Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Proposed Rules 5307

increasing portions of Part 192 or Part 

195 would apply to pipelines depending 

on their risk to the public or the 

environment. If you think this would be 

a reasonable approach, we would like 

comments on which regulations should 

apply to different risk levels. If you 

think hoop stress should define risk, we 

would like comment on which 

regulations should apply according to 

different stress levels. For plastic pipe, 

we are interested in views on what the 

risk levels should be and how the 

regulations should vary and, if pressure 

were to define risk, what the pressure 

should be. 

Other Considerations 

Non-rural gathering lines. Under Parts 

192 and 195, onshore gathering lines are 

considered rural—and unregulated—if 

they lie outside the limits of any 

incorporated or unincorporated city, 

town, village, or any other designated 

residential or commercial area, such as 

a subdivision, a business or shopping 

center, or community development. 

Conversely, some gathering lines or 

portions of lines that are inside these 

limits—and now regulated—are similar 

to rural lines in that they are not in, or 

close to, inhabited areas. Should the 

risk-based approach to regulating rural 

gathering lines also apply to the 

regulation of non-rural gathering lines? 

If so, assuming population density was 

the risk-based approach, what reduction 

in currently regulated mileage might 

result from particular density levels? 

What would be the associated savings in 

cost of compliance? 

Compliance time. In the public 

meetings, we discussed time lines for 

compliance. What would be the 

appropriate time for operators to 

achieve compliance? We have also 

considered establishing milestones for 

achieving compliance, including early 

compliance dates for easily 

implemented regulations, coupled with 

longer times for more complex 

regulations requiring greater capital 

expenditures. Does this appear to be an 

appropriate path and, if so, what should 

these times be and which categories of 

regulations should fall into which time 

frames?

Authority: 49 U.S.C. Chapter 601 and 49 

CFR 1.53.

Issued in Washington, DC, on January 29, 

2004. 

James K. O’Steen, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Pipeline 

Safety.

[FR Doc. 04–2310 Filed 2–3–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040130031–4031–01; I.D. 

012704D]

RIN 0648–AR92

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 

Proposed Emergency Rule to Maintain 

an Area Access Program for the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery in Hudson 

Canyon

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed emergency rule; 

request for comments.

SUMMARY: This proposed emergency rule 

would implement measures to establish 

on March 1, 2004, the area access 

program for the Hudson Canyon Area, 

as proposed in Amendment 10 to the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). These 

measures would be in place for 180 days 

or until such time that Amendment 10 

can be implemented, which will be 

published later in the Federal Register. 

This action is necessary to avoid 

localized overfishing of sea scallops in 

the Hudson Canyon Area, and would 

help ensure that fishing mortality rates 

do not exceed the target thresholds 

established in the FMP.

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than 5 p.m., eastern standard time, 

February 19, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed 

emergency rule should be sent to 

Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, Northeast Regional 

Office, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298. Please 

mark the envelope ‘‘Comments - 

Emergency Rule to Maintain an Area 

Access Program for the Atlantic Sea 

Scallop Fishery in Hudson Canyon.’’

Comments also may be sent via 

facsimile (fax) to 978–281–9135. 

Comments will not be accepted if 

submitted via e-mail or Internet. Copies 

of the Draft Environmental Assessment 

(Draft EA) and the Regulatory Impact 

Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (RIR/IRFA) and any other 

documents supporting this action are 

available from the Regional Office at the 

address specified here, and are 

accessible via the Internet at http://

www.nero.nmfs.gov/ro/doc/nero.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, 978–281–9288, fax 978–281–

9135, e-mail 

peter.christopher@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Hudson Canyon Area (and the Virginia 

Beach Area) were first closed to sea 

scallop fishing in 1998 by the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA 

Fisheries) through an interim rule, 

enacted in consultation with the New 

England Fishery Management Council 

(Council) to protect an abundance of 

small scallops that would have been 

vulnerable to excessive mortality if left 

unprotected. On March 29, 1999, 

Amendment 7 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Atlantic Sea 

Scallop Fishery (FMP) extended the 

closures until March 1, 2001, to allow 

scallops within the areas to grow and 

spawn. Frameworks 14 and 15, 

implemented on May 1, 2001, and 

March 1, 2003, respectively, reopened 

the Hudson Canyon and Virginia Beach 

Areas to controlled scallop fishing 

because the area closures had provided 

sufficient time for the scallop resource 

within the areas to grow to a size 

suitable for harvest.

