Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Framework Adjustment 17, 48860-48868 [05-16613]
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48860
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 161 / Monday, August 22, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
Issued in Kansas City, MO on August 2,
2005.
Elizabeth S. Wallis,
Acting Area Director, Western Flight Services
Operations.
[FR Doc. 05–16519 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–M
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
under Adoption of the Amendment,
delete the legal description of Class C
airspace.
Issued in Kansas City, MO on August 2,
2005.
Elizabeth S. Wallis,
Acting Area Director, Western Flight Services
Operations.
[FR Doc. 05–16520 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–M
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 71
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. FAA–2005–21707; Airspace
Docket No. 05–ACE–22]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Modification of Class E Airspace;
Lincoln, NE
15 CFR Part 902
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Direct final rule; correction.
50 CFR Part 648
SUMMARY: This action corrects a direct
final rule; request for comments that
was published in the Federal Register
on Friday, July 29, 2005 (70 FR 43741)
(FR Doc. 05–21707). It removes the
reference to Class C Airspace at Lincoln,
NE.
DATES: This direct final rule is effective
on 0901 UTC, October 27, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda Mumper, Air Traffic Division,
Airspace Branch, ACE–520A, DOT
Regional Headquarters Building, Federal
Aviation Administration, 901 Locust,
Kansas City, MO 64106; telephone:
(816) 329–2524.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
RIN 0648–AT10
AGENCY:
[Docket No. 050520137–5220–02; I.D.
050905F]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery;
Framework Adjustment 17
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This final rule implements
Framework 17 to the Atlantic Sea
Scallop Fishery Management Plan
(Framework 17), which was developed
and submitted by the New England
Fishery Management Council (Council)
and approved by NMFS. Framework 17
History
requires that vessels issued a general
Federal Register document 05–21707, category scallop permit and that intend
to land over 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked,
published on Friday, July 29, 2005 (70
or 5 bu (176.2 L) of in-shell scallops,
FR 43741), corrected the airport name
install and operate vessel monitoring
and removed references to ‘‘effective
systems (VMS). Framework 17 also
dates and times established in advance
allows general category scallop vessels
by a Notice to Airmen’’ from the legal
with VMS units to turn off (powerdescriptions for Class C and Class E
down) their VMS units after they have
airspace at Lincoln, NE. However,
offloaded scallops and while they are
changes to the Class C airspace were
tied to a fixed dock or mooring. Finally,
incorrectly included in the direct final
Framework 17 revises the broken trip
rule; request for comments.
adjustment provision for limited access
I Accordingly, pursuant to the authority
delegated to me, the legal description of scallop vessels fishing in the Sea
the Class E airspace area at Lincoln, NE, Scallop Area Access Program. The
intent of this action is to provide more
as published in the Federal Register on
complete monitoring of the general
Friday, October 29, 2005 (70 FR 43741)
category scallop fleet, to reduce VMS
(FR Doc. 05–21707), is corrected as
operating costs, and to eliminate a
follows:
provision that may have a negative
I On page 43741, Column 2, Docket
Title, delete the words ‘‘Class C and’’. On influence on vessel operator decisions at
page 43741, Column 3, under SUMMARY, sea and facilitate safety.
delete the words ‘‘Class C and’’. On page DATES: All provisions in this final rule
43741 Column 3, under SUPPLEMENTARY are effective October 21, 2005, except 50
CFR 648.60(c)(5), which is effective
INFORMATION, delete the words ‘‘Class C
August 22, 2005.
airspace’’. On page 43742, Column 2,
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Written comments
regarding the burden-hour estimates or
other aspects of the collection-ofinformation requirements contained in
this rule should be submitted to Patricia
A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator (RA),
NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930;
and to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), by e-mail at
DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov or fax to
(202) 395–7285.
Copies of Framework 17, its
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR),
including the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the
Environmental Assessment (EA) are
available on request from Paul J.
Howard, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council,
50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA
01950. These documents are also
available online at https://
www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281–9288; fax (978) 281–
9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
Background
Framework 17 was adopted by the
Council on February 1, 2005, and was
submitted to NMFS by the Council on
March 11, 2005, with a supplement
submitted on April 4, 2005. A proposed
rule for Framework 17 was published in
the Federal Register on June 2, 2005 (70
FR 32282), with a comment period
ending on June 17, 2005. The issues that
led to the development of Framework 17
are discussed in detail in the preamble
of the proposed rule, and are
summarized briefly in this final rule.
Framework 17 was developed by the
Council to address concerns resulting
from reports that vessels issued Atlantic
scallop open access general category
permits were making undocumented
scallop landings and violating the 400–
lb (181.44–kg)/50–bu (17.62–hL)
possession limit restriction. In addition,
the Council made a modification to the
procedure that authorizes limited access
scallop vessels to terminate Area Access
trips prior to fully harvesting the
allowed amount of scallops (the broken
trip provision).
Framework 17 requires all general
category vessels that land, or intend to
land, more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
shucked, or 5 bu (176.2 L) unshucked
scallops, to install and operate a VMS
onboard the vessel. The use of VMS is
expected to assist with monitoring of
general category vessel activity and
facilitate the enforcement of the
possession limit regulations. Because of
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the cost of installing and operating
VMS, the requirement may also help
distinguish the active fleet of general
category vessels that target scallops from
all of the currently permitted vessels,
which number over 2,500. VMS will
provide better data for fishery
management, particularly to specifically
identify areas that are more frequently
targeted by small vessels fishing outside
of the typical scallop fishing areas (e.g.,
inshore areas of the Gulf of Maine).
Transmission of location information
through VMS could also assist U.S.
Coast Guard search and rescue
operations by automatically tracking
vessel position.
In order to administer and effectively
enforce the new VMS requirement for
general category vessels, this final rule
establishes a new general category
scallop permit designation, under
NMFS’s Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), section 305(d)
authority. Framework 17 requires vessel
owners requesting general category
scallop permits to determine whether
they will fish under the non-VMS
general category vessel permit, which
authorizes possession of 40 lb (18.14 kg)
of shucked, or 5 bu (176.2 L) of
unshucked scallops, or under the VMS
general category vessel permit, which
authorizes the possession of up to 400
lb (181.44 kg) of shucked or 50 bu (17.62
hL) of unshucked scallops. Owners who
apply for the VMS general category
vessel permit must submit a copy of the
vendor installation receipt from a
NMFS-approved VMS vendor with their
permit application. Vessel owners who
have not submitted proof of VMS
installation, or who have not submitted
a completed application for a VMS
general category vessel permit by the
effective date of this action will be
issued a non-VMS general category
vessel permit at that time. Vessel
owners may change from one general
scallop permit category to another
within 45 days of the issuance of the
new general category vessel permit.
This final rule also implements a
VMS power-down provision to
accommodate vessels that do not have
continuous power sources at their docks
or moorings. Many vessels in the
general category fleet are moored or
docked in locations that have limited
electrical power. The power-down
provision was established to address
this issue, and it allows vessel operators
to turn off their VMS units and notify
NMFS once the vessel is in port, has
offloaded its catch, and is tied to a
permanent dock or mooring. Vessel
operators must turn on their VMS units
and log into the system before leaving
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the fixed dock or mooring for any
purpose.
This final rule also removes the
automatic days-at-sea (DAS) charge and
possession limit reduction under the
current regulatory provision for limited
access scallop vessels that terminate
scallop trips in the Area Access Program
(the broken trip provision). Under the
previous measure, such vessels could
resume trips, but the possession limit
for the compensation trip was reduced
to discourage unnecessary broken trips.
This final rule modifies the broken trip
provision to allow vessels that break a
scallop trip to fully harvest the
remainder of their possession limit on a
makeup trip. The measure is intended to
provide added flexibility for vessel
operators in determining if a trip should
be terminated prior to catching the full
possession limit. Some vessel owners
and operators were concerned that the
reduced flexibility of the prior measure
compromised safety; this final rule
should alleviate that concern. The new
measure retroactively applies to all
broken trips that began on or after
March 1, 2005. NMFS will
automatically restore all scallop
poundage deducted under the prior
regulations, and send notification to
vessel owners authorizing the harvest of
the restored poundage on a subsequent
trip. Vessel owners may not harvest this
restored poundage until they receive
notification from NMFS. This restored
poundage can be used on any
authorized compensation trip into a
specified Access Area, and may be
combined with other compensation
trips for that specific Access Area, as
long as the overall possession limit is
not exceeded. Restored poundage can be
harvested at any time during the
remainder of the fishing year that ends
February 28, 2006, provided there are
no seasonal restrictions pertaining to the
specific Access Area.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received nine comment letters
on the proposed rule for Framework 17
(70 FR 32282). Upon review, one
comment was found to have no relation
to the proposed measures and was not
considered during the review of this
action. The remaining eight commenters
made comments specific to this action.
Comments were submitted by the Maine
Department of Marine Resources
(MEDMR), Stonington Fisheries
Alliance (SFA), Associated Fisheries of
Maine (AFM), Fisheries Survival Fund
(FSF), and five individuals. NMFS has
considered all of the comments on the
proposed measures, and has approved
all of the measures in Framework 17.
Responses to specific comments follow:
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Comment 1: FSF and an individual
support the VMS measures because in
their view VMS will result in improved
information about the performance of
the general category fishery, and will
improve the enforceability of the
regulations for that sector of the fishery.
Response: NMFS agrees that the VMS
will provide better information about
vessel activities in this sector of the
scallop fishery. Improved information
about the fishery will improve
management in several ways, including
enforcement of the regulations. NMFS
notes, however, that representatives of
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement
(OLE) expressed concern at the Council
meeting in February 2005 that
exempting some general category
vessels from the VMS requirement
would complicate enforcement because
it provides an opportunity for general
category vessels to fish for and land
scallops without using VMS. Despite
OLE’s concern, the Council concluded
that it should exempt that portion of the
fishery due to concern about the costs
of the system purchase, installation and
operation for vessels that make very low
scallop landings. NMFS has approved
the program as proposed by the Council
rather than disapproving it completely
because, even with the exemption, the
provision improves enforceability of the
general category fleet and addresses the
need for better data concerning the
fishing activity of the active vessels in
the general category sector. If there are
problems in effectively enforcing this
rule, NMFS will urge the Council to
modify this provision in a future action.
Comment 2: For several reasons,
MEDMR, SFA, AFM, and four
individuals oppose the imposition of
the VMS requirement as proposed in
Framework 17. Most of the specific
information in their comments pertains
to the fishery in Maine, which they state
is composed of vessels that participate
in several fisheries over the course of
the year, and fish for scallops on a
limited scale, usually inshore and
usually during December-April.
Additional specific points made by
these commenters are outlined below,
but they all express the same general
concern that it is inappropriate to
impose the VMS requirement and
associated costs on Maine vessel owners
given the relatively limited extent of
their participation in the scallop fishery.
MEDMR specifically notes concern that
Framework 17 will require over 2,500
general category vessels to acquire a
VMS system to monitor the actions of a
few is excessive, especially when the
vast majority have not landed
significant amounts of scallops in recent
years.
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Response: The VMS requirement was
developed to address enforcement and
monitoring issues that are fleet-wide,
not confined to specific areas. Landings
by general category vessels fleet-wide
require closer monitoring, including
incidental catches of scallops by vessels
fishing in other fisheries (such as the
multispecies fishery). It is necessary to
be able to monitor effectively vessel
activity at all times because scallop
catch and landings occur during other
fishery operations (such as multispecies
fishing). It is not necessary to determine
what species is being targeted, but
rather, whether excessive scallop
landings are occurring regardless of
reported fishing activity.
