36614 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

(ii) South of Pt. Conception. The daily

trip limit for thornyheads is 50 lb (23

kg).

(c) Widow rockfish. The cumulative

monthly trip limit for widow rockfish is

3,000 lb (1,361 kg).

(d) POP. The 50 percent monthly limit

for POP is 4,000 lb (1,814 kg).

(e) Sebastes complex. The monthly

cumulative limit for the Sebastes

complex is 33,000 lb (14,969 kg)

coastwide. The individual trip limits for

species in the Sebastes complex in

paragraph C. (d) are counted toward

monthly limits for the Sebastes complex

or rockfish, as applicable, and also

apply to exempted trawl gear.

(i) Yellowtail rockfish. The 50 percent

monthly limit for yellowtail rockfish is

6,500 lb (2,948 kg) north of Cape

Mendocino.

(ii) Bocaccio.

(A) All open access gear except

setnets or trammel nets. For all open

access gear except setnets or trammel

nets, the 50 percent monthly limit for

bocaccio is 1,000 lb (454 kg) south of

Cape Mendocino, of which no more

than 500 lb (227 kg) per trip may be

taken and retained with hook-and-line

or pot gear.

(B) Setnets or trammel nets (legal only

south of 38° N. lat.): For set nets or

trammel nets, the cumulative monthly

trip limit is 2,000 lb (907 kg).

(iii) Canary rockfish. The cumulative

monthly trip limit for canary rockfish is

200 lb (91 kg).

(iv) Black rockfish. The trip limit at 50

CFR 660.323(a)(i) for black rockfish

caught with hook-and-line gear also

applies and is counted toward the

cumulative Sebastes and rockfish limits.

(The black rockfish limit is also stated

in paragraph IV.B.7.)

(2) * * *

(a) * * *

(i) North of 36°00’ N. lat. North of

36°00’ N. lat, the daily trip limit for

sablefish is 300 lb (136 kg), which

counts toward a cumulative trip limit of

1,800 lb (816 kg) per 2-month period.

The 2-month cumulative trip limit may

be taken at any time during the 2-month

period; there is no 60 percent monthly

limit for the open access fishery.

* * * * *

(3) Lingcod.

(a) The monthly cumulative trip limit

for lingcod is 250 lb (113 kg) during July

1998. All lingcod must be longer than

24 inches (61 cm) total length.

(b) Effective August 1, 1998, lingcod

may not be taken and retained,

possessed, or landed by any open access

gear, including exempted trawl gear,

coastwide.

* * * * *

V. Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries

[Amended]

3. In the second column, the fifth

paragraph from the top is designated as

A. Sablefish; the sixth paragraph from

the top is designated as B. Rockfish and

revised. In the third column, the first

complete paragraph is designated as C.

Whiting; and paragraph D. Lingcod is

added to read as follows:

V. Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries

* * * * *

B. Rockfish: For the commercial

harvest of black rockfish off Washington

State, an HG of: 20,000 lb (9,072 kg)

north of Cape Alava (48° 09’ 30’’ N. lat.)

and 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) between

Destruction Island (47° 40’ 00’’ N. lat.)

and Leadbetter Point (46° 38’ 10’’ N.

lat.). This 30,000 lb (13.6 mt) is

subtracted from the HG for the northern

Sebastes complex.

(1) Thornyheads taken and retained

with longline gear are subject to a 300

lb (136 kg) trip limit, which is expected

to result in landings of 8,000–10,000 lb

(3–5 mt).

(2) Canary rockfish taken and retained

with longline gear are subject to a 300

lb (136 kg) trip limit, which is expected

to result in landings of 10,000–15,000

lbs (5–7 mt).

(3) Widow rockfish taken and retained

with any gear are subject to a 3,000 lb

(1,361 kg) monthly cumulative limit.

* * * * *

D. Lingcod: Lingcod taken and

retained with any gear are subject to a

300 lb trip limit.

* * * * *

Classification

These actions are authorized by the

regulations implementing the FMP. The

determination to take these actions is

based on the most recent data available.

