[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 101 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-12832]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: May 26, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 641
[Docket No. 940536-4136; I.D. 041994B]
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 9 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of
Mexico (FMP). Amendment 9 would extend the current reef fish permit
moratorium from its scheduled expiration on May 8, 1995, through as
late as December 31, 1995. For the red snapper segment of the reef fish
fishery, Amendment 9 would authorize the collection of commercial
landings data for the years 1990 through 1992 and the collection of
information to identify certain participants. It would also extend the
red snapper endorsement system and its associated trip and landing
limits from their scheduled expiration on December 31, 1994, through as
late as December 31, 1995. The intended effects of this rule are to
collect information needed to evaluate red snapper effort management
alternatives, to identify individuals who may qualify for initial
participation in a red snapper effort management regime, and to
continue interim management measures until the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council (Council) has an opportunity to implement longer-
term measures.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 11, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule must be sent to Robert Sadler,
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive, St.
Petersburg, FL 33702.
Requests for copies of Amendment 9, which includes an environmental
assessment and a regulatory impact review, should be sent to the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 5401 West Kennedy Boulevard,
suite 331, Tampa, FL 33609.
Comments regarding the collection-of-information requirement
contained in this proposed rule should be sent to Edward E. Burgess,
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive, St.
Petersburg, FL 33702, and to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20503
(Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 813-893-3161.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico
is managed under the FMP, which was prepared by the Council and is
implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 641 under the authority
of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act).
Amendment 9 would: (1) Authorize the collection of historical red
snapper landings data needed to evaluate red snapper effort management
alternatives and to qualify individuals for initial shares; and (2)
extend the moratorium on additional reef fish permits and the red
snapper endorsement system, including its associated trip and landing
limits, through December 31, 1995, unless replaced earlier by a red
snapper effort management system. Red snapper commercial landings data
for 1990, 1991, and 1992 would be collected for vessels according to
owner and, in the case of permitted vessels for which the permit was
based on the earned income qualification of an operator, according to
such operator. Data would also be collected to identify ``historical
captains'' in the red snapper fishery and their share arrangements with
vessel owners.
Rationale for Proposed Actions
Historical Captains
After review of testimony and recommendations of the Council's Ad
Hoc Allocation Advisory Panel, the Council determined that historical
captains should be considered for fishing privileges under a red
snapper effort management system, as well as vessel owners and
operators whose earned income qualified for the vessel permit. The
eligibility criteria for determining historical captain status were
designed to discourage submission of applications by recent entrants to
the fishery desiring to qualify for the effort management system.
To establish status as a historical captain for purposes of the
effort management system, a captain must have:
(1) From November 6, 1989, through 1993, fished solely under a
verbal or written share agreement with an owner to lease a vessel, such
agreement providing for the operator to be responsible for hiring the
crew, who were paid from his or her share;
(2) Landed from that vessel at least 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of red
snapper per year in 2 of the 3 years 1990, 1991, and 1992; and
(3) Derived more than 50 percent of his or her earned income from
commercial fishing, that is, sale of the catch, in each of the years
1989 through 1993.
Proposed Data Collection
The proposed submittal of red snapper landings data to NMFS was
requested by vessel owners, operators whose earned income qualified for
the vessel permit, and historical captains who are interested in
learning of their possible preliminary shares for planning purposes.
This information will help fishermen determine their most likely level
of participation in an individual transferable quota (ITQ) system, if
adopted for the fishery. This also will help the Council and the
industry decide whether to proceed with an ITQ system, as included in
draft Amendment 8 to the FMP.
Under Amendment 9, persons wishing to participate in a limited
access system must submit their landings data for consideration at this
time. These landings data submitted to NMFS will cover all vessel
owners, operators whose earned income qualified for the vessel permit,
and historical captains who may qualify under a red snapper effort
management system. Collection of landings information for the 1990-1992
period, for which data are readily available, will provide the Council
with a complete data base and should obviate the need for collecting
these data for that time period under proposed Amendment 8.
