30014 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 000218046-0117; I.D. 121599F]

RIN 0648–AN42

Antarctic Marine Living Resources;

Harvesting and Dealer Permits, and

Catch Documentation

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to

revise permit requirements for U.S.

vessels harvesting, or transshipping

catch of, Dissostichus eleginoides

(Patagonian toothfish) and Dissostichus

mawsoni (Antarctic toothfish) harvested

in all waters, including those under the

jurisdiction of the Commission for the

Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living

Resources (CCAMLR). These regulations

govern U.S. harvesters, receivers,

importers and exporters of toothfish

wherever caught, as well as other

Antarctic marine living resources.

NMFS will no longer use ‘‘import’’

permits as part of its regulatory

requirements, instead it will use

‘‘dealer’’ permits. Persons receiving,

importing, or re-exporting toothfish are

required to validate and submit

Dissostichus Catch Documents (DCD) to

NMFS. This rule implements U.S.

obligations as a Contracting Party of

CCAMLR to conserve Antarctic and

Patagonian toothfish by preventing or

otherwise discouraging unlawful

harvest and trade in these species.

DATES: This final rule is effective May 5,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the

Environmental Assessment and

Regulatory Impact Review/Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (EA and RIR/RFA)

supporting this action may be obtained

from Dean Swanson, International

Fisheries Division, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West

Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Comments involving the reporting

burden estimates or any other aspects of

the collection of information

requirements contained in this final rule

should be sent to both Dean Swanson,

at the above address, and to the Office

of Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB), Washington, DC 20503 (ATTN:

NOAA Desk Officer). Comments sent by

e-mail or the Internet will not be

accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dean Swanson or Angela Somma at

301–713–2276 or FAX 301–713–2313.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Antarctic fisheries are managed under

the authority of the Antarctic Marine

Living Resources Convention Act of

1984 (Act) codified at 16 U.S.C. 2431 et

seq. NMFS implements CCAMLR

conservation measures by regulations at

50 CFR part 300, subpart G. Background

information about the need for revisions

to the Antarctic fisheries regulations

was provided in the preamble to the

proposed rule (65 FR 13284, March 13,

2000) and is not repeated here.

Comments and Responses

NMFS received written comments

during the 30-day comment period on

the proposed rule. When drafting the

final EA and RIR/RFA and the final

regulations, NMFS considered all

comments received. Comments were

received on the proposed rule from an

industry trade association, several

importers of toothfish, several

environmental organizations, the U.S.

Customs Service, and the Department of

State. All supported the action taken by

CCAMLR.

Comment 1: Several commenters

objected to a continuation of the import

permit requirements as applied to

incoming toothfish at the same time as

the DCD requirements are being

implemented.

Response: NMFS intends to withdraw

such import permit requirements by

formal rulemaking once the DCD

requirements have their intended effect

within the United States and other

CCAMLR member states.

Comment 2: Several commenters

suggested that NMFS should review and

approve the completeness and accuracy

of a DCD before a shipment of toothfish

arrives at U.S. Customs.

Response: As this alternative was not

suggested or considered in the proposed

rule and the EA, and the United States

is legally obligated to implement the

DCD requirements on May 7, 2000, it

was not feasible to incorporate this

suggestion into the rulemaking given the

deadline. NMFS intends to discuss this

suggestion with an interagency group

with experience with pre-approval

procedures for restricted imports to

determine whether a pre-approval

system can improve compliance with

the CCAMLR catch documentation

scheme. NMFS will consider the advice

of this group and the results of

compliance with the DCD scheme in

determining whether to propose an

amendment to this rule. NMFS is

committed to implementing U.S.

obligations arising from CCAMLR in a

comprehensive manner that aims at full

compliance by U.S. nationals and other

individuals subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

Comment 3: One commenter

expressed concern about the

commercially sensitive nature of

information required on the DCD.

Response: The DCD is a CCAMLRprescribed form, and NMFS is not able

to change it. NMFS does not believe any

Privacy Act provisions are violated by

the form.

Comment 4: One commenter said that,

as written, the proposed rule is unclear

whether the rule requires each landing

of toothfish at U.S. ports by non-U.S.

flag vessels to be accompanied by a

DCD.