The aggregate data upon which the

determinations are based are available

for public inspection at the Office of the

Administrator, Northwest Region,

NMFS (see ADDRESSES) during business

hours. Because of the need for

immediate action to implement these

changes at the beginning of the next 2-

month cumulative trip limit period and

because the public had an opportunity

to comment on the action at the June

1998 Council meeting, NMFS has

determined that good cause exists for

this document to be published without

affording a prior opportunity for public

comment or a 30-day delayed

effectiveness period. These actions are

taken under the authority of 50 CFR

660.323(b)(1) and are exempt from

review un der Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: June 30, 1998.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17863 Filed 7–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 980501115–8160–02; I.D.

032498A]

RIN 0648–AK86

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery; Compensation for

Collecting Resource Information

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Emergency rule.

SUMMARY: This action, authorized by the

Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens

Act), implements provisions by which a

vessel owner or operator who has

collected resource information

according to a NMFS-approved protocol

may be compensated with the

opportunity to harvest fish in excess of

current vessel limits and/or outside

other restrictions. This action is

intended to improve the types and

amounts of scientific information

available for use in stock assessments

and management of the Pacific coast

groundfish fishery. This action must be

implemented under the MagnusonStevens Act emergency rulemaking

authority so that NMFS may contract

with commercial fishing vessels to

conduct resource surveys during the

summer of 1998. The Pacific Fishery

Management Council (Council) is

considering an amendment to the

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery

Management Plan (PCGFMP) that would

continue this compensation initiative

beyond 1998.

DATES: Effective July 1, 1998 through

January 4, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to William

Stelle, Jr., Administrator, Northwest

Region, (Regional Administrator) NMFS,

7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA

98115; or William T. Hogarth,

Administrator, Southwest Region,

(Regional Administrator) NMFS, 501

West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802–4213. Copies of the
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 36615

environmental assessment/regulatory

impact review are also available from

that address. Send comments regarding

the burden estimate or any other aspect

of the collection-of-information

requirements in this emergency rule,

including suggestions for reducing the

burden, to one of the NMFS addresses

and to the Office on Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget (OMB),

Washington, DC 20503 (ATTN: NOAA

Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Katherine A. King at 206–526–6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is

implementing an emergency rule to

allow owners or operators of vessels that

collect resource information to be

compensated with the opportunity to

harvest fish in excess of current vessel

limits and/or outside other restrictions

[hereinafter ‘‘compensated with fish’’].

The Council recommended this action

at its November 1997 meeting in

Portland, OR, with the intent that NMFS

proceed with this rule immediately so

that NMFS may so contract with

commercial fishing vessels to conduct

resource surveys during the summer of

1998.

A proposed rule was published on

May 15, 1998 (at 63 FR 27035),

requesting public comments through

June 5, 1998. One comment was

received, which resulted in no change to

the final rule, and NMFS made one

clarification regarding accounting for

fish used as compensation. The final

rule is substantively the same as

proposed. See the preamble to the

proposed rule for additional background

information.

Background

On October 11, 1996, the MagnusonStevens Act was amended to authorize

the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary)

to use the private sector to provide

vessels, equipment, and services

necessary to survey fishery resources

and to pay for these surveys through the

sale of fish taken during the survey or,

if the quality or amount of fish is not

adequate, on a subsequent commercial

fishing trip (sec. 402(e)). Section

303(b)(11) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

enables the Secretary to ‘‘reserve a

portion of the allowable biological catch

of the fishery for use in scientific

research.’’ A vessel that is chartered by

NMFS to conduct resource surveys

becomes a ‘‘scientific research vessel’’

as defined at 50 CFR 600.10, and it must

not conduct commercial fishing on the

same trip during which a resource

survey is conducted.

These provisions must be in place by

early July 1998 in order to include

compensation with fish as a component

of contracts NMFS will award to

commercial fishing vessels to conduct

resource surveys during the summer of

1998. Stock assessments for the Dover

sole/thornyhead/trawl-caught sablefish

complex are controversial and have

resulted in serious concern over the

amount and accuracy of survey data.

