[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4759-4760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1430]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 070703215-7530-02]
RIN 0648-AU08


Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery; Vessel Monitoring System; Open Access Fishery; Correction

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

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY:  This action corrects a final rule that was published in the 
Federal Register on December 7, 2007, and which becomes effective 
February 4, 2008. The final rule requires all vessels fishing pursuant 
to the harvest guidelines, quotas, and other management measures 
governing the open access groundfish fishery, and all non-groundfish 
trawl vessels to provide declaration reports and to activate and use a 
vessel monitoring system (VMS) transceiver unit while fishing off the 
coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. This action corrects an 
incorrect cross reference in the final rule which allows vessels that 
leave the open access fishery to obtain an exemption from the VMS 
reporting requirements.

DATES: Effective February 27, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko at 206-526-6110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is accessible via the 
Internet at the Office of the Federal Register's Website at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. Background information and documents 
are available at the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council's) 
website at http://www.pcouncil.org/.
    A final rule to expand the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery vessel 
monitoring system (VMS) program to include the open access and non-
groundfish trawl fisheries was published in the Federal Register on 
December 7, 2007 (72 FR 69162). The final rule contained an error that 
needs to be corrected. The final rule, which becomes effective on 
February 4, 2008, requires all vessels fishing pursuant to the harvest 
guidelines, quotas, and other management measures governing the open 
access groundfish fishery and all non-groundfish trawl vessels to 
provide declaration reports and to activate and use a VMS transceiver 
while fishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coasts of 
Washington, Oregon and California.
    In the drafting of the rule language an incorrect cross reference 
at Sec.  660.312 (d)(4)(iv) to Sec.  660.312 (b)(2) results in a 
substantive change in the regulatory requirements. The inclusion of the 
incorrect cross reference would allow vessels using non-groundfish 
trawl gear to request and receive an exemption to the VMS program 
hourly reporting requirements if they do not retain groundfish from the 
EEZ. This exemption is inconsistent with the structure and purpose of 
the VMS program. The VMS program requires vessels using non-groundfish 
trawl gear to have and use VMS if they fish in the EEZ whether or not 
groundfish are retained. The VMS program is intended to provide for 
monitoring of compliance with essential fish habitat conservation (EFH) 
areas where the use of bottom trawl gear is prohibited regardless of 
whether groundfish are retained in order to protect the bottom habitat. 
The attached correction is needed so the regulatory language implements 
the action recommended by the Council and analyzed in the environmental 
assessment.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator (AA) for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good 
cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity 
for public comment on this action pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), 
because providing prior notice and opportunity for comment would be 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. NMFS had mis-
published this exemption allowance in its final rule (72 FR 69162, 
December 7, 2008). If this correction were not made promptly, some non-
groundfish trawl vessels may operate in the EEZ without VMS and NMFS 
would be unable to monitor fishing relative to Essential Fish Habitat 
(EFH) conservation areas where trawling is prohibited in order to 
protect groundfish habitat. Because a notice and comment rulemaking may 
take several months to implement it would likely not be effective until 
after the start of the pink shrimp trawl fishery, a major non-
groundfish trawl fishery. In addition, several smaller non-groundfish 
trawl fisheries may also be currently operating. If purchase of a VMS 
unit is delayed, reimbursement funds for the purchase of a VMS unit may 
be unavailable. If reimbursement funds are not available, individual 
vessel owners would incur the cost of purchasing VMS units. Therefore, 
it is impracticable and contrary to the public interest to provide 
prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on this correction.

    Dated: January 23, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

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For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is corrected 
by making the following correcting amendments:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN 
PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as follows:

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

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2. In Sec.  660.312, paragraph (d)(4)(iv) is revised to read as 
follows:

[[Page 4760]]

Sec.  660.312  Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) requirements.

* * * * *
    (d)* * *
    (4)* * *
    (iv) Long-term departure exemption. A vessel participating in the 
open access fishery that is required to have VMS under Sec.  660.312 
(b)(3) may be exempted from VMS provisions after the end of the fishing 
year in which it participated in the open access fishery, providing the 
vessel submits a completed exemption report signed by the vessel owner 
that includes a statement signed by the vessel owner indicating that 
the vessel will not be used to take and retain or possess groundfish in 
the EEZ or land groundfish taken in the EEZ during the new fishing 
year.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-1430 Filed 1-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S