock, and 
yellowtail flounder stocks on Georges Bank, but measures intended to 
protect Gulf of Maine cod have not been as successful. Gulf of Maine 
stocks of cod, white hake, American plaice, and yellowtail flounder 
remain overfished. The spawning biomass continues to decline, reducing 
the probability that sizable groups of new fish will be produced. As a 
result of the continued crisis in the Northeast multispecies fishery, a 
number of areas in the Gulf of Maine have been closed to many types of 
fishing gear for up to 3 months during the period of February through 
June 1999, resulting in lost fishing opportunities.
    On June 11, 1999, NMFS published a document in the Federal Register 
(64 FR 31542) seeking comments on the proposed program for disbursing 
the disaster assistance funds. This document presents the final program 
for disbursing the funds and responds to the comments received.
    The final program has two components. First, NMFS will provide 
direct assistance by compensating Federal permit holders and crew for 
economic harm based on reductions in used Days-at-Sea (DAS) under the 
authority of section 308(d) of the IFA. In exchange for this 
compensation, permit holders must commit to operating their vessels for 
research on fishery-related subjects, participating in another activity 
approved by the NMFS Northeast Regional Administrator (RA), or 
providing personal economic and social data important for evaluating 
the effects of fishery management decisions. Second, NMFS will set 
aside $100,000 of the funds for the training and deployment of at-sea 
data collectors aboard scallop fishing vessels to monitor groundfish 
bycatch, particularly of yellowtail flounder. This document explains 
the direct assistance program, but does not discuss the training and 
deployment part of the program, which is already underway.
    The direct assistance program has two goals: (1) To provide a 
mechanism to get financial assistance to fishermen most affected by the 
groundfish collapse; and (2) to involve the industry in fisheries and 
gear research, thereby providing additional data for the long-term 
management of the fishery. This program uses a formula for calculating 
lost fishing opportunities as an indicator of the economic harm caused 
by the declining groundfish stocks.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received comments from the States of Maine and Massachusetts, 
representatives of three commercial fishing organizations, two academic 
institutions, seven commercial fishermen, and one recreational 
fisherman. We have grouped similar comments here.
    Comment 1: Because the program relies on a calculation of DAS not 
used, the program rewards persons who did not try to fish during the 
spring closures but penalizes the persons who used DAS to try to make a 
living by fishing, even if they lost money while doing so.
    Response: NMFS recognizes that some persons may receive reduced 
benefits under this program because they made the effort to continue 
fishing by moving their fishing location in response to the 1999 
rolling closures. These people will have expended extra money to try to 
keep fishing, and they may not have made enough to justify their costs. 
Since persons who did not fish will be compensated under this program, 
those who did fish are likely to feel that they are being unfairly 
penalized for making the effort to continue fishing, especially if they 
lost money doing so. NMFS notes, however, that such fishermen were able 
to move their operations to avoid the closures. NMFS continues to 
believe that the assistance program should target persons who could not 
move their operations to another port or farther offshore, and, 
therefore, were more vulnerable to the closures.
    NMFS and fishermen agree that $5 million is not enough to 
compensate all

[[Page 48595]]

persons and entities affected by the declining groundfish stocks. In 
developing this disaster assistance program, NMFS has had to make 
difficult decisions about how to spread a limited amount of money among 
a relatively large number of persons. This program is intended to 
assist those who have had the fewest options for making a living from 
fishing during the winter/spring 1999 rolling closures.
    In developing this program, NMFS also considered the time it will 
take for eligible persons to receive compensation. The program is 
designed to use information already held by NMFS to calculate 
eligibility and compensation levels, hence, avoiding a lengthy review 
of the records of individual fishermen. While a program that somehow 
balances a person's financial need and his or her efforts to continue 
fishing could be developed, implementing such a program (reviewing 
individual case histories) would be extremely time-consuming. This 
would further delay the release of disaster assistance funds and extend 
the financial crisis for those who will be compensated, so that the 
overall benefit of the program would be substantially diminished.
    Comment 2: The disaster assistance program excludes from 
compensation many people who were affected by the decline in the stocks 
of groundfish, including other fishermen and shore-based 
infrastructure. These people should also be eligible for compensation.
    Response: NMFS agrees that many persons affected by the groundfish 
declines will not be eligible for compensation under this program. As 
noted in the response to Comment 1, the current level of funding for 
this program in not sufficient to compensate all persons who have been 
affected by the commercial fishery failure. NMFS believes it is 
appropriate to target the limited funds to that portion of the 
commercial harvesting sector that has been most heavily affected by 
groundfish declines, i.e., those persons who have been unable to move 
their operations to avoid the impacts of the rolling closures. This 
assistance may keep some vessels active that might otherwise have left 
the fishery, thus providing an indirect benefit for persons or 
industries that support the activities of such vessels.
    Comment 3: Other fisheries such as the scup fishery in the 
Northeast are also in decline and deserve compensation. Also, since all 
federally permitted DAS vessels were prohibited from fishing in the 
rolling closure areas, scallop fishermen and groundfish fishermen 
should all be allowed to receive compensation.
    Response: NMFS agrees that other fisheries are also in decline and 
that other persons are also suffering economic hardship as a result of 
those declines. However, Congress specifically appropriated funds to 
assist persons or entities affected by the disaster declared in the 
Northeast multispecies fishery. Therefore, notwithstanding the economic 
need of persons in other fisheries, NMFS has targeted persons in the 
Northeast multispecies fishery for this assistance program. 
Furthermore, beginning in May 1999, scallop vessels were no longer 
prohibited from the inshore Gulf of Maine closed areas.
    Comment 4: These disaster relief funds should be limited to the 
multispecies fishery. To the extent that these funds are to be utilized 
for observers, they should be observing groundfish vessels.
    Response: NMFS agrees that these funds should be limited to the 
multispecies fishery (see Comment 3). However, we do not agree that 
this would require that only groundfish vessels be observed using these 
funds. Some of these funds are being used to train and deploy observers 
on scallop vessels. The purpose of these observers is to monitor the 
bycatch of groundfish species, especially yellowtail flounder, to 
ensure that it does not exceed levels set to conserve the species.
    Comment 5: Persons who had set aside DAS to be used for groundfish 
fishing during the rolling closures of 1999 should be eligible for 
compensation. These people have been affected twofold by the closures, 
first by not fishing during other times because they were saving DAS 
for the winter months, and second by the closures themselves. Reserving 
30 to 40 DAS should be considered evidence that the person intended to 
fish for groundfish during this time.
    Response: NMFS understands that persons who were saving DAS to fish 
during the winter months and who were subsequently prevented from 
fishing were severely affected by the closures. However, NMFS does not 
have a mechanism to distinguish persons who saved DAS to be used during 
the rolling closures from persons who would not have used their full 
DAS anyway. Demonstrating the intent to fish during the closures would 
be difficult and time-consuming, because it would require reviewing 
each individual's case history. Therefore, because compensation cannot 
be released until the total number of DAS requested for compensation is 
known, NMFS will not establish a mechanism to compensate persons based 
solely on the intent to fish.
    Comment 6: Anyone who can document a major reduction in Gulf of 
Maine cod landings without attendant discard problems should be 
eligible to receive compensation.
    Response: In concept, declines in cod landings could be a basis to 
allocate the disaster assistance. However, in practice, this would be 
difficult and time-consuming, as it would require a review of each 
permit holder's records.
    Comment 7: The program should compare a vessel's DAS use from FY 
1998 to FY 1999 for the entire year rather than on a month-to-month 
basis from February through June. By so doing, NMFS would then 
compensate for a net reduction in multispecies effort for the year.
    Response: The concept of using days fished over the entire fishing 
year has merit. However, the current fishing year will not end until 
April 30, 2000. The impacts of the May and June 1999 closures would not 
be measurable until that time. NMFS believes that delaying the release 
of these funds until then is not acceptable.
    Comment 8: Using DAS as a proxy measure for economic harm makes it 
appear as if NMFS is paying for unused DAS. NMFS should not set the 
precedent that DAS are a compensable right.
    Response: NMFS agrees that DAS are not a compensable right. The use 
of DAS is only intended as a proxy measurement of the economic harm 
caused by the declining groundfish stocks. NMFS is not buying DAS, nor 
can DAS be traded between vessels or exchanged for any compensation.
    Comment 9: The fishermen who would be compensated do not deserve 
financial assistance because they have been the impetus behind 
ineffective management measures and because the declining groundfish 
stocks are due to commercial overfishing.
    Response: Overfishing is only one factor in the declines of 
groundfish stocks in the Northeast. Even if overfishing (of which 
commercial fishing is a substantial but not exclusive contributor) is 
the major factor in the groundfish decline, this does not change the 
fact that individuals are now in dire economic straits because of the 
reduction in fishing opportunities. Congress recognized the economic 
hardship caused by the continuing disaster in the multispecies 
groundfish fishery and appropriated funds to help alleviate the 
economic impact of the stock decline.

