Source: https://www.global-regulation.com/law/united-states/55030/international-fisheries%253b-western-and-central-pacific-fisheries-for-highly-migratory-species%253b-transshipping%252c-bunkering%252c-reporting%252c-and-purse-.html
Timestamp: 2020-07-11 01:31:02
Document Index: 762654538

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 300', '§ 902', '§ 300', '§ 665', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 660', '§ 660', '§ 665', '§ 665', '§ 665', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300', '§ 300']

International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species; Transshipping, Bunkering, Reporting, and Purse Seine Discard Requirements (United States)
NMFS issues regulations under the authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement requirements for U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that offload or receive transshipments of highly migratory species (HMS), U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that provide bunkering or other support services to fishing vessels, and U.S. fishing vessels used for commercial fishing that receive bunkering or engage in other support services, in the area of application of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention). Some of the requirements also apply to transshipments of fish caught in the area of application of the Convention (Convention Area) and transshipped elsewhere. NMFS also issues requirements regarding notification of entry into and exit from the “Eastern High Seas Special Management Area” (Eastern SMA) and requirements relating to discards from purse seine fishing vessels. This action is necessary for the United States to implement decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Commission or WCPFC) and to satisfy its obligations under the Convention, to which it is a Contracting Party.
This rule is effective January 2, 2013.
Copies of supporting documents that were prepared for this final rule, including the regulatory impact review (RIR) and the Environmental Assessment (EA), as well as the proposed rule, are available via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal, at http://www.regulations.gov. Those documents, and the small entity compliance guide(s) prepared for this final rule, are also available from NMFS at the following address: Michael D. Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814-4700. The initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) prepared under the authority of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) are included in the proposed rule and this final rule, respectively.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this final rule may be submitted to Michael D. Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see address above) and by email to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395-7285.
On February 15, 2012, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 8759) to revise regulations at 50 CFR part 300, subpart O, in order to implement certain decisions of the WCPFC. The proposed rule was open to public comment through April 16, 2012.
This final rule is issued under the authority of the WCPFC Implementation Act (16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq. ), which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department in which the United States Coast Guard is operating (currently the Department of Homeland Security), to promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the obligations of the United States under the Convention, including the decisions of the WCPFC. The authority to promulgate regulations has been delegated to NMFS.
The original, signed copy of the report for high seas or emergency transshipments must be submitted to the address specified on the form no later than 15 calendar days after the vessel first enters into port, or 15 calendar days after the transshipment for emergency transshipments in port.
Transshipments at sea in the Convention Area require observer coverage for vessels, with the specific requirements dependent upon the type of vessel and the type of fish to be transshipped. Observer coverage is not required for emergency transshipments at sea or for transshipments that take place entirely within the territorial seas or archipelagic waters of any nation, as defined by the domestic laws and regulations of that nation and recognized by the United States, and only includes fish caught in such waters. The observers are required to be WCPFC Observers. Observers deployed by NMFS are currently considered WCPFC Observers, as the program has completed the required authorization process to become part of the WCPFC Regional Observer Programme (ROP). For most transshipments, an observer is required on board the receiving vessel. However, for transshipments to a receiving vessel less than or equal to 33 meters in registered length, and not involving purse seine-caught fish or frozen longline-caught fish, the observer may be deployed on either the offloading vessel or receiving vessel. All involved vessel owners and operators are required to ensure that a WCPFC Observer is on board one of the two vessels to monitor the transshipment for the duration of the transshipment, even when the requirement to carry an observer falls on the other vessel involved in the transshipment (e.g., in those cases when the observer requirement applies only to the receiving vessel). The owner or operator of a vessel requiring an observer for transshipments at sea must ensure that notice is provided to the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Administrator at least 72 hours (excluding weekends and Federal holidays) before the vessel leaves port on the fishing trip indicating the need for an observer. The notice will need to include the official number of the vessel, the name of the vessel, the intended date, time and location of departure, the name of the vessel operator, and a telephone number at which the vessel owner, vessel operator, or a designated agent may be contacted during the business day (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time). The notice must be provided to the office or telephone number designated by the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Administrator. If applicable, notice may be provided in conjunction with the notice required under 50 CFR 665.803(a), which requires the permit holder, or designated agent, for any vessel registered for use under a Hawaii longline limited access permit, or for any vessel greater than 40 feet length overall that is registered for use under an American Samoa longline limited access permit, to notify NMFS at least 72 hours (excluding weekends and Federal holidays) before the vessel leaves port on a fishing trip, any part of which occurs in the U.S. EEZ around the Hawaiian Archipelago or American Samoa.
