32144 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

This rule has been determined to be

not significant under E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: June 8, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 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 648.4 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a)(5)(i)(B)(1),

(a)(5)(ii)(B)(1), (a)(6)(i)(B)(1), and

(a)(7)(i)(B)(1) to read as follows:

§ 648.4 Vessel and individual commercial

permits.

(a) * * *

(5) * * *

(i) * * *

(B) * * *

(1) August 31, 1998; or

* * * * *

(ii) * * *

(B) * * *

(1) August 31, 1998; or

* * * * *

(6) * * *

(i) * * *

(B) * * *

(1) No one may apply for an initial

scup moratorium permit after August

31, 1998.

* * * * *

(7) * * *

(i) * * *

(B) * * *

(1) August 31, 1998; or

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 98–15725 Filed 6–9–98; 3:10 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 980212037–8142–02; I.D.

012798A]

RIN 0648-AJ87

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Halibut Donation

Program

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to

implement Amendment 50 to the

Fishery Management Plan for

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and

Amendment 50 to the Fishery

Management Plan for the Groundfish

Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian

Islands Area (FMPs). This rule

authorizes the distribution of Pacific

halibut taken as bycatch in the specified

groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska to

economically disadvantaged individuals

through tax-exempt organizations

selected by NMFS to be authorized

distributors. This rule is applicable only

until December 31, 2000, so that

management agencies may assess the

program prior to determining whether

or not to continue it under a future

regulatory amendment. This action is

necessary to promote the goals and

objectives of the FMPs. The intended

effect of this action is to reduce the

amount of regulatory discards in the

groundfish fisheries by processing dead

halibut for human consumption.

DATES: Effective July 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendments 50/

50 and the Environmental Assessment/

Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR)

prepared for this action are available

from the Sustainable Fisheries Division,

Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668,

Juneau AK 99802, Attn: Lori J. Gravel,

or by calling the Alaska Region, NMFS,

at 907–586–7228. Send comments

regarding burden estimates or any other

aspect of data requirements, including

suggestions for reducing burdens to

NMFS and to the Office of Information

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget (OMB),

Washington, DC 20503, Attn: NOAA

Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alan Kinsolving, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

domestic groundfish fisheries in the

exclusive economic zone off Alaska are

managed by NMFS under the FMPs. The

FMPs were prepared by the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) under the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Regulations governing the Alaska

groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR

parts 600 and 679. Fishing for Pacific

halibut in waters in and off Alaska is

governed by the Convention between

the United States and Canada for the

Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of

the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea

(Convention) and by regulations

adopted by the International Pacific

Halibut Commission (IPHC) and

approved by the Secretary of State of the

United States pursuant to section 4 of

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act (16

U.S.C. 773–773k). Regulations of the

IPHC are published as annual

management measures in the Federal

Register each year pursuant to

regulations at 50 CFR 300.62.

A Notice of Availability of

Amendments 50/50 was published in

the Federal Register on February 4,

1998 (63 FR 5777), with comments

invited through April 6, 1998. A

proposed rule to implement

Amendments 50/50 was published in

the Federal Register on March 4, 1998

(63 FR 10583), with comments invited

through April 20, 1998. Four comments

were received, and they are summarized

and responded to in the Comments and

Responses section. No changes were

made from the proposed rule to the final

rule.

The regulations implementing

Amendments 50/50 expand the existing

Salmon Donation Program by creating a

Prohibited Species Donation (PSD)

program that includes Pacific halibut as

well as salmon. The regulations

authorize the voluntary distribution of

halibut taken as bycatch in the

groundfish trawl fishery to needy

individuals by tax-exempt organizations

through a NMFS-authorized distributor.

The program is limited to dead

halibut landed by trawl catcher vessels

to shoreside processors. Many of the

halibut taken in the groundfish fishery

are discarded alive. However, dead

halibut are sometimes landed shoreside

by trawl catcher vessels because at-sea

sorting of catch is not practicable. This

action will not have any impact on the

halibut resource because the groundfish

fisheries operate with a halibut

prohibited species catch limit that

requires closure of a fishery when that

limit has been reached.

The regulations implementing

Amendments 50/50 are applicable until

December 31, 2000. This sunset

provision was advocated by the Council

and the IPHC so that management

agencies could assess the effectiveness

of the halibut donation program, relative

to the program’s objectives, before the

Council took action to extend the

program beyond the year 2000 by

regulatory amendment.

Additional information on this action

is contained in the preamble to the

proposed rule and in the EA/RIR (see

ADDRESSES). Upon reviewing

Amendments 50/50, the Administrator,

Alaska Region, NMFS has determined

that Amendments 50/50 are necessary

for the conservation and management of
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 32145

the groundfish fisheries off Alaska and

are consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and with other applicable

laws.

