[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6039-6040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2496]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 663
[Docket No. 950126029-5029-01; I.D. 011095A]
RIN 0648-AH80
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Emergency Rule to Extend the
Application Period To Renew Permits for 1995
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Emergency rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this emergency rule to amend the implementing
regulations for the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) to provide an additional 4 months during which limited entry
permit owners may apply for permit renewals for 1995. This action is
necessary to rectify an administrative requirement that is overly
restrictive for the first year of permit renewals in the limited entry
fishery. The intended effect of this rule is to allow continued
participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by permit owners
who failed to apply for a permit renewal by November 30, 1994.
DATES: Effective January 27, 1995 through May 2, 1995. Comments will be
accepted through March 3, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest
Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, BIN-
C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director
Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Documentation supporting
this emergency action is available at the Northwest Regional Office,
NMFS, at the address above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at (206) 526-6140;
or Rodney McInnis at (310) 980-4030. For further information on
application procedures, phone (206) 526-4353.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS issues this emergency rule under the
authority of section 305(c)(1) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson Act). An emergency rule that changes a fishery
management plan is treated as an amendment to such plan for the period
during which such regulation is in effect.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared, and NMFS
approved and implemented, an amendment (Amendment 6) to the FMP, that
established a limited entry program for the Pacific Coast groundfish
fishery off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Final
regulations implementing the limited entry program were published on
November 16, 1992 (57 FR 54001) and the program went into effect on
January 1, 1994.
The final regulations, at 50 CFR 663.41(c), require permits to be
renewed each year between October 1 and November 30, in order to remain
in force the following year. In addition, 50 CFR 663.41(c)(3) specifies
that a limited entry permit that is allowed to expire will not be
renewed unless the Northwest Region, NMFS, Fisheries Management
Division determines that failure to renew was proximately caused by the
illness, injury, or death of the permit holder.
Amendment 6, section 4.10, provided the following rationale as to
why the administrative procedures should be so rigid:
As initially worded, the draft license limitation program of
Amendment 6 provided no means by which the number of permits with
'A' endorsements might be reduced through attrition. A vessel could
leave the fishery without transferring the permit to another vessel,
and a number of years later the permit could be resurrected
[[Page 6040]] and effort reintroduced. The Council requested an
option be developed such that, if a permit holder failed to maintain
continuous interest in participating in the fishery, as evidenced by
annual permit renewal, the permit would expire. In this way, when
attrition occurs, i.e., someone discontinues interest in the fishery
without transferring the access rights to someone else, that
attrition may be 'locked in' and the permit may not be brought back
'on-line' at a later date.
Section 14.3.5 of Amendment 6, specified very limited exceptions to
the timely permit renewal requirement: ``With respect to permit
renewal, only illness, injury or death of one of the vessel owners will
be considered good cause.''
NMFS has determined that this administrative requirement is overly
restrictive for the program's first annual renewal period. During such
period, some permit owners may not have been aware of the need to renew
by November 30, 1994, or the penalty for failing to do so. Permanent
loss of the permit is too severe a consequence for a late renewal
application the first year.
NMFS has determined that it is necessary to provide immediate
relief from the overly restrictive administrative requirements at 50
CFR 663.41(c)(3) and to allow permit owners to continue to fish in
1995. All permit owners, even those who failed to submit their first
annual renewal by November 30, 1994, demonstrated substantial
participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by meeting
initial permit issuance qualifications. Ensuring an opportunity for
each permit holder's continued participation is consistent with the
goals and objectives of the FMP. In the absence of an amendment to the
regulations, permit owners who applied for permit renewal late or whose
permits were not renewed by November 30, could lose their permits
forever and face a potential loss of livelihood. Allowing the extra
time for renewal does not frustrate the program's ultimate goal of
``locking in'' attrition, because permit owners still need to renew
within a reasonable period of time.
Under this emergency rule, a permit owner who did not apply for
limited entry permit renewal by November 30, 1994, has until March 31,
1995, to submit a request for annual renewal. If NMFS approves the
renewal, the permit shall be reissued for the remainder of 1995.
Classification
NMFS has determined that this rule is necessary to respond to an
emergency situation and is consistent with the Magnuson Act and other
applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds that the
reasons justifying implementation of this rule on an emergency basis
are good cause not to provide prior notice and opportunity for public
comment under section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
NMFS has determined that limiting the period for applying for a permit
renewal to 2 months in this first year of the limited entry program is
unnecessarily restrictive. In order to allow fishermen, who otherwise
would forgo their fishing opportunities in 1995, to renew their permits
and fish early in 1995, and to keep their permits from permanently
expiring, NMFS has determined it is impracticable and contrary to
provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment. Further,
pursuant to section 553(d)(1) of the APA, these emergency regulations
are being made effective on filing because they relieve a restriction.
This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
No environmental assessment was prepared under the provisions of
the National Environmental Policy Act because this rule makes a minor
change and is within the scope of the Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement prepared for the limited entry plan (Amendment 6 to the FMP).
This emergency rule is in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act. This rule will not increase the information collection burden of
the existing limited entry permit program. The emergency rule does not
alter the types of information required in a limited entry permit
application, as approved by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB
Control Number 0648-0203.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 663
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: January 26, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 663 is amended
as follows:
PART 663--PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH FISHERY
1. The authority citation for part 663 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 663.41, a new paragraph (c)(4) is added to read as
follows:
Sec. 663.41 Limited entry permits.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(4) Notwithstanding Sec. 663.41(c)(1) and (3), limited entry
permits that expired at the end of 1994 may be renewed after November
30, 1994, but not later than March 31, 1995, in order to remain in
force during 1995.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 95-2496 Filed 1-27-95; 4:51 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
