[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 241 (Thursday, December 14, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78126-78131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31625]



[[Page 78126]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 001108316-0316-01; I.D. 060600B]
RIN 0648-AK50


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Improved 
Individual Fishing Quota Program

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 issues a proposed rule to amend regulations implementing 
the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for the Pacific halibut and 
sablefish fixed gear fisheries in and off Alaska. NMFS has identified 
parts of the program that need further refinement or correction for 
effective management of the affected fixed gear fisheries. This action 
is intended to effect those refinements and is necessary to further the 
objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) with respect to the IFQ fisheries.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 16, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to Sue Salveson, Assistant 
Administrator for the Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, 
NMFS, Room 453, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK 99801, or P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel. Copies of the Regulatory 
Impact Review may be obtained from the same address. Send comments on 
any ambiguity or unnecessary complexity arising from the language used 
in this proposed rule to the Administrator, Alaska Region, P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK, 99802-1668.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hale, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Regulations codified at 50 Part CFR 679 implement the IFQ Program, 
a limited access system for management of the Pacific halibut 
(Hippoglossus stenolepis) and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) fixed gear 
fisheries in and off Alaska, under the authority of the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut Act) with respect to halibut and the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act with respect to sablefish. Further information on 
the rationale for and implementation of the IFQ Program is contained in 
the preamble to the final rule implementing the IFQ Program published 
in the Federal Register, November 9, 1993 (58 FR 59375).
    NMFS' continuing assessment of the IFQ Program's responsiveness to 
conservation and management goals for Pacific halibut and sablefish 
fisheries has produced two ``omnibus'' packages of IFQ regulatory 
reforms since the inception of the program (60 FR 22307, May 5, 1995; 
61 FR 41523, August 9, 1996). This proposed action, the third such 
``omnibus'' package of regulatory changes to the IFQ Program, would 
amend various portions of the program's implementing regulations that 
require further refinement. These changes are necessary: To promote the 
ability of fishermen to conduct efficient IFQ fishing operations, while 
complying with IFQ Program requirements; to improve NMFS' ability to 
efficiently administer the program; and to improve the clarity and 
consistency of IFQ Program regulations.
    This proposed action would make the following changes to the IFQ 
Program: (1) In Sec.  679.1 Purpose and scope, add explicit reference 
to the Northern Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut Act), under which 
regulations in this part regarding the Pacific halibut fishery were 
developed, and in Sec.  679.1(d) revise ``IFQ management plan'' to read 
``IFQ management measures'' to prevent any inference that the IFQ 
Program is itself a ``fishery management plan'' as that term is used in 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act; (2) clarify the requirements for IFQ 
fishermen participating in open access sablefish fisheries in Alaska 
State waters; (3) revise nomenclature to reflect organizational changes 
in NMFS' Restricted Access Management (RAM) division; (4) revise the 
definition of an IFQ landing to include vessels that are removed from 
the water and put on trailers; (5) delete the reference to an 
``accompanying statement'' establishing IFQ balances; (6) exempt 
lingcod fishermen using dinglebar gear from the IFQ 6-hour prior notice 
of landing and 12-hour landing window requirements; (7) add gear type 
to information required on a completed IFQ landing report; (8) clarify 
which registered buyer, in landings involving multiple registered 
buyers, is responsible for compliance with shipment report 
requirements; (9) make minor corrections to errors arising from the 
consolidation of regulations; (10) modify the existing survivorship 
transfer provisions to allow for the temporary transfer of a deceased 
QS holder's QS and IFQ to a designated beneficiary, and revise a 
paragraph on an IFQ leasing provision that expired in 1998; (11) 
require annual updates on the status of corporations and partnerships; 
(12) allow the electronic submission of appeals to initial 
administrative decisions; and (13) clarify reporting requirements for 
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. A discussion of and 
justification for each of the proposed measures follows.

