Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71729 

[FR Doc. 2014–28229 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 140724618–4618–01] 

RIN 0648–BE41 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Revisions to 

Charter Halibut Fisheries Management 

in Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations 

that would revise Federal regulations 

regarding sport fishing guide services 

for Pacific halibut in International 

Pacific Halibut Commission Regulatory 

Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A 

(Central Gulf of Alaska). The proposed 

regulations would remove the 

requirement that a guided sport (charter) 

vessel guide be on board the same vessel 

as a charter vessel angler to provide 

sport fishing guide services. This 

proposed rule would clarify that all 

sport fishing for halibut in which 

anglers receive assistance from a 

compensated guide would be managed 

under charter fishery regulations, and 

all harvest would accrue toward charter 

allocations. This proposed rule would 

align Federal regulations with State of 

Alaska regulations. Additional minor 

changes to the regulatory text pertaining 

to the charter halibut fishery would be 

required to maintain consistency in the 

regulations with these new definitions. 

This action is necessary to achieve the 

halibut fishery management goals of the 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than January 2, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0097, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0097, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter N/ 

A in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or Excel or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

Electronic copies of the Categorical 

Exclusion and the Regulatory Impact 

Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (RIR/IRFA) prepared for this 

action are available from http://

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Alaska Region Web site at http://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this rule may 

be submitted to NMFS at the above 

address and by email to OIRA_

Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to 202– 

395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Scheurer, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage 

fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus 

stenolepis) through regulations 

established under authority of the 

Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(Halibut Act). The IPHC adopts 

regulations governing the Pacific halibut 

fishery under the Convention between 

the United States and Canada for the 

Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of 

the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea 

(Convention), signed at Ottawa, Ontario, 

on March 2, 1953, as amended by a 

Protocol Amending the Convention 

(signed at Washington, DC, on March 

29, 1979). For the United States, 

regulations developed by the IPHC are 

subject to acceptance by the Secretary of 

State with concurrence from the 

Secretary of Commerce. After 

acceptance by the Secretary of State and 

the Secretary of Commerce, NMFS 

publishes the IPHC regulations in the 

Federal Register as annual management 

measures pursuant to 50 CFR 300.62. 

The final rule implementing IPHC 

regulations for the 2014 fishing season 

was published March 12, 2014 (79 FR 

13906). IPHC regulations affecting sport 

fishing for halibut and vessels in the 

charter fishery in Areas 2C and 3A may 

be found in sections 3, 25, and 28 of that 

final rule. 

The Halibut Act, at sections 773c(a) 

and (b), provides the Secretary of 

Commerce with general responsibility to 

carry out the Convention and the 

Halibut Act. In adopting regulations that 

may be necessary to carry out the 

purposes and objectives of the 

Convention and the Halibut Act, the 

Secretary of Commerce is directed to 

consult with the Secretary of the 

department in which the U.S. Coast 

Guard is operating, currently the 

Department of Homeland Security. 

The Halibut Act, at section 773c(c), 

also provides the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) with 

authority to develop regulations, 

including limited access regulations, 

that are in addition to, and not in 

conflict with, approved IPHC 

regulations. Regulations developed by 

the Council may be implemented by 

NMFS only after approval by the 

Secretary of Commerce. The Council has 

exercised this authority in the 

development of subsistence halibut 

fishery management measures, and 

sport halibut fishery management 

measures in waters in and off Alaska, 

codified at 50 CFR 300.61, 300.65, 

300.66, and 300.67. The Council also 

developed the Individual Fishing Quota 

Program for the commercial halibut 

fishery, codified at 50 CFR part 679, 

under the authority of section 773 of the 

Halibut Act and section 303(b) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

Background 

The proposed rule would align 

Federal regulations for charter halibut 

fishing with State of Alaska regulations 

for sport fishing to clarify the Council’s 

and NMFS’ intent for management of 

charter halibut fisheries in Areas 2C and 

3A off Alaska. The proposed regulatory 

clarifications also would facilitate 

enforcement and clarify recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements for the 

charter halibut fishery. The proposed 

rule would not revise regulations for 

unguided sport halibut fishing in Alaska 

found in sections 3, 25, and 28 of the 

IPHC annual management measures 

(March 12, 2014, 79 FR 13906). The 

following sections of this preamble 

provide (1) a description of the halibut 


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71730 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

fisheries; (2) the need for the proposed 

rule; and (3) the proposed rule. 

Description of Halibut Fisheries 

The harvest of halibut in Alaska 

occurs in three fisheries—the 

commercial, sport, and subsistence 

fisheries. The commercial halibut 

fishery is a fixed gear fishery managed 

under the Halibut Individual Fishing 

Quota Program. The sport fishery 

includes guided and unguided anglers. 

Guided anglers are commonly called 

‘‘charter’’ anglers because they fish from 

chartered vessels. The subsistence 

fishery allows rural residents and 

members of certain Alaska Native tribes 

to retain halibut for personal use or 

customary trade. The Council and 

NMFS have developed specific 

management policies and programs for 

each halibut fishery based on 

participation and harvest in those 

fisheries. 

Sport fishing activities for Pacific 

halibut in Areas 2C and 3A are subject 

to different regulations, depending on 

whether those activities are guided or 

unguided. Guided sport fishing for 

halibut is subject to charter restrictions 

under Federal regulations. These 

regulations apply if a charter vessel 

guide is on board the vessel with the 

charter vessel angler and is providing 

‘‘sport fishing guide services’’ during 

the fishing trip. The term ‘‘sport fishing 

guide services’’ is defined in Federal 

regulations at § 300.61 as ‘‘assistance, 

for compensation, to a person who is 

sport fishing, to take or attempt to take 

fish by being on board a vessel with 

such person during any part of a charter 

vessel fishing trip. Sport fishing guide 

services do not include services 

provided by a crew member.’’ Unguided 

anglers typically use their own vessels 

and equipment, or they may rent a 

vessel and fish with no assistance from 

a guide. 

The Council and NMFS developed 

specific management programs for the 

charter halibut fishery to achieve 

allocation and conservation objectives 

for the halibut fisheries. These 

management programs are also intended 

to maintain stability and economic 

viability in the charter fishery by 

establishing (1) limits on the number of 

participants, (2) allocations of halibut 

that vary with abundance, and (3) a 

process for determining charter angler 

harvest restrictions to limit charter 

fishery harvest to the established 

allocations. The charter halibut fisheries 

in Areas 2C and 3A are managed under 

the Charter Halibut Limited Access 

Program (CHLAP) and the Catch Sharing 

Plan (CSP). The CHLAP limits the 

number of operators in the charter 

fishery, while the CSP establishes 

annual allocations to the charter and 

commercial fisheries and describes a 

process for determining annual 

management measures to limit charter 

harvest to the allocations in each 

management area. The CHLAP and the 

CSP are briefly summarized in the 

following sections. Section 1.3 of the 

RIR/IRFA prepared for this action 

provides additional detail on the charter 

halibut management programs that have 

been implemented in Areas 2C and 3A. 

Description of Charter Halibut Limited 

Access Program 

The CHLAP was adopted by the 

Council and implemented by NMFS in 

January 2010 (75 FR 554, January 5, 

2010). The CHLAP established Federal 

charter halibut permits (CHPs) for 

operators in the charter halibut fishery 

in Areas 2C and 3A. Since 2011, all 

vessel operators in Areas 2C and 3A 

with charter anglers on board must have 

an original, valid permit on board 

during every charter vessel fishing trip 

on which Pacific halibut are caught and 

retained. CHPs are endorsed for the 

appropriate regulatory area and the 

number of anglers that may catch and 

retain halibut on a charter vessel fishing 

trip. 

NMFS implemented the CHLAP, 

based on recommendations by the 

Council, to meet allocation objectives in 

the charter halibut fishery. This program 

provides stability in the fishery by 

limiting the number of charter vessels 

that may participate in Areas 2C and 

3A. Vessel operators had to meet 

minimum participation requirements to 

receive an initial issuance of a CHP. 

Complete regulations for the CHLAP are 

published at §§ 300.65, 300.66, and 

300.67. Additional details on the 

development and rationale for the 

CHLAP can be found in the final rule 

implementing the program and are not 

repeated here (75 FR 554, January 5, 

2010). 

Description of the Catch Sharing Plan 

and Limits on Charter Anglers 

The CSP was adopted by the Council 

and implemented by NMFS in January 

2014 (78 FR 75844, December 12, 2013). 

