[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 237 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65741-65747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29463]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XS16


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; North 
Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Cost Recovery 
Programs

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

ACTION: Notification of standard prices and fee percentage.

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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes individual fishing quota (IFQ) standard prices 
for the IFQ cost recovery program in the halibut and sablefish 
fisheries of the North Pacific. This action is intended to provide 
holders of halibut and sablefish IFQ permits with the 2009 standard 
prices and fee percentage to calculate the required payment for IFQ 
cost recovery fees due by January 31, 2010.

DATES: Effective December 11, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Troie Zuniga, Fee Coordinator, 907-
586-7231.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NMFS Alaska Region administers the halibut and sablefish individual 
fishing quota (IFQ) programs in the North Pacific. The IFQ programs are 
limited access systems authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. Fishing under the IFQ programs began in 
March 1995. Regulations implementing the IFQ program are set forth at 
50 CFR part 679.
    In 1996, the Magnuson-Stevens Act was amended to, among other 
things, require the Secretary of Commerce to ``collect a fee to recover 
the actual costs directly related to the management and enforcement of 
any individual quota program.'' This requirement was further amended in 
2006 to include collection of the actual costs of data collection, and 
to replace the reference to ``individual quota program'' with a more 
general reference to ``limited access privilege program'' at section 
304(d)(2)(A). This section of the Magnuson-Stevens Act also specifies 
an upper limit on these fees, when the fees must be collected, and 
where the fees must be deposited.
    On March 20, 2000, NMFS published regulations implementing the IFQ 
cost recovery program (65 FR 14919), which are set forth at Sec.  
679.45. Under the regulations, an IFQ permit holder incurs a cost 
recovery fee liability for every pound of IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish 
that is landed on his or her IFQ permit(s). The IFQ permit holder is 
responsible for self-collecting the fee liability for all IFQ halibut 
and IFQ sablefish landings on his or her permit(s). The IFQ permit 
holder is also responsible for submitting a fee liability payment to 
NMFS on or before the due date of January 31 of the year following the 
year in which the IFQ landings were made. The dollar amount of the fee 
due is determined by multiplying the annual IFQ fee percentage (3 
percent or less) by the ex-vessel value of all IFQ landings made on a 
permit and summing the totals of each permit (if more than one).

Standard Prices

    The fee liability is based on the sum of all payments made to 
fishermen for the sale of the fish during the year. This includes any 
retro-payments (e.g., bonuses, delayed partial payments, post-season 
payments) made to the IFQ permit holder for previously landed IFQ 
halibut or sablefish.
    For purposes of calculating IFQ cost recovery fees, NMFS 
distinguishes between two types of ex-vessel value: actual and 
standard. Actual ex-vessel value is the amount of all compensation, 
monetary or non-monetary, that an IFQ permit holder received as payment 
for his or her IFQ fish sold. Standard ex-vessel value is the default 
value on which to base fee liability calculations. IFQ permit holders 
have the option of using actual ex-vessel value if they can 
satisfactorily document it; otherwise the standard ex-vessel value is 
used.
    Regulations at Sec.  679.45(c)(2)(i) require the Regional 
Administrator to publish IFQ standard prices during the last quarter of 
each calendar year. These standard prices are used, along with 
estimates of IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish landings, to calculate 
standard values. The standard prices are described in U.S. dollars per 
IFQ equivalent pound for IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish landings made 
during the year. IFQ equivalent pound(s) is the weight (in pounds) for 
an IFQ landing, calculated as the round weight for sablefish and headed 
and gutted net weight for halibut. NMFS calculates the standard prices 
to closely reflect the variations in the actual ex-vessel values of IFQ 
halibut and IFQ sablefish landings by month and port or port-group. The 
standard prices for IFQ halibut and IFQ sablefish are listed in the 
tables that follow the next section. Data from ports are combined as 
necessary to protect confidentiality.

Fee Percentage

    Section 304(d)(2)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies a 
maximum fee of 3 percent of the ex-vessel value of fish harvested under 
an IFQ Program. NMFS annually sets a fee percentage for sablefish and 
halibut IFQ holders that is based on the actual annual costs associated 
with certain management and enforcement functions, as well as the 
standard ex-vessel value of the catch subject to the IFQ fee for the 
current year. The method used by NMFS to

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calculate the IFQ fee percentage is described at Sec.  
679.45(d)(2)(ii).
    Regulations at Sec.  679.45(d)(3)(i) require NMFS to publish the 
IFQ fee percentage for the halibut and sablefish IFQ fisheries in the 
Federal Register during or before the last quarter of each year. For 
the 2009 sablefish and halibut IFQ fishing season, an IFQ permit holder 
is to use a fee liability percentage of 1.6 to calculate his or her fee 
for landed IFQ in pounds. The IFQ permit holder is responsible for 
submitting the fee liability payment to NMFS on or before January 31, 
2010.
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

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

    Dated: December 4, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-29463 Filed 12-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S