As to the concern noted by MEDMR
about imposing the VMS requirement
on 2,500 general category vessels, the
VMS measure in Framework 17
specifically allows vessels that possess
less than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops per
trip on all scallop trips to obtain the
non-VMS general category vessel
permit. The Framework 17 analysis
identifies 276 general category vessels
that actively fished for scallops and
reported landings in 2003. The number
of active vessels increased in 2004 and
2005, but most general category scallop
vessels remain inactive. Therefore, far
fewer than 2,500 vessels will be
impacted by the VMS requirement.
Comment 3: One individual suggests
that vessels should be exempted from
the VMS requirement under the existing
state waters exemption provision in the
scallop regulations. MEDMR suggests
that VMS should not be required for
general category scallop vessels north of
42°20′ N. latitude. If this is not possible,
then MEDMR suggests that general
category scallop vessels should be
allowed to declare into the scallop
fishery for a minimum of 3 months at
a time and be required to operate VMS
only when they are declared into the
fishery. The SFA also urged NMFS to
consider a different approach for the
Maine inshore sea scallop fishery.
Response: As noted in Response 2, the
VMS requirement was developed to
address enforcement and monitoring
issues that are fleet-wide, not confined
to specific areas. The Council
considered alternatives to the measures
being enacted in this action, and
determined that exemptions from the
requirement would weaken
enforceability. Further, some Council
members questioned the equitability of
exemptions specifically proposed for
vessels from Maine or vessels fishing in
the Gulf of Maine because there was no
information presented to support the
differential treatment of such vessels. At
this stage of the regulatory process,
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NMFS has only the option of approving
or disapproving the proposed measure,
and NMFS has approved it.
Comment 4: MEDMR commented that
the power-down provision in
Framework 17 is ineffective as a costsaving measure because many vessels
will have to have the VMS operating
even when targeting other species such
as lobster or groundfish. MEDMR
believes that this also will create an
enforcement nightmare because there
will be no indication through the VMS
what species is being targeted.
Response: The Council recommended,
and NMFS has approved, the measure
that allows the VMS to be powereddown only when the vessel is secured
to a mooring or dock. The power-down
provision is intended to provide relief
from the costs of having to operate VMS
around the clock for vessels that have
limited shore power. The VMS must be
operating at all other times to ensure
that all trips that land scallops are
monitored. Scallop catch and landings
often occur on trips that are also
targeting other species, such as
groundfish.
Comment 5: AFA commented that
requiring VMS on general category
scallop vessels will not achieve the
proposed objectives of documenting
landings and preventing unaccounted
landings. However, if NMFS decides to
approve the measure, AFA favors
approval of the power-down measure as
well, because is will provide relief for
many vessels that do not have the
resources to operate a VMS at all times.
Response: Documenting landings is
not the sole purpose of the measure. The
measure also will better identify vessels
that are making landings under the
general category permit. VMS will
improve efforts to enforce and monitor
landings of scallops by general category
vessels by providing information about
fishing and landing locations. Although
VMS does not eliminate the possibility
that vessels will make landings in
excess of the possession limits, VMS
provides an essential enforcement tool
to allow agents to check vessels for
compliance with those requirements.
VMS will also provide valuable data
about this sector of the fishery,
including fishing effort information that
can be used for analytical purposes and
in the development of future
management measures.
The Council proposed the powerdown allowance to reduce impacts on
vessels in this sector, and it is being
implemented by this final rule. The
analyses in Framework 17 project that
the initial costs of VMS can be offset if
the scallop landings per vessel increase
minimally. The measures are expected
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to better define the active general
category fleet and allow the Council to
obtain better information to develop
management measures in the future.
Active vessels should experience
benefits from improved management of
the scallop resource overall.
Comment 6: MEDMR commented that
many boats lack the computer and
electrical systems needed to operate
VMS; therefore, they will also have to
make significant system upgrades at a
considerable expense to comply with
the requirement.
Response: Framework 17 does not
identify the need for ‘‘significant system
upgrades’’ to accommodate VMS. As
discussed in the Framework 17
document, the Skymate VMS unit does
require a supporting personal computer,
which is accounted for in the cost
estimates.
Comment 7: MEDMR commented that
there are virtually no landings of
scallops from the Gulf of Maine (GOM)
in recent years, yet there are hundreds
of fishermen currently active in other
fisheries who should be able to fish for
scallops in the GOM when the stock
rebuilds.
Response: Framework 17 does not
prevent vessels from continuing to fish
for scallops and does not prohibit future
fishing opportunities.
Comment 8: MEDMR and two
industry representatives commented
that the considerable costs of
purchasing and operating VMS will
cause general category vessel owners in
Maine to cancel their general category
permits, thus losing their scallop
landings and revenue. MEDMR and an
industry representative both expressed
concern that owners who cancel their
permits may then lose their future
eligibility for this fishery, because there
is a November 1, 2004, control date for
the general category scallop fishery. The
industry representative contends that if
the Council develops a limited access
program for the general category fishery,
vessel owners who stop participating in
the scallop fishery because of the VMS
requirement will fail to qualify for the
limited access vessel permit.
Response: NMFS understands that
participants in the general category
scallop fishery are mindful of the fact
that the Council may determine in the
future to develop a limited access
program. The Council’s rationale for the
requirement is in large part because the
Council requires better information
about the fishery in order to consider
the issue of limited access. At this point,
individual vessel owners must make
their own decisions about the best
course of action to take for the future.
The analyses in Framework 17 project
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that active general category scallop
vessels are likely to increase their
scallop landings to offset the costs of
VMS purchase, installation, and
operation costs, rather than opting into
the non-VMS scallop vessel permit
category, particularly in light of the
November 1, 2004, control date.
Previously inactive vessels may also
begin to fish for scallops to offset the
costs of VMS. However, some vessel
owners may decide to reduce their
participation to the level allowed under
the non-VMS scallop vessel permit.
The Framework 17 analyses do not
indicate that the VMS requirement
would eliminate any fisheries. Some
vessel owners may choose to obtain the
non-VMS general category vessel permit
and elect to catch a small amount of
scallops per trip. Owners of vessels that
do not traditionally land more than 40
lb (18.14 kg) will have to consider
whether or not purchasing a VMS and
landing more scallops would be cost
effective for their circumstances.
A review of the analyses in
Framework 17 shows that the concerns
expressed by the commenters do not
appear to be confined to Maine vessels.
As is the case for owners in other states,
the owners of general category vessels in
Maine may choose to constrain their
scallop landings to 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
scallops and avoid the VMS
requirement, or they may opt to install
VMS unit and land up to 400 lb (181.44
kg) of scallops.
Comment 9: Two commenters
supported the modification of the
broken trip provision for the Access
Area fishery. One of these commenters
stated that vessels with broken trips
should be allowed to make up the
balance of their trip without penalties.
Response: NMFS agrees and
implements the revision to the broken
trip provision that eliminates the
automatic DAS and possession limit
deduction for compensation trips.
Further, vessels with broken trips that
occurred after March 1, 2005, will
receive automatic rebates of scallop
pounds that were deducted for the
associated compensation trips.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
In § 648.4, paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(D) and
(E) have been added to specify the
initial permit application process for
general category permit designation.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA), part 902 of title 15 CFR
displays control numbers assigned to
NMFS information collection
requirements by OMB. This part fulfills
the requirements of section
3506(c)(1)(B)(i) of the PRA, which
requires that agencies display a current
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control number, assigned by the
Director of OMB, for each agency
information collection requirement.
This final rule codifies OMB control
numbers for 0648–0529 for §§ 648.4,
648.9, and 648.10.
Under NOAA Administrative Order
205–11, 7/01, dated December 17, 1990,
the under Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere has delegated authority to
sign material for publication in the
Federal Register to the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA
(AA).
Classification
The RA determined that the
framework adjustment implemented by
this final rule is necessary for the
conservation and management of the
Atlantic sea scallop fishery and is
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and other applicable law.
For the following reasons, the AA has
determined that there is good cause to
waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness
provision of the APA pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3), for the revision to the
broken trip provision under Framework
17. The revision to the broken trip
provision specified in § 648.60(c)(5) in
this final rule is less restrictive than the
current broken trip provision and
promotes safety at sea. The revision
allows vessels to return to an Access
Area to harvest the full remainder of the
scallop possession limit. Vessel owners
and operators believe that the automatic
deduction of DAS and possession limit
has resulted in compromised safety at
sea because owners and operators claim
that vessels may remain at sea in unsafe
conditions (e.g., in severe weather, the
event of an injury, or mechanical
failure) in order to avoid losing a
portion of the trip, which could be
worth several thousand dollars.
Removal of the automatic deduction
therefore, may improve safety at sea by
eliminating a source of uncertainty in
vessel operator decisions when faced
with an unforseen event such as bad
weather, injury, and mechanical failure.
NMFS expects that it will receive
several broken trip compensation
request forms in the 30 days following
publication of the final rule. Although it
is uncertain, there is a likelihood that
vessels will be forced to break a trip as
a result of bad weather in the next 30
days because of the variable effects of
weather on different vessels. Weather
events have different effects on vessels
depending on the size of the vessel and
other physical vessel characteristics.
Large vessels may be able to remain at
sea safely in storms, only coming into
port in severe weather, while smaller
vessels may be in unsafe conditions in
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48863
moderately bad weather. Crew injuries
and mechanical failures which
jeopardize the safety of the crews on
vessels may also cause vessels to return
to port following publication of the final
rule. If faced with the possibility of
continuing penalties for breaking trips
as a result of bad weather, injury, or
mechanical failure, while the final rule
is delayed, vessel operators may believe
that they should avoid the penalty,
thereby compromising safety. Numerous
other reasons cause broken trips,
including depletion of supplies, ice, and
fuel, on vessels, minor mechanical and
gear malfunctions, and minor illnesses.
While these problems may not
specifically jeopardize the safety of the
crew, vessel operators may continue to
be reluctant to terminate trips even for
these reasons if faced with a penalty. If
the delayed effectiveness provision is
not waived, each request will be subject
to the penalty for 30 additional days
after the final rule is published. Given
that the penalty is administrative,
appears to be unnecessary for the
management and enforcement of the
Access Area program, and may
compromise safety, there is good cause
to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
NMFS, pursuant to section 604 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), has
prepared a FRFA in support of
Framework 17. The FRFA describes the
economic impact that this final rule,
along with other non-preferred
alternatives, will have on small entities.
The Final RFA (FRFA) incorporates
the economic impacts and analysis
summarized in the IRFA for the
proposed rule to implement Framework
17 (70 FR 32282, June 2, 2005), the
comments and responses in this final
rule, and the corresponding economic
analyses prepared for Framework 17
(e.g., the EA and the RIR). The contents
of these incorporated documents are not
repeated in detail here. A copy of the
IRFA, the RIR, and the EA are available
upon request (see ADDRESSES). Measures
in Framework 17 are intended to
improve the management of the scallop
fishery. A full description of the action
and why it is being considered are
contained in the preamble to this final
rule. The Magnuson-Stevens Act and
the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery
Management Plan, which allow for
framework adjustments and
amendments to improve the
management of the scallop fishery, are
the legal basis for this action. This final
rule does not duplicate, overlap or
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conflict with any relevant Federal rules.
A summary of the analysis follows:
Description of Small Entities to Which
the Proposed Rule Will Apply
Framework 17 will affect vessels with
limited access and general category
scallop permits. The vessels in the
Atlantic sea scallop fishery are all
considered small business entities
because all of them grossed less than
$3.5 million according to dealer data for
the 2001, 2002, and 2003 fishing years.
Therefore, there is no disproportionate
impact between small and large vessels.