The regulations for the sea scallop 

fishery for the 2003 fishing year (March 

1, 2003–February 29, 2004) include, 

among other measures, an area access 

program to govern the fishery within the 

Hudson Canyon Sea Scallop Access 

Area (Hudson Canyon Area). The 

program establishes an overall total 

allowable catch (TAC) for the area, 

limits the number of trips that can be 

taken into the area, establishes a scallop 

trip limit, and establishes a minimum 

number of days-at-sea (DAS) that will be 

deducted for each access trip from the 

vessel’s DAS allocation. The Council 

adopted Amendment 10 to the FMP in 

September 2003, and submitted it for 

review by the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary) on December 19, 2003. 

Among the measures proposed in 

Amendment 10 is a continuation of an 

area access program for the Hudson 

Canyon Area, with some revisions to the 

program. Amendment 10 has been made 

available to the public for comment 

through March 15, 2004.

The Council’s December 2003 

submission of Amendment 10 means 

that it will not be possible to implement 

the action, if approved, by March 1, 

2004. Thus, the existing Hudson Canyon 

area access program will expire at the 

end of the fishing year (February 29, 

2004) and, on March 1, 2004, the 

Hudson Canyon Area will open to 

fishing without an area access program. 

Absent another regulatory action, the 

5308 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

DAS allocations currently specified in 

the FMP will go into effect for limited 

access scallop vessels on March 1, 2004: 

34, 14, and 3 DAS for full-time, parttime, and occasional vessels, 

respectively. Amendment 10 would, if 

approved, allocate an additional eight, 

three, and one DAS for use by full-time, 

part-time, and occasional vessels, 

respectively, in areas other than those 

under area management. Amendment 10 

would also, if approved, specifically 

allocate 48, 12, and 12 DAS for use by 

full-time, part-time, and occasional 

vessels, respectively, within the Hudson 

Canyon Area, under an area access 

program.

Without this emergency action, the 

fishing that occurs in the Hudson 

Canyon Area between March 1 and the 

implementation of Amendment 10 (if 

approved) would inflict fishing 

mortality on the resource in addition to 

that proposed for the Hudson Canyon 

Access Area in Amendment 10. The 

additive impacts of this fishing could 

result in localized overfishing in the 

Hudson Canyon Area. Should 

Amendment 10 be disapproved, this 

proposed emergency action would allow 

controlled harvests from the Hudson 

Canyon Area, consistent with the status 

of the Hudson Canyon Area resource as 

analyzed in Amendment 10. This action 

would allow the resource within the 

Hudson Canyon Area to be harvested at 

appropriate levels, and would allow 

limited access vessels to fish at a level 

nearer to the mortality objectives for the 

stock.

Without continued controls on 

scallop fishing in the Hudson Canyon 

Area, NMFS is concerned about the 

impact of fishing on the scallop resource 

in this area, even with the reduced 

allocation of DAS. The area was initially 

closed to protect concentrations of 

juvenile scallops, which have since 

grown to harvestable size. For the past 

3 fishing years, fishing has been 

allowed, but with controls. Amendment 

10 proposes to maintain controls on 

effort and catch that would prevent the 

areas from being overfished. A lapse in 

controls may result in high fishing effort 

and mortality, which may be 

detrimental to the health of the scallop 

resource in the area. In fact, the reduced 

DAS allocations that will otherwise take 

effect on March 1, 2004, may serve as 

an incentive for some vessels to fish 

within the Hudson Canyon Area rather 

than elsewhere, and fishing effort could 

concentrate in the area. Controls within 

the area over the past few years have 

maintained catch rates that may be 

higher than those in other areas. In 

addition, the Hudson Canyon Area is a 

relatively short distance from ports in 

the Mid-Atlantic, and vessel owners 

may choose to fish in the Hudson 

Canyon Area to minimize the DAS used 

to cover steaming time to more distant 

fishing areas.