Referencing the Halibut Act in Sec.  679.1, Purpose and scope

    The IFQ Program is a limited access system for two separate 
fisheries: (1) The fixed gear sablefish fishery, which NMFS manages 
under the authority of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of 
the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish 
Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (FMPs), and (2) the 
Pacific halibut fishery, which NMFS manages under the authority of the 
Halibut Act. In Sec.  679.1, Purpose and scope, an explicit reference 
to the Halibut Act as the authorizing statute for regulations in part 
679 pertaining to halibut would be added. Further, the reference to 
``IFQ management plan'' at Sec.  679.1(d) would be revised to read 
``IFQ management measures'' to prevent the inference that the IFQ 
Program is itself a ``fishery management plan'' as that term is used in 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

IFQ Fishermen and Open Access Sablefish Fisheries in Alaska State 
Waters

    Section 679.1(d)(1)(i)(B) identifies vessels required to observe 
IFQ regulations when participating in such fisheries as vessels on 
which ``such fishing is conducted by persons who have been issued 
permits under Sec.  679.4.'' For clarity, the citation to Sec.  679.4 
would be replaced by descriptions of such permits: sablefish QS and IFQ 
permits, and sablefish IFQ cards. Section 679.1(d)(l)(i)(B) also would 
be revised to read ``persons who hold'' rather than ``persons who have 
been issued'' such permits. The current language could be read to 
require IFQ sablefish fishermen who have been issued such permits at 
any time in the past to comply with all IFQ regulations when 
participating in an open access sablefish fishery in Alaska State 
waters. The regulation was not intended to affect the activities of 
fishermen who have participated in the IFQ Program in the past but have 
since divested themselves of all QS or IFQ holdings. As revised, the 
paragraph would pertain only to those fishermen who currently hold 
sablefish QS or IFQ or who are

[[Page 78127]]

current participants in the program as sablefish IFQ cardholders or 
hired skippers.

Nomenclature Change

    To comport with organizational changes within NMFS, the definition 
of ``Chief, RAM Division'' in Sec.  679.2 Definitions would be changed 
to read ``Program Administrator RAM, means the Program Administrator of 
Restricted Access Management, Alaska Region, NMFS.'' All subsequent 
references to ``Chief, RAM Division'' in 50 CFR 679 also would be 
revised to read ``Program Administrator, RAM.''

Trailering of Vessels

    As defined in Sec.  679.2, the term ``IFQ landing'' does not 
include the ``trailering'' of vessels (i.e., removing a vessel from the 
water, loading the vessel onto a trailer, and conveying it elsewhere 
other than dockside for the offloading of IFQ harvests and production 
of an IFQ landing report). Such practices inhibit NMFS' ability to 
monitor IFQ landings to ensure proper accounting of harvests against 
IFQ balances. Therefore, the definition of an IFQ landing--``the 
unloading or transferring of any IFQ halibut, IFQ sablefish, or 
products thereof from the vessel that harvested such fish''--would be 
revised to include ``the removal from the water of a vessel carrying 
any IFQ halibut, IFQ sablefish, or products thereof.''

Accompanying Statement

    The reference to ``the most recent accompanying statement 
specifying the amount of each species that may be harvested during the 
current IFQ fishing season'' would be deleted from Sec.  
679.4(d)(1)(i). While such an accompanying statement was originally 
projected as part of the IFQ permit, NMFS currently issues no such 
accompanying statement, because the IFQ card itself is sufficient to 
establish a fisherman's IFQ balance.

Delivery of IFQ Halibut Bycatch by Lingcod Fishermen Using 
Dinglebar Gear

    Lingcod dinglebar fishermen who hold halibut IFQ are required to 
keep and offload any halibut bycatch incidental to lingcod harvests. 
Consequently, such lingcod fishermen who take small amounts of halibut 
bycatch must comply with the IFQ Program's 6-hour prior notice of 
landing and 12-hour landing window requirements before they can offload 
their lingcod harvests.
    Because these requirements may contribute to the illegal discard of 
IFQ halibut bycatch in the lingcod dinglebar fishery, NMFS believes 
lingcod fishermen should be exempted from the 6-hour prior notice 
requirement and the 12-hour landing window when landing 500 lb (0.227 
metric tons (mt)) or less of IFQ halibut bycatch concurrently with 
legal lingcod landings harvested with dinglebar gear. IFQ landing 
reports for such landings would still be required as currently 
prescribed. NMFS believes that 500 lbs (0.227 mt) is large enough to 
cover halibut bycatch in the lingcod dinglebar fishery but not so large 
as to jeopardize the effective monitoring of IFQ landings.
    To effect this exemption, paragraph 679.5(l)(1)(iv) and 
(2)(iv)(A)(2) would be revised to exempt lingcod fishermen, and a 
definition of the term ``dinglebar gear'' would be added to the 
definitions of authorized fishing gear in Sec.  679.2. ``Dinglebar 
gear'' would be defined to mean ``one or more lines retrieved and set 
with a troll gurdy or hand troll gurdy, with a terminally attached 
weight from which one or more leaders with one or more lures or baited 
hooks are pulled through the water while a vessel is making way.'' The 
definition of the term ``troll gear'' would also be amended to include 
dinglebar gear.