According to the recent permit data,
289 vessels obtained full-time limited
access permits in 2003, including 37
small-dredge and 16 scallop trawl
permits. In the same year, there were
also 34 part-time and 10 occasional
limited access permits in the scallop
fishery. In addition, 2,554 permits were
issued to vessels in the open access
general category. Annual revenue from
all species, including scallops, averaged
about $814,000 per full-time vessel,
$405,800 per part-time vessel, and
$121,800 per occasional vessel during
the 2003 fishing year. The average
annual revenue per vessel that
participated in the general category
scallop fishery was $235,300 in 2003.
The average annual revenue per vessel
that would be impacted by this action
was estimated to be $165,845 for the
2003 fishing year.
Regulatory impacts on profitability
were also evaluated and are discussed
in the section of this FRFA summary
entitled: Description of the Significant
Economic Impacts.
A Summary of the Comments and
Statement of Changes
The State of Maine, four individuals,
and two fishing industry representatives
commented that the VMS requirements
included in Framework 17 would result
in extreme hardship for Maine vessels
that have had general category scallop
permits and that fish for scallops for
part of the year. Comments suggested
that the measures may eliminate an
inshore Maine scallop fishery and most
of the comments opposed to Framework
17 stated that Maine vessels would give
up their scallop permit rather than incur
the expense of the VMS. These
comments are provided in detail in the
‘‘Comments and Responses’’ portion of
this final rule.
NMFS considered these comments
and reviewed the analysis in Framework
17. The Framework 17 document and
analyses thoroughly evaluate potential
economic impacts (see Section 6.2 of the
Framework 17 document and EA). The
EA concludes that there would not be
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significant economic impacts as a result
of any of the measures under
Framework 17 because very few of the
vessels with general category scallop
permits (276 out of 2,544) have reported
landings of scallops greater than 40 lb
(18.14 kg) per trip, resulting in few
vessel owners actually being subject to
the VMS requirement. Most of the
general category fleet is expected to be
unaffected by the requirement to install
and operate VMS. Further, the
Framework 17 document provides a
thorough analysis of the cost of VMS
units and the expected amount of
additional fishing that would be
necessary to cover the initial and
ongoing costs of the units. As discussed
below under ‘‘Description of the
Significant Economic Impacts’’ the
number of trips that it would take to
cover the cost of VMS the first year
would be about 5 to 7 trips landing 400
lb (181.44 kg) each. Additional trips
would begin to generate profits.
Operating costs for subsequent years
would require minimal additional effort
(e.g., one additional 400–lb (181.44–kg)
trip). Finally, the economic and social
impacts analysis thoroughly evaluated
state-by-state participation in the
general category fishery. The analysis
does not indicate that impacts would be
particularly severe in Maine. In
particular, Tables 29 through 31
demonstrate that landings of scallops in
Maine are relatively low compared to
other states. Therefore, NMFS expects
that while some vessel owners in Maine
may increase effort in order to pay for
VMS units, others would continue to
land less than 40 lb (18.14 kg) per trip
or would not fish for scallops at all, and
would elect not to purchase and install
VMS units.
Description of the Significant Economic
Impacts
1. VMS Requirement for General
Category Vessels
This final rule implements the VMS
requirement for all general category
scallop vessels that possess more than
40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops at any time.
NMFS expects that the exception for
vessels that land 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
scallops or less will limit the number of
vessels required to comply with the new
VMS requirement to those that are most
active. Other vessels would be able to
continue fishing without VMS provided
they continue to land 40 lb (18.14 kg)
of scallops or less per trip. There were
2,554 vessels with general category
permits in the 2003 fishing year; 2,278
of these vessels either did not have any
scallop landings or landed no more than
40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops per trip. A
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total of 276 general category vessels
landed over 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops
per trip during the 2003 fishing year.
These 276 vessels accounted for
approximately 99.9 percent of the
general category scallop landings in
2003, and 53 of these vessels already
have VMS units. Therefore, the action is
expected to affect the remaining 223
vessels that do not already have VMS.
If all 223 vessels choose to install and
operate a VMS, the total costs to the
industry of installing VMS could range
from $795,000 to $1,307,000 during the
initial year of implementation. Total
costs would be higher if additional
vessel owners seek the option of landing
more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops
per trip. However, examining the costs
to individual vessels and the amount of
scallop trips necessary to offset the
initial costs demonstrates that it is likely
that initial costs could be offset by
increased scallop landings.
The cost of VMS for each vessel is
considered in the economic impact
analysis in the Framework 17
document. Costs include the initial cost
of purchasing and installing the VMS
units and ongoing costs of service fees.
The initial investment costs for VMS,
including the installation charge,
activation fee, and monthly service, are
estimated to be $3,565 for Skymate and
$4,735 for Boatracs. After this initial
investment, the costs of VMS for vessels
will decline substantially, and will
consist of annual service charges
estimated to be $1,260 for Boatracs and
$647 for Skymate. The initial purchase
and installation costs for each vessel
would be offset by vessels taking an
additional 5 to 7 1-day trips landing 400
lb (181.44 kg) of scallops. Continuing
costs would be offset with only 1 to 2
additional trips landing 400 lb (181.44
kg) of scallops.
General category vessels that would
be impacted by this action are
distinguished by their scallop revenue
relative to VMS costs. One group
consists of 79 to 87 vessels (depending
on the VMS unit installed), which could
not cover the cost of the VMS units with
their landings of scallops if they
continue to harvest scallops at their
historical level. Scallop landings per
trip for this group of vessels were less
than 90 lb (40.8 kg), and annual revenue
per vessel from scallops averaged about
$1,323 to $1,569. Another group
consists of 136 to 144 vessels,
depending on the VMS unit installed,
which historically make scallop
landings that generate revenue to equal
or exceed the costs of the VMS units.
The majority of these vessels targeted
scallops and earned, on average,
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$50,000 or more in scallop revenue
during the 2003 fishing year.
This action would have negative
economic impacts on vessels if they
choose to install a VMS and do not
increase their scallop landings enough
to cover the cost of VMS. Without
additional landings, the cost of
installing and operating VMS will
reduce their profits. Some vessels may
therefore choose to lower their scallop
landings to the incidental amount (40
lb; 18.14 kg) in order to retain their
general category permit without having
a VMS onboard. Other vessels could
increase trips and landings to the level
that would cover the cost of VMS. The
analysis notes that vessels fishing for
scallops for the first time would have to
make landings to cover the cost of VMS
before generating any profits. To cover
the initial purchase and installation
costs, each vessel would need to take
approximately 5 to 7 one-day trips
landing 400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallops.
Continuing costs would be offset with
only 1 to 2 trips. For vessels that are
likely to increase the number of trips to
cover the cost of VMS, this represents
only a marginal increase in effort. It is
unlikely that such vessels would
purchase VMS and not increase effort
given the recent high scallop catch rates
and product value.
There are several mitigating factors
that could minimize the negative
economic impacts of VMS
implementation for the general category
vessels that are required to operate a
VMS. Framework 17 provides the
flexibility to any vessel with a general
category permit to retain the permit
without having a VMS on board, as long
as scallop catch per trip is limited to the
incidental amount (40 lb/18.14 kg per
trip). Therefore, many vessels that do
not land any scallops per trip, or that
land only a small amount of scallops per
trip can avoid VMS costs without
experiencing a significant amount of
revenue loss and without giving up their
general category permit. For other
general category vessels that already
earn significant amounts of revenue
from scallop trips in excess of the VMS
costs, costs can be covered fully or in
part by taking additional trips and/or by
increasing the scallop catch per trip.
Between 2,000 and 2,600 lb (907.2 and
1,179.3 kg) of scallops would be
necessary to cover the initial and
ongoing operational costs of the VMS,
depending on the unit purchased, and
assuming that scallops constitute the
only source of revenue from those trips.
This catch translates into an additional
five to seven 1-day trips at landings of
400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallops per trip.
Vessels could also offset VMS costs
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16:02 Aug 19, 2005
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through additional revenue from other
species landed. In the long term, there
may be indirect benefits from better
enforcement and monitoring of general
category vessel landings, and as a result
of the safety benefits associated with
VMS position data in case of an
accident.
NMFS considered and rejected four
significant alternatives to the action
implemented in this final rule. One
alternative would have required all
vessels with general category permits,
2,554 vessels or more, to have operable
VMS units. This alternative was
expected to have excessive costs to the
fleet overall, equal to approximately $8
to $12 million. It also was expected to
negatively impact 2,344 vessels that do
not currently have VMS. It would have
affected all general category scallop
vessels regardless of their level of
landings and such action could not be
justified given the costs. Three other
alternatives were considered that would
have required smaller subsets of the
general category scallop vessels to have
operable VMS units. Rather than
exempting vessels possessing 40 lb
(18.14 kg) or less, the alternatives would
have exempted vessels from the VMS
requirement if they possess less than
100 lb (45.36 kg), 200 lb (90.71 kg), or
300 lb (136.08 kg). While these three
alternatives would have impacted a
smaller subset of vessels, it would have
severely compromised enforcement of
the general category possession limit by
continuing to facilitate vessels making
unreported and illegal landings. These
alternatives would be inconsistent with
the goals of improving enforcement of
the general category fleet under
Framework 17.
2. VMS Power-down Exemption
This action implements the powerdown provision to allow vessels to turn
the VMS off while in port and tied to
a dock or mooring. This provision is
expected to help to reduce costs
associated with the VMS requirement by
reducing polling costs and eliminating
the cost of generating electricity while
the vessel is tied to a dock or mooring
without continuous power. Alternatives
would have required that vessels keep
the VMS unit operable at all times,
which could have increased costs and
would be difficult for vessels without
continuous electrical supply to docks or
moorings.
3. Modification of Broken Trip Provision
This action modifies the broken trip
provision by eliminating the
requirement for a reduction in the
scallop possession limit when a broken
trip occurs. This measure is expected to
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48865
have positive economic impacts by
reducing the losses from broken trips for
the limited access scallop vessels that
fish under the Area Access Program.
This measure will prevent such revenue
loss because it allows vessels to fully
harvest the uncaught portion of the
possession limit on a subsequent trip.
Since the 2005 fishing year is not yet
complete, the analysis assumes that the
number of broken trips would be
approximately the same as the 2004
fishing year. It is not possible to predict
the amount of broken trips since they
result mainly from random and
unforseen events such as severe
weather, mechanical problems, and
injury. Assuming that the number of
broken trip applications are
approximately the same as they were
during 2004 fishing year, approximately
$1.6 million in revenue for the scallop
fishery could be recovered by
eliminating the possession limit
reduction. If the number of broken trips
increases in the 2005 fishing year,
potential lost revenue from the
automatic deduction would be even
higher without the Framework 17
revision. Adopting the status quo
alternative, i.e., maintaining the
automatic DAS and possession limit
deduction, would result in continued
loss of potential revenues from the
scallop access areas.
Economic Impacts of Significant and
Other Non-selected Alternatives
This action minimizes the costs for
the small business entities operating in
the general category scallop fishery as
compared to the non-selected
alternative 1, under which all vessels
with general category permits would be
required to operate a VMS. This nonselected alternative would expand the
VMS requirement to apply to the 2,278
vessels with general category permits
that historically catch no more than 40
lb (18.14 kg) of scallops. The VMS unit
costs would require these vessels to
either increase their scallop harvest to
cover the costs of VMS, or cancel their
general category permit, thus losing all
scallop revenue. Three other
alternatives considered by the Council
would have required VMS on general
category vessels if the vessel’s landings
were over 100 lb (45.4 kg), 200 lb (90.7
kg), or 300 lb (136.1 kg) for each
alternative. These alternatives would
require a smaller subset of vessels to
operate VMS, and would result in lower
overall costs to the general category fleet
compared to the proposed action.
