[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44807-44808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17920]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF192]
Fishing Capacity Reduction Program for the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of fee rate adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to decrease the fee rate to 1 percent
for the Bristol Bay red king crab reduction endorsement fishery to
repay the $17,129,957.23 subloan of the $97,399,357.11 reduction loan
to finance the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) King and Tanner crab
fishing capacity reduction program. The fee rates for the other
reduction endorsement fisheries within the BSAI King and Tanner crab
fishing capacity reduction program remain unchanged at 5 percent.
DATES: The Bristol Bay red king crab program fee rate decrease will
begin with landings on October 15, 2025. The first due date for fee
payments with the decreased rate will be November 7, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Send questions about this notice to William Fritz, Financial
Assistance Specialist, Financial Services Division, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway 13th Floor, Silver Spring, MD
20910-3282.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Fritz, (301) 427-8078,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Sections 312(b) through (e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1861a(b) through (e))
generally authorizes fishing capacity reduction programs. In
particular, section 312(d) authorizes industry fee systems for repaying
reduction loans which finance reduction program costs.
Subpart L of 50 part 600 is the framework rule generally
implementing section 312(b) through (e).
Sections 1111 and 1112 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App.
U.S.C. 1279f and 1279g) generally authorized reduction loans.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 106-554)
directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish the $100 million
fishing capacity reduction program in the BSAI king and tanner crab
fishery. Congress amended the authorizing Act twice (Pub. L. 107-20 and
Pub. L. 107-117), once to change the crab reduction program's funding
from a $50 million appropriation and a $50 million loan to a $100
million loan and once to clarify provisions about crab fishery vessels.
NMFS adopted the program's implementation rule as Sec. 600.1103 in a
subpart M of part 600.
NMFS published the BSAI crab reduction program's proposed
implementation rule on December 12, 2002 (67 FR 76329) and its final
rule on December 12, 2003 (68 FR 69331). On November 24, 2004, NMFS
published a Federal Register notice (69 FR 68313) advising the public
that beginning on December 27, 2004, NMFS would tender the crab
reduction program's reduction payments to 25 accepted bidders. NMFS
allocated the $97,399,357.11 reduction loan to six reduction
endorsement fisheries involved, as the following subamounts:
1. Bristol Bay red king, $17,129,957.23,
2. BSAI C. opilio and C. bairdi, $66,410,767.20,
3. Aleutian Islands brown king, $6,380,837.19,
4. Aleutian Islands red king, $237,588.04,
5. Pribilof red king and blue king, $1,571,216.35; and
6. St. Matthew blue king, $5,668,991.10.
NMFS published a fee payment collection system implementation rule
on September 16, 2005 (70 FR 54653). Fee collection and payment began
on October 17, 2005. On May 10, 2006, NMFS published a final rule to
exempt any crab landed under the Community Development Quota (CDQ)
Program from the fee regulations for the BSAI King and Tanner Crab
Fishing Capacity Reduction Program (71 FR 27209).
Purpose
The purpose of this notice is to adjust, in accordance with the
framework rule's Sec. 600.1013(b), the fee rates for the BSAI king and
tanner crab fishery. Section 600.1013(b) directs NMFS to recalculate
the fee rate that will be reasonably necessary to ensure reduction loan
repayment within the specified 30-year term.
NMFS has determined that the current fee rate for the Bristol Bay
red king reduction endorsement fisheries, 2.5 percent, is projected to
collect more than the annual amortization amount needed to repay the
loan over the scheduled loan term. Therefore, NMFS is decreasing the
fee rate to 1 percent for the Bristol Bay red king crab reduction
endorsement fishery. The remaining reduction endorsement fisheries
within the BSAI King and Tanner crab fishing capacity reduction program
are not on a timely repayment schedule and their fees remain unchanged
at the 5 percent rate capped by statute.
Fish buyers may continue to disburse collected fee deposits to NMFS
by using http://www.pay.gov or by mailing payments to our lockbox. Our
lockbox's address is: NMFS BSAI Crab Buyback Loan, P.O. Box 979008, St.
Louis, MO 63197-9000. Fish buyers must include the fee collection
report with the fee payment. Fish buyers using http://www.pay.gov will
find an electronic fee collection report form. Fish buyers not using
http://www.pay.gov may also access the NMFS website for a copy of the
fee collection report at: https://
[[Page 44808]]
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/funding-financial-services/bering-sea-
and-aleutian-islands-king-and-tanner-crab-buyback-program.
Notice
The new 1 percent fee rate for the Bristol Bay red king crab
reduction endorsement fishery will begin for all landings starting
October 15, 2025. From and after this date, all fish sellers paying
fees on the Bristol Bay red king crab reduction endorsement fisheries
shall begin paying BSAI crab reduction loan program fees at the revised
rates. The first due date for fee payments with the decreased rate will
be November 7, 2025.
Fee collection and submission shall follow previously established
methods in Sec. 600.1013 of the framework rule and in the final fee
rule published in the Federal Register on September 16, 2005 (70 FR
54654).
The revised fees applicable to the BSAI crab reduction program's
reduction endorsement fisheries are as follows:
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Current fee New fee rate
Reduction endorsement fisheries Crab rationalization fisheries rate (%) (%)
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Bristol Bay red king.......................... BBR............................. 2.5 1.0
BSAI C. opilio and C. bairdi.................. BSS, WBT, and EBT............... 5.0 5.0
Aleutian Islands red king..................... WAI............................. 5.0 5.0
Pribilof red king and blue king............... PIK............................. 5.0 5.0
St. Matthew blue king......................... SMB............................. 5.0 5.0
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Authority: The authority for this action is 16 U.S.C. 1861a(b)
through (e) and Pub. L. 106-554.
Dated: September 12, 2025.
Brian T. Pawlak,
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer, Director, Office
of Management and Budget, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-17920 Filed 9-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P