Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/12/03/2012-29028/international-fisheries-western-and-central-pacific-fisheries-for-highly-migratory-species
Timestamp: 2017-08-23 18:06:02
Document Index: 645332514

Matched Legal Cases: ['§\u2009300', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009902', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009902', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009665', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009300', '§\u2009300']

A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/03/2012
77 FR 71501
71501-71513 (13 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-29028 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-29028
In addition to the new requirements, the final rule amends the language that is in 50 CFR 300.223(d) to remove the termination date (December 31, 2012) applicable to the catch retention provision and includes some editorial changes to that language (i.e., from stating that “a fishing vessel of the United States equipped with purse seine gear may not discard at sea within the Convention Area any bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, or skipjack tuna” to stating that “an owner or 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, yellowfin tuna, or skipjack tuna”). The final rule also corrects 50 CFR 300.222(y), which was inconsistent with 50 CFR 300.223(d)(3). Section 300.223(d)(3) states that the catch retention requirements are applicable to the entire Convention Area. However, § 300.222(y), which is a prohibitions section, stated that the prohibition on discarding fish at sea in contravention of § 300.223(d) is limited to the high seas and areas within the jurisdiction of the United States, including the U.S. EEZ and territorial sea between 20° N. latitude and 20° S. latitude. This final rule amends § 300.222(y) to amend the description of the requirement to state that the catch retention requirements are applicable to the entire Convention Area.
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.
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).
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.
2. In § 902.1, paragraph (b), the table is amended by adding in the left column under 50 CFR, in numerical order, entries for §§ 300.215, 300.218, and 300.225, and, in the right column, in corresponding positions, the control number “-0649” as follows:
300.215 -0649
300.218 -0649
300.225 -0649
2. In § 300.211, definitions of “Cooperating Non-Member,” “Eastern High Seas Special Management Area,” “Net sharing,” “WCPFC Interim Register of non-Member Carrier and Bunker Vessels,” and “WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels” are added, in alphabetical order, and the definition of “Transshipment” is revised, to read as follows:
(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.
(iii) The transshipment is an emergency, as specified under § 300.216(b)(4).
(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.
(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:
5. In § 300.218, paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) are added to read as follows:
(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:
§ 300.223.