However, concerns about the
enforcement problems associated with
exempting a large number of general
category vessels resulted in adoption of
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the measure being implemented by this
action.
The alternative to the power-down
exemption would have required VMS
operation at all times. It would not
minimize economic impacts on small
entities compared to the proposed
measure. In addition to continuous costs
associated with automatic polling of
vessel location, requiring vessels to
operate VMS units without a powerdown provision could present
compliance problems for vessels that do
not have sufficient power to run the
VMS unit while the vessel is tied to a
dock or mooring. It may, in turn, be
costly for these vessels to devise a way
to keep power supply to the VMS units
while the vessel is moored.
Similarly, maintaining the automatic
DAS and possession limit charge for
broken trips could continue to have
negative economic impacts on limited
access vessels, and would not minimize
economic impacts on small entities. As
noted above, approximately $1.6 million
in revenue for the scallop fishery could
be recovered by eliminating the
automatic DAS and possession limit
charge. If the number of broken trips
increases in the 2005 fishing year, the
potential for forgone revenues from the
automatic DAS and possession limit
charge would be even higher.
Small Entity Compliance Guide
Section 212 of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996 states that for each rule or group
of related rules for which an agency is
required to prepare a FRFA, the agency
shall publish one or more guides to
assist small entities in complying with
the rule, and shall designate such
publications as ‘‘small entity
compliance guides.’’ The agency shall
explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule
or group of rules. As part of this
rulemaking process, a small entity
compliance guide has been prepared.
The guide will be sent to all holders of
permits issued for the Atlantic scallop
fishery. In addition, copies of this final
rule and guide (i.e., permit holder letter)
are available from the RA and are also
available from NMFS, Northeast Region
(see ADDRESSES).
This final rule contains new
collection-of-information requirements
approved by OMB under the PRA.
These new requirements apply to
general category vessels only (the
requirements already exist for and/or do
not apply to other scallop vessels).
Public reporting burden for these
collections of information are estimated
to average as follows:
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Jkt 205001
1. Purchase and installation of VMS
units, OMB control number 0648–0529
(1 hr per response);
2. Verification of VMS units, OMB
control number 0648–0529 (5 min per
response);
3. Notification and application for
appropriate general category permit
designation, OMB control number
0648–0529 (30 min per response);
4. VMS power-down notification,
OMB control number 0648–0529 (2 min
per response); and
5. VMS re-power and trip notification,
OMB control number 0648–0529 (2 min
per response).
These estimates include the time for
reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection
information.
Public comment is sought regarding
whether this collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
burden estimate; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information, including through the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Send comments on these or any other
aspects of the collection of information
to NMFS and to OMB (see ADDRESSES).
Notwithstanding any other provision
of the law, no person is required to
respond to, and no person shall 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.
List of Subjects
15 CFR Part 902
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and
reporting requirements.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
John Oliver
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Operations, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
15 CFR Chapter IX
For the reasons stated in the preamble,
15 CFR chapter IX, part 902, and 50 CFR
chapter VI, part 648 are amended as
follows:
I
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PART 902—NOAA INFORMATION
COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS UNDER
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT:
OMB CONTROL NUMBERS
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR
part 902 continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
§ 902.1
[Amended]
2. In § 902.1, amend the table in
paragraph (b) under the CFR part ‘‘50
CFR’’ by adding the entry ‘‘-0529’’ in
numerical order to sections ‘‘648.4’’,
‘‘648.9’’, and ‘‘648.10’’ under the OMB
control number column.
I
50 CFR Chapter VI
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE
NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
3. The authority citation for 50 CFR
part 648 continues to read as follows:
I
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
4. In § 648.4, paragraph (a)(2)(ii) is
revised to read as follows:
I
§ 648.4
Vessel permits.
(a) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) General scallop permit. Any vessel
of the United States that is not in
possession of a limited access scallop
permit, and that possesses, or lands per
trip, 400 lb (181.44 kg) of shucked
meats, or 50 bu (17.62 hL) of in-shell
scallops, or less, except vessels that fish
exclusively in state waters for scallops,
must comply with one of the permit
requirements described in paragraphs
(a)(2)(ii)(A) or (B) of this section, unless
otherwise exempted under paragraph
(a)(2)(ii)(C) of this section, and must
comply with the application procedures
specified in paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(D) and
(E) of this section.
(A) Non-VMS general scallop permit.
To possess or land up to, but not more
than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu
(176.2 L) in-shell scallops per trip that
are sold or are intended to be sold, a
vessel must apply for and be issued a
non-VMS general scallop permit. A
vessel issued a non-VMS general scallop
permit may not possess or land more
than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu
(176.2 L) of in-shell scallops at any time.
(B) VMS general scallop permit. To
possess or land more than 40 lb (18.14
kg) of shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) of inshell scallops, up to 400 lb (181.44 kg)
of shucked meats, or 50 bu (17.62 hL)
of in-shell scallops, a vessel must apply
for and be issued a VMS general scallop
permit. Issuance of a VMS general
scallop permit requires the vessel owner
to submit a copy of the vendor
installation receipt from a NMFS-
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approved VMS vendor as described in
§ 648.9.
(C) Vessels without general scallop
permits. No scallop permit is required
for a vessel that possess or lands up to
40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu
(176.2 L) per trip, provided such
scallops are not, or are not intended to
be, sold, traded, or bartered.
(D) General scallop permit category
designation. The owner of a vessel
issued a general scallop permit for the
2005 fishing year is required to
complete and submit an application to
the Regional Administrator for the
appropriate permit designation as
specified in paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(A) and
(B) of this section by September 21,
2005. Vessels shall be issued the
appropriate permit category by October
21, 2005 based on the application
submitted by the vessel owner. Initial
general scallop permit category
designations are effective October 21,
2005. A vessel owner who fails to
submit a copy of the vendor installation
receipt from a NMFS-approved VMS
vendor as described in 648.9 by October
21, 2005, shall automatically be issued
the non-VMS general scallop permit. If
no application is received by October
21, 2005 for vessels previously issued a
general scallop permit for the 2005
fishing year, such vessels shall be
reissued non-VMS general scallop
permits. Vessel owners may request a
change in permit category for their
general category vessel no later than 45
days from October 21, 2005.
(E) General scallop permit
restrictions. A vessel may be issued a
general scallop permit in only one
category during a fishing year. The
owner of a vessel issued a general
scallop permit must elect a permit
category upon the vessel’s permit
application and shall have one
opportunity to request a change in
permit category by submitting an
application to the Regional
Administrator within 45 days of the
effective date of the vessel’s permit.
After that date, the vessel must remain
in that permit category for the duration
of the fishing year.
*
*
*
*
*
I 5. In § 648.9, paragraph (c)(1)
introductory text is revised, and
paragraphs (c)(1)(iii) and (c)(2)(i)(D) are
added to read as follows:
§ 648.9
VMS requirements.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(c)(2) of this section, or unless otherwise
required by paragraph (c)(1)(ii) or (iii) of
this section, all required VMS units
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must transmit a signal indicating the
vessel’s accurate position, as specified
under paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section.
*
*
*
*
*
(iii) At least twice per hour, 24 hours
a day, throughout the year, for vessels
issued a general scallop permit and
subject to the requirements of
§ 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(C), or a limited access
scallop permit.
*
*
*
*
*
(2) * * *
(i) * * *
(D) The vessel has been issued a
general scallop permit and is required to
operate VMS as specified in
§ 648.10(b)(1)(iv), is not in possession of
any scallops onboard the vessel, is tied
to a permanent dock or mooring, and
the vessel operator has notified NMFS
through VMS that the VMS will be
powered down, unless required by other
permit requirements for other fisheries
to transmit the vessel’s location at all
times. Such a vessel must repower the
VMS prior to moving from the fixed
dock or mooring.
*
*
*
*
*
I 6. In § 648.10, the section heading and
paragraph (b)(1)(iv) are revised to read as
follows:
§ 648.10 DAS and VMS notification
requirements.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) A scallop vessel issued a general
scallop permit that possesses, or lands
per trip, more than 40 lb (18.14 kg)
shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) in shell
scallops, or when fishing under the Sea
Scallop Area Access Program specified
under § 648.60 and in the Sea Scallop
Access Areas described in § 648.59(b)
through (d);
*
*
*
*
*
I 7. In § 648.14, paragraphs (i)(11) and
(12) are added to read as follows:
§ 648.14
Prohibitions.
*
*
*
*
*
(i) * * *
(11) Fail to have an approved,
operational, and functioning VMS unit
that meets the specifications of § 648.9
on board the vessel at all times, unless
the vessel is not subject to the VMS
requirements specified in § 648.10.
(12) If the vessel is not subject to VMS
requirements specified in § 648.10,
possess more than 40 lb (18.14 kg)
shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) in-shell
scallops at any time.
*
*
*
*
*
I 8. In § 648.52, paragraph (c) is revised
to read as follows:
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§ 648.52
48867
Possession and landing limits.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) Owners or operators of vessels
with a limited access scallop permit that
have declared into the Sea Scallop Area
Access Program as described in § 648.60
are prohibited from fishing for or
landing per trip, or possessing at any
time, more than any sea scallop
possession and landing limit specified
in or specified by the Regional
Administrator in accordance with
§ 648.60(a)(5).
*
*
*
*
*
I 9. In § 648.60, paragraph (c)(5) is
revised to read as follows:
§ 648.60 Sea scallop area access program
requirements.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(5) The Regional Administrator shall
authorize the vessel to take an
additional trip and shall specify the
amount of scallops that the vessel may
land on such trip and the number of
DAS charged for such trip, pursuant to
the calculation specified in paragraph
(c)(5)(i) of this section. Such
authorization shall be made within 10
days of receipt of the formal written
request for compensation.
(i) The amount of scallops that can be
landed on an authorized additional Sea
Scallop Access Area trip shall equal the
possession limit specified in paragraph
(a)(5) of this section minus the amount
of scallops landed on the terminated
trip. For example, in the 2005 fishing
year, if a full-time scallop vessel lands
6,500 lb (2,948.4 kg) of scallops and
requests compensation for the
terminated trip, the possession limit for
the additional trip is 11,500 lb (5,216.3
kg) or 18,000 lb (8,164.7 kg) minus 6,500
lb (2,948.4 kg).
(ii) If a vessel is authorized more than
one additional trip for compensation
into any Sea Scallop Access Area as the
result of more than one terminated trip
in the same Access Area, the possession
limits for the authorized trips may be
combined, provided the total possession
limit on a combined compensation trip
does not exceed the possession limit for
a trip as specified in paragraph (a)(5) of
this section. For example, a vessel that
has two broken trips with corresponding
compensation trip authorizations of
10,000 lb (4,535.9 kg) and 8,000 lb
(3,628.7 kg) may combine the
authorizations to allow one
compensation trip with a possession
limit of 18,000 lb (8,164.6 kg).
(iii) A vessel that terminated a 2005
access area trip after March 1, 2005, but
before August 22, 2005, shall be issued
authorization to harvest the amount of
E:\FR\FM\22AUR1.SGM
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48868
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 161 / Monday, August 22, 2005 / Rules and Regulations
pounds deducted from the possession
limit for the additional trip. The
Regional Administrator will issue this
authorization automatically, without
request from the vessel owner. A
rebated possession limit may be
combined with other additional trips as
described in paragraph (c)(5)(ii) of this
section.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 05–16613 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 522
Implantation or Injectable Dosage
Form New Animal Drugs; Flunixin
AGENCY:
Food and Drug Administration,
HHS.
