27550 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Proposed Rules

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 20

Exports, Hunting, Imports, Reporting

and Recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation, Wildlife.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, the Service proposes to

amend 50 CFR part 20 as set forth

below.

PART 20—MIGRATORY BIRD

HUNTING

1. The authority citation for part 20

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 703–711, 16 U.S.C.

712, and 16 U.S.C. 742 a–j.

2. Amend § 20.20 by revising

paragraphs (a), (b), and (e) to read as

follows:

§ 20.20 Migratory Bird Harvest Information

Program.

(a) Information collection

requirements. The collections of

information contained in § 20.20 have

been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget under 44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq. and assigned

clearance number 1018–0015. The

information will be used to provide a

sampling frame for the national

Migratory Bird Harvest Survey.

Response is required from licensed

hunters to obtain the benefit of hunting

migratory game birds. Public reporting

burden for this information is estimated

to average 2 minutes per response for

3,300,000 respondents, including the

time for reviewing instructions,

searching existing data sources,

gathering and maintaining the data

needed, and completing and reviewing

the collection of information. Thus the

total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection is

estimated to be 112,000 hours. Send

comments regarding this burden

estimate or any other aspect of this

collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing the burden, to

the Service Information Collection

Clearance Officer, ms-224 ARLSQ, Fish

and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC

20240, or the Office of Management and

Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project

1018–0015, Washington, DC 20503. (b)

General provisions. Each person

hunting migratory game birds in any

State except Hawaii must have

identified himself or herself as a

migratory bird hunter and given his or

her name, address, and date of birth to

the respective State hunting licensing

authority and must have on his or her

person evidence, provided by that State,

of compliance with this requirement.

* * * * *

(e) State responsibilities. The State

hunting licensing authority will ask

each licensed migratory bird hunter in

the respective State to report

approximately how many ducks, geese,

doves, and woodcock he or she bagged

the previous year, whether he or she

hunted coots, snipe, rails, and/or

gallinules the previous year, and, in

States that have band-tailed pigeon

hunting seasons, whether he or she

intends to hunt band-tailed pigeons

during the current year.

Dated: April 7, 1998.

Donald J. Barry,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and

Wildlife and Parks.

[FR Doc. 98–13209 Filed 5–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 980414095–8095–01; I.D.

040798C]

RIN 0648–AJ37

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Dealer Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend the

regulations which require dealers of

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass,

Atlantic sea scallops, Northeast (NE)

multispecies, Atlantic mackerel, squid,

and butterfish to report their fish

purchases to NMFS. This action would

improve weekly monitoring of landings,

by species, by requiring dealers to use

a call-in Interactive Voice Response

(IVR) system to report their purchases to

NMFS. The rule would also modify the

schedule for the submission by federally

permitted dealers of comprehensive

written reports. Reporting requirements

for party and charter vessels holding a

federal summer flounder or scup permit,

other than a moratorium permit, would

be modified to make them consistent

with reporting requirements in other

fisheries.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 18, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed

rule or proposed IVR system should be

sent to Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph.D.,

Administrator, Northeast Region,

NMFS, One Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside

of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on

Proposed Rule for Dealer Reporting.’’

Comments on the burden hour

estimates for collection-of- information

requirements contained in this proposed

rule should be sent to Andrew A.

Rosenberg, Ph.D., and to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Attention: NOAA Desk Officer, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kelley McGrath, (978) 281-9307 or

Gregory Power, (978) 281-9304.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing the fishery

management plans for the summer

flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic

sea scallops, NE multispecies, and

Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish

fisheries are found at 50 CFR part 648.

These fishery management plans were

prepared under the authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act. All

dealers of summer founder, scup, black

sea bass, Atlantic sea scallops, NE

multispecies, Atlantic mackerel, Illex or

Loligo squid or butterfish must have

been issued and have in their

possession a Federal dealer permit in

order to purchase such species from

fishing vessels. All dealers issued a

Federal dealer permit are required to

submit weekly reports of all fish

purchases to the Administrator,

Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional

Administrator). To make it easier for

federally permitted dealers to comply

with weekly reporting requirements and

to improve the monitoring of

commercial landings, NMFS proposes to

modify the dealer reporting

requirements.