Information on Gear Type in Landing Report

    Paragraph 679.5(l)(2)(vi) would be revised to add gear type to 
information required on a completed IFQ landing report. NMFS needs to 
be apprised of gear type used in making landings of IFQ species to 
effectively manage the IFQ Program, which is limited to fixed gear. 
Also, certain exemptions from IFQ recordkeeping and reporting 
requirements are based on gear-type and require that NMFS be able to 
determine at the time of landing the gear type used to harvest IFQ 
species. For instance, salmon fishermen, who typically use troll gear, 
are exempt from the prior notice of landing and 12-hour landing window 
when landing 500 lb (0.227 mt) or less of halibut bycatch with legal 
salmon landings. Also, as discussed earlier, rulemaking would extend a 
similar exemption to lingcod fishermen using dinglebar gear. NMFS needs 
to be provided with information on gear type in IFQ landing reports for 
purposes of distinguishing such exempted landings from potential 
violations of IFQ recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Registered Buyer Responsible for Shipment Report

    Paragraph 679.5(l)(3)(i)(A) would be revised to specify, for IFQ 
landings that involve more than one registered buyer, which registered 
buyer is responsible for ensuring compliance with shipment report 
requirements. Paragraph 679.5(l)(3)(ii) would be revised to specify 
that by signing an IFQ Landing Report and thereby taking responsibility 
for an IFQ Landing, a registered buyer also assumes responsibility for 
completing and submitting to NMFS all shipment reports for IFQ harvests 
landed under that landing report. Current regulations do not 
sufficiently assign responsibility for proper compliance with shipment 
report regulations, and other persons who hold registered buyer permits 
may be involved in a landing but not in the shipping of IFQ harvests 
from the point of landing to other destinations. This proposed change 
would assign the responsibility for compliance with shipment report 
requirements to the registered buyer who signs the IFQ landing report 
for those harvests being shipped.

Prohibitions

    The general prohibition at Sec.  679.7(f)(14) would be revised to 
prohibit the violation of any provision of the IFQ and Community 
Development Quota (CDQ) regulations incorporated into Secs.  679.4 
Permits, 679.5 Recordkeeping and reporting, and subparts C and D of 50 
CFR part 679. Prior to the consolidation of the regulations governing 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska into 50 CFR part 
679, which was required by the President's Regulatory Reform Initiative 
(61 FR 31228, June 19, 1996), all IFQ and CDQ regulations were in a 
single subpart. The general prohibition formerly referred to this 
subpart. With the consolidation of regulations, IFQ and CDQ regulations 
pertaining to permits and to recordkeeping and reporting were 
catalogued under subparts dealing separately with those respective 
subjects. Section 679.7(f)(14) would be revised to refer again to all 
regulations pertaining to the IFQ and CDQ programs.

Expanding Survivorship Transfer Provisions

    Paragraph 679.41(k)(2) would be revised to expand the existing 
survivorship transfer provisions to include a family member designated 
as a beneficiary to whom the survivorship transfer privileges would 
extend in the absence of a surviving spouse. The IFQ Program restricts 
the transfer of category B, C, or D quota share (QS) and resulting IFQ 
to prevent excessive consolidation of QS and ensure that QS continues 
to be held by professional fishermen, rather than being acquired by

[[Page 78128]]

