[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 89 (Monday, May 10, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24960-24962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11699]
[[Page 24960]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 980923246-9106-02; I.D. 071598A]
RIN 0648-AK20
Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Hired
Skipper Requirements for the Individual Fishing Quota Program
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS publishes a final rule implementing a change in the
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for fixed gear Pacific halibut
and sablefish fisheries in and off Alaska. This action modifies the
vessel ownership requirements for quota share (QS) holders wishing to
hire skippers to harvest the IFQ allocations derived from QS for
Pacific halibut and sablefish in the fixed gear IFQ fisheries. This
action is necessary to promote an owner-operator catcher vessel fleet
in the halibut and sablefish fixed gear fisheries off Alaska and to
further the objectives of the IFQ Program.
DATES: Effective June 9, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (RIR/FRFA) for this action may be obtained from
the Alaska Region, NMFS, Room 453, 709 West 9th Street, Juneau, AK
99801, or P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attention: Lori J. Gravel.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Hale, 907-586-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The IFQ Program is a limited access system for managing the fixed
gear fisheries for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and
sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) in waters of the exclusive economic zone
off Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council),
under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut
Act), recommended the IFQ Program, which NMFS implemented in 1995. The
IFQ Program is designed to reduce excessive fishing capacity, while
maintaining the social and economic character of the fixed gear fishery
and the coastal communities where many of these fishermen are based. To
this end, various program constraints limit consolidation of QS and
ensure that practicing fishermen, rather than investment speculators,
retain harvesting privileges. The Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery Management Plan for
the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area
(FMPs) and the IFQ Program implementing regulations prohibit all
leasing of IFQ derived from QS in categories B, C, and D (QS which
authorizes the harvest but not the processing of IFQ species onboard
the vessel) and require that holders of such QS be aboard the vessel
harvesting IFQ species during all fishing operations.
An exception to this owner-aboard provision allows initial
recipients of B, C, or D category QS to employ a hired skipper to fish
their IFQ provided that the QS holder owns the vessel on which the IFQ
are being fished. This exception was created to allow fishermen who had
operated their fishing businesses with hired skippers before the IFQ
Program was implemented to continue operating this way under the IFQ
Program. While the IFQ Program promotes an owner-operator fixed gear
fishery for sablefish and halibut, this exception allows initial
recipients of QS to remain ashore while having their IFQ harvested by a
hired skipper. By limiting this exception to initial recipients, the
Council designed the hired skipper provision to expire with the
eventual transfer of all QS out of the possession of initial
recipients.
A problem developed in the first years of the IFQ Program because
the regulations do not clearly define vessel ownership. Some initial
recipients of QS purchased a nominal interest in a vessel, as little as
1 percent or less, and thereby save the costs of operating a wholly-
owned vessel and crew. Although such nominal vessel ownership served
the objective of fishing capacity reduction, it compromised the
Council's social and economic intent for an owner-operator fishery in
which QS holders actually participate in harvesting operations. Also,
such nominal vessel ownerships created the potential for excessive loss
of crew member jobs.
This action revises the regulations to specify a minimum vessel
ownership interest that must be acquired before the QS holder may hire
a skipper to harvest the IFQ. Under the new regulations, initial
recipients of B, C, or D category QS who wish to hire skippers to fish
the IFQ derived from their QS must own a minimum of a 20 percent
interest in the vessel on which the IFQ species are being harvested.