Several species are now being

managed using domestic annual harvest

limits, such as annual or seasonal

quotas and target or actual total

allowable catch (TAC) limits. For

example, summer flounder and scup are

managed through annual commercial

quotas, while the regulated NE

multispecies are managed through

annual target TACs. Regulated

multispecies are defined as a subset of

the NE multispecies that includes cod,

haddock, pollock, redfish, white hake,

yellowtail flounder, witch flounder,

windowpane flounder, winter flounder,

and American plaice. In order to

manage these fisheries effectively,

accurate and timely monitoring of

landings is required. For the purposes of

this proposed rule, species managed by

quotas or TACs are referred to as

‘‘quota-managed species.’’
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Proposed Rules 27551

Interactive Voice Response System

This proposed rule would require

federally permitted fish dealers to use a

NMFS-established IVR system to report

weekly purchases of all quota-managed

species, except those species deferred

from IVR system coverage by the

Regional Administrator. This would

enable NMFS to determine more quickly

when domestic harvest limits have been

reached. Species whose purchases

would have to be reported weekly

through the IVR system include summer

flounder, scup, black sea bass, regulated

NE multispecies, Atlantic mackerel,

Illex and Loligo squid, and butterfish.

The Regional Administrator would

have the authority to defer species from

coverage by the IVR system weekly

reporting requirements if landings are

not expected to reach levels that would

cause the applicable target exploitation

rate corresponding to a given domestic

annual harvest limit, target or actual

TAC or annual or seasonal quota

specified in the fishery management

plan for that species to be achieved.

This deferral determination would be

based on the purchases reported, by

species, in the comprehensive written

reports submitted by dealers and other

available information. If the Regional

Administrator determines that a species

should be deferred from the IVR system

weekly reporting requirement, he/she

would publish notification so stating in

the Federal Register. If data indicate

that landing levels subsequently

increase to an extent that this

determination ceases to be valid, the

Regional Administrator would terminate

the deferral by publishing notification

in the Federal Register. Therefore, it is

conceivable that a deferral from the IVR

system weekly reporting requirement

and a withdrawal of a given deferral

could occur in any given fishing year for

a given quota-managed species. NMFS

anticipates that following a review of

landing levels and other applicable

information several of the quotamanaged species will be deferred from

the IVR system weekly reporting

requirement at the time of

implementation of any final rule.

Dealers would be required to report

through the IVR system, on a weekly

basis, purchases of those quota-managed

species not deferred from coverage. The

IVR system would use a toll-free

number that federally permitted dealers

would call to report weekly purchases

of IVR monitored species. For each

species requiring IVR monitoring,

NMFS proposes to require federally

permitted dealers to report the following

information weekly through the IVR

system: Dealer permit number; dealer

code; pounds purchased by species;

week in which purchases were made;

and state of landing for each species

purchased. If no purchases of the IVR

monitored species were made during

the week, the dealer would be required

to submit a report so stating through the

IVR system.

Trip-by-Trip Dealer Reports

Currently, federally permitted dealers

are required to submit comprehensive

trip-by-trip written reports listing all

species purchased within 3 days after

the end of the reporting week. Because

the IVR system would provide timely

monitoring of dealer purchases by

species, NMFS proposes to amend this

requirement to allow dealers 16 days

following the end of the reporting week

in which to complete and submit the

trip-by-trip written reports for all

species. In addition to providing dealers

with more time to complete these

reports, this proposed change would

also result in more accurate price

information being collected on the

written reports. Such pricing

information is often unavailable to

dealers within 3 days following the end

of the reporting week, but is available

within 16 days following the end of the

reporting week.

Dealers would continue to report the

following information, within 16 days

following the end of the reporting week,

on forms supplied by or approved by

the Regional Administrator: Dealer

name and mailing address; dealer

number; name and permit number or

hull number (United States Coast Guard

(USCG) documentation number or state

registration number, whichever is

applicable) of vessels from which fish

are landed or received; dates of

purchases; trip identifier for fishing trip

from which fish are purchased; pounds

by species (by market category, if

applicable); price per pound, by species

(by market category, if applicable) or

total value by species (by market

category, if applicable); port landed;

signature of dealer or other authorized

individual; and any other information

deemed necessary by the Regional

Administrator. If no fish were

purchased during the reporting month,

the dealer would be required to report

that on the required form, which would

be submitted within 16 days following

the end of the reporting month. Dealers

would retain the option of submitting

the required information electronically

if authorized in writing to do so by the

Regional Administrator.