investment speculators. In 1996, NMFS amended the regulations to allow 
for a temporary transfer of QS to surviving spouses of deceased QS 
holders (61 FR 41523; August 9, 1996). Under this provision, upon the 
death of an individual who holds QS or IFQ, a surviving spouse may 
request to receive for 3 years all QS and IFQ held by the decedent, 
unless a contrary intent was expressed in a will that is probated. This 
provision was consistent with the Council's intent for the IFQ Program, 
as evidenced by sections 14.4.7.1.4(5) and 4.4.1.1.4(5), respectively, 
of the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering 
Sea and Aleutian Islands Area and the Fishery Management Plan for 
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMPs), which state:
    The Secretary may, by regulation, designate exceptions to [the 
transfer provisions] to be employed in cases of personal injury or 
extreme personal emergency which allows the transfer of [IFQ 
resulting from QS assigned to vessel categories B, C, or D] for 
limited periods of time.
    In June 1997, the Council recommended that the transfer privileges 
be extended to any heirs of the deceased, so that other members of a 
deceased QS holder's immediate family may benefit for a certain period 
of time from the deceased's commercial fishing interests with regard to 
the IFQ Program. NMFS subsequently published a proposed rule to 
implement the Council's recommendation in the Federal Register on 
November 6, 1997 (62 FR 60060). Following the publication of this 
proposed rule and upon further analysis, NMFS recognized that the 
proposed action would not provide transfer privileges for an emergency 
situation and would require an FMP amendment not authorized by the 
Council. Therefore, NMFS withdrew the proposed rule by publishing a 
notice to that effect in the Federal Register (63 FR 13161, March 18, 
1998), which provides further explanation of the rationale for the 
withdrawal of the rule. Upon the withdrawal of the proposed rule, the 
Council requested that the analysis be amended with a new alternative 
that would effect the intent of the proposed action--to extend the 
benefit of the surviving spouse privilege to families of deceased QS 
holders who have no surviving spouse--in a manner consistent with the 
FMPs' emergency transfer provisions.
    This proposed action would allow QS holders to provide NMFS with 
the name of an immediate family member to be the beneficiary of the 
survivorship transfer privileges in the absence of a surviving spouse. 
The designated beneficiary would be granted the ability to fish or to 
transfer the deceased QS holder's IFQ for the remainder of any current 
IFQ season and to fish or transfer the total annual allocations of IFQ 
deriving from the deceased QS holder's QS by right of survivorship for 
a period of 3 years from the date of the deceased QS holder's death or 
until the QS is awarded to a legal heir, whichever comes first.
    This action also would correct an erroneous citation in the 
regulations implementing the survivorship transfer privilege at Sec.  
679.41(k)(2). The survivorship transfer provisions exempt those who 
receive emergency transfers of a deceased QS holder's QS from the 
prohibition on leasing of IFQ derived from B, C, or D category QS. The 
citation is intended to refer to the leasing prohibition, which stands 
at Sec.  679.41(h)(2). The existing citation would be revised to cite 
the correct paragraph. Also, the paragraph cited, 679.41(h)(2), 
prohibits leasing of more than 10-percent of a QS holder's total annual 
IFQ. That 10 percent leasing provision expired on January 2, 1998, 
after which date a QS holder may not transfer any IFQ resulting from B, 
C, or D category QS separately from the originating QS. Therefore, 
Sec.  679.41(h)(2) would be revised to read: ``IFQ resulting from 
category B, C, or D QS may not be transferred separately from its 
originating QS, except as provided in paragraph (k) of this section.''

Annual Updates on the Status of Corporations and Partnerships

    A paragraph (5) would be added to Sec.  679.42(j) requiring 
corporations and partnerships holding QS to provide annual updates to 
NMFS/Restricted Access Management on the status of the corporation or 
partnership identifying all current shareholders or partners and 
affirming the entity's continuing existence as a corporation or 
partnership. Current IFQ regulations require collectively held QS to be 
transferred to a qualified individual upon any change in a corporation 
or partnership. Corporations or partnerships that have been issued QS 
but have either been dissolved or have acquired additional shareholders 
or partners are not eligible to fish the IFQ resulting from that QS. To 
ensure that such corporations and partnerships are not erroneously 
issued annual IFQ resulting from the collectively held QS, they would 
be required to provide the updates.

Electronic Submission of Appeals

    Paragraph 679.43(c) would be revised to allow facsimile submission 
of appeals of initial administrative determinations made to the Office 
of Administrative Appeals. Current regulations that prohibit the filing 
of appeals by facsimile unnecessarily inhibit the transmission of 
timely appeals and would therefore be removed. Also, the address to 
which appeals must be sent would be changed from the Regional 
Administrator's office to the Office of Administrative Appeals.

Information Requirements

    The regulations pertaining to certain IFQ forms and reports would 
be revised to clearly identify all of the data elements required of the 
public in these collections of information. Such clarification is 
necessary to assure that all collections of information for the IFQ 
Program are authorized by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The pertinent collections of 
information are: (1) the Request for QS Application at 50 CFR 
679.40(a)(6)(i); (2) the IFQ Landing Report at 50 CFR 679.5(l)(2); (3) 
the IFQ Vessel Clearance Report at 679.5(l)(5)(i); (4) the IFQ 
Transshipment Authorization Request at 679.5(l)(4); and (5) the 
Corporation Eligibility Notice at 679.43(c).