The CSP replaced the Guideline Harvest 

Level program that was in place from 

2004 through 2013 (68 FR 47256, 

August 8, 2003) as the method for 

setting pre-season specifications of 

acceptable annual harvests in the 

charter fisheries in Areas 2C and 3A. 

The CSP defines an annual process for 

allocating halibut between the charter 

and commercial halibut fisheries in 

Areas 2C and 3A. The CSP establishes 

sector allocations that vary 

proportionally with changing levels of 

annual halibut abundance and that 

balance the differing needs of the 

charter and commercial halibut fisheries 

over a wide range of halibut abundance 

in each area. The CSP describes a public 

process by which the Council develops 

recommendations to the IPHC for 

charter angler harvest restrictions that 

are intended to limit harvest to the 

annual charter halibut fishery catch 

limit in each area. The CSP also 

authorizes limited annual leases of 

commercial individual fishing quota for 

use in the charter fishery as guided 

angler fish (GAF). GAF authorizes 

individual charter operators in Area 2C 

and Area 3A to offer anglers the 

opportunity to retain additional halibut 

when charter vessel anglers are subject 

to a more restrictive daily harvest limit 

than unguided sport anglers in the same 

area. Charter vessel anglers have been 

subject to a more restrictive daily 

harvest limit than unguided sport 

anglers since 2007 in Area 2C. In 2014, 

charter vessel anglers in Area 3A were 

also managed under more restrictive 

harvest limits for the first time. 

Additional detail on the development 

and rationale for the CSP can be found 

in the final rule implementing the 

program and is not repeated here (78 FR 

75844, December 12, 2013). 

IPHC Annual Management Measures 

Each year, through a transparent 

public process, the Council reviews and 

recommends annual management 

measures for implementation in the 

Area 2C and Area 3A charter halibut 

fishery. Each fall, the Council reviews 

an analysis of potential charter 

management measures for the charter 

halibut fisheries for the upcoming 

fishing year. The Council considers 

stakeholder input and the most current 

information regarding the charter 

fishery and its management. After 

reviewing the analysis and considering 

public testimony, the Council identifies 

the charter halibut management 

measures to recommend to the IPHC 

that will most likely constrain charter 

halibut harvest for each area to its catch 

limit, while considering impacts on 

charter operations. The IPHC considers 

the Council recommendations, along 

with the analyses on which those 

recommendations were based, and input 

from its stakeholders and staff. The 

IPHC then adopts charter halibut 

management measures designed to keep 

charter harvest in Area 2C and Area 3A 

to the catch limits specified under the 

CSP. Once accepted by the Secretary of 

State with the concurrence of the 

Secretary of Commerce, NMFS 

publishes in the Federal Register the 


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charter halibut management measures 

for each area as part of the IPHC annual 

management measures (79 FR 13906, 

March 12, 2014). 

Catch Monitoring and Estimation in the 

Sport Halibut Fisheries 

The Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game (ADF&G) Saltwater Charter 

Logbook (hereafter, logbook) is the 

primary reporting requirement for 

operators in the charter fisheries for all 

species harvested in saltwater in Areas 

2C and 3A. ADF&G developed the 

logbook program in 1998 to provide 

information on participation and 

harvest by individual vessels and 

businesses in charter fisheries for 

halibut as well as other state-managed 

species. Logbook data are compiled to 

show where fishing occurs, the extent of 

participation, and the species and the 

numbers of fish caught and retained by 

individual charter anglers. This 

information is essential to estimate 

harvest for regulation and management 

of the charter halibut fisheries in Areas 

2C and 3A. ADF&G collects logbook 

information from charter vessel guides 

on halibut harvested by charter vessel 

anglers to accommodate the information 

requirements for implementing and 

enforcing Federal charter halibut fishing 

regulations, such as the Area 2C onehalibut per day bag limit and the 

CHLAP. 

ADF&G uses the Statewide Harvest 

Survey (SWHS) to estimate halibut 

harvests in the unguided sport halibut 

fishery. The SWHS is a mail survey of 

households containing at least one 

licensed angler. Survey respondents are 

asked to report the numbers of fish 

caught and kept by all members of the 

entire household, and the data are 

expanded to cover all households. 

Description of ‘‘Guide Assisted’’ Sport 

Fishing Services 

In April 2012, the Council received a 

report from NOAA’s Office of Law 

Enforcement describing ‘‘guideassisted’’ sport fishing services for 

halibut observed in Area 2C that are not 

subject to the Federal charter halibut 

fishery regulations. NOAA’s Office of 

Law Enforcement staff first observed 

guide-assisted sport fishing services for 

halibut during 2011, the first year of 

CHLAP implementation. The report 

noted that a few companies offer guideassisted sport fishing services in which 

guides provide assistance to halibut 

anglers, likely for compensation, from 

adjacent vessels or shore. A person 

providing assistance to an angler during 

a fishing trip, and who is not on board 

the vessel with the anglers, is not 

providing sport fishing guide services 

under the current Federal definition. As 

a result, persons providing guideassisted sport fishing services are not 

required to have CHPs, and guideassisted anglers are not subject to 

Federal regulations that limit guided 

anglers. Guide-assisted anglers are able 

to retain halibut under the more liberal 

bag and size limits in place for 

unguided anglers, while still receiving 

assistance during the fishing trip from a 

guide on a nearby, sometimes tethered, 

vessel, or from shore. Additionally, 

Federal regulations do not require 

halibut harvested by guide-assisted 

anglers to be recorded in the logbook. 

In contrast to Federal regulations, 

State of Alaska (State) regulations do not 

require a guide to be on board the same 

vessel as the angler for the trip to be 

considered guided fishing (Alaska 

Statute Sec. 16.40.299). If sport fishing 

guide services (as defined by the State) 

are provided to the angler during any 

portion of a sport fishing trip, the State 

considers those harvests as charter 

removals and requires harvests to be 

recorded in the logbook. 

ADF&G examined logbook data from 

Area 2C in an effort to quantify the 

practice of guiding from a separate 

vessel or the shore during the period 

2009 through 2012. This practice was 

identified by looking for instances of the 

harvest of two halibut per charter vessel 

angler per day in Area 2C as reported in 

the logbook. ADF&G’s methods for 

quantifying this practice are explained 

in detail in Section 1.3.6.1.3 of the RIR/ 

IRFA. A minimum of one to three 

businesses are estimated to have 

routinely hosted clients that exceeded 

the one-fish bag limit for charter anglers, 

suggesting they were offering guideassisted sport fishing services between 

2009 and 2013 in Area 2C that did not 

meet the Federal definition of sport 

fishing guide services. This practice 

may be more widespread than the 

analysis indicates because Federal 

regulations do not require a guide to 

complete a logbook for persons using 

guide-assisted sport fishing services. 

Logbook data regarding the numbers of 

retained halibut could not be used to 

identify businesses that may be offering 

guide-assisted sport fishing services in 

Area 3A because bag limits were 

identical for guided and unguided 

anglers until 2014. Instead, ADF&G 

attempted to identify such businesses by 

looking for businesses without CHPs 

that routinely had client harvest of 

halibut. 

Need for Action 

The Council recommended, and 

NMFS proposes, this rule to manage 

guide-assisted sport fishing services for 

halibut under the CHLAP and the CSP. 

The following describes the rationale for 

this action. The Council made its 

recommendation because it considers 

guide-assisted sport fishing services for 

halibut to be a de facto form of guided 

or charter fishing, although this method 

is currently considered unguided 

fishing under Federal regulations. A 

guide who is not on the same vessel 

with an angler and who provides 

assistance for compensation to an angler 

meets the definition of guided fishing in 

all ways except for the requirement to 

be on board the same vessel. For 

example, the guide may still accompany 

the anglers from a separate vessel, lead 

them to the fishing location, instruct 

them in how to bait hooks and reel in 

the fish, etc. They may even assist in 

landing and filleting the halibut from a 

separate vessel, yet under the current 

Federal definition, these behaviors are 

not technically considered guiding. In 

contrast, the State of Alaska definition 

does not require the guide to be on 

board the same vessel as the angler to 

provide sport fishing guide services. 