Additional Dealer and Processor

Reporting Changes

NMFS proposes to modify five

requirements pertaining to dealer

reporting. Dealers are currently required

to report the Federal permit number of

the vessel from which fish are

purchased or landed. However, many of

the species landed by dealers are not

subject to Federal management and are

caught by vessels that hold no Federal

permits. This requirement would be

modified to require dealers to report

either the Federal permit number or the

hull number (USCG documentation

number or state registration number, as

appropriate) of the vessels from which

fish are purchased or landed.

The existing reporting form, NOAA

Form 88-30, specifies market categories

for several species. The regulations

would be revised to make it clear to

dealers that species must be reported by

market category, when applicable.

The reporting period for negative

written reports (reports stating that no

fish were purchased) would be changed

from weekly to monthly. Currently,

federally permitted dealers are required

to submit a weekly written negative

report if no purchases of any fish were

made during the reporting week. This

proposed rule would instead require

dealers to submit monthly a written

negative report only if no purchases of

any fish were made during a reporting

month (defined as a calendar month).

NMFS also proposes adding language

to amplify an existing prohibition to

allow for the collection of biological

data (fish lengths) and samples (scales

and otoliths for aging) which are

necessary to characterize the

composition of the landed catch. While

most dealers have historically and

voluntarily allowed access to their

premises for the collection of these vital

data, NMFS proposes to revise the

regulations so that it is explicit that

federally permitted dealers are required

to grant such access.

Under current regulations at

§ 648.7(a)(2)(ii), processors are required

to notify the Regional Administrator if

the plant processing capacities change

by more than 10 percent during any

year. NMFS proposes to require that the

processor notify the Regional

Administrator in writing within 10 days

after this change.

Vessel Reporting Change

NMFS further proposes to revise the

reporting requirements for any owner of

a party or charter vessel issued a federal

summer flounder or scup permit, other

than a moratorium permit. Currently,

owners of party or charter vessels issued
27552 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Proposed Rules

a summer flounder or scup permit, other

than a moratorium permit, and carrying

passengers for hire are required to

submit an accurate daily fishing log

report for each trip that lands summer

flounder or scup, respectively. This

proposed rule would amend the vessel

reporting requirements to require these

vessels to submit reports for each trip,

regardless of the species fished for or

retained. This change would make the

requirements for party/charter vessels in

the summer flounder and scup fisheries

consistent with those in the black sea

bass, NE multispecies, and Atlantic

mackerel, squid, and butterfish

fisheries.

Classification

Notwithstanding any other provision

of the law, no person is required to

respond to, nor shall any person be

subject to a penalty for failure to comply

with a collection of information subject

to the requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act (PRA) unless that

collection of information displays a

currently valid Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) control number.

This proposed rule contains

collection-of-information requirements

subject to the PRA, and clarifies or

makes minor modifications to

requirements previously approved

under OMB control number 0648-0229

(2 minutes per response), OMB control

number 0648-0212 (5 minutes per

response), OMB Control No. 0648- 0018

(6 minutes per response), and OMB

Control No. 0648-0235 (5 minutes per

response). The requirement to use an

IVR system for weekly dealer reporting

has been submitted to OMB for approval

under OMB control number 0648-0229

and is estimated to take 4 minutes per

response. The response estimates shown

include the time for reviewing

instructions, searching existing data

sources, gathering and maintaining the

data needed, and completing, reviewing

and submitting 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 has 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

collection of information to NMFS and

OMB (see ADDRESSES).

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration that this

rule, if adopted as proposed, would not

have significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities as follows:

The proposed rule would require dealers of

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass,

Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, and NE

multispecies to report their purchases to the

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on

a weekly basis through a NMFS-established

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The

reporting schedule for federally permitted

dealers would be modified to extend the

submission deadline for comprehensive

written reports. These proposed changes

would enable NMFS to track landings of

quota-managed species on a real time basis

through the IVR system, while providing

dealers with the convenience of additional

time to submit the comprehensive written

reports.

