[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67551-67555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31305]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 991104295-9295-01; I.D. 100599D]
RIN 0648-AM74


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Dealer and Vessel 
Reporting Requirements

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend the existing reporting requirements for 
dealers and vessels issued a Federal permit to operate in the summer 
flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, Northeast (NE) 
multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid and butterfish, surf 
clam or ocean quahog fisheries. The provisions of this proposed rule 
would also be applicable to dealers and vessels federally permitted in 
the spiny dogfish and Atlantic bluefish fisheries when regulations 
implementing the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and 
Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Bluefish FMP go into effect. This action 
would improve the collection of fisheries-dependent data by modifying 
or clarifying several dealer and vessel reporting requirements. 
Proposed changes to the regulations include increasing the record 
retention requirement for dealer and vessel records to 3 years; 
requiring federally permitted dealers to complete all sections of the 
Annual Processed Products Report; clarifying that a vessel

[[Page 67552]]

logbook report needs to be submitted for each trip taken, not for each 
day of a trip; amplifying the existing requirement that vessel logbook 
reports must be completed prior to entering port with fish; specifying 
that the pounds recorded on the vessel logbook reports should be the 
hail weight, by species, of all fish landed or discarded; adding 
definitions for ``hail weight,'' ``serial number,'' and ``trip 
identifier''; requiring vessel owners/operators to provide trip 
identifier information to dealers; and clarifying the submission 
schedule for surf clam and ocean quahog dealer and vessel reports.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 3, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to Patricia A. 
Kurkul, Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, 
``Comments on Proposed Rule for Dealer and Vessel Reporting.''
    Comments on the burden hour estimates for collection-of-information 
requirements contained in this proposed rule should be sent to Patricia 
A. Kurkul and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attention: NOAA Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelley McGrath, (978) 281-9307 or 
Gregory Power, (978) 281-9304.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In order to improve the monitoring of 
commercial landings and enhance the enforceability of the reporting 
regulations, this action would clarify or modify several of the 
existing reporting requirements for dealers and vessels federally-
permitted in the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea 
scallop, NE multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, 
butterfish, surf clam or ocean quahog fisheries. Regulations 
implementing the fishery management plans (FMPs) for the summer 
flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, 
monkfish, bluefish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, surf clam or 
ocean quahog fisheries were prepared under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and are found 
at 50 CFR part 648. NMFS intends to issue in the Federal Register in 
the near future final regulations to implement the Spiny Dogfish FMP 
and Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, which contain reporting 
requirements for dealers and vessels federally permitted in the spiny 
dogfish and Atlantic bluefish fisheries, respectively. The provisions 
of this proposed rule, if approved and implemented, would be 
incorporated into the final rules implementing that FMP and amendment.

Dealer Reporting Changes

    This action would modify three requirements affecting summer 
flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, 
monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, bluefish, or spiny 
dogfish dealers and two requirements affecting surf clam or ocean 
quahog dealers.
    Current regulations for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, 
Atlantic sea scallops, NE multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, 
squid, and butterfish and proposed regulations for bluefish and spiny 
dogfish require any dealer to have been issued a Federal dealer permit 
for that species. Federally permitted dealers must submit, on a weekly 
basis, comprehensive trip-by-trip written reports listing all species 
purchased. In order for each fishing trip to be uniquely identifiable 
and to aid in matching dealer data with the corresponding vessel data, 
one of the data elements that dealers are required to provide on the 
weekly reports is a ``trip identifier'' for each trip from which fish 
are purchased. This action would define a 'trip identifier' to mean the 
serial number of the vessel logbook completed for that trip, if 
applicable, or a combination of the date sailed and, if the vessel 
sailed more than once on the same day, the sequential trip number 
within that date sailed.
    Dealers issued a summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic 
sea scallop, NE multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, and 
butterfish, bluefish, or spiny dogfish permit would be required to 
complete all sections of the Annual Processed Products Report. Dealers 
are currently required to complete only the Employment Data section of 
the report. Most dealers, however, complete the other sections of the 
report on a voluntary basis. Mandatory completion of the entire report 
by dealers would provide NMFS with a more accurate database on the 
processing segment of the industry.
    This action would increase the record retention requirement for 
dealer reports from 1 year to 3 years. All federally permitted dealers 
would be required to retain copies of reports and records upon which 
the reports were based for 3 years after the date of the last entry on 
the report. This timeframe is in keeping with standard business 
practices and would allow for validation of past landings reported by 
dealers and vessels.
    To ensure that quotas in the surf clam and ocean quahog fisheries 
are not exceeded, harvest levels must be monitored on a timely basis. 
Thus, surf clam and ocean quahog dealer reports would be required to be 
postmarked or received within 3 days of the end of the reporting week. 
While dealers have historically provided these data on a weekly basis, 
this action would clarify that reports must be submitted within the 
specified timeframe.