NMFS is committed to addressing these

concerns. However, Federal fiscal

constraints have precluded gathering

the information needed. This is further

compounded by the unavailability of

the NOAA ship Miller Freeman, the

principle vessel used for conducting

resource surveys in this fishery, during

much of 1998. Implementation of these

provisions would enable NMFS to

expand sampling in the annual slope

survey that provides data for the stock

assessments for these and other

groundfish species. There is inadequate

time to amend the PCGFMP to provide

for using fish as compensation (and

subtracting the compensation fish from

acceptable biological catch (ABC))

before the slope survey is scheduled to

begin in August 1998. Therefore, NMFS

is implementing this rule under the

Secretary’s emergency rulemaking

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

so that these provisions may be

implemented in time to support the

1998 slope survey. The Council is

preparing an amendment to the

PCGFMP for later implementation.

Compensation for a Vessel Conducting

a Resource Survey

The Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes

the Secretary, in consultation with the

Council and the fishing industry, to

structure competitive solicitations by

which a vessel’s owner or operator may

compete for a contract with NMFS to

conduct a resource survey. Resource

surveys generally are conducted from

chartered fishing vessels, chartered

university vessels, and dedicated NOAA

vessels. In a resource survey, all

samples (fish) are collected according to

a specified research plan or protocol.

NMFS distinguishes survey activities by

a scientific research vessel from

commercial fishing activities according

to a process of acknowledging scientific

research described at 50 CFR 600.745(a).

NMFS frequently uses this mechanism

to conduct surveys from chartered

fishing vessels, and, in some cases,

some of the sample has been retained by

the vessel owner/operator for sale to

reduce waste and to defray some of the

costs of the charter. However, any

additional harvest taken on a

subsequent commercial trip as payment

for the resource survey would not be

considered scientific research. This

additional harvest was not authorized

under the old provisions of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act.

The new provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act provide the authority to go

beyond allowing the retention and sale

of fish caught during the course of a

resource survey by providing

compensation through the opportunity

to harvest fish in excess of current

vessel limits and/or outside of other

restrictions. This rule authorizes such

‘‘compensation fishing’’ through the

issuance of an exempted fishing permit

(EFP) in the Pacific Coast groundfish

fishery, which would enable the vessel

to exceed trip limits (and/or to be

exempt from other specified

management restrictions) so that the

compensation amount could be

achieved. The compensation EFP would

include terms and conditions that

would limit the authorized activities.

Conditions for disposition of bycatch or

any excess catch and for reporting the

value of the amount landed and other

appropriate terms and conditions would

be specified in the EFP. If the PCGFMP

is amended, it is anticipated that

compensation fishing would occur no

later than the end of September of the

year after the survey occurred.

Compensation fishing must take place

during the period specified in the EFP

and must be conducted according to the

terms and conditions of the EFP. The

compensation EFP may also require the

vessel owner or operator to keep

separate records of compensation

fishing conducted after the survey is

completed and to submit them to NMFS

within a specified period of time after

the compensation fishing is completed.

Process

The process incorporates selection of

commercial vessels to be used to

conduct the resource surveys, issuance

of compensation EFPs to provide for

compensation with fish, and adjustment

of the ABC to account for the

compensation fish used.

Competitive Offers

NMFS may initiate a competitive

solicitation, i.e., request for proposals

(RFP), to select vessels to conduct

resource surveys that use fish as full or

partial compensation. The RFP would

be publicized in the Commerce Business

Daily and would specify the factors that

NMFS would use in evaluating the

proposals. Vessel owners would be

expected to submit offers to conduct the

resource survey for a combination of

dollars and compensation fish.
36616 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Council Consultation and Approval

At a Council meeting, NMFS would

consult with the Council and receive

public comment on upcoming resource

surveys to be conducted with

groundfish used as whole or partial

compensation. For each proposal,

NMFS would present (1) the maximum

number of vessels expected or needed to

conduct the survey, (2) an estimate of

the species and amount of fish likely to

be needed to compensate the vessel, (3)

the time frame in which the survey and

the compensation fish would be taken,

and (4) the year in which the

compensation fish would be deducted

from the ABC before determining the

harvest guideline (HG) or quota. This is,

in effect, equivalent to NMFS presenting

a compensation EFP application to the

Council for the compensation amounts.

