[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34890-34892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14854]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 110601314-1313-01]
RIN 0648-BA99


Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Limited Access for Guided Sport 
Charter Vessels in Alaska

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

ACTION: Interpretative rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule clarifies regulations that apply to vessels 
operating in the guided sport (charter) fishery for halibut in 
International Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory Area 2C (Southeast 
Alaska) and Area 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). Under regulations 
implementing the charter halibut limited access program, operators of a 
vessel in Area 2C or Area 3A with one or more charter vessel anglers 
onboard that catch and retain halibut must have an Alaska Department of 
Fish and Game (ADF&G) Saltwater Charter Logbook onboard which specifies 
the person named on the charter halibut permit(s) being used onboard 
the vessel, and the charter halibut permit number(s) being used onboard 
the vessel. This interpretation clarifies that a charter operator may 
use the ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook issued for the vessel to record 
the charter halibut permit information. A charter vessel operator is 
not required to have a separate ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook issued 
in the name of the charter halibut permit holder.

DATES: This rule is effective on June 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of this action and other related documents 
are available from http://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska 
Region Web site at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gwen Herrewig, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage 
fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) through 
regulations established under authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut 
Act of 1982 (Halibut Act). Sections 773c(a) and (b) of the Halibut Act 
provide the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) with general 
responsibility to carry out the Convention between the United States 
and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the North 
Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea and the Halibut Act. Section 773c(c) of 
the Halibut Act also authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) to develop regulations, including limited access 
regulations, that are in addition to, and not in conflict with, 
approved IPHC regulations. Such Council-developed regulations may be 
implemented by NMFS only after approval by the Secretary. The Council 
has exercised this authority in the development of its limited access 
program for charter vessels in the

[[Page 34891]]

guided sport fishery, codified at 50 CFR 300.67.

Charter Halibut Limited Access Program

    In March 2007, the Council recommended a limited access program for 
charter vessels in IPHC Regulatory Area 2C and Area 3A. The intent of 
the program was to manage growth of fishing capacity in the charter 
sector by limiting the number of charter vessels that may participate 
in the guided sport fishery for halibut in Areas 2C and 3A. NMFS 
published a final rule implementing the program on January 5, 2010 (75 
FR 554). Under the program, NMFS initially issued a charter halibut 
permit (CHP) to qualified applicants. A person who was not initially 
issued a CHP may obtain a transferable CHP from another person by 
submitting a transfer application and meeting CHP transfer 
requirements. A permit holder may use a CHP onboard any vessel that 
meets Federal and state requirements to operate as a charter vessel in 
the guided sport fishery for halibut in Areas 2C and 3A.
    Beginning February 1, 2011, any person operating a vessel on which 
charter vessel anglers catch and retain halibut in Area 2C or Area 3A 
must complete an ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook (charter logbook) that 
contains information on the CHP authorizing the charter vessel fishing 
trip. The preamble for the proposed rule to implement the charter 
halibut limited access program, published on April 21, 2009 (74 FR 
18178), provided the rationale underlying this requirement. The Council 
originally recommended a prohibition on the leasing of CHPs. NMFS did 
not implement this prohibition because (1) the Council did not provide 
a specific definition of leasing; and (2) such a prohibition likely 
would have disrupted the operation of many charter businesses and be 
difficult to enforce. After additional consideration on this issue, the 
Council recommended three specific charter logbook reporting 
requirements, in place of the prohibition on leasing, to promote 
involvement by the CHP holder with the charter halibut fishing 
operation:
    1. Prohibit the CHP from being used onboard a vessel unless that 
vessel is identified in an ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook;
    2. Require that a charter vessel operator have onboard the vessel 
an ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook issued in the name of the CHP 
holder; and
    3. Require the authorizing CHP number to be recorded in the ADF&G 
Saltwater Charter Logbook for each trip.
    In the final rule implementing the charter halibut limited access 
program (75 FR 554, January 5, 2010), NMFS implemented the Council's 
charter logbook reporting recommendations in regulations at Sec.  
300.66(v). Section 300.66(v) states that is unlawful for any person to:
    (v) Be an operator of a vessel in Area 2C or Area 3A with one or 
more charter vessel anglers onboard that are catching and retaining 
halibut without having onboard the vessel a State of Alaska Department 
of Fish and Game Saltwater Charter Logbook that specifies the 
following:
    (1) The person named on the charter halibut permit or permits being 
used onboard the vessel;
    (2) The charter halibut permit or permit number(s) being used 
onboard the vessel; and
    (3) The name and State issued boat registration (AK number) or U.S. 
Coast Guard documentation number of the vessel.
    This interpretive rule is administrative and clarifies that NMFS is 
relying on the regulatory text at Sec.  300.66(v) for management 
purposes, and not the preamble text. This interpretive rule would not 
change requirements, or long standing procedures, for charter halibut 
businesses to obtain charter logbooks from ADF&G. The regulatory 
language in Sec.  300.66(v)(1) does not explicitly require a charter 
vessel operator to have onboard the vessel a charter logbook issued in 
the name of the CHP holder, despite what was stated in the preamble to 
the limited access program proposed rule.
    NMFS also determined that in some circumstances, a CHP holder may 
be unable to obtain a charter logbook for the vessel. This is because 
CHPs may be issued in the name of an individual, community quota 
entity, or other owners and not necessarily the business in which the 
charter logbooks are issued. The State of Alaska issues a charter 
logbook for a vessel in the name of the Sport Fishing Business on a 
charter operator's State of Alaska Business License. Although the State 
of Alaska Business License lists the names of the owner and business, 
only the business name is recorded in the 2011 charter logbook. It is 
ADF&G's policy that charter fishing activity on one vessel should be 
recorded in the charter logbook issued for that vessel. NMFS assigns a 
CHP to the individual or non-individual entity who was the owner of the 
business that qualified for the CHP or who received the CHP by 
transfer. The person named on the CHP may or may not have provided NMFS 
a business name associated with their CHP. Therefore the names on the 
CHP and the charter logbook may not match since CHP applicants were not 
required to provide the business name in which the charter logbook was 
issued. Consequently, the requirement for a charter vessel operator to 
have onboard the vessel a charter logbook issued in the name of the CHP 
holder may not be consistent with the manner in which ADF&G issues 
charter logbooks.
    Additionally, requiring a charter vessel operator to have onboard 
the vessel a charter logbook issued in the name of the CHP holder, as 
stated in the Council's recommendation and in the preamble to the 
limited access program proposed rule, may compromise charter logbook 
data quality. For example, a charter operator may use multiple CHPs 
onboard a vessel to increase the number of anglers on a charter vessel 
fishing trip. If the CHPs onboard the vessel are issued to different 
persons, the operator would be required to record information for that 
charter vessel fishing trip in more than one charter logbook. This 
would result in information for one charter vessel fishing trip being 
recorded in multiple charter logbooks. ADF&G could receive data pages 
for charter trip information from each charter logbook, potentially 
resulting in duplicate data for halibut and other species. Duplicate 
data would increase the potential for data entry error and could 
ultimately result in less reliable charter harvest estimates. ADF&G 
uses the logbook data received from the charter vessel operators to 
project the charter harvest estimates for the season. This projection 
is presented to the Council and the IPHC in October each year.