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) is amending the
animal drug regulations to reflect
approval of a supplemental abbreviated
new animal drug application (ANADA)
filed by Phoenix Scientific, Inc. The
supplemental ANADA provides for
veterinary prescription use of flunixin
meglumine solution by intravenous
injection in lactating dairy cattle for
control of fever associated with bovine
respiratory disease and endotoxemia,
and for control of inflammation in
endotoxemia.
DATES:
This rule is effective August 22,
2005.
John
K. Harshman, Center for Veterinary
Medicine (HFV–104), Food and Drug
Administration, 7500 Standish Pl.,
Rockville, MD 20855, 240–276–9808, email: john.harshman@fda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Phoenix
Scientific, Inc., 3915 South 48th Street
Ter., St. Joseph, MO 64503, filed a
supplemental ANADA 200 124 that
provides for veterinary prescription use
of Flunixin Meglumine Injection
intravenously in lactating dairy cattle
for control of fever associated with
bovine respiratory disease and
endotoxemia, and for control of
inflammation in endotoxemia. The
supplemental ANADA is approved as of
July 18, 2005, and the regulations are
amended in 21 CFR 522.970 to reflect
the approval. The basis of approval is
discussed in the freedom of information
summary.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:02 Aug 19, 2005
Jkt 205001
In accordance with the freedom of
information provisions of 21 CFR part
20 and 21 CFR 514.11(e)(2)(ii), a
summary of safety and effectiveness
data and information submitted to
support approval of this application
may be seen in the Division of Dockets
Management (HFA–305), Food and Drug
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852, between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
FDA has determined under 21 CFR
25.33(a)(1) that this action is of a type
that does not individually or
cumulatively have a significant effect on
the human environment. Therefore,
neither an environmental assessment
nor an environmental impact statement
is required.
This rule does not meet the definition
of ‘‘rule’’ in 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(A) because
it is a rule of ‘‘particular applicability.’’
Therefore, it is not subject to the
congressional review requirements in 5
U.S.C. 801–808.
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
§ 522.970
Roth IRAs and Conversions
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 1
[TD 9220]
RIN 1545–BE66
Converting an IRA Annuity to a Roth
IRA
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Temporary Regulations.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This document contains
temporary regulations under section
408A of the Internal Revenue Code
(Code). These temporary regulations
provide guidance concerning the tax
consequences of converting a non-Roth
IRA annuity to a Roth IRA. These
temporary regulations affect individuals
establishing Roth IRAs, beneficiaries
under Roth IRAs, and trustees,
custodians and issuers of Roth IRAs.
The text of these temporary regulations
List of Subject in 21 CFR Part 522
also serves as the text of proposed
Animal drugs.
regulations set forth in a notice of
I Therefore, under the Federal Food,
proposed rulemaking in the Proposed
Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under
Rules section of this issue of the Federal
authority delegated to the Commissioner Register.
of Food and Drugs and redelegated to the
DATES: Effective Date: These regulations
Center for Veterinary Medicine, 21 CFR
are effective August 19, 2005.
part 522 is amended as follows:
Applicability Date: These regulations
are applicable to any Roth IRA
PART 522—IMPLANTATION OR
conversion where an annuity contract is
INJECTABLE DOSAGE FORM NEW
distributed or treated as distributed
ANIMAL DRUGS
from a traditional IRA on or after August
19, 2005.
I 1. The authority citation for 21 CFR
part 522 continues to read as follows:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Concerning the regulations, Cathy A.
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 360b.
Vohs, 202–622–6060.
I 2. Section 522.970 is amended by
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
revising paragraph (e)(2)(iii) to read as
follows:
Background
Flunixin.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(2) * * *
(iii) Limitations. Do not slaughter for
food use within 4 days of last treatment.
A withdrawal period has not been
established for use in preruminating
calves. Do not use in calves to be
processed for veal. For Nos. 000061 and
059130: Do not use in dry dairy cows.
Milk that has been taken during
treatment and for 36 hours after the last
treatment must not be used for food. For
Nos. 055529 and 057561: Not for use in
lactating or dry dairy cows.
Dated: August 10, 2005.
Stephen F. Sundlof,
Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine.
[FR Doc. 05–16499 Filed 8–19–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160–01–S
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
This document contains temporary
regulations that amend the Income Tax
Regulations (26 CFR part 1) under
section 408A of Code relating to Roth
IRAs. Section 408A of the Code, which
was added by section 302 of the
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Public Law
105–34 (111 Stat. 788), establishes the
Roth IRA as a type of individual
retirement plan, effective for taxable
years beginning on or after January 1,
1998.
Under Code section 408A, a Roth IRA
is treated like a traditional IRA with
several significant exceptions. Like
amounts held in traditional IRAs,
amounts held in Roth IRAs generally are
exempt from Federal income tax under
Code section 408(e)(1). Likewise,
contributions to traditional IRAs and
E:\FR\FM\22AUR1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 161 (Monday, August 22, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48860-48868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16613]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15 CFR Part 902
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 050520137-5220-02; I.D. 050905F]
RIN 0648-AT10
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery; Framework Adjustment 17
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule implements Framework 17 to the Atlantic Sea
Scallop Fishery Management Plan (Framework 17), which was developed and
submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) and
approved by NMFS. Framework 17 requires that vessels issued a general
category scallop permit and that intend to land over 40 lb (18.14 kg)
of shucked, or 5 bu (176.2 L) of in-shell scallops, install and operate
vessel monitoring systems (VMS). Framework 17 also allows general
category scallop vessels with VMS units to turn off (power-down) their
VMS units after they have offloaded scallops and while they are tied to
a fixed dock or mooring. Finally, Framework 17 revises the broken trip
adjustment provision for limited access scallop vessels fishing in the
Sea Scallop Area Access Program. The intent of this action is to
provide more complete monitoring of the general category scallop fleet,
to reduce VMS operating costs, and to eliminate a provision that may
have a negative influence on vessel operator decisions at sea and
facilitate safety.
DATES: All provisions in this final rule are effective October 21,
2005, except 50 CFR 648.60(c)(5), which is effective August 22, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or
other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained
in this rule should be submitted to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator (RA), NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; and to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), by e-mail at David--Rostker@omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395-
7285.
Copies of Framework 17, its Regulatory Impact Review (RIR),
including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the
Environmental Assessment (EA) are available on request from Paul J.
Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50
Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are also available
online at https://www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9288; fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Framework 17 was adopted by the Council on February 1, 2005, and
was submitted to NMFS by the Council on March 11, 2005, with a
supplement submitted on April 4, 2005. A proposed rule for Framework 17
was published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2005 (70 FR 32282),
with a comment period ending on June 17, 2005. The issues that led to
the development of Framework 17 are discussed in detail in the preamble
of the proposed rule, and are summarized briefly in this final rule.
Framework 17 was developed by the Council to address concerns resulting
from reports that vessels issued Atlantic scallop open access general
category permits were making undocumented scallop landings and
violating the 400-lb (181.44-kg)/50-bu (17.62-hL) possession limit
restriction. In addition, the Council made a modification to the
procedure that authorizes limited access scallop vessels to terminate
Area Access trips prior to fully harvesting the allowed amount of
scallops (the broken trip provision).
Framework 17 requires all general category vessels that land, or
intend to land, more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked, or 5 bu (176.2
L) unshucked scallops, to install and operate a VMS onboard the vessel.
The use of VMS is expected to assist with monitoring of general
category vessel activity and facilitate the enforcement of the
possession limit regulations. Because of
[[Page 48861]]
the cost of installing and operating VMS, the requirement may also help
distinguish the active fleet of general category vessels that target
scallops from all of the currently permitted vessels, which number over
2,500. VMS will provide better data for fishery management,
particularly to specifically identify areas that are more frequently
targeted by small vessels fishing outside of the typical scallop
fishing areas (e.g., inshore areas of the Gulf of Maine). Transmission
of location information through VMS could also assist U.S. Coast Guard
search and rescue operations by automatically tracking vessel position.
In order to administer and effectively enforce the new VMS
requirement for general category vessels, this final rule establishes a
new general category scallop permit designation, under NMFS's Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act),
section 305(d) authority. Framework 17 requires vessel owners
requesting general category scallop permits to determine whether they
will fish under the non-VMS general category vessel permit, which
authorizes possession of 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked, or 5 bu (176.2 L)
of unshucked scallops, or under the VMS general category vessel permit,
which authorizes the possession of up to 400 lb (181.44 kg) of shucked
or 50 bu (17.62 hL) of unshucked scallops. Owners who apply for the VMS
general category vessel permit must submit a copy of the vendor
installation receipt from a NMFS-approved VMS vendor with their permit
application. Vessel owners who have not submitted proof of VMS
installation, or who have not submitted a completed application for a
VMS general category vessel permit by the effective date of this action
will be issued a non-VMS general category vessel permit at that time.
Vessel owners may change from one general scallop permit category to
another within 45 days of the issuance of the new general category
vessel permit.
This final rule also implements a VMS power-down provision to
accommodate vessels that do not have continuous power sources at their
docks or moorings. Many vessels in the general category fleet are
moored or docked in locations that have limited electrical power. The
power-down provision was established to address this issue, and it
allows vessel operators to turn off their VMS units and notify NMFS
once the vessel is in port, has offloaded its catch, and is tied to a
permanent dock or mooring. Vessel operators must turn on their VMS
units and log into the system before leaving the fixed dock or mooring
for any purpose.
This final rule also removes the automatic days-at-sea (DAS) charge
and possession limit reduction under the current regulatory provision
for limited access scallop vessels that terminate scallop trips in the
Area Access Program (the broken trip provision). Under the previous
measure, such vessels could resume trips, but the possession limit for
the compensation trip was reduced to discourage unnecessary broken
trips. This final rule modifies the broken trip provision to allow
vessels that break a scallop trip to fully harvest the remainder of
their possession limit on a makeup trip. The measure is intended to
provide added flexibility for vessel operators in determining if a trip
should be terminated prior to catching the full possession limit. Some
vessel owners and operators were concerned that the reduced flexibility
of the prior measure compromised safety; this final rule should
alleviate that concern. The new measure retroactively applies to all
broken trips that began on or after March 1, 2005. NMFS will
automatically restore all scallop poundage deducted under the prior
regulations, and send notification to vessel owners authorizing the
harvest of the restored poundage on a subsequent trip. Vessel owners
may not harvest this restored poundage until they receive notification
from NMFS. This restored poundage can be used on any authorized
compensation trip into a specified Access Area, and may be combined
with other compensation trips for that specific Access Area, as long as
the overall possession limit is not exceeded. Restored poundage can be
harvested at any time during the remainder of the fishing year that
ends February 28, 2006, provided there are no seasonal restrictions
pertaining to the specific Access Area.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received nine comment letters on the proposed rule for
Framework 17 (70 FR 32282). Upon review, one comment was found to have
no relation to the proposed measures and was not considered during the
review of this action. The remaining eight commenters made comments
specific to this action. Comments were submitted by the Maine
Department of Marine Resources (MEDMR), Stonington Fisheries Alliance
(SFA), Associated Fisheries of Maine (AFM), Fisheries Survival Fund
(FSF), and five individuals. NMFS has considered all of the comments on
the proposed measures, and has approved all of the measures in
Framework 17. Responses to specific comments follow:
Comment 1: FSF and an individual support the VMS measures because
in their view VMS will result in improved information about the
performance of the general category fishery, and will improve the
enforceability of the regulations for that sector of the fishery.