The Council considered the State 

definition in making its 

recommendation for a change to the 

Federal definition. The Council was also 

concerned that guide-assisted sport 

fishing services may increase if no 

action is taken to define these fishing 

activities as charter fishing. This 

increase could occur because halibut 

harvest limits are more restrictive for 

charter vessel anglers than for unguided 

anglers, particularly in Area 2C. This 

discrepancy may provide an incentive 

for charter operators to modify their 

services to operate as guide-assisted 

sport fishing services to allow their 

anglers to fish under the more liberal 

size and bag limits in place for 

unguided anglers. Alternatively, it may 

serve as an incentive for new entrants to 

provide guide-assisted sport fishing 

services. 

The Council also recommended 

clarifying that guide-assisted halibut 

harvests should accrue to the charter 

sector allocation under the CSP. The 

Council recognized that under the 

current Federal definition, halibut 

harvests by guide-assisted sport fishing 

services would not be considered 

guided. Thus, those harvests may 

currently be counted as unguided 

harvest instead of charter harvest in the 

SWHS, or not reported in the logbook. 

The Council reviewed information 

suggesting that a relatively small 

amount of halibut harvested by guideassisted sport fishing services may be 

counted as unguided harvest (see 

Section 1.3.5.2 of the RIR/IRFA). 


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However, the Council recommended 

requiring that all guide-assisted halibut 

harvests be recorded in the logbook, and 

that harvest accrue to the charter 

allocation under the CSP, to prevent a 

potential increase in the amount of 

guide-assisted halibut harvest counted 

as unguided harvest. The following 

discussion provides additional detail on 

the accounting for halibut harvested by 

guide-assisted sport fishing services. 

Under the status quo, there is 

potential for inconsistencies and 

misreporting of guide-assisted halibut 

harvests. As described in the ‘‘Catch 

Monitoring and Estimation in the Sport 

Halibut Fisheries’’ section of this 

preamble, charter and unguided sport 

halibut harvests are estimated using 

different methods. Under the CSP, 

charter harvests are estimated using 

logbooks, and all charter harvests must 

be recorded in the logbook. Unguided 

harvests are estimated using the SWHS. 

Guides who are providing guideassisted sport fishing services for 

species other than halibut (under the 

State’s definition) are required to 

complete logbooks for those Statemanaged species. Guides may also 

record halibut harvests occurring during 

these fishing trips in the logbook, even 

though it is not considered charter 

halibut harvest under current Federal 

regulations. In these instances, the 

harvest would be included in the 

charter halibut fishery harvest estimate 

and accrue toward the CSP catch limit 

for the charter halibut fishery. Likewise, 

anglers may be confused when 

responding to the SWHS as to whether 

they were halibut fishing with or 

without a charter vessel guide. Anglers 

can report halibut harvested on a guideassisted sport fishing trip in the SWHS 

as either guided or unguided. This 

proposed rule would clarify logbook 

reporting requirements and improve 

harvest estimates by aligning the 

Federal and State definitions of sport 

fishing guide services so that halibut 

harvested by an angler who receives 

compensated assistance would be 

required to be recorded in the logbook, 

whether or not the person providing the 

assistance is physically present on 

board the vessel or not. 

Despite the potential for reporting 

charter halibut harvests as unguided 

harvest, and vice versa, the Council did 

not identify a conservation concern with 

regard to sport halibut harvest 

accounting because all halibut harvests 

are being estimated based on 

information submitted in the logbooks 

and SWHS. See Section 1.3.6.1.3 of the 

RIR/IRFA prepared for this action for 

additional details on the anticipated 

impacts of the proposed rule on sport 

halibut harvest estimates and fishery 

reporting requirements. 

Proposed Rule 

The Council initiated analysis of the 

proposed action in February 2013. In 

June 2013, the Council reviewed the 

analysis and clarified its recommended 

options for revising Federal halibut 

sport fishing regulations to be consistent 

with its intent for guide-assisted sport 

fishing services to be managed under 

the CHLAP and the CSP. In February 

2014, the Council recommended 

aligning Federal regulations regarding 

sport fishing guide services for Pacific 

halibut with State regulations by 

removing the requirement that the 

charter vessel guide be on board the 

same vessel as the charter vessel angler. 

The Council recognized that NMFS 

would propose additional regulations 

necessary to implement the Council’s 

recommendation. The Council’s 

recommendation is available at http://

legistar2.granicus.com/npfmc/meetings/

2014/2/876_A_North_Pacific_Council_

14-02-03_Meeting_Agenda.pdf. 

The proposed regulations would align 

Federal regulatory text regarding sport 

fishing guide services for Pacific halibut 

with State regulations in a manner that 

is consistent with Council intent for 

management of charter halibut fisheries. 

The proposed revisions would enhance 

enforcement of sport fishing regulations 

by an authorized officer by clearly 

defining when a person is providing 

sport fishing guide services. This 

regulatory clarity will also aid anglers 

and operators providing sport fishing 

guide services to comply with 

regulations for the charter halibut 

fisheries. 

This proposed rule would implement 

clear and consistent regulations that 

apply to all businesses providing, and 

all anglers receiving, sport fishing guide 

services, and improve the accuracy of 

the data collected on sport fishing 

harvest. Specifically, this proposed rule 

would require anglers receiving sport 

fishing guide services, whether or not a 

charter vessel guide is on board, to 

comply with the restrictions in place for 

charter vessel anglers. This proposed 

rule would require businesses that 

provide sport fishing guide services for 

halibut from separate vessels to obtain 

CHPs for the vessels on which the 

anglers are fishing and comply with the 

restrictions in place for the charter 

halibut fishery. This proposed rule 

would not increase the number of CHPs 

issued under the CHLAP. 

As described in Section 1.2 of the 

RIR/IRFA, the proposed rule is intended 

only to address fishing activities for the 

charter halibut sector; no action is 

proposed to regulate businesses that 

provide equipment for unguided (or 

self-guided) sport fishing. The following 

sections provide greater detail about the 

three categories of regulatory changes 

proposed in this rule: 1) Revisions to 

definitions at § 300.61; 2) revisions to 

CHLAP and CSP regulations; and 3) 

other regulatory revisions. The last 

section describes suggested changes to 

IPHC annual management measures to 

aid the implementation of this proposed 

rule. NMFS solicits public comments on 

the proposed changes to the regulations 

described in this preamble. 

Proposed Revisions to Definitions at 

§ 300.61 

Most critically, this proposed rule 

would revise the definition of ‘‘sport 

fishing guide services,’’ and add 

definitions for ‘‘compensation’’ and 

‘‘charter vessel’’ at § 300.61. Technical 

revisions would be made to the 

definitions of ‘‘charter vessel angler,’’ 

‘‘charter vessel fishing trip,’’ ‘‘charter 

vessel guide,’’ and ‘‘charter vessel 

operator’’ at § 300.61 for added clarity 

and consistency among definitions. 

These changes are described in detail in 

section 2.7 of the RIR/IRFA for this 

action. 

The proposed revision to the 

definition of ‘‘sport fishing guide 

services’’ would remove the 

requirement that a charter vessel guide 

be on board the same vessel as the 

charter vessel angler. The Council 

recommended that the definition be 

revised to read as follows: ‘‘Sport 

fishing guide services, for purposes of 

§§ 300.65 and 300.67, means assistance, 

for compensation or with the intent to 

receive compensation, to a person who 

is sport fishing, to take or attempt to 

take halibut by accompanying or 

physically directing the sport fisherman 

in sport fishing activities during any 

part of a charter vessel fishing trip. 

Sport fishing guide services do not 

include services provided by a crew 

member.’’ 

NMFS proposes the Council’s 

recommendation with two minor 

changes. First, NMFS proposes to cite 

§ 300.65(d) instead of § 300.65 to 

specifically reference the section of 

§ 300.65 that pertains to charter halibut 

fishing. Second, NMFS proposes to 

revise the current definition of ‘‘sport 

fishing guide services’’ to clarify that 

services provided by a crew member 

working directly under the supervision 

of, and on the same vessel as, a charter 

vessel guide are not sport fishing guide 

services for purposes of CHLAP and 

CSP regulations. 