[[Page 48596]]

    Comment 10: Fishermen should not have to offer their vessels for 
research, because the funds are to compensate for money already lost, 
and because the added cost of doing the research would diminish the 
economic value of the program to participants.
    Response: Most fishermen who provided advice during the development 
of this program expressed the view that they do not want a handout from 
the government. Rather, they would like to find a creative way to give 
something back in exchange for the much-needed financial assistance 
this program will provide. Consistent with Congressional advice for 
this funding, this program is designed to compensate fishermen for 
their economic loss in exchange for information and research support 
for the long-term management of the fishery.
    Comment 11: There is opposition to the provision that a permit 
holder would have to provide income tax information if their vessels 
were not used for research. The chief concerns are that the tax records 
might be used for enforcement purposes and that NMFS would not 
adequately protect privileged information.
    Response: The purpose of collecting tax information is to obtain 
information needed to evaluate the economic impacts of future fishery 
management measures. NMFS is required by law to take account of the 
economic impacts as well as the biological consequences of regulations, 
but we have limited economic information on the operating costs of 
vessels upon which to base our analyses. The income tax information 
will improve our knowledge of the economic situation of groundfish 
fishermen.
    NMFS has no intention of using the income tax information for 
enforcement purposes. NMFS assumes that the information provided to the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is correct and complete. The Privacy Act 
of 1974 provides protection of privacy to individuals on whom records 
are maintained. We will keep tax information of individuals 
confidential in compliance with the Privacy Act, and will only release 
data to the public in aggregate form. Files will only be released to 
agency personnel who can demonstrate a need to know the financial 
information enclosed.
    NMFS has modified the program such that it is not necessary to 
submit a 1998 income tax return to verify that a recipient's net income 
from commercial fishing does not exceed $75,000 ($150,000 if filing 
jointly). Instead, recipients must certify that their income does not 
exceed that threshold. Certifications are subject to possible 
punishment under 18 U.S.C. 1001, including fine or imprisonment, for 
false statements. Suspected false submissions will be turned over to 
the Commerce Office of Inspector General (OIG) for investigation.
    Comment 12: This program will set the precedent that the government 
should pay fishermen to provide economic and social data, which is a 
concern for programs that rely on such data to be provided on a 
voluntary basis.
    Response: NMFS does not believe that persons should be paid to 
provide economic or social data necessary for fishery management 
decisions, nor do we believe that this program will set such a 
precedent. Persons are not being compensated for providing economic 
information, but rather because they have suffered economic harm from 
the declines in groundfish stocks. Because fishermen generally have 
wanted to give something back in return for financial assistance, 
compensation through this program carries with it a commitment by the 
recipient to help the government get better information upon which to 
base fishery management decisions. The commitment to provide economic 
information applies only if a permit holder is not asked to provide a 
vessel for research or does not perform an alternate approved activity.
    Comment 13: The provision that logbooks would be used to determine 
historical activity only if they contain sufficient information to tell 
whether a vessel historically fished in the closed areas would exclude 
some fishermen from compensation based on a technicality. NMFS should 
have insisted earlier that this information be provided and should have 
returned incomplete logbooks for revision. NMFS should presume that a 
vessel's fishing activity was in a given block if the vessel sailed and 
landed from a port adjacent to a closed block within a 24-hour period. 
The number of permit holders that are affected by this provision is 
probably small, and it would not be administratively burdensome for 
NMFS to make some accommodation for these persons. Alternatively, the 
permit holder's statement that he or she fished in a closed area should 
be sufficient.
    Response: NMFS will base its calculations of compensation on all 
logbooks that have been submitted as of July 15, 1999, that contain all 
the needed information, including information on the latitude/longitude 
(or Loran lines) of where gear was fished. Any other method of 
calculating historical activity would also be controversial, given the 
comments received (see Comment 14), and would have an unfair impact on 
persons whose logbooks were correctly filled out and who complied with 
the regulations that have been in place since 1994. NMFS acknowledges 
the advice that the number of persons affected by this situation is 
probably small.
    Comment 14: NMFS should limit its consideration to logbooks that 
were filed on a timely basis and from which reliable data can be 
obtained. Failure to require complete vessel logbooks to calculate 
historical activity as confirmation of eligibility would condone either 
willful disregard for management regulations or intentional deception.
    Response: See response to Comment 13.
    Comment 15: The income limit of $75,000 is too low. People with 
higher incomes may also feel the hardship of not being able to work. 
Such persons may have greater financial commitments and, hence, have 
just as great a need for assistance. NMFS should justify this 
particular limit.
    Response: NMFS will retain the limit on net incomes from commercial 
fishing of $75,000 (or $150,000 if filing jointly) as proposed. The 
limit of $75,000 is approximately twice the median income of $37,005 
for U.S. households in 1997 (Census Bureau, September 1998). Joint tax 
filers will be allowed an income from commercial fishing of up to four 
times the U.S. median household income. NMFS agrees that persons or 
entities with incomes above this level also have financial commitments 
and that the declining groundfish stocks may have had a serious impact 
on their financial status. However, NMFS believes that the limited 
funds should not be used to provide assistance to persons or entities 
with incomes more than twice the median level.
    Comment 16: Party/charter boats have had to readjust their 
operations or went bankrupt because of the declining groundfish stocks 
and, therefore, they also deserve compensation.
    Response: NMFS agrees that party/charter vessels have also been 
affected by the groundfish declines. However, the impact has not been 
as drastic, because these vessels have not been excluded from fishing 
in the inshore rolling closure areas. Since disaster assistance funds 
are limited, NMFS does not believe it is appropriate to include party/
charter vessels in this program.
    Comment 17: Explain in detail how the disaster assistance funds 
will be spent.
    Response: Congress appropriated $5 million for the disaster 
assistance program. Of this amount, $4.65 million