Interpretation

    This rule clarifies that Federal regulations in Sec.  300.66(v)(1), 
(2), and (3) require operators of a vessel using one or more CHPs to 
complete the charter logbook as follows:
     Record the person(s) named on the CHP(s) on the front of 
the ADF&G Saltwater Charter Logbook in the space provided for the CHP 
holder name;
     Record the CHP number on the charter logbook page for the 
trip it was used. If multiple CHPs are used for the same charter vessel 
fishing trip, the operator should (1) check the box indicating ``more 
than one CHP is being used on this trip'', (2) fill out a second page 
for the trip with the second CHP number, associated anglers, and 
activity, and (3) continue until all CHPs numbers, associated anglers, 
and activity for the trip are recorded on separate logbook pages.

[[Page 34892]]

     Verify that the name and state issued boat registration 
(AK number) or U.S. Coast Guard documentation number of the vessel on 
which the logbook is used is recorded in the charter logbook.
    NMFS did not intend for the prohibition at Sec.  300.66(v) to 
conflict with the collection of charter logbook data. It was meant to 
promote involvement by the CHP holder with the charter halibut fishing 
operation and the collection of accurate logbook data. The requirement 
to identify the vessel in the logbook was intended to be consistent 
with an existing ADF&G requirement that a charter vessel operator have 
onboard the vessel a charter logbook. Therefore, this interpretation 
clarifies that a charter vessel operator must record in the charter 
logbook issued for the vessel the person named on the CHP(s) and the 
CHP number(s) used for each charter vessel fishing trip.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA has determined that 
this interpretation is consistent with the Halibut Act and other 
applicable law.
    This action is administrative in nature and is exempt from the 
requirement to prepare an environmental assessment in accordance with 
NAO 216-6 because this interpretive rule will have no effect on the 
environment. As stated earlier in the preamble, this action ensures 
that the issuance of charter logbooks remains the same as before the 
implementation of the limited access program for guided sport charter 
vessels and clarifies confusion about who could be issued a charter 
logbook.
    This interpretive rule has been determined to be not significant 
for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The notice and comment requirements and the 30-day delay in the 
effective date requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act do not 
apply to this interpretive rule as provided in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(2).
    This interpretive 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.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.

    Dated: June 9, 2011.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-14854 Filed 6-14-11; 8:45 am]
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