Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8759 

economic hardship, which would be 

assessed in terms of the cost that would 

be incurred to transship or land fish at 

feasible and allowable locations other 

than on the high seas, as compared to 

total operating costs, net revenues, or 

some other meaningful measure of costs 

and/or revenues; and (2) the vessel 

would have to make significant and 

substantial changes to its historical 

mode of operation as a result of the 

prohibition of transshipment on the 

high seas. 

Pursuant to a number of fisheries 

regulations, NMFS collects data from 

vessel owners and operators on some 

transshipment activities. However, the 

data do not cover all transshipment 

activities that could be subject to this 

regulation; they do not identify the 

locations of transshipments (e.g., with 

respect to in-port versus at-sea, on the 

high seas versus in waters under 

national jurisdiction, and inside versus 

outside the Convention Area), and the 

types of data collected differ among the 

fishing fleets. Accordingly, the available 

data may not provide complete 

information on historical transshipment 

activities by U.S. vessels on the high 

seas in the Convention Area. 

Based on the best available data, 

NMFS is aware that from 1993–2009 an 

average of 12 transshipments per year 

were conducted by the U.S. longline 

fleets operating in the area of 

application of the Convention, 

excluding transshipments involving the 

receipt of only shark fins from foreignflagged vessels—an activity that was 

curtailed after the passage of the Shark 

Finning Prohibition Act in 2000. It is 

likely that most of these transshipments 

took place at sea, but it is unknown how 

many of these transshipments took 

place on the high seas. It also appears 

that these transshipments involved 

vessels in the Hawaii-based longline 

fleet and the American Samoa-based 

longline fleet. 

NMFS data indicate that U.S. albacore 

troll vessels operating in the Convention 

Area conduct at-sea transshipments. For 

example, from 1990–2004 an average of 

49 transshipments per year were 

conducted by U.S. albacore troll vessels 

in the area of application of the 

Convention. It is likely that all of these 

transshipments took place on the high 

seas. The available data indicate that no 

U.S. albacore troll vessel has 

transshipped at sea in the Convention 

Area since 2004. 

NMFS has no information on high 

seas transshipments in the Convention 

Area for vessels in the pole-and-line, 

handline, tropical troll, or any other 

HMS fleets. 

NMFS is issuing this advance notice 

of proposed rulemaking to seek public 

comment on transshipment activities by 

U.S. HMS fishing fleets in the 

Convention Area and the impacts that a 

prohibition on high seas transshipment 

would have on fishing operations. 

NMFS would like information that 

would help it apply the interim 

guidelines of CMM 2009–06 to 

determine whether it would be 

impracticable for certain fishing vessels 

to operate without being able to 

transship on the high seas in the 

Convention Area. In particular, NMFS 

would like to receive information and 

comments from potentially affected 

entities and others on the following: 

(1) Transshipment activity that has 

occurred on the high seas in the 

Convention Area in the past; (2) 

transshipment activity that presently 

takes place on the high seas in the 

Convention Area; (3) transshipment 

activity that is likely to take place or is 

anticipated to take place on the high 

seas in the Convention Area in the 

future; (4) changes to fishing patterns 

and practices that could be caused by a 

prohibition on high seas transshipment 

in the Convention Area; and (5) the 

effects (economic or otherwise) that 

could be caused by a prohibition on 

high seas transshipment in the 

Convention Area. 

NMFS will consider the information 

and comments received in order to 

determine how best to implement the 

high seas prohibition provision of CMM 

2009–06 and any applicable exceptions. 

Classification 

This advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking has been determined to be 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. 

Dated: February 9, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3545 Filed 2–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 110209128–1694–01] 

RIN 0648–BA85 

International Fisheries; Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly 

Migratory Species; Transshipping, 

Bunkering, Reporting, and Purse Seine 

Discard Requirements 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations 

under the authority of the Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries Convention 

Implementation Act (WCPFC 

Implementation Act) to implement 

requirements for U.S. fishing vessels 

used for commercial fishing that offload 

or receive transshipments of highly 

migratory species (HMS), U.S. fishing 

vessels used for commercial fishing that 

provide bunkering or other support 

services to fishing vessels, and U.S. 

fishing vessels used for commercial 

fishing that receive bunkering or engage 

in other support services, in the area of 

application of the Convention on the 

Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(Convention). Some of the requirements 

would also apply to transshipments of 

fish caught in the area of application of 

the Convention (Convention Area) and 

transshipped elsewhere. NMFS also 

proposes requirements regarding 

notification of entry into and exit from 

the ‘‘Eastern High Seas Special 

Management Area’’ (Eastern SMA) and 

requirements relating to discards from 

purse seine fishing vessels. This action 

is necessary for the United States to 

implement decisions of the Commission 

for the Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(Commission or WCPFC) and to satisfy 

its obligations under the Convention, to 

which it is a Contracting Party. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted in 

writing by April 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposed 

rule, identified by NOAA–NMFS–2011– 

0281, the environmental assessment 

(EA), the regulatory impact review (RIR) 

prepared for the proposed rule, the 

Pacific Transshipment Declaration 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8760 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Form, and the U.S. Purse Seine Discard 

Form may be sent to either of the 

following addresses: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking portal, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or 

• Mail: Mail written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands 

Regional Office (PIRO), 1601 Kapiolani 

Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814– 

4700. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted to one of the two addresses to 

ensure that the comments are received, 

documented, and considered by NMFS. 

Comments sent to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered. All comments received are 

part of the public record and generally 

will be posted on http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name and address) 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 (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the relevant required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, 

or Adobe PDF file formats only. 

An initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) prepared under the 

authority of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA) is included in the 

Classification section of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this proposed rule. 

Copies of the EA, RIR, Pacific 

Transshipment Declaration Form, and 

U.S. Purse Seine Discard Form prepared 

for this proposed rule are available from 

http://www.regulations.gov or may be 

obtained from Michael D. Tosatto, 

NMFS PIRO (see address above). 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to Michael D. 

Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS 

PIRO (see address above) and by email 

to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or 

fax to (202) 395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rini 

Ghosh, NMFS PIRO, 808–944–2273. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This proposed rule is also accessible 

at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr. 

Background on the Convention and the 

WCPFC 

The Convention Area comprises the 

majority of the western and central 

Pacific Ocean (WCPO). A map showing 

the boundaries of the Convention Area 

can be found on the WCPFC Web site 

at: http://www.wcpfc.int/doc/ 

convention-area-map. The Convention 

focuses on the conservation and 

management of highly migratory species 

(HMS) and the management of fisheries 

for HMS. 

As a Contracting Party to the 

Convention and a Member of the 

WCPFC, the United States is obligated 

to implement the decisions of the 

WCPFC. The WCPFC Implementation 

Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), authorizes 

the Secretary of Commerce, in 

consultation with the Secretary of State 

and the Secretary of the Department in 

which the United States Coast Guard is 

operating (currently the Department of 

Homeland Security), to promulgate such 

regulations as may be necessary to carry 

out the obligations of the United States 

under the Convention, including the 

decisions of the WCPFC. The authority 

to promulgate regulations has been 

delegated to NMFS. 

This proposed rule would implement 

provisions adopted by the WCPFC in 

Conservation and Management 

Measures (CMMs) 2009–06, 2009–01, 

2010–02, and 2009–02. A full 

discussion of the provisions to be 

implemented in each CMM is provided 

below. 

WCPFC Decision Regarding the 

Regulation of Transshipments in the 

Convention Area 

At its Sixth Regular Session, in 

December 2009, the WCPFC adopted 

CMM 2009–06, ‘‘Conservation and 

Management Measure on the Regulation 

of Transhipment.’’ The CMM, available 

with other decisions of the WCPFC at 

http://www.wcpfc.int/conservation-andmanagement-measures, furthers the 

objectives of Article 29 of the 

Convention and includes specific 

obligations for WCPFC Members, 

Participating Territories, and 

Cooperating Non-Members (collectively, 

CCMs) to regulate transshipment 

activities in the Convention Area. 

Among the objectives of the CMM is to 

establish procedures to obtain and 

verify data on the quantity and species 

transshipped in the Convention Area 

and on the quantity and species caught 

in the Convention Area and 

transshipped elsewhere to ensure 

accurate reporting of catches, so that 

stock assessments of HMS include 

improved data. 

CMM 2009–06 is premised on the 

recognition that unregulated and 

unreported transshipment of catches of 

HMS at sea contributes to inaccurate 

reporting of the catches of such stocks, 

which contributes to illegal, unreported, 

and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. 

The term transshipment, as specified in 

the Convention, means the unloading of 

all or any fish on board a fishing vessel 

to another fishing vessel either at sea or 

in port. Provisions of the CMM 

generally apply to vessel owners and 

operators that transship HMS covered 

by the Convention in the Convention 

Area. Vessel owners and operators 

undertaking these transshipments must 

comply with provisions for observer 

coverage, notice and reporting 

requirements, and provisions regarding 

the types of vessels with which 

transshipments may be conducted. 

Vessel owners and operators conducting 

transshipments outside the Convention 

Area of HMS caught in the Convention 

Area must also comply with notice and 

reporting provisions. No provisions of 

the CMM apply if the fish are both 

caught and transshipped in archipelagic 

waters or territorial seas. 

The CMM includes provisions that 

obligate CCMs to do the following: (1) 

For transshipments of HMS in the 

Convention Area or HMS caught in the 

Convention Area, require owners and 

operators of vessels that offload or 

receive transshipments, at sea or in port, 

to complete a transshipment report 

including specific information detailing 

the transshipment and the products 

transshipped; if the transshipment takes 

place on the high seas or is an 

emergency transshipment that would 

otherwise be prohibited, the report must 

be submitted to the WCPFC within 15 

days of the transshipment; (2) require 

that a notice be submitted to the WCPFC 

containing specific information in the 

case of an emergency transshipment of 

HMS in the Convention Area or HMS 

caught in the Convention Area that 

would otherwise be prohibited within 

12 hours of the completion of the 

transshipment by means of a device that 

can both send and receive data (e.g., fax 

or email); (3) require that a notice be 

submitted to the WCPFC containing 

specific information at least 36 hours 

prior to each transshipment on the high 

seas in the Convention Area or of fish 

caught in the Convention Area and 

transshipped on the high seas elsewhere 

by means of a device that can both send 

and receive data (e.g., fax or email); (4) 

require that observers be carried on 

vessels to monitor transshipments at sea 

in the Convention Area; and (5) prohibit 

vessels from transshipping to or from a 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8761 

vessel flagged to a non-CCM in the 

Convention Area unless that vessel has 

received specified forms of 

authorization, such as being listed on 

the WCPFC Interim Register of NonMember Carrier and Bunker Vessels 

(Interim Register) or being specifically 

licensed to fish in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) of a CCM in 

accordance with a decision of the 

WCPFC. 

Under the Convention, CCMs are 

obligated, with limited exceptions, to 

prohibit transshipments at sea involving 

purse seine vessels in the Convention 

Area. NMFS has implemented this 

prohibition (see 50 CFR 300.216(b)). 

CMM 2009–06 also requires CCMs to 

prohibit transshipments at sea involving 

purse seine vessels of fish caught in the 

Convention Area but transshipped 

outside of the Convention Area. 

However, purse seine vessels would 

continue to be able to transship in port. 

CMM 2009–06 also contains a 

provision obligating CCMs to prohibit 

vessels (other than purse seine vessels) 

flying their flags from transshipping on 

the high seas in the Convention Area, 

subject to certain considerations. NMFS 

has prepared an advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking to solicit public 

comments regarding this provision of 

CMM 2009–06 (see NOAA–NMFS– 

2012–0001 at www.regulations.gov). 

WCPFC Decision Regarding Carrier and 

Bunker Vessels 

At its Sixth Regular Session, in 

December 2009, the WCPFC adopted 

CMM 2009–01, ‘‘WCPFC Record of 

Fishing Vessels and Authorization to 

Fish.’’ This CMM revised CMM 2004– 

01, and specifically established the 

Interim Register, which includes all 

non-CCM carrier and bunker vessels 

that are authorized by the Commission 

to be used in the Convention Area for 

transshipping, bunkering, or other 

supply activities. CMM 2009–01 

includes a specific provision obligating 

WCPFC Members and Cooperating NonMembers to prohibit their fishing 

vessels from conducting transshipping 

and bunkering or other support 

activities in the Convention Area with 

another vessel unless that vessel is: 

(1) Flagged to WCPFC Members or 

Cooperating Non-Members; (2) on the 

Interim Register; or (3) operated under 

charter, lease, or similar mechanisms as 

an integral part of the fishery of a CCM, 

in accordance with relevant WCPFC 

provisions. This provision is similar to 

the provision in CMM 2009–06 

obligating CCMs to prohibit vessels from 

transshipping to or from a vessel flagged 

to a non-CCM unless that vessel has 

received specific authorization, such as 

a non-CCM carrier vessel that is on the 

Interim Register. 

