[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34842-34844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17129]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 980608151-8151-01; I.D.122497B]
RIN 0648-AK43
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Golden Crab Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Gear and Vessel
Management Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement a regulatory
amendment prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
(Council) in accordance with framework procedures for adjusting
management measures of the Fishery Management Plan for the Golden Crab
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). For the golden crab fishery
in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the regulatory
amendment would revise the vessel size limitations applicable when a
vessel permit is transferred to another vessel and would extend through
January 31, 1999, the authorized use of wire cable for a mainline
attached to a golden crab trap. In addition, NMFS proposes to remove
from the regulations the eligibility criteria and procedures for
obtaining initial commercial vessel permits in the South Atlantic
golden crab fishery. Such criteria and procedures are no longer
applicable. The intended effects of this proposed rule are to allow for
additional evaluation of cable used as mainlines for traps, to provide
greater flexibility for fishermen to fish with vessels of different
lengths without adversely affecting the FMP's cap on fishing effort,
and to simplify the regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 13, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule must be sent to Peter
Eldridge, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive
N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
Requests for copies of the framework regulatory amendment, which
includes an environmental assessment, a regulatory impact review (RIR),
and a social impact assessment/fishery impact statement, should be sent
to the South
[[Page 34843]]
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306,
Charleston, SC 29407-4699; Phone: 843-571-4366; Fax: 843-769-4520.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Eldridge, 813-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The golden crab fishery in the EEZ of the
South Atlantic is managed under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the
Council and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by
regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
The Council has proposed to adjust management measures for the
South Atlantic golden crab fishery. The Council has submitted this
regulatory amendment to NMFS for its review, approval, and
implementation. These measures were developed and submitted to NMFS
under the FMP's framework procedure for adjustments in gear regulations
and permit requirements.
Use of Cable for Mainlines
The Council proposes that the use of cable for mainlines be allowed
through January 31, 1999, to allow for additional evaluation of cable
in the golden crab fishery. Under current regulations at 50 CFR
622.40(d)(2)(ii), rope is the only material allowed for a buoy line or
mainline attached to a golden crab trap, except that wire cable is
allowed for these purposes through January 31, 1998. The Council heard
extensive discussion of the issue at the joint Golden Crab Advisory
Panel/Committee meeting June 16, 1997, in Key West. The Council
considered extending the authorized use of cable for buoy lines but
declined to do so based on safety issues raised by the Coast Guard. The
Council will reexamine the use of cable in the golden crab fishery when
it reviews the status of the fishery in June 1998.
Vessel Size Limitations
The Council proposes to ease the limitations on vessel size that
apply when NMFS transfers a permit from one vessel to another. To
obtain a vessel permit by transfer of an existing permit under current
regulations, the owner of the receiving vessel must acquire a permit
from a vessel with documented length overall, or permits from vessels
with aggregate lengths overall, of at least 90 percent of the
documented length overall of the receiving vessel. However, some owners
want to use temporarily a shorter vessel (i.e., downsize) and
subsequently return to a longer vessel. Current regulations may prevent
them from doing so, because the permit NMFS transfers to a shorter
vessel cannot be transferred again to a vessel that is more than 11.1
percent longer than that smaller-sized vessel.
To provide fishermen with greater flexibility in their choice of
vessel length, the Council and this rule propose that, when NMFS has
transferred a golden crab limited access permit to a smaller vessel, a
subsequent transfer to a longer vessel will be limited based on the
length of the vessel permitted prior to downsizing. For example, if
NMFS transfers a permit issued to a vessel that is 90 ft (27.4 m) long
to a vessel that is 50 ft (15.2 m) long, NMFS could subsequently
transfer the permit to a vessel that is 100 ft (30.5 m) long. Such a
transfer would be allowed because the length of the permitted vessel
prior to downsizing is 90 percent of the length of the replacement
vessel. The Council concluded that limiting vessel length based on the
length of the permitted vessel prior to downsizing meets the Council's
intent to cap fishing effort while at the same time providing greater
flexibility for fishermen to use shorter vessels temporarily.
Changes Proposed by NMFS
NMFS proposes to remove from the regulations the eligibility
criteria and procedures for obtaining initial commercial vessel permits
for the South Atlantic golden crab fishery. All initial permits have
been issued, and no additional permits are being issued. Therefore, the
criteria and procedures are no longer applicable. This change would be
accomplished by moving from Sec. 622.17 to Sec. 622.4 the permit
requirement for the fishery and by removing from Sec. 622.17 the
paragraphs on initial eligibility, documentation of eligibility,
application procedure, issuance, and appeals. The paragraph on display
of a permit, which is adequately covered in Sec. 622.4, would also be
removed.
Classification
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce, based on the Council's regulatory impact review
(RIR) that assesses the economic impacts of the management measures
proposed in this rule on fishery participants, certified to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities as follows:
* * * the provisions extending use of cable for mainlines and
easing the restrictions on vessel size that would apply when NMFS
transfers a permit from one vessel to another would not have adverse
economic effects on a substantial number of the firms that own and
operate fishing vessels for golden crabs in the South Atlantic
Region. All such firms are considered small entities for purposes of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. These actions would not be expected
to cause any reduction in revenue or force fishermen to modify their
fishing operations. No increase in production cost would be expected
as a result of these actions. The proposed actions would not require
any existing fishing entity to acquire new equipment or to
completely refit existing equipment for compliance purposes. The
economic analyses do not indicate that any entity would be forced
out of business. On the contrary, the actions would enable permitted
fishermen to participate actively in the fishery and contribute
toward developing the market for golden crab.