This emergency action under section 

305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) is justified 

under and consistent with NOAA 

emergency rule guidelines published at 

62 FR 44421 (August 21, 1997). These 

guidelines provide that a MagnusonStevens Act emergency action is 

justified in extremely urgent or special 

circumstances where substantial harm 

to or disruption of the resource, fishery 

or community would be caused in the 

time it would take to follow standard 

rulemaking procedures. It was not 

reasonably foreseeable that Amendment 

10 would not be implemented by March 

1, 2004, at the time it would have been 

necessary to initiate another type of 

action, such as a Secretarial amendment 

or framework adjustment. Therefore, the 

only procedure available to the agency 

for implementing these measures is a 

section 305(c) emergency action. As 

discussed above, failure to implement 

this emergency action would result in 

serious conservation and economic 

problems for the fishery.

Proposed Action

The proposed measures for the 

emergency action are summarized 

below:

Continuation of the existing 

notification and enrollment 

requirements of the current Hudson 

Canyon Controlled Access Area 

program, including twice hourly vessel 

monitoring system (VMS) polling;

Continuation of the existing observer 

program established for the current 

Hudson Canyon Controlled Access Area 

program;

Continuation of the existing VMS 

catch reporting requirements;

Continuation of the existing 

requirement for vessels taking a 

controlled area access trip to utilize 

twine top mesh with a minimum size of 

10 inches (25.4 cm) to reduce finfish 

bycatch, primarily of flatfish;

An additional allocation of 48 DAS 

for full-time limited access scallop 

vessels to conduct four trips within the 

Hudson Canyon Area only;

An additional allocation of 12 DAS 

for part-time and occasional limited 

access vessels to conduct one trip 

within the Hudson Canyon area only;

Allocation of DAS in trip-length 

blocks of 12 days, with each vessel 

making an Access Area trip to be 

charged 12 DAS for each trip, regardless 

of actual trip length;

Establishment of a trip possession 

limit for limited access vessels of 18,000 

lb (8,165 kg) (consistent with a 1,500-lb 

(680-kg) per day catch rate);

Establishment of a 400-lb (181-kg) 

possession limit for General category 

vessels fishing in the Hudson Canyon 

Area (this measure would make the 

possession limit for these vessels 

consistent with the existing possession 

limit in open fishing areas).

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

part 648 and has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866.

NMFS prepared an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis (IRFA) as required 

under section 603 of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. The IRFA describes the 

economic impact that this emergency 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A copy of the IRFA is 

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

A summary of the analysis follows: 

The IRFA describes this action, sets 

forth why it is being taken, and the legal 

basis for it. A description of the action, 

why it is being considered, and the legal 

basis for this action appear in the 

beginning of this section in the 

preamble and in the SUMMARY section 

and is not repeated here. 

The measures proposed in this 

emergency action could impact any 

commercial vessel issued a Federal sea 

scallop vessel permit. All of these 

vessels are considered small business 

entities for purposes of the IRFA 

because all of them grossed less than 

$3.5 million according to the dealer 

reports for the 2001 and 2002 fishing 

years. Therefore, the analysis of impacts 

on vessels in the environmental 

assessment and other supporting 

documents for this action are relevant to 

this IRFA. There are two main 

components of the scallop fleet: Vessels 

eligible to participate in the limited 

access sector of the fleet and vessels that 

participate in the open access General 

Category sector of the fleet. Limited 

access vessels are issued permits to fish 

for scallops on a Full-time, Part-time or 

Occasional basis. In 2001, there were 

252 Full-time permits, 38 Part-time 

permits, and 20 Occasional permits. In 

2002, there were 270 Full-time permits, 

31 part time permits, and 19 Occasional 

permits. Because the fishing year ends 

on the last day of February of each year, 

2003 vessel permit information was 

incomplete at the time the Amendment 

10 analysis was completed. Much of the 

economic impacts analysis is based on 

the 2001 and 2002 fishing years; 2001 

and 2002 were the last 2 years with 

complete permit information. According 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Proposed Rules 5309

to the most recent vessel permit records 

for 2003, there were 278 Full-time 

limited access vessels, 32 Part-time 

limited access vessels, and 16 

Occasional vessels. In addition, there 

were 2,293, 2,493, and 2,257 vessels 

issued permits to fish in the General 

Category in 2001, 2002, and 2003, 

respectively. Annual scallop revenue for 

the limited access sector averaged from 

$615,000 to $665,600 for Full-time 

vessels, $194,790 to $209,750 for Parttime vessels, and $14,400 to $42,500 for 

Occasional vessels during the 2001 and 

2002 fishing years. Total revenues per 

vessel, including revenues from species 

other than scallops, exceeded these 

amounts, but were less than $3.5 

million per vessel.