Vessel Reporting Changes

    This action would modify four requirements affecting summer 
flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, 
monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish vessels and proposed 
requirements affecting bluefish or spiny dogfish vessels. This action 
also would modify two requirements affecting surf clam or ocean quahog 
vessels.
    To enable summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, NE multispecies, 
monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, bluefish, and spiny 
dogfish dealers to meet their requirement to provide a ``trip 
identifier'' for each trip from which species are purchased, this rule 
would require vessel owners/operators to supply dealers with the trip 
identifier information at the time of offloading. To expedite this 
process, the fishing vessel logbooks include two copies of each report 
provided expressly for this purpose.
    Regulations requiring vessels to submit fishing log reports would 
be revised to clarify that such reports need to be submitted only for 
each trip taken, rather than for each day of a trip. The current 
regulations state that vessels must submit an ``accurate daily fishing 
log report'' for all trips. To clarify that a report must be submitted 
only for each fishing trip, the word ``daily'' would be removed.
    Under the current regulations, vessel logbooks must be filled out, 
except for information not yet ascertainable, before offloading or 
landing has begun. Among other things vessel owners/operators must 
report the pounds, by species, of all fish landed or discarded. Because 
many vessel owners/operators interpret the pounds landed to be the 
exact pounds sold to the dealer, which is not ascertainable prior to 
offloading or landing, many vessel operators copy the catch information 
from the dealer receipts after the catch has been sold.
    To ensure that catch information is completed on the vessel logbook 
report prior to entering port with fish, this action would clarify that 
vessel owners/operators must report an estimated hail weight, by 
species, of all fish landed or

[[Page 67553]]

discarded, rather than an exact weight. ``Hail weight'' would be 
defined to mean a good-faith estimate, in pounds for commercial vessels 
and in count for party and charter vessels, by species, of all fish 
landed or discarded for each trip.
    The rule would further require that all information other than that 
which is unascertainable at the time of entering port with fish (i.e., 
dealer name, dealer permit number, and date sold) must be completed on 
the vessel logbook report prior to entering port with fish. The rule 
would continue to require that information not ascertainable at the 
time of entering port be completed on the report as soon as the 
information becomes available. These changes would discourage vessels 
from copying exact pounds from the dealer weighout after offloading 
their catch, while also clarifying, for enforcement purposes, which 
information must be completed prior to vessels entering port.
    Current regulations require copies of vessel log reports and 
records upon which the reports were based to be retained for 1 year 
after the date of the last entry on the report. This action instead 
would require vessel log reports and records for any federally 
permitted vessel to be retained for 3 years after the date of the last 
entry on the report.
    To better monitor harvest levels of surf clams and ocean quahogs, 
the surf clam and ocean quahog vessel log reports would be required to 
be postmarked or received within 3 days of the end of the reporting 
week. While vessel owners have historically provided these data on a 
weekly basis, this action would clarify that reports must be submitted 
within the specified time frame.

Classification

    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty 
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) unless that 
collection of information displays a currently valid Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the OMB under the PRA and clarifies 
or modifies requirements previously approved under OMB Control No. 
0648-0229 (2 minutes per response for dealer purchase reports, 4 
minutes for Interactive Voice Response System reports, and 30 minutes 
for shellfish processor reports); OMB Control No. 0648-0212 (5 minutes 
per response for vessel logbook reports and 12 minutes for shellfish 
logs); and OMB Control No. 0648-0018 (30 minutes per response for 
processed products reports and 15 minutes for fish meal and oil 
production reports). The requirement to complete all sections of the 
Annual Processed Products Report has been submitted to OMB for approval 
under control number 0648-0018. Public reporting burden for this 
collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per 
response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing 
data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing 
and reviewing the collection of information. Public comment is sought 
regarding whether this proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility, the accuracy of 
the burden estimate, ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected, and ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Send 
comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this 
data collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS 
and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this rule, if adopted as proposed, would not have 
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities as 
follows:

    This action would modify or clarify the collection of fisheries-
dependent data by modifying or clarifying existing reporting 
requirements for dealers and vessels issued a Federal permit for 
summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallops, 
Northeast multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, 
butterfish, surf clams or ocean quahogs. The provisions of this 
proposed rule also would be applicable to dealers and vessels 
federally permitted in the spiny dogfish and the Atlantic bluefish 
fisheries when regulations implementing the Spiny Dogfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Bluefish FMP 
go into effect. Proposed changes include: increasing the record 
retention requirement for dealer and vessel reporting requirements; 
requiring federally permitted dealers to complete all sections of 
the Annual Processed Products Report; clarifying that a vessel 
logbook report needs to be submitted for each trip taken, not for 
each day of a trip; amplifying the existing requirement that vessel 
logbook reports must be completed prior to entering port with fish; 
specifying that the pounds recorded on the vessel logbook reports 
should be the hail weight, by species, of all fish landed or 
discarded; adding definitions for ``hail weight,'' ``serial 
number,'' and ``trip identifier;'' requiring vessel owners/operators 
to provide trip identifier information to dealers; and clarifying 
the submission schedule for surf clam and ocean quahog dealer and 
vessel reports. The intent of this proposed rule is to improve the 
collection of fisheries-dependent data under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act
    Recordkeeping and reporting requirements currently apply to all 
of the vessels and dealers participating in the fisheries affected 
by the proposed revisions except for the spiny dogfish and Atlantic 
bluefish fisheries. Other rulemaking would impose recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements on the spiny dogfish fishery and Atlantic 
bluefish fishery. According to the Northeast Region's permit 
database, there are approximately 700 dealers and 4,000 vessels that 
would be affected by this rule, if implemented. The proposed action 
would increase the record retention schedule for dealer and vessel 
reports from 1 year to 3 years. For dealers not employing electronic 
recordkeeping methods, the retention of records for an additional 2-
year period could potentially involve additional storage space. 
However, no additional burden cost is expected from this requirement 
because many dealers currently retain the records for at least 3 
years in keeping with standard business practices and thus would not 
require additional storage space. Dealers of certain species would 
be required to complete and submit all sections of the Annual 
Processed Product Report. Dealers are currently required to complete 
only the Employment Data section of the report. Most dealers, 
however, complete the other sections of the report on a voluntary 
basis. Based on an average dealer response time of 30 minutes per 
year, the total annual burden is 350 hours. Based on an average wage 
rate of recordkeeping staff of $20/hour, the total burden cost to 
dealers to comply with this requirement is estimated at $7,000 
annually. Regulations requiring vessels to submit fishing log 
reports would be clarified to indicate that a vessel logbook report 
needs to be submitted for each trip taken, rather than for each day 
within a trip. This change only clarifies existing regulations and 
does not implement any changes to the current reporting methods. 
Under the current regulations, vessel logbooks must be filled out, 
except for information not yet ascertainable, before offloading or 
landing has begun. Among other things vessel owners/operators 
interpret the pounds landed to be the exact pounds sold to the 
dealer, which is not ascertainable prior to offloading or landing. 
Many vessel operators copy the catch information from the dealer 
receipts after the catch has been sold. To ensure that catch 
information is completed on the vessel logbook report prior to 
entering port with fish, this action would clarify that vessels must 
report an estimated ``hail weight,'' by species, of all fish landed 
or discarded, rather than an exact weight and ``hail weight'' would 
be defined. This requirement clarifies existing regulations and does 
not implement any changes to the

[[Page 67554]]

current reporting methods. Under the proposed measures, permitted 
dealers would be required to include ``trip identifier'' information 
in either one or two additional columns on the report form. In order 
for each fishing trip to be uniquely identifiable and to aid in 
matching dealer data with the corresponding vessel data, dealers are 
required to provide on the weekly reports a ``trip identifier'' for 
each trip from which fish are purchased. The term would be defined 
to mean the serial number of the vessel logbook completed for that 
trip, if applicable, or a combination of the date sailed and, if the 
vessel sailed more than once on the same day, the sequential trip 
number within that data sailed. Vessel owners/operators would need 
to supply trip identifier information to dealers at the time of 
offloading. No additional burden cost is expected from this 
requirement. To ensure that quotas in the surf clam and ocean quahog 
fisheries are not exceeded, harvest levels must be monitored on a 
timely basis. The submission schedule for surf clam and ocean quahog 
dealer and vessel reports would be specified to require reports to 
be postmarked or received within 3 days of the end of the reporting 
week. While dealers and vessel owners/operators have historically 
provided these data on a weekly basis, this action would clarify 
that reports must be submitted within 3 days of the end of the 
reporting week. Approximately 25 dealers and 120 vessels owners 
would be required to submit reports within 3 days of the end of the 
reporting week. No additional costs would be incurred by either 
dealers or vessels by specifying the time frame for submissions.
    Because these changes modify existing regulations and the 
information is regularly compiled by dealers and vessel owners for 
their own business records, providing NMFS with the information is a 
minimal burden. Therefore, this action will not result in a 
significant economic impact on dealers or vessel owners.