[[Page 48597]]

will be used to compensate fishermen through the program detailed in 
this document. If all these funds are not claimed by fishermen, the 
remaining funding will be used to subsidize the additional costs to 
vessels of carrying out the cooperative research program.
    Of the remaining $350,000, $100,000 will be used to train and 
deploy observers aboard scallop vessels to monitor the bycatch of 
groundfish, especially yellowtail flounder. Finally, $250,000 will be 
used to cover administrative costs of the disaster assistance program.
    Comment 18: NMFS should reserve any unclaimed funds for other 
disaster assistance programs rather than using the money for research.
    Response: While the disaster assistance provided directly to 
fishermen through this program helps them cope with short-term 
problems, NMFS believes that helping to finance research will help the 
long-term recovery of the fishery, and, therefore, is a valid and 
useful part of the overall disaster assistance program. Both the 
fishing industry and the general public will benefit if NMFS uses 
unclaimed disaster assistance funds to help cover costs of research 
undertaken through this program. The research projects have the 
potential of providing important information about fish stocks and ways 
to reduce the catch of non-target species. The cooperative research 
program also has the potential to encourage greater understanding 
between fishermen and scientists.
    Comment 19: The requirement that researchers pay for fuel and other 
operating costs could be an insurmountable obstacle for research 
projects. Some of the disaster assistance funds should be set aside to 
cover these costs or the fishermen should be required to pay them. NMFS 
should provide additional funds to the permit holder to cover costs 
associated with a research day at sea, including lost wages if the 
captain or crew have another job.
    Response: NMFS believes that the researchers, not fishermen, should 
pay for research costs, since fishermen will be contributing their 
vessel, crew, and time to the research effort. If not all the disaster 
assistance funds are claimed by fishermen under this program, NMFS 
intends to use the remaining funding to cover the operating costs of 
the vessel. NMFS cannot promise, however, to cover any additional costs 
to the permit holders of executing this research, since there are no 
additional funds set aside for this purpose.
    Comment 20: Clarify the process by which NMFS will decide which 
research projects qualify for using the fishing vessel DAS committed 
under this program.
    Response: NMFS will announce that we are seeking projects to use 
the available fishing vessels, and list the vessels available. NMFS may 
also publish information about the program in appropriate scientific 
journals so that persons are aware of the opportunity. NMFS will 
establish a committee or use an existing organization comprised of 
scientists, fishermen, and government officials to review each 
scientific proposal for its technical merit and feasibility and to 
decide which proposals should have priority. NMFS will either appoint 
an individual to coordinate the execution of the research projects and 
to keep track of DAS used, or contract this task out.
    Comment 21: The research obligation of fishermen compensated 
through this program should be extended to May 31, 2001, because it 
will take time to find funding for and organize the research projects.
    Response: NMFS agrees that it may take considerable time to 
organize and prepare for using fishing vessels for research, but we 
believe that permit holders should know as soon as possible whether 
they will be asked to provide their vessels for research. Therefore, 
NMFS will stipulate that if a permit holder is not asked to provide his 
or her vessel for research by September 30, 2000, the research 
obligation lapses. However, NMFS will modify the program to allow the 
obligation to complete research assigned by that date to extend beyond 
the April 30 deadline, if approved by the RA. This provision will allow 
permit holders more flexibility in scheduling research, and will allow 
researchers more time to find funding and prepare for the research 
project. If a permit holder is asked to do research but the researcher 
is not able to find funding or complete the project, the permit holder 
is not obligated to participate and will not lose DAS if that project 
is not completed.
    Comment 22: NMFS should specify in advance whether research in 
closed areas will be allowed under this program.
    Response: Each project will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 
NMFS will not authorize any research activity that compromises the 
conservation measures designed to rebuild the stocks of groundfish.
    Comment 23: Clarify the policy on when and where research under the 
Massachusetts Fishery Recovery Commission Plan will occur.
    Response: The Massachusetts Fishery Recovery Commission (MFRC) Plan 
is a separate activity from this program. The MFRC prepared a draft 
strategic plan for fisheries research, which may be finalized prior to 
the publication of this document. NMFS has not been asked to approve 
the MFRC plan, nor is our approval needed. However, MFRC is welcome to 
submit its strategic plan to the committee that will review and 
prioritize research projects using the fishing vessels available 
through this disaster assistance program.
    Comment 24: Fishermen might be forced to lose additional fishing 
time when fulfilling their commitment to perform research.
    Response: NMFS does not intend for this program to diminish fishing 
opportunities for fishermen. The research commitment is expected to be 
fulfilled at a mutually convenient date for fishermen and researchers. 
For this reason and because it may take time to organize the research 
projects, NMFS is adding a provision whereby the date by which the 
research must be completed can be extended on a case-by-case basis by 
the RA (see Comment 21).
    Comment 25: Justify the compensation level of $1500.
    Response: NMFS decided to compensate every applicant at the same 
rate in order to speed the release of the disaster assistance funds. 
The alternative, compensating persons based on an amount linked to the 
daily income of each vessel, has merit but would have required that 
large amounts of economic income data from each vessel be supplied and 
reviewed, a step that would have delayed the release of the 
compensation for months. Therefore, NMFS has decided to compensate 
persons based on a figure that is about average for the fleet. The 
specific figure of $1500 per DAS is in line with the NMFS estimate of 
the net income per vessel affected by the Framework 26 closures of 
$1596 per day.
    Comment 26: Other ways to use fishing vessel DAS could include 
removing abandoned fishing gear from right whale critical habitat and 
providing vessel support to assist in whale disentanglements. Also, 
NMFS should consider allowing fishermen to spend a day teaching 
children about fishing instead of providing income tax information if 
their vessels are not used for research. Fishermen's participation in 
scientist/fishermen workshops and in long-term data collection programs 
should also qualify as alternatives.
    Response: NMFS agrees that there may be other ways besides research 
to use the fishermen's time or their vessels that could benefit fishery 
management or the community. Therefore, NMFS will modify the program to 
allow other

[[Page 48598]]