Reporting requirements for any owner of a

party or charter vessel issued a summer

flounder or scup permit, other than a

moratorium permit, would be modified

making the requirements consistent with

those in other fisheries. Currently, owners of

a party or charter vessel issued a summer

flounder or scup permit, other than a

moratorium permit, and carrying passengers

for hire are required to submit a report for

each trip that lands summer flounder or

scup, respectively. This rule would require

these vessels to submit reports for each trip,

regardless of the species fished for or

retained.

Because the information being collected

from dealers and vessel owners is regularly

compiled for their own business records,

providing NMFS with the information is a

minimal burden and will not result in a

significant economic impact on the dealers or

vessel owners.

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for the purposes of E.O.

12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: May 14, 1998.

David L. Evans,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Serivce.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

1. The authority citation for part 648

continues to read as follows:

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

2. Section 648.2 is amended by

adding, in alphabetical order,

definitions for ‘‘Dealer code’’, ‘‘IVR

system’’, and ‘‘Quota- managed species’’

to read as follows:

§ 648.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Dealer code means a confidential fivedigit number assigned to each dealer

required to submit purchases using the

IVR system for the purpose of

maintaining the integrity of the data

reported through the IVR system.

* * * * *

IVR system means the Interactive

Voice Response dealer reporting system

established by the Regional

Administrator for the purpose of

monitoring dealer purchases.

* * * * *

Quota-managed species means any

species of finfish managed under this

part by an annual or seasonal quota or

by annual target or actual TAC.

* * * * *

3. In § 648.7 paragraph (a)(2) is

redesignated as paragraph (a)(3), new

paragraphs (a)(2) and (g) are added,

paragraph (b)(1)(iii) is removed, the first

sentence of paragraph (a)(1)

introductory text, and paragraphs

(a)(1)(i), (a)(3)(i), (a)(3)(ii), (b)(1)(i) and

(f)(1) are revised to read as follows:

§ 648.7 Recordkeeping and reporting

requirements.

(a) Dealers—(1) Detailed weekly

report. Federally permitted dealers must

submit to the Regional Administrator, or

official designee, a detailed weekly

report, within the time periods specified

in paragraph (f) of this section, on forms

supplied by or approved by the Regional

Administrator, a report of all fish

purchases, except surf clam and ocean

quahog dealers or processors who are

required to report only surf clam and

ocean quahog purchases. * * *

(i) Summer flounder, scup, black sea

bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE

multispecies, Atlantic mackerel, squid

and butterfish dealers must provide:

Dealer name and mailing address; dealer

number; name and permit number or

name and hull number (USCG

documentation number or state

registration number, whichever is

applicable) of vessels from which fish

are landed or received; trip identifier for

trip from which fish are landed or

received; dates of purchases; pounds by

species (by market category, if

applicable); price per pound by species

(by market category, if applicable) or

total value by species (by market

category, if applicable); port landed; and

any other information deemed necessary

by the Regional Administrator. All

report forms must be signed by the

dealer or other authorized individual. If

no fish are purchased during a reporting

week, no written report is required to be

submitted. If no fish are purchased
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 /Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Proposed Rules 27553

during an entire reporting month, a

report so stating on the required form

must be submitted.

* * * * *

(2) Weekly IVR system reports. (i)

Federally permitted dealers purchasing

quota-managed species not deferred

from coverage by the Regional

Administrator pursuant to paragraph

(a)(2)(ii) of this section must submit,

within the time period specified in

paragraph (f) of this section, the

following information, and any other

information required by the Regional

Administrator, to the Regional

Administrator or to an official designee,

via the IVR system established by the

Regional Administrator: Dealer permit

number; dealer code; pounds

purchased, by species; week in which

species were purchased; and state of

landing for each species purchased. If

no purchases of quota-managed species

not deferred from coverage by the

Regional Administrator pursuant to

paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section were

made during the week, a report so

stating must be submitted through the

IVR system in accordance with

paragraph (f) of this section.

(ii) The Regional Administrator may

defer any quota-managed species from

the IVR system reporting requirements if

landings are not expected to reach levels

that would cause the applicable target

exploitation rate corresponding to a

given domestic annual harvest limit,

target or actual TAC or annual or

seasonal quota specified for that species

to be achieved. The Regional

Administrator shall base any such

determination on the purchases

reported, by species, in the

comprehensive written reports

submitted by dealers and other available

information. If the Regional

Administrator determines that any

quota-managed species should be

deferred from the weekly IVR system

reporting requirements, the Regional

Administrator shall publish notification

so stating in the Federal Register. If data

indicate that landing levels have

increased to an extent that this

determination ceases to be valid, the

Regional Administrator shall terminate

the deferral by publishing notification

in the Federal Register.