Under the proposed rule, crew 

member services would continue to be 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71733 

excluded from the definition of sport 

fishing guide services for purposes of 

CHLAP and CSP regulations, to clearly 

identify that the charter vessel guide, 

and not a crew member, is the person 

responsible for complying with the 

regulations. The Council and NMFS do 

not intend for an assistant, deckhand, or 

other crew member that works directly 

under the supervision of a charter vessel 

guide to be the person responsible to 

comply with CHLAP and CSP 

regulations. The proposed rule would 

maintain current requirements 

specifying that a person providing sport 

fishing guide services from a charter 

vessel would be responsible for 

complying with CHLAP and CSP 

regulations, whether or not that person 

has an ADF&G sport fishing guide 

license or registration on board that 

vessel. Therefore, NMFS proposes to 

revise the final sentence of the 

definition of sport fishing guide services 

to specify that ‘‘sport fishing guide 

services do not include services 

provided by a crew member, as defined 

at § 300.61.’’ This proposed revision 

would cite the definition of a crew 

member for added clarity. 

The Council recommended, and 

NMFS proposes, revising the definition 

of sport fishing guide services as 

‘‘accompanying or physically directing 

the sport fisherman in sport fishing 

activities during any part of a charter 

vessel fishing trip.’’ This proposed 

revision is consistent with the State 

definition for sport fishing guide 

services (Alaska Statute Sec. 16.40.299). 

The current Federal definition of charter 

vessel fishing trip at § 300.61 specifies 

that a charter vessel fishing trip begins 

when fishing gear is first deployed into 

the water and ends when one or more 

charter vessel anglers or any halibut are 

offloaded from that vessel. Assistance, 

under the proposed definition of sport 

fishing guide services, would therefore 

be restricted to activities that occur after 

gear has been deployed. Advice or 

assistance provided before gear is 

deployed would not be considered sport 

fishing guide services. What qualifies as 

assistance is further constrained by the 

words ‘‘accompanying or physically 

directing,’’ which likely would require 

that the charter vessel guide be in 

proximity to the charter vessel angler. 

NMFS assumes that while most 

assistance would be provided from a 

separate vessel, it is possible that 

assistance could also be provided from 

shore. NMFS notes that determination 

of guided assistance for purposes of 

Federal regulations likely would depend 

on a combination of factors that, taken 

together, would indicate that a charter 

vessel guide was compensated for 

assisting an angler in a manner intended 

to result in the taking of halibut. Section 

1.3.6 of the RIR/IRFA provides 

additional detail on the proposed 

revision to the definition of sport fishing 

guide services. 

NMFS proposes adding a definition 

for ‘‘compensation’’ to § 300.61 that 

matches the State’s definition. Federal 

regulations currently do not define 

‘‘compensation’’ in the context of the 

charter halibut fishery. The Council and 

NMFS intend for sport fishing to be 

considered charter fishing only if a 

person providing assistance to sport 

anglers is receiving compensation. 

Compensation would be defined as, 

‘‘direct or indirect payment, 

remuneration, or other benefits received 

in return for services, regardless of the 

source . . . ‘benefits’ includes wages or 

other employment benefits given 

directly or indirectly to an individual or 

organization, and any dues, payments, 

fees, or other remuneration given 

directly or indirectly to a fishing club, 

business, organization, or individual 

who provides sport fishing guide 

services; and does not include 

reimbursement for the actual daily 

expenses for fuel, food, or bait.’’ This 

definition of compensation would also 

mean that payments made by a third 

party, and non-monetary exchanges of 

goods and services for taking someone 

halibut fishing, may also be considered 

compensation, as well as payments or 

non-monetary exchanges from a person 

aboard the charter vessel. 

The proposed Federal definition 

would not consider reimbursement for 

‘‘actual’’ daily expenses (e.g., bait, fuel, 

food) to be compensation. Section 

1.3.6.2 of the RIR/IRFA provides 

additional detail on the proposed 

revision to the definition of 

compensation. 

An interpretive rule (76 FR 19708, 

April 8, 2011) clarified that a charter 

vessel guide, operator, or crew member 

may fish for halibut from a charter 

vessel if he or she is not being 

compensated to provide assistance to 

persons catching and retaining halibut. 

No changes are proposed to this 

interpretation that allows guides, 

operators, and crew members to fish 

recreationally with friends and family, 

so long as no charter vessel anglers are 

on board and receiving sport fishing 

guide services. 

NMFS proposes adding a definition 

for ‘‘charter vessel’’ to Federal 

regulations at § 300.61. A charter vessel 

would be defined as ‘‘a vessel used 

while providing or receiving sport 

fishing guide services for halibut.’’ 

Under this proposed definition, a 

charter vessel guide would not be 

required to be on board the same vessel 

as the charter vessel angler to be 

providing sport fishing guide services. If 

an angler receives sport fishing guide 

services during a charter vessel fishing 

trip (i.e., the time between when gear is 

deployed and when one or more charter 

anglers or any harvested halibut are 

offloaded), even if it is from an adjacent 

or nearby vessel, that angler would be 

considered to be fishing from a charter 

vessel. 

Charter vessels are required to be 

registered with the State and are issued 

identification decals and logbooks. 

Under this proposed rule, all charter 

vessels, including those that would not 

have charter vessel guides on board, 

would need to register with the State, 

display the charter vessel decal while 

operating as a charter vessel, and have 

the logbook on board during all charter 

vessel fishing trips. Each charter vessel 

from which anglers may catch and 

retain halibut would also need to have 

an original CHP on board during charter 

vessel fishing trips. 

Proposed Revisions to CHLAP and CSP 

Regulations 

As described above and in Section 2.7 

of the RIR/IRFA, the Council recognized 

that its recommendation for the 

proposed rule would require NMFS to 

propose additional revisions to 

regulations governing the CHLAP and 

CSP. The following sections summarize 

these additional proposed regulatory 

revisions. 

Under the proposed rule, the primary 

responsibility for compliance with 

charter halibut fishery regulations 

would continue to be with the charter 

vessel guide. However, some Federal 

regulations governing the charter 

halibut fishery put the burden of 

compliance on the charter vessel 

operator. The term ‘‘charter vessel 

operator’’ in § 300.61 currently refers to 

the person in charge of the charter 

vessel on which anglers are catching 

and retaining halibut. Under the 

proposed rule, if no charter vessel guide 

were on board the vessel with the 

charter anglers, as in guide-assisted 

sport fishing services, the charter vessel 

operator could also be a charter vessel 

angler. To facilitate compliance in these 

instances, NMFS proposes regulations at 

§ 300.66(s) and (v) to hold the charter 

vessel operator and the charter vessel 

guide jointly or severally responsible for 

compliance with the requirement to 

have a valid CHP and a logbook on 

board the charter vessel with the charter 

vessel anglers if no charter vessel guide 

is on board the vessel with the charter 

anglers. 


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The CHP and logbook are critical 

enforcement tools used by an authorized 

officer to verify when anglers are on a 

charter vessel fishing trip and subject to 

CHLAP, CSP, and daily bag limit and 

size restrictions applicable to charter 

vessel anglers. If the charter vessel guide 

is on a separate charter vessel or on the 

shore, or is not in the vicinity of the 

charter vessel with anglers aboard (i.e., 

‘‘angler vessel’’), an authorized officer 

must be able to identify a person on 

board the angler vessel that is 

responsible for ensuring that a valid 

CHP and the logbook are on the vessel 

to authorize that charter vessel fishing 

trip. NMFS proposes that if the charter 

vessel guide is on a separate vessel, or 

on the shore, the charter vessel operator 

should be the person on board the 

angler vessel that could be held jointly 

responsible with the charter vessel 

guide to ensure that a valid CHP and the 

logbook are on the angler vessel. NMFS 

notes that enforcement of this proposed 

provision would depend on the 

circumstances of a fishing trip. 

Authorized agents would evaluate the 

specific circumstances to determine 

whether to hold the charter vessel 

operator and the charter vessel guide 

jointly or severally responsible for 

compliance with the requirement to 

have a valid CHP and a logbook on 

board the vessel. NMFS requests 

comments specific to this provision of 

the proposed rule. 

Charter vessel guides would remain 

responsible for complying with the 

CHLAP and CSP reporting requirements 

at § 300.65(d), and the person whose 

business was assigned a logbook would 

remain responsible for ensuring that the 

charter vessel guide complies with those 

requirements. Under current 

regulations, before a charter vessel 

fishing trip begins, the charter vessel 

guide is required to record in the 

logbook the first and last names and 

license numbers of each charter vessel 

angler who will fish for halibut 

(exceptions apply for youth, senior, and 

disabled charter vessel anglers); ensure 

that the cover of the logbook lists the 

person named on the CHP(s) and the 

CHP number(s) being used during that 

charter vessel fishing trip; and ensure 

the name and State-issued vessel 

registration (AK number) or U.S. Coast 

Guard documentation number of the 

charter vessel is listed. NMFS proposes 

to modify regulations at § 300.65(d) to 

require that the logbook remain on the 

charter vessel with the anglers during 

the charter vessel fishing trip, even if 

the guide is on a separate vessel or on 

shore. With this proposed change, an 

authorized officer would be able to 

verify that all anglers are licensed and 

listed in the logbook, and that the angler 

endorsement on the CHP has not been 

exceeded. 