Comments and Responses

Comment 1: The concept of a PSD

program is a good one, but the plan

amendments should be structured to

allow the donation of any prohibited

species and not just halibut.

Response: The Council has

recommended that the PSD program be

limited to the existing salmon donation

program and to the new halibut

donation program implemented by this

action. If the PSD program is successful,

the Council may consider its expansion

at a future date. At this time, the only

authorized distributor has not expressed

interest in receiving donations of other

species.

Comment 2: The Council and NMFS

have been moving in the direction of

increasing the utilization of harvested

fish. While expanding the salmon

donation program is worthwhile, the

Secretary of Commerce should

encourage the Council to rethink its

management of prohibited species.

Many of the regulatory discard rules

may no longer be necessary in the light

of increased retention/increased

utilization policies that have been

recently implemented.

Response: Comment noted. NMFS

will continue to examine viable

alternatives to the existing programs for

managing bycatch and reducing the

need for regulatory discard. NMFS

believes that this action is a positive

step in this direction.

Comment 3: The preamble to the

proposed rule asserts that the retention

of halibut for donation will provide

additional opportunity to collect

biological samples and scientific data.

NMFS should consider the possibility

that prohibited species catch data,

which may be collected as a result of the

program, could be misleading. This

should be addressed when considering

the approval of these amendments.

Response: The primary goals of

Amendments 50/50 is to reduce

regulatory discards and to provide a

mechanism for the donation of dead

halibut to economically disadvantaged

individuals. While this action provides

an opportunity for increased collection

of data, NMFS does not currently have

plans to collect new data through this

program. If such plans develop in the

future, we will keep this comment in

mind.

Comment 4: The EA prepared for this

action erroneously states that trawl gear

accounts for 84 percent of the halibut

bycatch in the FMP managed groundfish

fisheries. The correct statement would

be that trawl gear accounts for 84

percent of the halibut bycatch mortality.

Response: The executive summary of

the final EA has been revised to indicate

that trawl gear is estimated to account

for 84 percent of the halibut bycatch

mortality.

Classification

At the proposed rules stage, 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 would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The rationale

for this determination appeared in the

proposed rule. No comments were

received regarding this certification. As

a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis

was not prepared.

This final rule has been determined to

be not significant for the purposes of

E.O. 12866.

This final rule contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The

collection of this information has been

approved by OMB under OMB control

number 0648–0316.

Notwithstanding any other provision

of the law, no person is required to

respond to, nor shall any person 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.

Public reporting burdens for these

collections of information are estimated

to average: 40 hours per response for a

distributor to complete an application;

40 hours per year per response per

distributor to comply with the

documentation requirements; 0.1 hours

per response for processors to properly

label processed halibut; and 0.25 hours

per response for the vessels/processors

to list vessels/processors. The estimated

response times shown include the time

to review instructions, search existing

data sources, gather and maintain the

data needed, and complete and review

the collection of information.

Send comments on these or any other

aspects of the collection of information,

including suggestions for reducing

burdens, to NMFS and to OMB (see

ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679

Alaska, Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: June 5, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 679 is amended

as follows:

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF

ALASKA

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR

part 679 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et

seq., and 3631 et seq.

2. In § 679.2, the definitions of ‘‘SDP’’

and ‘‘SDP permit’’ are removed, the

definitions of ‘‘PSD program’’ and ‘‘PSD

permit’’ are added, and paragraph (1) of

the definition of ‘‘Catcher vessel’’ is

revised, in alphabetical order as follows:

§ 679.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Catcher vessel means:

(1) With respect to groundfish

recordkeeping and reporting, the PSD

program and subpart E of this part, a

vessel that is used for catching fish and

that does not process fish on board.

* * * * *

PSD Permit means a permit issued by

NMFS to an applicant who qualifies as

an authorized distributor for purposes of

the PSD.

PSD Program means the Prohibited

Species Donation Program established

under § 679.26.

* * * * *

3. In § 679.7, paragraph (a)(12) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 679.7 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(12) Prohibited species donation

program. Retain or possess prohibited

species, defined at § 679.21(b)(1), except

as permitted to do so under the PSD

program as provided by § 679.26 of this

part, or as authorized by other

applicable law.

* * * * *

§ 679.21 [Amended]

In § 679.21 paragraph (c)(1) is

amended by changing the word ‘‘SDP’’

to the phrase ‘‘PSD program’’.