(3) * * *

(i) Summer flounder, scup, black sea

bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE

multispecies, Atlantic mackerel, squid,

and butterfish dealers must complete

the ‘‘Employment Data’’ section of the

Annual Processed Products Report;

completion of the other sections of that

form is voluntary. Reports must be

submitted to the address supplied by

the Regional Administrator.

(ii) Surf clam and ocean quahog

processors and dealers must provide the

average number of processing plant

employees during each month of the

year just ended; average number of

employees engaged in production of

processed surf clam and ocean quahog

products, by species, during each month

of the year just ended; plant capacity to

process surf clam and ocean quahog

shellstock, or to process surf clam and

ocean quahog meats into finished

products, by species; an estimate, for the

next year, of such processing capacities;

and total payroll for surf clam and ocean

quahog processing, by month. If the

plant processing capacities required to

be reported in this paragraph (a)(3)(ii)

change more than 10 percent during any

year, the processor shall notify the

Regional Administrator in writing

within 10 days after the change.

(b) Vessel owners—(1) Fishing Vessel

Trip Reports—(i) Owners of vessels

issued a summer flounder, scup, black

sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE

multispecies, or Atlantic mackerel,

squid, and butterfish permits. The

owner or operator of any vessel issued

a permit for summer flounder, scup,

black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallops, NE

multispecies, Atlantic mackerel, squid

or butterfish must maintain on board the

vessel, and submit, an accurate daily

fishing log report for all fishing trips,

regardless of species fished for or taken,

on forms supplied by or approved by

the Regional Administrator. If

authorized in writing by the Regional

Administrator, vessel owners or

operators may submit reports

electronically, for example by using a

VTS or other system. At least the

following information, and any other

information required by the Regional

Administrator, must be provided: Vessel

name; USCG documentation number (or

state registration number, if

undocumented); permit number; date/

time sailed; date/time landed; trip type;

number of crew; number of anglers (if a

party or charter boat); gear fished;

quantity and size of gear; mesh/ring

size; chart area fished; average depth;

latitude/longitude (or loran station and

bearings); total hauls per area fished;

average tow time duration; pounds (or

count, if a party or charter vessel), by

species, of all species landed or

discarded; dealer permit number; dealer

name; date sold, port and state landed;

and vessel operator’s name, signature,

and operator permit number (if

applicable).

* * * * *

(f) Submitting reports—(1) Dealer or

processor reports. (i) Detailed weekly

trip reports, required by paragraph (a)(1)

of this section, must be postmarked or

received within 16 days after the end of

each reporting week. If no fish are

purchased during a reporting month, the

report so stating required under

paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section must

be postmarked or received within 16

days after the end of the reporting

month.

(ii) Weekly IVR system reports

required in paragraph (a)(2) of this

section must be submitted via the IVR

system by midnight, Eastern time, each

Tuesday for the previous reporting

week.

(iii) Annual reports for a calendar year

must be postmarked or received by

February 10 of the following year.

Contact the Regional Administrator (see

Table 1 to § 600.502 of this chapter) for

the address of NMFS Statistics.

* * * * *

(g) Additional data and sampling.

Federally permitted dealers must allow

access to their premises and to make

available to an official designee of the

Regional Administrator any fish

purchased from vessels for the

collection of biological data. Such data

include, but are not limited to, length

measurements of fish and the collection

of age structures such as otoliths or

scales.

4. In § 648.14 paragraph (a)(8) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 648.14 Prohibitions.

(a) * * *

(8) Assault, resist, oppose, impede,

harass, intimidate, or interfere with or

bar by command, impediment, threat, or

coercion any NMFS-approved observer

or sea sampler aboard a vessel

conducting his or her duties aboard a

vessel, or any authorized officer

conducting any search, inspection,

investigation, or seizure in connection

with enforcement of this part, or any

official designee of the Regional

Administrator conducting his or her

duties, including those duties

authorized in § 648.7(g).

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 98–13300 Filed 5–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F