Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Proposed Rules 34401

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contacts.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Television, Digital television

broadcasting.

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Federal Communications

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR

part 73 as follows:

PART 73—TELEVISION BROADCAST

SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 73

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, and

336.

§ 73.622 [Amended]

2. Section 73.622(b), the Table of

Digital Television Allotments under

Kansas is amended by removing DTV

Channel 30 and adding DTV Channel 13

at Pittsburg.

Federal Communications Commission.

Barbara A. Kreisman,

Chief, Video Services Division, Mass Media

Bureau.

[FR Doc. 01–16239 Filed 6–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 600, 635, and 648

[Docket No. 010612153–1153–01; I.D.

041901A]

RIN 0648–AP21

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Atlantic Highly

Migratory Species; Fisheries of the

Northeastern United States

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a rule that

would implement the provisions of the

Shark Finning Prohibition Act (Act) that

prohibit any person under U.S.

jurisdiction from engaging in shark

finning in waters seaward of the inner

boundary of the U.S. exclusive

economic zone (EEZ), possessing shark

fins harvested in waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ on

board a fishing vessel without

corresponding shark carcasses, or

landing shark fins harvested in waters

seaward of the inner boundary of the

U.S. EEZ without corresponding

carcasses. The Act requires the

Secretary of Commerce to issue

regulations to implement it and the

intent of this action is to propose such

regulations.

DATES: Comments must be received at

the appropriate address or fax number

(see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m.

Pacific daylight time on July 30, 2001.

Comments may also be submitted at a

public hearing to be held on the

proposed rule on July 11, 2001, NOAA

Auditorium, 1301 East-West Highway,

Silver Spring, MD, 5 p.m. EDT.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Dr. Rebecca Lent, Regional

Administrator, Southwest Region,

NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Boulevard, Suite

4200, Long Beach, CA 90802. Comments

may also be sent via facsimile at 562–

980–4047. Comments will not be

accepted if submitted by email or

Internet. For copies of the draft

environmental Assessment (EA) or

regulatory impact review/initial

regulatory flexibility analysis (RIR/

IRFA), contact Svein Fougner at 562–

980–4040.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Svein Fougner, Assistant Regional

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,

Southwest Region, NMFS, at 562–980–

4040; or Charles Karnella,

Administrator, Pacific Island Area

Office, NMFS, at 808–973–2935; or

Karyl Brewster-Geisz, NMFS

headquarters, at 301–713–2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Due to

concerns about the status of shark

populations and the effects of heavy

fishing on such populations, the

Congress passed, and the President

signed, on December 21, 2000, the Shark

Finning Prohibition Act. This Act

amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Management and Conservation Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Act

prohibits any person subject to U.S.

jurisdiction from: (1) Engaging in shark

finning (finning is the practice of

removing the fin or fins from a shark

and discarding the remainder of the

shark) at sea; (2) possessing shark fins

aboard a fishing vessel without the

corresponding carcass; and (3) landing

shark fins without a corresponding

carcass.

By becoming a signatory nation to the

United Nations Food and Agriculture

Organization’s International Plan of

Action on Sharks, the United States has

agreed that shark conservation is a

concern, both domestically and

internationally. The United States has

also agreed that all nations and

international fishery organizations

should take action to ensure that shark

populations are monitored, and fishery

conservation measures are

implemented, to protect sharks from

over-exploitation. The strong

international market for shark fins has

increased the potential for fishing shark

stocks at unsustainable levels.

Uncontrolled shark finning may lead to

unsustainable shark harvests, as well as

the waste of usable (but often relatively

lower value) shark meat. In addition, the

species of shark often cannot be

determined from the fins alone. Thus,

when finning is practiced, the effects of

fisheries on specific shark species is

difficult to discern because appropriate

mortality data are not available for stock

assessments. The intent of the Act is to

eliminate the wasteful and

unsportsmanlike practice of shark

finning. The intent of this proposed rule

is to achieve the intent of the Act.

The practice of shark finning has been

prohibited in the Federal waters of the

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and

Caribbean Sea since 1993 for 39 species

of sharks contained in the management

unit of the Fishery Management Plan

(FMP) for Sharks of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1999, the FMP for Sharks of the

Atlantic Ocean was replaced, and the

prohibition on shark finning expanded

to an additional 33 species of sharks, by

the FMP for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish,

and Sharks (HMS FMP). The only

species of shark for which finning was

not expressly prohibited by the HMS

FMP was spiny dogfish; however, the

Spiny Dogfish FMP prohibited the

finning of spiny dogfish in Federal

waters in January 2000. This proposed

rule would not affect any of the

regulations implementing the HMS and

Spiny Dogfish FMPs, including those

prohibiting finning or imposing

reporting requirements.

