Fishery conservation and management: Northeastern United States fisheries— State and Federal commercial fishing vessel permit programs reconciliation, 17085-17090 [E7-6490]
Agencies
[Federal Register: April 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 66)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 17085-17090]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06ap07-22]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 648
[Docket No. 070322066-7066-01; I.D. 031307C]
RIN 0648-AU51
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern
United States; Northeast Fisheries; Regulatory Amendment to Reconcile
State and Federal Commercial Fishing Vessel Permit Programs
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to modify the permitting and vessel
replacement provisions for Federal limited access permit programs of
the Northeastern United States, excluding American lobster. This action
is intended to prevent fishing effort beyond what is accounted for in
the FMPs for each fishery and to reinforce efforts undertaken by state
fishery management agencies at targeting regulations specifically for
vessels that participate wholly in state water fisheries. These
measures are necessary
[[Page 17086]]
to meet the conservation and management requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Comments must be received by May 7, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
E-mail: NERO.Permit@NOAA.gov. Include in the subject line
the following: Comments on the Proposed Rule for Permit Program
Reconciliation.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:/www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries
Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of
the envelope ``Comments on the Proposed Rule for Permit Program
Reconciliation.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
Copies of this regulatory amendment, its Regulatory Impact Review
(RIR), the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and the
Environmental Assessment (EA) are available from Patricia A. Kurkul,
Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. A summary of the IRFA is provided in the
Classification section of this proposed rule.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Hooker, Fishery Policy Analyst,
phone: (978) 281-9220, fax: (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
State and Federal fishery management plans may differ in reporting
requirements, participation restrictions, and overall strategies to
control fishing mortality. These programs may be successful in
achieving their objectives only when a vessel fishes in one program,
either state or Federal, for an entire permit year because the
management measures are typically based on analyses of fishing effort,
and where that effort is expected to take place. Federal regulations
are rarely the exclusive authority governing federally permitted
commercial fishing vessels. Vessels that have both Federal and state
permits are bound by the more restrictive of the regulations in effect.
In contrast, vessels without a valid Federal permit can be permitted by
a state to fish exclusively in state territorial waters, and such
vessels do not have to comply with Federal fishing regulations.
Current regulations require that federally permitted fishing
vessels must abide by Federal fishing regulations, regardless of
whether the vessel is fishing in state or Federal waters. However,
vessels that delay getting their Federal permit may be authorized to
participate exclusively in state water fisheries under state rules and
regulations. Although splitting fishing effort between state and
Federal waters may have repercussions across all federally managed
fisheries, the impact of vessels splitting fishing effort between state
and Federal programs is thought to be greatest in Federal fisheries
utilizing a fishing effort control program referred to as a days-at-sea
(DAS) program, which is common in Federal fisheries management in New
England. This type of program limits the amount of days that a
federally permitted commercial fishing vessel can fish each year. Under
current Federal regulations, a DAS vessel could increase its overall
effort by fishing in state waters outside of the DAS program prior to
renewal of its Federal DAS permit. However, state regulations could
prohibit this practice, as in the case of the Massachusetts groundfish
fishery. Although it is estimated that less than 10 percent of
federally permitted vessels currently exploit this ``loophole,'' there
is concern that this practice could expand, especially should further
reductions in DAS be necessary. Thus, the purpose of this action is to
remove an unintended consequence of having a Federal permit renewal
system that effectively allows for a temporary relinquishment of a
Federal limited access permit.
This action would apply only to Federal limited access and
moratorium commercial fishing vessel permit holders. The terms (limited
access( and (moratorium( in regards to Federal permit programs are
synonymous. A limited access permit is a permit that an individual has
applied for and received based on qualification criteria set forth in
the FMP. By applying for and receiving a limited access permit, a
vessel owner has agreed to abide by a fishing program that, in turn,
grants exclusive fishing privileges. Under current regulations, a
Federal limited access permit must be renewed on an annual basis. If
the permit is not issued within 1 year of the last day of the permit
year for which it was valid, the permit is cancelled and rendered
ineligible for renewal. In general, limited access permits were
developed in order to control fishing effort in various fisheries that
are, or were, being harvested at rates above the maximum sustainable
yield for the fishery. These limited access permits often have
privileges, such as higher trip limits, or exclusive access to a
particular fishery. As a result, these permits are considered valuable.
Open access permits, on the other hand, can be applied for with minimum
qualification criteria, and received on an annual basis without any
deadlines. A vessel owner may elect to not apply for an open access
permit in one year, and still be eligible to receive the permit again 2
years later. Open access permits often do not carry the same exclusive
fishing privileges associated with limited access permits and thus do
not carry the same value.