This action does not contain any new 

collection-of-information requirements, 

implement new reporting or 

recordkeeping measures, or create other 

compliance requirements that have not 

already been implemented and 

approved in prior actions.

Potential economic impacts are 

discussed relative to no action, defined 

as the continuation of the existing DAS 

schedule (as specified in Amendment 7) 

with no additional controls on vessels 

fishing within the boundaries of the 

Hudson Canyon Access Area. The 

combined economic impacts of the 

proposed action relative to the no action 

alternative are positive for the majority 

of small business entities in the scallop 

fishing industry. A third alternative 

would close the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area to fishing, pending development of 

measures to control fishing effort in the 

area. This alternative may have more 

negative economic impacts relative to 

the no action alternative due to the lack 

of access to the area that contains larger, 

more valuable scallops. However, vessel 

owners would likely offset the lack of 

access to the higher concentrations of 

large scallops by shucking and landing 

the larger and more valuable scallops 

(highgrading). Therefore, the closure 

alternative would not be significantly 

different than the no action alternative.

Relative to taking no action, the 

proposed action is expected to benefit 

most vessels in the scallop fishery by 

increasing flexibility and revenues. The 

emergency action would increase 

overall DAS allocations by allowing 

access to the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area with DAS that can only be used in 

the Hudson Canyon Access Area. 

Additional DAS, equal to the DAS that 

would be implemented under the no 

action alternative can be used in other 

open areas. Impacts may vary 

depending upon the relative mobility of 

the vessels in accessing fishing areas 

because the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area is more accessible to some vessels 

than others.

The proposed emergency action 

would establish two distinct DAS 

allocations for scallop vessels. Fulltime, part-time, and occasional scallop 

vessels would be allocated 34, 14, and 

3 DAS, respectively, to be used in all 

open areas outside of the Hudson 

Canyon Access Area. For fishing in the 

Hudson Canyon Access Area, full-time 

vessels would be allocated four trips 

equaling 48 DAS, and part-time and 

occasional vessels would be allocated 

one trip equaling 12 DAS. Compared to 

no action, which would allow only 34 

DAS to be fished throughout all open 

areas, including the area that would be 

the Hudson Canyon Access Area, the 

proposed action would have higher 

revenues resulting from additional DAS 

allocations. The economic analysis 

included in Amendment 10 estimates 

that the annual revenue derived from 

access to the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area would be approximately $48 

million in 2004. This $48 million in 

revenues would be additional to 

revenues generated from the DAS used 

outside of the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area. Amendment 10 also estimates that 

the scallop revenue from even one 

access area trip could amount to more 

than 10% of the annual revenue in 

2004.

Vessels holding General Category 

scallop permits would be authorized to 

harvest up to 400 lb (181.4 kg) of scallop 

meats from open areas and controlled 

access areas. Expected revenues for 

those vessels would be the same under 

the proposed action and the no action 

alternative because vessels would be 

able to fish in any open area for 400 lb 

(181.4 kg) of scallops under both 

alternatives. However, allowing access 

to the Hudson Canyon Access Area 

could have positive economic impacts 

on these vessels by increasing their 

flexibility and ability to fish in different 

areas to increase scallop revenues. 

Positive impacts would only be realized 

by the General Category fleet if vessels 

take advantage of the opening of the 

area.

The RFA requires consideration of 

alternatives that accomplish the stated 

objectives of the applicable statutes and 

that minimize economic impacts on 

small entities. The IRFA should identify 

any significant alternatives that would 

minimize economic impacts on small 

entities, if such alternatives exist. If 

there is an alternative with less impact 

on small entities that meets the stated 

objectives, the IRFA should explain why 

the proposed measure was selected 

instead of the alternative with less 

impact. A rationale should be provided 

to explain any unavoidable adverse 

effects on small entities that are 

necessary to achieve the objectives. The 

alternatives to the proposed action are 

the no action alternative and closure of 

the Hudson Canyon Access Area to 

scallop fishing. Neither the no-action 

nor the closure alternative would 

minimize the economic impacts on 

small entities. Under both non-preferred 

alternatives, lower overall DAS 

allocations would similarly constrain 

landings and revenues. For both the noaction and the closure alternatives, DAS 

allocations of 34, 14, and 3 DAS for fulltime, part-time, and occasional vessels 

would reduce annual revenues to 

approximately $110 million from $158 

million, compared to the proposed 

action. For the no-action alternative, the 

harvest of larger, more valuable scallops 

from the Hudson Canyon Access Area 

would not offset the revenue losses.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 2, 2004.