Response: Non-U.S. vessels are

already prohibited by law from landing

toothfish at U.S. ports (Nicholson Act,

46 U.S.C. 251–252). Therefore, NMFS

does not believe that this issue needs to

be addressed in this rulemaking. In

addition, under the provisions at

§ 300.107(c)(2), all offloadings of

toothfish by U.S. harvesting vessels

must be accompanied by a DCD, and the

provisions at § 300.107(c)(3) require a

DCD for transshipment of toothfish as

well. § 300.107 (c)(5) requires a DCD for

the importation of toothfish regardless

of the nationality of the vessel that

brought it to port.

Comment 5: One commenter said that

the rule will not prevent all shipments

of toothfish accompanied by incomplete

DCDs from entering into the customs

territory of the United States because it

requires merely that each shipment of

toothfish coming into the United States

be accompanied by a DCD.

Response: NMFS disagrees that this

rule requires each shipment of toothfish

coming into the United States only to be

accompanied by a DCD. Each shipment

of toothfish must be accompanied by a

complete and validated DCD as required

under the CCAMLR catch

documentation scheme. The provision

at § 300.107 (c)(1)(ii) says ‘‘No shipment

of Dissostichus species shall be released

for entry into the United States unless

accompanied by a complete and

validated CCAMLR DCD, except as

provided in paragraph (c)(7) of this

subsection.’’

Comment 6: One commenter said that

CCAMLR/NMFS should consider

mandatory use of a vessel monitoring

system (VMS) as a precautionary

measure in conjunction with the DCD

by vessels offloading toothfish into the

United States.

Response: CCAMLR requires VMS on

harvesting vessels of its Contracting

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 30015

Parties participating in some fisheries,

but it does not have the legal authority

to require the use of VMS on harvesting

vessels of non-contracting parties.

CCAMLR did not include VMS

requirements within its new toothfish

catch documentation scheme. NMFS,

therefore, did not consider the

alternative of including a VMS

requirement in the present rulemaking.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

The two finfish species that are being

added to the definition of ‘‘Antarctic

finfishes,’’ Lepidonotothen kempi and

Electrona carlsbergi, were misspelled in

the proposed rule. The spelling has been

corrected.

The definition of ‘‘Dissostichus catch

document (DCD)’’ has been corrected to

delete the reference to vessels

authorized to transship Dissostichus

species because DCDs are not issued to

transshipment vessels.

The definition of ‘‘transship’’ has

been clarified to mean the transfer of

fish or fish products from one vessel to

another.

In § 300.107, paragraph (c) on catch

documentation has been reformatted to

improve readability.

In § 300.112, paragraph (k) has been

clarified to apply to any U.S. flagged

vessel that receives or attempts to

receive Dissostichus species from a

harvesting vessel at sea rather than any

vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the

United States that engages or attempts to

engage in this activity.

In § 300.115, paragraph (b) is revised

and paragraphs (q) and (r) have been

added to enhance enforceability and

clarify usage.

Throughout, reference to ‘‘the

customs territory of the United States’’

has been changed to ‘‘the United States’’

to comport with the definition of

‘‘import’’ under the Act.

NMFS is not implementing the

provisions contained in § 300.116 of the

proposed rule at this time due to

unresolved enforcement issues. NMFS

will rely on existing statutory and

regulatory authorities on a case-by-case

basis when addressing any resources

denied entry.

Classification

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries (AA), NMFS, determined that

this final rule is necessary for the

conservation and management of

Antarctic marine living resources and is

consistent with the Antarctic Marine

Living Resources Convention Act of

1984, and other applicable laws.

This final 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 when

this rule was proposed that this rule

would not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. No comments were received

regarding this certification or the EA/

RIR/RFA and the basis for this

certification has not changed. Impacts

were considered in the EA/RIR/RFA

(see ADDRESSES).

Notwithstanding any other provision

of law, no person is required to respond

to, nor shall a person be subject to a

penalty for failure to comply with, a

collection of information subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA), unless that

collection of information displays a

currently valid OMB control number.

This rule contains a collection-ofinformation requirement subject to the

PRA. OMB has approved this collectionof-information requirement under OMB

control number 0648–0194. The

estimated burden for dealer permits to

import is 30 minutes per occurrence.

The estimated burden for applying for a

dealer permit to re-export Dissostichus

species is 30 minutes per occurrence,

and the application for a harvest permit

authorizing transshipment is estimated

to take 12 minutes per occurrence.

Completion and submission of an

import ticket is estimated to take no

more than 15 minutes per occurrence.

