[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 241 (Friday, December 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74467-74469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30136]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC368


International Affairs; U.S. Fishing Opportunities in the 
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area

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

ACTION: Notification of U.S. fishing opportunities.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces fishing opportunities in the Northwest Atlantic 
Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area. This action is necessary 
to make fishing privileges available on an equitable basis.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013. 
Expressions of interest regarding fishing opportunities in NAFO will be 
accepted through December 31, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest regarding U.S. fishing opportunities 
in NAFO should be made in writing to Patrick E. Moran in the NMFS 
Office of International Affairs, at 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910 (phone: 301-427-8370, fax: 301-713-2313, email: 
[email protected]).
    Information relating to NAFO fishing opportunities, NAFO 
Conservation and Enforcement Measures, and the High Seas Fishing 
Compliance Act (HSFCA) Permit is available from Douglas Christel, at 
the NMFS Northeast Regional Office at 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930 (phone: 978-281-9141, fax: 978-281-9135, email: 
[email protected]) and from NAFO on the World Wide Web at 
http://www.nafo.int.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick E. Moran, 301-427-8370.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What Fishing Opportunities Are Available?

    The principal species managed by NAFO are cod, flounder, redfish, 
American plaice, halibut, hake, capelin, shrimp, skates and Illex 
squid. NAFO maintains conservation measures for fishery resources in 
its Regulatory Area that include one effort limitation fishery 
(shrimp), as well as the other fisheries that are managed by total 
allowable catches (TACs) allocated among NAFO Contracting Parties. At 
the 2012 NAFO Annual Meeting, the United States received national quota 
allocations for three NAFO stocks to be fished during 2013. However, 
only redfish and squid will be made available to U.S. fishing interests 
during 2013, as further described below. The species, location, and 
allocation (in metric tons (mt)) of these 2013 U.S. fishing 
opportunities, as found in Annexes I.A, I.B, and I.C of the 2013 NAFO 
Conservation and Enforcement Measures, are as follows:
    1. Redfish, NAFO Division 3M, 69 mt.
    2. Squid (Illex), NAFO Subareas 3 & 4, 453 mt.
    3. Shrimp, NAFO Division 3L, 96 mt.
    Additionally, the United States may be transferred up to 1,000 mt 
(with the possibility of 500 additional mt) of NAFO Division 3LNO 
yellowtail flounder from Canada's quota allocation if requested before 
January 1 of each year, or any succeeding year through 2018, based upon 
a bilateral arrangement with Canada. The United States has already 
requested this 1,000 mt of Division 3LNO yellowtail flounder from 
Canada for 2013. Up to 500 mt of additional Division 3LNO yellowtail 
flounder could be made available on the condition that the United 
States transfers its Division 3L shrimp allocation (96 mt in 2013) to 
Canada. The United States has requested this additional Division 3LNO 
yellowtail flounder for 2013 to provide additional fishing 
opportunities for U.S. vessels following the successful development of 
a U.S. yellowtail flounder fishery within the NAFO Regulatory Area 
during 2012. If Canada accepts this request, the U.S. allocation of 
Division 3L shrimp will not be available to U.S. vessels in 2013. The 
arrangement for the transfer of Canadian yellowtail flounder quota 
would enable U.S. vessels to harvest American plaice as bycatch in the 
yellowtail flounder fishery in an amount equal to 15 percent of the 
total yellowtail flounder quota transferred to the United States. 
Additional quota for these and other stocks managed within the NAFO 
Regulatory Area may be available to U.S. vessels through industry-
initiated chartering arrangements or transfers of quota from other NAFO 
Contracting Parties.
    U.S. fishermen may also access stocks in which the United States 
has not received a national quota (also known as the ``Others'' 
allocation), including: Division 3M cod (57 mt); Division 3LN redfish 
(39 mt); Division 3O redfish (100 mt); Division 3NO white hake (59 mt); 
Division 3LNO skates (258 mt). Note that the United States shares these 
allocations with other NAFO Contracting Parties, and access to such 
stocks is on a first-come-first-served basis. Fishing is halted by NAFO 
when

[[Page 74468]]

the ``Others'' allocation for a particular stock has been fully 
harvested.