Response: NMFS agrees that the VMS will provide better information
about vessel activities in this sector of the scallop fishery. Improved
information about the fishery will improve management in several ways,
including enforcement of the regulations. NMFS notes, however, that
representatives of NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) expressed
concern at the Council meeting in February 2005 that exempting some
general category vessels from the VMS requirement would complicate
enforcement because it provides an opportunity for general category
vessels to fish for and land scallops without using VMS. Despite OLE's
concern, the Council concluded that it should exempt that portion of
the fishery due to concern about the costs of the system purchase,
installation and operation for vessels that make very low scallop
landings. NMFS has approved the program as proposed by the Council
rather than disapproving it completely because, even with the
exemption, the provision improves enforceability of the general
category fleet and addresses the need for better data concerning the
fishing activity of the active vessels in the general category sector.
If there are problems in effectively enforcing this rule, NMFS will
urge the Council to modify this provision in a future action.
Comment 2: For several reasons, MEDMR, SFA, AFM, and four
individuals oppose the imposition of the VMS requirement as proposed in
Framework 17. Most of the specific information in their comments
pertains to the fishery in Maine, which they state is composed of
vessels that participate in several fisheries over the course of the
year, and fish for scallops on a limited scale, usually inshore and
usually during December-April. Additional specific points made by these
commenters are outlined below, but they all express the same general
concern that it is inappropriate to impose the VMS requirement and
associated costs on Maine vessel owners given the relatively limited
extent of their participation in the scallop fishery. MEDMR
specifically notes concern that Framework 17 will require over 2,500
general category vessels to acquire a VMS system to monitor the actions
of a few is excessive, especially when the vast majority have not
landed significant amounts of scallops in recent years.
[[Page 48862]]
Response: The VMS requirement was developed to address enforcement
and monitoring issues that are fleet-wide, not confined to specific
areas. Landings by general category vessels fleet-wide require closer
monitoring, including incidental catches of scallops by vessels fishing
in other fisheries (such as the multispecies fishery). It is necessary
to be able to monitor effectively vessel activity at all times because
scallop catch and landings occur during other fishery operations (such
as multispecies fishing). It is not necessary to determine what species
is being targeted, but rather, whether excessive scallop landings are
occurring regardless of reported fishing activity.
As to the concern noted by MEDMR about imposing the VMS requirement
on 2,500 general category vessels, the VMS measure in Framework 17
specifically allows vessels that possess less than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
scallops per trip on all scallop trips to obtain the non-VMS general
category vessel permit. The Framework 17 analysis identifies 276
general category vessels that actively fished for scallops and reported
landings in 2003. The number of active vessels increased in 2004 and
2005, but most general category scallop vessels remain inactive.
Therefore, far fewer than 2,500 vessels will be impacted by the VMS
requirement.
Comment 3: One individual suggests that vessels should be exempted
from the VMS requirement under the existing state waters exemption
provision in the scallop regulations. MEDMR suggests that VMS should
not be required for general category scallop vessels north of
42[deg]20' N. latitude. If this is not possible, then MEDMR suggests
that general category scallop vessels should be allowed to declare into
the scallop fishery for a minimum of 3 months at a time and be required
to operate VMS only when they are declared into the fishery. The SFA
also urged NMFS to consider a different approach for the Maine inshore
sea scallop fishery.
Response: As noted in Response 2, the VMS requirement was developed
to address enforcement and monitoring issues that are fleet-wide, not
confined to specific areas. The Council considered alternatives to the
measures being enacted in this action, and determined that exemptions
from the requirement would weaken enforceability. Further, some Council
members questioned the equitability of exemptions specifically proposed
for vessels from Maine or vessels fishing in the Gulf of Maine because
there was no information presented to support the differential
treatment of such vessels. At this stage of the regulatory process,
NMFS has only the option of approving or disapproving the proposed
measure, and NMFS has approved it.
Comment 4: MEDMR commented that the power-down provision in
Framework 17 is ineffective as a cost-saving measure because many
vessels will have to have the VMS operating even when targeting other
species such as lobster or groundfish. MEDMR believes that this also
will create an enforcement nightmare because there will be no
indication through the VMS what species is being targeted.
Response: The Council recommended, and NMFS has approved, the
measure that allows the VMS to be powered-down only when the vessel is
secured to a mooring or dock. The power-down provision is intended to
provide relief from the costs of having to operate VMS around the clock
for vessels that have limited shore power. The VMS must be operating at
all other times to ensure that all trips that land scallops are
monitored. Scallop catch and landings often occur on trips that are
also targeting other species, such as groundfish.
Comment 5: AFA commented that requiring VMS on general category
scallop vessels will not achieve the proposed objectives of documenting
landings and preventing unaccounted landings. However, if NMFS decides
to approve the measure, AFA favors approval of the power-down measure
as well, because is will provide relief for many vessels that do not
have the resources to operate a VMS at all times.
Response: Documenting landings is not the sole purpose of the
measure. The measure also will better identify vessels that are making
landings under the general category permit. VMS will improve efforts to
enforce and monitor landings of scallops by general category vessels by
providing information about fishing and landing locations. Although VMS
does not eliminate the possibility that vessels will make landings in
excess of the possession limits, VMS provides an essential enforcement
tool to allow agents to check vessels for compliance with those
requirements. VMS will also provide valuable data about this sector of
the fishery, including fishing effort information that can be used for
analytical purposes and in the development of future management
measures.
The Council proposed the power-down allowance to reduce impacts on
vessels in this sector, and it is being implemented by this final rule.
The analyses in Framework 17 project that the initial costs of VMS can
be offset if the scallop landings per vessel increase minimally. The
measures are expected to better define the active general category
fleet and allow the Council to obtain better information to develop
management measures in the future. Active vessels should experience
benefits from improved management of the scallop resource overall.
Comment 6: MEDMR commented that many boats lack the computer and
electrical systems needed to operate VMS; therefore, they will also
have to make significant system upgrades at a considerable expense to
comply with the requirement.
Response: Framework 17 does not identify the need for ``significant
system upgrades'' to accommodate VMS. As discussed in the Framework 17
document, the Skymate VMS unit does require a supporting personal
computer, which is accounted for in the cost estimates.
Comment 7: MEDMR commented that there are virtually no landings of
scallops from the Gulf of Maine (GOM) in recent years, yet there are
hundreds of fishermen currently active in other fisheries who should be
able to fish for scallops in the GOM when the stock rebuilds.
Response: Framework 17 does not prevent vessels from continuing to
fish for scallops and does not prohibit future fishing opportunities.
Comment 8: MEDMR and two industry representatives commented that
the considerable costs of purchasing and operating VMS will cause
general category vessel owners in Maine to cancel their general
category permits, thus losing their scallop landings and revenue. MEDMR
and an industry representative both expressed concern that owners who
cancel their permits may then lose their future eligibility for this
fishery, because there is a November 1, 2004, control date for the
general category scallop fishery. The industry representative contends
that if the Council develops a limited access program for the general
category fishery, vessel owners who stop participating in the scallop
fishery because of the VMS requirement will fail to qualify for the
limited access vessel permit.
Response: NMFS understands that participants in the general
category scallop fishery are mindful of the fact that the Council may
determine in the future to develop a limited access program. The
Council's rationale for the requirement is in large part because the
Council requires better information about the fishery in order to
consider the issue of limited access. At this point, individual vessel
owners must make their own decisions about the best course of action to
take for the future. The analyses in Framework 17 project
[[Page 48863]]
that active general category scallop vessels are likely to increase
their scallop landings to offset the costs of VMS purchase,
installation, and operation costs, rather than opting into the non-VMS
scallop vessel permit category, particularly in light of the November
1, 2004, control date. Previously inactive vessels may also begin to
fish for scallops to offset the costs of VMS. However, some vessel
owners may decide to reduce their participation to the level allowed
under the non-VMS scallop vessel permit.
The Framework 17 analyses do not indicate that the VMS requirement
would eliminate any fisheries. Some vessel owners may choose to obtain
the non-VMS general category vessel permit and elect to catch a small
amount of scallops per trip. Owners of vessels that do not
traditionally land more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) will have to consider
whether or not purchasing a VMS and landing more scallops would be cost
effective for their circumstances.
A review of the analyses in Framework 17 shows that the concerns
expressed by the commenters do not appear to be confined to Maine
vessels. As is the case for owners in other states, the owners of
general category vessels in Maine may choose to constrain their scallop
landings to 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops and avoid the VMS requirement,
or they may opt to install VMS unit and land up to 400 lb (181.44 kg)
of scallops.
Comment 9: Two commenters supported the modification of the broken
trip provision for the Access Area fishery. One of these commenters
stated that vessels with broken trips should be allowed to make up the
balance of their trip without penalties.
Response: NMFS agrees and implements the revision to the broken
trip provision that eliminates the automatic DAS and possession limit
deduction for compensation trips. Further, vessels with broken trips
that occurred after March 1, 2005, will receive automatic rebates of
scallop pounds that were deducted for the associated compensation
trips.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
In Sec. 648.4, paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(D) and (E) have been added to
specify the initial permit application process for general category
permit designation.
Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), part 902 of title 15
CFR displays control numbers assigned to NMFS information collection
requirements by OMB. This part fulfills the requirements of section
3506(c)(1)(B)(i) of the PRA, which requires that agencies display a
current control number, assigned by the Director of OMB, for each
agency information collection requirement. This final rule codifies OMB
control numbers for 0648-0529 for Sec. Sec. 648.4, 648.9, and 648.10.
Under NOAA Administrative Order 205-11, 7/01, dated December 17,
1990, the under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere has delegated
authority to sign material for publication in the Federal Register to
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA).
Classification
The RA determined that the framework adjustment implemented by this
final rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the
Atlantic sea scallop fishery and is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable law.
For the following reasons, the AA has determined that there is good
cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness provision of the APA
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), for the revision to the broken trip
provision under Framework 17. The revision to the broken trip provision
specified in Sec. 648.60(c)(5) in this final rule is less restrictive
than the current broken trip provision and promotes safety at sea. The
revision allows vessels to return to an Access Area to harvest the full
remainder of the scallop possession limit. Vessel owners and operators
believe that the automatic deduction of DAS and possession limit has
resulted in compromised safety at sea because owners and operators
claim that vessels may remain at sea in unsafe conditions (e.g., in
severe weather, the event of an injury, or mechanical failure) in order
to avoid losing a portion of the trip, which could be worth several
thousand dollars. Removal of the automatic deduction therefore, may
improve safety at sea by eliminating a source of uncertainty in vessel
operator decisions when faced with an unforseen event such as bad
weather, injury, and mechanical failure. NMFS expects that it will
receive several broken trip compensation request forms in the 30 days
following publication of the final rule. Although it is uncertain,
there is a likelihood that vessels will be forced to break a trip as a
result of bad weather in the next 30 days because of the variable
effects of weather on different vessels. Weather events have different
effects on vessels depending on the size of the vessel and other
physical vessel characteristics. Large vessels may be able to remain at
sea safely in storms, only coming into port in severe weather, while
smaller vessels may be in unsafe conditions in moderately bad weather.
Crew injuries and mechanical failures which jeopardize the safety of
the crews on vessels may also cause vessels to return to port following
publication of the final rule. If faced with the possibility of
continuing penalties for breaking trips as a result of bad weather,
injury, or mechanical failure, while the final rule is delayed, vessel
operators may believe that they should avoid the penalty, thereby
compromising safety. Numerous other reasons cause broken trips,
including depletion of supplies, ice, and fuel, on vessels, minor
mechanical and gear malfunctions, and minor illnesses. While these
problems may not specifically jeopardize the safety of the crew, vessel
operators may continue to be reluctant to terminate trips even for
these reasons if faced with a penalty. If the delayed effectiveness
provision is not waived, each request will be subject to the penalty
for 30 additional days after the final rule is published. Given that
the penalty is administrative, appears to be unnecessary for the
management and enforcement of the Access Area program, and may
compromise safety, there is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
NMFS, pursuant to section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA), has prepared a FRFA in support of Framework 17. The FRFA
describes the economic impact that this final rule, along with other
non-preferred alternatives, will have on small entities.