The estimated burden for completion

and submission of DCDs is 3 minutes for

each submission by importers, 10

minutes for each submission by reexporters, and 15 minutes for each

submission by harvesting vessels and

transshipers. The logbook requirement

in § 300.107(a) is not subject to the PRA

because it is a requirement imposed by

an international organization rather than

by NMFS.

Send comments regarding this burden

estimate or any other aspect of this

collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden, to

NMFS and to OMB (see ADDRESSES).

Because the implementation of

CCAMLR DCD program becomes an

obligation of the United States and other

CCAMLR members on May 7, 2000,

there is good cause to waive the 30-day

delay in effectiveness for this rule under

5 U.S.C. 553 (d)(3). To fulfill its

international obligations under

CCAMLR, the United States must

implement the DCD scheme by May 7,

2000. Successful implementation is

dependent upon CCAMLR members

implementing the scheme at the same

time because the DCD can only be

issued by the flag State of the harvesting

vessel. Although U.S. vessels do not

currently harvest toothfish, the United

States is a significant importer. Because

of this, the success of the global DCD

scheme depends substantially on the

United States implementing the harvest

tracking system as close to May 7, 2000,

as possible, to avoid confusion, to

discourage trade in unlawfully

harvested toothfish, and to facilitate

international trade in lawful shipments

of toothfish. The final rule provides a

60-day exception for toothfish harvested

prior to the effective date of the final

rule. The rule must be in effect by May

7, 2000, or as soon as practicable

thereafter, and any delay would be

contrary to the public interest and

unnecessary.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300

Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels,

Foreign relations, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Statistics,

Treaties.

Dated: May 5, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 300, subpart G,

is amended as follows:

PART 300–-INTERNATIONAL

FISHERIES REGULATIONS

Subpart G—Antarctic Marine Living

Resources

1. The authority citation for part 300,

subpart G, continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.

2. In § 300.101, the definition of

‘‘Antarctic finfishes’’ is amended by

adding an entry in the table for

‘‘Striped-eyed rockcod’’ immediately

following the existing entry for ‘‘Grey

Rockcod’’ and two others for ‘‘Antarctic

toothfish’’ and ‘‘Lanternfish’’

immediately following the existing

entry for ‘‘Patagonian toothfish.’’ The

definition of ‘‘Antarctic marine living

resources or AMLR(s)’’ is revised, and

the definitions for ‘‘Dealer’’,

Dissostichus catch document (DCD)’’,

‘‘Dissostichus species’’ and ‘‘Transship’’

are added in alphabetical order to read

as follows:

§ 300.101 Definitions.

* * * * *

Antarctic finfishes include the

following:

30016 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Scientific

name Common name

*******

Lepido

notothen

kempi ....... Striped-eyed rockcod.

*******

Dissostichus

mawsoni .. Antarctic toothfish.

Electrona

carlsbergi Lanternfish.

*******

Antarctic marine living resources or

AMLR(s) means:

(1) The populations of finfish,

mollusks, crustaceans, and all other

species of living organisms, including

birds, found south of the Antarctic

Convergence;

(2) All species of Dissostichus,

wherever found; and

(3) All parts or products of those

populations and species set forth in

paragraphs (1) and (2) of this definition.

* * * * *

Dealer means the person who first

receives AMLRs from a harvesting

vessel or transshipment vessel or who

imports AMLRs into, or re-exports

AMLRs from, the United States.

* * * * *

Dissostichus catch document (DCD)

means the uniquely numbered catch

documentation form approved by the

Commission and issued by a flag state

to its vessels authorized to harvest

Dissostichus species.

Dissostichus species means

Patagonian toothfish and/or Antarctic

toothfish and their parts or products.

* * * * *

Transship means the transfer of fish

or fish products from one vessel to

another.

3. Section 300.107 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 300.107 Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

(a) Vessels. The operator of any vessel

required to have a permit under this

subpart must:

(1) Accurately maintain on board the

vessel a fishing logbook and all other

reports and records required by its

permit;

(2) Make such reports and records

available for inspection upon the

request of an authorized officer or

CCAMLR inspector; and

(3) Within the time specified in the

permit, submit a copy of such reports

and records to NMFS at an address

designated by NMFS.

