[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 21, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12326-12332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05628]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 170413393-8178-01]
RIN 0648-BG83


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Modifications to Individual 
Fishing Quota Programs

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in 
Amendment 36A to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) (Amendment 36A), as prepared by 
the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed 
rule would require owners or operators of federally permitted 
commercial Gulf reef fish vessels landing any commercially harvested, 
federally managed reef fish from the Gulf to provide notification prior 
to landing and to land at approved locations; require shares from the 
red snapper individual fishing quota (IFQ) (RS-IFQ) program and the 
groupers and tilefishes IFQ (GT-IFQ) program that are in non-activated 
IFQ accounts to be returned to NMFS for redistribution; and allow NMFS 
to withhold a portion

[[Page 12327]]

of IFQ allocation at the start of a fishing year equal to an 
anticipated commercial quota reduction. The purpose of this proposed 
rule is to improve compliance and increase management flexibility in 
the RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ programs, and increase the likelihood of 
achieving optimum yield (OY) for Gulf reef fish stocks managed under 
these programs.

DATES: Written comments must be received by April 20, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2017-0060'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0060, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit all written comments to Peter Hood, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 
33701.
    Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirement contained in this 
proposed rule may be submitted to Adam Bailey, NMFS Southeast Regional 
Office (see mailing address above), by email to 
[email protected], or by fax to 202-395-5806.
    Electronic copies of Amendment 36A, which includes an environmental 
assessment, a fishery impact statement, a regulatory impact review, and 
a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/A36A_comm_IFQ/am36Aindex.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, NMFS Southeast Regional 
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected]; IFQ 
Customer Service, telephone: 1-866-425-7627, Monday through Friday from 
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., eastern time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage the Gulf reef 
fish fishery under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the Council and is 
implemented by NMFS through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery 
management councils to prevent overfishing and achieve, on a continuing 
basis, the OY from federally managed fish stocks. These mandates are 
intended to ensure fishery resources are managed for the greatest 
overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to providing 
food production and recreational opportunities, and protecting marine 
ecosystems.

Background

    There are two commercial IFQ programs in the Gulf. Amendment 26 to 
the FMP established the RS-IFQ program, and Amendment 29 to the FMP 
established the GT-IFQ program. The RS-IFQ program manages commercial 
harvest of red snapper and was implemented on January 1, 2007 (71 FR 
67447, November 22, 2006). The GT-IFQ program manages commercial 
harvest of multiple species of groupers and tilefishes, as specified in 
50 CFR 622.22(a), and was implemented on January 1, 2010 (74 FR 44732, 
August 31, 2009). Both IFQ programs share a single Web-based accounting 
and reporting system.
    The Council began the development of Amendment 36 to the FMP in 
response to a 5-year review of the RS-IFQ Program completed in 2013. 
This review evaluated the progress of the RS-IFQ program towards 
achieving the stated program goals of reducing overcapacity in the 
fishery and eliminating problems associated with race-to-fish (derby) 
fishing. The Council also received input on the program from some of 
their advisory panels as well as from the public. As a result, the 
suggested modifications to the RS-IFQ program became complex, and the 
Council split the numerous potential actions into two FMP amendments, 
Amendments 36A and 36B. The scope of the actions was also expanded to 
include revisions to the GT-IFQ program because management, as well as 
the goals and objectives, of this program are similar to the RS-IFQ 
program. Amendment 36A addresses compliance and program flexibility 
issues, while Amendment 36B addresses program participation and the 
distribution of IFQ shares and allocation in the programs.

Management Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule

    This proposed rule would require that the owner or operator of a 
commercial reef fish permitted vessel landing any commercially 
harvested Gulf reef fish, or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish 
harvested in the Gulf, to notify NMFS between 3 and 24 hours in advance 
of landing and to land at approved locations. In addition, the proposed 
rule would permanently return to NMFS any IFQ shares contained in RS-
IFQ or GT-IFQ accounts that have not been activated since the current 
Web-based system was put in place on January 1, 2010. Finally, the 
proposed rule would allow NMFS to withhold distribution of IFQ 
allocation on January 1, the beginning of the fishing year, if a 
reduction in the commercial quota for any IFQ species or multi-species 
group is expected to be implemented in that same fishing year.