To implement the Act, the proposed

rule would prohibit: (1) Any person on

a U.S. fishing vessel from engaging in

shark finning in waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ;

however, a U.S. fisher would not be

prohibited from removing and retaining

fins from a shark on a vessel, providing

the corresponding carcass is retained on

board the vessel; (2) any person on a

U.S. fishing vessel from possessing

shark fins harvested in waters seaward

of the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ

34402 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Proposed Rules

on board the vessel without the

corresponding shark carcass; (3) any

person on a U.S. fishing vessel from

landing shark fins harvested in waters

seaward of the inner boundary of the

U.S. EEZ without the corresponding

carcass; and (4) any person on a foreign

fishing vessel from engaging in finning

in the U.S. EEZ and from landing shark

fins in or inside the U.S. EEZ without

the corresponding carcass. In addition,

the rule would require that all shark fins

and carcasses be landed and weighed at

the same time, once landing of shark

fins and/or shark carcasses has begun.

This proposed rule would not affect any

reporting requirements currently in

place for fisheries that take sharks.

In accordance with the requirements

of the Act, it would be a rebuttable

presumption that any shark fin or fins

found on board a U.S. fishing vessel, or

landed from any fishing vessel, were

taken, held, or landed in violation of

these regulations if the total weight of

shark fins landed or found on board

exceeds 5 percent of the total dressed

weight of shark carcasses landed or

found on board the vessel. It would be

the responsibility of the person involved

to rebut the presumption by providing

evidence that there is good reason for

the weight of the fins to exceed the 5–

percent threshold. NMFS has used wet

weight to apply the 5–percent limit for

shark fins landed in the Atlantic, Gulf,

and Caribbean, where the fins are

generally wet when landed. In the

western Pacific, foreign vessels

generally have landed dry fins, and it is

believed that about half the weight of

the fin is lost in the drying process.

Domestic vessels, on the other hand,

generally land fins that are relatively

wet as the fishing trips are normally 20

days or less and complete drying can

not be achieved in that time. Inasmuch

as there is not expected to be any

landing of fins by foreign vessels that

have taken long trips and land only dry

fins, and domestic landings (if any) will

likely only be of fins with relatively

fresh shark carcasses, it appears logical

to use the wet weight (or equivalent) as

the standard for application of the 5–

percent limit. NMFS specifically seeks

comments regarding how ‘‘wet’’ should

be defined for purposes of this

regulation.

The prohibition of landing shark fins

without carcasses would extend to any

vessel (including a cargo or shipping

vessel) that obtained those fins from

another vessel at sea. Any such transfer

of shark fins effectively would make the

receiving vessel a ‘‘fishing vessel’’, as

the receiving vessel is acting ‘‘in

support of fishing.’’ Thus, the receiving

vessel would be prohibited from landing

shark fins without corresponding

carcasses under the proposed rule.

Applicability

This proposed rule would not apply

to sharks harvested from state waters.

The Act does not contain an express

preemption of state authority over state

waters. However, the Act’s prohibition

on removing any of the fins of a shark

(including the tail) and discarding the

carcass of the shark uses the terms

‘‘discard the carcass of the shark at sea’’

suggesting that this prohibition applies

to state waters as well as waters beyond

the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ.

NMFS specifically requests public

comment on whether the Act is

applicable to sharks harvested from

state waters and whether NMFS should

issue shark finning regulations

applicable to state waters.

It is noted that some states have more

restrictive provisions dealing with shark

fishing and finning than the

prohibitions and requirements that

would be imposed by this rule with

respect to sharks and their fins

harvested from waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ. This

proposed rule would not have any affect

on state regulations applicable to sharks

and their fins harvested from state

waters or to state regulations more

restrictive with respect to the landing of

sharks and their fins harvested from

waters seaward of the inner boundary of

the U.S. EEZ.