(b) Dealers. Dealers of AMLRs

required to have a permit under this

subpart must:

(1) Accurately maintain all reports

and records required by their permits;

(2) Make such reports and records

available for inspection upon the

request of an authorized officer or

CCAMLR inspector; and

(3) Within the time specified in the

permit, submit a copy of such reports

and records to NMFS at an address

designated by NMFS.

(c) Catch documentation–-(1) General.

(i) The CCAMLR DCD must accompany

all shipments of Dissostichus species as

required in this subsection.

(ii) No shipment of Dissostichus

species shall be released for entry into

the United States unless accompanied

by a complete and validated CCAMLR

DCD, except as provided in paragraph

(c)(7) of this section.

(2) Harvesting vessels. (i) In addition

to any harvesting permit or

authorization previously issued, a U.S.

vessel harvesting or attenpting to

harvest Dissostichus species must

possess a DCD issued by NMFS which

is non-transferrable. The master of the

harvesting vessel must ensure that the

catch information specified on the DCD

is accurately recorded.

(ii) Prior to offloading of Dissostichus

species, the master of the harvesting

vessel must:

(A) electronically convey by the most

rapid means possible catch information

to NMFS and record on the DCD a

confirmation number received from

NMFS;

(B) Obtain on the DCD (or copies

thereof) the signature(s) of the following

persons: if catch is offloaded for

transshipment, the master of the

vessel(s) to which the catch is

transferred; or if catch is offloaded for

landing, the signature of both the

responsible official(s) designated by

NMFS in the harvesting permit, and the

dealer(s) that receives the catch at the

port(s) of landing; and

(C) Sign the DCD (or copies thereof),

electronically convey by the most rapid

means possible each copy to NMFS, and

provide a copy to each recipient of the

catch.

(iii) The master of the harvesting

vessel must submit the original DCD (or

all copies thereof with original

signatures) to NMFS no later than 30

days after the end of the fishing season

as authorized for that vessel on its

harvesting permit.

(3) Transshipment vessels. (i) The

master of a U.S. vessel issued a permit

to transship Dissostichus species must,

upon receipt of Dissostichus species,

sign each DCD provided by the master

of the harvesting vessel.

(ii) Prior to landing Dissostichus

species, the master of the transshipping

vessel must:

(A) Obtain on each DCD (or copies

thereof) the signature(s) of both the

responsible official(s) designated by

NMFS in the permit, and the dealer(s)

that receives the catch at the port(s) of

landing and

(B) Sign each DCD (or copies thereof),

and electronically convey by the most

rapid means possible each copy to

NMFS and to the flag state(s) of the

harvesting vessel(s) and provide a copy

to each dealer receiving Dissostichus

species.

(iii) The master of the transshipping

vessel must submit all DCDs with

original signatures to NMFS no later

than 30 days after offloading and retain

copies for a period of 2 years.

(4) Receivers upon landing. Any

dealer who receives Dissostichus

species from a harvesting vessel or from

a transshipment vessel must sign the

DCD(s) provided by the master of the

vessel.

(5) Import. (i) Any dealer who imports

Dissostichus species must:

(A) Obtain the DCD(s) that accompany

the import shipment;

(B) Mail or fax the DCD(s) to NMFS

within 24 hours of the release from

customs custody, and

(C) Retain a copy for his/her records

and provide copies to exporters as

needed.

(ii) Dealers must retain at their place

of business a copy of the DCD for a

period of 2 years from the date on the

DCD.

(6) Re-export. (i) Any dealer who reexports Dissostichus species must

complete a Dissostichus re-export

document by indicating:

(A) The amount from the original

DCD(s) that is exported in the particular

export shipment;

(B) The number of the original

DCD(s);

(C) The name of the importer and

point of import; and

(D) The exporter’s name, address and

permit number.

(ii) The dealer must then sign the reexport document and obtain validation

by a responsible official(s) designated by

NMFS.

(iii) The original validated

Dissostichus re-export document and

copies of the original DCD(s) must

accompany the export shipment.

(iv) The dealer must retain a copy of

the re-export document and copies of

the DCD(s)at his/her place of business

for a period of 2 years from the date on

the DCD.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 10, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 30017

(7) Exception. Dissostichus species

harvested prior to the effective date of

this rule may be imported during the

first 60 days following the effective date

of this rule, provided that the date of the

harvest(s) are corroborated on the dealer

permit.

4. In § 300.112, paragraph (k) is added

to read as follows:

§ 300.112 Harvesting permits.