Landing Notification

    Currently, to improve compliance with the IFQ programs, vessel 
owners or operators with commercial Gulf reef fish permits are required 
to notify NMFS between 3 and 24 hours in advance of landing any 
commercially harvested species managed under the IFQ programs (IFQ 
species). The advance landing notification must provide the vessel 
identification number, the landing date and time, the approved landing 
location, the name and address of the IFQ dealers where the species 
will be landed, and the estimated weight of IFQ species to be landed. 
Although the advance landing notifications help with the enforcement of 
the IFQ programs, one of the conclusions from a 5-year review of the 
RS-IFQ Program was additional enforcement efforts may be necessary to 
deter IFQ landing violations.
    The proposed rule would expand the requirement for an advance 
landing notification to all commercial trips that land Gulf reef fish 
species or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf even 
if no IFQ species are on board. Note that the single hogfish stock in 
the Gulf was recently split into a West Florida stock and a Florida 
Keys/East Florida stock, separated at 25[deg]09' N lat. in Gulf Federal 
waters off the west coast of Florida (82 FR 34574 and 82 FR 34584, July 
25, 2017). The management measures for the Florida Keys/East Florida 
stock are developed by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 
but commercial vessels fishing

[[Page 12328]]

for this stock in Gulf Federal waters are required to have a Federal 
commercial permit for Gulf reef fish and are required to follow the 
reporting requirements associated with this permit.
    The vessel owner or operator would notify NMFS at least 3 hours, 
but no more than 24 hours, in advance of landing on each trip. The 
landing notification would report the vessel identification number, the 
date and time of landing, and the approved landing location. This 
notification would be submitted via the vessel's existing onboard 
vessel monitoring system (VMS), but could also be submitted by other 
NMFS approved methods (e.g., by phone) if they are developed at a later 
time. Requiring notification in advance of landing any federally 
managed reef fish from the Gulf is expected to help deter fishermen 
from illegally landing IFQ species or reporting IFQ species as another 
species (e.g., red snapper reported as vermilion snapper) because law 
enforcement and port agents would be informed in advance of all reef 
fish trips returning to port and can meet vessels to inspect landings. 
If any IFQ species are to be landed, all regulations under the 
applicable IFQ program must be followed, including the more extensive 
advance notice of landing. Only one IFQ advance landing notification 
covering both IFQ and non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/
East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf would be required on such a 
trip.
    Additional information about approved landing locations and 
submitting additional landing locations to NMFS for approval is 
described later in this proposed rule.

Non-Activated IFQ Shareholder Accounts

    This proposed rule also addresses RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ shareholder 
accounts that received shares through the initial apportionment when 
each IFQ program began, but the accounts have never been accessed by 
the shareholder since January 1, 2010, the initiation of the current 
IFQ system. NMFS and the Council have attempted to notify account 
holders with these non-activated IFQ accounts through phone calls, 
certified letters, and discussion at public meetings. Although shares 
in the non-activated accounts represent a small fraction of the total 
shares, annual allocation assigned to these non-activated IFQ accounts 
is not landed, and therefore, may prevent achieving OY if not made 
available for use. The proposed rule would return the shares from non-
activated RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ accounts to NMFS for redistribution. The 
Council intends to redistribute these shares to IFQ program 
participants through a mechanism determined in Amendment 36B.
    For more information on how to activate an existing non-activated 
IFQ account, persons may call the IFQ Customer Service line at 1-866-
425-7627, and select option 2 during weekday business hours of 8 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., eastern time. NMFS will also attempt to notify holders of 
the non-activated IFQ accounts via certified mail to advise them of the 
potential action and provide an opportunity for those individuals to 
activate their accounts.