In general, compensation fish should be

similar to surveyed species, but there

may be reasons to provide

compensation with healthier, more

abundant, less restricted, or more easily

targeted species. For example, NMFS

may decline to pay a vessel with species

that are, or are expected to be,

overfished, that are subject to

overfishing, or that are unavoidably

caught with species that are overfished

or subject to overfishing. NMFS may

also want to take into account other

factors such as expected discards and

incidental catches of other species. If

the Council does not approve the

proposal to use fish as compensation to

pay for a resource survey, NMFS will

not use fish, other than fish taken

during the scientific research, as

compensation for that survey.

Awarding the Contract

NMFS would negotiate and award the

resource survey contracts in accordance

with normal Federal procurement

procedures. The contract would include

any conditions and limits on

compensation fishing, including a

requirement for the vessel to have on

board (1) a letter of acknowledgment of

research signed by the Regional

Administrator or designee, while

conducting any resource survey, and (2)

the compensation EFP while conducting

compensation fishing and for a period of

at least 15 days after the end of any

applicable cumulative trip limit period

in which compensation fishing

occurred.

Retention of Samples

All fishing on a resource survey trip

would be required to be conducted

according to scientific protocol and

would be considered scientific research.

However, the owner or operator of the

vessel could retain and sell some fish

caught while conducting the survey as

compensation for the vessel’s

participation. Retention of samples for

sale would be at the discretion of the

chief scientist on board, who would

consult with the vessel captain.

Collection of scientific information and

samples would be the highest priority

and might interfere with the vessel’s

ability to retain market-quality fish.

Issuance of the Compensation EFP

Upon successful completion of the

resource survey and of the

determination concerning the amount

and/or value of the survey sample that

was retained for sale as payment for

conducting the survey, NMFS would

issue a compensation EFP to the owner

or operator of the vessel if full

compensation has not been achieved by

cash payment and retention of the

survey sample. The compensation EFP

would allow the vessel an opportunity

to exceed the current commercial

fishing limits by the total amount of

compensation fish needed. The amount

of compensation fish needed is the

amount of fish specified in the contract

less the amount and/or value of the

survey sample retained for sale. The

compensation EFP also could exempt

the vessel from other specified

management measures.

Accounting for Compensation Fish

Because the species and amounts of

fish used as compensation would not be

determined until the contract is

awarded, it may not be possible to

deduct the amount of compensation fish

from the ABC or HG in the year that the

fish are caught. Even if this could be

done, it would cause great confusion

with the many allocations and limits

that were set before the compensation

amounts were known. Therefore, the

compensation fish will be deducted

from the ABC the year after they are

caught. During the annual specification

process (50 CFR 660.321(b)), NMFS

would advise the Council of the total

amount of fish caught during the year as

compensation for conducting a resource

survey, which then would be deducted

from the following year’s ABCs before

setting the HGs or quotas. (If

compensation fish are taken too late in

the year so that landings data are not

available to be deducted from the next

year’s ABC, it will be deducted in the

next management cycle practicable.)

Compensation for a Commercial Vessel

Collecting Resource Information—an

EFP With a Compensation Clause

NMFS also intends to conduct smaller

scale cooperative projects on vessels

that are operating in the commercial

fishery. This type of activity would not

be considered scientific research under

50 CFR 600.745(a) because it would not

be conducted by a scientific research

vessel, even though the vessels would

be collecting resource information

according to strict scientific standards

approved by NMFS. For small-scale

cooperative projects, NMFS could issue

EFPs to fishing vessels collecting the

resource information. The EFP would

require the vessel to conduct specific

activities and allow it to retain and sell

a limited amount of fish above the

amount it could take under its regular

trip limit. After the resource information

has been obtained, the EFP could

authorize the vessel to sell the fish that

were in the sample. This would be a

standard EFP, issued under the

procedures at 50 CFR 600.745(b). Fish

caught under this EFP would be

counted against the ABCs and HGs or

quotas in the year they are caught.