* * * * *

(k) Transshipment vessels. Any U.S.

flagged vessel that receives or attempts

to receive Dissostichus species from a

harvesting vessel at sea, regardless of

whether such transshipment occurs in

waters under the jurisdiction of

CCAMLR, must obtain from NMFS a

harvesting permit authorizing

transshipment. Transshipment vessels

must comply with the permitting

provisions of this section with respect to

harvesting vessels.

5. Section 300.113 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 300.113 Dealer permits.

(a) General. (1) A dealer must obtain

an AMLRs dealer permit from NMFS.

Only those specific activities stipulated

by the permit are authorized for the

permit holder.

(2) An AMLR may be imported into

the United States if its harvest has been

authorized by a U.S.-issued individual

permit or a harvesting permit issued

under § 300.112 (a)(1) or its importation

has been authorized by a NMFS-issued

dealer permit issued under paragraph

(a) of this section. AMLR’s may not be

released for entry into the United States

unless accompanied by the harvesting

permit, the individual permit, a NMFSissued dealer permit, or a copy thereof.

(3) In addition to any applicable catch

documentation required under

§ 300.107 (c)(1), the dealer is required to

complete and return to NMFS, no later

than 24 hours after the date of the

importation, an import ticket reporting

the importation. In no event may a

marine mammal be imported into the

United States unless authorized and

accompanied by an import permit

issued under the Marine Mammal

Protection Act and/or the Endangered

Species Act.

(4) A dealer permit issued under this

section does not authorize the harvest or

transshipment of any AMLR by or to a

vessel of the United States.

(b) Application. Application forms for

AMLR dealer permits are available from

NMFS. A complete and accurate

application must be submitted for each

permit at least 30 days before the

anticipated date of the first receipt,

importation, or re-export.

(c) Issuance. NMFS may issue a dealer

permit if it determines that the activity

proposed by the dealer meets the

requirements of the Act and that the

resources were not or will not be

harvested in violation of any

conservation measure in force with

respect to the United States or in

violation of any regulation in this

subpart.

(d) Duration. A permit issued under

this section is valid from its date of

issuance to its date of expiration unless

it is revoked or suspended.

(e) Transfer. A permit issued under

this section is not transferable or

assignable.

(f) Changes in information–(1)

Pending applications. Applicants for

permits under this section must report

in writing to NMFS any change in the

information submitted in their permit

applications. The processing period for

the application will be extended as

necessary to review and consider the

change.

(2) Issued permits. Any entity issued

a permit under this section must report

in writing to NMFS any changes in

previously submitted information. Any

changes that would not result in a

change in the receipt or importation

authorized by the permit must be

reported on the import ticket required to

be submitted to NMFS no later than 24

hours after the date of receipt or

importation. Any changes that would

result in a change in the receipt or

importation authorized by the permit,

i.e., harvesting vessel or country of

origin, type and quantity of the resource

to be received or imported, and

Convention statistical subarea from

which the resource was harvested must

be proposed in writing to NMFS and

may not be undertaken unless

authorized by NMFS through issuance

of a revised or new permit.

(g) Revision, suspension, or

revocation. A permit issued under this

section may be revised, suspended, or

revoked, based upon a violation of the

permit, the Act, or this subpart. Failure

to report a change in the information

contained in a permit application voids

the application or permit, as applicable.

Title 15 CFR part 904 governs permit

sanctions under this subpart.

6. In § 300.115, paragraph (b) is

revised and paragraphs (q) and (r) are

added to read as follows:

§ 300.115 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(b) Import into or export from the

United States any AMLRs taken by

vessels without a permit to harvest

those resources as required by § 300.112

(a)(1), or without applicable catch

documentation as required by § 300.107

(c)(1), or without a dealer permit as

required by § 300.113 (a)(1), or in

violation of the terms and conditions for

such import or export as specified on

the permit.

* * * * *

(q) Provide incomplete or inaccurate

information about the harvest,

transshipment, landing, import or reexport of applicable species on any

document required under this subpart.

(r) Receive AMLRs from a vessel

without a dealer or harvesting permit

issued under this subpart.

7. In § 300.116, paragraph (d) is added

and reserved to read as follows:

§ 300.116 Facilitation of enforcement and

inspection.

* * * * *

(d) Disposition of resources denied

entry. [Reserved]

[FR Doc. 00–11666 Filed 5–5–00; 2:01 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F