Effects of Proposed Action

The proposed rule would directly

affect: (1) Owners, operators, and crew

of U.S. fishing vessels in waters seaward

of the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ

that engage in finning, and the landing

and sale of those fins; (2) owners and

employees of U.S. firms that buy and

sell shark fins harvested in waters

seaward of the inner boundary of the

U.S. EEZ (which could include U.S.

fishing vessels and foreign vessels that

obtain fins without carcasses from

foreign vessels at sea); and (3) owners,

operators, and crew of foreign fishing

vessels that would otherwise land shark

fins without carcasses in or inside the

U.S. EEZ. Shark finning has been

prohibited in the Federal waters of the

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and

Caribbean Sea since 1993, and finning

of spiny dogfish in this region was

prohibited in 2000. Further, finning is

effectively prohibited under state

regulations on the West Coast and in the

North Pacific, as well as in a number of

Atlantic states and Hawaii. In Hawaii,

while it is reported that about 60,000

sharks were finned by the Hawaii-based

longline fleet in 1999, finning has since

been prohibited by state law, and thus

this rule will not have large impacts in

Hawaii. Therefore, there will be

minimal impacts in these areas.

Most, if not all, the impacts would

likely affect businesses in the Western

Pacific. It is estimated that shark finning

accounts for between $1.8 million and

$2.5 million of economic activity in the

western Pacific (not including the

values formerly attributable to finning

by domestic vessels in Hawaii until

2000, when finning was prohibited).

The proposed action is expected to

have moderate impacts on fishers and

businesses in Guam and American

Samoa, where shark fin landings have

been made and substantial sales and

trade in shark fins have been conducted

for many years. In Guam and American

Samoa, domestic landings of shark fins

have been very low; however, foreign

longline vessels have landed shark fins

there in the past. Under the proposed

rule, sales of those fins would be

prohibited unless the corresponding

carcasses were also landed. This

prohibition would also affect the

earnings of crew on foreign fishing

vessels because the revenue from fin

sales often accrues directly to crew

members. If that income is reduced,

there could be less spending by crew

members in port calls in American

Samoa and Guam.

The proposed rule could indirectly

affect U.S. retailers and consumers of

shark fins, but the extent of impact

cannot be determined with available

data. It is possible that shark fins, which

would no longer be available from

domestic landings, would be available

through air, ocean, or surface freight

shipments. It is also possible that the

price of shark fins would rise due to

lower supply. The proposed rule would

not directly affect the owners and

employees of businesses that are

engaged in domestic and international

shipments of, and trade in, shark fins in

containers or other such shipments, or

the owners and employees of businesses

that provide supplies and services to

foreign fishing vessels that may (but do

not necessarily) engage in shark finning

and associated sales.

No reporting or recordkeeping

requirements are proposed in this rule.

Reporting requirements currently in

place are sufficient for monitoring and

enforcement of these regulations.

However, these regulations may be

amended if information or conditions

demonstrate that additional reporting or

recordkeeping requirements are

necessary to achieve the purposes of the

Act. This could include changes in the

information required in logbook forms,

a requirement that records be kept and

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Proposed Rules 34403

submitted of the weight of shark fins

and carcasses landed, or other

information requirements. NMFS will

work with the regional fishery

management councils (councils) and

interstate marine fisheries commissions

to determine if changes are needed to

ensure adequate records for monitoring

the fisheries and enforcing the

prohibitions. If any changes are needed

in reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, they may be made

nationally or in separate regions.

Alternative Construction of the Statute

NMFS considered applying a broader

interpretation of the Act, and this would

be expected to have much greater

impacts on foreign fishermen. One

alternative would be to prohibit foreign

fishing vessels from possessing shark

fins harvested in waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ without

carcasses while in U.S. ports. This could

result in a substantial reduction in the

use of those ports by foreign longline

vessels that have shark fins on board

without corresponding carcasses. It is

estimated that this activity generates

between $40 to $60 million per year in

sales by Hawaiian businesses. Another

alternative would be to prohibit

landings of shark fins harvested in

waters seaward of the inner boundary of

the U.S. EEZ without carcasses by nonfishing vessels, such as cargo vessels

shipping fins to a U.S. port. Under this

alternative, there would be greater

impacts on shippers, retailers, and

consumers. U.S. Customs Service data

indicate that documented imports and

exports of shark fins into and out of the

U.S. were valued at $3 million and $5

million, respectively, in 1999. Under

this alternative, these shipments would

likely be eliminated and shark fins

could only enter the U.S. via air or land

freight.

