Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 22307

§ 675.21(c)(1)(iii), that the 1995 bycatch

mortality allowance of Pacific halibut

apportioned to the trawl Greenland

turbot/arrowtooth flounder/sablefish

fishery category in the BSAI has been

caught. Therefore, NMFS is prohibiting

directed fishing for aggregate species in

the Greenland turbot/arrowtooth

flounder/sablefish fishery category by

vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI.

Directed fishing standards for

applicable gear types may be found in

the regulations at § 675.20(h).

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

675.20 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: May 1, 1995.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–11068 Filed 5–1–95; 4:00 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 676

[Docket No. 950223056–5109–02; I.D.

121594B]

RIN 0648–AG45

Limited Access Management of

Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska;

Improve IFQ Program

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule

amending portions of the regulations

implementing the Individual Fishing

Quota (IFQ) Program for the Pacific

halibut and sablefish fixed gear fisheries

in and off of Alaska. This action is

necessary to further refine the IFQ

Program and is intended to improve the

ability of NMFS to manage the halibut

and sablefish fisheries.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final rule and

the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) for

this action may be obtained from:

Fisheries Management Division, Alaska

Region, NMFS, 709 W. 9th Street, Room

453, Juneau, AK 99801, or P.O. Box

21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention:

Lori J. Gravel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Lepore, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IFQ

Program is a regulatory regime designed

to promote the conservation and

management of the fixed gear halibut

and sablefish fisheries in and off of

Alaska, and to further the objectives of

the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act and the Northern

Pacific Halibut Act. Further information

on the implementation of this

management program, and the rationale

supporting it, is contained in the

preamble to the final rule implementing

the IFQ program published in the

Federal Register on November 9, 1993

(58 FR 59375).

This action amends various portions

of the regulations implementing the IFQ

Program and is designed to make the

IFQ Program more responsive to the

conservation and management goals for

the Nation’s fishery resources. The

following list gives a brief description of

the regulatory provisions added or

amended. Further information on these

changes is contained in the preamble to

the proposed rule published in the

Federal Register on January 12, 1995

(60 FR 2935).

1. Section 676.11: (a) A definition of

‘‘clearing officer’’ is added to mean a

NMFS special agent, a NMFS fishery

enforcement officer, or a NMFS

enforcement aide who is authorized to

provide vessel clearances and perform

other duties as described in part 676;

and (b) the definition of ‘‘trip’’ is

changed to clarify that a vessel operator

cannot begin a new trip merely by

crossing regulatory area boundaries.

2. Section 676.14(a) requires a vessel

operator to provide the Alaska Region,

NMFS, with the name and location of

the registered buyer(s) to whom the IFQ

species will be landed, the vessel

identification, the estimated weight of

IFQ species to be landed, the

identification number(s) of the IFQ

card(s) that will be used to make the

landing, and the anticipated date and

time of landing. This information must

be reported at least 6 hours before

landing IFQ species.

3. Section 676.14(b)(2) is revised to

allow persons authorized by the

International Pacific Halibut

Commission to sample all IFQ halibut

landings for biological information.

Also, this revision authorizes clearing

officers, authorized officers, and

observers to verify, inspect, and sample

all IFQ landings and landings made by

those vessels, and to board vessels

making IFQ landings.

4. Section 676.17(a) requires a vessel

operator obtaining prelanding written

clearance at a port in Alaska to provide

the weight of IFQ species on board.

5. Section 676.17(a)(1) requires a

vessel operator obtaining a prelanding

written clearance at a port in Alaska to

obtain that clearance prior to departing

the waters of the exclusive economic

zone (EEZ) adjacent to the jurisdictional

waters of the State of Alaska, the

territorial sea of the State of Alaska, or

the internal waters of the State of

Alaska.

6. Section 676.17(a)(2) requires a

vessel operator obtaining a prelanding

written clearance at a port in a state

other than Alaska to provide a departure

report to NMFS, Alaska Region, prior to

departing the waters of the EEZ adjacent

to the jurisdictional waters of the State

of Alaska, the territorial sea of the State

of Alaska, or the internal waters of the

State of Alaska. The departure report

must include the weight of the IFQ

species on board and the intended date

and time the vessel will obtain

prelanding vessel clearance.

7. Section 676.17(a)(9) designates

geographic locations of the primary

ports where a vessel operator can obtain

vessel clearance from a clearing officer.

These geographical locations also

provide a vessel operator with

notification of the approximate

locations where boardings may occur if

deemed necessary by a clearing officer.

8. Section 676.17(a)(3) requires a

vessel operator to obtain vessel

clearance from a clearing officer located

at a primary port in the State of Alaska

before that vessel operator lands IFQ

species in a foreign port.