WCPFC Decision Regarding Entry and 

Exit Notification for the Eastern SMA 

At its Seventh Regular Session, in 

December 2010, the WCPFC adopted 

CMM 2010–02, ‘‘Conservation and 

Management Measure for the Eastern 

High-Seas Pocket Special Management 

Area.’’ This measure seeks to reduce 

IUU fishing and applies to the area of 

the high seas bounded by the EEZs of 

the Cook Islands to the north and west, 

French Polynesia to the east, and 

Kiribati to the northeast. The measure 

obligates CCMs to require their vessels 

to submit reports with specific 

information, including catch data, at 

least six hours prior to entry and no 

later than six hours prior to exiting this 

area of the high seas. 

CMM 2010–02 also includes a 

provision requiring CCMs to encourage 

their vessels operating in the Eastern 

SMA to report sightings of any vessel to 

the WCPFC Secretariat, and provide 

specific information to the WCPFC 

Secretariat for each sighting (date, time, 

position, bearing, markings, speed, and 

vessel type). Because of the limited 

presence of U.S. vessels operating in the 

Eastern SMA (see the EA) and the nonobligatory nature of this provision, this 

proposed rule would not implement this 

provision of CMM 2010–02. The map in 

Figure 1 shows the Eastern SMA as the 

high seas area within the rectangle 

bounded by the bold black lines. 

Figure 1. Eastern SMA. Areas of high 

seas are indicated in white; areas of 

claimed national jurisdiction, including 

territorial seas, archipelagic waters, and 

EEZs, are indicated in dark shading. The 

Eastern SMA is the high seas area (in 

white) within the rectangle bounded by 

the bold black lines. This map displays 

indicative maritime boundaries only. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8762 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

WCPFC Decision on Discards From 

Purse Seine Vessels 

At its Sixth Regular Session, in 

December 2009, the WCPFC adopted 

CMM 2009–02, ‘‘Conservation and 

Management Measure on the 

Application of High Seas Fish 

Aggregating Device (FAD) Closures and 

Catch Retention.’’ The provisions in 

CMM 2009–02 modify or supplement 

the provisions in CMM 2008–01, 

‘‘Conservation and Management 

Measure for Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna 

in the Western and Central Pacific 

Ocean,’’ for FAD prohibition periods 

and catch retention requirements for 

purse seine fishing vessels, including 

specific requirements for reporting 

discards of fish. Prior to the adoption of 

CMM 2009–02, NMFS issued 

regulations implementing the 

requirements for the FAD prohibition 

periods and catch retention specified in 

CMM 2008–01. Those regulations are set 

forth at 50 CFR 300.223. NMFS has 

determined that the regulations 

implementing the FAD prohibition 

periods and catch retention 

requirements under CMM 2008–01 are 

consistent with the related provisions of 

CMM 2009–02. Therefore, no additional 

steps need to be taken at this time to 

implement these provisions, except that 

NMFS proposes to remove the 

termination date (December 31, 2012) 

applicable to the current catch retention 

provision. In addition, CMM 2009–02 

also contains new reporting 

requirements for discards of fish from 

purse seine vessels, which would be 

implemented under this rulemaking. 

The reporting provisions obligate CCMs 

to require owners and operators of 

vessels to ensure the submission of a 

report to the Commission containing 

specific information regarding discards 

no later than 48 hours after any discard 

at sea of fish. The provisions also 

obligate CCMs to require that a hard 

copy of the information be provided to 

the WCPFC Observer on board the 

vessel. 

Net Sharing Restrictions 

This proposed rule also would 

implement restrictions regarding ‘‘net 

sharing’’ (i.e., the transfer of fish that 

have not yet been loaded on board any 

fishing vessel from the purse seine net 

of one vessel to another fishing vessel) 

for U.S. purse seine vessels fishing in 

the Convention Area. The regulations at 

50 CFR 300.223(d) implementing the 

catch retention requirements of CMM 

2008–01 require U.S. purse seine fishing 

vessels to retain all catch of bigeye tuna 

(Thunnus obesus), yellowfin tuna 

(Thunnus albacares), and skipjack tuna 

(Katsuwonus pelamis) unless: (1) The 

fish are unfit for human consumption; 

(2) there is insufficient well space to 

accommodate all the fish captured in a 

given set, provided that no additional 

sets are made during the trip; or (3) 

serious malfunction of equipment 

occurs. In addition, the regulations at 50 

CFR 300.216 prohibit purse seine 

vessels from conducting transshipments 

at sea in the Convention Area. However, 

on occasion a vessel will have 

insufficient well space to accommodate 

all the fish caught in a set. 

NMFS believes that in such 

circumstances, it would be appropriate 

to allow the vessel to transfer the excess 

fish in the net to another vessel for the 

purpose of reducing discards. NMFS’ 

proposal is consistent with CMM 2008– 

01, which states that ‘‘excess fish taken 

in the last set may be transferred to and 

retained on board another purse seine 

vessel provided this is not prohibited 

under applicable national law.’’ 

Thus, the proposed rule would 

exclude net sharing activities from the 

definition of transshipment (which for 

purse seine vessels is generally 

prohibited at sea). However, a purse 

seine vessel that transfers fish through 

net sharing would be prohibited from 

making any additional purse seine sets 

during the remainder of its fishing trip. 

Under the proposed rule, U.S. purse 

seine vessels would be prohibited from 

net sharing with the exception that they 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALSEP15FE12.000</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8763 

would be allowed to conduct limited 

net sharing, as described above, on the 

final set of a trip with other U.S. purse 

seine vessels. However, since NMFS has 

limited ability to enforce a last-set 

requirement for foreign vessels, the 

proposed rule would prohibit U.S. purse 

seine vessels from conducting any net 

sharing with foreign-flagged vessels. 

Existing Regulations Governing 

Transshipment Activities in the 

Convention Area 

Certain vessel owners and operators 

that would be subject to this proposed 

rule are currently subject to regulations 

regarding transshipments, specifically 

on reporting transshipment activities. 

None of the requirements under the 

proposed rule would conflict with those 

regulations. However, there would be 

some overlap with the current reporting 

requirements. These overlaps are 

described below. Aside from the 15-day 

requirement for high seas and 

emergency transshipments, as described 

above, CMM 2009–06 does not provide 

specific requirements for when the 

transshipment report must be 

submitted. Thus, the proposed rule 

would require vessel owners and 

operators who are subject to other 

existing transshipment reporting 

requirements to submit the information 

in the transshipment report on the same 

schedule as those requirements for all 

transshipments other than emergencies 

or those that occur on the high seas. 

Requirements for Vessels Licensed 

Under the South Pacific Tuna Act of 

1988 

The South Pacific Tuna Act, (SPTA; 

16 U.S.C. 973–973r), implements the 

Treaty on Fisheries between the 

Governments of Certain Pacific Island 

States and the Government of the 

United States of America (Treaty), 

which requires the submission of a 

transshipment logsheet form. Purse 

seine vessels licensed under the SPTA 

implementing regulations must 

complete a transshipment logsheet form 

for each transshipment. The logsheet 

form, which can be obtained from the 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator, must be accompanied by 

a report of the size breakdown of the 

catch as determined by the receiver of 

the fish, also known as a ‘‘final outturn’’ 

report. The logsheet form and final 

outturn report must be submitted to the 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator within two days of the 

completion of the transshipment and to 

the Treaty Administrator (currently the 

Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency 

(FFA)) within fourteen days of the 

transshipment (50 CFR 300.34(c)(2)). 

Owners and operators of vessels 

licensed under the SPTA that are 

involved in transshipments of HMS in 

the Convention Area or in 

transshipments of HMS caught in the 

Convention Area and transshipped 

elsewhere, would be subject to the new 

reporting requirements in the proposed 

revised section 300.218 of title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations set forth in 

this proposed rule. 

Requirements for Vessels Receiving 

Transshipments of Longline-Caught 

Fish 

Under current regulations, owners 

and operators of vessels registered for 

use as receiving vessels used to land or 

transship western Pacific pelagic 

management unit species (MUS) (i.e., 

species managed under the Fishery 

Ecosystem Plan for Pacific Pelagic 

Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region) 

that were harvested using longline gear 

shoreward of the outer boundary of the 

U.S. EEZ around American Samoa, 

Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands, or the 

Pacific remote island areas (PRIA; these 

include Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, 

Jarvis Island, Baker Island, Howland 

Island, Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, and 

Midway Atoll), must submit a 

transshipment logbook containing 

report forms available from the NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator. 

All information specified on the form 

must be recorded on the form within 24 

hours of the transshipment. Each form 

must be signed and dated by the 

receiving vessel operator. The original 

logbook form for each day of 

transshipment activity must be 

submitted to the NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator within 72 hours 

of each landing of western Pacific 

pelagic MUS (50 CFR 665.14(c) and 50 

CFR 665.801(e)). 

NMFS would replace the 

transshipment logbook form currently in 

use with the proposed Pacific 

Transshipment Declaration Form. Thus, 

owners and operators of vessels 

receiving transshipments of longlinecaught fish in the U.S. EEZ around 

American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, or PRIA would be required to 

submit only one form for a given 

transshipment. Owners and operators of 

vessels that offload the fish would be 

required to complete the form as well, 

though they are not required to do so 

under the current regulations. 

The transshipment reporting 

requirements under CMM 2009–06 do 

not include several of the pieces of 

information on the existing form, which, 

again, is currently required to be 

completed only by owners or operators 

of receiving vessels. These include: (1) 

The receiving vessel permit number; (2) 

the broker or shipping agent of the 

receiving vessel; (3) the port of landing 

of the receiving vessel; (4) the number 

of days the offloading vessel fished; (5) 

the number of sets made by the 

offloading vessel; (6) the average 

number of hooks fished per day by the 

offloading vessel; and (7) the general 

area of the offloading vessel’s catch, 

broken into four specific quadrants. 

Based on the recommendations of the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council at its 148th Meeting, NMFS 

proposes to include the port of landing 

and broker or shipping agent 

information requirements in the new 

transshipment report form; the other 

pieces of information that are not 

required under the provisions of CMM 

2009–06 would not be included. 

Requirements for Vessels Fishing for 

HMS in the U.S. EEZ Off the Coasts of 

Washington, Oregon, California, or 

Adjacent High Seas Waters 

Current Federal regulations require 

the operator of any commercial fishing 

vessel or recreational charter vessel 

fishing for HMS in the management area 

of the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. 

West Coast Fisheries for Highly 

Migratory Species to maintain on board 

the vessel an accurate and complete 

record of catch, effort, and other data on 

report forms available from the NMFS 

Southwest Regional Administrator. All 

information specified on the forms must 

be recorded on the forms within 24 

hours of the completion of each fishing 

day. The current version of these forms 

includes information about at-sea 

transshipments. The original form for 

each day of the fishing trip must be 

submitted to the NMFS Southwest 

Regional Administrator within 30 days 

of each landing or transshipment of 

HMS (50 CFR 660.708(a)). The form 

currently only requires three pieces of 

information regarding transshipments— 

the date, transshipper (receiving vessel), 

and amount (tonnage) of fish 

transshipped. Such information is 

required to be reported only for 

transshipments that take place at sea. 

Under this proposed rule, vessel owners 

and operators subject to the 

transshipment requirements at 50 CFR 

part 660 and the requirements proposed 

in this rule would be required to 

complete and submit the current report 

form as well as the new transshipment 

report proposed in this rule. 

Proposed Action 

This proposed rule contains the 

following seven new categories of 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8764 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

requirements: (1) Reporting 

requirements for transshipments, 

including the information specified in 

Annex I of CMM 2009–06 for the 

transshipment report; (2) requirements 

for providing notice of transshipments 

on the high seas or emergency 

transshipments that would otherwise be 

prohibited; (3) requirements for observer 

coverage for transshipments at sea; (4) 

restrictions on the vessels with which 

transshipping, bunkering or other 

support activities may be conducted; (5) 

requirements regarding notification of 

entry into and exit from the Eastern 

SMA; (6) requirements regarding 

discards from purse seine fishing 

vessels; and (7) other requirements. 

Each of these categories of requirements 

is described in detail below. 

