[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70680-70682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9570]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 060425111-6315-03; I.D. 041906B]
RIN 0648-AN09


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Vessel Monitoring Systems; 
Amendment 18A

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

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.

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SUMMARY: NMFS delays the December 7, 2006, effective date of two 
sections of a final rule, published August 9, 2006, until March 7, 
2007. The amendments to those sections will require owners/operators of 
vessels with Gulf reef fish commercial vessel permits to install a 
NMFS-approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) and will make installation 
of VMS a prerequisite for permit renewal or transfer. This delay of the 
effective date will provide additional time for affected fishers to 
come into compliance with the VMS requirements.

DATES: The effective date of the amendments to Sec. Sec.  622.9(a)(2) 
and 622.4(m)(1) published August 9, 2006 (71 FR 45428), is delayed 
until March 7, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements referred to in 
this final rule may be submitted in writing to Jason Rueter, NMFS, 
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701; telephone 727-824-5305; fax 727-824-5308; e-mail

[[Page 70681]]

[email protected] and to David Rostker, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), by e-mail at [email protected], or by fax to 
202-395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, telephone 727-824-5305, 
fax 727-824-5308, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The final rule to implement Amendment 18A to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 18A) 
(71 FR 45428, August 9, 2006) included a provision, Sec.  622.9(a)(2), 
requiring owners or operators of a vessel with a commercial vessel 
permit for Gulf reef fish, including charter/headboats with commercial 
reef fish vessel permits even when under charter, to be equipped with 
an operating VMS approved by NMFS for the Gulf of Mexico reef fish 
fishery. Additionally, Sec.  622.4(m)(1) required proof of purchase, 
installation, activation, and operational status of an approved VMS for 
renewal or transfer of a commercial vessel permit for Gulf reef fish.
    Subsequent to the publication of the final rule, NMFS published a 
notice listing VMS approved by NMFS for use in the Gulf reef fish 
fishery (71 FR 54472, September 15, 2006). On October 31, 2006, NMFS 
published a notice (71 FR 63753), announcing availability of grant 
funds to reimburse owners and operators of vessels subject to the VMS 
requirements of Amendment 18A for the equivalent cost of purchasing the 
least expensive VMS approved by NMFS for the Gulf reef fish fishery.

Delay of Effective Date

    NMFS is delaying, until March 7, 2007, the effective date of Sec.  
622.9(a)(2), the VMS requirement, and Sec.  622.4(m)(1), the provision 
requiring VMS as a condition of renewing or transferring a commercial 
vessel permit for Gulf reef fish. NMFS is concerned that some fishers 
may have delayed purchasing VMS because of uncertainty regarding 
reimbursement by NMFS. Although NMFS published the notice announcing 
availability of funds for reimbursement on October 31, 2006, the 
current December 7, 2006, effective date for VMS compliance may not 
provide adequate time for all affected fishers and approved VMS vendors 
to purchase, install, and activate a NMFS-approved VMS. NMFS also 
believes that some affected fishers, particularly those with minimal 
red snapper or reef fish landings, may be deferring a decision on 
purchasing a VMS until they receive information about their initial red 
snapper IFQ share and allocation under the Gulf red snapper IFQ program 
and, thus, can better evaluate their overall profitability versus the 
overall costs of VMS. NMFS anticipates that initial red snapper IFQ 
share/allocation information will be available by mid-November--less 
than a month prior to the current effective date for the VMS 
requirements. Finally, the overall VMS costs, including installation 
and continuing operational costs, may be a factor in some part-time or 
marginal reef fish fishers' decision to remain in the fishery. A delay 
in the effective date of the provision requiring VMS as a condition of 
permit renewal or transfer would provide more time for such fishers to 
make a reasoned business decision and to renew and/or transfer their 
permit prior to the VMS effective date if they so choose. For all of 
these reasons, NMFS is delaying the effective date of Sec. Sec.  
622.9(a)(2) and 622.4(m)(1) until March 7, 2007.

Classification

    The Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, (RA) has determined that 
delaying the effective date of VMS requirements for vessels with 
commercial vessel permits for Gulf reef fish is necessary for 
management of the fishery and to minimize adverse social and economic 
impacts. The RA has also determined that this rule is consistent with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 533(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment on this action as notice and 
comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest. 
This final rule merely delays the effective date of the VMS 
requirements and VMS-related permit renewal requirements set forth in 
the regulations implementing Amendment 18A. Delaying the effective date 
of these provisions will provide affected vessel owners and operators 
additional time to come into compliance with the VMS requirements. Some 
owners and operators may have delayed purchase and installation of 
required VMS units because of uncertainty regarding possible 
reimbursement by NMFS. NMFS has recently implemented a reimbursement 
program applicable to these VMS requirements. Delaying the effective 
date will allow affected owners and operators more time to make an 
informed business decision regarding which approved VMS system would be 
best for them given the available reimbursement. In addition, those 
owners and operators with relatively small landings of reef fish, 
including red snapper landings, may need to consider the overall costs 
of VMS, including installation and operating costs, relative to the 
owner's profitability, including their potential red snapper individual 
fishing quota (IFQ) share and allocation under the proposed red snapper 
IFQ program. Some of these fishers may choose to sell their commercial 
vessel permit for Gulf reef fish and exit the fishery. Delaying the 
effective date of the provision that requires a VMS as a condition of 
renewing or transferring a permit would facilitate that option. A delay 
in the effective date of these two provisions will provide such owners 
and operators more time to make well-reasoned business decisions 
regarding overall VMS costs and their future in the reef fish fishery. 
For these same reasons, there is good cause to waive the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness provision of the APA for these measures pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3). Failure to waive prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment or failure to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness 
provision of the APA for these measures would result in these measures 
becoming effective on December 7, 2006, rather than providing affected 
fishers additional time to come into compliance with these measures as 
intended by this rule.
    This final rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act because the rule is issued without opportunity for 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
    This rule refers to collection-of-information requirements subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and which have been approved by 
OMB under Control Number 0648-0544. Public reporting for these 
requirements is estimated to average 4 hours for VMS installation, 15 
minutes for completion and submission of certification of VMS 
installation and activation, 24 seconds for transmission of position 
reports, 2 hours for annual maintenance of VMS, 10 minutes for 
submission of requests for power-down exemptions, and 15 minutes for 
annual renewal of all permits. These estimates include the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding these burden 
estimates or any other aspect of this data collection, including 
suggestions for reducing burden hours, to NMFS (see

[[Page 70682]]

ADDRESSES) and by e-mail to [email protected], or fax to 202-
395-7285.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, and no person shall be subject to 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.

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

    Dated: December 1, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-9570 Filed 12-4-06; 1:11 pm]
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