As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
This rule repeats a collection-of-information requirement subject
to the Paperwork Reduction Act which has been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget under control number 0648-0205. Permit
applications involving transfers are estimated to take 20 minutes 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. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this data
collection, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS (see
ADDRESSES) and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC. 20503 (Attention: NOAA
Desk Officer).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: June 19, 1998.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
[[Page 34844]]
2. In Sec. 622.4, paragraph (a)(2)(x) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 622.4 Permits and fees.
(a) * * *
(2) * * *
(x) For a person aboard a vessel to fish for golden crab in the
South Atlantic EEZ, possess golden crab in or from the South Atlantic
EEZ, off-load golden crab from the South Atlantic EEZ, or sell golden
crab in or from the South Atlantic EEZ, a commercial vessel permit for
golden crab must be issued to the vessel and must be on board. It is a
rebuttable presumption that a golden crab on board a vessel in the
South Atlantic or off-loaded from a vessel in a port adjoining the
South Atlantic was harvested from the South Atlantic EEZ. See
Sec. 622.17 for limitations on the use, transfer, and renewal of a
commercial vessel permit for golden crab.
* * * * *
Sec. 622.5 [Amended]
3. In Sec. 622.5, in paragraph (a)(1)(v), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(a)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.4(a)(2)(x)'' is added in
its place.
Sec. 622.6 [Amended]
4. In Sec. 622.6, in paragraph (a)(1)(i) introductory text, the
phrase ``or Sec. 622.17'' is removed.
Sec. 622.7 [Amended]
5. In Sec. 622.7, in paragraphs (a) and (b), the phrase ``or
Sec. 622.17'' is removed, in paragraph (c), the phrase ``or
Sec. 622.17(g)'' is removed, and in paragraph (z), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(h)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.17(b)'' is added in its
place.
Sec. 622.8 [Amended]
6. In Sec. 622.8, in paragraph (a), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(a)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.4(a)(2)(x)'' is added in
its place.
7. Section 622.17 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 622.17 South Atlantic golden crab controlled access.
(a) General. In accordance with the procedures specified in the
Fishery Management Plan for the Golden Crab Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region, initial vessel permits have been issued for the
fishery. No additional permits may be issued.
(b) Fishing zones. (1) The South Atlantic EEZ is divided into three
fishing zones for golden crab. A permitted vessel may fish for golden
crab only in the zone shown on its permit. A vessel may possess golden
crab only in that zone, except that other zones may be transited if the
vessel notifies NMFS, Office of Enforcement, Southeast Region, St.
Petersburg, FL, by telephone (813-570-5344) in advance and does not
fish in an unpermitted zone. The designated fishing zones are as
follows:
(i) Northern zone--the South Atlantic EEZ north of 28 deg. N. lat.
(ii) Middle zone--the South Atlantic EEZ from 25 deg. N. lat. to
28 deg. N. lat.
(iii) Southern zone--the South Atlantic EEZ south of 25 deg. N.
lat.
(2) An owner of a permitted vessel may request that NMFS change the
zone specified on a permit from the middle or southern zone to the
northern zone. A request for such change and the existing permit must
be submitted from an owner of a permitted vessel to the RD.
(c) Transfer. (1) An owner of a vessel with a valid golden crab
permit may request that NMFS transfer the permit to another vessel by
returning the existing permit(s) to the RD with an application for a
permit for the replacement vessel.
(2) To obtain a commercial vessel permit via transfer, the owner of
the replacement vessel must submit to the RD a valid permit for a
vessel with a documented length overall, or permits for vessels with
documented aggregate lengths overall, of at least 90 percent of the
documented length overall of the replacement vessel.
(3) In addition to the provisions of paragraph (c)(2) of this
section, the owner of a permitted vessel who has requested that NMFS
transfer that permit to a smaller vessel (i.e., downsized), may
subsequently request NMFS transfer that permit to a vessel of a length
calculated from the length of the permitted vessel immediately prior to
downsizing.
(d) Renewal. In addition to the procedures and requirements of
Sec. 622.4(h) for commercial vessel permit renewals, for a golden crab
permit to be renewed, the SRD must have received reports for the
permitted vessel, as required by Sec. 622.5(a)(1)(v), documenting that
at least 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of golden crab were landed from the South
Atlantic EEZ by the permitted vessel during at least one of the two 12-
month periods immediately prior to the expiration date of the vessel
permit.
Sec. 622.31 [Amended]
8. In Sec. 622.31, in paragraph (a) the phrase ``or Sec. 622.17''
is removed.
Sec. 622.35 [Amended]
9. In Sec. 622.35, in paragraph (f), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(h)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.17(b)'' is added in its
place.
10. In Sec. 622.40, in paragraph (c)(3)(ii), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(h)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.17(b)'' is added in its
place and paragraph (d)(2)(ii) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 622.40 Limitations on traps and pots.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) Rope is the only material allowed to be used for a buoy line
or mainline attached to a golden crab trap, except that wire cable is
allowed for a buoy line through January 31, 1998, and for a mainline
through January 31, 1999.
Sec. 622.45 [Amended]
11. In Sec. 622.45, in paragraph (f)(2), the reference to
``Sec. 622.17(a)'' is removed and ``Sec. 622.4(a)(2)(x)'' is added in
its place.
[FR Doc. 98-17129 Filed 6-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