In its final decisions on Amendment 9, the Council recognized that
it would be unnecessarily burdensome for historical captains to submit
data that duplicate those provided by the vessel owners/operators.
Accordingly, the collection of landings data from fishery participants
under this rule is designed to avoid duplication of information
available to NMFS.
Extension of Reef Fish Permit Moratorium and Red Snapper Endorsement
The reef fish permit moratorium was implemented on May 8, 1992, for
3 years ending May 8, 1995, to prevent speculative entry, as had
previously occurred, while the Council considers other reef fish
management alternatives. The red snapper endorsement and trip limit
provisions were established by emergency action, and continued through
December 31, 1994, under Amendment 6 to the FMP. The purpose of the
action was to prevent an extremely short season and a ``derby''
fishery, such as occurred in 1992.
The problems in the fishery that led to implementation of the
permit moratorium and the red snapper endorsement system are expected
to persist until a more comprehensive program to limit access to the
red snapper fishery is in place. The Council anticipates that the reef
fish fishery, particularly for red snapper, would be unnecessarily
disrupted if the moratorium and red snapper endorsement provisions were
to expire before implementation of a limited access system; but the
Council believes the moratorium should not be continued indefinitely.
The Council's target date for implementing a limited access system, if
one of the current management options under consideration is adopted,
is January 1, 1996. Accordingly, the Council determined that the permit
moratorium and red snapper endorsement system should be extended
through December 31, 1995, or until such limited access system is
implemented, whichever is earlier.
Additional Changes Proposed by NMFS
In addition to the measures contained in Amendment 9, NMFS proposes
the following changes to clarify the regulations.
In Amendment 4 to the FMP, which contained the moratorium on
additional permits in the reef fish fishery, and in Amendment 5 to the
FMP, which contained the moratorium on additional participants in the
fish trap segment of the reef fish fishery, the Council specified that
a permit or fish trap endorsement that is not renewed will not be
reissued. A permit/endorsement is considered to have been ``not
renewed'' when a complete application for renewal is not received
within one year after the expiration date of the permit. This criterion
is based on the fact that permits are generally issued for a period of
one year. NMFS considers this criterion to be consistent with the
Council's intent, and it has been consistently applied. For clarity,
NMFS proposes to include this criterion in the regulations at
Sec. 641.4(m)(4) and (p)(5).
Regulations implementing Amendment 7 to the FMP allow the transfer
of a fish trap endorsement when ownership of a vessel with a fish trap
endorsement is transferred to certain relatives of the owner (see 50
CFR 641.4 as amended on February 7, 1994 (59 FR 6588, February 11,
1994)). In accordance with the Council's intent, NMFS proposes to amend
the regulations at Sec. 641.4(p)(4) to clarify that such new owner may
renew the fish trap endorsement without having to meet the requirements
applicable to the initial issuance of the endorsement, that is, a
history of reef fish landings from traps.
In the restrictions applicable in the longline and buoy gear
restricted area and in the special management zone (SMZ), at
Sec. 641.23(b)(1) and (d)(2), respectively, the specification of what
constitutes ``fishing for reef fish'' may be interpreted as a change in
the definition of ``fishing,'' so that possession of reef fish, or
certain quantities of reef fish, aboard a vessel while in transit of
the restricted area or SMZ would be prohibited. The intent of the
measures is to restrict harvesting in these areas, and not possession
of reef fish while in transit. To achieve the intended result, NMFS
proposes revised language to clarify that the definition of ``fishing''
is not changed.
Classification
This proposed rule is exempt from prepublication review for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The General Counsel of the Department of Commerce certified to the
Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities, because no reduction in gross revenues is expected and
capital costs of compliance are not expected to be significant. As a
result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
Section 641.10 of this proposed rule, concerning the collection of
data on red snapper, contains two collection-of-information
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act-- specifically,
information on landings of red snapper and documentation of status as a
historical captain in the red snapper fishery. Requests to collect this
information have been submitted to OMB for approval. The public
reporting burdens for these collections of information are estimated to
average 2 and 5 hours per response, respectively, including the time
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collections of information. Send comments regarding these reporting
burden estimates or any other aspects of the collections of
information, including suggestions for reducing the burdens, to NMFS
and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 641
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: May 20, 1994.