Allocation

    Finally, this proposed rule addresses how to distribute allocation 
to IFQ shareholders in years in which there is an anticipated reduction 
of the commercial quota. Due to the time involved to develop documents, 
consider alternatives, and solicit public feedback, this situation 
would generally occur if the Council approved an action to reduce the 
commercial quota of any IFQ species or multi-species share category but 
NMFS could not complete the associated rulemaking before January 1, the 
start of the fishing year. Under the IFQ programs, annual allocation is 
distributed to IFQ shareholders on January 1, and most IFQ program 
participants begin to use or transfer their allocation early in each 
year. After shareholders begin transferring or landing allocation, NMFS 
is not able to retroactively withdraw allocation from shareholder 
accounts if a quota decrease became effective after the beginning of 
the fishing year. This proposed rule would allow NMFS to anticipate a 
decrease in the quota of any IFQ species or multi-species share 
categories after the start of a fishing year and withhold distribution 
of quota equal to the amount of the expected decrease in commercial 
quota. NMFS would distribute the remaining portion of the annual 
allocation to shareholders on January 1. If a final rule to implement 
the associated commercial quota reduction is not effective by June 1 in 
the same fishing year, then NMFS would distribute the withheld quota 
back to the current shareholders, as determined based on the date the 
withheld IFQ allocation was distributed.

Approved Landing Locations

    As explained previously, this proposed rule would require vessel 
owners or operators on commercial trips who harvest non-IFQ Gulf reef 
fish species or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf 
to land at an approved landing location. In anticipation of this 
potential requirement, NMFS is encouraging current and potential 
participants to submit additional landing locations to NMFS now for 
approval. Landing locations can be submitted by calling IFQ Customer 
Service at any time (see contact information above). A list of 
currently approved landing locations for the IFQ programs can be found 
at the IFQ website (portal.southeast.fisheries.noaa.gov/cs/main.html), 
under View Landing Locations. Any landing locations that have been 
approved for use in the IFQ programs would also be approved to land 
non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish 
harvested in the Gulf. Therefore, NMFS suggests persons check the list 
to determine if desired landing locations are currently in use prior to 
submitting a landing location for approval.
    New landing locations are approved only at the end of each 
calendar-year quarter (end of March, June, September, and December). To 
have a landing location approved by the end of the quarter, it would 
have to be submitted at least 45 days before the quarter ends. Landing 
locations can be submitted at any time as described above.
    Approved landing locations must be publicly and freely accessible 
by land and water, and must have a street address or, if a particular 
landing location has no street address on record, global positioning 
system (GPS) coordinates for an identifiable geographic location 
provided in degrees and decimal minutes. Other criteria used by NOAA's 
Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) when approving locations are listed at 
50 CFR 622.21(b)(5)(v) and 622.22(b)(5)(v), and would be added by 
reference to new paragraph 622.26(a)(2)(v) through this proposed rule.
    Once OLE approves new landing locations, updates to the landing 
notification screen on vessel monitoring system VMS units are 
constrained by programming requirements by the VMS vendors. Unless this 
changes, approved landing locations may not appear on the VMS screen 
immediately after approval.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with Amendment 36A, the FMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.

[[Page 12329]]

