[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68313-68327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26059]



[[Page 68313]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 041116319-4319-01; I.D. 110504D]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fishing Capacity Reduction 
Program for the Crab Species Covered by the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs

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

ACTION: Notice of fishing capacity reduction program payment tender.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notice to inform the public about tendering 
reduction payments to accepted bidders under the Bering Sea/Aleutian 
Islands King and Tanner Crab fishing capacity reduction program. NMFS 
has accepted reduction bids, and a successful referendum has approved 
an industry fee system for repaying the $97.4 million reduction loan 
financing 100 percent of the program's cost. Accordingly, NMFS is 
preparing to tender reduction payments to accepted bidders.

ADDRESSES: Send questions about this notice to Michael L. Grable, 
Chief, Financial Services Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael L. Grable, (301) 713-2390.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 144 of Public Law 106-554 (as amended by section 2201 of 
Pub. L. 107-20 and section 205 of Public Law 107-117) directed the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a $100 million fishing capacity 
reduction program (program) in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands king and 
Tanner crab fishery (crab fishery). The program's objective is reducing 
the crab fishery's harvesting capacity. This will help financially 
stabilize this limited-entry fishery and fosters its future management.
    NMFS implemented the program by publishing a proposed rule on 
December 12, 2002 (67 FR 76329) and a final rule on December 12, 2003 
(68 FR 69331). Persons wanting further program details should refer to 
these rules.
    This is a voluntary program in which, in return for reduction 
payments, bidders whose bids NMFS accepts permanently relinquish their 
fishing licenses, the fishing histories upon which those licenses' 
issuance was based, and their vessels' worldwide fishing privileges. 
Their vessels may never fish again and may never be transferred out of 
U.S. registry.
    The total cost of reduction payments to all accepted bidders (and, 
thus, the program's total cost) cannot exceed $100 million. This cost 
is 100 percent financed by a fishing capacity reduction loan from NMFS' 
Fisheries Finance Program. Future crab landing fees will repay the 
reduction loan over the next 30 years. Each of six area/species 
endorsement crab fisheries has a different reduction loan subamount to 
repay and does so at a fee rate appropriate for each subamount.
    Under the program, the holders of non-interim crab fishery licenses 
make bid offers to NMFS for reduction payments. NMFS scores each bid's 
reduction payment amount against the amount of the bidder's past ex-
vessel crab revenues and, in a reverse auction, accepts those bids 
whose reduction payments are the lowest percentages of the bidders' 
revenues during a certain period. NMFS quits accepting bids before 
acceptance of the bid with the next lowest bid score causes reduction 
payments to exceed the maximum $100 million program cost. Bid 
acceptances create reduction contracts whose performance are subject 
only to a successful referendum about the industry fee system necessary 
to repay the reduction loan.
    The referendum follows the bidding process. Approval of the 
industry fee system requires at least two-thirds of the qualified 
voters casting ballots to vote in favor of the industry fee system. 
Qualified voters are all interim and non-interim holders of crab 
licenses, except those endorsed only for the Norton Sound area/species 
crab fishery.

II. Present Status

    NMFS has twice invited program bids and administered separate 
referendums on each of the two accepted bidder results.
    NMFS administered and, because of a mistake which overstated the 
bidding results, readministered a referendum about bids accepted under 
the first invitation to bid. The readministered referendum was 
unsuccessful. Because of the circumstances involved, however, NMFS 
issued a second invitation to bid for which the referendum was 
successful. This notice involves the program's second invitation to bid 
and the accepted bids, referendum, and reduction contracts consequent 
to such second invitation to bid.
    NMFS issued the second invitation to bid, and the bidding period 
opened, on August 6, 2004. This bidding period closed on September 24, 
2004. Fifty five, non-interim, crab license holders submitted bids 
totaling $225,954,284. NMFS accepted 25 bids. These totaled 
$97,399,357. The next lowest scoring bid would have exceeded the 
program's $100 million maximum cost. The accepted bids involved 25 
fishing vessels and 62 fishing licenses or permits. Twenty five of the 
permits were non-interim crab fishery licenses. The remaining included 
15 groundfish fishing licenses, 20 Federal fishery vessel permits, 1 
high seas permit, and 1 halibut individual fishing quota allocation.
    On October 1, 2004, NMFS mailed referendum ballots to 313 qualified 
referendum voters. This referendum involved the fees necessary to repay 
the $97,399,357 reduction loan resulting from the 25 bids NMFS accepted 
under the program's second invitation to bid. The second referendum 
voting period opened on October 1, 2004, and closed on November 15, 
2004. Two hundred seventy three (or 87.22 percent) of the referendum's 
qualified voters cast timely ballots. Two hundred seventeen (or 79.49 
percent) of the those ballots approved the fees. This exceeded the two-
thirds minimum required for industry fee system approval. This 
referendum was, consequently, successful and approved the industry fee 
system. Accordingly, the reduction contracts are now in full force and 
effect and NMFS is now preparing to tender and disburse reduction 
payments to accepted bidders.

III. Purpose

    NMFS publishes this notification to inform the public before 
tendering reduction payments to the 25 accepted bidders. NMFS will 
tender reduction payments on December 27, 2004. When NMFS tenders a 
reduction payment to an accepted bidder, the bidder must then 
permanently stop all further fishing with each reduction permit the 
bidder has relinquished and with the reduction vessel whose worldwide 
fishing privileges the bidder has relinquished. NMFS will then:
    (a) Revoke each reduction permit each accepted bidder relinquished,
    (b) Revoke each reduction vessel's fishing history,
    (c) Notify the National Vessel Documentation Center to revoke the 
fishery trade endorsement of each accepted bidder's reduction vessel 
and otherwise appropriately annotate the reduction vessel's document, 
and

[[Page 68314]]

    (d) Notify the U.S. Maritime Administration to prohibit the 
reduction vessel's transfer to foreign ownership or registry.
    Among other things, the reduction contract with each accepted 
bidder requires the bidder to notify each creditor or other party with 
an interest in the bidder's reduction vessel or reduction permit that 
the bidder has entered into a reduction contract which relinquishes the 
reduction permit and the reduction vessel's fishing privileges in 
return for NMFS payment to the bidder of a reduction payment. Upon NMFS 
reduction payment tender, each accepted bidder must, among other things 
and as a condition of NMFS disbursing the bidder's reduction payment in 
accordance with the bidder's written payment instruction, also certify 
to NMFS that the bidder has given such notice to each such creditor or 
other party.
    This notification begins the 30-day period and puts the public 
(including creditors or other parties) on notice. Section IV of this 
notification identifies the accepted bidders and the reduction vessels 
and reduction permits involved in their bids.

IV. Accepted Bidders, Reduction Vessels, and Reduction Permits.

    The table below establishes:
    (a) The names of the accepted bidders,
    (b) The names and official numbers of the reduction vessels whose 
worldwide fishing privileges the accepted bidders relinquished, and
    (c) The license numbers and natures of the reduction permits the 
accepted bidders relinquished.
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S

[[Page 68315]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.007


[[Page 68316]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.008


[[Page 68317]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.009


[[Page 68318]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.010


[[Page 68319]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.011


[[Page 68320]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.012


[[Page 68321]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.013


[[Page 68322]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.014


[[Page 68323]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.015


[[Page 68324]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.016


[[Page 68325]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.017


[[Page 68326]]


[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN24NO04.018



[[Page 68327]]


    Authority: Pub. L. 107-206, Pub. L. 108-7, 16 U.S.C. 1861a (b-
e), and 50 CFR 600.1000 et seq.

    Dated: November 18, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-26059 Filed 11-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C