The Final RFA (FRFA) incorporates the economic impacts and analysis
summarized in the IRFA for the proposed rule to implement Framework 17
(70 FR 32282, June 2, 2005), the comments and responses in this final
rule, and the corresponding economic analyses prepared for Framework 17
(e.g., the EA and the RIR). The contents of these incorporated
documents are not repeated in detail here. A copy of the IRFA, the RIR,
and the EA are available upon request (see ADDRESSES). Measures in
Framework 17 are intended to improve the management of the scallop
fishery. A full description of the action and why it is being
considered are contained in the preamble to this final rule. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management
Plan, which allow for framework adjustments and amendments to improve
the management of the scallop fishery, are the legal basis for this
action. This final rule does not duplicate, overlap or
[[Page 48864]]
conflict with any relevant Federal rules. A summary of the analysis
follows:
Description of Small Entities to Which the Proposed Rule Will Apply
Framework 17 will affect vessels with limited access and general
category scallop permits. The vessels in the Atlantic sea scallop
fishery are all considered small business entities because all of them
grossed less than $3.5 million according to dealer data for the 2001,
2002, and 2003 fishing years. Therefore, there is no disproportionate
impact between small and large vessels.
According to the recent permit data, 289 vessels obtained full-time
limited access permits in 2003, including 37 small-dredge and 16
scallop trawl permits. In the same year, there were also 34 part-time
and 10 occasional limited access permits in the scallop fishery. In
addition, 2,554 permits were issued to vessels in the open access
general category. Annual revenue from all species, including scallops,
averaged about $814,000 per full-time vessel, $405,800 per part-time
vessel, and $121,800 per occasional vessel during the 2003 fishing
year. The average annual revenue per vessel that participated in the
general category scallop fishery was $235,300 in 2003. The average
annual revenue per vessel that would be impacted by this action was
estimated to be $165,845 for the 2003 fishing year.
Regulatory impacts on profitability were also evaluated and are
discussed in the section of this FRFA summary entitled: Description of
the Significant Economic Impacts.
A Summary of the Comments and Statement of Changes
The State of Maine, four individuals, and two fishing industry
representatives commented that the VMS requirements included in
Framework 17 would result in extreme hardship for Maine vessels that
have had general category scallop permits and that fish for scallops
for part of the year. Comments suggested that the measures may
eliminate an inshore Maine scallop fishery and most of the comments
opposed to Framework 17 stated that Maine vessels would give up their
scallop permit rather than incur the expense of the VMS. These comments
are provided in detail in the ``Comments and Responses'' portion of
this final rule.
NMFS considered these comments and reviewed the analysis in
Framework 17. The Framework 17 document and analyses thoroughly
evaluate potential economic impacts (see Section 6.2 of the Framework
17 document and EA). The EA concludes that there would not be
significant economic impacts as a result of any of the measures under
Framework 17 because very few of the vessels with general category
scallop permits (276 out of 2,544) have reported landings of scallops
greater than 40 lb (18.14 kg) per trip, resulting in few vessel owners
actually being subject to the VMS requirement. Most of the general
category fleet is expected to be unaffected by the requirement to
install and operate VMS. Further, the Framework 17 document provides a
thorough analysis of the cost of VMS units and the expected amount of
additional fishing that would be necessary to cover the initial and
ongoing costs of the units. As discussed below under ``Description of
the Significant Economic Impacts'' the number of trips that it would
take to cover the cost of VMS the first year would be about 5 to 7
trips landing 400 lb (181.44 kg) each. Additional trips would begin to
generate profits. Operating costs for subsequent years would require
minimal additional effort (e.g., one additional 400-lb (181.44-kg)
trip). Finally, the economic and social impacts analysis thoroughly
evaluated state-by-state participation in the general category fishery.
The analysis does not indicate that impacts would be particularly
severe in Maine. In particular, Tables 29 through 31 demonstrate that
landings of scallops in Maine are relatively low compared to other
states. Therefore, NMFS expects that while some vessel owners in Maine
may increase effort in order to pay for VMS units, others would
continue to land less than 40 lb (18.14 kg) per trip or would not fish
for scallops at all, and would elect not to purchase and install VMS
units.
Description of the Significant Economic Impacts
1. VMS Requirement for General Category Vessels
This final rule implements the VMS requirement for all general
category scallop vessels that possess more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
scallops at any time. NMFS expects that the exception for vessels that
land 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops or less will limit the number of
vessels required to comply with the new VMS requirement to those that
are most active. Other vessels would be able to continue fishing
without VMS provided they continue to land 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops
or less per trip. There were 2,554 vessels with general category
permits in the 2003 fishing year; 2,278 of these vessels either did not
have any scallop landings or landed no more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
scallops per trip. A total of 276 general category vessels landed over
40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops per trip during the 2003 fishing year.
These 276 vessels accounted for approximately 99.9 percent of the
general category scallop landings in 2003, and 53 of these vessels
already have VMS units. Therefore, the action is expected to affect the
remaining 223 vessels that do not already have VMS. If all 223 vessels
choose to install and operate a VMS, the total costs to the industry of
installing VMS could range from $795,000 to $1,307,000 during the
initial year of implementation. Total costs would be higher if
additional vessel owners seek the option of landing more than 40 lb
(18.14 kg) of scallops per trip. However, examining the costs to
individual vessels and the amount of scallop trips necessary to offset
the initial costs demonstrates that it is likely that initial costs
could be offset by increased scallop landings.
The cost of VMS for each vessel is considered in the economic
impact analysis in the Framework 17 document. Costs include the initial
cost of purchasing and installing the VMS units and ongoing costs of
service fees. The initial investment costs for VMS, including the
installation charge, activation fee, and monthly service, are estimated
to be $3,565 for Skymate and $4,735 for Boatracs. After this initial
investment, the costs of VMS for vessels will decline substantially,
and will consist of annual service charges estimated to be $1,260 for
Boatracs and $647 for Skymate. The initial purchase and installation
costs for each vessel would be offset by vessels taking an additional 5
to 7 1-day trips landing 400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallops. Continuing
costs would be offset with only 1 to 2 additional trips landing 400 lb
(181.44 kg) of scallops.
General category vessels that would be impacted by this action are
distinguished by their scallop revenue relative to VMS costs. One group
consists of 79 to 87 vessels (depending on the VMS unit installed),
which could not cover the cost of the VMS units with their landings of
scallops if they continue to harvest scallops at their historical
level. Scallop landings per trip for this group of vessels were less
than 90 lb (40.8 kg), and annual revenue per vessel from scallops
averaged about $1,323 to $1,569. Another group consists of 136 to 144
vessels, depending on the VMS unit installed, which historically make
scallop landings that generate revenue to equal or exceed the costs of
the VMS units. The majority of these vessels targeted scallops and
earned, on average,
[[Page 48865]]
$50,000 or more in scallop revenue during the 2003 fishing year.
This action would have negative economic impacts on vessels if they
choose to install a VMS and do not increase their scallop landings
enough to cover the cost of VMS. Without additional landings, the cost
of installing and operating VMS will reduce their profits. Some vessels
may therefore choose to lower their scallop landings to the incidental
amount (40 lb; 18.14 kg) in order to retain their general category
permit without having a VMS onboard. Other vessels could increase trips
and landings to the level that would cover the cost of VMS. The
analysis notes that vessels fishing for scallops for the first time
would have to make landings to cover the cost of VMS before generating
any profits. To cover the initial purchase and installation costs, each
vessel would need to take approximately 5 to 7 one-day trips landing
400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallops. Continuing costs would be offset with
only 1 to 2 trips. For vessels that are likely to increase the number
of trips to cover the cost of VMS, this represents only a marginal
increase in effort. It is unlikely that such vessels would purchase VMS
and not increase effort given the recent high scallop catch rates and
product value.
There are several mitigating factors that could minimize the
negative economic impacts of VMS implementation for the general
category vessels that are required to operate a VMS. Framework 17
provides the flexibility to any vessel with a general category permit
to retain the permit without having a VMS on board, as long as scallop
catch per trip is limited to the incidental amount (40 lb/18.14 kg per
trip). Therefore, many vessels that do not land any scallops per trip,
or that land only a small amount of scallops per trip can avoid VMS
costs without experiencing a significant amount of revenue loss and
without giving up their general category permit. For other general
category vessels that already earn significant amounts of revenue from
scallop trips in excess of the VMS costs, costs can be covered fully or
in part by taking additional trips and/or by increasing the scallop
catch per trip. Between 2,000 and 2,600 lb (907.2 and 1,179.3 kg) of
scallops would be necessary to cover the initial and ongoing
operational costs of the VMS, depending on the unit purchased, and
assuming that scallops constitute the only source of revenue from those
trips. This catch translates into an additional five to seven 1-day
trips at landings of 400 lb (181.44 kg) of scallops per trip. Vessels
could also offset VMS costs through additional revenue from other
species landed. In the long term, there may be indirect benefits from
better enforcement and monitoring of general category vessel landings,
and as a result of the safety benefits associated with VMS position
data in case of an accident.
NMFS considered and rejected four significant alternatives to the
action implemented in this final rule. One alternative would have
required all vessels with general category permits, 2,554 vessels or
more, to have operable VMS units. This alternative was expected to have
excessive costs to the fleet overall, equal to approximately $8 to $12
million. It also was expected to negatively impact 2,344 vessels that
do not currently have VMS. It would have affected all general category
scallop vessels regardless of their level of landings and such action
could not be justified given the costs. Three other alternatives were
considered that would have required smaller subsets of the general
category scallop vessels to have operable VMS units. Rather than
exempting vessels possessing 40 lb (18.14 kg) or less, the alternatives
would have exempted vessels from the VMS requirement if they possess
less than 100 lb (45.36 kg), 200 lb (90.71 kg), or 300 lb (136.08 kg).
While these three alternatives would have impacted a smaller subset of
vessels, it would have severely compromised enforcement of the general
category possession limit by continuing to facilitate vessels making
unreported and illegal landings. These alternatives would be
inconsistent with the goals of improving enforcement of the general
category fleet under Framework 17.
2. VMS Power-down Exemption
This action implements the power-down provision to allow vessels to
turn the VMS off while in port and tied to a dock or mooring. This
provision is expected to help to reduce costs associated with the VMS
requirement by reducing polling costs and eliminating the cost of
generating electricity while the vessel is tied to a dock or mooring
without continuous power. Alternatives would have required that vessels
keep the VMS unit operable at all times, which could have increased
costs and would be difficult for vessels without continuous electrical
supply to docks or moorings.
3. Modification of Broken Trip Provision
This action modifies the broken trip provision by eliminating the
requirement for a reduction in the scallop possession limit when a
broken trip occurs. This measure is expected to have positive economic
impacts by reducing the losses from broken trips for the limited access
scallop vessels that fish under the Area Access Program. This measure
will prevent such revenue loss because it allows vessels to fully
harvest the uncaught portion of the possession limit on a subsequent
trip. Since the 2005 fishing year is not yet complete, the analysis
assumes that the number of broken trips would be approximately the same
as the 2004 fishing year. It is not possible to predict the amount of
broken trips since they result mainly from random and unforseen events
such as severe weather, mechanical problems, and injury. Assuming that
the number of broken trip applications are approximately the same as
they were during 2004 fishing year, approximately $1.6 million in
revenue for the scallop fishery could be recovered by eliminating the
possession limit reduction. If the number of broken trips increases in
the 2005 fishing year, potential lost revenue from the automatic
deduction would be even higher without the Framework 17 revision.