In some circumstances, NMFS might

want to allow the vessel to harvest

slightly more fish than necessary for the

particular project. For the sablefish

depth-specific sampling EFP expected

in 1998, a vessel would be able to retain

the sample plus a modest compensation

amount, no larger than the size of the

sample, above its normal trip limits.

Samples in these cases generally would

be expected to involve less than 500–

1,500 lb (227–680 kg) of fish per vessel

per month. The extra fish would

compensate the vessel for the extra work

involved in collecting the samples,

encourage vessels to participate in

surveys, and utilize more of the fish

taken during the surveys that are

surplus to sampling needs. NMFS could

propose the amount of fish that would

be used as compensation, or the EFP

applicant could propose an amount in

the EFP application. In these cases,

when NMFS announces receipt of the

EFP application and requests comments

as required under 50 CFR 600.745(b),

NMFS also announces a window period

during which vessels would have an

opportunity to submit EFP applications.

NMFS contemplates two ways of issuing

such EFPs: First, the EFPs could be

issued to individuals implementing a

protocol approved by NMFS. NMFS

would consider the qualified applicants,

issue EFPs to all of them, select

participation by lottery, issue EFPs to

the first applicants, or use other

impartial selection methods. Second,

NMFS could issue the EFP to a NMFS

element or to a state or other Federal

research agency, and the research

agency’s proposal would include an

impartial way of selecting fishing vessel
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 36617

participants that would receive

individual EFPs under the umbrella EFP

held by the research agency.

Biological and Socio-economic Impacts

The biological impacts of using fish as

compensation are expected to be neutral

in the short term and positive in the

long term. In the short term, the amount

of fish used as compensation will be

within the ABC, and ,therefore, within

current acceptable biological levels. In

the long term, the additional

information that is gathered because

NMFS is able to compensate vessels

with fish will provide more and better

data for use in stock assessments,

resulting in better management of the

stock and less likelihood of overfishing.

This should lead to better stock

assessments and to a better long-term

prognosis for a sustainable fishery,

contributing to stability in the fishing

industry and in the resources upon

which the industry depends. A more

detailed discussion is found in the

preamble to the proposed rule and the

environmental assessment for this

action.

Comment and Response

One comment was received during

the public comment period. It was

supportive of the rule but requested a

broader distribution of the RFP

soliciting charter vessels to conduct

resource surveys. NMFS agrees that a

wide distribution is a good idea and will

attempt to do so. In fact, notification of

the RFP for the 1998 slope survey was

submitted to each holder of a limited

entry trawl permit for the groundfish

fishery off Washington, Oregon, and

California. However, distribution of the

RFP is part of the Federal procurement

process and is not governed by this rule;

a description was included in the

preamble of the proposed rule as

background information. Therefore, no

change is made to this rule.

Clarification

NMFS has changed the rule slightly to

clarify that compensation fish caught

too late in 1998 to be counted against

the 1999 ABC may be deducted in the

next management cycle practicable, e.g.,

2000. Other minor editorial changes

have been made for clarity and to meet

publication format requirements.

Classification

The Assistant Administrator (AA)

finds that the need to implement these

measures in a timely manner so that

vessels collecting resource information

may be compensated with fish

constitutes good cause under authority

contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive

the 30-day delay in effective date. If the

rule was not made effective for 30 days,

NMFS would be unable to issue fish

compensation contracts in a timely

manner to vessels needed to conduct the

August 1998 slope survey. This would

be contrary to the public interest

because sufficient funds are not

available to compensate all of the

vessels needed to conduct an adequate

survey. The result would be a reduced

survey with less data to determine the

status of the resource. Also, it is

unnecessary to delay the rule because

the survey does not directly affect the

activities of the 1998 fishery and there

are no compliance requirements for

participants in the survey.