9. Section 676.17(a)(4) designates Port

Hardy, Prince Rupert, and Vancouver,

British Columbia, as the only Canadian

ports where IFQ species may be landed.

10. Section 676.17(a)(5) requires a

vessel operator having any IFQ species

on board to land and weigh all species

on board at the same time and place as

the first landing of any species on board.

For example, if a vessel had Pacific

halibut (IFQ species), sablefish (IFQ

species), and Pacific cod (non-IFQ

species) on board, and the vessel

operator wanted to offload the Pacific

cod to a tender, the vessel operator also

would be required to offload and weigh

the Pacific halibut and sablefish.

11. Section 676.17(b) describes the 10

percent adjustment policy for a person

who harvests or lands IFQ species in an

amount greater than the amount

available in the person’s annual IFQ

account. A person that harvests or lands

an amount that is greater than the

amount available in the person’s annual

IFQ account will have the account

adjusted in the year following a

determination that the account was

exceeded, if the amount exceeding the

account is not greater than 10 percent of

the amount of IFQ available in the

person’s annual IFQ account at the time

of landing. The adjustment would be a

deduction of the amount of IFQ
22308 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

harvested or landed in excess of the

annual IFQ account from that account in

the year following a determination that

the account was exceeded. The

adjustment would apply to whomever

the affected IFQ is allocated in the year

following a determination. The 10

percent adjustment policy, and the

underage provision described below, are

intended to provide persons who

harvest IFQ species with a cushion

around the exact amount of IFQ pounds

available. NMFS anticipates that the

average harvest over multiple seasons

will be close to the amount available in

a person’s IFQ account. This adjustment

policy should not be mistaken for an

opportunity to routinely exceed an

annual IFQ account or to exceed the

account in an amount greater than that

allowed under the adjustment policy.

Such behavior would be subject to an

enforcement action.

12. Section 676.17(c) allows the

addition of IFQ underages to a person’s

IFQ account for the following fishing

year. Underages of up to 10 percent of

a person’s annual IFQ account for the

current fishing year would be added to

that person’s annual IFQ account for the

following fishing year. Any amount of

the underage exceeding 10 percent

would expire at the end of the current

fishing year.

13. Section 676.22(i)(3) clarifies that

vessel category lengths for vessels using

catcher vessel IFQ specified at

§ 676.20(a)(2) also apply to freezer

vessels using catcher vessel IFQ. For

example, a person may only use catcher

vessel IFQ Category ‘‘C’’ on board a

freezer vessel if that freezer vessel’s

length overall (LOA) is consistent with

LOA categories in § 676.20(a)(2)(iii) and

the frozen product requirements in

§ 676.22(i)(3).

14. Section 676.22(c)(3)(i) references

the appropriate product recovery rates

for sablefish (Table 1 to § 672.20)

deductions made to a person’s annual

IFQ account.

15. Section 676.22(c)(3)(ii) provides

the appropriate conversion factors for

Pacific halibut deductions made to a

person’s annual IFQ account.

16. Section 676.24(j)(4) changes the

last word in the first sentence of

§ 676.24(j)(4) from ‘‘section’’ to ‘‘part.’’

No public comments on the proposed

action were received by NMFS.

Changes in the Final Rule From the

Proposed Rule

1. The proposed definitions of

‘‘catcher vessel’’ and ‘‘freezer vessel’’

are not adopted. NMFS proposed to

change the definitions of ‘‘catcher

vessel’’ and ‘‘freezer vessel’’ in § 676.11

so that a freezer vessel would be a vessel

that was capable of processing some or

all of its catch, rather than a vessel used

to process some or all of its catch.

NMFS decided that this definition

change was confusing and that further

analysis needed to be performed before

any change to these definitions were

implemented.

2. Section 676.13 is not changed as

proposed. Section 676.13(a)(2)(ii) would

have been removed and paragraph

(a)(2)(iii) would have been redesignated

as paragraph (a)(2)(ii). Section

676.13(a)(2) also would have been

revised to reflect this change. This

change was proposed to avoid the

implication that a registered buyer

permit would be needed to harvest and

land IFQ species at a shore-based

processor located in the State of Alaska,

but not located in a sablefish IFQ

regulatory area. After further analysis,

NMFS decided to leave the regulatory

text in its original form. The phrase,

‘‘[o]utside of an IFQ regulatory area,’’ as

used in § 676.13(a)(2)(ii), means any of

the IFQ regulatory areas defined in

§ 676.11. This would eliminate the

anomalous result of requiring a person

who lands at a shore-based processor in

the State of Alaska, but not in a

sablefish regulatory area, to hold a

registered buyer permit.