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this 
proposed rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal 
rules have been identified. A description of this proposed rule, why it 
is being considered, and the objectives of this proposed rule are 
contained in the preamble and in the SUMMARY section of the preamble.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if implemented, would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. A description of the factual basis for this determination 
follows.
    This proposed rule, if implemented, would expand the current 
requirement for vessels with a Federal commercial reef fish permit in 
the Gulf to notify NMFS in advance of landing reef fish species managed 
under an IFQ program. Commercial vessels landing Gulf reef fish not 
managed under an IFQ program or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish 
harvested in the Gulf would also be required to notify NMFS prior to 
landing these species on each trip, although information reported 
(i.e., date, time, approved location of landing, and vessel 
identification number) would be more limited than reports for IFQ 
species. This proposed rule would also return shares from non-activated 
IFQ accounts in the RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ programs to NMFS for future 
redistribution; and provide NMFS with the authority to withhold annual 
allocation of red snapper, or IFQ-managed groupers and tilefishes 
before distribution at the beginning of a fishing year (January 1) in 
which a commercial quota reduction is expected to be implemented in 
that same fishing year. The amount of IFQ allocation withheld from 
distribution would equal the amount of the expected commercial quota 
reduction. If a final rule to implement a commercial quota reduction is 
not effective by June 1 during a fishing year, NMFS would release the 
withheld allocation to shareholders. The purposes of this proposed rule 
are to increase management flexibility and improve compliance in the 
RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ programs, and increase the likelihood of achieving OY 
for reef fish stocks managed under these programs. The objectives of 
this proposed rule are to prevent overfishing; to achieve, on a 
continuing basis, the OY from federally managed reef fish stocks; and 
to rebuild the red snapper stock that has been determined to be 
overfished.
    This proposed rule is expected to directly regulate businesses that 
harvest non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species in the Gulf or Florida Keys/East 
Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf, but do not harvest IFQ species 
on the same commercial fishing trips in the Gulf, and businesses that 
possess non-activated share accounts in the RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ programs. 
There were 731 vessels that landed at least 1 lb (0.5 kg) of species 
managed under the RS-IFQ or GT-IFQ program from 2011 through 2015. 
These vessels were already subject to existing advance notice of 
landing requirements on trips for which they landed IFQ species. There 
were 1,020 vessels that landed at least 1 lb (0.5 kg) of Gulf reef fish 
species (i.e., IFQ and non-IFQ species) managed under the FMP. Thus, 
289 vessels that land non-IFQ Gulf reef fish but do not land IFQ Gulf 
reef fish on commercial fishing trips would be directly regulated by 
the proposed expansion of the advance notice of landing requirements.
    Although NMFS possesses complete ownership data regarding 
businesses and commercial vessels that land IFQ species, ownership data 
regarding businesses that possess Gulf reef fish permits but do not 
land IFQ species is incomplete. Therefore, it is not currently feasible 
to accurately determine affiliations between these particular 
businesses. While it will result in an overestimate of the actual 
number of businesses directly regulated by the extension of the advance 
notice requirement, for the purposes of this analysis, it is assumed 
that each vessel is independently owned by a single business. In 
addition, the 81 non-activated IFQ accounts with shares are held by 81 
different businesses. Based on available data, these businesses are 
separate and distinct from the 289 businesses directly regulated by the 
expanded advance notice of landing requirement.
    Thus, NMFS expects this proposed rule, if implemented, to directly 
regulate 289, or about 28 percent, of the 1,020 businesses that 
harvested Gulf reef fish species from 2011 through 2015 and 81 
businesses that possessed shares in 81 non-activated IFQ accounts, or 
about 11 percent, of the 750 IFQ accounts that existed on December 14, 
2016.
    NMFS has established a small business size standard of $11 million 
in annual gross receipts (revenue) for all businesses primarily engaged 
in the commercial fishing industry (NAICS code 11411) for RFA 
compliance purposes only (50 CFR 200.2). In addition to this gross 
revenue standard, a business primarily involved in commercial fishing 
is classified as a small business if it is independently owned and 
operated, and is not dominant in its field of operations (including its 
affiliates).
    Of the 1,020 vessels that harvested Gulf reef fish from 2011 
through 2015, the maximum average annual gross revenue earned by a 
single vessel was approximately $4.65 million, while the average annual 
gross revenue across all commercial Gulf reef fish vessels was 
$130,574. Further, of the 81 businesses that possess shares in a non-
activated IFQ account, only 1 of these businesses has been active in 
the commercial fishing industry during this time period. Because the 
other 80 businesses have not been active in the commercial fishing 
industry during this time, they have no known gross revenues. Although 
the one business that has been active owns six commercial fishing 
vessels, none of these vessels have been active in the industry since 
2012. The average annual revenue for this business is confidential and 
therefore cannot be released, but it was significantly below the $11 
million threshold.
    Based on the information above, all businesses directly regulated 
by this proposed rule are determined to be small businesses for the 
purpose of this analysis. Therefore, NMFS has determined that this 
proposed rule will affect a substantial number of small businesses.
    This proposed rule would establish new reporting requirements for 
vessels that harvest reef fish species in the Gulf that are not managed 
under the RS-IFQ or GT-IFQ programs. Specifically, the expansion of the 
advance notice of landing requirement would require commercially 
permitted Gulf reef fish vessels to contact NMFS prior to landing if 
they are landing non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/East 
Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf on a trip where no IFQ species 
are being landed. The expanded advance notification requirement would 
cause these vessels to incur some minor additional communication costs 
and an additional time burden associated with reporting the required 
information (i.e., date, time, approved location of landing, and vessel 
identification number). The additional communication costs would not 
only vary by VMS vendor, but also by the communication plan chosen by 
each vessel owner. Under plans where the owner pays a fixed amount up 
to some specific level of data use, there would be no additional cost 
as a result of having to submit the required information. Conversely, 
the vessel owner would incur a cost if the owner