John Oliver,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operation, National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows:

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 648.14, paragraphs (h)(30), 

(h)(31), and (i)(8) are revised to read as 

follows:

§ 648.14 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(h) * * *

* * * * *

(30) Land per trip more than 400 lb 

(181.44 kg) of scallop meats or 50 bu 

(17.62 hl) of in-shell scallops as 

specified in § 648.52(e) in or from the 

areas described in § 648.57 when fishing 

under a scallop DAS but not declared 

into the Sea Scallop Area Access 

Program or when fishing outside of the 

scallop DAS program.

(31) Possess more than 400 lb. (181.44 

kg) of scallop meats or 50 bu (17.62 hl) 

of in-shell scallops in the areas 

described in § 648.57 when fishing 

under a scallop DAS but not declared 

into the Sea Scallop Area Access 

Program or when fishing outside of the 

scallop DAS program, unless the 

vessel’s fishing gear is unavailable for 

immediate use as defined in 

5310 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

§ 648.23(b),or,there is a compelling 

safety reason to be in such areas without 

all such gear being unavailable for 

immediate use.

* * * * *

(i)* * *

* * * * *

(8) Possess, retain, or land per trip no 

more than 400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallop 

meats or 50 bu (17.62 hl) of in-shell 

scallops in or from the areas described 

in § 648.57.

* * * * *

§ 648.52 [Amended]

3. In § 648.52, paragraph (e) is 

removed.

4. Section 648.53 is revised to read as 

follows:

§ 648.53 DAS allocations.

(a) Assignment to DAS categories.

Subject to the vessel permit application 

requirements specified in § 648.4, for 

each fishing year, each vessel issued a 

limited access scallop permit shall be 

assigned to the DAS category (full-time, 

part-time, or Occasional) it was assigned 

to in the preceding year, except as 

provided under the small dredge 

program specified in § 648.51(e).

(b) Open area DAS allocations. (1) 

Total DAS to be used in all areas other 

than those specified in § 648.57 will be 

specified through the framework 

process as specified in § 648.55.

(2) Each vessel qualifying for one of 

the three DAS categories specified in the 

table in this paragraph (Full-time, Parttime, or Occasional) shall be allocated, 

for each fishing year, the maximum 

number of DAS it may participate in the 

limited access scallop fishery, according 

to its category. A vessel whose owner/

operator has declared it out of the 

scallop fishery, pursuant to the 

provisions of § 648.10, or that has used 

up its allocated DAS, may leave port 

without being assessed a DAS, as long 

as it does not possess or land more than 

400 lb (181.4 kg) of shucked or 50 bu 

(17.62 hl) of in-shell scallops and 

complies with all other requirements of 

this part. The annual DAS allocations 

for each category of vessel for the 

fishing years indicated, after deducting 

DAS for observer and research DAS setasides, are as follows:

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

DAS Category

Full-time 120 34 35 38 36 60

Part-time 48 14 14 15 17 24

Occasional 10 3 3 3 4 5

(c) Sea Scallop Access Area DAS 

allocations. Vessels fishing in a Sea 

Scallop Access Area specified in 

§ 648.57, under the Sea Scallop Area 

Access Program specified in § 648.58, 

are allocated additional DAS to fish 

only within each Sea Scallop Access 

Area, as specified in § 648.58(a)(3).

(d) Adjustments in annual DAS 

allocations. Adjustments or changes in 

annual DAS allocations, if required to 

meet fishing mortality reduction goals, 

may be made following a reappraisal 

and analysis under the framework 

provisions specified in § 648.55.

(e) End-of-year carry-over. With the 

exception of vessels that held a 

Confirmation of Permit History as 

described in § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(J) for the 

entire fishing year preceding the carryover year, limited access vessels that 

have unused DAS on the last day of 

February of any year may carry over a 

maximum of 10 DAS into the next year. 

