[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 238 (Monday, December 12, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77200-77202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31813]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-BB34


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies; Amendment 17

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council has submitted 
Amendment 17 to the Northeast

[[Page 77201]]

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan for review by the Secretary of 
Commerce. NMFS is requesting comments from the public on Amendment 17, 
which was adopted by the Council, including an Environmental Assessment 
prepared by NMFS, to explicitly define and facilitate the effective 
operation of state-operated permit banks.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 10, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 17 are available on request from Paul J. 
Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 
Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are also available 
online at http://www.nefmc.org. You may submit comments on this 
document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2011-0186, by any of the following 
methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a 
comment'' icon, then enter 0648-BB34 in the keyword search. Locate the 
document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and click on 
the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great 
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, 
``Comments on NE Multispecies Amendment 17.''
     Fax (978) 281-9135, Attn: William Whitmore.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 
formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Whitmore, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9182; fax: (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In 2009 and 2010, NOAA provided nearly $6 million in funding 
through Federal grants to the states of Maine, New Hampshire, 
Massachusetts, and Rhode Island for the express purpose of establishing 
several ``permit banks'' of Northeast (NE) multispecies fishing vessel 
permits. The permit banks were developed jointly by the states and NMFS 
to help promote the effective implementation of catch share programs in 
New England and to mitigate some of the potential adverse socio-
economic impacts to fishing communities and small-scale fishing 
businesses. This administrative action would amend the NE Multispecies 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to explicitly define and facilitate the 
effective operation of state-operated permit banks.
    The intent of the permit bank program is for states to use the 
funding to obtain fishing vessel permits and then to provide the 
fishing opportunities associated with those permits, in the form of an 
annual catch entitlement (ACE) and/or days-at-sea, to qualified 
fishermen. State-operated permit banks are not recognized under the 
current provisions of the NE Multispecies FMP, and the only entities 
allocated and authorized to transfer a sector's ACE to approved sectors 
are other approved sectors. Currently, the only mechanism available for 
a state-operated permit bank to operate (i.e., transfer ACE to 
fishermen in sectors) is for the permit bank to either join an existing 
sector as a member or to form a sector with other permit holders. Both 
of these mechanisms unnecessarily complicate the operation of the 
state-operated permit banks by imposing redundant administrative 
requirements.
    Amendment 17 would define a state-operated permit bank as a permit 
depository established through an agreement between NOAA and one or 
more states, in which Federal grant funds are used by the state(s) to 
establish a bank of Federal fishing vessel permits so that the fishing 
access privileges associated with those permits may be allocated by the 
state(s) to qualifying commercial fishermen and sectors according to 
criteria to which NOAA and the state(s) have agreed. State-operated 
permit banks are subject to U.S. Department of Commerce regulations 
regarding program income, such that any revenue generated by the permit 
banks may only be used to defray the program costs of operating the 
permit bank, or must be returned to the Federal Government to reduce 
the amount of the initial grant award.
    Under this amendment, state-operated permit banks would be 
allocated ACE and specifically authorized to provide that ACE to 
approved groundfish sectors, and/or to provide days-at-sea (DAS) to 
vessels for the purpose of enhancing the fishing opportunities 
available to sector members. State-operated permit banks must comply 
with the terms and conditions of any applicable Federal grant agreement 
(i.e., a Federal grant award provided to a state for the purpose of 
establishing, enhancing, or operating a permit bank), as well as meet 
the requirements specified in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) 
established with NMFS for administering the permit bank.
    Amendment 17 defines state-operated permit banks as separate 
entities from the groundfish sectors, and establishes certain minimum 
criteria for these newly defined entities in order to qualify for the 
streamlined administrative procedures described in this amendment. This 
amendment is primarily administrative in nature and does not 
specifically establish or authorize the formation of any state-operated 
permit banks. Absent this amendment, such permit banks would remain 
free to form--subject to support and funding from NOAA--and operate to 
transfer ACE and/or DAS to sectors, according to the terms and 
conditions placed upon them by any NOAA grant award and/or MOA signed 
with NMFS, so long as they fully comply with the administrative and 
procedural requirements for groundfish sectors currently established in 
the NE Multispecies FMP.
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 17, including its 
Environmental Assessment, through the end of the comment period stated 
in this notice of availability. A proposed rule that would implement 
Amendment 17 will be published in the Federal Register for public 
comment. Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by the 
end of the comment period provided in this notice of availability of 
Amendment 17 to be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on 
the amendment. All comments received by February 10, 2012, whether 
specifically directed to Amendment 17 or the proposed rule for 
Amendment 17, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision 
on Amendment 17. Comments received after that date will not be 
considered in the decision to approve or disapprove

[[Page 77202]]

Amendment 17. To be considered, comments must be received by close of 
business on the last day of the comment period.

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

    Dated: December 7, 2011.
Steven Thur,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-31813 Filed 12-9-11; 8:45 am]
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