Another alternative would be to

extend the prohibition of possession of

shark fins harvested in waters seaward

of the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ

aboard any vessel under U.S.

jurisdiction to all foreign fishing vessels

whenever they are in the EEZ, even if

not engaged in fishing. This could force

some vessels fishing throughout the

Pacific to adjust their navigation routes

at high expense. It also would constitute

an infringement on the right of freedom

of navigation. This construction appears

to go beyond the intent of the Act.

NMFS also considered not

promulgating these regulations and

using fishery management plans

prepared by councils (and by the

Secretary with respect to Atlantic

Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean

shark fishery management) under the

Magnuson-Stevens Act to implement

the Act. However, this would not meet

the statutory requirements of the Act.

Finally, NMFS notes that it has

received a petition from the Western

Pacific Fisheries Coalition of Kailua, HI,

to ban shark finning. The proposed rule

would address the Coalition’s concern

about the need for action to restrict or

prohibit shark finning in waters seaward

of the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ.

In light of this action, NMFS has

concluded that it is not necessary to

take any action in response to that

petition.

Public Hearing

NMFS will hold a public hearing on

this proposed rule in Silver Spring, MD,

on July 11, 2001.

Classification

This proposed rule has been

determined to be not significant for

purposes of Executive Order 12866.

NMFS prepared an IRFA that

describes the impact this proposed rule

would have on small entities, if

adopted. A copy of this analysis is

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

A summary of the analysis follows.

The principal effect of this action

would be to terminate finning and

landings of fins by U.S. and foreign

vessels in the Western Pacific, where

persons and businesses will be more

seriously affected by the elimination of

their principal source of shark fins. The

principal affected entities are: (a) U.S.

longline and purse seine fishing vessel

operators and crew, active in the

western Pacific, and the businesses that

buy and resell shark fins (without

corresponding carcasses) from these

vessels; (b) businesses that buy and

export shark fins from crew of foreign

longline vessels delivering those fins in

western Pacific ports; and (c) businesses

that sell goods and services to foreign

vessel crew members who receive the

revenue from the sale of shark fins in

U.S. ports. The western Pacific is the

only region where shark finning by U.S.

interests has not previously been

regulated under Federal or state law,

and where delivery of fins by foreign

vessels has been legal to date. It is not

known how dominant a role shark fin

trade plays in the economic activity of

the affected firms; if trade in shark fins

is all that they engage in, then these

firms may be forced to cease activity

and/or find alternate lines of trade. They

may also seek ways to find more

valuable uses of sharks (e.g., shark meat,

cartilage, skins) such that more

carcasses would be retained with the

fins and greater values could be derived

from the shark catches in the longline

fishery. However, any such transition is

likely to take some time and the firms

would suffer losses until that time. It is

estimated that the loss could be between

$2–$3 million per year. It is

acknowledged that there could be

reductions in the availability of shark

fins for soup and other products in the

U.S. under the proposed rule. However,

to the extent that shark fins could be

shipped into the U.S. by alternate routes

to substitute from direct landings, the

supply impacts will be moderated.

As this proposed rule applies only to

sharks harvested from waters seaward of

the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ, it

does not conflict with any state laws

governing fishing activities in state

waters. Any state laws and regulations

with respect to shark fins harvested

from state waters would be unaffected

by this rule as well as would be any

state law or regulation which are more

restrictive with respect to the landing of

shark fins harvested from waters beyond

the inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ.

NMFS intends to work with those states

that do not already prohibit the landing

of shark fins without the corresponding

shark carcasses to enact appropriate

laws and/or to issue appropriate

regulations so that the objectives of the

Act are fully achieved.

NMFS initiated an informal

consultation on May 31, 2001, with

regard to the effects of this proposed

rule on endangered and threatened

species under NMFS’ jurisdiction. This

consultation is continuing.

NMFS provided the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (FWS) with the draft

EA and associated background

information on the proposed rule and

requested that FWS concur with NMFS’

determination that the proposed rule

would not likely adversely affect any

threatened or endangered species under

FWS’ jurisdiction.

List of Subjects

50 CFR Part 600

Fisheries, Fishing.

50 CFR Part 635

Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing Vessels,

Foreign Relations, Intergovernmental

relations, Penalties, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Statistics,

Treaties.