This emergency rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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. No comments

were received regarding this

certification. As a result, a regulatory

flexibility analysis was not prepared.

This emergency rule contains a

collection-of-information requirement

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

(PRA). Notwithstanding any other

provision of 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 PRA unless

that collection of information displays a

currently valid OMB control number.

The collection of this information has

been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget, under OMB

control number 0648–0203 for Federal

fishing permits. The public reporting

burden for applications for exempted

fishery permits is estimated at 1 hour

per response; burden for reporting by

exempted fishing permittees is

estimated at 30 minutes per response.

These estimates include the time for

reviewing instructions, searching

existing data sources, gathering and

maintaining the data needed, and

completing and revising the collection

of information. Send comments

regarding these burden estimates or any

other aspect of the data requirements,

including suggestions for reducing the

burden, to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) and

to the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

DC 20503 (ATTN: NOAA Desk Officer).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

Administrative practice and

procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,

Fishing, Guam, Hawaiian Natives,

Indians, Northern Mariana Islands,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Dated: June 30, 1998.

David L. Evans,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 660 is amended

as follows:

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF WEST

COAST STATES AND IN THE

WESTERN PACIFIC

l. The authority citation for part 660

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 660.306, paragraph (y) is added

to read as follows:

§ 660.306 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(y) Fish for groundfish in violation of

any terms or conditions attached to an

EFP under § 660.350.

3. In part 660, subpart G, a new

§ 660.350 is added to read as follows:

§ 660.350 Compensation with fish for

collecting resource information—exempted

fishing permits off Washington, Oregon,

and California.

In addition to the reasons stated in

§ 600.745(b)(1) of this chapter, an EFP

may be issued under this subpart G for

the purpose of compensating the owner

or operator of a vessel for collecting

resource information according to a

protocol approved by NMFS. The EFP

would allow a vessel to retain fish as

compensation in excess of trip limits, or

to be exempt from other specified

management measures for the Pacific

coast groundfish fishery.

(a) Compensation EFP. A

compensation EFP may be issued to the

owner or operator of a vessel that

conducted a resource survey according

to a contract with NMFS. A vessel’s

total compensation from all sources (in

terms of dollars or amount of fish and

including fish from survey samples or

compensation fish) will be determined

through normal Federal procurement

procedures. The compensation EFP will

specify the maximum amount or value

of fish that may be retained by the

vessel after the resource survey is

completed.

(1) Competitive offers. NMFS may

initiate a competitive solicitation

(request for proposals or RFP) to select
36618 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

vessels to conduct resource surveys that

use fish as full or partial compensation,

following normal Federal procurement

procedures.

(2) Consultation and approval. At a

Council meeting, NMFS will consult

with the Council and receive public

comment on upcoming resource surveys

to be conducted if groundfish could be

used as whole or partial compensation.

Generally, compensation fish would be

similar to surveyed species, but there

may be reasons to provide payment with

healthier, more abundant, less restricted

stocks, or more easily targeted species.

For example, NMFS may decline to pay

a vessel with species that are, or are

expected to be, overfished, or that are

subject to overfishing, or that are

unavoidably caught with species that

are overfished or subject to overfishing.

NMFS also may also consider levels of

discards, bycatch, and other factors. If

the Council does not approve providing

whole or partial compensation for the

conduct of a survey, NMFS will not use

fish, other than fish taken during the

scientific research, as compensation for

that survey. For each proposal, NMFS

will present:

(i) The maximum number of vessels

expected or needed to conduct the

survey,

(ii) An estimate of the species and

amount of fish likely to be needed as

compensation,

(iii) When the survey and

compensation fish would be taken, and

(iv) The year in which the

compensation fish would be deducted

from the ABC before determining the

harvest guideline or quota.

(3) Issuance of the compensation EFP.