[[Page 12330]]

chose a plan where communication costs are directly based, and 
therefore vary, depending on the size and number of messages being 
transmitted. The expanded advance notice of landing requirement would 
apply to an additional 1,042 trips per year on average by 289 
additional vessels, or approximately 3.6 trips per vessel per year. 
Based on available information regarding VMS vendors and communication 
plans, vessel owners are expected to incur additional communication 
costs of up to about $0.33 per trip. For the 1,042 trips affected by 
the advance notice of landing requirement, additional communication 
costs across the fleet are expected to total $343.86. Thus, the average 
annual communication costs for each of the 289 vessel owners affected 
by this requirement is expected to be about $1.20, which is trivial 
relative to the average annual gross revenue for a commercial Gulf reef 
fish vessel.
    In addition to the communication cost, there is an opportunity cost 
associated with any time burden created by additional reporting 
requirements. Typically, opportunity cost is approximated using the 
average wage or salary of those covered by the requirement. Vessel 
owners or operators would be responsible for submitting the advance 
notice of landing, and thus it is appropriate to use the average wage 
of first line supervisors and managers in the fishing, forestry, and 
farming industries. As of May 2016, which is the most currently 
available information, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the 
mean wage of individuals in this occupation group was $23.47. The 
expanded advance notice of landing requirement would apply to an 
additional 1,042 trips per year on average and the time burden 
associated with this requirement is 3 minutes per trip. Thus, the total 
additional time burden is approximately 52.1 hours per year. The 
expanded requirement would apply to an additional 289 vessels. Thus, 
the time burden per vessel would be approximately 0.18 hours per year 
per vessel. This results in an opportunity cost of approximately $4.23 
per business per year, which is trivial relative to the average annual 
gross revenue for a commercial Gulf reef fish vessel.
    Based on the analysis above, the additional costs per business 
resulting from the expanded advance notice of landing requirement are 
expected to be minimal. In addition, the advance notice of landing 
would be submitted through the vessel's VMS. All Gulf reef fish vessels 
are required to use VMS, and VMS has been required on these vessels 
since 2006. Thus, special professional skills are not necessary to 
comply with this requirement.
    With respect to NMFS taking back shares from the 81 businesses that 
currently possess non-activated IFQ accounts, the market price of 
annual allocation should approximate the expected annual profit from 
using the annual allocation for harvesting purposes (i.e., to land 
fish). Based on the current market prices for annual allocation of red 
snapper and IFQ-managed groupers and tilefishes, these shares would be 
expected to result in profits of approximately $64,255 if the 
businesses chose to sell the annual allocation associated with these 
shares or use the annual allocation to harvest fish; more specifically, 
profits would be $45,988 from selling or using red snapper annual 
allocation and $18,267 from selling or using annual allocation for IFQ-
managed grouper and tilefish species. Thus, the expected annual profit 
from selling the annual allocation associated with these shares, or 
using the allocation for harvesting purposes, is approximately $793 per 
business. Based on the current market prices of shares in the RS-IFQ 
and GT-IFQ programs, the market value of these shares is $716,525 in 
total, or $8,846 per business, with shares of red snapper valued at 
$500,366 and shares of IFQ-managed groupers and tilefishes valued at 
$216,159.
    However, as previously discussed, only 1 of these 81 businesses is 
still active in the commercial fishing industry with respect to 
harvesting activities, and that single business has not been active 
since 2012. These 81 businesses are not currently generating any gross 
revenues or profits, and NMFS assumes they have been out of business 
for several years. Further, these businesses have held these shares and 
had access to the associated annual allocation for several years, but 
have chosen not to sell their shares or annual allocation or use their 
annual allocation for harvesting purposes. Thus, although these shares 
and annual allocations have value to other businesses in the IFQ 
programs based on their respective market prices, the behavior of these 
81 businesses suggests they do not place any value on these shares and 
annual allocations. Because these businesses are not earning any 
revenues or profits at present and have never used these shares to earn 
revenues or profits, nor are they expected to, taking these shares away 
from them would not be expected to reduce their revenues or profits 
below their current or expected levels in the future. Further, if NMFS 
were to allow these businesses to retain these shares in non-activated 
IFQ accounts, these shares could not be used by other businesses still 
active in the IFQ programs to generate revenues and profits. Taking 
these shares back so they can be redistributed would allow the active 
businesses' revenues and profits to increase in the future.
    Finally, the action that provides NMFS with the authority to 
withhold annual allocation of red snapper, or IFQ-managed groupers and 
tilefishes before distribution at the beginning of a fishing year as 
described previously is administrative in nature, because it does not 
directly regulate any entities and thus would not be expected to alter 
their behavior. Therefore, NMFS does not expect this action to directly 
regulate or affect any small entities.
    Based on the information above, NMFS does not expect a reduction in 
profits for a substantial number of small entities as a result of this 
proposed rule. Thus, this proposed rule would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and an 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has 
been prepared.
    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This requirement has 
been submitted to OMB for approval. NMFS is proposing to revise the 
collection-of-information requirement under OMB Control Number 0648-
0551, Southeast Region IFQ Programs. The proposed rule would require 
owners or operators of vessels with commercial Gulf reef fish permits 
to submit a notification to NMFS on each trip prior to landing 
exclusively non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/East Florida 
hogfish harvested in the Gulf. Public reporting burden for the proposed 
requirement is estimated to average 3 minutes per applicable trip, 
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection information.
    Public comment is sought regarding: Whether this proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of