    This rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    Dated: Novenber 25, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

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

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

    2. Section 648.2 is revised by adding, in alphabetical order, 
definitions for ``Hail weight'', ``Serial number'', and ``Trip 
identifier'' to read as follows:


Sec. 648.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Hail weight means a good-faith estimate of the pounds landed and 
the pounds discarded, by species, for each trip.
* * * * *
    Serial number means the unique alphanumeric identifier, sequential 
within a logbook, printed in the upper right corner of each logbook 
report.
* * * * *
    Trip identifier means either the serial number of the vessel 
logbook report the vessel owner/operator completed for that trip, if 
applicable, or a combination of the date sailed and, if the vessel 
sailed more than once on the same date, the sequential trip number 
within that date sailed.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 648.7, paragraphs (f)(1)(ii) and (f)(1)(iii) are 
redesignated as (f)(1)(iii) and (f)(1)(iv), respectively; new paragraph 
(f)(1)(ii) is added; paragraph (f)(2) is redesignated as paragraph 
(f)(2)(i) and the first sentence is revised; new paragraph (f)(2)(ii) 
is added; and paragraphs (a)(3)(i), (b)(1)(i), (c), (e), and (f)(1)(i) 
first sentence, are revised to read as follows:


Sec. 648.7  Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) Summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE 
multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, bluefish, 
or spiny dogfish dealers must complete all sections of the Annual 
Processed Products Report for all species of fish or shellfish that 
were processed during the previous year. Reports must be submitted to 
the address supplied by the Regional Administrator.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Owners of vessels issued a summer flounder, scup, black sea 
bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic 
mackerel, squid, butterfish, bluefish, or spiny dogfish permit. The 
owner or operator of any vessel issued a permit for summer flounder, 
scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallops, NE multispecies, monkfish, 
Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, bluefish or spiny dogfish must 
maintain on board the vessel, and submit, an accurate fishing log 
report for each fishing trip, regardless of species fished for or 
taken, on forms supplied by or approved by the Regional Administrator. 
If authorized in writing by the Regional Administrator, vessel owners 
or operators may submit reports electronically, for example by using a 
VMS or other system. At least the following information, and any other 
information required by the Regional Administrator, must be provided: 
Vessel name; USCG documentation number (or state registration number, 
if undocumented); permit number; date/time sailed; date/time landed; 
trip type; number of crew; number of anglers (if a party or charter 
boat); gear fished; quantity and size of gear; mesh/ring size; chart 
area fished; average depth; latitude/longitude (or loran station and 
bearings); total hauls per area fished; average tow time duration; hail 
weight, in pounds (or count, if a party or charter vessel), by species, 
of all species landed or discarded; dealer permit number; dealer name; 
date sold, port and state landed; and vessel operator's name, 
signature, and operator permit number (if applicable).
* * * * *
    (c) When to fill out a log report. Log reports required by 
paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section must be filled out with all 
required information, except for information not yet ascertainable, 
before entering port with fish. Information that may be considered 
unascertainable prior to entering port with fish is limited to dealer 
name, dealer permit number, and date sold. Log reports must be 
completed as soon as the information becomes available. All information 
must be filled out before starting the next fishing trip. Log reports 
required by paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section must be filled out 
before landing any surf clams or ocean quahogs.
* * * * *
    (e) Record retention. Copies of dealer reports, and records upon 
which the reports were based, must be retained and be available for 
review for 3 years after the date of the last entry on the report. 
Copies of fishing log reports must be retained and available for review 
for 3 years after the date of the last entry on the log. Dealers must 
retain required reports and records at their principal place of 
business.
    (f) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Detailed weekly trip reports, required by paragraph (a)(1)(i) 
of this section, must be postmarked or received within 16 days after 
the end of each reporting week. * * *
    (ii) Surf clam and ocean quahog reports, required by paragraph 
(a)(1)(ii) of this section, must be postmarked or received within 3 
days after the end of each reporting week.
* * * * *
    (2) * * *

[[Page 67555]]

    (i) Fishing vessel log reports, required by paragraph (b)(1)(i) of 
this section, must be postmarked or received within 15 days after the 
end of the reporting month. * * *
    (ii) Surf clam and ocean quahog log reports, required by paragraph 
(b)(1)(ii) of this section, must be postmarked or received within 3 
days after the end of each reporting week.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-31305 Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F