conservation-oriented activities in addition to cooperative research in 
exchange for compensation, at the discretion of the RA. Because 
fishermen will be agreeing to undertake research, if asked, in exchange 
for disaster assistance, NMFS does not believe we should require a 
permit holder to engage in another type of activity, even if approved 
by the RA. Therefore, permit holders will have the right to refuse to 
participate in any alternative activity. If a permit holder chooses not 
to undertake an alternative activity and is not asked to provide his or 
her vessel for research by September 30, 2000, however, the permit 
holder would be obligated to provide economic and social information.
    Comment 27: A cessation of fishing activity in 1998 (which would 
trigger NMFS' use of activity from 1997 to determine historical 
activity) might be because a vessel's DAS were used up.
    Response: NMFS will check to see if a cessation in fishing activity 
occurred because a permit holder's DAS were used up. The combination of 
DAS actually fished and DAS used as a proxy for economic harm cannot 
total more than a permit holder's allotted annual DAS.
    Comment 28: Calculating DAS not used on a month-to-month basis 
could result in a person receiving disaster assistance even if the 
person did not fish fewer days overall. For example, if a person has 5 
days of historical activity in February 1998 and fished 10 days in 
February 1999, had zero days of historical activity in March 1998 and 
fished 5 days in March 1999, and had 20 days of historical activity in 
April 1998 but only fished 10 days in April 1999, the person would be 
eligible for 10 days of disaster assistance compensation, even though 
the person fished the same number of days in February through April 
1999 as in 1998.
    Response: We agree that the proposed plan of calculating DAS on a 
month-to-month basis could have allowed some persons to receive 
compensation without a decrease in fishing effort. This was not the 
intent of the program. Therefore, we will modify the program so that if 
a person fished more days per month in 1999 than in 1998, the excess 
1999 fishing days of one month will be subtracted from the number of 
days for which a person is eligible to receive compensation in another 
month. NMFS believes this situation will be rare.
    Comment 29: The program would allow some persons who do not use up 
all their DAS in a year to receive compensation for days not fished, 
then fish harder later in the year and have a normal fishing year. NMFS 
should base compensation on the difference between the total number of 
DAS used in 1998 versus 1999.
    Response: NMFS agrees that persons who routinely do not use up all 
their DAS could receive compensation for days not fished in May and 
June 1999 and could also fish later in the year as many DAS as they are 
accustomed to fish. However, this scenario is not likely to be common. 
Persons who do not use up their DAS are part-time participants in the 
multispecies fishery. NMFS assumes that they engage in other ways of 
making a living at other times of the year, either in another fishery 
or in another field of work entirely. Such a part-time participant is 
likely to have an annual schedule that permits him or her to fish for 
multispecies only at certain times of the year. If that time has been 
denied because of closures, the economic consequences are likely to be 
just as great as those for a full-time fisherman, and the ability to 
recoup those losses may be just as difficult.
    Comment 30: If a person does not want to receive compensation for 
all his or her DAS not used, NMFS should provide compensation based on 
1998 DAS first, so that a fisherman does not lose 1999 fishing 
opportunities as well as having lost 1998 DAS for which he or she does 
not receive compensation.
    Response: NMFS agrees. If a person wishes to be compensated for 
only some of the DAS for which he or she is eligible, or if NMFS is 
only able to provide compensation for some but not all of the DAS 
requested, we will provide assistance based first on economic harm 
calculated from 1998/1999 DAS not used and will only compensate for 
1999/2000 DAS not used if all eligible 1998/1999 DAS have been 
compensated for.
    Comment 31: NMFS should allow fishing in the Western Gulf of Maine 
(WGOM) closure area to count toward historical activity. Otherwise, it 
would be arbitrary and capricious to treat a small vessel, forced out 
of the WGOM closure area with no place left to fish due to inshore 
closures, in the same fashion as a more mobile vessel that was able to 
relocate after the WGOM closure. Also, there is concern that the 
historical activity in the WGOM area might be lost forever.
    Response: The disaster assistance program is targeted to persons 
affected by the short-term coastal closures that were instituted in 
1999. The WGOM closure area is a 3-year, year-round closure that was 
instituted in 1998. Because of the different nature of the WGOM 
closure, NMFS does not believe it is appropriate to base historical 
activity upon fishing in this area, irrespective of whether the boat 
could relocate to another area. NMFS agrees, however, that the decision 
to exclude fishing in the WGOM closure area for the purposes of this 
program does not imply that historical fishing activity in this area 
will be lost forever.
    Comment 32: Assistance should be provided for persons affected by 
the Cashes Ledge closures of 1999.
    Response: Any vessel fishing in this off-shore area would be sea-
worthy enough to move its base of operations to open areas, and would 
have more flexibility than smaller vessels that have to stay near 
shore. NMFS believes that the focus of this program should be on those 
fishermen with the fewest choices that were most affected by the 
coastal rolling closures of February through June 1999. Therefore, NMFS 
will not include fishing on Cashes Ledge.
    Comment 33: It is not appropriate for NMFS to ask permit holders to 
provide the names of crew members; a good captain would compensate his 
or her crew members in any case. This requirement indicates a lack of 
trust on the part of NMFS.
    Response: NMFS believes that it is important to have a formal 
structure through which to compensate crew members. Crew members are 
less likely to have savings to withstand slow periods from fishing and 
may be particularly vulnerable to layoffs during closures. Asking 
permit holders to identify crew members that should receive 
compensation and to specify the percentage of the vessel's compensation 
that should go to the crew members would not seem to interfere with the 
permit holder's arrangements to compensate crew. Further, because NMFS 
will compensate the crew members directly, this approach would seem to 
reduce the paperwork and accounting burden on the permit holder. This 
arrangement was endorsed by the industry representatives who provided 
comment during the development of this proposal.
    Comment 34: Permit holders should not have any discretion in the 
criteria used to determine which crew members would be eligible for 
compensation.
    Response: NMFS does not believe that there is a single set of 
criteria for determining which crew members should be compensated that 
would apply to all crew situations. We do not have the information 
needed to make this decision, and it would be time-consuming to obtain 
the information. Therefore, we will leave this up to the permit holders 
to determine.
    Comment 35: NMFS should consider requiring some form of proof that 
a crew

[[Page 48599]]

member worked for the permit holder for at least 6 out of the last 10 
months.
    Response: Since this is not a program requirement, but a guideline, 
no such proof is needed.
    Comment 36: The loss of 2001/2002 DAS if a vessel did not comply 
with the requirement to engage in research by April 30, 2001, is a 
concern.
    Response: NMFS believes that there should be some consequence if a 
person receives Federal funds but does not honor the commitment to 
engage in research. No fisherman commented that this provision was 
inappropriate. Further, DAS will only be deducted if a vessel owner 
fails to provide his or her vessel for research or to provide economic 
data as required.
    Comment 37: NMFS should delete the provision that the research 
obligation may be kept by the original permit holder in the case of the 
sale of a vessel.
    Response: NMFS did not intend that the research obligation remain 
with the original permit holder when the permit is sold to another 
person. Rather, the research obligation becomes a condition of the 
permit in all cases. Permits are assumed to transfer with sale of the 
vessel unless there is a purchase and sale agreement stating otherwise. 
If a vessel owner sells his or her boat but retains the permit, the 
research obligation remains with the original permit holder, who must 
then find a way to fulfill the research obligation or to provide 
economic data. We have clarified the language explaining this provision 
of the program.
    Comment 38: In exchange for compensation, permit holders should be 
required to either operate their vessels for research or provide 
economic and social data. They should not be required to do both, as 
implied.
    Response: NMFS intended the requirement to be to provide either 
vessels for research or economic and social data. In addition, NMFS 
will now allow other activities, if approved by the RA. The language in 
this document reflects that any of these alternatives is allowed.
    Comment 39: When using the call-in/call-out system, day boat 
gillnet vessels are charged 15 hours at sea for any trip exceeding 3 
hours. They should be allowed 15 hours of historical activity for these 
days.
    Response: NMFS agrees and has clarified this point in this 
document.
    Comment 40: Clarify whether NMFS will only use logbooks submitted 
within 15 days of the month following the fishing activity reflected in 
the logbook.
    Response: NMFS will base its calculations of historical activity 
and economic harm on all logbooks submitted by July 15, 1999, provided 
that they contain sufficient information to be used for these 
calculations.
    Comment 41: Fishermen should not be required to fill out so many 
forms and be subjected to so many prerequisites for receiving funds. 
This shows a lack of trust on the part of NMFS. NMFS is trying to 
stifle all the attempts of the fishermen to receive any aid.
    Response: NMFS acknowledges that there are many requirements for 
receiving compensation under this program. Besides the programmatic 
requirements themselves, NMFS must also apply the disaster assistance 
provisions of section 308(d) of the IFA and the legal and regulatory 
requirements for receiving financial assistance from the Federal 
Government. NMFS is not trying to stifle attempts to receive aid, but 
these are standard procedures for disbursing Federal funds to ensure 
accountability for taxpayers' dollars.
    Comment 42: The funds would be better spent on preserving wetlands 
and essential fish habitat and providing marine access for recreational 
anglers or the boating public. Or, some portion should be invested in 
an experimental gear program and on incentives for industry to develop 
and use technologies that minimize codfish bycatch.
    Response: Congress specifically appropriated the funds for disaster 
assistance for persons or entities in the Northeast multispecies 
fishery who have incurred losses from a commercial fishery failure. 
However, some of the research projects that will use vessels provided 
by fishermen under this program may focus on these areas.
    Comment 43: Explain the selection of 10,000 lb (4535 kg) as the 
landings threshold for eligibility.
    Response: The disaster assistance funds were appropriated to assist 
persons who have incurred losses from a commercial fishery failure in 
the multispecies fishery. There are many persons holding multispecies 
fishing permits who are not active in the fishery and, therefore, did 
not experience a commercial fishery failure. The threshold of 10,000 lb 
(4535 kg) is intended to ensure that the program targets active 
commercial multispecies fishermen for assistance.
    Comment 44: If the permit holder decides to withdraw from the 
program, he or she should be required to send a certified letter to 
NMFS stating the intent to withdraw from the program. Any compensation 
should be repaid within 60 days of the date of this letter.
    Response: NMFS agrees. Permit holders wishing to withdraw from the 
program will have to inform NMFS in writing by January 1, 2000, and 
will have 60 days from the date of receipt by NMFS of that letter to 
return all compensation received.
    Comment 45: Clarify whether fishermen who fished in fisheries like 
monkfish in North Carolina during the appropriate months in 1999 would 
qualify.
    Response: The calculation of economic harm subtracts only the 
multispecies DAS fished on a month-to-month basis from February through 
June 1999 (wherever that effort might have been) from the historical 
activity of the permit holder in the areas of the Gulf of Maine rolling 
closures during the appropriate months. If a permit holder has 
historical activity in the specified closed areas and moved to North 
Carolina in 1999 in order to continue fishing, that fishing effort 
would not be subtracted from historical activity unless multispecies 
DAS were used. Likewise, if a person fished in the same areas in 1999 
as in 1998 but changed to another fishery that did not require the use 
of multispecies DAS, those days would not be subtracted from historical 
activity.
    Comment 46: It is unclear how NMFS will certify that a fisherman 
normally fishes alone.
    Response: NMFS does not intend to certify that a fisherman normally 
fishes alone. The application form asks fishermen to provide 
information on eligible crew members or to certify that the permit 
holder fishes alone. If evidence comes to light that a certification is 
false, NMFS will provide such evidence to the OIG. A false statement on 
the form could be grounds for possible punishment, including fine or 
imprisonment, under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