Under existing regulations at 

§ 300.65(d), if halibut is retained during 

a charter vessel fishing trip, the charter 

vessel guide is responsible for 

completing the remainder of the logbook 

data fields by the end of the calendar 

day, or by the end of the charter vessel 

fishing trip, whichever comes first. The 

charter vessel guide is also responsible 

for ensuring that charter vessel anglers 

who retained halibut sign the logbook. 

Under this proposed rule, charter 

vessel guides would remain responsible 

for complying with the provisions of the 

GAF program at § 300.65. A GAF permit 

authorizes a charter vessel angler to 

retain GAF, and GAF permits are 

assigned to a single CHP. Under current 

regulations at § 300.65(c)(5)(iii)(A)(5), a 

legible copy of the GAF permit must be 

kept on board the charter vessel with 

the CHP to enable an authorized officer 

to verify that any GAF retained on the 

charter vessel were authorized by a 

valid GAF permit. NMFS proposes to 

modify regulations at 

§ 300.65(c)(5)(iii)(A)(5), to require the 

guide maintain control of a legible copy 

of the GAF permit, and require that the 

CHP and logbook remain on the same 

charter vessel as the charter vessel 

anglers. 

Existing regulations at 

§ 300.65(c)(5)(iv)(G) require that upon 

retention of a GAF halibut, the guide 

must immediately remove the upper 

and lower tips of the tail fin lobes to 

mark and identify that fish as a GAF 

halibut. NMFS proposes revising this 

regulation to add a requirement that the 

guide must be physically present when 

the GAF is harvested to mark the fish. 

NMFS anticipates that charter vessel 

anglers without a guide on board would 

need to summon the guide (e.g., by cell 

phone or radio) to be in proximity of the 

charter vessel before any GAF are 

harvested. Accordingly, charter vessel 

guides not on charter vessels could not 

guide from the shore, if GAF fish are 

being harvested. Regulations at 

§ 300.65(d)(4)(iii)(A)(1) require the 

charter vessel guide to immediately 

measure and record the total length of 

the GAF halibut in the GAF permit log 

on the back of the GAF permit. NMFS 

does not propose changing this 

requirement, but proposes adding 

regulations at § 300.65(d)(4)(iii)(A)(5) to 

require the charter vessel guide to 

immediately record in the logbook the 

GAF permit number under which the 

GAF was caught and retained, and the 

number of GAF retained by the charter 

vessel angler who caught and retained 

it. The term ‘‘immediately,’’ for 

enforcement purposes, means that the 

stated activity (e.g., marking the fish or 

recording the GAF in the logbook) must 

occur before the guide or angler moves 

on to another activity or resume fishing. 

For example, if a charter vessel angler 

harvests a GAF, the guide would need 

to mark and record it before the angler 

could continue fishing, transit to 

another location, etc. This proposed 

revision would improve the timely 

recording of GAF. 

This proposed rule would revise 

regulations at § 300.65(d)(4)(iii)(A)(1) to 

require the guide to record harvested 

GAF immediately in the logbook so a 

record of the GAF harvest remains on 

board with the charter vessel angler if 

the guide leaves the area with the GAF 

permit and GAF log. If the guide could 

not be present at the time the GAF is 

harvested, the charter vessel angler 

would not be authorized to retain that 

fish. 

Current regulations at 

§ 300.65(d)(4)(iii)(B) through (E) require 

a charter vessel guide to electronically 

report GAF harvests at the end of a 

charter vessel fishing trip in which GAF 

is retained. This proposed rule would 

not revise these regulations and the 

charter vessel guide would continue to 

be responsible for electronically 

reporting GAF harvests. 

Current regulations at 

§ 300.65(c)(5)(iv)(G) require that if GAF 

halibut are filleted on board a charter 

vessel, the carcasses of those GAF 

halibut must be retained until the end 

of the charter vessel fishing trip to 

enable an authorized officer to verify the 

recorded lengths. NMFS proposes to 

revise CSP regulations at 

§ 300.65(c)(5)(iv)(G) to specify that if 

any GAF are harvested and filleted on 

board the charter vessel, those carcasses 

would also need to be retained on the 

charter vessel on which the GAF halibut 

were caught until the end of the charter 

vessel fishing trip. In other words, if a 

GAF halibut were harvested on a charter 

vessel without a guide on board, it 

would need to stay on the vessel with 

the angler who caught it until the end 

of the fishing trip; it could not be 

transferred to the vessel that the guide 

is on for filleting, storage, or otherwise. 

Similarly, IPHC annual management 

measures currently require that the 

carcasses of size-restricted halibut 

harvested in the charter fishery in Areas 

2C and 3A be retained, if those size 

restricted halibut are filleted on board 

the charter vessel. NMFS proposes 

adding this carcass retention 

requirement to Federal regulations at 

§ 300.65(d)(5). 


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NMFS notes that not all charter 

businesses participate in the GAF 

program, and that it is an optional use 

of individual fishing quota. There is no 

requirement that charter vessel guides 

make GAF available to their anglers. 

Other Regulatory Changes 

Charter vessel guides, operators, and 

crew are prohibited from harvesting 

halibut in Areas 2C and 3A during 

charter vessel fishing trips under 

existing regulations at § 300.65(d)(3). 

Under this proposed rule, the charter 

vessel operator could potentially be a 

charter vessel angler who is operating a 

vessel without a charter vessel guide 

onboard (e.g., the charter vessel guide is 

on a separate vessel). NMFS assumes 

that the Council would not want to 

prohibit charter vessel anglers who are 

operating charter vessels without a 

charter vessel guide on board from 

harvesting halibut. Therefore, NMFS 

proposes to revise § 300.65(d)(3) to 

specify that ‘‘a charter vessel guide, 

charter vessel operator, or crew member 

may not catch and retain halibut during 

a charter vessel fishing trip in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A, 

except that charter vessel operators who 

are charter vessel anglers may catch and 

retain halibut during a charter vessel 

fishing trip if the charter vessel guide is 

on a separate charter vessel.’’ Minor 

additional changes are proposed to 

regulations at §§ 300.61, 300.65, 300.66, 

and 300.67 to maintain existing 

regulatory responsibilities applicable to 

specific persons and ensure consistency 

in the charter halibut regulations to 

meet the intent of this proposed rule. 

These changes and the rationale for 

them are outlined in detail in Section 

2.7 of the RIR/IRFA for this action and 

are briefly summarized here. 

As of January 1, 2015, several Alaska 

Statutes (A.S. 16.40.260 through 

16.40.299) pertaining to sport fishing 

business and guide licensing and 

reporting through ADF&G are scheduled 

to expire. At that time, statewide 

regulations approved by the Board of 

Fisheries in 2004 to implement these 

statutes may lack statutory authority. 

ADF&G is working with the Alaska 

Board of Fisheries to modify existing 

statewide regulations to require 

business and guide registration and 

continue logbook reporting for the 2015 

season. Federal regulations at 

§ 300.65(d)(4)(ii)(B)(1), (d)(4)(ii)(D)(4), 

the definition of ‘‘charter vessel guide’’ 

at § 300.61, and § 300.67(a)(1) all refer to 

ADF&G sport fishing guide licenses. 

NMFS proposes changing these 

regulations to refer to ‘‘licenses or 

registrations’’ in the event that the 

licensing program is not reinstated. 

The CSP implemented a regulation at 

§ 300.66(h) to prohibit subsistence 

fishing for halibut while commercial 

fishing or sport fishing. The regulation 

was intended to prohibit only 

subsistence fishing for halibut and 

commercial or sport fishing for halibut 

from the same vessel on the same day. 

However, as written, the regulation 

could be interpreted to prohibit 

commercial or sport fishing for any 

species while subsistence fishing for 

halibut. NMFS proposes to change the 

prohibition at § 300.66(h) to clarify that 

it only prohibits subsistence fishing for 

halibut while commercial or sport 

fishing for halibut. 