The owner and operator of any U.S. fishing vessel used for commercial fishing for HMS must ensure that any vessel with which they engage in transshipment (to or from) in the Convention Area, or engage in bunkering or other support activities (to or from) in the Convention Area, falls into one of the three following categories. The vessel must be: (1) Flagged by a WCPFC Member or Cooperating Non-Member; (2) on the WCPFC Interim Register of Non-Member Carrier and Bunker Vessels (Interim Register), which is available at http://www.wcpfc.int/; or (3) on the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels, which is available at http://www.wcpfc.int/. NMFS notes that the Interim Register is tentatively scheduled to expire in 2013, at which point no vessels would fall in this category. Only fishing vessels that are authorized to be used for fishing in the U.S. EEZ may transship and/or bunker in the U.S. EEZ. These requirements for transshipments do not apply to emergency transshipments or transshipments that take place entirely within the territorial seas or archipelagic waters of any nation, as defined by the domestic laws and regulations of that nation and recognized by the United States, and only include fish caught within such waters.
ER03DE12.000
The owner or operator of any U.S. purse seine fishing vessel must ensure the submission of a report containing specific information to the Commission and a copy of the report to NMFS no later than 48 hours after any discard at sea of bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ), yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), or skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ). The reports must be submitted in the format specified by the NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Administrator via fax or email. A specific form, the U.S. Purse Seine Discard Form (OMB Control Number 0648-0649), has been developed for this requirement. A hard copy of the report must be submitted to the observer on board the vessel.
Should a U.S. troll or pole-and-line vessel desire to transship to a foreign-flagged carrier vessel that is not already active in the Convention Area, and if the owner of the carrier vessel chooses to make the carrier vessel available for such transshipments by satisfying the various applicable WCPFC requirements, NMFS agrees that some of the costs of doing so could be passed on to fishing businesses that interact with the carrier vessel, such as the U.S. troll or pole-and-line fishing business. Such costs include the $2,500 annual fee for registering a vessel on the Interim Register, the costs associated with participating in the WCPFC vessel monitoring system, and the costs associated with carrying WCPFC ROP observers, possibly including travel costs for the observer. NMFS notes that the cost of transporting a WCPFC Observer would depend on the circumstances, and could be minimal if a WCPFC Observer is available at the carrier vessel's port of departure and does not need further transportation from the port of return. NMFS also notes that the Interim Register is tentatively scheduled to expire in 2013. If some or all these costs are passed on by the owner/operator of the carrier vessel to fishing businesses that make use of the carrier vessel, NMFS expects that carrier vessels would be likely to work with multiple offloading vessels and would distribute the costs accordingly. The costs borne by any single U.S. troll or pole-and-line fishing business would be accordingly smaller than the total costs. NMFS has revised the RIR to acknowledge and reflect these possible costs incurred by U.S. fishing businesses. This comment is also relevant in the context of the FRFA, as discussed in the Classification section of this preamble.
In § 902.1(b) of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which includes a table listing control numbers issues by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for collections of information required under NOAA regulations, new entries have been added for the OMB control numbers approved for the information collections required under §§ 300.215, 300.218, and 300.225 of title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Under NOAA Administrative Order 205-11, dated December 17, 1990, the under Secretary of Oceans and Atmosphere has delegated authority to sign material for publication in the Federal Register to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA.
With respect to element (2), prior notice for high seas transshipments and emergency transshipments, one alternative would be to give affected entities the option of either providing the notice of high seas transshipment to NMFS at least one business day plus 36 hours in advance of the transshipment (i.e., 60 hours before the transshipment), or, as under this final rule, providing the notice directly to the WCPFC at least 36 hours in advance of the transshipment, with a copy to NMFS. This flexibility could relieve the burden for some entities and/or situations; specifically, in cases where it is less burdensome to send the notification to NMFS than to the WCPFC. Under this alternative, if a vessel operator exercises the first option, NMFS would have to forward the notification to the WCPFC within one business day, so this alternative would bring some additional administrative costs to NMFS. This alternative would also have the disadvantage of being more complex and possibly more confusing to affected entities than the final rule (under which there would be a single timeframe and single recipient). For these reasons, and because NMFS believes that the benefits of the flexibility afforded to affected entities by this alternative would be minor, this alternative was rejected. CMM 2009-06 specifies submission of the notices, as well as specific timeframes for submission of the notices. Thus, the alternatives considered by NMFS were restricted by the parameters of the CMM.
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, and shall designate such publications as “small entity compliance guides.” The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of this rulemaking process, one or more small entity compliance guides have been prepared. The guide(s) will be sent to permit and license holders in the affected fisheries. The guide(s) and this final rule will also be available at http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/ and by request from NMFS PIRO (see ADDRESSES ).