Changes From the Proposed Program

    The following changes and clarifications have been made from the 
proposed program:
    1. NMFS will allow the time period for completing the research 
obligation to be extended beyond the April 30, 2001, deadline by 
requesting an extension from the RA. This change has been made to allow 
more flexibility to the fishermen and researchers in scheduling 
research voyages at a mutually agreeable time and to allow more time, 
if necessary, for approved researchers to find funding and organize the 
project. NMFS retains the provision that permit holders must be 
informed that they are expected to provide their vessels for research 
by September 30, 2000. If a permit holder is asked to provide a

[[Page 48600]]

vessel for research, but the researchers cannot complete the project by 
April 30, 2001, and do not get the deadline extended, the permit 
holder's obligation to conduct the research ceases. Note that a request 
to extend the deadline for conducting research constitutes a collection 
of information as defined by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). NMFS 
cannot grant extensions unless and until this collection of information 
is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). NMFS will 
seek approval of this aspect of the program in a timely manner.
    2. Historical participation and economic harm for gillnetters will 
be based on the number of hours at sea assessed (a minimum of 15 hours 
per day for trips of greater than 3 hours), not on the number of hours 
the vessel was actually on the water.
    3. If a permit holder chooses to withdraw from the program, he or 
she must inform NMFS of this decision in writing by January 1, 2000. 
The permit holder must then return the compensation received within 60 
days of the receipt by NMFS of the decision to withdraw.
    4. Income tax returns from 1998 are not required to be submitted to 
verify income level. However, NMFS has retained the requirement that 
assistance is limited to persons or entities that did not receive more 
than $75,000 from commercial fishing in 1998. Persons applying for this 
compensation must certify that they meet the income limit and other 
eligibility requirements.
    5. ``Research'' DAS may be fulfilled in ways other than providing 
one's vessel for research. Projects proposing alternative activities in 
lieu of the research commitment may be submitted to NMFS for approval 
on a case-by-case basis by the RA.
    6. If a permit holder is eligible for compensation based on DAS in 
both the 1998/1999 and the 1999/2000 fishing years and that person does 
not wish to be compensated for the full number of days for which he or 
she is eligible, the 1998/1999 DAS will be compensated first. Likewise, 
if NMFS reduces the number of DAS for which a person receives 
compensation (because the requested compensation exceeds the available 
funding) and a person qualifies for compensation based on unused DAS 
from both years, NMFS will compensate for DAS not used in 1998/1999 
first and will only compensate for unused DAS in 1999/2000 if a person 
has no more 1998/1999 DAS eligible for compensation.
    7. Permit holders receiving disaster assistance who are not asked 
to provide their vessel for research (or to engage in any other 
approved alternative activity) by September 30, 2000, will be required 
to submit only the last 3 years of income tax returns rather than 5 
years of returns as proposed.

Definitions

    Charter or party boat means any vessel that carries passengers for 
hire to engage in recreational fishing.
    Commercial fishing or fishing commercially means fishing that is 
intended to result in, or results in, the barter, trade, transfer, or 
sale of fish.
    Day(s)-at-Sea or DAS means the 24-hour periods of time during which 
a fishing vessel is absent from port in which the vessel intends to 
fish for, possess or land, or fishes for, possesses, or lands regulated 
species.
    Dealer means any person who receives, for a commercial purpose 
(other than solely for transport on land), from the owner or operator 
of a vessel issued a valid multispecies permit, any species of fish 
whose harvest is managed by 50 CFR part 648.
    Fishing year means, for the Northeast multispecies fishery, the 
period of time from May 1 through April 30 of the following year.
    Historical activity means fishing activity during 1998 (or, in some 
cases, 1997) in the areas listed in this document that were closed in 
1999, excluding the Western Gulf of Maine closed area.
    Northeast multispecies, or multispecies finfish, or multispecies 
means the following species:

American plaice--Hippoglossoides platessoides.
Atlantic cod--Gadus morhua.
Haddock--Melanogrammus aeglefinus.
Ocean Pout--Macrozoarces americanus.
Pollock--Pollachius virens.
Redfish--Sebastes fasciatus.
Red hake--Urophycis chuss.
Silver hake (whiting)--Merluccius bilinearis.
White hake--Urophycis tenuis.
Windowpane flounder--Scophthalmus aquosus.
Winter flounder--Pleuronectes americanus.
Witch flounder--Glyptocephalus cynoglossus.
Yellowtail flounder--Pleuronectes ferrugineus.

    Multispecies permit means a permit issued by NMFS to fish for, 
possess, or land multispecies finfish in or from the Exclusive Economic 
Zone.
    Regulated species means the subset of NE multispecies that includes 
Atlantic cod, witch flounder, American plaice, yellowtail flounder, 
haddock, pollock, winter flounder, windowpane flounder, redfish, and 
white hake.

Eligibility

    Permit holders are eligible to participate in this program if they 
hold a currently valid Federal multispecies permit and landed and sold 
at least 10,000 lb (4535 kg) of multispecies finfish to federally 
permitted dealers between May 1, 1997, and April 30, 1998. Verification 
of the sale will be based only on dealer weigh-out reports submitted to 
NMFS prior to April 1, 1999.
    Party/Charter vessels are not eligible for this program, because 
they were not excluded from fishing in the closed areas.
    Persons or entities with net annual revenues from commercial 
fishing in 1998 exceeding $75,000 (or $150,000 if filing a joint tax 
return) are not eligible for compensation. Persons or entities applying 
for disaster assistance will need to certify that their income does not 
exceed this threshold. The applicant's assertion of fishing income will 
be subject to audit, and if audited, the applicant may be required to 
provide documentation including, but not limited to, tax returns.
    Any permit holder whose permit was sanctioned during the February 
through June 1999 closures cannot qualify for compensation from the 
period of the sanction.
    Permit holders otherwise eligible for compensation who sold their 
vessels on or after February 1, 1999, will not be eligible to 
participate in this program. Likewise, persons purchasing a vessel on 
or after February 1, 1999, would not be considered to have historical 
activity and therefore are not eligible for compensation under this 
program, except that persons who owned a vessel that held a valid 
multispecies permit during the 1998-99 fishing year and who purchased a 
new vessel after February 1, 1999, will be eligible, based on the 
history of the vessel used during 1998.