QS holders whose applications to hire skippers were approved prior
to April 17, 1997, the date of the Council's first review of the
analysis of this issue, are exempt from the requirement provided that
(1) the QS holder's percentage of ownership in the vessel which the
hired skipper will operate does not fall below the percentage held in
that vessel at the time he or she had a hired-skipper application
approved prior to April 17, 1997, and (2) the QS holder has acquired no
additional QS after September 23, 1997, the date of the Council's final
action to recommend this regulatory change. A QS holder who held less
than a 20 percent interest in a vessel prior to April 17, 1997, must
continue to hold at least that percentage in order to be elgible to
hire a skipper to fish his or her IFQ on that vessel. Moreover, because
an initial recipient of QS may hire a skipper to fish not only the QS
acquired as an initial allocation but also any QS acquired through
transfer, the maximum amount of QS that can be used under this
exemption is the level held prior to September 23, 1997, the date of
the Council's final action on this proposal. This restriction assures
that only existing business arrangements regarding levels of vessel
ownership and QS holdings can use this exemption.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
A sentence has been added to Sec. 679.42(i)(1) and to
Sec. 679.42(j) to clarify the means by which a person's vessel
ownership is determined. Presently, NMFS requests that vessel ownership
be validated by submission of a facsimile of either a U.S. Coast Guard
Abstract of Title or a bill of sale. While such documents may be
preferable as evidence that a person holds the required minimum
percentage of ownership interest, other documents may also provide
adequate proof of ownership. Therefore, the regulatory language is
amended to clarify that, for purposes of the minimum vessel ownership
interest requirements, NMFS requires only that the evidence of
ownership be in writing. NMFS will make its determination on the basis
of written documentation only. This requirement is to ensure that
vessel ownership claims are adequately supported in applications for
hired skipper cards.
A more detailed explanation of this action may be found in the
preamble to the proposed rule (63 FR 69256, December 16, 1998). The
proposed rule invited public comment through January 16, 1999, on the
proposed
[[Page 24961]]
action. NMFS received no comments on the proposed rule.
Small Entity Compliance Guide
The following information satisfies the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, which requires a plain language guide
to assist small entities in complying with this rule. This rule
requires a QS holder to own at least a 20 percent interest in a vessel
to hire a skipper to fish his or her IFQ.
What small entities will this rule impact?
Any person who holds an initial allocation of QS, whether an
individual or a corporation or a partnership, is allowed by the
regulations to hire a skipper to fish the person's IFQ, provided that
the QS holder owns the fishing boat on which the IFQ is harvested. This
action defines exactly what is meant by ``ownership'' of a boat for
purposes of the IFQ Program's hired skipper provisions: To hire a
skipper to fish your IFQ, you must own at least 20 percent interest in
the boat used to harvest your IFQ. For example, if you wish to hire a
skipper to fish your IFQ and you hold only 15 percent ownership
interest in your boat, you will have to acquire an additional 5 percent
of ownership interest to be able to hire a skipper to fish your IFQ on
that boat. Of course, you may still choose to be aboard the vessel when
it fishes your IFQ, in which case you need not have any ownership
interest in the boat.
Are there any exceptions to the 20-percent minimum ownership interest
requirement?
Yes. If you hired a skipper prior to April 17, 1997, on a boat in
which you owned less than 20 percent interest, you may continue to hire
a skipper to fish your IFQ on that boat as long as you maintain the
percentage of interest in the boat that you held on April 17, 1997. For
example, if you held 10 percent interest in a boat on April 17, 1997,
and had hired a skipper to fish your IFQ from that boat prior to that
date, then you may continue to hire a skipper to fish your IFQ from
that boat as long as you own no less than 10 percent of the boat. This
is the grandfather clause to the 20-percent minimum vessel ownership
requirement.
Are there any limitations on the grandfather clause?
Yes. The rule also requires that persons eligible to take advantage
of the grandfather clause have acquired no additional QS through
transfer after September 23, 1997. The grandfather provision is
limited, because, if you are eligible to hire a skipper, you may hire a
skipper to fish not only the QS you acquired through initial issuance
but also all QS that you acquired thereafter through approved transfer.
While allowing for certain business practices that existed prior to
April 17, 1997, the Council chose to limit the amount of QS that may be
subject to the grandfather clause. For example, if you held 5 percent
interest in a boat on which you employed a skipper to fish your IFQ
prior to April 17, 1997, you may continue to use a hired skipper on
that boat as long as you own no less than 5 percent interest in the
boat and have not acquired any additional QS through transfer after
September 23, 1997. If you have acquired additional QS after that date,
you are no longer eligible to take advantage of the grandfather
provision and must acquire additional interest in your boat to equal no
less than 20 percent if you wish to hire a skipper to fish your IFQ.
You may always fish your IFQ yourself and not be obliged to hold any
ownership interest in the boat on which you fish your IFQ.
How will NMFS determine whether a person holds the required minimum
percentage of vessel ownership?
NMFS will make that determination on the basis of written
documentation submitted with the application for a hired skipper card.