Who can apply for these fishing opportunities?

    Expressions of interest to fish for any or all of the 2013 U.S. 
fishing opportunities in NAFO described above will be considered from 
all U.S. fishing interests (e.g., vessel owners, processors, agents, 
others). Applicants are urged to carefully review and thoroughly 
address the application requirements and selection criteria as detailed 
below. Expressions of interest should be directed in writing to Patrick 
E. Moran (see ADDRESSES).

What information is required in an application letter?

    Expressions of interest should include a detailed description of 
anticipated fishing operations in 2013. This includes, but is not 
limited to, the following elements: Intended target species; proposed 
dates of fishing operations; vessels to be used to harvest fish, 
including the name, registration, and home port of the intended 
harvesting vessel, as appropriate; the number of fishing personnel 
involved in vessel operations; intended landing port; for landing ports 
outside of the United States, whether or not the product will be 
shipped to the United States for processing; processing facilities to 
be employed; target market for harvested fish; and evidence 
demonstrating the ability of the applicant to successfully prosecute 
fishing operations in the NAFO Regulatory Area. Note that U.S. 
applicant vessels must be in possession of, or eligible for, a valid 
HSFCA permit, which is available from the NMFS Northeast Regional 
Office. Information regarding other requirements for fishing in the 
NAFO Regulatory Area is detailed below and is also available from the 
NMFS Northeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES). U.S. applicants wishing 
to harvest U.S. allocations using a vessel from another NAFO 
Contracting Party, or transfer U.S. allocations to another NAFO 
Contracting Party should see below for details on U.S. and NAFO 
requirements for such activities. If you have further questions 
regarding what information is required in an expression of interest, 
please contact Patrick E. Moran (see ADDRESSES).

What criteria will be used in identifying successful applicants?

    Applicants demonstrating the greatest benefits to the United States 
through their intended operations will be most successful. Such 
benefits might include (but are not limited to): The use of U.S 
vessels; detailed, positive impacts on U.S. employment; use of U.S. 
processing facilities; transport, marketing and sales of product within 
the United States; other benefits to U.S. businesses; and documentation 
of the physical characteristics and economics of the fishery for future 
use by the U.S. fishing industry. After reviewing all requests for 
allocations submitted, NMFS may decide not to grant any allocations if 
it is determined that no requests adequately meet the criteria 
described in this notice. To ensure equitable access by U.S. fishing 
interests, NMFS may provide additional guidance or procedures, or may 
promulgate regulations designed to allocate fishing interests to one or 
more U.S. applicants from among qualified applicants.
    All applicants will be notified of the allocation decision as soon 
as possible. Once allocations have been awarded, NMFS will immediately 
take appropriate steps to notify NAFO and other appropriate actions to 
facilitate operations by U.S. fishing interests.

What if I want to charter a vessel to fish available U.S. allocations?