1. Transshipment Reporting 

Requirements 

The owner and operator (operator 

means, with respect to any vessel, the 

master or other individual aboard and in 

charge of that vessel) of any U.S. fishing 

vessel used for commercial fishing that 

transships HMS in the Convention Area, 

whether from an offloading or receiving 

vessel, or that transships HMS caught in 

the Convention Area, whether from an 

offloading or receiving vessel, would be 

required to ensure the completion of 

and submission to NMFS of a 

transshipment report form available 

from the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator. A separate report would 

be required for each transshipment. As 

some of the information might be 

known by only the receiving vessel 

operator and some of the information 

might be known only by the offloading 

vessel operator, the operators of both 

vessels may need to exchange 

information regarding transshipment 

activities. 

The information specified on the 

report would need to be recorded within 

24 hours of completion of the 

transshipment. For transshipments on 

the high seas or for emergency 

transshipments that would otherwise be 

prohibited, the report would be required 

to be submitted by email or fax to the 

appropriate address specified by the 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator no later than 10 calendar 

days after completion of the 

transshipment. The report could be 

submitted without signatures to 

accommodate vessels that remain at sea 

for a substantial period of time and that 

might, for example, need to report the 

information needed on the form via 

radio to a shore agent because they do 

not have fax or email capabilities. This 

would enable NMFS to submit the 

report to the Commission within the 

15-day due date under the CMM. 

The original, signed copy of the report 

would be submitted to the address 

specified on the form no later than 15 

calendar days after the vessel first enters 

into port or 15 calendar days after the 

transshipment for emergency 

transshipments in port. For all other 

transshipments, if the vessel owner and 

operator is subject to current 

transshipment reporting requirements at 

50 CFR part 300 subpart D, 50 CFR part 

660, or 50 CFR part 665, the 

transshipment report would be required 

to be submitted by the due date for 

submitting the original report specified 

in those regulations. If the vessel owner 

and operator are not subject to any of 

the current requirements, for 

transshipments at sea the report would 

be required to be submitted no later 

than 72 hours after the vessel first enters 

into port; for transshipments in port, the 

report would be required to be 

submitted no later than 72 hours after 

completion of the transshipment. 

2. Prior Notice for High Seas 

Transshipments and Notice of 

Emergency Transshipments 

Under the current requirements at 50 

CFR 300.216, transshipments at sea 

involving purse seine vessels are 

currently prohibited in the Convention 

Area. As discussed above, CMM 2009– 

06 also obligates CCMs to prohibit the 

transshipment at sea of HMS caught in 

the Convention area by purse seine 

vessels regardless of the location of the 

transshipment. Accordingly, the rule 

proposes to revise the regulations at 50 

CFR 300.216 to include that additional 

prohibition. 

For any transshipment of HMS on the 

high seas in the Convention Area or on 

the high seas anywhere of HMS caught 

in the Convention Area that are not 

prohibited (e.g., high seas 

transshipments by vessels other than 

purse seine vessels), vessel owners and 

operators would be required to ensure 

the submission to the Commission of 

notice of the transshipment, as specified 

in CMM 2009–06, at least 36 hours prior 

to the transshipment. The notice would 

be provided by fax or email, and would 

include the following information: (1) 

The name of the offloading vessel; (2) 

the vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the offloading vessel; (3) the name of the 

receiving vessel; (4) the vessel 

identification markings located on the 

hull or superstructure of the receiving 

vessel; (5) the expected amount, in 

metric tons, of the fish product being 

transshipped, broken down by species 

and processed state; (6) the expected 

date or dates of the transshipment; (7) 

the expected location of transshipment, 

including latitude and longitude to the 

nearest tenth of a degree; (8) an 

indication of which one of the following 

areas the expected transshipment 

location is situated—high seas inside 

the Convention Area, high seas outside 

the Convention Area, or an area under 

the jurisdiction of a particular nation— 

in which case the nation must be 

specified; and (9) the geographic 

location of the catch: The expected 

amount of HMS to be transshipped, in 

metric tons, that was caught in each of 

the following areas: Inside the 

Convention Area on the high seas, 

outside the Convention Area on the high 

seas, and within areas under the 

jurisdiction of a particular nation, with 

each such nation and the associated 

amount specified. Information regarding 

the geographic location of the catch is 

not required, however, if the reporting 

vessel is the receiving vessel. The 

transshipment would be required to take 

place within 24 nautical miles of the 

expected location provided in the 

notice. 

Notice would also be required for 

emergency transshipments that would 

otherwise be prohibited. An emergency 

transshipment would be defined as a 

transshipment conducted under 

circumstances of force majeure or other 

serious mechanical breakdown that 

could reasonably be expected to 

threaten the health or safety of the 

vessel or crew or cause a significant 

financial loss through fish spoilage. 

Each vessel owner or operator that 

qualifies for the emergency would be 

required to ensure the provision of the 

notice directly to the Commission by fax 

or email within 12 hours of completion 

of the transshipment and would be 

required to ensure the inclusion of the 

same information described above for 

the notice for high seas transshipments, 

as well as a description of the reasons 

for the emergency transshipment. The 

transshipment would be required to take 

place within 24 nautical miles of the 

location provided in the notice. 

This proposed rule would allow 

emergency transshipments involving 

purse seine vessels to take place at sea 

in the Convention Area; such 

transshipments are currently prohibited 

under the regulations. The current 

regulations implement Article 29, 

Paragraph 5 of the Convention and are 

intended to prohibit at sea 

transshipments by purse seine vessels 

operating in the Convention Area, 

subject to specific exemptions adopted 

by the WCPFC. CMM 2009–06 affirms 

the prohibition set forth at Article 29, 

Paragraph 5 of the Convention, requires 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8765 

CCMs to prohibit transshipments at sea 

involving purse seine vessels of fish 

caught in the Convention Area but 

transshipped outside of the Convention 

Area, and sets forth specific exemptions 

for transshipment at sea by purse seine 

vessels, such as for an emergency. 

A copy of each notice would be 

required to be submitted to NMFS by 

the same due dates specified for 

submission to the Commission: at least 

36 hours prior to transshipment on the 

high seas or 12 hours after completion 

of an emergency transshipment. 

3. Observer Coverage for 

Transshipments at Sea 

Transshipments at sea in the 

Convention Area would require 

observer coverage for vessels, with the 

specific requirements dependent upon 

the type of vessel and the type of fish 

to be transshipped. Observer coverage 

would not be required for emergency 

transshipments at sea (i.e., a 

transshipment conducted under 

circumstances of force majeure or other 

serious mechanical breakdown that 

could reasonably be expected to 

threaten the health or safety of the 

vessel or crew or cause a significant 

financial loss through fish spoilage). 

The observers would be required to be 

WCPFC Observers. Observers deployed 

by NMFS are currently considered 

WCPFC Observers, as the program has 

completed the required authorization 

process to become part of the WCPFC 

Regional Observer Programme (ROP). 

For most transshipments, an observer 

would be required on board the 

receiving vessel. However, for 

transshipments to a receiving vessel less 

than or equal to 33 meters in length, and 

not involving purse seine-caught fish or 

frozen longline-caught fish, the observer 

could be deployed on either the 

offloading vessel or receiving vessel. In 

addition, transshipments to receiving 

vessels greater than 33 meters in length 

and involving only troll-caught or poleand-line-caught fish would not require 

an observer until January 1, 2013. All 

involved vessel owners and operators 

would need to ensure that a WCPFC 

Observer is on board one of the two 

vessels to monitor the transshipment for 

the duration of the transshipment, even 

when the requirement to carry an 

observer falls on the other vessel 

involved in the transshipment (e.g., the 

observer requirement is only for the 

receiving vessel). The owner or operator 

of a vessel requiring an observer for 

transshipments at sea would need to 

ensure that notice is provided to the 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator at least 72 hours 

(exclusive of weekends and Federal 

holidays) before the vessel leaves port 

on the fishing trip indicating the need 

for an observer. The notice would need 

to include the official number of the 

vessel, the name of the vessel, intended 

departure date, time and location, the 

name of the operator, and a telephone 

number at which the owner, operator, or 

a designated agent may be contacted 

during the business day (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Hawaii Standard Time). If applicable, 

notice could be provided in conjunction 

with the notice required under 50 CFR 

665.803(a). 

Vessel owners, operators, and crew 

would be required to provide any 

WCPFC Observer on board with full 

access to their vessel during the 

transshipments, as well as access to 

information and data sources regarding 

the transshipment. CMM 2009–06 

includes provisions for allowing 

observers full access to both the 

unloading and the receiving vessel and 

requires the WCPFC to develop 

guidelines for the safety of observers 

moving between vessels. NMFS intends 

to implement this provision of the CMM 

after the WCPFC develops and issues 

appropriate safety guidelines. 

CMM 2009–06 specifies that during 

transshipment, a receiving vessel must 

receive product from only one 

offloading vessel at a time for each 

observer that is available to monitor the 

transshipment; the observer may be on 

the offloading or receiving vessel. 

Accordingly, if only one WCPFC 

Observer is available, the receiving 

vessel would be able to receive HMS 

from only one offloading vessel at a 

time. 

The requirements described above 

would be implemented through 

amendments to the current WCPFC 

observer requirements for U.S. vessels 

set forth at 50 CFR 300.215 and to the 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.216. 

4. Categories of Vessels With Which 

Transshipping and Bunkering May Be 

Conducted 

The owner and operator of any U.S. 

fishing vessel used for commercial 

fishing for HMS would be required to 

ensure that any vessel with which they 

engage in transshipment (to or from) in 

the Convention Area; or engage in 

bunkering or other support activities (to 

or from) in the Convention Area falls 

into one of the three of the following 

categories. The vessels must be: (1) 

Flagged by a WCPFC Member or 

Cooperating Non-Member; (2) on the 

Interim Register, which is available at 

http://www.wcpfc.int/; or (3) on the 

WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels, 

which is available at http:// 

www.wcpfc.int/. Only fishing vessels 

that are authorized to be used for fishing 

in the U.S. EEZ would be able to 

transship and/or bunker in the U.S. 

EEZ. 

5. Requirements Regarding Notification 

of Entry Into and Exit From Eastern 

SMA 

The owner or operator of any U.S. 

fishing vessel used for commercial 

fishing would be required to ensure the 

submission of a notice to the 

Commission containing specific 

information at least six hours prior to 

entry and no later than six hours prior 

to exiting the Eastern SMA. The notices 

would be required to be submitted in 

the format specified by the NMFS 

Pacific Island Regional Administrator 

via fax or email and would include the 

following information: (1) The vessel 

identification markings located on the 

hull or superstructure of the vessel; (2) 

whether the notice is for entry or exit; 

(3) date and time of anticipated point of 

entry or exit; (4) latitude and longitude 

of anticipated point of entry or exit; (5) 

amount of fish product on board at the 

time of the report, in kilograms, in total 

and for each of the following species or 

species groups: Yellowfin tuna, bigeye 

tuna, albacore, skipjack tuna, swordfish, 

shark, other; and (6) an indication of 

whether the vessel has engaged in or 

will engage in any transshipments while 

in the Eastern SMA. A copy of the 

notice would be required to be provided 

to NMFS at least six hours prior to the 

entry and no later than six hours prior 

to the exit. As discussed in more detail 

in the IRFA, below, these requirements 

would overlap with current reporting 

requirements for U.S. purse seine 

vessels; the current requirements 

require notice to be provided every time 

a vessel enters or exits the EEZ of a 

Pacific Island Party to the Treaty. 

6. Requirements Regarding Discards 

From Purse Seine Fishing Vessels 

The owner or operator of any U.S. 

purse seine fishing vessel would be 

required to ensure the submission of a 

report containing specific information to 

the Commission and a copy of the report 

to NMFS no later than 48 hours after 

any discard at sea of fish. The reports 

would be required to be submitted in 

the format specified by the NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator 

via fax or email. A hard copy of the 

report would be required to be 

submitted to the observer on board the 

vessel. This report would overlap with 

current purse seine catch reporting 

requirements, as discussed in more 

detail below in the IRFA. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8766 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

7. Other Requirements 

This proposed rule would prohibit the 

transfer of fish at sea from a purse seine 

net deployed by or under the control of 

a fishing vessel of the United States to 

another fishing vessel in the Convention 

Area. However, as discussed above, the 

proposed rule includes a narrow 

exception that would allow U.S. purse 

seine vessels to transfer fish through net 

sharing to other U.S. purse seine vessels 

on the final set of a trip when there is 

insufficient well space for the fish. The 

proposed rule would amend the current 

regulatory definition of transshipment 

to exclude net sharing from the 

definition as purse seine vessels are 

generally prohibited from engaging in 

transshipment of HMS at sea. Under the 

exception for net sharing, the purse 

seine vessel that transfers fish through 

net sharing would be prohibited from 

making further purse seine sets during 

the remainder of its fishing trip. 