This final rule contains new collection-of-information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and which have been approved by OMB under control number 0648-0649. The public reporting burdens for each of the requirements are estimated as follows: transshipment reporting: 60 minutes per response, on average; prior notice for high seas transshipments and emergency transshipments: 15 minutes per response, on average; pre-trip notification for the purpose of deploying observers: 1 minute per response, on average; notice of entry or exit for Eastern SMA: 15 minutes per response, on average; purse seine discard report: 30 minutes per response, on average. These estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Send comments on these or any other aspects of the proposed collection of information to Michael D. Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see ADDRESSES ), and by email to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to 202-395-7285.
This final rule also contains a collection-of-information requirement subject to the PRA that was previously approved by OMB under control number 0648-0218, “South Pacific Tuna Act” (the net sharing reporting requirement). The public reporting burden for the Catch Report Form under that collection-of-information requirement is estimated to average one hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. NMFS estimated that the net sharing reporting requirement would not increase the public reporting burden for the Catch Report Form. Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this data collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Michael D. Tosatto, Regional Administrator, NMFS PIRO (see ADDRESSES ) and by email to OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax to 202-395-7285.
16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.
WCPFC Interim Register of Non-Member Carrier and Bunker Vessels means, for the purposes of this subpart, the WCPFC Interim Register of non-Member Carrier and Bunker Vessels as established in the decisions of the WCPFC and maintained on the WCPFC's Web site at http://www.wcpfc.int/ .
(b) Notifications. The owner or operator of a vessel required to carry a WCPFC observer under paragraph (d) of this section during a given fishing trip must ensure the provision of notice to the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator at least 72 hours (exclusive of weekends and Federal holidays) before the vessel leaves port on the fishing trip, indicating the need for an observer. The notice must be provided to the office or telephone number designated by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator and must include the official number of the vessel, the name of the vessel, the intended departure date, time, and location, the name of the operator of the vessel, and a telephone number at which the owner, operator, or a designated agent may be contacted during the business day (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time). If applicable, notice may be provided in conjunction with the notice required under § 665.803(a) of this title.
(d) Transshipment observer coverage —(1) Receiving vessels. Any fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing that receives in the Convention Area a transshipment of HMS at sea must have a WCPFC observer on board during such transshipment unless at least one of the following sets of conditions applies:
(vi) The transshipment is an emergency, as specified under § 300.216(b)(4).
§ 300.216
(b) Restrictions on transshipping and bunkering —(1) Restrictions on transshipments involving purse seine fishing vessels. (i) Fish may not be transshipped from a fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear at sea in the Convention Area, and a fishing vessel of the United States may not be used to receive a transshipment of fish from a fishing vessel equipped with purse seine gear at sea in the Convention Area.
(i) The owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing that offloads or receives a transshipment of HMS at sea in the Convention Area must ensure that a WCPFC observer is on board at least one of the vessels involved in the transshipment for the duration of the transshipment.
(3) General restrictions on transshipping and bunkering —(i) Transshipment. Only fishing vessels that are authorized to be used for fishing in the EEZ may engage in transshipment in the EEZ. Any fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing shall not be used to offload or receive a transshipment of HMS in the Convention Area unless one or more of the following is satisfied:
(ii) Bunkering, supplying and provisioning. Only fishing vessels that are authorized to be used for fishing in the EEZ may engage in bunkering in the EEZ. A fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing for HMS shall not be used to provide bunkering, to receive bunkering, or to exchange supplies or provisions with another vessel in the Convention Area unless one or more of the following is satisfied:
5. In § 300.218, paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) are added to read as follows:
(1) For vessels licensed under § 300.32, the original transshipment report is submitted to the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator by the due date specified at § 300.34(c)(2) for submitting the transshipment logsheet form to the Administrator as defined at § 300.31.
(2) For vessels registered for use under § 660.707 of this title, the original transshipment report is submitted to the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator by the due date specified for the logbook form at § 660.708 of this title.
(3) For vessels subject to the requirements of § 665.14(c) and § 665.801(e) of this title, and not subject to the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, the original transshipment report is submitted to the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator by the due date specified at § 665.14(c) of this title for submitting transshipment logbooks to the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator for landings of western Pacific pelagic management unit species.
(4) For all transshipments on the high seas and emergency transshipments that meet the conditions described in § 300.216(b)(4), including transshipments involving the categories of vessels specified in paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), and (b)(3) of this section, the report is submitted by fax or email to the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator no later than 10 calendar days after completion of the transshipment. The report may be submitted with or without signatures so long as the original transshipment report with signatures is submitted to the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator no later than 15 calendar days after the vessel first enters into port or 15 calendar days after completion of the transshipment for emergency transshipments in port.