Classification

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    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 displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number.
    This proposed rule contains collection-of-information requirements 
subject to the PRA. These requirements are either new or revisions to 
collection-of-information requirement approved by OMB under OMB control 
number 0648-0272. These requirements have been submitted to OMB for 
approval. Public reporting burden per response for these collections of 
information is estimated to average as follows: 0.5 hours for 
individuals and 1 hour for corporations or partnership filling out a 
Request for QS Application; 0.2 hours for an IFQ landing report; 0.2 
hours for an IFQ vessel clearance report; 2 hours for the 
identification of ownership interest form; 0.3 hours for an IFQ 
shipment report; 0.2 hours for an IFQ transshipment authorization 
request; 0.5 hours for the Designated Beneficiary form; 2 hours for the 
Application for

[[Page 78129]]

Transfer of QS/IFQ; and 4 hours for the Letter of Appeal, including in 
all cases the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information.
    Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have a practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collections of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collections of information on 
respondents, including through use of automated collection techniques 
or other forms of information technology. Send comments on these or 
other aspects of the information collections to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) 
and to OMB at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503 (Attn: NOAA Desk 
Officer).
    NMFS prepared an initial regulatory flexibility analysis to 
describe this proposed rule's economic effects on small entities. This 
proposed action would impact all QS holders in the IFQ Program, as well 
as seafood processors and transporters. The majority of catcher vessels 
harvesting IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish meet the definition of a small 
entity under the RFA. As of the end of the 1998 IFQ season, 3,795 
persons held halibut QS and 919 held sablefish QS. Persons who buy IFQ 
harvests from IFQ fishermen must possess Registered Buyers permits, and 
as of the end of the 1998 season, Registered Buyer permits were held by 
859 businesses, including restaurants, processors, retailers, brokers, 
tenders, and catcher/processors. In addition, families of deceased QS 
holders would be impacted beneficially by the proposed extension of 
temporary transfer privileges to other surviving members of a deceased 
QS's family in addition to surviving spouses.
    This proposed action comprises only minor regulatory changes, 
adjustments, clarifications, and corrections necessary to refine NMFS' 
ability to manage the program effectively and to improve the clarity 
and consistency of the program's implementing regulations. Seven of the 
proposed changes are intended to clarify aspects of the regulations and 
would impose little change in the way small businesses conduct their 
businesses under the IFQ Program, except to avoid any potential 
confusion due to inexact regulatory language.
    The other six changes contained in this proposed action may have 
greater impact on small businesses operating under the IFQ Program, but 
these impacts too would either be beneficial or impose relatively minor 
changes in recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Changes in the 
program's collection-of-information requirements have been discussed 
above.
    These changes are expected to have minimal economic impacts on 
small entities. NMFS has not identified alternatives that would further 
minimize these impacts.
    The President has directed Federal agencies to use plain language 
in their communications with the public, including regulations. To 
comply with this directive, we seek public comment on any ambiguity or 
unnecessary complexity arising form the language used in this proposed 
rule. Such comments should be addressed to the Alaska Regional 
Administrator (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

    Fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 6, 2000
William T. Hogarth
Deputy Asst. Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is 
proposed to be amended to read as follows:

PART 679--FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 773, et seq.

    2. In part 679, all references to ``Chief, RAM Division'' are 
removed and ``Program Administrator, RAM'' is added in its place.

    3. In Sec.  679.1, the first sentence of the introductory 
paragraph, the introductory text to paragraph (d), and paragraph 
(d)(1)(i)(B) are revised to read as follows:


Sec.  679.1  Purpose and scope.