Furthermore, in waters under the 

jurisdiction of the United States, net 

sharing would be allowed only between 

U.S. vessels that are authorized to be 

used for fishing in that area. In the event 

of a net share, the owner and operator 

of the vessel that caught the fish would 

record the catch, as required under 50 

CFR 300.34(c)(1) on the Regional Purse 

Seine Logsheets (RPLs), and would also 

be required to note that the net sharing 

had taken place, in the manner specified 

by the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator, on the RPL. The owner 

and operator of the vessel that received 

the fish would also be required to note 

on the RPL that the net sharing had 

taken place, in the manner specified by 

the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator. 

In addition to the new requirements, 

the proposed rule would amend the 

language that is in 50 CFR 300.223(d) to 

remove the termination date (December 

31, 2012) applicable to the current catch 

retention provision. The proposed rule 

would also correct 50 CFR 300.222(y), 

which is inconsistent with 50 CFR 

300.223(d)(3). Section 300.223(d)(3) 

states that the catch retention 

requirements are applicable to the entire 

Convention Area. However, section 

300.222(y) states that the prohibition on 

discarding fish at sea in contravention 

of section 300.223(d) is limited to the 

high seas and areas within the 

jurisdiction of the United States, 

including the EEZ and territorial sea 

between 20° N. latitude and 20° S. 

latitude. This proposed rule would 

amend section 300.222(y) to amend the 

description of the requirement to state 

that the retention requirements are 

applicable to the entire Convention 

Area. 

The proposed rule would also include 

a minor change to the wording of the 

current language at 50 CFR 300.216(b) 

so that the terminology referring to U.S. 

purse seine vessels is consistent 

throughout 50 CFR 300 Subpart O—the 

phrase ‘‘purse seine fishing vessel of the 

United States’’ would be replaced with 

‘‘fishing vessel of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear.’’ 

As mentioned above, CMM 2009–06 

requires CCMs to prohibit 

transshipments at sea involving purse 

seine vessels of fish caught in the 

Convention Area but transshipped 

outside of the Convention Area. 

Accordingly, the proposed rule would 

include this prohibition. The proposed 

rule would also allow emergency 

transshipments involving purse seine 

vessels to take place at sea in the 

Convention Area. 

Classification 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that this proposed rule 

is consistent with the WCPFC 

Implementation Act and other 

applicable laws, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

Executive Order 12866 

The proposed rule was determined 

not to be significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the RFA. The IRFA 

describes the economic impact this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A description of the 

action, why it is being considered, and 

the legal basis for this action are 

contained above in the SUMMARY section 

of the preamble and in other sections of 

this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of the preamble, in particular, in the 

first few paragraphs of this section and 

in the section titled Proposed Action. 

The analysis follows: 

There would be no disproportionate 

economic impacts between small and 

large entities operating vessels as a 

result of this proposed rule. 

Furthermore, there would be no 

disproportionate economic impacts 

based on vessel size, gear, or homeport. 

The proposed rule would apply to 

owners and operators of U.S. HMS 

fishing vessels used to: (1) Transship 

HMS in the Convention Area or to 

transship outside the Convention Area 

HMS caught in the Convention Area; (2) 

enter or exit the Eastern SMA; or (3) 

purse seine for HMS in the Convention 

Area. The estimated number of affected 

entities is as follows, broken down by 

vessel type: 

Based on the number of longline 

vessels permitted to fish under the 

Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Pacific 

Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific 

Region or the Fishery Management Plan 

for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly 

Migratory Species as of January 2011, 

the estimated number of longline 

vessels to which the rule would apply 

is 170. Based on the number of purse 

seine vessels licensed under the South 

Pacific Tuna Treaty as of January 2011, 

the estimated number of purse seine 

vessels to which the rule would apply 

is 36. Based on the average annual 

number of albacore troll vessels that 

fished in the Convention Area during 

2002–2009, the estimated number of 

troll vessels to which the rule would 

apply is 26. The total estimated number 

of vessels that would be subject to the 

rule is 232. 

Based on the best available financial 

information about the affected fishing 

fleets, and using individual vessels as 

proxies for individual businesses, 

NMFS believes that all the affected fish 

harvesting businesses in the longline 

and troll fleets are small entities as 

defined by the RFA; that is, they are 

independently owned and operated and 

not dominant in their fields of 

operation, and have annual receipts of 

no more than $4.0 million. In the purse 

seine fleet, most or all of the businesses 

that operate these vessels are large 

entities as defined by the RFA. 

However, it is possible that one or a few 

of these fish harvesting businesses meet 

the criteria for small entities, so the 

purse seine fleet is included in the 

remainder of this analysis. 

The reporting, recordkeeping and 

other compliance requirements of this 

proposed rule are described earlier in 

the preamble. The classes of small 

entities subject to the requirements and 

the types of professional skills necessary 

to fulfill the requirements are as follows: 

(1) Transshipment reporting: This 

requirement is part of a proposed 

collection of information subject to 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). The requirement 

to complete and submit transshipment 

reports to NMFS would apply to the 

owners and operators of any vessel used 

to offload or receive a transshipment of 

HMS in the Convention Area or a 

transshipment outside the Convention 

Area of HMS caught in the Convention 

Area. Accordingly, it would apply to all 

the vessels identified above (170 

longline, 36 purse seine, and 26 troll). 

It is estimated that each transshipment 

report would require about 60 minutes 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8767 

of labor and $1 in communication costs 

for transmitting each report 

electronically and in hard copy to 

NMFS. The value of the required labor 

is estimated to be $60 per hour. The 

estimated cost of compliance is 

therefore about $61 per report. The 

estimated compliance costs per affected 

entity are described below, by vessel 

type: 

Each longline vessel is expected to 

transship between zero and 

approximately four times per year. The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not transship to about $244 for a 

vessel that transships four times per 

year. 

Each purse seine vessel is expected, 

based on the U.S. purse seine fleet’s 

transshipment patterns during 2008 and 

2009, to transship between zero and 

approximately 19 times per year. The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not transship to about $1,159 for a 

vessel that transships 19 times per year. 

Each troll vessel is expected to 

transship between zero and 

approximately two times per year. The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not transship to about $122 for a 

vessel that transships two times per 

year. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(2) Prior notice for high seas 

transshipments and emergency 

transshipments: This requirement is 

part of a proposed collection of 

information subject to approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the PRA. The requirement 

to provide prior notice for 

transshipments would apply to the 

owners and operators of any vessel used 

for any transshipment on the high seas, 

as well as for any emergency at-sea 

transshipment that would be otherwise 

prohibited. Accordingly, it would apply 

to all the vessels identified above (170 

longline, 36 purse seine, and 26 troll). 

It is estimated that each transshipment 

notice would require about 15 minutes 

of labor and no more than $1 in 

communication costs. The value of the 

required labor is estimated to be $60 per 

hour. The estimated cost of compliance 

is therefore about $16 per notice. The 

estimated compliance costs per affected 

entity are described below, by vessel 

type: 

Each longline vessel is expected to 

transship on the high seas between zero 

and approximately four times per year. 

The estimated annual cost of 

compliance is therefore between $0 for 

a vessel that does not transship on the 

high seas to about $64 for a vessel that 

transships on the high seas four times 

per year. 

Purse seine vessels would not be 

allowed to transship at sea except under 

emergency situations. Each purse seine 

vessel is expected to transship at sea 

under emergency situations between 

zero and approximately one time per 

year. The estimated annual cost of 

compliance is therefore between $0 for 

a vessel that does not transship at sea to 

about $16 for a vessel that transships at 

sea once per year. 

Each troll vessel is expected to 

transship on the high seas between zero 

and approximately two times per year. 

The estimated annual cost of 

compliance is therefore between $0 for 

a vessel that does not transship on the 

high seas to about $32 for a vessel that 

transships on the high seas two times 

per year. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(3) Observer coverage for 

transshipments at sea: This includes a 

requirement to carry a WCPFC observer 

on certain trips involving 

transshipments, as well as a 

requirement to notify NMFS in advance 

of such a trip so that an observer can be 

deployed on the vessel. The pre-trip 

notification aspect is part of a proposed 

collection of information subject to 

approval by the OMB under the PRA. 

The remaining aspects of the 

requirement would not impose any new 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

(within the meaning of the PRA). These 

requirements would not apply to purse 

seine vessels because they are not 

allowed to transship at sea, and they 

generally would not apply to troll 

vessels because for transshipments 

involving troll-caught fish, an observer 

would in most cases be required on the 

receiving vessel, not the offloading 

vessel. If a U.S. troll vessel were used 

to receive a transshipment, then the 

requirements to notify NMFS in 

advance of the trip and to carry an 

observer would apply to the troll vessel, 

and if the receiving vessel were less 

than 33 meters in length, the required 

observer could be carried by either the 

offloading or receiving vessel. However, 

based on the history of the fishery, in 

which all recorded transshipments have 

been made to large foreign-flagged 

carriers, these cases are expected to be 

rare. Thus, except in rare cases, only the 

longline fleet would be subject to these 

requirements, and the estimated total 

number of affected entities is 

approximately 170, as described above. 

Pre-trip notification: It is estimated 

that each pre-trip notification would 

require 1 minute of labor and about $1 

in communication costs. The value of 

the required labor is estimated to be $60 

per hour. The estimated cost of 

compliance is therefore about $2 per 

notification. Fishing vessel operators 

might not always know in advance of a 

fishing trip whether they will need or 

want to transship at sea during that trip. 

Consequently, they might sometimes 

make a pre-trip notification, and carry a 

WCPFC observer, on trips that 

ultimately do not involve 

transshipments at sea. In other words, a 

pre-trip notification is expected to be 

made for each trip during which the 

fishing vessel operator wants to 

maintain the opportunity to transship at 

sea, and the number of such occasions 

might be greater than the number of 

fishing trips during which at-sea 

transshipments actually occur. The 

number of pre-trip notifications cannot 

be predicted with any certainty, but for 

the purpose of this analysis each 

longline vessel is expected to make a 

pre-trip notification between zero and 

approximately four times per year. The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not make any pre-transshipment 

notifications to about $8 for a vessel that 

makes four pre-transshipment 

notifications per year. 

Requirement to carry observer: It is 

assumed that the Observer Program 

administered by NMFS will continue to 

be authorized by the WCPFC to be part 

of the WCPFC ROP. Thus, observers 

deployed by NMFS pursuant to 

regulations at 50 CFR Part 665 would be 

deemed to be WCPFC observers 

deployed in accordance with this new 

requirement. As such, vessel owners 

and operators would bear additional 

compliance costs under this 

requirement only in cases where an 

observer is required under this rule but 

a WCPFC or NMFS observer is not 

required under other regulations. For 

example, the shallow-set and deep-set 

sectors of the Hawaii longline fleet are 

subject to observer coverage rates of 100 

and approximately 20 percent (in terms 

of fishing trips), respectively. The 

compliance cost for a vessel that 

engages solely in shallow-set trips is 

therefore expected to be nil. For deepsetting vessels, on any given fishing trip 

during which a vessel operator wants to 

maintain the opportunity to transship at 

sea there is a 20 percent chance that an 

observer will be deployed under other 

regulations, in which case this new 

requirement would bring no new 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8768 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

compliance costs. If the vessel is used 

to offload a transshipment to a longline 

vessel that is on a declared shallow-set 

trip, the observer deployed on the 

receiving vessel would satisfy this 

proposed requirement, and again, the 

compliance cost for the offloading 

vessel (as well as for the receiving 

vessel) would be nil. It is not possible 

to project with any certainty the 

frequency or combinations of the trip 

types that longline vessels will be 

engaged in when they transship. For the 

purpose of estimating compliance costs 

here, it is roughly projected that any 

given longline vessel will request an 

observer between 0 and 4 fishing trips 

per year, and that the proposed observer 

requirement will be satisfied by current 

regulations (i.e., that there will be no 

new compliance costs) for 25 percent of 

those 0 to 4 fishing trips per year. In the 

remaining 75 percent of the cases; that 

is, for trips on which an observer is 

deployed under this new requirement, 

the affected entity would be responsible 

for the costs associated with providing 

the observer with food, 

accommodations, and medical facilities. 

These costs are expected to be about $20 

per day (this is consistent with the 

amounts reimbursed by NMFS to 

owners of longline vessels for observer 

subsistence costs pursuant to 50 CFR 

665.808(i)(1)). Based on deep-set fishing 

trip lengths by the Hawaii longline fleet 

during 2009 and 2010, each affected 

longline fishing trip is expected to be 

about 24 days in duration, on average. 

The estimated annual cost of 

compliance for longline vessels is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not request any observers to 

transship at sea to about $1,440 for a 

vessel that requests observers to 

transship at sea four times per year. As 

described above, vessels other than 

longline vessels would not be expected 

to bear any observer-related compliance 

costs except in rare cases. In those cases, 

as for longline vessels, the direct cost of 

compliance is expected to be about $20 

for each day that an observer is carried. 