    Under the bilateral arrangement with Canada, the United States may 
enter into a chartering (or other) arrangement with a Canadian vessel 
to harvest the transferred yellowtail flounder. For other NAFO-
regulated stocks, the United States may enter into a chartering 
arrangement with a vessel from any other NAFO Contracting Party. Prior 
notification to the NAFO Executive Secretary is necessary in either 
case. Expressions of interest intending to make use of another NAFO 
Contracting Party vessel under chartering arrangements should provide 
the following information: The name and registration number of the 
intended vessel; a copy of the charter agreement; a detailed fishing 
plan; a written letter of consent from the applicable NAFO Contracting 
Party; the date from which the vessel is authorized to commence 
fishing; and the duration of the charter (not to exceed six months). 
Note that expressions of interest using another NAFO Contracting Party 
vessel under charter should be accompanied by a detailed description of 
anticipated benefits to the United States, as described above.
    Any vessel wishing to enter into a chartering arrangement with the 
United States must be in full current compliance with the requirements 
outlined in the NAFO Convention and Conservation and Enforcement 
Measures. These requirements include, but are not limited to, 
submission of the following reports to the NAFO Executive Secretary: 
Notification that the vessel is authorized by its flag State to fish 
within the NAFO Regulatory Area during 2013, provisional monthly catch 
reports for all vessels of that NAFO Contracting Party operating in the 
NAFO Regulatory Area, daily catch reports for each day fished by the 
subject vessel within the Regulatory Area, observer reports within 30 
days following the completion of a fishing trip, and an annual 
statement of actions taken by its flag state to comply with the NAFO 
Convention. The United States may also consider the vessel's previous 
compliance with NAFO bycatch, reporting and other provisions, as 
outlined in the NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures, before 
entering into a chartering arrangement. More details on NAFO 
requirements for chartering operations are available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).

What if I want to transfer U.S. quota allocations to another NAFO 
party?

    Under NAFO rules in effect for 2013, the United States may transfer 
fishing opportunities with the consent of the receiving NAFO 
Contracting Party and with prior notification to the NAFO Executive 
Secretary. An applicant may request to be allocated one of the above 
U.S. opportunities so that it may be transferred to another NAFO party, 
although such applications will generally be given lesser priority than 
those that involve more direct harvesting or processing by U.S. 
entities. Applications to transfer U.S. fishing opportunities should 
contain a letter of consent from the receiving NAFO Contracting Party, 
and should also be accompanied by a detailed description of anticipated 
benefits to the United States. As in the case of chartering operations, 
the United States may also consider a NAFO Contracting Party's previous 
compliance with NAFO bycatch, reporting and other provisions, as 
outlined in the NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures, before 
entering agreeing to a transfer.

What rules must I follow while fishing?

    U.S. applicant vessels must be in possession of, or eligible for, a 
valid HSFCA permit, which is available from the NMFS Northeast Regional 
Office. Note that vessels issued valid HSFCA permits under 50 CFR part 
300 are exempt from the Northeast multispecies and monkfish permit, 
mesh size, effort-control, and possession limit restrictions, specified 
in Sec. Sec.  648.4, 648.80, 648.82, 648.86, 648.87, 648.91, 648.92, 
and 648.94, respectively, while transiting the U.S. exclusive economic 
zone (EEZ) with multispecies and/or

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monkfish on board the vessel, or landing multispecies and/or monkfish 
in U.S. ports that were caught while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory 
Area, provided:
    1. The vessel operator has a letter of authorization issued by the 
Regional Administrator on board the vessel;
    2. For the duration of the trip, the vessel fishes, except for 
transiting purposes, exclusively in the NAFO Regulatory Area and does 
not harvest fish in, or possess fish harvested in, or from, the U.S. 
EEZ;
    3. When transiting the U.S. EEZ, all gear is properly stowed in 
accordance with one of the applicable methods specified in Sec.  
648.23(b); and
    4. The vessel operator complies with the provisions/conditions 
specified on the HSFCA permit and all NAFO conservation and enforcement 
measures while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area.
    Relevant NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures include, but 
are not limited to, maintenance of a fishing logbook with NAFO-
designated entries; adherence to NAFO hail system requirements; 
presence of an on-board observer; deployment of a functioning, 
autonomous vessel monitoring system authorized by issuance of the HSFCA 
permit; and adherence to all relevant minimum size, gear, bycatch, and 
other requirements. Further details regarding U.S. and NAFO 
requirements are available from the NMFS Northeast Regional Office, and 
can also be found in the current NAFO Conservation and Enforcement 
Measures on the Internet (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: December 7, 2012.
Elizabeth McLanahan,
Acting Director, Office of International Affairs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-30136 Filed 12-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P