Calculation of Historical Activity

    A. NMFS will calculate the historical activity of each eligible 
vessel based on the number of DAS fished during 1998 in the following 
months and areas:

February--blocks 124-125
March--blocks 124-125
April--blocks 123-125, 130-133
May--blocks 129-133, 136-140
June--blocks 139-147, 152

    Figure 1 shows the areas of these blocks.

BILLING CODE 3510-22-U

[[Page 48601]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN07SE99.006



BILLING CODE 3510-22-C

[[Page 48602]]

    Note that, for the purposes of this program, fishing activity in 
the Western Gulf of Maine Closed Area will not be considered as 
historical activity since that area is closed for 3 years on a year-
round basis.
    B. There were some closures in March, May, and June of 1998. 
Therefore, if a vessel used no DAS in May or June 1998, NMFS will 
calculate the number of DAS fished by that vessel in the appropriate 
areas during the same months of 1997. Some areas were closed from March 
1 through March 30, 1998, but not closed on March 31 of that year. 
Therefore, if a vessel used no DAS during March 1998 or fished only on 
March 31 of that year, NMFS will calculate the number of DAS fished by 
that vessel in the appropriate areas during the same months of 1997. 
NMFS will not use 1997 DAS if a permit holder used all his or her DAS 
in 1998.
    C. Some persons may have been prevented from fishing in 1998 
because of illness or problems with their vessels. NMFS assumes that 
vessel owners have chosen fishing as their primary activity by virtue 
of their investment in their boats. Therefore, if there are two 
consecutive calendar months from February through June 1998 for which a 
vessel had no record of any fishing activity (e.g., negative vessel 
trip reports were submitted for March and April 1998 and/or no landings 
were recorded by dealers), NMFS will assume that the vessel was 
prevented from fishing by circumstances beyond the control of the 
vessel owner. In this circumstance, NMFS will calculate the number of 
multispecies DAS during those same months in 1997. However, if the 2-
month gap in 1998 fishing activity was due to a permit sanction, NMFS 
will not consider 1997 fishing activity. NMFS will not use 1997 DAS if 
a permit holder used all his or her DAS in 1998.
    D. Calculation of multispecies DAS fished will be made to the 
nearest hour of fishing time and will then be rounded down to the 
nearest half day. A permit holder can receive no more compensation for 
economic harm than the level represented by the number of days of 
historical activity as calculated using this method.
    E. For gillnetters, historical activity will be based on the number 
of DAS hours they were charged (minimum 15 hours for trips greater than 
3 hours) rather than on the number of hours they were gone from the 
dock.
    F. The number of multispecies DAS fished during a fishing year plus 
the number of unused multispecies DAS for which a vessel receives 
compensation in that year cannot exceed the total number of 
multispecies DAS allocated to that vessel for that year.

Documentation Used To Determine Historical Activity

    A. For vessels greater than 30 ft (9.14 m), NMFS will use vessel 
call-in system reports and vessel trip reports received by NMFS prior 
to April 1, 1999, to determine whether a vessel fished in a 1999 
closure area. If a trip was called in but no log report was submitted, 
or vice versa, the trip will not be included.
    Some vessel trip reports have been submitted with insufficient 
information to determine whether the vessel fished in the closed areas, 
although this information is required. The permit holder will not get 
credit for historical activity on any trips for which the logbooks do 
not indicate where the gear was deployed.
    B. For vessels 30 ft (9.14 m) or less, NMFS will base historical 
activity on vessel trip reports received by NMFS prior to April 1, 
1999. (These vessels do not participate in the call-in system.) As with 
the larger vessels, the permit holder will not get credit for 
historical activity on any trips for which the logbooks do not indicate 
where the gear was deployed.

Documentation Used To Determine 1999 Activity

    A. For vessels greater than 30 ft (9.14 m), NMFS will base activity 
on vessel call-in system reports.
    B. For vessels 30 ft (9.14 m) or less, NMFS will base activity on 
vessel trip reports submitted by July 15, 1999. NMFS may compare dealer 
weigh-out reports and logbooks for May and June to confirm claims that 
no landings were made when no trip is reported.

Calculation of Economic Harm

    A. For each month in which a vessel has historical activity, NMFS 
will tally the number of multispecies DAS fished in 1999. Economic harm 
will be calculated on a monthly basis as the historical DAS used that 
month minus the multispecies DAS used that month in 1999. For example, 
if a vessel has 10 DAS of historical activity in April 1998 and fished 
5 DAS in April 1999, the permit holder and crew will be eligible for 
compensation for the equivalent of up to 5 DAS. If a vessel has 10 DAS 
of historical activity in April 1998 and fished 15 DAS outside the 
closed area in April 1999, the permit holder and crew will not be 
eligible for compensation for economic harm for that month.
    If a vessel fished more days in a month during 1999 than it has 
historical activity in a closed area, the excess 1999 days will be 
subtracted from DAS for which the permit holder could receive 
compensation in another month. For example, if a permit holder has 10 
days of historical activity from February 1998 and fished 15 days 
during February 1999, that person would have 5 days of excess 1999 
fishing that would be subtracted from another month's compensation. If 
the same person had 10 days of historical activity from March 1998 and 
fished only 5 days during March 1999, the 5 days for which the person 
would otherwise have been eligible to receive compensation would be 
offset by the 5 days fished in excess of historical activity in 
February, and the person would not be eligible for compensation in 
March.
    B. Compensation for economic harm will be at a rate of $1500 for 
each 24-hour DAS and $750 for each half DAS. This amount will be 
decreased to $900 per DAS if the permit holder does not designate crew 
to receive compensation. However, persons fishing alone may designate 
themselves as crew and receive the full compensation. (See Compensation 
for Crew.)
    C. A DAS for which a permit holder receives compensation will be 
considered a DAS used. For compensation received based on economic harm 
during the 1998-1999 fishing year (i.e., during the February, March, 
and April 1999 closures), DAS for which a permit holder receives 
compensation cannot be carried over to the 1999-2000 fishing year. For 
compensation received based on economic harm during the 1999-2000 
fishing year (i.e., during the May and June 1999 closures), DAS for 
which a permit holder receives compensation will be subtracted from the 
total allowable DAS for the year. For example, if a permit holder in 
the fleet DAS category is compensated for 10 DAS not used in June 1999, 
the total 1999-2000 DAS for the vessel he or she currently owns would 
be reduced from 88 to 78.
    If a person is eligible to receive compensation for DAS not fished 
during both the 1998/1999 fishing year and the 1999/2000 fishing year, 
but elects to receive compensation for only some of those days, NMFS 
will compensate the 1998/1999 DAS first. For example, if a person is 
eligible to receive 10 days of compensation for lost fishing 
opportunities in 1998/1999 and 10 days of compensation for lost 
opportunities in 1999/2000, but chooses to commit his or her vessel for 
only 15 days of research, 10 days would be subtracted from the 1998/
1999 DAS and only 5 would be subtracted from the 1999/2000 DAS 
allocation.