In addition to the direct costs of 

accommodating observers, as described 

above, owners and operators of vessels 

that engage in transshipment would be 

responsible for ensuring that an 

observer is present, even when the 

requirement to carry an observer falls on 

the other vessel involved in the 

transshipment. This would bring 

indirect compliance costs. Vessel 

owners and operators would also be 

faced with having to decide in advance 

of any given trip whether or not to 

request an observer. Because they may 

not always know in advance of trip 

whether they will want or need to 

transship during that trip, having to 

decide in advance would be 

burdensome and bring indirect costs 

associated with the risk of making the 

‘‘wrong’’ decision. The magnitude of 

these indirect compliance costs cannot 

be predicted. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(4) Restrictions on vessels with which 

transshipping and bunkering may be 

conducted: This requirement would not 

impose any new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements (within the 

meaning of the PRA). The requirement 

to transship with or be bunkered by a 

vessel only if such vessel is authorized 

in accordance with WCPFC decisions 

would apply to owners and operators of 

any vessel used for transshipment of 

HMS in the Convention Area. 

Accordingly, it would apply to all the 

vessels identified above (170 longline, 

36 purse seine, and 26 troll). The costs 

of compliance are expected to be nil or 

minor because the requirement is not 

expected to be constraining. The vessels 

with which transshipping and 

bunkering may take place include any 

vessel flagged by a WCPFC Member or 

Cooperating Non-Member, vessels on 

the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels 

(i.e., any vessel authorized to be used 

for fishing in the Convention Area in 

areas outside the jurisdiction of its flag 

State (e.g., on the high seas or in the 

areas of jurisdiction of coastal States 

that are not the flag State)), and vessels 

on the Interim Register, placement on 

which requires a nomination by a 

member of the WCPFC and an annual 

fee of $2,500. It is expected to be a rare 

occurrence that a vessel other than those 

types would be active in the Convention 

Area. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(5) Notice of entry or exit for the 

Eastern SMA: This requirement is part 

of a proposed collection of information 

subject to approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the PRA. The requirement to provide 

notice in advance of each entry into and 

each exit out of the Eastern SMA would 

apply to the owners and operators of 

any vessel used for commercial fishing 

for HMS in the Convention Area or 

which has, or is required to have, a 

WCPFC Area Endorsement. 

Accordingly, it would apply to all the 

vessels identified above (170 longline, 

36 purse seine, and 26 troll). It is 

estimated that each notice would 

require about 15 minutes of labor and 

no more than $1 in communication 

costs. The value of the required labor is 

estimated to be $60 per hour. The 

estimated cost of compliance is 

therefore about $16 per notice. The 

estimated compliance costs per affected 

entity are described below, by vessel 

type: 

Each longline vessel is expected to 

enter the Eastern SMA between zero and 

approximately four times per year (and 

exit the same number of times). The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not enter the pocket to about $128 

for a vessel that enters the Eastern SMA 

four times per year and exits the Eastern 

SMA four times per year. 

Each purse seine vessel is expected to 

enter the Eastern SMA between zero and 

approximately two times per year (and 

exit the same number of times). The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not enter the pocket to about $64 

for a vessel that enters the Eastern SMA 

two times per year and exits the Eastern 

SMA two times per year. 

Each troll vessel is expected to enter 

the Eastern SMA between zero and 

approximately two times per year (and 

exit the same number of times). The 

estimated annual cost of compliance is 

therefore between $0 for a vessel that 

does not enter the pocket to about $64 

for a vessel that enters the Eastern SMA 

two times per year and exits the Eastern 

SMA two times per year. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(6) Purse seine discard report: This 

requirement is part of a proposed 

collection of information subject to 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the PRA. The 

requirement to submit a report to the 

WCPFC any time that tuna are discarded 

at sea would apply to the owners and 

operators of any purse seine vessel used 

for commercial fishing for HMS in the 

Convention Area. Accordingly, it would 

apply to an estimated 36 purse seine 

vessels, as identified above. It is 

estimated that each report would 

require about 30 minutes of labor and 

no more than $1 in communication 

costs. The value of the required labor is 

estimated to be $60 per hour. The 

estimated cost of compliance is 

therefore about $31 per report. Based on 

the purse seine fleet’s discard patterns 

during 2008, the most recent year for 

which complete data are available, each 

purse seine vessel is expected to discard 

tuna at sea and have to report on such 

discards approximately 17 times per 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8769 

year, on average. The estimated annual 

cost of compliance is therefore $527 per 

vessel per year, on average. 

Fulfillment of this requirement is not 

expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

(7) Other requirements: The netsharing restrictions and reporting 

requirement and the removal of the 

termination date (December 31, 2012) of 

the current catch retention requirements 

would not impose any new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements (within the 

meaning of the PRA), but the net sharing 

reporting requirement would modify the 

information required to be reported 

under a current information collection 

(OMB control number 0648–0218). 

Specifically, when fish are shared, the 

owners and operators of both vessels 

involved would have to indicate on 

their respective catch report forms (also 

known as RPLs) that, for that set, a 

specified amount of fish were shared 

with a specified other vessel. This 

reporting requirement is not expected to 

add to the current reporting burden or 

bring other compliance costs. 

The proposed restrictions on netsharing—specifically, that it may be 

done only on the last set and only 

between U.S. vessels, would apply to 

the owner and operator of any purse 

seine vessel used for commercial fishing 

for HMS in the Convention Area. 

Accordingly, it would apply to an 

estimated 36 purse seine vessels, as 

identified above. Because the main 

motivation for net sharing is to avoid 

discarding fish that cannot be 

accommodated in fish wells that are 

full, vessel operators are likely to want 

to net-share only on the last set. 

Accordingly, the last-set restriction is 

expected to bring little, if any, 

compliance costs. The restriction on 

net-sharing only between U.S. vessels 

would be constraining and therefore 

bring costs, but because data are not 

available on the frequency of net sharing 

or the flags of vessels with which netsharing occurs, the magnitude of those 

costs cannot be predicted. 

Removing the termination date of the 

current catch retention requirements 

would bring an extension of the costs to 

purse seine fishing entities associated 

with having to fill well space with less 

valuable, and in some cases, 

unmarketable, product. Those costs 

cannot be quantified. The costs would 

likely be different for vessels that tend 

to operate out of Pago Pago and deliver 

their catch to the canneries in Pago Pago 

versus vessels that transship most of 

their catch to other vessels. For vessels 

in the former category, which have to 

steam relatively far from the fishing 

grounds in order to land their fish, a 

fishing trip typically only ends when 

the fish holds are full in order to 

maximize revenue during a given trip. 

Revenues and profits for these vessels 

are therefore strongly dependent on the 

size of their fish wells and on the value 

of fish per unit of well space. There 

have been occasions when the canneries 

have charged vessel operators to unload 

small fish. If that occurs with small fish 

that under this proposed rule are 

retained that otherwise would not be, 

vessel owners and operators would bear 

direct economic costs. For vessels that 

tend to transship their catches at ports 

near the fishing grounds, well space is 

a less important constraint on profits, so 

the economic impacts of this 

requirement on these vessels would 

likely be less. 

Fulfillment of these requirements is 

not expected to require any professional 

skills that the vessel owners and 

operators do not already possess. 

A number of Federal rules overlap 

with the proposed rule, as described 

below for each of the seven elements of 

the proposed rule: 

(1) Transshipment reporting 

requirements: For purse seine vessels, 

there are two current transshipment 

reporting requirements under the SPTA 

that overlap with the proposed reporting 

requirement in that much of the 

information required under the 

proposed report is already required 

under the current reports. The first 

requirement is at 50 CFR 300.34(c)(2) 

and applies to all unloadings, including 

transshipments. The second is at 50 CFR 

300.34(c)(9) and applies only to 

transshipments. The timing 

requirements and the recipients of the 

current and proposed reports differ in 

some respects. The proposed report 

would have to be submitted to the 

NMFS Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator within 14 days after 

completion of the transshipment, except 

in the case of at-sea transshipments, 

which would be allowed only in 

specified emergency circumstances, and 

for which the report would have to be 

submitted to the NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator within 10 days 

of completion of the transshipment. A 

copy of the current report under 50 CFR 

300.34(c)(2) must be received by NMFS 

within two days of completion of the 

transshipment. In addition, the original 

report must be submitted to the FFA, as 

Treaty Administrator on behalf of the 16 

Pacific Island Parties (PIP) to the Treaty, 

within 14 days of completion of the 

transshipment (this timing is consistent 

with the timing of the submission of the 

original of the proposed report). The 

current report under 50 CFR 

300.34(c)(9) must be submitted to the 

FFA and to the PIP in whose 

jurisdiction the transshipment took 

place. It has no regulatory due date. The 

current reports would not fully satisfy 

the objectives of the proposed report— 

that is, they do not collect all the 

information needed under WCPFC 

CMM 2009–06. Furthermore, the two 

current reports under the SPTA must be 

sent in particular formats that are 

specified under the Treaty and cannot 

be changed in U.S. regulations unless 

and until the Treaty is amended 

accordingly. For these reasons, the 

proposed requirement not only overlaps 

with the two current SPTA reporting 

requirements but would also duplicate 

them to some extent, unless and until 

the Treaty is amended in such a way 

that the duplication can be removed. 

For longline vessels, the proposed 

reporting requirement overlaps with a 

current transshipment reporting 

requirement at 50 CFR 665.14(c). The 

current requirement applies only to 

vessels that receive longline-caught fish 

and subsequently land or transship the 

fish in the western Pacific region. The 

timing and recipient of the proposed 

report would be the same as those for 

the current report (submit to the NMFS 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator 

within 72 hours of the vessel reaching 

port after the transshipment). The form 

used for the proposed requirement 

would be designed to accommodate the 

current requirement and would replace 

the form used for the current 

requirement, so although the two 

requirements would overlap, there 

would be no duplication in the 

reporting burden. 

For troll vessels, the proposed 

reporting requirement overlaps with a 

current transshipment reporting 

requirement at 50 CFR 660.708(a), 

which is for catch and effort reporting 

generally and applies to operators of 

HMS fishing vessels operating for 

commercial fishing in the portion of the 

EEZ off the U.S. west coast and in 

adjacent high seas areas. The current 

reporting form used by albacore troll 

fishermen requires that the date, 

receiving vessel, and amount 

transshipped be recorded for any at-sea 

transshipment. The timing of the 

proposed report would be the same as 

that for the current report (submit to 

NMFS within 30 days of the 

transshipment). The proposed 

requirement would satisfy the current 

reporting requirement, but because the 

current requirement applies to a much 

larger group of fishermen than the 

proposed requirement, and because the 

transshipment-related information 

required under the current report is 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8770 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

relatively limited and a small part of the 

catch/effort reporting form, it would not 

be practical to remove the duplication 

in the two requirements. 

(2) Prior notice for high seas 

transshipments and emergency 

transshipments: For purse seine vessels 

only, the current requirement under the 

SPTA to provide notification in advance 

of each transshipment (50 CFR 

300.34(c)(5)) overlaps with the proposed 

pre-transshipment notification 

requirement, but only in the case of 

emergency at-sea transshipments 

(because purse seine vessels are not 

allowed to transship at sea otherwise). 

The substance, timing, and recipients of 

the proposed and current notifications 

differ. Because of these differences, it 

would not be practical to remove the 

duplication between the two 

notification requirements. 

(3) Observer coverage for 

transshipments at sea: The pre-trip 

notification aspect of this proposed 

requirement, which, except in rare cases 

would apply only to longline vessels, 

overlaps with an current pre-trip 

notification requirement for longline 

vessels at 50 CFR 665.803(a). The 

current requirement applies in the case 

of all fishing trips, and is used by NMFS 

in part to notify the vessel operator 

whether the vessel must carry an 

observer on that trip (observers are 

deployed according to a sampling 

scheme). The proposed notification 

would apply only in the case that a 

vessel operator wants to carry an 

observer in order to maintain the 

opportunity to transship at sea on a 

given fishing trip. Thus, although the 

two requirements would overlap, there 

would be no duplication in the 

substance of the reports. Furthermore, 

the timing and format of the proposed 

requirement would be such that vessel 

operators could provide the proposed 

notification at the same time (e.g., 

during the same phone call) that they 

provide the current notification. For 

vessel types other than longline vessels, 

no duplicating, overlapping or 

conflicting Federal regulations have 

been identified. 