IPHC Annual Management Measures 

If this proposed rule is approved by 

the Secretary, the IPHC may decide to 

change its annual management 

measures to implement and improve 

compliance for this proposed rule. See 

Section 2.7 of the RIR/IRFA. 

IPHC annual management measures 

are designed to facilitate enforcement of 

charter halibut fishery regulations when 

halibut have been filleted on board the 

vessel (March 12, 2014, 79 FR 13906). 

The IPHC annual management measure 

at Section 28(1)(d) restricts filleting 

halibut into no more than two dorsal, 

two ventral, and two cheek pieces to 

ensure that an authorized officer can 

verify a charter vessel angler’s daily bag 

and possession limits for halibut if the 

fish have been filleted on board the 

vessel. NMFS anticipates that this 

restriction on filleting halibut will 

continue to be implemented in future 

years. If the proposed rule is approved 

and implemented and the IPHC adopts 

halibut size restrictions for charter 

vessel anglers in the future, the IPHC 

may decide to change the annual 

management measures to require that all 

retained halibut, including GAF, remain 

on the charter vessel on which they are 

caught until the end of a charter vessel 

fishing trip. This would ensure that 

charter vessel anglers without a guide 

on board would not be allowed to 

transfer their harvested halibut to the 

guide’s vessel for processing. 

NMFS also notes that the 2014 annual 

management measures at Section 

28(2)(d) and (3)(d) require the carcasses 

of size-restricted halibut be retained 

until the end of the charter vessel 

fishing trip to enable an authorized 

officer to enforce the size restrictions 

that are in place for charter vessel 

anglers in Area 2C and Area 3A. NMFS 

proposes to add a carcass retention 

requirement for size-restricted halibut to 

Federal regulations at § 300.65(d)(5). If 

this proposed rule is approved and 

implemented and the IPHC adopts 

halibut size restrictions for charter 

vessel anglers in the future, the IPHC 

may decide to remove the annual 

management measures requiring carcass 

retention as unnecessary measures. 

Classification 

Regulations governing the U.S. 

fisheries for Pacific halibut are 

developed by the IPHC, the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council, 

and the Secretary of Commerce. Section 

5 of the Halibut Act (16 U.S.C. 773c) 

allows the Regional Council having 

authority for a particular geographical 

area to develop regulations governing 

fishing for halibut in U.S. Convention 

waters as long as those regulations do 

not conflict with IPHC regulations. The 

Halibut Act at section 773c(a) and (b) 

provides the Secretary of Commerce 

with the general responsibility to carry 

out the Convention with the authority 

to, in consultation with the Secretary of 

the department in which the U.S. Coast 

Guard is operating, adopt such 

regulations as may be necessary to carry 

out the purposes and objectives of the 

Convention and the Halibut Act. This 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Halibut Act and other applicable laws. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This proposed rule also complies with 

the Secretary of Commerce’s authority 

under the Halibut Act to implement 

management measures for the halibut 

fishery. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

An initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) was prepared as 

required by section 603 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. The IRFA 

describes the economic impact this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A description of the 

action, why it is being considered, and 

its legal basis may be found at the 

beginning of this preamble and are not 

repeated here. A summary of the IRFA 

follows. A copy of the IRFA is available 

from the NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

Number and Description of Small 

Entities Regulated by the Proposed Rule 

On June 12, 2014, the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) issued a final rule 

revising the small business size 

standards for several industries effective 

July 14, 2014 (79 FR 33647, June 12, 

2014). The new size standards were 

used to prepare the IRFA for this 

proposed rule. 


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The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) specifies that for charter fishing 

vessel operations, a small business is 

one with annual receipts less than $7.5 

million. The largest of these charter 

vessel operations, which are lodges, 

may be considered large entities under 

SBA standards, but that cannot be 

confirmed because NMFS does not have 

or collect economic data on lodges 

necessary to definitively determine total 

annual receipts. Thus, all charter vessel 

operations are considered small entities, 

based on SBA criteria, because NMFS 

cannot confirm if any entities have gross 

revenues greater than $7.5 million on an 

annual basis. 

This proposed rule would directly 

regulate all CHP holders, and businesses 

offering sport fishing guide services that 

NMFS believes should hold CHPs. As of 

July 7, 2014, the date of the most recent 

information available, there were 975 

CHPs issued to 580 permit holders in 

Areas 2C and 3A. Data on business 

affiliations among permit holders are 

not available; therefore, the number of 

CHP holders that are directly regulated 

cannot be accurately determined, but 

would not exceed 580. NMFS notes that 

because there is little incentive for a 

business that already holds one or more 

CHPs to offer sport fishing guide 

services without a guide on board to 

anglers, the number of CHP holders (i.e., 

small entities) affected by this proposed 

regulation is likely to be very small. The 

proposed rule is not expected to 

adversely impact small entities that 

possess CHPs. 

The proposed rule, however, may 

adversely impact those entities that do 

not hold CHPs and who provide sport 

fishing guide services using guides that 

are not on board the vessel with the 

anglers (i.e., guide-assisted sport fishing 

services). A review of logbook data 

suggests that only a few such entities 

can be documented. For Area 2C, a 

minimum of one to three businesses are 

estimated from logbook data to have 

routinely offered guide-assisted sport 

fishing services for halibut that did not 

meet the Federal definition of sport 

fishing guide services between 2009 and 

2013. Logbook data for Area 3A did not 

clearly identify any businesses that 

routinely reported trips in which 

halibut were harvested and no CHP was 

recorded as used for the charter vessel 

fishing trip. It is difficult to estimate 

how many businesses may be providing 

guide-assisted sport fishing services 

because some of these businesses may 

not be registered as charter businesses 

with the State and may not be 

completing logbooks. Under the 

proposed rule, businesses that provide 

guide-assisted sport fishing services, but 

do not hold CHPs, would have to either 

purchase CHPs or change the services 

they provide so that they refrain from 

accompanying or physically assisting 

anglers in the taking of halibut during 

any part of a charter vessel fishing trip. 

Information on availability and price of 

CHPs is presented in Section 1.3.1.2 of 

the RIR/IRFA. NMFS does not have or 

collect data to determine the exact 

number of guide-assisted sport fishing 

services or total annual receipts for 

these entities. NMFS considers all 

guide-assisted sport fishing services as 

small entities, based on SBA criteria, 

because NMFS cannot confirm if any of 

these entities have gross revenues 

greater than $7.5 million on an annual 

basis. 

Community quota entities may apply 

for and receive community CHPs; 

therefore, this proposed rule may 

directly regulate entities representing 

small, remote communities in Areas 2C 

and 3A. There are 20 communities in 

Area 2C and 14 in Area 3A eligible to 

receive community CHPs. Of these 34 

communities, 21 hold community CHPs. 

The proposed action is not expected to 

adversely impact communities that hold 

CHPs. 

Description of Significant Alternatives 

That Minimize Adverse Impacts on 

Small Entities 

An IRFA is required to describe 

significant alternatives to the proposed 

rule that accomplish the stated 

objectives of the Halibut Act and other 

applicable statutes and that would 

minimize any significant economic 

impact of the proposed rule on small 

entities. 

The status quo alternative (Alternative 

1) would continue to require that a 

guide be on board a charter vessel with 

a charter vessel angler to be providing 

sport fishing guide services. 

Maintaining these regulations is 

believed to result in an unknown, but 

relatively small number of anglers 

fishing under unguided sport fishing 

regulations, rather than the more 

restrictive charter fishing regulations. 

The status quo may result in continued 

inaccuracies in accounting of sport 

removals by sector and continued 

confusion by the angling public as to 

how to report their halibut harvest. The 

status quo alternative would not 

accomplish the Council’s objective that 

guide-assisted fishing for halibut be 

managed under charter halibut fishery 

regulations. 

The Council considered one 

alternative with three options to the 

status quo. The first option under 

Alternative 2 would change the 

definition of ‘‘sport fishing guide 

services’’ to remove the requirement 

that a guide be on board the charter 

vessel with the charter vessel angler to 

be providing those services. The second 

option would add a Federal definition 

for ‘‘compensation’’ and contained two 

suboptions. The first suboption would 

add a Federal definition for 

compensation that matches the State 

definition. The second suboption would 

add a Federal definition that substitutes 

the word ‘‘reasonable’’ for ‘‘actual’’ 

expenses from the State definition. 

