[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26808-26809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12217]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 010111009-1009-01; I.D. 122600A]
RIN 0648-AO72


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Emergency 
Interim Rule to Revise Certain Provisions of the American Fisheries 
Act; Correction

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

ACTION: Emergency interim rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: This document corrects the emergency interim rule that revised 
certain provisions of the American Fisheries Act for implementation for 
the 2001 fishing year, which was published January 22, 2001.

DATES: Effective January 18, 2001, through July 17, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patsy A. Bearden, 907-586-7008.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    An emergency interim rule was published in the Federal Register on 
January 22, 2001 (66 FR 7327), to revise certain provisions of the 
American Fisheries Act for implementation for the 2001 fishing year.

[[Page 26809]]

Correction

    In the emergency interim rule, Sec. 679.7(k) was inadvertently 
omitted. Correct this omission at page 7330, third column, by adding 
instruction 2a to read as follows:

    2a. Section 679.7(k) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 679.7  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (k) Prohibitions specific to the AFA (applicable through July 17, 
2001). It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following:
    (1) Catcher/processors--(i) Permit requirement. Use a catcher/
processor to engage in directed fishing for non-CDQ BSAI pollock 
without a valid AFA catcher/processor permit on board the vessel.
    (ii) Fishing in the GOA. Use an unrestricted AFA catcher/processor 
to fish for any species of fish in the GOA.
    (iii) Processing BSAI crab. Use an unrestricted AFA catcher/
processor to process any species of crab harvested in the BSAI.
    (iv) Processing GOA groundfish. Use an unrestricted AFA catcher/
processor to process any groundfish harvested in Statistical Area 630 
of the GOA.
    (v) Directed fishing after a sideboard closure. Use an unrestricted 
AFA catcher/processor to engage in directed fishing for a groundfish 
species or species group in the BSAI after the Regional Administrator 
has issued an AFA catcher/processor sideboard directed fishing closure 
for that groundfish species or species group under 
Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iv) or Sec. 679.21(e)(3)(v).
    (vi) Catch weighing--(A) Unrestricted AFA catcher/processors. Use 
an unrestricted AFA catcher processor to process any groundfish that 
was not weighed on a NMFS-certified scale.
    (B) Restricted AFA catcher processors. Use a restricted AFA catcher 
processor to process any pollock harvested in the BSAI directed pollock 
fishery that was not weighed on a NMFS-certified scale.
    (2) Motherships--(i) Permit requirement. Use a mothership to 
process pollock harvested by an AFA catcher vessel with an inshore or 
mothership sector endorsement in a non-CDQ directed fishery for pollock 
in the BSAI without a valid AFA permit on board the vessel.
    (ii) Cooperative processing endorsement. Use an AFA mothership to 
process groundfish harvested by a fishery cooperative formed under 
Sec. 679.60 unless the AFA mothership permit contains a valid 
cooperative pollock processing endorsement.
    (iii) Catch weighing requirement. Use an AFA mothership to process 
groundfish harvested in the BSAI or GOA that was not weighed on a NMFS-
certified scale.
    (3) Shoreside processors and stationary floating processors--(i) 
Permit requirement. Use a shoreside processor or stationary floating 
processor to process groundfish harvested in a non-CDQ directed fishery 
for pollock in the BSAI without a valid AFA inshore processor permit at 
the facility or vessel.
    (ii) Cooperative processing endorsement. Use a shoreside processor 
or stationary floating processor required to have an AFA inshore 
processor permit to process groundfish harvested by a fishery 
cooperative formed under Sec. 679.61 unless the AFA inshore processor 
permit contains a valid cooperative pollock processing endorsement.
    (iii) Restricted AFA inshore processors. Use an AFA inshore 
processor with a restricted AFA inshore processor permit to process 
more than 2,000 mt round weight of non-CDQ pollock harvested in the 
BSAI directed pollock fishery in any one year.
    (iv) Single geographic location requirement. Use an AFA inshore 
processor to process pollock harvested in the BSAI directed pollock 
fishery at a location other than the single geographic location defined 
as follows:
    (A) Shoreside processors. The physical location at which the land-
based shoreside processor first processed BSAI pollock harvested in the 
BSAI directed pollock fishery during a fishing year;
    (B) Stationary floating processors. A location within Alaska State 
waters that is within 5 nm of the position in which the stationary 
floating processor first processed BSAI pollock harvested in the BSAI 
directed pollock fishery during a fishing year.
    (v) Catch weighing requirement. Use an AFA inshore processor to 
process groundfish harvested in the BSAI or GOA that was not weighed on 
a scale certified by the State of Alaska.
    (4) Catcher vessels. (i) Use a catcher vessel to engage in directed 
fishing for non-CDQ BSAI pollock for delivery to any AFA processing 
sector (catcher/processor, mothership, or inshore) unless the vessel 
has a valid AFA catcher vessel permit on board that contains an 
endorsement for the sector of the BSAI pollock fishery in which the 
vessel is participating.
    (ii) Use an AFA catcher vessel to retain any BSAI crab species 
unless the catcher vessel's AFA permit contains a crab sideboard 
endorsement for that crab species.
    (iii) Use an AFA catcher vessel to engage in directed fishing for a 
groundfish species or species group in the BSAI or GOA after the 
Regional Administrator has issued an AFA catcher vessel sideboard 
directed fishing closure for that groundfish species or species group 
under Sec. 679.20(d)(1)(iv),Sec. 679.21(d)(8) or Sec. 679.21(e)(3)(iv), 
if the vessel's AFA permit does not contain a sideboard exemption for 
that groundfish species or species group.
    (5) AFA inshore fishery cooperatives--(i) Quota overages. Use an 
AFA catcher vessel listed on an AFA inshore cooperative fishing permit 
to harvest non-CDQ pollock in excess of the cooperative's annual 
allocation of pollock specified under Sec. 679.61.
    (ii) Liability. An inshore pollock cooperative is prohibited from 
exceeding its annual allocation of BSAI pollock TAC. The owners and 
operators of all vessels listed on the cooperative fishing permit are 
responsible for ensuring that all cooperative members comply with all 
applicable regulations contained in part 679. The owners and operators 
will be held jointly and severally liable for overages of an annual 
cooperative allocation, and for any other violation of these 
regulations committed by a member vessel of a cooperative.
    (6) Crab processing limits. It is unlawful for an AFA entity that 
processes pollock harvested in the BSAI directed pollock fishery by an 
AFA inshore or AFA mothership catcher vessel cooperative to use an AFA 
crab facility to process crab in excess of the crab processing 
sideboard cap established for that AFA inshore or mothership entity 
under Sec. 679.64. The owners and operators of the individual entities 
comprising the AFA inshore or mothership entity will be held jointly 
and severably liable for any overages of the AFA inshore or mothership 
entity's crab processing sideboard cap.

    Dated: May 9, 2001.
William T. Hogarth,
Deputy Asst. Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 01-12217 Filed 5-14-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S