3. The landing notification

requirements in § 676.14(a) of the final

rule includes vessel identification. This

requirement, like the other proposed

requirements adopted in this final rule,

will assist in ensuring that all IFQ

landings are properly recorded.

Appropriate vessel identification is the

name of the vessel, or alternatively, if

the vessel does not have a name, some

identifying characteristics that can be

used by NMFS Enforcement to

recognize the vessel. The vessel

identification requirement was analyzed

in the RIR for the proposed rule;

however, the requirement inadvertently

was not included in the proposed

regulatory text.

4. Section 676.14(e) is revised to

clarify that each instance of

transshipment must be authorized by a

clearing officer. This was the original

intent of the change in the proposed

rule; however, the text in the proposed

rule implied that only the location

needed to be authorized by a clearing

officer.

5. Section 676.17(b) is changed and

§ 676.17(b)(1) and (b)(2) are added to

reflect a change from the proposed

method of adjusting an annual IFQ

account for IFQ species harvested in an

amount greater than the amount

available in the IFQ account. NMFS

determined that the new method of

adjustment (see explanation in number

12 of the brief descriptions of the

regulation) more accurately reflected the

intent of the North Pacific Fishery

Management Council for adjusting the

annual IFQ account. Also, NMFS

determined that it was no longer

necessary to include the forfeiture

provision or the 400 lb (181.4 kg)

exemption to the forfeiture provision in

the 10 percent adjustment policy.

6. Proposed § 676.17(a) provided that

vessels obtaining prelanding written

clearance at a port in Alaska must

obtain that clearance prior to departing

waters in or adjacent to the State of

Alaska. Also, it provided that vessels

obtaining clearance at the port in

Washington or another state must report

to NMFS, Alaska Region, prior to

departing waters in or adjacent to the

State of Alaska. To clarify this reference,

waters in, or adjacent to, the State of

Alaska refers to all waters under the

jurisdiction of the State of Alaska; all

waters of the EEZ, as defined at 50 CFR

620.2, that is adjacent to waters under

the jurisdiction of the State of Alaska;

and the maritime area of the United

States, as defined at 50 CFR 301.2, that

is adjacent to waters under the

jurisdiction of the State of Alaska.

Language has been added to new

§ 676.17(a) (1) and (2) consistent with

this interpretation.

7. Section 676.17(a)(4) is changed to

clarify that IFQ landings in Canada may

only occur at the ports of Port Hardy,

Prince Rupert, or Vancouver, British

Columbia. The language in the proposed

rule was vague when it referred to what

could be landed (i.e., no person shall

land IFQ species) and where it could be

landed (i.e., in Canada at a port other

than the ports of).

Classification

An RIR was prepared for this action.

An analysis was included in the RIR,

which described and estimated the total

number of small entities affected, and

which analyzed the economic impact on

those small entities of the vessel

clearances, Canadian port designations,

and offloading requirements. It is

estimated that less than 20 percent of

the 7,200 vessel/owners involved in the

IFQ Program will be affected by these

changes, which may increase

compliance costs. Based on the analysis,

it was determined that this action would

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. Copies of the RIR can be

obtained from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

This rule has been categorically

excluded from further environmental

assessment pursuant to section

6.02b.3.(b)(ii) of NAO 216–6.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 22309

This rule contains a collection-ofinformation requirement subject to the

Paperwork Reduction Act. Public

reporting burden for each year is

estimated to average 6 minutes per

response for notification of IFQ

landings, 6 minutes per response for

advance notification of transshipment,

and 5 minutes per response for

prelanding clearance. All reporting

burden estimates include the time for

reviewing instructions, gathering and

maintaining the data needed, and

completing and reviewing the collection

of information. The collection of this

information has been approved by the

Office of Management and Budget, OMB

Control Number 0648–0272, for the

Pacific halibut and sablefish IFQ

program, and OMB Control Number

0648–0269, for the Western Alaska CDQ

program.

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 676

Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: April 28, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 676 is amended

as follows:

PART 676—LIMITED ACCESS

MANAGEMENT OF FEDERAL

FISHERIES IN AND OFF OF ALASKA

1. The authority citation for 50 CFR

part 676 continues to read as follows:

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

et seq.

2. Section 676.11 is amended by

revising the definition of ‘‘Trip’’ and by

adding the definition of ‘‘Clearing

officer’’ to read as follows:

§ 676.11 Definitions.

* * * * *

Clearing officer means a NMFS

special agent, a NMFS fishery

enforcement officer, or a NMFS

enforcement aide who performs the

function of clearing vessels at one of the

primary ports listed in § 676.17(a)(4).