50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

34404 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Proposed Rules

Dated: June 22, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR parts 600, 635, and

648 are proposed to be amended as

follows:

PART 600—MAGNUSON-STEVENS

ACT PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for part 600

continues to read as follows:

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

2. Subpart M is added to read as

follows:

Subpart M—Shark Finning

Sec.

600.1019 Purpose and scope.

600.1020 Relation to other laws.

600.1021 Definitions.

600.1022 Prohibitions.

600.1023 Shark finning; possession at sea

and landing of shark fins.

§ 600.1019 Purpose and scope.

The regulations in this subpart govern

the removal of shark fins and discarding

the carcass in waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ (i.e.,

shark finning), and the possession and

landing into U.S. ports of shark fins

harvested in waters seaward of the inner

boundary of the U.S. EEZ.

§ 600.1020 Relation to other laws.

(a) The relation of this subpart to

other laws is set forth in §§ 600.514 and

600.705 and in paragraphs (b) and (c) of

this section.

(b) Regulations pertaining to shark

conservation and management for

certain fisheries are also set forth in this

subpart and in parts 635 (for Federal

Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and

Caribbean shark fisheries), 648 (for

spiny dogfish fisheries), and 660 (for

fisheries off West Coast states and in the

western Pacific) of this chapter

governing those fisheries.

(c) Nothing in this regulation

supercedes more restrictive state

regulations regarding shark finning.

(d) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has been issued an Atlantic

Federal commercial shark limited access

permit or a spiny dogfish permit is

subject to the reporting and

recordkeeping requirements found at

parts 635 and 648 of this chapter,

respectively.

§ 600.1021 Definitions.

(a) In addition to the definitions in the

Magnuson-Stevens Act and § 600.10, the

terms used in this subpart have the

following meanings:

Land or landing means offloading fish

from a fishing vessel, arriving in port to

begin offloading fish, or causing fish to

be offloaded from a fishing vessel, either

to another vessel or to a shoreside

facility.

Shark finning means taking a shark,

removing a fin or fins (whether or not

including the tail), and returning the

remainder of the shark to the sea.

(b) If there is any difference between

the definitions in this section and in

§ 600.10, the definitions in this section

are the operative definitions for the

purposes of the regulations in this

subpart.

§ 600.1022 Prohibitions.

(a) In addition to the prohibitions in

§§ 600.505 and 600.725, it is unlawful

for any person or vessel subject to the

jurisdiction of the United States to:

(1) Engage in shark finning, as

provided in § 600.1023(a).

(2) Possess shark fins without the

corresponding carcasses while on board

a U.S. fishing vessel, as provided in

§ 600.1023 (b).

(3) Land shark fins without the

corresponding carcasses, as provided in

§ 600.1023 (c).

(4) Fail to have all shark fins and

carcasses from a U.S. or foreign fishing

vessel landed at one time and weighed

at the time of the landing, as provided

in § 600.1023 (d).

(5) Possess, purchase, offer to sell, or

sell shark fins taken, landed, or

possessed in violation of this section, as

provided in § 600.1023 (e).

(6) When requested, fail to allow an

authorized officer or any employee of

NMFS designated by a Regional

Administrator access to and/or

inspection or copying of any records

pertaining to the landing, sale,

purchase, or other disposition of shark

fins and/or shark carcasses, as provided

in § 600.1023 (f).

(7) Fail to have shark fins and

carcasses recorded as specified in

§ 635.30 (c)(3) of this chapter.

(8) Fail to have all shark carcasses and

fins landed and weighed at the same

time if landed in an Atlantic coastal

port, and to have all weights being

recorded on the weighout slips specified

in § 635.5 (a)(2) of this chapter.

(b) For purposes of this section, it is

a rebuttable presumption that shark fins

found on board, or landed by, a fishing

vessel were taken, held, or landed in

violation of this section if the total

weight of the shark fins on board, or

landed, exceeds 5 percent of the total

dressed weight of shark carcasses on

board or offloaded from the fishing

vessel.

§ 600.1023 Shark finning; possession at

sea and landing of shark fins.

(a) No person or vessel subject to U.S.

jurisdiction shall engage in shark

finning in waters seaward of the inner

boundary of the U.S. EEZ.

(b) No person on a U.S. fishing vessel

seaward of the inner boundary of the

U.S. EEZ shall possess on board shark

fins without the corresponding

carcass(es), except that sharks may be

dressed at sea.

