[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4514-4515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1348]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 300, 600 and 697

[Docket No. 070717337-7338-01]
RIN 0648-AV78


General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Specifications for 
Boarding Ladders

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

ACTION: Proposed rule, request for comments, reopening of comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: NMFS reopens the comment period for proposed regulations to 
require the operators of certain domestic fishing vessels to provide a 
U.S. Coast Guard-approved pilot ladder as a safer and more enforceable 
means for authorized personnel to board.

DATES: Comments must be received at the following address by February 
25, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``RIN 0648-AV78,'' by 
any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 301-713-1175, Attn: William D. Chappell.
     Mail: Alan Risenhoover, Director, Office of Sustainable 
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910. Please mark the outside of the envelope 
``Comments on Boarding Ladder Rule.''
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All personal identifying information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William D. Chappell, 301-713-2337.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Act established U.S. 
management authority over the fishery resources in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ). NMFS is responsible for implementation of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) prepared 
by eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and for the 
FMP governing Atlantic Highly Migratory Species. While each Council 
prepares FMPs for those fishery resources within the Council's area of 
authority that require conservation, NMFS implements certain 
requirements common to all fisheries, such as facilitation of 
enforcement. Associated regulations are

[[Page 4515]]

codified at 50 CFR parts 600 through 697.
    On December 11, 2007, NMFS published this proposed rule with a 
comment period ending January 10, 2008. Because the comment period 
extended through the December holiday period, many affected members of 
the fishing industry were unaware of the proposed rule until late in 
the comment period. As a result, NMFS received several requests to 
extend the comment period. Although the comment period ended before 
NMFS could publish an extension to this comment period, NMFS now 
reopens the comment period for an additional 30 days to allow the 
public adequate time to understand the rule, its effects on their 
circumstances, and provide their comments.

Clarifications

    Comments received to date identified some misunderstandings and 
questions that need clarification. The most important misunderstanding 
is that the proposed rule would require fishing vessels to provide 
boarding ladders for the first time. Fishing vessel operators have been 
required to provide authorized officers ``a safe ladder'' since before 
1988, when all facilitation of enforcement regulations were 
consolidated in one part. The intent of this proposed rule was to 
specify the type of ladder to meet the requirement, not to change the 
requirement to provide a ladder. Experience in many boardings has shown 
that ladders offered by many fishing vessel operators are, in reality, 
not safe. This negatively affects the ability of an authorized officer 
to safely board the fishing vessel at sea, resulting in an unacceptable 
safety hazard. In some instances, authorized officers entered the water 
as a direct result of ladder failures or inadequacies. Under current 
regulations, the safety of the ladder can only be determined unsafe 
after the fact, a situation that is unacceptable from both a safety and 
enforcement aspect. NMFS proposes to amend the existing regulation to 
require that a standard and safe ladder be made available. These 
commonly used ladders are available from many maritime suppliers, and 
can be constructed to meet the size of the vessel and can be rolled up 
to use minimal storage space.
    Another important misconception is that the proposed rule would 
require all fishing vessels to carry a Coast Guard approved ladder. The 
current regulations do not require vessels with a freeboard of 4 feet 
(1.25 m) or less to carry a ladder. The proposed rule will not alter 
this distinction. Instead, the proposed rule would define the term 
freeboard for the purposes of the rule as the working distance between 
the top rail of the gunwale of a vessel to the water's surface. This is 
somewhat different from the typical usage of the term freeboard, which 
usually means the difference between the lowest exposed or weather deck 
and the water.
    Several commenters asked whether the proposed rule would apply to 
recreational fishing vessels. The answer is yes, this proposed rule 
would apply to both recreational and commercial fishing vessels fishing 
under Federal fishing regulations.
    NMFS also received comments regarding alternative freeboard 
heights, purpose built ladders, and exemptions from the provision of a 
safe ladder based on vessel length, as well as other comments. All 
comments will be addressed in any final rule published for this 
rulemaking.

    Dated: January 18, 2008
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service
[FR Doc. E8-1348 Filed 1-24-08; 8:45 am]
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