* * * * *

Trip, as used in this part, means the

period beginning when a vessel operator

commences harvesting IFQ species and

ending when the vessel operator lands

any species.

* * * * *

3. Section 676.13 is amended by

revising paragraphs (f)(1), and (f)(2) to

read as follows:

§ 676.13 Permits.

* * * * *

(f) * * * (1) A legible copy of any IFQ

permit issued under this section must

be carried on board the vessel used by

the permitted person to harvest IFQ

halibut or IFQ sablefish at all times that

such fish are retained on board. Except

as specified in § 676.22(d), an

individual who is issued an IFQ card

must remain aboard the vessel used to

harvest IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish

with that card until all such fish are

landed, and must present a copy of the

IFQ permit and the original IFQ card for

inspection on request of any authorized

officer, clearing officer, or registered

buyer purchasing IFQ species.

(2) A legible copy of the registered

buyer permit must be present at the

location of an IFQ landing, and must be

made available for inspection on request

of any authorized officer or clearing

officer.

* * * * *

4. Section 676.14 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a), (b)(1), (b)(2), (e),

and (f) to read as follows:

§ 676.14 Recordkeeping and reporting.

* * * * *

(a) Prior notice of IFQ landings. The

operator of any vessel that makes an IFQ

landing must notify the Alaska Region,

NMFS, no later than 6 hours before

landing IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish,

unless permission to commence an IFQ

landing within 6 hours of notification is

granted by a clearing officer. Such

notification of IFQ landings must be

made to the toll-free telephone number

specified on the IFQ permit between the

hours of 0600 and 2400 Alaska local

time. The notification must include the

name and location of the registered

buyer(s) to whom the IFQ halibut or IFQ

sablefish will be landed, the vessel

identification, the estimated weight of

the IFQ halibut or IFQ sablefish that

will be landed and the identification

number(s) of the IFQ card(s) that will be

used to land the IFQ halibut or IFQ

sablefish, and the anticipated date and

time of the landing.

(b) * * *

(1) IFQ landings may be made only

between the hours of 0600 and 1800

Alaska local time unless permission to

land at a different time is granted in

advance by a clearing officer. An IFQ

landing may continue after this time

period, if it was started during the

period.

(2) All vessels making IFQ landings,

and the landings made by those vessels,

are subject to verification, inspection,

and sampling by authorized officers,

clearing officers, and observers. Also, all

IFQ halibut landings are subject to

sampling for biological information by

persons authorized by the IPHC.

* * * * *

(e) Transshipment. No person may

transship processed IFQ halibut or IFQ

sablefish between vessels without

authorization by a clearing officer.

Authorization must be obtained for each

instance of transshipment. An IFQ

transshipper’s request for authorization

to transship must be received by a

clearance officer at least 24 hours before

the transshipment is intended to occur.

(f) A copy of all reports and receipts

required by this section must be

retained by registered buyers and be

available for inspection by an

authorized officer or a clearing officer

for a period of 3 years.

5. Section 676.17 is amended by

redesignating paragraphs (a)(1) through

(a)(4) as paragraphs (a)(6) through (a)(9);

by adding new paragraphs (a)(1) through

(a)(5), and (c); and by revising

paragraphs (a) introductory text, newly

redesignated paragraph (a)(9), (b), and

(c) to read as follows:

§ 676.17 Facilitation of enforcement and

monitoring.

* * * * *

(a) Vessel clearance. Any person who

makes an IFQ landing at any location

other than in an IFQ regulatory area or

in the State of Alaska must obtain

prelanding written clearance of the

vessel and provide the weight of IFQ

halibut or IFQ sablefish on board to the

clearing officer.

(1) Vessels obtaining prelanding

written clearance at a port in the State

of Alaska must obtain that clearance

prior to departing the waters of the

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) adjacent

to the jurisdictional waters of the State

of Alaska, the territorial sea of the State

of Alaska, or the internal waters of the

State of Alaska.

(2) Vessels obtaining prelanding

written clearance at a port in the State

of Washington or another state must

provide a departure report to NMFS,

Alaska Region, prior to departing the

waters of the EEZ adjacent to the

jurisdictional waters of the State of

Alaska, the territorial sea of the State of

Alaska, or the internal waters of the

State of Alaska. The departure report

must include the weight of the IFQ

halibut or IFQ sablefish on board and

the intended date and time the vessel

will obtain prelanding written clearance

at the port in the State of Washington or

another state.