Charles Karnella,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 641 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 641--REEF FISH FISHERY OF THE GULF OF MEXICO
1. The authority citation for part 641 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 641.4, paragraph (m) introductory text, paragraph
(m)(4), paragraph (o) introductory text, and paragraphs (p)(4) and
(p)(5) are revised, and introductory text for paragraph (n) is added to
read as follows:
Sec. 641.4 Permits and fees.
* * * * *
(m) Moratorium on permits. This paragraph (m) is effective through
December 31, 1995.
* * * * *
(4) A permit that is not renewed or that is revoked will not be
reissued. A permit is considered to be not renewed when an application
for renewal is not received by the Regional Director within one year of
the expiration date of the permit.
(n) Red snapper endorsement. This paragraph (n) is effective
through December 31, 1995.
* * * * *
(o) Condition of a permit. Effective through December 31, 1995, as
a condition of a reef fish permit issued under this section, without
regard to where red snapper are harvested or possessed, a permitted
vessel--
* * * * *
(p) * * *
(4) A fish trap endorsement is not transferable upon change of
ownership of a vessel with a fish trap endorsement, except when such
change of ownership is from one to another of the following: husband,
wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father. In the event
of such transfer of a fish trap endorsement, the new owner of the
vessel may renew the endorsement without regard to the requirement of
paragraph (p)(1) of this section regarding a record of landing of reef
fish from fish traps.
(5) A fish trap endorsement that is not renewed or that is revoked
will not be reissued. A fish trap endorsement is considered to be not
renewed when an application for renewal is not received by the Regional
Director within one year of the expiration date of the permit.
3. In Sec. 641.7, effective from the effective date of the final
rule through September 30, 1994, a new paragraph (ee) is added to read
as follows:
Sec. 641.7 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(ee) Falsify information submitted in accordance with Sec. 641.10.
4. In subpart A, effective from the effective date of the final
rule through September 30, 1994, a new Sec. 641.10 is added to read as
follows:
Sec. 641.10 Red snapper data collection.
(a) General. (1) To evaluate red snapper effort management
alternatives, including individual transferable quota (ITQ) systems and
license limitations, it is necessary to obtain commercial red snapper
landings data for the years 1990 through 1992. To identify individuals
who may qualify for initial participation in a red snapper effort
management regime, it is necessary to identify certain participants in
the red snapper fishery, specifically, operators of vessels who were
the earned income qualifiers for the vessels' reef fish permits and
those who are ``historical captains.'' In the latter case,
documentation of a historical captain's share agreement with the
vessel's owner is also required.
(2) For the purpose of the red snapper effort limitation
alternatives, a historical captain means an operator who--
(i) From November 6, 1989, through 1993, fished solely under a
verbal or written share agreement with an owner to lease a vessel, such
agreement provided for the operator to be responsible for hiring the
crew, who were paid from his or her share;
(ii) Landed from that vessel at least 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of red
snapper per year in 2 of the 3 years 1990, 1991, and 1992; and
(iii) Derived more than 50 percent of his or her earned income from
commercial fishing, that is, sale of the catch, in each of the years
1989 through 1993.
(3) The data collection described in this section will be the only
collection for the effort management alternatives currently being
considered by the Council. Accordingly, failure to submit requested
data may result in failure to be included among the initial
participants in the red snapper fishery under an effort management
system and/or failure to obtain the full initial share of red snapper
to which a person may be entitled under an ITQ regime.
(b) Existing data. (1) NMFS has records of all red snapper landings
reported by vessel logbook forms submitted pursuant to Sec. 641.5 (a)
or (b) and has access to records of red snapper landings reported under
Florida's trip ticket system. NMFS also has records of the earned
income qualifier for each vessel permit issued for reef fish. Data
duplicating these records are not needed.