DAS carried over into the next fishing 

year may not be used in the Hudson 

Canyon Access Area. DAS sanctioned 

vessels will be credited with unused 

DAS based on their DAS allocation 

minus total DAS sanctioned.

(f) Accrual of DAS. Unless 

participating in the Area Access 

Program described in § 648.58, DAS 

shall accrue to the nearest minute.

(g) Good Samaritan credit. Limited 

access vessels fishing under the DAS 

program and that spend time at sea 

assisting in a USCG search and rescue 

operation or assisting the USCG in 

towing a disabled vessel, and that can 

document the occurrence through the 

USCG, will not accrue DAS for the time 

documented.

5. In § 648.57, paragraph (b) is 

removed and reserved, and paragraph 

(a) introductory text is revised to read, 

as follows:

§ 648.57 Closed and regulated areas.

(a) Hudson Canyon Sea Scallop 

Access Area. From March 1, 2004, 

through August 2, 2004, except as 

provided in § 648.58, no vessel may fish 

for scallops in or possess or land 

scallops from the area known as the 

Hudson Canyon Sea Scallop Access 

Area, and no vessel may possess 

scallops in the Hudson Canyon Sea 

Scallop Access Area, unless such vessel 

is only transiting the area with all 

fishing gear unavailable for immediate 

use as defined in § 648.23(b), or there is 

a compelling safety reason to be in such 

areas without all such gear being 

unavailable for immediate use. The 

Hudson Canyon Sea Scallop Access 

Area (copies of a chart depicting this 

area are available from the Regional 

Administrator upon request) is defined 

by straight lines connecting the 

following points in the order stated:

* * * * *

6. Section 648.58 is revised to read as 

follows:

§ 648.58 Sea Scallop Area Access 

Program requirements.

(a) From March 1, 2004, through 

August 2, 2004, vessels issued a limited 

access scallop permit may fish in the 

Sea Scallop Access Areas specified in 

§ 648.57 when fishing under a scallop 

DAS, provided the vessel complies with 

the requirements specified in 

paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(9) and (b) 

through (e) of this section. Unless 

otherwise restricted under this part, 

vessels issued General Category scallop 

permits may fish in the Sea Scallop 

Access Areas specified in § 648.57, 

subject to the possession limit specified 

in § 648.52(b).

(1) VMS. The vessel must have 

installed on board an operational VMS 

unit that meets the minimum 

performance criteria specified in § 648.9 

and 648.10, and paragraph (e) of this 

section.

(2) Declaration. (i) Prior to the 25th 

day of the month preceding the month 

in which fishing is to take place, the 

vessel must submit a monthly report 

through the VMS e-mail messaging 

system of its intention to fish in any Sea 

Scallop Access Area, along with the 

following information: Vessel name and 

permit number, owner and operator’s 

name, owner and operator’s phone 

numbers, and number of trips 

anticipated for each Sea Scallop Access 

Area in which it intends to fish. The 

Regional Administrator may waive a 

portion of this notification period for 

trips into the Sea Scallop Access Areas 

if it is determined that there is 

insufficient time to provide such 

notification prior to an access opening. 

Notification of this waiver of a portion 

of the notification period shall be 

provided to the vessel through a permit 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2004 / Proposed Rules 5311

holder letter issued by the Regional 

Administrator.

(ii) In addition to the information 

described in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this 

section, and for the purpose of selecting 

vessels for observer deployment, a 

vessel shall provide notice to NMFS of 

the time, port of departure, and specific 

Sea Scallop Access Area to be fished, at 

least 5 working days prior to the 

beginning of any trip into the Sea 

Scallop Access Area.

(iii) To fish in a Sea Scallop Access 

Area, the vessel owner or operator shall 

declare a Sea Scallop Access Area trip 

through the VMS less than 1 hour prior 

to the vessel leaving port, in accordance 

with instructions to be provided by the 

Regional Administrator.

(3) Number of trips. Except as 

provided in paragraph (c) of this 

section, a vessel is limited to the 

following number of trips and automatic 

DAS deduction into the Hudson Canyon 

Sea Scallop Access Area specified in 

§ 648.57:

(i) Full-time vessels. A Full-time 

vessel is restricted to a total of 4 trips, 

equaling an automatic deduction of 12 

days per trip for a total of 48 DAS, into 

the Hudson Canyon Access Area.