The proposed requirement that 

vessels carry an observer in certain 

situations involving transshipments 

would overlap for longline vessels with 

current observer requirements at 50 CFR 

665.808 (for longline vessels) and 50 

CFR 300.215 (for vessels used to fish for 

HMS on the high seas in the Convention 

Area). The proposed requirement would 

be such that carrying an observer under 

any of the current observer requirements 

would satisfy the proposed requirement, 

so there would be no duplication among 

the requirements. For purse seine 

vessels and troll vessels, there would be 

no overlapping, duplicative, or 

conflicting requirements except in the 

expectedly rare case that a troll vessel 

would be required to carry an observer, 

in which case the proposed requirement 

overlaps with the requirements at 50 

CFR 660.719 (for west coast HMS 

vessels) and 50 CFR 300.215 (for vessels 

used to fish for HMS on the high seas 

in the Convention Area). Regarding the 

latter regulation, compliance with the 

current requirement would satisfy the 

proposed requirement, so there would 

be no duplication in the requirements. 

Under the former regulation, west coastbased troll vessels must carry NMFS 

observers when directed to do so by 

NMFS, but NMFS has not been 

deploying any observers on troll vessels 

under that requirement. However, 

because observers deployed by NMFS 

are currently considered WCPFC 

observers, as the program has completed 

the required authorization process to 

become part of the WCPFC ROP, this 

proposed requirement would not 

duplicate that requirement—the same 

observer could be used to fulfill both 

requirements. 

(4) Restrictions on vessels with which 

transshipping and bunkering may be 

conducted: No duplicating, overlapping 

or conflicting Federal regulations have 

been identified. 

(5) Notice of entry or exit for Eastern 

SMA: For purse seine vessels only, the 

current requirement under the SPTA to 

provide notification upon entry or exit 

into the EEZ of any PIP (50 CFR 

300.34(c)(6)) overlaps with the proposed 

notification requirement, but only for 

those EEZs that border the Eastern SMA; 

that is, the EEZs of Kiribati, Cook 

Islands, and French Polynesia. The 

information required in the two 

notifications differs slightly. The current 

notification does not have a specific 

timing requirement. The recipients of 

the two notifications differ in that the 

current one must be sent to an authority 

of the relevant PIP while the proposed 

notification would have to be sent to the 

WCPFC and to NMFS. The current 

notification cannot be modified in any 

way unless and until the Treaty is 

amended accordingly, so the current 

notification could not be used to satisfy 

this proposed notification requirement, 

nor vice versa, so there would be some 

duplication between the two 

requirements. 

For vessel types other than purse 

seine vessels, no duplicating, 

overlapping or conflicting Federal 

regulations have been identified. 

(6) Purse seine discard report: This 

reporting requirement, which would 

apply only to purse seine vessels, would 

overlap with a current SPTA reporting 

requirement at 50 CFR 300.34(c)(1). The 

current requirement to maintain and 

submit ‘‘catch report forms,’’ also 

known as ‘‘Regional Purse Seine 

Logsheets’’ or ‘‘RPLs’’, calls for 

information on fishing effort and 

catches, including information on the 

amount of fish, by species, that is 

discarded each day, including the 

reason for each such discard. The timing 

requirements and the recipients of the 

current and proposed reports differ in 

some respects. The proposed report 

would have to be submitted to the 

WCPFC and to NMFS within 48 hours 

after each discard event. The current 

report must be submitted to and 

received by NMFS within two days after 

the vessel next reaches port. In addition, 

it must be submitted to the FFA, as 

Treaty Administrator on behalf of the 

PIP, within 14 days after the vessel next 

reaches port. Furthermore, the current 

report must be sent on a particular form 

that is specified under the Treaty and 

cannot be changed in U.S. regulations 

unless and until the Treaty is amended 

accordingly. Because of these 

differences, the proposed requirement 

not only overlaps with the current SPTA 

requirement but would also duplicate it 

to a large extent, unless and until the 

Treaty is amended in such a way that 

the duplication can be removed. 

(7) Net-sharing restrictions and 

reporting: No duplicating, overlapping 

or conflicting Federal regulations have 

been identified. 

NMFS has attempted to identify 

alternatives that would accomplish the 

objectives of the Act and minimize any 

significant economic impact of the 

proposed rule on small entities. The 

alternative of taking no action at all was 

rejected because it would fail to 

accomplish the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. As a Contracting 

Party to the Convention, the United 

States is required to implement the 

decisions of the WCPFC. Consequently, 

NMFS has limited discretion as to how 

to implement those decisions. 

With respect to element (1), 

transshipment reporting requirements, 

one alternative would be to impose a 

uniform timeframe for submission of the 

report; to satisfy all current 

requirements and the provisions of 

CMM 2009–06, it would have to be 

submitted to NMFS within 10 calendar 

days after completion of the 

transshipment. This would be more 

burdensome than the proposed 

requirement for certain types of fishing 

vessels and is not preferred for that 

reason. NMFS has not identified any 

alternatives that would be less 

burdensome than the proposed 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8771 

requirement and that would accomplish 

the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. 

With respect to element (2), prior 

notice for high seas transshipments and 

emergency transshipments, one 

alternative would be to give affected 

entities the option of either providing 

the notice of high seas transshipment to 

NMFS at least one business day plus 36 

hours in advance of the transshipment 

(i.e., 60 hours before the transshipment), 

or, as under the proposed rule, 

providing the notice directly to the 

WCPFC at least 36 hours in advance of 

the transshipment, with a copy to 

NMFS. This flexibility could relieve the 

burden for some entities and/or 

situations; specifically, in cases where it 

is less burdensome to send the 

notification to NMFS than to the 

WCPFC. Under this alternative, if a 

vessel operator exercises the first 

option, NMFS would have to forward 

the notification to the WCPFC within 

one business day, so this alternative 

would bring some additional 

administrative costs to NMFS. This 

alternative would also have the 

disadvantage of being more complex 

and possibly more confusing to affected 

entities than the proposed rule (under 

which there would be a single 

timeframe and single recipient). For 

these reasons, and because NMFS 

believes that the benefits of the 

flexibility afforded to affected entities 

by this alternative would be minor, this 

alternative is not preferred. 

With respect to element (3), observer 

coverage for transshipments at sea, 

NMFS has not identified any 

alternatives that would be less 

burdensome than the proposed 

requirement and that would accomplish 

the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. The only action 

alternative considered for this element 

is the alternative being proposed in this 

rule. 

With respect to element (4), 

restrictions on vessels with which 

transshipping and bunkering may be 

conducted, NMFS has not identified any 

alternatives that would be less 

burdensome than the proposed 

requirement and that would accomplish 

the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. The only action 

alternative considered for this element 

is the alternative being proposed in this 

rule. 

With respect to element (5), notice of 

entry or exit for Eastern SMA, NMFS 

has not identified any alternatives that 

would be less burdensome than the 

proposed requirement and that would 

accomplish the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. The only action 

alternative considered for this element 

is the alternative being proposed in this 

rule. 

With respect to element (6), the purse 

seine discard report, NMFS has not 

identified any alternatives that would be 

less burdensome than the proposed 

requirement and that would accomplish 

the objectives of the WCPFC 

Implementation Act. The only action 

alternative considered for this element 

is the alternative being proposed in this 

rule. 

With respect to element (7), netsharing restrictions and reporting, one 

alternative would be to allow U.S. to 

net-share to foreign-flagged vessels, and 

a second would be to allow U.S. vessels 

to net-share both to and from foreign 

vessels. Under both these alternatives, 

net-sharing would be allowed only on 

the last set. Alternatives to allow netsharing on other than the last set would 

not be consistent with WCPFC 

decisions, so were not considered. Both 

alternatives identified above would be 

less restrictive than the proposed rule 

and thus bring lower compliance costs. 

The first alternative would make it 

difficult to ensure consistent counting of 

catches—for example, the shared catch 

might be logged as catch by both the 

U.S. catcher vessel and the foreign 

vessel with which the catch is shared. 

The alternative is not preferred for that 

reason. The second alternative would 

have the same shortcoming and would 

also be very difficult to enforce, as the 

United States would have limited ability 

to determine whether a foreign vessel 

complied with the last-set condition. 

The alternative is not preferred for those 

reasons. 

For each element, NMFS also 

considered the no-action alternative, or 

status quo situation in which the 

provisions of the proposed rule would 

not be implemented. However, as stated 

above, the no-action alternative would 

not accomplish the objectives of the 

WCPFC Implementation Act and was 

rejected for that reason. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule contains 

collection-of-information requirements 

subject to review and approval by the 

OMB under the PRA. These 

requirements have been submitted to 

the OMB for approval. The public 

reporting burdens for each of the 

requirements are estimated as follows: 

Transshipment reporting: 60 minutes 

per response, on average; prior notice 

for high seas transshipments and 

emergency transshipments: 15 minutes 

per response, on average; pre-trip 

notification for the purpose of deploying 

observers: 1 minute per response, on 

average; notice of entry or exit for 

Eastern SMA: 15 minutes per response, 

on average; purse seine discard report: 

30 minutes per response, on average. 

These estimates include the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

Public comment is sought regarding: 

Whether this proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

the accuracy of the burden estimate; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Send comments 

on these or any other aspects of the 

proposed collection of information to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see 

ADDRESSES), and by email to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

This proposed rule also contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to the PRA that has been 

approved by OMB under control 

number 0648–0218, ‘‘South Pacific 

Tuna Act’’ (the net-sharing reporting 

requirement). The public reporting 

burden for the Catch Report Form under 

that collection-of-information is 

estimated to average one hour per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. Send comments 

regarding this burden estimate, or any 

other aspect of this data collection, 

including suggestions for reducing the 

burden, to Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see 

ADDRESSES) and by email to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Marine resources, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Treaties. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8772 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: February 9, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 300 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 300, subpart O, continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. 

2. In § 300.211, definitions of 

‘‘Cooperating Non-Member,’’ ‘‘Eastern 

High Seas Special Management Area,’’ 

‘‘Net sharing,’’ ‘‘On board,’’ ‘‘WCPFC 

Interim Register of non-Member Carrier 

and Bunker Vessels,’’ and ‘‘WCPFC 

Record of Fishing Vessels’’ are added, in 

alphabetical order, and the definition of 

‘‘Transshipment’’ is revised, to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.211 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Cooperating Non-Member means a 

non-Member of the Commission that has 

been accorded Cooperating NonMember status by the Commission at the 

Commission’s most recent annual 

meeting. 

Eastern High Seas Special 

Management Area means the area of the 

high seas within the area bounded by 

the four lines connecting, in the most 

direct fashion, the coordinates specified 

as follows: 11° S. latitude and 161° W. 

longitude; 11° S. latitude and 154° W. 

longitude; 16° S. latitude and 154° W. 

longitude; and 16° S. latitude and 161° 

W. longitude. 

* * * * * 

Net sharing means the transfer of fish 

that have not yet been loaded on board 

any fishing vessel from the purse seine 

net of one vessel to another fishing 

vessel. Fish shall be considered to be on 

board a fishing vessel once they are on 

a deck or in a hold, or once they are first 

lifted out of the water by the vessel. 

* * * * * 

Transshipment means the unloading 

of fish from on board one fishing vessel 

and its direct transfer to, and loading on 

board, another fishing vessel, either at 

sea or in port. Fish shall be considered 

to be on board a fishing vessel once they 

are on a deck or in a hold, or once they 

are first lifted out of the water by the 

vessel. Net sharing is not a 

transshipment. 

* * * * * 

WCPFC Interim Register of NonMember Carrier and Bunker Vessels 

means, for the purposes of this subpart, 

the WCPFC Interim Register of nonMember Carrier and Bunker Vessels as 

established in the decisions of the 

WCPFC and maintained on the 

WCPFC’s Web site at http:// 

www.wcpfc.int/. 

* * * * * 

WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels 

means, for the purposes of this subpart, 

the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels as 

established in the decisions of the 

WCPFC and maintained on the 

WCPFC’s Web site at http:// 

www.wcpfc.int/. 

* * * * * 

3. Section 300.215 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 300.215 Observers. 

(a) Applicability. This section applies 

to the following categories of fishing 

vessels: 

(1) Any fishing vessel of the United 

States with a WCPFC Area 

Endorsement. 

(2) Any fishing vessel of the United 

States for which a WCPFC Area 

Endorsement is required. 

(3) Any fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing that 

receives or offloads in the Convention 

Area a transshipment of HMS at sea. 