Adopting the status quo alternative, i.e., maintaining the automatic
DAS and possession limit deduction, would result in continued loss of
potential revenues from the scallop access areas.
Economic Impacts of Significant and Other Non-selected Alternatives
This action minimizes the costs for the small business entities
operating in the general category scallop fishery as compared to the
non-selected alternative 1, under which all vessels with general
category permits would be required to operate a VMS. This non-selected
alternative would expand the VMS requirement to apply to the 2,278
vessels with general category permits that historically catch no more
than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of scallops. The VMS unit costs would require
these vessels to either increase their scallop harvest to cover the
costs of VMS, or cancel their general category permit, thus losing all
scallop revenue. Three other alternatives considered by the Council
would have required VMS on general category vessels if the vessel's
landings were over 100 lb (45.4 kg), 200 lb (90.7 kg), or 300 lb (136.1
kg) for each alternative. These alternatives would require a smaller
subset of vessels to operate VMS, and would result in lower overall
costs to the general category fleet compared to the proposed action.
However, concerns about the enforcement problems associated with
exempting a large number of general category vessels resulted in
adoption of
[[Page 48866]]
the measure being implemented by this action.
The alternative to the power-down exemption would have required VMS
operation at all times. It would not minimize economic impacts on small
entities compared to the proposed measure. In addition to continuous
costs associated with automatic polling of vessel location, requiring
vessels to operate VMS units without a power-down provision could
present compliance problems for vessels that do not have sufficient
power to run the VMS unit while the vessel is tied to a dock or
mooring. It may, in turn, be costly for these vessels to devise a way
to keep power supply to the VMS units while the vessel is moored.
Similarly, maintaining the automatic DAS and possession limit
charge for broken trips could continue to have negative economic
impacts on limited access vessels, and would not minimize economic
impacts on small entities. As noted above, approximately $1.6 million
in revenue for the scallop fishery could be recovered by eliminating
the automatic DAS and possession limit charge. If the number of broken
trips increases in the 2005 fishing year, the potential for forgone
revenues from the automatic DAS and possession limit charge would be
even higher.
Small Entity Compliance Guide
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 states that for each rule or group of related rules for
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule,
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of
this rulemaking process, a small entity compliance guide has been
prepared. The guide will be sent to all holders of permits issued for
the Atlantic scallop fishery. In addition, copies of this final rule
and guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are available from the RA and
are also available from NMFS, Northeast Region (see ADDRESSES).
This final rule contains new collection-of-information requirements
approved by OMB under the PRA. These new requirements apply to general
category vessels only (the requirements already exist for and/or do not
apply to other scallop vessels). Public reporting burden for these
collections of information are estimated to average as follows:
1. Purchase and installation of VMS units, OMB control number 0648-
0529 (1 hr per response);
2. Verification of VMS units, OMB control number 0648-0529 (5 min
per response);
3. Notification and application for appropriate general category
permit designation, OMB control number 0648-0529 (30 min per response);
4. VMS power-down notification, OMB control number 0648-0529 (2 min
per response); and
5. VMS re-power and trip notification, OMB control number 0648-0529
(2 min per response).
These estimates include the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing the collection information.
Public comment is sought regarding whether this collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information, including
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Send comments on these or any other aspects of
the collection of information to NMFS and to OMB (see ADDRESSES).
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, and no person shall 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.
List of Subjects
15 CFR Part 902
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Dated: August 16, 2005.
John Oliver
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
15 CFR Chapter IX
0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 15 CFR chapter IX, part 902,
and 50 CFR chapter VI, part 648 are amended as follows:
PART 902--NOAA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT: OMB CONTROL NUMBERS
0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 902 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Sec. 902.1 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 902.1, amend the table in paragraph (b) under the CFR part
``50 CFR'' by adding the entry ``-0529'' in numerical order to sections
``648.4'', ``648.9'', and ``648.10'' under the OMB control number
column.
50 CFR Chapter VI
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
3. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 648 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
4. In Sec. 648.4, paragraph (a)(2)(ii) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.4 Vessel permits.
(a) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) General scallop permit. Any vessel of the United States that
is not in possession of a limited access scallop permit, and that
possesses, or lands per trip, 400 lb (181.44 kg) of shucked meats, or
50 bu (17.62 hL) of in-shell scallops, or less, except vessels that
fish exclusively in state waters for scallops, must comply with one of
the permit requirements described in paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(A) or (B) of
this section, unless otherwise exempted under paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(C)
of this section, and must comply with the application procedures
specified in paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(D) and (E) of this section.
(A) Non-VMS general scallop permit. To possess or land up to, but
not more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) in-shell
scallops per trip that are sold or are intended to be sold, a vessel
must apply for and be issued a non-VMS general scallop permit. A vessel
issued a non-VMS general scallop permit may not possess or land more
than 40 lb (18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) of in-shell scallops
at any time.
(B) VMS general scallop permit. To possess or land more than 40 lb
(18.14 kg) of shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) of in-shell scallops, up to 400
lb (181.44 kg) of shucked meats, or 50 bu (17.62 hL) of in-shell
scallops, a vessel must apply for and be issued a VMS general scallop
permit. Issuance of a VMS general scallop permit requires the vessel
owner to submit a copy of the vendor installation receipt from a NMFS-
[[Page 48867]]
approved VMS vendor as described in Sec. 648.9.
(C) Vessels without general scallop permits. No scallop permit is
required for a vessel that possess or lands up to 40 lb (18.14 kg) of
shucked or 5 bu (176.2 L) per trip, provided such scallops are not, or
are not intended to be, sold, traded, or bartered.
(D) General scallop permit category designation. The owner of a
vessel issued a general scallop permit for the 2005 fishing year is
required to complete and submit an application to the Regional
Administrator for the appropriate permit designation as specified in
paragraphs (a)(2)(ii)(A) and (B) of this section by September 21, 2005.
Vessels shall be issued the appropriate permit category by October 21,
2005 based on the application submitted by the vessel owner. Initial
general scallop permit category designations are effective October 21,
2005. A vessel owner who fails to submit a copy of the vendor
installation receipt from a NMFS-approved VMS vendor as described in
648.9 by October 21, 2005, shall automatically be issued the non-VMS
general scallop permit. If no application is received by October 21,
2005 for vessels previously issued a general scallop permit for the
2005 fishing year, such vessels shall be reissued non-VMS general
scallop permits. Vessel owners may request a change in permit category
for their general category vessel no later than 45 days from October
21, 2005.
(E) General scallop permit restrictions. A vessel may be issued a
general scallop permit in only one category during a fishing year. The
owner of a vessel issued a general scallop permit must elect a permit
category upon the vessel's permit application and shall have one
opportunity to request a change in permit category by submitting an
application to the Regional Administrator within 45 days of the
effective date of the vessel's permit. After that date, the vessel must
remain in that permit category for the duration of the fishing year.
* * * * *
0
5. In Sec. 648.9, paragraph (c)(1) introductory text is revised, and
paragraphs (c)(1)(iii) and (c)(2)(i)(D) are added to read as follows:
Sec. 648.9 VMS requirements.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, or
unless otherwise required by paragraph (c)(1)(ii) or (iii) of this
section, all required VMS units must transmit a signal indicating the
vessel's accurate position, as specified under paragraph (c)(1)(i) of
this section.
* * * * *
(iii) At least twice per hour, 24 hours a day, throughout the year,
for vessels issued a general scallop permit and subject to the
requirements of Sec. 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(C), or a limited access scallop
permit.
* * * * *
(2) * * *
(i) * * *
(D) The vessel has been issued a general scallop permit and is
required to operate VMS as specified in Sec. 648.10(b)(1)(iv), is not
in possession of any scallops onboard the vessel, is tied to a
permanent dock or mooring, and the vessel operator has notified NMFS
through VMS that the VMS will be powered down, unless required by other
permit requirements for other fisheries to transmit the vessel's
location at all times. Such a vessel must repower the VMS prior to
moving from the fixed dock or mooring.
* * * * *
0
6. In Sec. 648.10, the section heading and paragraph (b)(1)(iv) are
revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.10 DAS and VMS notification requirements.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) A scallop vessel issued a general scallop permit that
possesses, or lands per trip, more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) shucked or 5
bu (176.2 L) in shell scallops, or when fishing under the Sea Scallop
Area Access Program specified under Sec. 648.60 and in the Sea Scallop
Access Areas described in Sec. 648.59(b) through (d);
* * * * *
0
7. In Sec. 648.14, paragraphs (i)(11) and (12) are added to read as
follows:
Sec. 648.14 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(i) * * *
(11) Fail to have an approved, operational, and functioning VMS
unit that meets the specifications of Sec. 648.9 on board the vessel
at all times, unless the vessel is not subject to the VMS requirements
specified in Sec. 648.10.
(12) If the vessel is not subject to VMS requirements specified in
Sec. 648.10, possess more than 40 lb (18.14 kg) shucked or 5 bu (176.2
L) in-shell scallops at any time.
* * * * *
0
8. In Sec. 648.52, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.52 Possession and landing limits.
* * * * *
(c) Owners or operators of vessels with a limited access scallop
permit that have declared into the Sea Scallop Area Access Program as
described in Sec. 648.60 are prohibited from fishing for or landing
per trip, or possessing at any time, more than any sea scallop
possession and landing limit specified in or specified by the Regional
Administrator in accordance with Sec. 648.60(a)(5).
* * * * *
0
9. In Sec. 648.60, paragraph (c)(5) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.60 Sea scallop area access program requirements.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(5) The Regional Administrator shall authorize the vessel to take
an additional trip and shall specify the amount of scallops that the
vessel may land on such trip and the number of DAS charged for such
trip, pursuant to the calculation specified in paragraph (c)(5)(i) of
this section. Such authorization shall be made within 10 days of
receipt of the formal written request for compensation.
(i) The amount of scallops that can be landed on an authorized
additional Sea Scallop Access Area trip shall equal the possession
limit specified in paragraph (a)(5) of this section minus the amount of
scallops landed on the terminated trip. For example, in the 2005
fishing year, if a full-time scallop vessel lands 6,500 lb (2,948.4 kg)
of scallops and requests compensation for the terminated trip, the
possession limit for the additional trip is 11,500 lb (5,216.3 kg) or
18,000 lb (8,164.7 kg) minus 6,500 lb (2,948.4 kg).
(ii) If a vessel is authorized more than one additional trip for
compensation into any Sea Scallop Access Area as the result of more
than one terminated trip in the same Access Area, the possession limits
for the authorized trips may be combined, provided the total possession
limit on a combined compensation trip does not exceed the possession
limit for a trip as specified in paragraph (a)(5) of this section. For
example, a vessel that has two broken trips with corresponding
compensation trip authorizations of 10,000 lb (4,535.9 kg) and 8,000 lb
(3,628.7 kg) may combine the authorizations to allow one compensation
trip with a possession limit of 18,000 lb (8,164.6 kg).
(iii) A vessel that terminated a 2005 access area trip after March
1, 2005, but before August 22, 2005, shall be issued authorization to
harvest the amount of
[[Page 48868]]
pounds deducted from the possession limit for the additional trip. The
Regional Administrator will issue this authorization automatically,
without request from the vessel owner. A rebated possession limit may
be combined with other additional trips as described in paragraph
(c)(5)(ii) of this section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-16613 Filed 8-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S