Upon successful completion of the

survey, NMFS will issue a

‘‘compensation EFP’’ to the vessel if it

has not been fully compensated. The

procedures in § 600.745(b)(1) through

(b)(4) of this chapter do not apply to a

compensation EFP issued under this

subpart for the Pacific coast groundfish

fishery (50 CFR part 660, subpart G).

(4) Terms and conditions of the

compensation EFP. Conditions for

disposition of bycatch or any excess

catch, for reporting the value of the

amount landed, and other appropriate

terms and conditions will be specified

in the EFP. Compensation fishing must

occur during the period specified in the

EFP, but no later than the end of

September of the fishing year following

the survey, and must be conducted

according to the terms and conditions of

the EFP.

(5) Reporting the compensation catch.

The compensation EFP may require the

vessel owner or operator to keep

separate records of compensation

fishing and to submit them to NMFS

within a specified period of time after

the compensation fishing is completed.

(6) Accounting for the compensation

fish. As part of the annual specification

process (§ 660.321), NMFS will advise

the Council of the amount of fish

retained under a compensation EFP,

which then will be deducted from the

next year’s ABCs before setting the HGs

or quotas. Fish taken too late in the year

to be deducted from the following year’s

ABC will be accounted for in the next

management cycle practicable.

(b) EFP with a compensation clause.

An EFP may be issued to a commercial

fishing vessel for the purpose of

collecting resource information in

excess of current management limits

(§ 600.745(b) of this chapter). The EFP

may include a compensation clause that

allows the participating vessel to be

compensated with fish for its efforts to

collect resource information according

to NMFS’ approved protocol. If

compensation with fish is requested in

an EFP application, or proposed by

NMFS, the following provisions apply

in addition to those at § 600.745(b) of

this chapter.

(1) Application. In addition to the

requirements in § 600.745(b) of this

chapter, application for an EFP with a

compensation clause must clearly state

whether a vessel’s participation is

contingent upon compensation with

groundfish and, if so, the minimum

amount (in metric tons, round weight)

and the species. As with other EFPs

issued under § 600.745 of this chapter,

the application may be submitted by

any individual, including a state fishery

management agency or other research

institution.

(2) Denial. In addition to the reasons

stated in § 600.745(b)(3)(iii) of this

chapter, the application will be denied

if the requested compensation fishery,

species, or amount is unacceptable for

reasons such as, but not limited to, the

following: NMFS concludes the value of

the resource information is not

commensurate with the value of the

compensation fish; the proposed

compensation involves species that are

(or are expected to be) overfished or

subject to overfishing, fishing in times

or areas where fishing is otherwise

prohibited or severely restricted, or

fishing for species that would involve

unavoidable bycatch of species that are

overfished or subject to overfishing; or

NMFS concludes the information can

reasonably be obtained at less cost to the

resource.

(3) Window period for other

applications. If the RA or designee

agrees that compensation should be

considered, then a window period will

be announced in the Federal Register

during which additional participants

will have an opportunity to apply. This

notification would be made at the same

time as announcement of receipt of the

application and request for comments

required under § 660.745(b). If there are

more qualified applicants than needed

for a particular time and area, NMFS

will choose among the qualified vessels,

either randomly, in order of receipt of

the completed application, or by other

impartial selection methods. If the

permit applicant is a state, university, or

Federal entity other than NMFS and

NMFS approves the selection method,

the permit applicant may chose among

the qualified vessels, either randomly,

in order of receipt of the vessel

application, or by other impartial

selection methods.

(4) Terms and conditions. The EFP

will specify the amounts that may be

taken as scientific samples and as

compensation, the time period during

which the compensation fishing must

occur, management measures that are

waived while fishing under the EFP,

and other terms and conditions

appropriate to the fishery and the

collection of resource information.

NMFS may require compensation

fishing to occur on the same trip that the

resource information is collected.

(5) Accounting for the catch. Samples

taken under this EFP, as well as any

compensation fish, are counted toward

the current year’s catch or landings.

[FR Doc. 98–17937 Filed 7–1–98; 3:32 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F