(ii) Part-time vessels. A Part-time 

vessel is restricted to a total of 1 trip, 

equaling an automatic deduction of 12 

days per trip for a total of 12 DAS, into 

the Hudson Canyon Access Area.

(iii) Occasional scallop vessels. An 

Occasional vessel is restricted to a total 

of 1 trip, equaling an automatic 

deduction of 12 days per trip for a total 

of 12 DAS, into the Hudson Canyon 

Access Area.

(4) Area fished. While on a Sea 

Scallop Access Area trip, a vessel may 

not fish for, possess, or land scallops 

from outside the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area during that trip and must not enter 

or exit the Hudson Canyon Access Area 

fished more than once per trip.

(5) Possession and landing limits.

After declaring a trip into the Hudson 

Canyon Access Area, a vessel owner or 

operator may fish for, possess, and land 

up to 18,000 lb (9,525 kg) of scallop 

meats per trip. No vessel fishing in the 

Hudson Canyon Access Area may 

possess or land, more than 50 bu (17.62 

hl) of in-shell scallops shoreward of the 

VMS demarcation line.

(6) Gear restrictions. The vessel must 

fish with or possess scallop dredge or 

trawl gear only in accordance with the 

restrictions specified in § 648.51(a) and 

(b), except that the mesh size of a net, 

net material, or any other material on 

the top of a scallop dredge in use by or 

in possession of the vessel shall not be 

smaller than 10.0 inches (25.40 cm) 

square or diamond mesh.

(7) Transiting. While outside a Sea 

Scallop Access Area on a Sea Scallop 

Access Area trip, the vessel must have 

all fishing gear stowed and unavailable 

for immediate use as specified in 

§ 648.23(b), unless there is a compelling 

safety reason.

(8) Off-loading restrictions. The vessel 

may not off-load its catch from a Sea 

Scallop Access Area trip at more than 

one location per trip.

(9) Reporting. The owner or operator 

must submit reports through the VMS, 

in accordance with instructions to be 

provided by the Regional Administrator, 

for each day fished when declared in 

the Sea Scallop Area Access Program, 

including trips accompanied by a 

NMFS-approved observer. The reports 

must be submitted in 24–hour intervals, 

for each day beginning at 0000 hours 

and ending at 2400 hours. The reports 

must be submitted by 0900 hours of the 

following day and must include the 

following information: Total pounds/

kilograms of scallop meats kept, total 

number of tows and the Fishing Vessel 

Trip Report log page number.

(b) Accrual of DAS. For each Hudson 

Canyon Access Area trip, a vessel on a 

Hudson Canyon Access Area trip shall 

have 12 DAS deducted from its access 

area DAS allocation specified in 

paragraph (a)(3) of this section, 

regardless of the actual number of DAS 

used during the trip.

(c) Increase of possession limit to 

defray costs of observers.—(1) Observer 

set-aside limits by area. The observer 

set-aside for the Hudson Canyon Access 

Area is 187,900 lb (85.2 mt).

(2) Defraying the costs of observers.

The Regional Administrator may 

increase the sea scallop possession limit 

specified in paragraph (a)(5) of this 

section to defray costs of at-sea 

observers deployed on area access trips 

subject to the limits specified in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section. Owners 

of limited access scallop vessels will be 

notified of the increase in the 

possession limit through a permit 

holder letter issued by the Regional 

Administrator. If the observer set-aside 

is fully utilized prior to the end of the 

fishing year, the Regional Administrator 

will notify owners of limited access 

vessels that, effective on a specified 

date, the possession limit will be 

decreased to the level specified in 

paragraph (a)(5) of this section. Vessel 

owners shall be responsible for paying 

the cost of the observer, regardless of 

whether the vessel lands or sells sea 

scallops on that trip, and regardless of 

the availability of set-aside for an 

increased possession limit.

(d) VMS polling. For the duration of 

the Sea Scallop Area Access Program, as 

described under this section, all sea 

scallop limited access vessels equipped 

with a VMS unit shall be polled at least 

twice per hour, regardless of whether 

the vessel is enrolled in the Sea Scallop 

Area Access Program. Vessel owners 

shall be responsible for paying the costs 

for the polling.

[FR Doc. 04–2411 Filed 2–2–04; 1:07 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S