That documentation may be in the form of a U.S. Coast Guard Abstract of
Title, or of a bill of sale, or other such documentation, as long as
the evidence is in writing.
Classification
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to penalty for
failure to comply with a collection-of-information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection-of-information displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement subject
to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The requirement that QS holders provide
written evidence of the percentage of vessel ownership clarifies a
collection of information that has been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under control number 0648-0272.
NMFS prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) for
this action. The total universe of small entities affected by this
proposed action would comprise approximately 6,000 persons who hold
initial allocations of QS and are eligible to hire skippers in the IFQ
Program. NMFS has no data at present to indicate how many of these
persons own their own vessels at the required minimum of 20 percent.
Nor does NMFS have data to analyze the amount of financial burden that
acquisition of additional ownership would impose on those who at
present own less than 20 percent interest in a vessel and wish to hire
skippers. The grandfather clause would in part mitigate the impact of
the action by allowing those who had hired skippers prior to April 17,
1997, to continue to do so at the percentage of vessel ownership held
on that date. However, consistent with Council intent, this action will
likely reduce the number of QS holders employing hired skippers.
Consequently, it will also affect persons who hire themselves out as
skippers for vessels owned by others.
In developing this amendment, the Council considered numerous
alternatives to develop an action that would minimize the negative
economic impact while addressing the issue of nominal vessel ownership
in the IFQ hired skipper provisions. Minimum vessel ownership
percentages of 5, 20, 49, and 51 percent were analyzed and reviewed
before recommending the present action as resolving the issue in a way
least burdensome to the affected entities. Nevertheless, the financial
impact of this action could potentially be borne by all initial
recipients of QS in categories B, C, or D, as well as by skippers who
would hire themselves out to operate vessels in the IFQ fisheries. No
comments were received on the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.
A copy of the FRFA analysis is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679
Alaska fisheries, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: May 4, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR Part 679 is amended
as follows:
PART 679-FISHERIES IN THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 679 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq., 1801 et seq., and 3631 et seq.
2. In Sec. 679.42, revise paragraph (i)(1); remove the first
sentence of the
[[Page 24962]]
introductory text of paragraph (j) and add two sentences in its place,
and add paragraph (j)(5) to read as follows:
Sec. 679.42 Limitations on use of QS and IFQ.
* * * * *
(i) * * *
(1) An individual who received an initial allocation of QS assigned
to categories B, C, or D does not have to be aboard the vessel on which
his or her IFQ is being fished or to sign IFQ landing reports if that
individual owns at least a 20-percent interest in the vessel and is
represented on the vessel by a master employed by that individual. NMFS
will determine ownership interest for purposes of this paragraph only
on the basis of written documentation. This minimum 20-percent
ownership requirement does not apply to any individual who received an
initial allocation of QS assigned to categories B, C, or D and who,
prior to April 17, 1997, employed a master to fish any of the IFQ
issued to that individual, provided the individual continues to own the
vessel from which the IFQ is being fished at no lesser percentage of
ownership interest than that held on April 17, 1997, and provided that
this individual has not acquired additional QS through transfer after
September 23, 1997.
* * * * *
(j) Use of IFQ resulting from QS assigned to vessel categories B,
C, or D by corporations and partnerships. Except as provided in
paragraph (j)(5) of this section, a corporation or partnership that
received an initial allocation of QS assigned to categories B, C, or D
may fish the IFQ resulting from that QS and any additional QS acquired
within the limitations of this section provided that the corporation or
partnership owns at least a 20- percent interest in the vessel on which
its IFQ is fished, and that it is represented on the vessel by a master
employed by the corporation or partnership that received the initial
allocation of QS. NMFS will determine ownership interest for purposes
of this paragraph only on the basis of written documentation. * * *
* * * * *
(5) A corporation or a partnership that received an initial
allocation of QS assigned to categories B, C, or D and that, prior to
April 17, 1997, employed a master to fish any of the IFQ issued to that
corporation or partnership may continue to employ a master to fish its
IFQ on a vessel owned by the corporation or partnership provided that
the corporation or partnership continues to own the vessel at no lesser
percentage of ownership interest than that held on April 17, 1997, and
provided that corporation or partnership did not acquire additional QS
through transfer after September 23, 1997.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 99-11699 Filed 5-7-99, 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F