    Regulations in this part were developed by the Council under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the 
Northern Pacific Halibut Act. * * *
* * * * *
    (d) IFQ Program for sablefish and halibut. The IFQ management 
measures for the commercial fisheries that use fixed gear to harvest 
sablefish and halibut (see subparts A, B, D, and E of this part).
    (1) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) Using fixed gear in waters of the State of Alaska adjacent to 
the BSAI and the GOA, provided that aboard such vessels are persons who 
currently hold quota shares, Individual Fishing Quota permits, or 
Individual Fishing Quota cards.
* * * * *

    4. In Sec.  679.2, the definition of ``Chief, RAM Division'' is 
removed, the definition of ``IFQ landing'' is revised, the definition 
of ``Program Administrator, RAM'' is added, and, under the definition 
of ``Authorized fishing gear'', paragraphs (1) through (15) are 
redesignated as paragraphs (2) through (16), newly designated paragraph 
(16) is revised, and a new paragraph (1) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 679.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Authorized fishing gear * * *
    (1) Dinglebar gear means one or more lines retrieved and set with a 
troll gurdy or hand troll gurdy, with a terminally attached weight from 
which one or more leaders with one or more lures or baited hooks are 
pulled through the water while a vessel is making way.
* * * * *
    (16) Troll gear means one or more lines with hooks or lures 
attached drawn through the water behind a moving vessel. This gear type 
includes hand troll and power troll gear and dinglebar gear.
* * * * *
    IFQ landing means the unloading or transferring of any IFQ halibut, 
IFQ sablefish, or products thereof from the vessel that harvested such 
fish or the removal from the water of a vessel containing IFQ halibut, 
IFQ sablefish, or products thereof.
* * * * *
    Program Administrator, RAM means the Program Administrator of 
Restricted Access Management Program, Alaska Region, NMFS.
* * * * *

    5. In Sec.  679.4, paragraph (d)(1)(i) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  679.4  Permits.

* * * * *
    (d) IFQ--(1) * * *
    (i) IFQ permit. A copy of an IFQ permit that specifies the IFQ 
regulatory area and vessel category in which IFQ

[[Page 78130]]

halibut or IFQ sablefish may be harvested by the IFQ permit holder; and
* * * * *

    6. In Sec.  679.5(l), paragraphs (l)(1)(iv), (l)(2)(iv)(A)(2), 
(l)(2)(vi), (l)(3)(i)(A), (l)(3)(ii), (l)(4), and (l)(5)(i) are revised 
to read as follows:


Sec.  679.5  Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *
    (l) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iv) Exemption. The operator of a category B, C, or D vessel, as 
defined at Sec.  679.40(a)(5), making an IFQ landing of IFQ halibut of 
500 lb (0.227 mt) or less of weight determined pursuant to Sec.  
679.42(c)(2) is exempt from the prior notice of landing required by 
this section when such landings of IFQ halibut are made concurrent with 
legal landings of lingcod harvested with dinglebar gear or with legal 
landings of salmon.
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iv) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (2) IFQ halibut of 500 lb (0.227 mt) or less of IFQ weight 
determined pursuant to Sec.  679.42(c)(2) is landed concurrently with a 
legal landing of lingcod harvested with dinglebar gear or a legal 
landing of salmon by a category B, C, or D vessel, as defined at Sec.  
679.40(a)(5).
* * * * *
    (vi) Information required. The registered buyer must enter accurate 
information contained in a complete IFQ landing report as follows: 
Date, time, and location of the IFQ landing; name and permit number of 
the IFQ card holder and registered buyer; the harvesting vessel's ADF&G 
number; gear type reported by cardholder; the Alaska State fish ticket 
number(s) for the landing; the ADF&G statistical area of harvest 
reported by the IFQ cardholder; if ADF&G statistical area is bisected 
by a line dividing two IFQ regulatory areas, the IFQ regulatory area of 
harvest reported by the IFQ cardholder; for each ADF&G statistical area 
of harvest reported by the IFQ cardholder, the product code landed and 
initial accurate scale weight made at the time offloading commences for 
IFQ species sold and retained.
    (3) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) Complete a written shipment report for each shipment or 
transfer of IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish for which the Registered 
Buyer submitted a landing report before the fish leave the landing 
site.
* * * * *
    (ii) Information required. A shipment report must specify the 
following: Whether the report is a revised report; species and product 
type being shipped; number of shipping units and unit weight; fish 
product weight; names of the shipper and receiver; names and addresses 
of the consignee and consignor; mode of transportation; intended route; 
and signature of the responsible registered buyer's representative.
* * * * *
    (4) Transshipment authorization. No person may transship processed 
IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish between vessels without authorization by a 
clearing officer. Authorization from a clearing officer must be 
obtained for each instance of transshipment at least 24 hours before 
the transshipment is intended to commence. Requests for authorization 
must specify the date and location of the transshipment; names and 
ADF&G numbers of vessels delivering and receiving the transshipment; 
product destination; registered buyers' names and permit numbers; IFQ 
permit numbers; species, regulatory areas, product types and codes, 
number of units, and unit weight of IFQ harvests being transshipped; 
time and date of the request; and name and contact numbers for the 
person making the request.
    (5) * * *
    (i) Applicability. The vessel operator who makes an IFQ landing at 
any location other than in an IFQ regulatory area or in the State of 
Alaska must obtain prelanding written clearance of the vessel from a 
clearing officer and provide the following information: date, time, and 
location of clearance; vessel name and ADF&G and IPHC numbers; 
homeport; Federal Fisheries Permit number; IFQ permit numbers; 
registered buyer permit number; IFQ cardholder name; date, time, and 
location of landing; areas fished and estimated weight of harvests by 
species; and registered buyer's signature.
* * * * *