[[Page 12331]]

information technology. Send comments on these or any other aspects of 
the collection of information to the Southeast Regional Office at the 
ADDRESSES above, and by email to [email protected] or fax to 
202-395-5806.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person will be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. All currently approved 
collections of information may be viewed at http://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/prasubs.html.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Grouper, Gulf of Mexico, Individual 
fishing quota, Red snapper, Tilefish.

    Dated: March 15, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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

0
 2. In Sec.  622.21, revise paragraph (a)(4) and add paragraph (a)(6) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  622.21  Individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for Gulf red 
snapper.

    (a) * * *
    (4) IFQ allocation. IFQ allocation is the amount of Gulf red 
snapper, in pounds gutted weight, an IFQ shareholder or allocation 
holder is authorized to possess, land, or sell during a given fishing 
year. IFQ allocation is derived at the beginning of each year by 
multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share times the annual commercial quota 
for Gulf red snapper. If the quota is increased after the beginning of 
the fishing year, then IFQ allocation is derived by multiplying a 
shareholder's IFQ share at the time of the quota increase by the amount 
the annual commercial quota for red snapper is increased. If a 
reduction in the commercial quota specified in Sec.  622.39(a)(1)(i) is 
expected to occur after January 1, the beginning of the fishing year, 
but before June 1 in that same fishing year, NMFS will withhold 
distribution of IFQ allocation on January 1. The amount of IFQ 
allocation withheld from distribution will equal the amount of the 
expected commercial quota reduction. If a final rule to implement the 
commercial quota reduction is not published in the Federal Register and 
effective by June 1, NMFS will distribute withheld IFQ allocation of 
red snapper commercial quota to current shareholders based on 
shareholdings on the date the withheld IFQ allocation is distributed.
* * * * *
    (6) Returning IFQ shares. Any shares contained in IFQ accounts that 
have never been activated since January 1, 2010, in the IFQ program are 
returned permanently to NMFS on [the effective date of a final rule 
implementing Amendment 36A].
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  622.22, revise paragraph (a)(4) and add paragraph (a)(9) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  622.22  Individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for Gulf groupers 
and tilefishes.