(b) Notifications. The owner or 

operator of a vessel required to carry a 

WCPFC observer under § 300.215(d) 

during a given fishing trip must ensure 

the provision of notice to the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator at least 

72 hours (exclusive of weekends and 

Federal holidays) before the vessel 

leaves port on the fishing trip, 

indicating the need for an observer. The 

notice must be provided to the office or 

telephone number designated by the 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator 

and must include the official number of 

the vessel, the name of the vessel, the 

intended departure date, time, and 

location, the name of the operator of the 

vessel, and a telephone number at 

which the owner, operator, or a 

designated agent may be contacted 

during the business day (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Hawaii Standard Time). If applicable, 

notice may be provided in conjunction 

with the notice required under 

§ 665.803(a) of this title. 

(c) Accommodating observers. (1) 

Fishing vessels specified in paragraphs 

(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section must 

carry, when directed to do so by NMFS, 

a WCPFC observer on fishing trips 

during which the vessel at any time 

enters or is within the Convention Area. 

The operator and each member of the 

crew of the fishing vessel shall act in 

accordance with paragraphs (c)(3), 

(c)(4), and (c)(5) of this section with 

respect to any WCPFC observer. 

(2) Fishing vessels specified in 

paragraph (a)(3) of this section must 

carry an observer when required to do 

so under § 300.215(d). The operator and 

each member of the crew of the fishing 

vessel shall act in accordance with 

paragraphs (c)(3), (c)(4), and (c)(5) of 

this section with respect to any WCPFC 

observer. 

(3) The operator and crew shall allow 

and assist WCPFC observers to: 

(i) Embark at a place and time 

determined by NMFS or otherwise 

agreed to by NMFS and the vessel 

operator; 

(ii) Have access to and use of all 

facilities and equipment as necessary to 

conduct observer duties, including, but 

not limited to: Full access to the bridge, 

the fish on board, and areas which may 

be used to hold, process, weigh and 

store fish; full access to the vessel’s 

records, including its logs and 

documentation, for the purpose of 

inspection and copying; access to, and 

use of, navigational equipment, charts 

and radios; and access to other 

information relating to fishing; 

(iii) Remove samples; 

(iv) Disembark at a place and time 

determined by NMFS or otherwise 

agreed to by NMFS and the vessel 

operator; and 

(v) Carry out all duties safely. 

(4) The operator shall provide the 

WCPFC observer, while on board the 

vessel, with food, accommodation and 

medical facilities of a reasonable 

standard equivalent to those normally 

available to an officer on board the 

vessel, at no expense to the WCPFC 

observer. 

(5) The operator and crew shall not 

assault, obstruct, resist, delay, refuse 

boarding to, intimidate, harass or 

interfere with WCPFC observers in the 

performance of their duties, or attempt 

to do any of the same. 

(d) Transshipment observer 

coverage—(1) Receiving vessels. Any 

fishing vessel of the United States used 

for commercial fishing that receives in 

the Convention Area a transshipment of 

HMS at sea must have a WCPFC 

observer on board during such 

transshipment unless at least one of the 

following sets of conditions applies: 

(i) The vessel is less than or equal to 

33 meters in registered length, the 

transshipment does not include any fish 

caught by purse seine gear, the 

transshipment does not include any 

frozen fish caught by longline gear, and, 

during the transshipment, there is a 

WCPFC observer on board the vessel 

that offloads the transshipment; 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8773 

(ii) Prior to January 1, 2013, the vessel 

is greater than 33 meters in registered 

length and the transshipment is only of 

fish caught by troll gear and/or poleand-line gear; 

(iii) The transshipment takes place 

entirely within the territorial seas or 

archipelagic waters of any nation, as 

defined by the domestic laws and 

regulations of that nation and 

recognized by the United States, and 

only includes fish caught in such 

waters; or 

(iv) The transshipment is an 

emergency, as specified under 

§ 300.216(b)(4). 

(2) Offloading vessels. Any fishing 

vessel of the United States used for 

commercial fishing that offloads a 

transshipment of HMS at sea in the 

Convention Area must have a WCPFC 

observer on board, unless one or more 

of the following conditions apply: 

(i) The vessel that receives the 

transshipment has a WCPFC observer on 

board; 

(ii) The vessel that receives the 

transshipment is greater than 33 meters 

in registered length; 

(iii) The transshipment includes fish 

caught by purse seine gear; 

(iv) The transshipment includes 

frozen fish caught by longline gear; 

(v) The transshipment takes place 

entirely within the territorial seas or 

archipelagic waters of any nation, as 

defined by the domestic laws and 

regulations of that nation and 

recognized by the United States, and 

only includes fish caught in such 

waters; or 

(vi) The transshipment is an 

emergency, as specified under 

§ 300.216(b)(4). 

(e) Related observer requirements. 

Observers deployed by NMFS pursuant 

to regulations issued under other 

statutory authorities on vessels used for 

fishing for HMS in the Convention Area 

will be deemed by NMFS to have been 

deployed pursuant to this section. 

4. Section 300.216 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 300.216 Transshipping, bunkering and 

net sharing. 

(a) Transshipment monitoring. 

[Reserved] 

(b) Restrictions on transshipping and 

bunkering. 

(1) Restrictions on transshipments 

involving purse seine fishing vessels. 

(i) Fish may not be transshipped from 

a fishing vessel of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear at sea in 

the Convention Area, and a fishing 

vessel of the United States may not be 

used to receive a transshipment of fish 

from a fishing vessel equipped with 

purse seine gear at sea in the 

Convention Area. 

(ii) Fish caught in the Convention 

Area may not be transshipped from a 

fishing vessel of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear at sea, 

and a fishing vessel of the United States 

may not be used to receive a 

transshipment of fish caught in the 

Convention Area from a fishing vessel 

equipped with purse seine gear at sea. 

(2) Restrictions on at-sea 

transshipments. If a transshipment takes 

place entirely within the territorial seas 

or archipelagic waters of any nation, as 

defined by the domestic laws and 

regulations of that nation and 

recognized by the United States, and 

only includes fish caught within such 

waters, this paragraph does not apply. 

(i) The owner and operator of a 

fishing vessel of the United States used 

for commercial fishing that offloads or 

receives a transshipment of HMS at sea 

in the Convention Area must ensure that 

a WCPFC observer is on board at least 

one of the vessels involved in the 

transshipment for the duration of the 

transshipment, unless the vessel 

receiving the transshipment is subject to 

the provisions of § 300.215(d)(1)(ii). 

(ii) A fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing that 

receives transshipments of HMS at sea 

in the Convention Area shall not receive 

such transshipments from more than 

one vessel at a time unless there is a 

separate WCPFC observer available on 

either the offloading or receiving vessel 

to monitor each additional 

transshipment. 

(3) General restrictions on 

transshipping and bunkering— 

(i) Transshipment. Only fishing 

vessels that are authorized to be used for 

fishing in the EEZ may engage in 

transshipment in the EEZ. Any fishing 

vessel of the United States used for 

commercial fishing shall not be used to 

offload or receive a transshipment of 

HMS in the Convention Area unless: 

(A) The other vessel involved in the 

transshipment is flagged to a Member or 

Cooperating Non-Member of the 

Commission; 

(B) The other vessel involved in the 

transshipment is on the WCPFC Record 

of Fishing Vessels; 

(C) The other vessel involved in the 

transshipment is on the WCPFC Interim 

Register of Non-Member Carrier and 

Bunker Vessels; or 

(D) The transshipment takes place 

entirely within the territorial seas or 

archipelagic waters of any nation, as 

defined by the domestic laws and 

regulations of that nation and 

recognized by the United States, and 

only includes fish caught within such 

waters. 

(ii) Bunkering, supplying and 

provisioning. Only fishing vessels that 

are authorized to be used for fishing in 

the EEZ may engage in bunkering in the 

EEZ. A fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing for 

HMS shall not be used to provide 

bunkering, to receive bunkering, or to 

exchange supplies or provisions with 

another vessel in the Convention Area 

unless: 

(A) The other vessel involved in the 

bunkering or exchange of supplies or 

provisions is flagged to a Member or a 

Cooperating Non-Member of the 

Commission; 

(B) The other vessel involved in the 

bunkering or exchange of supplies or 

provisions is on the WCPFC Record of 

Fishing Vessels; or 

(C) The other vessel involved in the 

bunkering or exchange of supplies or 

provisions is on the WCPFC Interim 

Register of Non-Member Carrier and 

Bunker Vessels. 

(4) Emergency transshipments. The 

restrictions in paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), 

and (b)(3)(i) of this section shall not 

apply to a transshipment conducted 

under circumstances of force majeure or 

other serious mechanical breakdown 

that could reasonably be expected to 

threaten the health or safety of the 

vessel or crew or cause a significant 

financial loss through fish spoilage. 

(c) Net sharing restrictions. (1) The 

owner and operator of a fishing vessel 

of the United States shall not conduct 

net sharing in the Convention Area 

unless all of the following conditions 

are met: 

(i) The vessel transferring the fish is 

a fishing vessel of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear; 

(ii) The vessel transferring the fish has 

insufficient well space for the fish; 

(iii) The vessel transferring the fish 

engages in no additional purse seine 

sets during the remainder of the fishing 

trip; and 

(iv) The vessel accepting the fish is a 

fishing vessel of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear. 

(2) Only fishing vessels of the United 

States that are authorized to be used for 

fishing in the EEZ may engage in net 

sharing in the EEZ, subject to the 

provisions of paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section. 

5. In § 300.218, paragraph (b) is 

revised and paragraphs (c), (d), (e) and 

(f) are added to read as follows: 

§ 300.218 Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) Transshipment reports. The owner 

and operator of any fishing vessel of the 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8774 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

United States used for commercial 

fishing that offloads or receives a 

transshipment of HMS in the 

Convention Area, or a transshipment 

anywhere of HMS caught in the 

Convention Area, must ensure that a 

transshipment report for the 

transshipment is completed, using a 

form that is available from the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator, and 

recording all the information specified 

on the form. The owner and operator of 

the vessel must ensure that the 

transshipment report is completed and 

signed within 24 hours of the 

completion of the transshipment, and 

must ensure that the report is submitted 

as follows: 

(1) For vessels licensed under 

§ 300.32, the original transshipment 

report is submitted to the address 

specified by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator by the due date specified 

at § 300.34(c)(2) for submitting the 

transshipment logsheet form to the 

Administrator as defined at § 300.31. 

(2) For vessels registered for use 

under § 660.707 of this title, the original 

transshipment report is submitted to the 

address specified by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator by the due date 

specified for the logbook form at 

§ 660.708 of this title. 

(3) For vessels subject to the 

requirements of § 665.14(c) and 

§ 665.801(e) of this title, and not subject 

to the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) 

or (b)(2) of this section, the original 

transshipment report is submitted to the 

address specified by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator by the due date 

specified at § 665.14(c) of this title for 

submitting transshipment logbooks to 

the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator for landings of western 

Pacific pelagic management unit 

species. 

(4) For all transshipments on the high 

seas and emergency transshipments that 

meet the conditions described in 

§ 300.216(b)(4), including 

transshipments involving the categories 

of vessels specified in paragraphs (b)(1), 

(b)(2), and (b)(3) of this section, the 

report is submitted by fax or email to 

the address specified by the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator no later 

than 10 calendar days after completion 

of the transshipment. The report may be 

submitted with or without signatures so 

long as the original transshipment 

report with signatures is submitted to 

the address specified by the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator no later 

than 15 calendar days after the vessel 

first enters into port or 15 calendar days 

after completion of the transshipment 

for emergency transshipments in port. 

(5) For all other transshipments at sea, 

the original transshipment report is 

submitted to the address specified by 

the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator no later than 72 hours 

after the vessel first enters into port. 

(6) For all other transshipments in 

port, the original transshipment report 

is submitted to the address specified by 

the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator no later than 72 hours 

after completion of the transshipment. 

(c) Exceptions to transshipment 

reporting requirements. Paragraph (b) of 

this section shall not apply to a 

transshipment that takes place entirely 

within the territorial seas or 

archipelagic waters of any nation, as 

defined by the domestic laws and 

regulations of that nation and 

recognized by the United States, and 

only includes fish caught within such 

waters. 

(d) Transshipment notices—(1) High 

seas transshipments. The owner and 

operator of a fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing that 

offloads or receives a transshipment of 

HMS on the high seas in the Convention 

Area, or a transshipment of HMS caught 

in the Convention Area anywhere on the 

high seas, and not subject to the 

requirements of paragraph (d)(2) of this 

section, must ensure that a notice is 

submitted to the Commission by fax or 

email at least 36 hours prior to the start 

of such transshipment at the address 

specified by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator, and that a copy of that 

notice is submitted to NMFS at the 

address specified by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator at least 36 hours 

prior to the start of the transshipment. 

The notice must be reported in the 

format provided by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator and must 

contain the following information: 

(i) The name of the offloading vessel. 

(ii) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the offloading vessel. 