[[Page 48603]]

    D. The number of DAS for which persons will receive compensation 
will be based on the total number of requests received by NMFS. No 
compensation will be paid until all requests are received. However, no 
applicant will be paid unless they satisfactorily complete a name check 
process required by the OIG. Because compensation cannot be released 
until the universe of applicants is known and because eligibility and 
unused DAS are calculated from official records held by NMFS and based 
on information required to be submitted to NMFS, there will be no 
appeals of NMFS determinations of eligibility or unused DAS.
    E. If the total requests for compensation for economic harm exceed 
the funds available, the number of DAS for which each person is 
compensated will be reduced by the same proportion. If reduced, the 
proportional DAS for which each person is compensated will be rounded 
down to the nearest half day.
    F. If the total requests for compensation for economic harm total 
less than the funds available, the excess funds will be used to defray 
costs in the following cooperative research program.
    G. The agreement to participate in research in exchange for 
compensation through this program is binding. If a permit holder 
decides to withdraw from the program, he or she must inform NMFS of the 
decision to do so by January 1, 2000. Any compensation received through 
this program must be returned to NMFS within 60 days of receipt by NMFS 
of the letter informing of the decision to withdraw from the program. 
Returned funds may be used to defray costs in the cooperative research 
program.

Compensation for Crew Members

    NMFS will ask permit holders to identify crew members who have also 
been harmed by the groundfish collapse and to specify in the 
application the vessel's share system. Crew members will be compensated 
a portion of the vessel's total compensation, based on the vessel's 
share system. An eligible crew member is expected to have worked for 
the permit holder for at least 6 out of the last 10 months. Each crew 
member identified by eligible permit holders will be required to 
certify that his or her income from commercial fishing does not exceed 
$75,000 ($150,000 if filing a joint tax return). Crew members will need 
to provide NMFS with bank information to allow direct deposit of 
disaster funds or to complete the requisite forms to receive a check. 
NMFS will pay each identified crew member based on the percentage share 
specified by the permit holder and will pay the remainder of the 
vessel's compensation to the permit holder. Permit holders who do not 
specify any crew members for compensation will be compensated at a 
reduced rate of $900 per DAS. However, a permit holder fishing alone 
may designate himself or herself as the captain of the vessel, thereby 
receiving the full $1500 per DAS discussed above.

Research Requirement

    Permit holders that receive compensation under this program will be 
required to participate in research projects (if asked) for the number 
of days they were compensated. A permit holder will only be obligated 
to provide his or her vessel for research for the number of DAS for 
which compensation is received. Permit holders will not be required to 
use their allotted fishing DAS for this research. However, if a permit 
holder intends to land multispecies fish caught during a research day, 
the permit holder would have to use a DAS, which would also count as a 
research day. Use of the vessel includes the use of fixed vessel 
equipment such as navigation devices and hauling equipment.
    The cost of personnel (captain and crew) required to operate the 
vessel during this research is to be borne by the permit holder. This 
is a condition of receiving compensation. All other direct operation 
costs are to be borne by the researcher. Direct costs include fuel, 
ice, food, and scientific equipment. Fishermen are not required to 
provide fishing gear for scientific research, although they may choose 
to do so. If eligible fishermen do not claim all the available disaster 
assistance funds, NMFS may provide some of the operation costs of 
research conducted under this program.
    If a permit holder is not asked to provide his or her vessel for 
research by September 30, 2000, this obligation will cease. Instead, 
the permit holder will be required to submit economic information in 
the form of 1997, 1998, and 1999 tax returns and to complete an 
economic and social survey, provided that this collection of 
information is approved by OMB. If this information is not received by 
May 1, 2001, the permit holder's DAS for the 2001-2002 fishing year 
will be reduced by the number of DAS for which he/she was compensated 
under this program.
    The research must be undertaken at a mutually agreed date before 
May 1, 2001. However, the RA may grant an extension of the time allowed 
to complete the research, upon request from the researcher and after 
consultation with the permit holder. NMFS cannot grant extensions of 
the completion date unless the collection of information required to 
assess a request is approved by OMB in compliance with the PRA. We will 
seek OMB approval in a timely manner.
    If a vessel is requested for research by September 30, 2000, and 
the research is not conducted before May 1, 2001, because the fishing 
vessel is not available, then the vessel's allowed DAS for fishing year 
2001-2002 will be reduced by the number of DAS for which it was 
committed for research, unless an extension is approved by the RA. If a 
vessel is requested for research but the researcher is unable to 
proceed with the project before May 1, 2001, and the deadline for 
completing the project is not extended, the permit holder's obligation 
to participate in this research ceases. In this case, the permit holder 
will receive credit for the DAS committed to this research project, 
even if the DAS are not used for research.
    NMFS may authorize other uses for vessels and permit holders' time 
that can be substituted for the research commitment. A permit holder is 
not obligated to engage in any approved alternative projects, but may 
chose to do so (if asked) in lieu of the research requirement. The same 
deadlines and consequences apply to the alternative projects as to the 
research commitment. If the permit holder agrees to undertake an 
alternative project, the activity must be completed by May 1, 2001, 
unless extended by the RA, or the permit holder's DAS for the 2001-2002 
fishing year will be reduced by the number of DAS for which he or she 
was compensated under this program. If the permit holder chooses not to 
engage in an alternative project and is not asked to engage in research 
by September 30, 2000, the permit holder will be obligated to provide 3 
years of tax returns (subject to OMB approval of this collection of 
information).
    If the vessel is sold while still under a research obligation, the 
commitment will transfer with the permit. Permits automatically 
transfer with the vessel upon sale, unless there is a written agreement 
stating otherwise. The research requirement will not be voided by the 
sale of a vessel, unless the permit holder permanently retires the 
vessel's multispecies permit.
    If crew members are compensated as part of this program and are 
still with the vessel, they are expected to serve during the requested 
research period.
    Permit holders will be expected to keep a record of the number of 
days they engaged in cooperative research.

[[Page 48604]]

Application Process

    A. NMFS will determine who is eligible to participate in the 
program based on dealer weigh-out reports and will calculate the 
maximum level of direct assistance for which the permit holder is 
eligible.
    B. NMFS will notify all multispecies permit holders, explaining the 
program and informing them whether they qualify to participate and, if 
so, the maximum amount of economic harm they can claim based on unused 
DAS. The letter to qualified permit holders will contain an application 
form that asks the permit holder to identify the number of eligible DAS 
for which the permit holder will seek compensation in exchange for a 
commitment to make his or her vessel available for research in the 
future, if requested. The permit holder will be asked to identify crew 
members that should share in the compensation and to inform NMFS of the 
percentage of available compensation each crew member should get, which 
is expected to be based on the usual share system of the vessel. 
Qualified permit holders will have 30 days from the date of mailing to 
respond to the invitation to participate. A date by which all responses 
must be postmarked will be included in the invitation to participate.
    When applying for disaster assistance, permit holders will have to 
certify that their net income from commercial fishing in 1998 did not 
exceed the threshold of $75,000 (or $150,000 if filing a joint tax 
return). They will do so by signing the application form certifying the 
information they provide, including income information. Crew members 
will also have to certify that their net income from fishing in 1998 
did not exceed the same limits. Certification is subject to possible 
punishment for false statements, under 18 U.S.C. 1001. The assertion of 
fishing income will be subject to audit and may require documentation 
including, but not limited to, tax returns.
    C. NMFS will tally the amount of eligible compensation requested in 
all applications received by the deadline, and will conduct a name 
check of eligible persons. If the total eligible compensation requested 
is less than the funds available, NMFS will approve payment of the 
requested amounts (provided that the recipients pass the required name 
check) and will set aside the remainder to help defray vessel costs for 
conducting research. If the eligible compensation requested exceeds the 
funds available, NMFS will approve payment for each permit holder based 
on a prorated reduction in the number of DAS. The value of a DAS will 
remain the same, but fewer unused DAS will be compensated in this case. 
Partial DAS will be rounded downward to the nearest half DAS.
    D. NMFS will report payments disbursed under this program to the 
IRS and will issue IRS Form 1099-G to each recipient of compensation 
for economic harm.
    E. NMFS will accept only complete, signed applications postmarked 
by the deadline date for consideration under this program. NMFS is not 
required to screen applications for completeness before the deadline 
nor to allow applicants to correct any deficiencies on their 
application form after initial submission.