4. In § 679.26, the section heading is

revised; paragraphs (a) through (c) are

redesignated as paragraphs (b) through

(d); redesignated paragraphs (b)(1)(xii),

(b)(2)introductory text, (b)(2)(iii),

(b)(3)(ii), (b)(3)(iv), (b)(3)(v), (c)(1),

(c)(2), (c)(3) and (d)(4) are revised; and

new paragraphs (a) and (b)(1)(xiv) are

added to read as follows:
32146 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

§ 679.26 Prohibited Species Donation

Program.

(a) Authorized species. The PSD

program applies only to the following

species:

(1) Salmon.

(2) (Applicable through December 31,

2000) Halibut delivered by catcher

vessels using trawl gear to shoreside

processors.

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(xii) A signed statement from the

applicant and from all persons who are

listed under paragraph (b)(1)(xi) of this

section and who would conduct

activities pursuant to the PSD permit

waiving any and all claims against the

United States and its agents and

employees for any liability for personal

injury, death, sickness, damage to

property directly or indirectly due to

activities conducted under the PSD

program.

* * * * *

(xiv) A separate application must be

submitted for each species listed under

paragraph (a) of this section that the

applicant seeks to distribute.

(2) Selection. The Regional

Administrator may select one or more

tax-exempt organizations to be

authorized distributors under the PSD

program based on the information

submitted by applicants under

paragraph (b)(1) of this section. The

number of authorized distributors

selected by the Regional Administrator

will be based on the following criteria:

* * * * *

(iii) The anticipated level of bycatch

of prohibited species listed under

paragraph (a) of this section.

* * * * *

(3) * * *

(ii) The Regional Administrator may

impose additional terms and conditions

on a PSD permit consistent with the

objectives of the PSD program.

* * * * *

(iv) Effective period—(A) Salmon. A

PSD permit for salmon remains in effect

for a 3-year period after the selection

notice is published in the Federal

Register unless suspended or revoked.

A PSD permit issued to an authorized

distributor may be renewed following

the application procedures in this

section.

(B) A PSD permit issued for halibut

will expire December 31, 2000.

(v) If the authorized distributor

modifies any information on the PSD

permit application submitted under

paragraph (b)(1)(xi) or (b)(1)(xiii) of this

section, the authorized distributor must

submit a modified list of participants or

a modified list of delivery locations to

the Regional Administrator.

(c) * * *

(1) A vessel or processor retaining

prohibited species under the PSD

program must comply with all

applicable recordkeeping and reporting

requirements. A vessel or processor

participating in the PSD program must

comply with applicable regulations at

§§ 679.7(c)(1) and 679.21(c) that allow

for the collection of data and biological

sampling by a NMFS-certified observer

prior to processing any salmon under

the PSD program.

(2) Prohibited species retained under

the PSD program must be packaged, and

all packages must be labeled with the

date of processing, the name of the

processing facility, the contents and the

weight of the fish contained in the

package, and the words, ‘‘NMFS

PROHIBITED SPECIES DONATION

PROGRAM - NOT FOR SALE -

PERISHABLE PRODUCT - KEEP

FROZEN’’.

(3) A processor retaining or receiving

fish under the PSD program and an

authorized distributor must keep on file

and make available for inspection by an

authorized officer all documentation,

including receipt and cargo manifests

setting forth the origin, weight, and

destination of all prohibited species

bycatch. Such documentation must be

retained until 1 year after the effective

period of the PSD permit.

(d) * * *

(4) No prohibited species that has

been sorted from a vessel’s catch or

landing may be retained by a vessel or

processor, or delivered to a delivery

location under this section, unless the

vessel or processor and delivery

location is included on the list provided

to the Regional Administrator under

paragraph (b)(1)(xi), (b)(1)(xiii) or

(b)(3)(v) of this section.

§ 679.26 [Amended]

5. In addition to the amendments set

forth above, § 679.26 is amended by

making the following nomenclature

changes:

a. In paragraphs (b)(1)(vi), (b)(1)(viii),

(b)(1)(xi), (d)(1), and (d)(3), the word

‘‘SDP’’ is removed wherever it appears

and the phrase ‘‘PSD program’’ is added

in its place.

b. In paragraphs (b)(2)(i), (b)(3)(i), and

(b)(3)(iii) the word ‘‘SDP’’ is removed

wherever it appears and the word

‘‘PSD’’ is added in its place.

c. In paragraphs (b)(1)(ii), (b)(1)(v),

(b)(1)(viii), (b)(1)(xiii), (b)(2)(ii), (c)(1),

(d)(1) and (d)(2) the word ‘‘salmon’’ is

removed wherever it appears and the

word ‘‘fish’’ is added in its place.

d. In paragraph (d)(3), the word

‘‘salmon’’ is removed wherever it

appears and the phrase ‘‘prohibited

species’’ is added in its place.

[FR Doc. 98–15595 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F