(2) Landings of red snapper reported by vessel logbook forms and
received by the Science and Research Director prior to September 16,
1992, are conclusive as to red snapper landed during the months that
such logbook forms were required of, or voluntarily submitted by, a
vessel--landings data from other sources will not be considered for
such months. In the absence of landings data from such logbook forms,
landings of red snapper reported under Florida's trip ticket system and
received by the State prior to September 16, 1992, are conclusive as to
landings in Florida-- landings data from other sources will not be
considered for landings in Florida. However, vessel owners/operators
will be given printouts of their logbook/trip ticket records of
landings and will have an opportunity to submit records they believe
were omitted.
(c) Additional landings data. (1) An owner or operator who wishes
to be considered for initial participation in the red snapper fishery
under an effort management system may submit documentation of red
snapper landings not covered by vessel logbook forms or the Florida
trip ticket system.
(i) Such documentation may consist of copies of trip receipts that
show dates and amounts of landings of red snapper. Trip receipts must
definitively show the species known as red snapper and the vessel's
name, official number, or other reference that provides a way of
clearly identifying the vessel.
(ii) Such documentation may also consist of dealer records that
show dates and amounts of landings of red snapper. As with trip
receipts, dealer records must definitively show the species known as
red snapper and the vessel's name, official number, or other reference
that provides a way of clearly identifying the vessel. Dealer records
must contain a sworn affidavit by the dealer confirming the accuracy
and authenticity of the records. A sworn affidavit is an official
written statement wherein the individual signing the affidavit affirms
that the information presented is accurate and can be substantiated,
under penalty of law.
(iii) Documentation by a combination of trip receipts and dealer
records is acceptable, but duplicate records for the same landings are
not acceptable.
(2) Red snapper landings data will not be accepted--
(i) For a period during which the harvesting vessel did not have a
permit, provided a permit was required during such period. Permits were
not required from January 1 through April 22, 1990, and from January 1
through 31, 1992.
(ii) For a period during which the commercial red snapper fishery
in the EEZ was closed. The commercial red snapper fishery was closed in
the EEZ from August 24 through December 31, 1991, from February 22
through April 2, 1992, and from May 15 through December 31, 1992.
(3) Additional landings data submitted under this paragraph (c)
must be attached to a Red Snapper Landings Data form, which is
available from the Regional Director, and must be postmarked between
the effective date of the final rule and a date not later than the date
60 days from effective date of the final rule.
(d) Historical captains. (1) An operator who wishes to be
considered for status as a historical captain in the red snapper
fishery under an effort management system may submit documentation of
such status by providing the following:
(i) A Historical Captain Status form, available from the Regional
Director, which requests information necessary to determine such status
and information to establish the share agreement of a historical
captain with the vessel's owner;
(ii) A Red Snapper Landings Data form and accompanying additional
landings data pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, if such form
and data have not been submitted by a vessel owner;
(iii) Copies of forms and schedules from the applicant's income tax
returns for the years 1989 through 1993 that show total earned income
and that part of earned income derived from commercial fishing, that
is, sale of the catch (generally, pages 1 and 2 of Form 1040, W-2's,
and Schedule C); and
(iv) Documentation of a landing of red snapper prior to November 7,
1989.
(2) Forms and information submitted under paragraph (d)(1) of this
section must be postmarked between the effective date of the final rule
and the date 60 days from effective date of the final rule.
(e) Verification. Documentation of red snapper landings,
documentation of status as a historical captain, and other information
submitted under this section are subject to verification by comparison
with state, Federal, and other records and information. Submission of
false documentation or information may disqualify a person from initial
participation under a red snapper effort management system.
5. In Sec. 641.23, paragraphs (b)(1) introductory text and (d)(2)
introductory text are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 641.23 Area limitations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) Longline and buoy gear may not be used to fish for reef fish in
the longline and buoy gear restricted area. For the purpose of this
paragraph (b), ``for reef fish'' means possessing or landing reef
fish--
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(2) In the SMZ specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section,
fishing for reef fish is limited to hook-and-line gear with three or
fewer hooks per line and spearfishing gear. For the purpose of this
paragraph (d), ``for reef fish'' means possessing reef fish aboard or
landing reef fish from--
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-12832 Filed 5-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