(c) No person on board a U.S. or

foreign fishing vessel shall land shark

fins harvested in waters seaward of the

inner boundary of the U.S. EEZ without

corresponding shark carcasses.

(d) Except as provided in paragraphs

(g) and (h) of this section, a person who

operates a U.S. or foreign fishing vessel

and who lands shark fins harvested in

waters seaward of the inner boundary of

the U.S. EEZ shall land all fins and

corresponding carcasses from the vessel

at the same point of landing and shall

have all fins and carcasses weighed at

that time.

(e) A person may not possess,

purchase, offer to sell, or sell shark fins

taken, landed, or possessed in violation

of this section.

(f) Upon request, a person shall allow

an authorized officer or any employee of

NMFS designated by a Regional

Administrator access to, and/or

inspection or copying of, any records

pertaining to the landing, sale,

purchase, or other disposition of shark

fins and/or shark carcasses.

(g) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has been issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit and who lands shark in an

Atlantic coastal port must have all fins

weighed in conjunction with the

weighing of the carcasses at the vessel’s

first point of landing. Such weights

must be recorded on the weighout slips

specified in § 635.5 (a)(2) of this

chapter.

(h) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has not been issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit and who lands shark in or

from the EEZ in an Atlantic coastal port

must comply with regulations found at

§ 635.30 (c)(4) of this chapter.

(i) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has been issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit and who lands shark in an

Atlantic coastal port may not sell fins

whose wet weight exceeds 5 percent of

the dressed weight of the carcasses.

(j) A dealer may not purchase fins

from an owner or operator of a fishing

vessel issued a Federal Atlantic

commercial shark limited access permit

who lands shark in an Atlantic coastal

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 125 / Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Proposed Rules 34405

port whose wet weight exceeds 5

percent of the dressed weight of the

carcasses.

PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY

MIGRATORY SPECIES

3. The authority citation for part 635

continues to read as follows:

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

4. In § 635.30, paragraphs (c)(1)

through (c)(3) are revised to read as

follows:

§ 635.30 Possession at sea and landing.

* * * * *

(c) Shark. (1) No person shall possess

or offload wet shark fins harvested in

waters seaward of the inner boundary of

the U.S. EEZ in a quantity that exceeds

5 percent of the dressed weight of the

shark carcasses. While shark fins are on

board and when shark fins are being

offloaded, persons issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit are subject to the

regulations at part 600 (subpart M) of

this chapter.

(2) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has been issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit may not fillet a shark at

sea. A person may eviscerate and

remove the head and fins, but must

retain the fins with the dressed

carcasses. While on board and when

offloaded, wet shark fins may not

exceed 5 percent of the dressed weight

of the carcasses, in accordance with the

regulations at part 600 (subpart M) of

this chapter.

(3) A person who owns or operates a

vessel that has been issued a Federal

Atlantic commercial shark limited

access permit and who lands shark in an

Atlantic coastal port must have all fins

and carcasses weighed and recorded on

the weighout slips specified in § 635.5

(a)(2) and in accordance with

regulations at part 600 (subpart M) of

this chapter. The wet fins may not

exceed 5 percent of the dressed weight

of the carcasses.

* * * * *

5. In § 635.31, paragraphs (c)(3) and

(c)(5) are revised to read as follows:

§ 635.31 Restrictions on sale and

purchase.

(c) * * *

(3) Regulations governing the harvest,

possession, landing, purchase, and sale

of shark fins are found at part 600

(subpart M) of this chapter and § 635.30

(c).

* * * * *

(5) A dealer may not purchase from an

owner or operator of a fishing vessel

shark fins that were not harvested in

accordance with the regulations found

at part 600 (subpart M) of this chapter

and § 635.30 (c).

* * * * *

6. In § 635.71, paragraphs (d)(6) and

(d)(7) are revised to read as follows:

§ 635.71 Prohibitions.

(d) * * *

(6) Fail to maintain a shark in its

proper form, as specified in § 635.30

(c)(4).

(7) Sell or purchase shark fins that are

disproportionate to the weight of shark

carcasses, as specified in § 635.30 (c)(2)

and (c)(3) and § 600.1015 (b) of this

chapter.

* * * * *

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

7. The authority citation for part 648

continues to read as follows:

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

§ 648.14 [Amended]

8. In § 648.14, paragraphs (aa) (4)

through (6) are removed and reserved.

[FR Doc. 01–16191 Filed 6–25–01; 4:24 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S