    (a) * * *
    (4) IFQ allocation. IFQ allocation is the amount of Gulf groupers 
and tilefishes, in pounds gutted weight, an IFQ shareholder or 
allocation holder is authorized to possess, land, or sell during a 
given fishing year. IFQ allocation is derived at the beginning of each 
year by multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share times the annual 
commercial quota for Gulf groupers and tilefishes. If the quota is 
increased after the beginning of the fishing year, then IFQ allocation 
is derived by multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share at the time of the 
quota increase by the amount the annual commercial quota for groupers 
and tilefishes is increased. If a reduction in the applicable 
commercial quota specified in Sec.  622.39(a)(1) is expected to occur 
after January 1, the beginning of the fishing year, but before June 1 
in that same fishing year, NMFS will withhold distribution of IFQ 
allocation of the applicable groupers and tilefishes commercial quota 
on January 1. The amount of IFQ allocation withheld from distribution 
will equal the amount of the expected commercial quota reduction. If a 
final rule to implement the commercial quota reduction is not published 
in the Federal Register and effective by June 1, NMFS will distribute 
withheld IFQ allocation of the applicable groupers and tilefishes 
commercial quota to current shareholders based on the date the withheld 
IFQ allocation is distributed.
* * * * *
    (9) Returning IFQ shares. Any shares contained in IFQ accounts that 
have never been activated since January 1, 2010, in the IFQ program are 
returned permanently to NMFS on [the effective date of a final rule 
implementing Amendment 36A].
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec.  622.26, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.26  Recordkeeping and reporting.

    (a) Commercial vessel owners and operators. (1) The owner or 
operator of a vessel for which a commercial permit for Gulf reef fish 
has been issued, as required under Sec.  622.20(a)(1), or whose vessel 
fishes for or lands reef fish in or from state waters adjoining the 
Gulf EEZ, who is selected to report by the SRD must maintain a fishing 
record on a form available from the SRD. These completed fishing 
records must be submitted to the SRD postmarked no later than 7 days 
after the end of each fishing trip. If no fishing occurred during a 
calendar month, a report so stating must be submitted on one of the 
forms postmarked no later than 7 days after the end of that month. 
Information to be reported is indicated on the form and its 
accompanying instructions.
    (2) Advance notice of landing--(i) General requirement. For the 
purpose of this paragraph, landing means to arrive at a dock, berth, 
beach, seawall, or ramp. The owner or operator of a vessel landing Gulf 
reef fish not managed under an IFQ program or Florida Keys/East Florida 
hogfish harvested in the Gulf is responsible for ensuring that NMFS is 
contacted at least 3 hours, but no more than 24 hours, in advance of 
landing to report the time, date, and location of landing, and the 
vessel identification number (e.g., Coast Guard registration number or 
state registration number). The vessel must land at an approved landing 
location and within 1 hour after the time given in the landing 
notification, except as provided in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this 
section. A vessel landing Gulf reef fish managed under an IFQ program 
must also comply with the requirements in Sec. Sec.  622.21 and 622.22, 
as applicable.
    (ii) Submitting an advance landing notification. Authorized methods 
for contacting NMFS and submitting a completed landing notification 
include the VMS unit, or another contact method approved by NMFS.
    (iii) Landing prior to the notification time. The owner or operator 
of a vessel that has completed a landing notification and submitted it 
to NMFS may land prior to the notification time, only if an authorized 
officer is present at the landing site, is available to meet

[[Page 12332]]

the vessel, and has authorized the owner or operator of the vessel to 
land prior to the notification time.
    (iv) Changes to a landing notification. The owner or operator of a 
vessel who has submitted a landing notification to NMFS may make 
changes to the notification by submitting a superseding notification. 
If the initial superseding notification makes changes to the time of 
landing that is later than the original time in the notification, the 
vessel does not need to wait an additional 3 hours to land. If the 
initial superseding notification makes changes to the landing location, 
the time of landing is earlier than previously specified, or more than 
one superseding notification is submitted on a trip, the vessel must 
wait an additional 3 hours to land, except as provided in paragraph 
(a)(2)(iii) of this section.
    (v) Approved landing locations. Gulf reef fish not managed under an 
IFQ program, and Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the 
Gulf, must be landed at an approved landing location. Landing locations 
must be approved by the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement prior to a 
vessel landing these species at these sites. Proposed landing locations 
may be submitted to NMFS; however, new landing locations will be 
approved only at the end of each calendar-year quarter. To have a 
landing location approved by the end of the calendar-year quarter, it 
must be submitted at least 45 days before the end of the calendar-year 
quarter. NMFS will evaluate the proposed sites based on, but not 
limited to, the criteria at 50 CFR 622.21(b)(5)(v) and 622.22(b)(5)(v).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-05628 Filed 3-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P