Classification

National Environmental Policy Act

    NMFS requested comments on the potential impacts of this program on 
the human environment when it published the proposed program on June 11 
in the Federal Register. No comments were received directed 
specifically to this point, although one person was of the opinion that 
the disaster assistance funds would be better spent in preserving 
wetland and habitat and in providing marine access for recreational 
anglers or the boating public. NMFS has conducted an Environmental 
Assessment of this program and has concluded that there are no 
significant impacts of this program on the human environment. A copy of 
the Environmental Assessment may be obtained from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    NMFS conducted an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) 
for this action, which was included in the June 11 Federal Register 
notice. We received no comments concerning the IRFA. Therefore, the 
following constitutes the final regulatory flexibility analysis for 
this program.
    This action is being taken as a result of concern about the 
economic impact of the declining groundfish stocks in the Gulf of 
Maine. The objective of the program is to compensate persons in the 
Northeast multispecies fishery who have incurred losses from a 
commercial fishery failure.
    This program is open to permit holders of a currently valid 
Northeast multispecies permit who landed 10,000 lb (4535 kg) of 
multispecies fish between May 1, 1997, and April 30, 1998, as recorded 
by dealer weigh-out reports. NMFS estimates that fewer than 500 permit 
holders qualify for compensation by having landed 10,000 lb (4535 kg) 
of multispecies fish and having documented historical activity in the 
areas closed in 1999. Assuming that, on average, each permit holder 
employed one other crew member, there might be 1000 persons able to 
participate in this program.
    The reporting or record-keeping requirements for this program 
include an initial form for permit holders to indicate willingness to 
participate in the program. The form will also allow permit holders to 
identify crew members that should share in the compensation. The 
program also requires permit holders to provide the services of their 
vessels, if asked, for future research at a mutually agreed date and 
time, not to exceed May 1, 2001, unless an extension is requested and 
granted by NMFS. The permit holders will be expected to cover the costs 
of captain and crew needed to operate the vessel during this research, 
which is estimated to be $700 on average. The other costs of operating 
the vessel will be covered by the researcher or (in the event that not 
all disaster assistance funds are claimed by fishermen) may be covered 
by NMFS. Participation in the compensation program is voluntary, and 
persons are not expected to participate unless it is deemed 
economically beneficial to do so. Permit holders may also wish to keep 
a record of the number of days they have engaged in cooperative 
research. In addition, if a permit holder is not asked to engage in 
research or to perform an alternative, approved activity by September 
30, 2000, the program calls for permit holders to submit 3 years of 
Federal income tax forms and to complete a survey of economic and 
social concerns instead, provided OMB approves this collection of 
information. Fishermen who have not kept copies of their tax returns 
will need to request copies from the IRS at a cost of $23.00 per 
return.
    There are no Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict 
with the proposed action. Persons engaging in research aboard any 
vessel available through this program will have to comply with all 
relevant Federal regulations.
    In providing assistance to alleviate the economic harm caused by 
the fishery decline, any significant economic impacts of this program 
are expected to be positive and are intentional. NMFS has, however, 
made modifications to the program that reduce the cost of compliance 
for the permit holders. We have: (a) Added a provision that the date by 
which research must be completed may be extended, thereby lowering the 
risk that a permit holder

[[Page 48605]]

may lose DAS during the 2001/2002 fishing year; (b) added the 
possibility of permit holders participating in approved alternatives to 
research, some of which may be less costly for the permit holder than 
providing a vessel for research; and (c) clarified that if a person 
wishes to receive compensation for only some of the DAS for which he or 
she is eligible, then NMFS will compensate unused 1998/1999 DAS first, 
and will subtract 1999/2000 DAS only if all the eligible DAS from last 
fishing year are used up. This provision allows a fisherman to receive 
compensation for DAS which have expired, but to choose to fish with 
this year's DAS instead of receiving $1500 per DAS compensation.

E.O. 12866

    This program has been determined to be significant for the purposes 
of E.O. 12866.

PRA

    This program contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to the PRA. The public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated at 1.5 hours per response, to submit a form 
indicating willingness to participate in the program. 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. Comments were requested on 
this estimate when the proposed program was published in the Federal 
Register. NMFS received no comments on this estimate.
    The collection of this information has been approved by OMB under 
control number 0648-0386.
    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 PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

Federal Policies and Procedures

    Recipients of Federal assistance (permit holders and crew members 
who receive compensation through this program) are subject to all 
Federal laws and Federal and Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial 
assistance awards and must comply with general provisions that apply to 
all recipients under Commerce Federal assistance programs.

False Statements

    A false statement on the application or any document submitted for 
consideration of financial assistance is grounds for denial or 
termination of funds and grounds for possible punishment by a fine or 
imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).

Delinquent Federal Debts

    No award of Federal funds shall be made if the would-be recipient 
has an outstanding delinquent Federal debt or fine until: (a) The 
delinquent account is paid in full; (b) a negotiated repayment schedule 
is established and at least one payment is received; or (c) other 
arrangements satisfactory to Commerce are made.

IRS Information

    An applicant classified for tax purposes as an individual, 
partnership, proprietorship, corporation, or medical corporation is 
required to submit a taxpayer identification number (TIN) (a social 
security number, or an employer identification number as applicable, or 
a registered foreign organization number) on IRS Form W-9, ``Payer's 
Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.'' Tax-exempt organizations 
and corporations (with the exception of medical corporations) are 
excluded from this requirement. Form W-9 shall be submitted to NOAA 
upon application for assistance. The TIN will be provided to the IRS by 
Commerce on Form 1099-G, ``Statement for Recipients of Certain 
Government Payments.''
    Disclosure of a recipient's TIN is mandatory for Federal income tax 
reporting purposes under the authority of 26 U.S.C., sections 6011 and 
6109(d), and 26 CFR, 301.6109-1. This is to ensure the accuracy of 
income computation by the IRS. This information will be used to 
identify an individual who is compensated with Commerce funds or paid 
interest under the Prompt Payment Act.

Name Check

    Recipients will be subject to a name check review process. Name 
checks are intended to reveal if they or any key individuals associated 
with an application for award have been convicted of, or are presently 
facing, criminal charges, such as fraud, theft, perjury, or other 
matters that significantly reflect on their management, honesty, or 
financial integrity. In the name check process, Commerce performs a 
credit check on businesses and individuals. A criminal background check 
on an individual's name is performed by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation. There is no charge to recipients for the name check.

Audits

    Under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 
3, section 1 et seq., an audit of the award of assistance may be 
conducted at any time. The Inspector General of Commerce, or any of his 
or her duly authorized representatives, shall have access to any 
pertinent books, documents, papers and records of the recipient, 
whether written, printed, recorded, produced or reproduced by any 
mechanical, magnetic or other process or medium, in order to make 
audits, inspections, excerpts, transcripts or other examinations as 
authorized by law. When the OIG requires an audit on a Commerce award, 
the OIG will usually make the arrangements to audit the award, whether 
the audit is performed by OIG personnel, an independent accountant 
under contract with Commerce, or any other Federal, state, or local 
audit entity.

Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension

    Applicants must submit a completed Form CD-511, ``Certification 
Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-
Free Workplace Requirements and Lobbying.'' Prospective participants 
(as defined at 15 CFR 26.105) are subject to 15 CFR part 26, 
``Government-wide debarment and suspension (non-procurement) and 
government-wide requirements for drug-free workplace (grants)'' and the 
related section of the certification form prescribed here applies.

    Dated: August 26, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-23221 Filed 9-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-U