(iii) The name of the receiving vessel. 

(iv) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the receiving vessel. 

(v) The expected amount, in metric 

tons, of fish product to be transshipped, 

broken down by species and processed 

state. 

(vi) The expected date or dates of the 

transshipment. 

(vii) The expected location of the 

transshipment, including latitude and 

longitude to the nearest tenth of a 

degree. 

(viii) An indication of which one of 

the following areas the expected 

transshipment location is situated: high 

seas inside the Convention Area; high 

seas outside the Convention Area; or an 

area under the jurisdiction of a 

particular nation, in which case the 

nation must be specified. 

(ix) The expected amount of HMS to 

be transshipped, in metric tons, that was 

caught in each of the following areas: 

inside the Convention Area, on the high 

seas; outside the Convention Area, on 

the high seas; and within areas under 

the jurisdiction of particular nations, 

with each such nation and the 

associated amount specified. This 

information is not required if the 

reporting vessel is the receiving vessel. 

(2) Emergency transshipments. The 

owner and operator of a fishing vessel 

of the United States used for 

commercial fishing for HMS that 

offloads or receives a transshipment of 

HMS in the Convention Area, or a 

transshipment of HMS caught in the 

Convention Area anywhere, that is 

allowed under § 300.216(b)(4) but 

would otherwise be prohibited under 

the regulations in this subpart, must 

ensure that a notice is submitted by fax 

or email to the Commission at the 

address specified by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator and a copy is 

submitted to NMFS at the address 

specified by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator within twelve hours of 

the completion of the transshipment. 

The notice must be reported in the 

format provided by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator and must 

contain the following information: 

(i) The name of the offloading vessel. 

(ii) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the offloading vessel. 

(iii) The name of the receiving vessel. 

(iv) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the receiving vessel. 

(v) The expected or actual amount, in 

metric tons, of fish product 

transshipped, broken down by species 

and processed state. 

(vi) The expected or actual date or 

dates of the transshipment. 

(vii) The expected or actual location 

of the transshipment, including latitude 

and longitude to the nearest tenth of a 

degree. 

(viii) An indication of which one of 

the following areas the expected or 

actual transshipment location is 

situated: high seas inside the 

Convention Area; high seas outside the 

Convention Area; or an area under the 

jurisdiction of a particular nation, in 

which case the nation must be specified. 

(ix) The amount of HMS to be 

transshipped, in metric tons, that was 

caught in each of the following areas: 

inside the Convention Area, on the high 

seas; outside the Convention Area, on 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 8775 

the high seas; and within areas under 

the jurisdiction of particular nations, 

with each such nation and the 

associated amount specified. This 

information is not required if the 

reporting vessel is the receiving vessel. 

(x) The reason or reasons for the 

emergency transshipment (i.e., a 

transshipment conducted under 

circumstances of force majeure or other 

serious mechanical breakdown that 

could reasonably be expected to 

threaten the health or safety of the 

vessel or crew or cause a significant 

financial loss through fish spoilage). 

(3) Location of high seas and 

emergency transshipments. A high seas 

or emergency transshipment in the 

Convention Area or of HMS caught in 

the Convention Area anywhere subject 

to the notification requirements of 

paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) must take 

place within 24 nautical miles of the 

location for the transshipment indicated 

in the notice submitted under paragraph 

(d)(1)(vii) or (d)(2)(vii) of this section. 

(e) Purse seine discard reports. The 

owner and operator of any fishing vessel 

of the United States equipped with 

purse seine gear must ensure that a 

report of any at-sea discards of any 

bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), 

yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), or 

skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) 

caught in the Convention Area is 

completed, using a form that is available 

from the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator, and recording all the 

information specified on the form. The 

report must be submitted within 

48 hours after any discard to the 

Commission by fax or email at the 

address specified by the Pacific Islands 

Regional Administrator. A copy of the 

report must be submitted to NMFS at 

the address specified by the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator by fax or 

email within 48 hours after any such 

discard. A hard copy of the report must 

be provided to the observer on board the 

vessel, if any. 

(f) Net sharing reports—(1) 

Transferring vessels. The owner and 

operator of a fishing vessel of the United 

States equipped with purse seine gear 

that transfers fish to another fishing 

vessel equipped with purse seine gear 

under § 300.216(c) shall ensure that the 

amount, by species, of fish transferred, 

as well as the net sharing activity, is 

recorded on the catch report forms 

maintained pursuant to § 300.34(c)(1), 

in the format specified by the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator. 

(2) Accepting vessels. The owner and 

operator of a fishing vessel of the United 

States equipped with purse seine gear 

that accepts fish from another purse 

seine fishing vessel under § 300.216(c) 

shall ensure that the net sharing activity 

is recorded on the catch report forms 

maintained pursuant to § 300.34(c)(1), 

in the format specified by the Pacific 

Islands Regional Administrator. 

6. In § 300.222, paragraph (y) is 

revised and paragraphs (ee), (ff), (gg), 

(hh), (ii), (jj), (kk), (ll), (mm) (nn), (oo), 

(pp), and (qq) are added to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.222 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(y) Discard fish at sea in the 

Convention Area in contravention of 

§ 300.223(d). 

* * * * * 

(ee) Fail to carry on board a WCPFC 

observer during a transshipment at sea, 

as required in § 300.215(d). 

(ff) Offload, receive, or load fish 

caught in the Convention Area from a 

purse seine vessel at sea in 

contravention of § 300.216. 

(gg) Fail to ensure that a WCPFC 

observer is on board at least one of the 

vessels involved in the transshipment 

for the duration of the transshipment in 

contravention of § 300.216(b)(2)(i), 

except as specified at § 300.216(b)(4). 

(hh) Receive transshipments from 

more than one fishing vessel at a time 

in contravention of § 300.216(b)(2)(ii), 

except as specified at § 300.216(b)(4). 

(ii) Transship to or from another 

vessel, in contravention of 

§ 300.216(b)(3)(i), except as specified at 

§ 300.216(b)(4). 

(jj) Provide bunkering, receive 

bunkering, or exchange supplies or 

provisions with another vessel, in 

contravention of § 300.216(b)(3)(ii). 

(kk) Engage in net sharing except as 

specified under § 300.216(c). 

(ll) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, a transshipment report as 

required in § 300.218(b), except as 

specified under § 300.218(c). 

(mm) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, a transshipment notice as 

required in § 300.218(d). 

(nn) Transship more than 24 nautical 

miles from the location indicated in the 

transshipment notice, in contravention 

of § 300.218(d)(3). 

(oo) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, a discard report as 

required in § 300.218(e). 

(pp) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, a net sharing report as 

required in § 300.218(f). 

(qq) Fail to submit, or ensure 

submission of, an entry or exit notice for 

the Eastern High Seas Special 

Management Area as required in 

§ 300.225. 

7. In § 300.223, paragraph (d)(3) 

introductory text is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.223 Purse seine fishing restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(3) An owner and operator of a fishing 

vessel of the United States equipped 

with purse seine gear must ensure the 

retention on board at all times while at 

sea within the Convention Area any 

bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), 

yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), or 

skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), 

except in the following circumstances 

and with the following conditions: 

8. Section 300.225 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.225 Eastern High Seas Special 

Management Area. 

(a) Entry notices. The owner and 

operator of a fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing for 

HMS must ensure the submission of a 

notice to the Commission at the address 

specified by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator by fax or email at least 

six hours prior to entering the Eastern 

High Seas Special Management Area. 

The owner or operator must ensure the 

submission of a copy of the notice to 

NMFS at the address specified by the 

Pacific Islands Regional Administrator 

by fax or email at least six hours prior 

to entering the Eastern High Seas 

Special Management Area. The notice 

must be submitted in the format 

specified by the Pacific Island Regional 

Administrator and must include the 

following information: 

(1) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the vessel; 

(2) Date and time (in UTC) of 

anticipated point of entry; 

(3) Latitude and longitude, to nearest 

tenth of a degree, of anticipated point of 

entry; 

(4) Amount of fish product on board 

at the time of the notice, in kilograms, 

in total and for each of the following 

species or species groups: yellowfin 

tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore, skipjack 

tuna, swordfish, shark, other; and 

(5) An indication of whether the 

vessel intends to engage in any 

transshipments prior to exiting the 

Eastern High Seas Special Management 

Area. 

(b) Exit notices. The owner and 

operator of a fishing vessel of the United 

States used for commercial fishing for 

HMS must ensure the submission of a 

notice to the Commission at the address 

specified by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator by fax or email no later 

than six hours prior to exiting the 

Eastern High Seas Special Management 

Area. The owner or operator must 

ensure the submission of a copy of the 

notice to NMFS at the address specified 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
8776 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

by the Pacific Islands Regional 

Administrator by fax or email no later 

than six hours prior to exiting the 

Eastern High Seas Special Management 

Area. The notices must be submitted in 

the format specified by the Pacific 

Island Regional Administrator and must 

include the following information: 

(1) The vessel identification markings 

located on the hull or superstructure of 

the vessel. 

(2) Date and time (in UTC) of 

anticipated point of exit. 

(3) Latitude and longitude, to nearest 

tenth of a degree, of anticipated point of 

exit. 

(4) Amount of fish product on board 

at the time of the notice, in kilograms, 

in total and for each of the following 

species or species groups: yellowfin 

tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore, skipjack 

tuna, swordfish, shark, other; and 

(5) An indication of whether the 

vessel has engaged in or will engage in 

any transshipments prior to exiting the 

Eastern High Seas Special Management 

Area. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3546 Filed 2–14–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 120201086–2085–01] 

RIN 0648–XA904 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 

Atlantic Bluefish Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications 

for the 2012 Atlantic bluefish fishery, 

including an annual catch limit, total 

allowable landings, a commercial quota 

and recreational harvest limit, and a 

recreational possession limit. The intent 

of this action is to establish the 

allowable 2012 harvest levels and other 

management measures to achieve the 

target fishing mortality rate, consistent 

with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 1, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2012–0003, 

by any one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ 

icon, then enter NOAA–NMFS–2012– 

0003 in the keyword search. Locate the 

document you wish to comment on 

from the resulting list and click on the 

‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right 

of that line. 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: 

Comments on 2012 Proposed Bluefish 

Specifications, NOAA–NMFS–2012– 

0003. 

• Mail and Hand Delivery: Dan 

Morris, Acting Regional Administrator, 

NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 

Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930. Mark the outside of the 

envelope: ‘‘Comments on 2012 Bluefish 

Specifications.’’ 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. Comments sent by any other 

method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered. All comments received are 

a 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 (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment and Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and 

other supporting documents for the 

specifications, are available from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 N. 

State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The 

specifications document is also 

accessible via the Internet at: http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carly Bari, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Atlantic bluefish fishery is 

managed cooperatively by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council) and the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission (Commission). 

The management unit for bluefish 

specified in the Atlantic Bluefish 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is U.S. 

waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. 

Regulations implementing the FMP 

appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A 

and J. The regulations requiring annual 

specifications are found at § 648.16. 

The FMP requires the Council to 

recommend, on an annual basis, annual 

catch limit (ACL), annual catch target 

(ACT), and total allowable landings 

(TAL) that will control fishing mortality 

(F). An estimate of annual discards is 

deducted from the ACT to calculate the 

TALs that can be harvested during the 

year by the commercial and recreational 

fishing sectors. The FMP requires that 

17 percent of the ACT be allocated to 

the commercial fishery, with the 

remaining 83 percent allocated to the 

recreational fishery. The Council may 

also recommend a research set-aside 

(RSA) quota, which is deducted from 

the bluefish TALs (after any applicable 

transfer) in an amount proportional to 

the percentage of the overall TAL as 

allocated to the commercial and 

recreational sectors. 

The annual review process for 

bluefish requires that the Council’s 

Bluefish Monitoring Committee and 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) review and make 

recommendations based on the best 

available data, including, but not 

limited to, commercial and recreational 

catch/landing statistics, current 

estimates of fishing mortality, stock 

abundance, discards for the recreational 

fishery, and juvenile recruitment. Based 

on the recommendations of the 

Monitoring Committee and SSC, the 

Council makes a recommendation to the 

NMFS Northeast Regional 

Administrator. Because this FMP is a 

joint plan, the Commission also meets 

during the annual specification process 

to adopt complementary measures. 

The Council’s recommendations must 

include supporting documentation 

concerning the environmental, 

economic, and social impacts of the 

recommendations. NMFS is responsible 

for reviewing these recommendations to 

ensure that they achieve the FMP 

objectives, and may modify them if they 

do not. NMFS then publishes proposed 

specifications in the Federal Register, 

and after considering public comment, 

NMFS will publish final specifications 

in the Federal Register. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS