[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 91 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25202-25203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11579]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 950503126-5126-01; I.D. 040695C]
RIN 0648-XX20
Northeast Fishing Industry Grants (FIG) Program; Amendment and
Clarification
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of funding authorization amendment and clarification of
project evaluation criteria.
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SUMMARY: NMFS amends the funding authorization for projects to be
considered under the Northeast Fishing Industry Grants (FIG) Program.
Clarification is also provided to specify project evaluation criteria
associated with the tendering of multispecies harvesting privileges.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 11, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Morehead (301) 713-2358 or
Harold Mears (508) 281-9243.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The FIG Program was described in the following notice: Notice of
availability of Federal assistance (60 FR 12199, March 6, 1995).
II. Change to the FIG Funding Authorization
The previous description of funding authority for the second round
of FIG project applications, through which $4.5 million will be
provided, indicated that the total funding source was accommodated by
Public Law 103-211, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of
1994. This notice clarifies that only $2.5 million for the FIG second
round is funded through Public Law 103-211, whereas the remaining $2.0
million is supported by the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Fisheries
Reinvestment Program (NAOFRP), as authorized by Public Law 102-567.
This change is being made so that $2.0 million available under Public
Law 103-211 can be used to fund a fishing capacity reduction
demonstration program in the Northeast. Information concerning this
program will be published in the Federal Register at a later date. The
total amount of funds available for the FIG Program (i.e., $4.5
million) is not changed. However, no NAOFRP funds will be used to
support projects under FIG Program Priority C; ``Develop methods for
eliminating or reducing the inadvertent take, capture, or destruction
of nontargeted, protected, or prohibited species (e.g., juvenile or
sublegal-sized fish and shellfish) in fishing operations through the
technical development, demonstration, or evaluation of fishing gear or
harvesting strategies.'', as such activities are not authorized for the
NAOFRP under Public Law 102-567. This change in funding source does not
otherwise affect the FIG Federal assistance program.
III. Clarification of Project Evaluation Criteria
Several public inquiries have arisen that show the need for
clarification of the provisions for tendering of multispecies
harvesting privileges and the relevance of these provisions to the
technical evaluation of proposals. Accordingly, this notice clarifies
that 10 points will be added to the technical scores of applications
involving participation by individuals who own vessels that have been
issued a multispecies limited access permit, and who agree to tender
their privilege to fish for, possess, or land regulated multispecies
finfish for the duration of the project or longer. This provision
applies to limited access multispecies permit holders only, because the
intent of providing this bonus is to encourage the reduction of effort
in the multispecies fishery to the maximum extent possible.
Applications requesting this consideration must include information,
attached to the Project Summary (NOAA Form 88-204), which explains how
effort would be reduced during the project period, as compared to
recent fishing years. This description may include details, such as the
number of days at sea (DAS) directed on regulated multispecies that
would be foregone during the permit year(s) in which the harvesting
privilege is tendered, to substantiate the associated impact.
The tendering of the privilege to fish for, possess, or land
regulated multispecies finfish during the duration of the project, if
applicable, will be formally incorporated as a Special Award Condition
in approved grants. However, this tendering of the privilege to fish
for, possess, or land regulated multispecies finfish during the
duration of the project period does not relieve the permit holder from
fulfilling other requirements for limited access multispecies permit
holders, such as filing monthly reports under the mandatory reporting
provisions of the multispecies regulations.
Finally, several questions have been raised relative to the
potential impact of tendering the privilege to fish for, possess, or
land regulated multispecies for the duration of the project, or longer,
upon resource allocation decisions associated with future regulatory
requirements of the Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Since
future FMP regulations are uncertain, this impact is unknown, and the
tendering of the privilege to fish for, possess, or land regulated
multispecies must be assumed as a risk of the involved vessel owners.
Potential applicants for financial assistance under the FIG
solicitation are reminded that the tendering provision is a voluntary
one, and not a prerequisite for an application to be considered for
funding. [[Page 25203]]
Classification
This action amends funding authority and clarifies project
evaluation criteria for a financial assistance program that will
contain collection-of-information requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act. The collection of this information has been approved by
OMB under Control Number 0648-0135.
This action has been determined to be not significant for purposes
of E.O. 12866.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 713c-3(d).
Dated: May 5, 1995.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-11579 Filed 5-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