(3) A vessel operator who lands IFQ

species in a foreign port must first

obtain vessel clearance from a clearing

officer located at a primary port in the

State of Alaska.
22310 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 87 / Friday, May 5, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

(4) No person shall make an IFQ

landing in Canada other than at the

ports of Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, or

Vancouver, British Columbia.

(5) A vessel operator must land and

report all IFQ species on board at the

same time and place as the first landing

of any species harvested during a

fishing trip.

* * * * *

(9) Unless specifically authorized on

a case-by-case basis, vessel clearances

will be issued only by clearing officers

at the following primary ports:

Port North

latitude

West

longitude

Akutan ............. 54°08′05′′ 165°46′20′′

Bellingham ....... 48°45′04′′ 122°30′02′′

Cordova ........... 60°33′00′′ 145°45′00′′

Craig ................ 55°28′30′′ 133°09′00′′

Dutch Harbor/

Unalaska.

53°53′27′′ 166°32′05′′

Excursion Inlet . 58°25′00′′ 135°26′30′′

Homer .............. 59°38′40′′ 151°33′00′′

Ketchikan ......... 55°20′30′′ 131°38′45′′

King Cove ........ 55°03′20′′ 162°19′00′′

Kodiak .............. 57°47′20′′ 152°24′10′′

Pelican ............. 57°57′30′′ 136°13′30′′

Petersburg ....... 56°48′10′′ 132°58′00′′

St. Paul ............ 57°07′20′′ 170°16′30′′

Sand Point ....... 55°20′15′′ 160°30′00′′

Seward ............ 60°06′30′′ 149°26′30′′

Sitka ................. 57°03′ 135°20′

Yakutat ............ 59°33′ 139°44′

(b) Ten Percent Adjustment Policy. A

person’s annual IFQ account will be

adjusted in the year following a

determination that the person harvested

or landed IFQ species in an amount

greater than the amount available in the

person’s annual IFQ account and if the

amount greater than the amount

available does not exceed 10 percent of

the amount available in the person’s

annual IFQ account at the time of

landing. The adjustment would be a

deduction of the amount of IFQ species

harvested or landed that was

determined to exceed the amount

available in the person’s annual IFQ

account, and will apply to any person

to whom the affected IFQ is allocated in

the year following a determination.

(c) Underages. Underages of up to 10

percent of a person’s total annual IFQ

account for a current fishing year will be

added to that person’s annual IFQ

account in the year following

determination of the underage. This

adjustment to the annual IFQ allocation

will be specific to IFQ species, IFQ

regulatory area, and vessel category for

which an IFQ is calculated, and will

apply to any person to whom the

affected IFQ is allocated in the year

following determination of an underage.

6. Section 676.22 is amended by

adding paragraphs (c)(3)(i) and (c)(3)(ii),

and by revising paragraph (i)(3) to read

as follows:

§ 676.22 Limitations on the use of QS and

IFQ.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(3) * * *

(i) The amount of sablefish to be

reported to NMFS for debit from an IFQ

account will be the round-weight

equivalent determined by dividing the

initial accurate scale weight of the

sablefish product obtained at time of

landing by the standard product

recovery rates for sablefish in Table 1 to

§ 672.20 of this chapter.

(ii) The amount of halibut to be

reported to NMFS for debit from an IFQ

account will be the gutted, head-off

weight determined by multiplying the

initial accurate scale weight of the

halibut obtained at the time of landing

by the following conversion factors:

Product

code Product description

Conversion factor

01 Whole fish ..................... 0.75

04 Gutted, head on ............ 0.90

05 Gutted, head off ............ 1.00

* * * * *

(i) * * *

(3) Catcher vessel IFQ may be used on

a freezer vessel, provided that the length

of the freezer vessel using the catcher

vessel IFQ is consistent with the vessel

category of the catcher vessel IFQ, as

specified at § 676.20(a)(2)(ii) through

(iv), and no frozen or otherwise

processed fish products are on board at

any time during a fishing trip on which

catcher vessel IFQ is being used. A

vessel using catcher vessel IFQ may not

land any IFQ species as frozen or

otherwise processed product. Processing

of fish on the same vessel that harvested

those fish using catcher vessel IFQ is

prohibited.

* * * * *

7. Section 676.24 is amended by

revising paragraph (j)(4) to read as

follows:

§ 676.24 Western Alaska Community

Development Quota Program.

* * * * *

(j) * * *

(4) No person may alter, erase, or

mutilate a CDQ permit, card, registered

buyer permit, or any valid and current

permit or document issued under this

part. Any such permit, card, or

document that has been intentionally

altered, erased, or mutilated will be

invalid.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95–11070 Filed 5–2–95; 9:12 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W