These suboptions are described in more 

detail in Section 1.3.6.2 of the RIR/

IRFA. The third option under 

Alternative 2 would add a Federal 

definition for ‘‘assistance’’ to describe 

which types of activities fall under sport 

fishing guide services. Alternative 2 

would better align Federal regulations 

regarding sport fishing guide services 

for Pacific halibut with State 

regulations, would incorporate guideassisted sport fishing services under the 

umbrella of charter regulations, and 

would improve the accuracy of 

unguided sport and charter halibut 

harvest estimates. 

The Council recommended, and 

NMFS proposes a preferred alternative 

(i.e., this proposed rule) that would 

better align the State and Federal 

definitions of ‘‘sport fishing guide 

services’’ (Alternative 2, Option 1), and 

add a definition for ‘‘compensation’’ 

(Alternative 2, Option 2) to Federal 

regulations. Instead of separately 

defining ‘‘assistance’’ as described in 

Alternative 2, Option 3, the preferred 

alternative would add language to the 

definition of sport fishing guide services 

to define assistance as ‘‘accompanying 

or physically directing the sport 

fisherman in sport fishing activities.’’ 

The preferred alternative incorporates 

the recommendations developed 

cooperatively by State and NMFS 

enforcement and management staff and 

supported by the discussion of the 

effects of Alternative 2, Options 1, 2, 

and 3 in Section 1.3.6 of the RIR/IRFA. 

The preferred alternative incorporates a 

description of assistance consistent with 

State regulations without specifying a 

list of fishing activities. Broadly 

defining assistance in this way would 

eliminate the need to identify all 

potential activities that could be 

considered as providing assistance to an 

angler and the risk that a relevant 

activity would be inadvertently 

excluded from the list. 

NMFS proposes the Council’s 

preferred alternative, with one 

exception. Instead of proposing the 

suboption to Alternative 2, Option 2 

that would add a Federal definition for 

‘‘compensation’’ that differs from the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71737 

State’s definition by referring to 

‘‘reasonable’’ expenses rather than 

‘‘actual’’ expenses, NMFS proposes the 

suboption that would add a Federal 

definition that matches the State’s 

definition. The preferred alternative for 

this option initially incorporated the 

recommendations developed 

cooperatively by State and NMFS 

enforcement and management staff, but 

upon further discussion, these entities 

determined that matching the State and 

Federal definitions for compensation 

would be more enforceable. 

Additionally, adopting matching 

definitions would further the Council’s 

objectives of aligning Federal and State 

of Alaska regulations. 

The entities directly regulated under 

this action are assumed to be small 

under the SBA definition. Because the 

proposed rule serves to benefit the small 

entities that are directly regulated under 

the proposed rule by clarifying Federal 

fishery regulations to better align with 

Council intent and State fishery 

regulations, no significant negative 

economic impacts are expected on 

directly regulated entities who are CHP 

holders; however, charter vessel guides 

who provide sport fishing guide services 

and are not on board the same charter 

vessel as the charter vessel angler would 

be required to change their fishing 

practices under the proposed rule. 

These directly regulated entities are also 

assumed to be small entities. Thus, 

NMFS is not aware of any alternatives, 

in addition to the alternatives 

considered, that would more effectively 

meet these Regulatory Flexibility Act 

criteria at a lower economic cost to 

directly regulated small entities. 

Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping 

Requirements, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

This action does not impose any 

additional reporting requirements on 

the participants of the charter halibut 

fishery. Although the public reporting 

burden will not change, additional 

participants would be required to 

comply with existing requirements. The 

new participants would be subject to the 

same recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements as existing participants. 

Duplicate, Overlapping, or Conflicting 

Federal Rules 

NMFS has not identified other 

Federal rules that may duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with the proposed 

rule. 

Collection-of-Information Requirements 

This proposed rule contains 

collection-of-information requirements 

subject to review and approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA). These requirements have 

been submitted to OMB for approval. 

The collections are listed below by OMB 

control number. 

OMB Control No. 0648–0575 

The ADF&G Saltwater Sport Fishing 

Charter Trip Logbook, GAF Electronic 

Landing Report, and GAF Permit Log 

are mentioned in this proposed rule. 

This rule may require a few more 

businesses that currently do not 

complete reports and logbooks to do so; 

however, the public reporting burden 

for these items in this collection-ofinformation are not directly affected by 

this proposed rule. 

OMB Control No. 0648–0592 

Applications for CHPs and 

applications for GAF transfers are 

mentioned in this proposed rule. This 

rule may result in a few more businesses 

that currently do not have CHPs and 

GAF transfers to purchase and apply for 

them, respectively; however, the public 

reporting burden for these applications 

in this collection-of-information are not 

directly affected by this proposed rule. 

Public reporting burden includes the 

time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. 

Public comment is sought regarding 

whether these proposed collections of 

information are necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

the accuracy of the burden estimate; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information, 

including through the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to NMFS at the 

above address, and by email to OIRA_

Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 

202–395–5806. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

All currently approved NOAA 

collections of information may be 

viewed at: http://www.cio.noaa.gov/

services_programs/prasubs.html. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Antarctica, Canada, Exports, 

Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Imports, 

Indians, Labeling, Marine resources, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Russian Federation, 

Transportation, Treaties, Wildlife. 

Dated: November 26, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 300 as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

Subpart E—Pacific Halibut Fisheries 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300, 

subpart E, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773–773k. 

■ 2. In § 300.61: 

■ a. Revise the definitions of ‘‘Charter 

vessel angler’’, ‘‘Charter vessel fishing 

trip’’, ‘‘Charter vessel guide’’, ‘‘Charter 

vessel operator’’, and ‘‘Sport fishing 

guide services’’; and 

■ b. Add definitions for ‘‘Charter 

vessel’’ and ‘‘Compensation’’ in 

alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 300.61 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Charter vessel, for purposes of 

§§ 300.65, 300.66, and 300.67, means a 

vessel used while providing or receiving 

sport fishing guide services for halibut. 

Charter vessel angler, for purposes of 

§§ 300.65, 300.66, and 300.67, means a 

person, paying or non-paying, receiving 

sport fishing guide services for halibut. 

Charter vessel fishing trip, for 

purposes of §§ 300.65, 300.66, and 

300.67, means the time period between 

the first deployment of fishing gear into 

the water from a charter vessel by a 

charter vessel angler and the offloading 

of one or more charter vessel anglers or 

any halibut from that vessel. 

Charter vessel guide, for purposes of 

§§ 300.65, 300.66 and 300.67, means a 

person who holds an annual sport 

fishing guide license or registration 

issued by the Alaska Department of Fish 

and Game, or a person who provides 

sport fishing guide services. 

Charter vessel operator, for purposes 

of § 300.65, means the person in control 

of the charter vessel during a charter 

vessel fishing trip. 

* * * * * 


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Compensation, for purposes of sport 

fishing for Pacific halibut in 

Commission regulatory areas 2C and 3A, 

means direct or indirect payment, 

remuneration, or other benefits received 

in return for services, regardless of the 

source; for this definition, ‘‘benefits’’ 

includes wages or other employment 

benefits given directly or indirectly to 

an individual or organization, and any 

dues, payments, fees, or other 

remuneration given directly or 

indirectly to a fishing club, business, 

organization, or individual who 

provides sport fishing guide services; 

and does not include reimbursement for 

the actual daily expenses for fuel, food, 

or bait. 

* * * * * 

Sport fishing guide services, for 

purposes of §§ 300.65(d) and 300.67, 

means assistance, for compensation or 

with the intent to receive compensation, 

to a person who is sport fishing, to take 

or attempt to take halibut by 

accompanying or physically directing 

the sport fisherman in sport fishing 

activities during any part of a charter 

vessel fishing trip. Sport fishing guide 

services do not include services 

provided by a crew member, as defined 

at § 300.61. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 300.65, 

■ a. Revise paragraphs (c)(5)(iii)(A)(5); 

(c)(5)(iv)(A) and (G); (d)(3); (d)(4)(i); 

(d)(4)(ii)(B); (d)(4)(ii)(B)(1) through (4); 

and (d)(4)(iii)(A)(1); 

■ b. Add paragraph (d)(4)(iii)(A)(5); 

■ c. Revise paragraph (d)(4)(iii)(D)(4); 

and 

■ d. Add paragraph (d)(5) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.65 Catch sharing plan and domestic 

management measures in waters in and off 

Alaska. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(5) * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(5) If a charter vessel angler harvests 

GAF from a charter vessel with a charter 

vessel guide on board, a legible copy of 

a GAF permit and the assigned charter 

halibut permit, community charter 

halibut permit, or military charter 

halibut permit appropriate for the 

Commission regulatory area (2C or 3A) 

must be carried by the charter vessel 

operator on board the charter vessel 

used to harvest GAF at all times that 

such fish are retained on board and 

must be presented for inspection on 

request of any authorized officer. If a 

charter vessel angler harvests GAF from 

a charter vessel without a charter vessel 

guide on board, the charter vessel guide 

must retain the GAF permit and the 

assigned charter halibut permit, 

community charter halibut permit, or 

military charter halibut permit must be 

on the charter vessel with the charter 

vessel angler. 

* * * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(A) If a charter vessel angler harvests 

GAF from a charter vessel with a charter 

vessel guide on board, the charter vessel 

guide must have on board a valid GAF 

permit and the valid charter halibut 

permit, community charter halibut 

permit, or military charter halibut 

permit assigned to the GAF permit for 

the area of harvest. If a charter vessel 

angler harvests GAF from a charter 

vessel without a charter vessel guide on 

board, the valid GAF permit must be on 

board the same vessel as the charter 

vessel guide, and the original charter 

halibut permit, community charter 

halibut permit, or military charter 

halibut permit assigned to the GAF 

permit for the area of harvest must be 

on the charter vessel with the charter 

vessel angler. 

* * * * * 

(G) The charter vessel guide must be 

physically present when the GAF 

halibut is harvested and must 

immediately remove the tips of the 

upper and lower lobes of the caudal 

(tail) fin to mark all halibut caught and 

retained as GAF. If the GAF halibut is 

filleted, the entire carcass, with head 

and tail connected as a single piece, 

must be retained on board the charter 

vessel on which the halibut was caught 

until all fillets are offloaded. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(3) Charter vessel guide and crew 

restriction in Commission regulatory 

areas 2C and 3A. A charter vessel guide, 

charter vessel operator, or crew member 

may not catch and retain halibut during 

a charter vessel fishing trip in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A, 

except that charter vessel operators who 

are charter vessel anglers may catch and 

retain halibut during a charter vessel 

fishing trip if the charter vessel guide is 

on a separate charter vessel. 

(4) * * * 

(i) General requirements. Each charter 

vessel angler and charter vessel guide in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A 

must comply with the following 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements, except as specified in 

paragraph (d)(4)(iii)(C) of this section, 

by the end of the calendar day or by the 

end of the charter vessel fishing trip, 

whichever comes first, unless otherwise 

specified: 

(ii) * * * 

(B) Charter vessel guide requirements. 

If halibut were caught and retained in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A, 

the charter vessel guide must record the 

following information (see paragraphs 

(d)(4)(ii)(B)(1) through (10) of this 

section) in the Alaska Department of 

Fish and Game Saltwater Charter 

Logbook. 

(1) Guide license number. The Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game sport 

fishing guide license or registration 

number held by the charter vessel guide 

who certified the logbook data sheet. 

(2) Date. Month and day for each 

charter vessel fishing trip taken. A 

separate logbook data sheet is required 

for each charter vessel fishing trip if two 

or more trips are taken on the same day. 

A separate logbook data sheet is 

required for each calendar day that 

halibut are caught and retained during 

a multi-day trip. A separate logbook 

sheet is required if more than one 

charter halibut permit is used on a trip. 

(3) Charter halibut permit (CHP) 

number. The NMFS CHP number(s) 

authorizing charter vessel anglers on 

that charter vessel fishing trip to catch 

and retain halibut. 

(4) Guided Angler Fish (GAF) permit 

number. The NMFS GAF permit 

number(s) authorizing charter vessel 

anglers on that charter vessel fishing 

trip to harvest GAF. 

* * * * * 

(iii) * * * 

(A) * * * 

(1) Upon retention of a GAF halibut, 

the charter vessel guide must 

immediately record on the GAF permit 

log (on the back of the GAF permit) the 

date that the fish was caught and 

retained and the total length of that fish 

as described in paragraphs 

(d)(4)(iii)(D)(5) and (d)(4)(iii)(D)(7) of 

this section. If GAF halibut are retained 

on a charter vessel without a charter 

vessel guide on board, the charter vessel 

guide must also comply with the 

reporting requirements in paragraph 

(d)(4)(iii)(A)(5) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(5) If a GAF is retained on a charter 

vessel without a charter vessel guide on 

board, the charter vessel guide must 

immediately record in the ADF&G 

Saltwater Charter Logbook the GAF 

permit number under which GAF were 

caught and retained, and the number of 

GAF kept under the corresponding 

charter vessel angler’s name. 

* * * * * 

(D) * * * 

(4) Alaska Department of Fish and 

Game sport fishing guide license or 

registration number held by the charter 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71739 

vessel guide who certified the logbook 

data sheet. 

* * * * * 

(5) Carcass retention requirement for 

size-restricted halibut. If a sizerestricted halibut is filleted on board the 

charter vessel, the entire carcass, with 

head and tail connected as a single 

piece, must be retained on board the 

charter vessel on which it was caught 

until all fillets are offloaded. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 300.66: 

■ a. Revise paragraph (h) introductory 

text, and paragraphs (s) and (t); 

■ b. Remove paragraph (u); 

■ c. Redesignate paragraphs (v) and (w) 

as (u) and (v), respectively; and 

■ d. Revise newly redesignated 

paragraphs (u) and (v) to read as 

follows: 

§ 300.66 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(h) Conduct subsistence fishing for 

halibut while commercial fishing or 

sport fishing for halibut, as defined in 

§ 300.61, from the same vessel on the 

same calendar day, or possess on board 

a vessel halibut harvested while 

subsistence fishing with halibut 

harvested while commercial fishing or 

sport fishing, except that persons 

authorized to conduct subsistence 

fishing under § 300.65(g), and who land 

their total annual harvest of halibut: 

* * * * * 

(s) Be a charter vessel guide with 

charter vessel anglers on board, or a 

charter vessel operator if the charter 

vessel guide is not on board, in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A 

without an original valid charter halibut 

permit for the regulatory area in which 

the charter vessel is operating during a 

charter vessel fishing trip. 

(t) Be a charter vessel guide in 

Commission regulatory area 2C or 3A 

with more charter vessel anglers 

catching and retaining halibut during a 

charter vessel fishing trip than the total 

angler endorsement number specified 

on the charter halibut permit(s) or 

community charter halibut permit(s) in 

use for that trip. 

(u) Be a charter vessel guide of a 

charter vessel on which one or more 

charter vessel anglers are catching and 

retaining halibut in both Commission 

regulatory areas 2C and 3A during one 

charter vessel fishing trip. 

(v) Be a charter vessel guide or a 

charter vessel operator during a charter 

vessel fishing trip in Commission 

regulatory area 2C or 3A with one or 

more charter vessel anglers that are 

catching and retaining halibut without 

having on board the vessel with the 

charter vessel anglers a State of Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game Saltwater 

Charter Logbook in which the charter 

vessel guide has specified the following: 

(1) The person named on the charter 

halibut permit or permits being used 

during that charter vessel fishing trip; 

(2) The charter halibut permit or 

permits number(s) being used during 

that charter vessel fishing trip; and 

(3) The name and State-issued vessel 

registration (AK number) or U.S. Coast 

Guard documentation number of the 

charter vessel. 

■ 5. In § 300.67, revise paragraphs (a)(1) 

and (a)(3) to read as follows: 

§ 300.67 Charter halibut limited access 

program. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) In addition to other applicable 

permit, licensing, or registration 

requirements, any charter vessel guide 

of a charter vessel during a charter 

vessel fishing trip with one or more 

charter vessel anglers catching and 

retaining Pacific halibut on board must 

have on board the vessel an original 

valid charter halibut permit or permits 

endorsed for the regulatory area in 

which the charter vessel is operating 

and endorsed for at least the number of 

charter vessel anglers who are catching 

and retaining Pacific halibut. Each 

charter halibut permit holder must 

ensure that the charter vessel operator 

and charter vessel guide of the charter 

vessel comply with all requirements of 

§§ 300.65, 300.66, and 300.67. 

* * * * * 

(3) Charter vessel angler endorsement. 

A charter halibut permit is valid for up 

to the maximum number of charter 

vessel anglers on a single charter vessel 

for which the charter halibut permit is 

endorsed. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2014–28443 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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