    7. In Sec.  679.7, paragraph (f)(14) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  679.7  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (f) IFQ fisheries.* * *
    (14) Violate any other provision under this part.
* * * * *

    8. In Sec.  679.40, paragraph (a)(6)(i) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  679.40  Sablefish and halibut QS.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (i) Application form. The Application period for QS ended on July 
15, 1994. As of that date, the Request for QS Application form replaces 
the QS Application form as the means by which the Administrator, RAM, 
reviews and makes initial administrative determinations on requests for 
initial allocations of QS. A Request for QS Application must contain 
the following: Information identifying the individual, representative 
of a deceased fisherman's estate, corporation or partnership, or 
dissolved corporation or partnership making the request; contact 
numbers; vessel identification, length overall, and purchase date; and 
information on any vessel leasing arrangement pertinent to the claim of 
eligibility.
* * * * *

    9. In Sec.  679.41, paragraphs (h)(2) and (k) are revised to read 
as follows:


Sec.  679.41  Transfer of quota shares and IFQ.

* * * * *
    (h) Transfer of IFQ.* * *
    (2) IFQ resulting from category B, C, or D QS may not be 
transferred separately from its originating QS, except as provided in 
paragraph (k) of this section.
* * * * *
    (k) Survivorship transfer privileges.--(1) On the death of an 
individual who holds QS or IFQ, the surviving spouse or, in the absence 
of a surviving spouse, a beneficiary designated pursuant to paragraph 
(k)(2) of this section, receives all QS and IFQ held by the decedent by 
right of survivorship, unless a contrary intent was expressed by the 
decedent in a will. The Regional Administrator will approve an 
Application for Transfer to the surviving spouse or designated 
beneficiary when sufficient evidence has been provided to verify the 
death of the individual.
    (2) QS holders may provide the Regional Administrator with the name 
of a designated beneficiary from the QS holder's immediate family to 
receive survivorship transfer privileges in the event of the QS 
holder's death and in the absence of a surviving spouse.
    (3) The Regional Administrator will approve, for 3 calendar years 
following the date of death of an individual, an Application for 
Transfer of IFQ from the surviving spouse or, in the absence of a 
surviving spouse, from a beneficiary from the QS holder's immediate 
family designated pursuant to paragraph (k)(2) of this section to a 
person eligible to receive IFQ under the provisions of this section, 
notwithstanding the limitations on transfers of IFQ in paragraph (h)(2) 
of this section.

    10. In Sec.  679.42, paragraph (j)(6) is added to read as follows:

[[Page 78131]]

Sec.  679.42  Limitations on the use of QS and IFQ.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *
    (6) A corporation or partnership, except for a publicly held 
corporation, that receives an initial allocation of QS assigned to 
categories B, C, or D must provide annual updates to the Regional 
Administrator identifying all current shareholders or partners and 
affirming the entity's continuing existence as a corporation or 
partnership.
* * * * *

    11. In Sec.  679.43, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  679.43  Determinations and appeals.

* * * * *
    (c) Submission of appeals. Appeals must be in writing and must be 
submitted to the Office of Administrative Appeals, P. O. Box 21668, 
Juneau, AK 99802 or delivered to Federal Building, 709 West 9th St., 
Room 801, Juneau, Alaska. Appeals may be transmitted by facsimile to 
(907) 586-9361. Additional information about appeals may be obtained by 
calling (907) 586-7258, and by accessing Office of Administrative 
Appeals section of the NMFS Alaska Region website http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 00-31625 Filed 12-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S