[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 189 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50759-50761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23704]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 0909011267-91269-01]
RIN 0648-AY19


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States

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 is proposing to implement a regulatory amendment to 
modify the fishing vessel permit regulations to include specific terms 
and conditions for Federal fishing vessel permits obtained through the 
purchase of fishing vessels using Federal grant awards. The terms and 
conditions would authorize the NMFS Administrator, Northeast Region 
(Regional Administrator), to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or 
otherwise rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, or the rights 
thereto, if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to 
obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are 
violated by the grant recipient.

DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern 
standard time, on November 2, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-AY19, by any 
of the following methods:
    <bullet> Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal http://www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Michael Pentony.
    <bullet> Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Vessel Permit 
Regulatory Amendment.''
    Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted via Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) are available upon 
request from Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Pentony, Senior Fishery Policy 
Analyst, phone (978) 281-9283.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This proposed rule would implement changes to the Northeast (NE) 
fisheries regulations at 50 CFR part 648 to authorize the Regional 
Administrator to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise 
rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, including the rights 
thereto, held by a person, corporation, non-profit organization, or 
government entity if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant 
award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of 
understanding, are violated by the grant recipient. The intent of this 
proposed action is to establish a new regulatory mechanism through 
which NOAA would be able to enforce the terms and conditions of any 
Federal grant award used to obtain Federal fishing vessel permits in 
the NE Region.
    As several fisheries in the NE Region begin to transition to catch-
share management strategies, various fishing organizations, 
conservations groups, and states are exploring alternatives to the 
traditional vessel-permit ownership model. Traditionally, an individual 
or corporation invests in a fishing vessel and obtains the appropriate 
vessel permits necessary to participate in the target fishery. An 
individual or corporation may own multiple vessels, but each of these 
vessels is generally associated with a unique vessel permit (or, a 
unique set of permits to operate in different fisheries may be 
associated with each vessel). An alternative model known as ``permit 
banking'' is developing in the Northeast, whereby an organization 
obtains a suite of permits in a particular fishery, with the option to 
lease out the fishing rights associated with those permits.
    Permit banks hold promise for addressing two important issues 
related to the development and implementation of effective catch-share 
management programs: First, permit banks can be

[[Page 50760]]

used to ease the transition to catch-share management by expanding the 
pool of catch shares available for use; and, second, permit banks could 
demonstrate that small fishing operations and small communities can be 
successful participants in catch-share management programs. Depending 
on the structure of the permit bank, and the criteria used for 
participation, permit banks could be very effective at protecting the 
fishing interests of small communities and small fishing operations by 
mitigating some of the consolidation of fishing rights that often 
follows implementation of catch-share programs.
    Examples of new permit banks in the Northeast Region include those 
being developed by the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust, the Northeast Seafood 
Coalition, and The Nature Conservancy in partnership with the Penobscot 
East Resource Center. These groups are using donations and other funds 
to purchase fishing vessels with NE multispecies fishing permits. The 
permits would be held by the permit bank organization, which would then 
make the fishing rights associated with the permits available to its 
members or other qualified applicants. The fishing rights associated 
with the permits initially would include days-at-sea, to be leased out 
at generally below-market value. With the development of sector 
management in the NE multispecies fishery, the fishing rights may 
include annual catch entitlements (ACEs) associated with the permits 
(i.e., the shares of the overall quotas allocated to each permit based 
on fishing history). The ACEs may be used in establishing a new fishing 
sector, or to bolster the total catch shares available to an existing 
sector.
    Interest in developing permit banking programs is expanding in the 
NE and, because of NOAA's policy position promoting catch-share 
management, the NMFS NE Regional Office has proposed a pilot program 
designed to guide the development and expansion of permit banks in 
order to facilitate the implementation of effective catch-share 
programs. In the spending plan for a recent Congressional authorization 
for New England fisheries assistance, NOAA proposed to award a $1 
million grant to develop this pilot permit banking program in the State 
of Maine. Since then, we have been working in partnership with Maine's 
Division of Marine Resources on a program that would allow the state to 
use the grant award to purchase fishing vessels with associated 
permits. The fishing rights associated with those permits would then 
serve as the basis for a permit bank to be operated by the state to 
facilitate the transition to catch-share management by leasing 
additional fishing opportunities to qualified vessels in small ports. 
The State of Maine is very interested in developing such a partnership 
and establishing a permit bank. If the pilot program proves successful, 
NOAA may consider expanding the program throughout other parts of the 
NE Region.
    Absent a regulatory change such as the proposed action, NOAA would 
not be able to retain sufficient control and oversight of the resulting 
permit banking program to ensure its success. Under current grant 
management rules and fishing vessel permit regulations, once a grant 
award is made to an organization, and the award is used to obtain 
fishing vessel permits, NOAA would lose all control over the 
implementation and operation of the resulting permit bank. Even if the 
grant includes special award conditions specifying the criteria to be 
used in operation of the permit bank, NOAA would have no effective 
mechanism to enforce those criteria once an organization obtains the 
permits. In order to protect NOAA's and the public's interests in the 
successful development, implementation, and operation of such a 
program, a regulatory change is required to provide NOAA with an 
appropriate enforcement mechanism.
    The proposed action would amend the NMFS NE Region regulations 
regarding fishing vessel permits to include specific terms and 
conditions that would apply to Federal fishing vessel permits obtained 
through the purchase of fishing vessels using Federal grant awards. The 
terms and conditions would authorize the Regional Administrator to 
suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any 
Federal fishing vessel permit, including the rights thereto, held by a 
person, corporation, non-profit organization, or government entity if 
the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain said 
permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by 
the grant recipient.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) of the NE Region, 
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, 
and is necessary to discharge the general responsibility to carry out 
said FMPs, subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

    The intent of this proposed action is to establish a new 
regulatory mechanism through which NOAA would be able to enforce the 
terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain 
Federal fishing vessel permits. This action would have no effect on 
any Federal fishing vessel permit currently held by a person, 
corporation, non-profit organization, or government entity, and 
would only affect such permits obtained in the future if the person, 
corporation, non-profit organization, or government entity obtains a 
Federal fishing vessel permit using funds awarded to that entity 
through a Federal grant award. Further, the proposed action would 
have no effect on any entity unless that entity violates the terms 
and conditions of the Federal grant award used to obtain such a 
permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding. If the terms 
and conditions of a Federal grant award, or associated memorandum of 
understanding, are violated, this action would authorize the 
Regional Administrator to take appropriate action to enforce the 
terms and conditions of the grant award or memorandum of 
understanding. These administrative changes are intended to ensure 
NOAA has available appropriate enforcement mechanisms when awarding 
Federal grants that may be used to obtain Federal fishing vessel 
permits. As such, the rule will not have significant direct or 
indirect economic impacts on small entities.

As a result, an initial flexibility analysis is not required and none 
has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 28, 2009.
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 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 Sec.  648.4, paragraph (n) is added to read as follows:

[[Page 50761]]

Sec.  648.4  Vessel permits.

* * * * *
    (n) Federal grant awards. The Regional Administrator may suspend, 
cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing 
vessel permit, issued pursuant to this section, including the rights 
thereto, held by a person, corporation, non-profit organization, or 
government entity if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant 
award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of 
understanding, are violated by the grant recipient.
[FR Doc. E9-23704 Filed 9-30-09; 8:45 am]
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