(d) Transshipment notices —(1) High seas transshipments. The owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing that offloads or receives a transshipment of HMS on the high seas in the Convention Area, or a transshipment of HMS caught in the Convention Area anywhere on the high seas, and not subject to the requirements of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, must ensure that a notice is submitted to the Commission by fax or email at least 36 hours prior to the start of such transshipment at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator, and that a copy of that notice is submitted to NMFS at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator at least 36 hours prior to the start of the transshipment. The notice must be reported in the format provided by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator and must contain the following information:
(2) Emergency transshipments. The owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States used for commercial fishing for HMS that offloads or receives a transshipment of HMS in the Convention Area, or a transshipment of HMS caught in the Convention Area anywhere, that is allowed under § 300.216(b)(4) but would otherwise be prohibited under the regulations in this subpart, must ensure that a notice is submitted by fax or email to the Commission at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator, and a copy is submitted to NMFS at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator within twelve hours of the completion of the transshipment. The notice must be reported in the format provided by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator and must contain the following information:
(e) Purse seine discard reports. The owner and operator of any fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear must ensure that a report of any at-sea discards of any bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ), yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), or skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ) caught in the Convention Area is completed, using a form that is available from the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator, and recording all the information specified on the form. The report must be submitted within 48 hours after any discard to the Commission by fax or email at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator. A copy of the report must be submitted to NMFS at the address specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator by fax or email within 48 hours after any such discard. A hard copy of the report must be provided to the observer on board the vessel, if any.
(f) Net sharing reports —(1) Transferring vessels. The owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear that transfers fish to another fishing vessel equipped with purse seine gear under § 300.216(c) shall ensure that the amount, by species, of fish transferred, as well as the net sharing activity, is recorded on the catch report forms maintained pursuant to § 300.34(c)(1), in the format specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator.
(2) Accepting vessels. The owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear that accepts fish from another purse seine fishing vessel under § 300.216(c) shall ensure that the net sharing activity is recorded on the catch report forms maintained pursuant to § 300.34(c)(1), in the format specified by the Pacific Islands Regional Administrator.
6. In § 300.222, paragraph (y) is revised and paragraphs (ee), (ff), (gg), (hh), (ii), (jj), (kk), (ll), (mm) (nn), (oo), (pp), and (qq) are added to read as follows:
(y) Discard fish at sea in the Convention Area in contravention of § 300.223(d).
(ee) Fail to carry on board a WCPFC observer during a transshipment at sea, as required in § 300.215(d).
(ff) Offload, receive, or load fish caught in the Convention Area from a purse seine vessel at sea in contravention of § 300.216.
(gg) Fail to ensure that a WCPFC observer is on board at least one of the vessels involved in the transshipment for the duration of the transshipment in contravention of § 300.216(b)(2)(i), except as specified at § 300.216(b)(4).
(hh) Receive transshipments from more than one fishing vessel at a time in contravention of § 300.216(b)(2)(ii), except as specified at § 300.216(b)(4).
(ii) Transship to or from another vessel, in contravention of § 300.216(b)(3)(i), except as specified at § 300.216(b)(4).
(jj) Provide bunkering, receive bunkering, or exchange supplies or provisions with another vessel, in contravention of § 300.216(b)(3)(ii).
(kk) Engage in net sharing except as specified under § 300.216(c).
(ll) Fail to submit, or ensure submission of, a transshipment report as required in § 300.218(b), except as specified under § 300.218(c).
(mm) Fail to submit, or ensure submission of, a transshipment notice as required in § 300.218(d).
(nn) Transship more than 24 nautical miles from the location indicated in the transshipment notice, in contravention of § 300.218(d)(3).
(oo) Fail to submit, or ensure submission of, a discard report as required in § 300.218(e).
(pp) Fail to submit, or ensure submission of, a net sharing report as required in § 300.218(f).
(qq) Fail to submit, or ensure submission of, an entry or exit notice for the Eastern High Seas Special Management Area as required in § 300.225.
7. In § 300.223, paragraph (d)(3) introductory text is revised to read as follows:
§ 300.223.
(3) An owner and operator of a fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear must ensure the retention on board at all times while at sea within the Convention Area any bigeye tuna ( Thunnus obesus ), yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), or skipjack tuna ( Katsuwonus pelamis ), except in the following circumstances and with the following conditions:
8. Section 300.225 is added to subpart O to read as follows:
§ 300.225
[FR Doc. 2012-29028 Filed 11-29-12; 4:15 pm]
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