In order to maintain current ownership and vessel information, NMFS
requires that vessel owners submit documentation on an annual basis
prior to receiving the applicable limited access permit(s) for the
permit year in question. This annual ``renewal'' or ``reissuance'' also
serves as a way to ensure compliance with vessel reporting requirements
for fishing trips taken during the year prior, since the new permit is
not issued until these reports are received by NMFS. One aspect of a
limited access permit is eligibility. Eligibility is the permit
privilege a vessel owner maintains to renew annually his/her vessel(s
limited access permit. Currently, eligibility to renew a limited access
permit remains in place for up to 11 months after the start of the new
permit year. Until such time that the vessel renews its limited access
permit, its Federal fishing privileges are suspended. It was never the
intention of the current regulations to allow a vessel to participate
wholly in a state fishing program in which it would not otherwise be
allowed to participate under the conditions of the Federal permit
program for which it is eligible, while the vessel(s Federal permits
are suspended. Often this exclusive state waters activity is not
reported directly to NMFS, whereas, under the conditions of the Federal
limited access permit, such reporting would be required.
Proposed Measures
This proposed action intends to remedy the situation described in
the preceding paragraphs by making it a condition upon issuance of a
limited access permit that the permit holder agrees that the vessel may
not fish for or land, in or from Federal or state waters, any species
of fish authorized by the permit, unless and until the permit has been
issued or renewed in any subsequent fishing year, or the permit either
has been voluntarily relinquished or otherwise forfeited, revoked, or
transferred from the vessel. This
[[Page 17087]]
condition of the limited access permit would be in effect for the
entire duration of the permit's renewal eligibility period. For
example, if an issued permit expired on April 30, 2006, a vessel owner
would have until April 30, 2007, to be reissued the permit. Thus, the
vessel owner would be subject to the permit condition through April 30,
2007. By participating in a Federal limited access fishing program, a
vessel owner is agreeing to participate wholly in that program and be
subject to all of its accompanying regulations until such time that the
vessel owner is no longer eligible to renew his/her vessel(s limited
access permit. Thus, the only aspect of the permit that is suspended
until the permit renewal application has been processed is its fishing
privilege, whether or not such activity occurs in state or Federal
waters. This measure would impact the Federal limited access commercial
fishing vessel permits issued by the NMFS Northeast Regional Office
that are listed in Table 1. The second measure proposed under this
action would limit the number of vessel replacements allowed during a
permit year. This measure would also be applicable to all limited
access vessels listed in Table 1. These measures are discussed
separately below.
Table 1. List of Northeast Region Limited Access Permit Categories
Affected By Proposed Rule
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LIMITED ACCESS
FISHERY PERMIT CATEGORIES
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Atlantic Sea Scallop 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9
NE Multispecies A, C, D, E, F, HA
Monkfish A, B, C, D, F, G, H
Maine Ocean Quahog 7
Summer Flounder 1
Scup 1
Black Sea Bass 1
Squid, Mackerel, Butterfish 1, 5
Golden Tilefish A, B, C
Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab B, C
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Limited Access Permit Fishing Prohibition After Expiration and Prior to
Renewal
Under this proposed action, a commercial fishing vessel that was
issued, or is in possession of, a valid Federal limited access fishing
permit at the end of the permit year immediately preceding the current
permit year, would be prohibited from landing any fish managed under 50
CFR part 648 for which the vessel would be authorizedunder the
conditions of the limited access permit(s), unless at least one of the
following conditions is met:
The vessel owner has renewed the Federal limited access
permit(s) for the current permit year;
The vessel owner has voluntarily permanently relinquished
the vessel(s Federal limited access permit(s); or
The vessel has been replaced by another vessel and the
permit eligibility has moved to the new vessel or was placed into
Confirmation of Permit History (CPH).
In other words, a vessel owner who is eligible to renew his/her
vessel(s Federal limited access permit would be prohibited from fishing
for and/or possessing any fish for which the vessel would be authorized
under the respective limited access permit, from any waters, unless the
limited access permit(s) has been renewed or removed from the vessel.
All vessel reporting requirements for the limited access permits the
vessel is eligible to renew would remain in effect unless the limited
access permit(s) have been relinquished or transferred to another
vessel or CPH. This would include completed fishing vessel trip reports
(VTRs) for the entire period that the vessel was issued or eligible to
be issued a limited access permit.
Under this action, a Federal limited access permitted vessel would
be prohibited from obtaining a Federal open access fishing permit until
such time that the limited access permits have been renewed,
relinquished, or transferred. Federal open access and limited access
permits may be renewed and applied for at the same time.
This action would thus commit a limited access vessel to a specific
fishery program (state or Federal) prior to engaging in any fishing
activities. This measure would eliminate a loophole in the regulations
currently exploited by a minority of vessel owners and/or operators and
would potentially prevent more vessel owners and/or operators from
taking advantage of this situation in the future.
One-Time Vessel Replacement Per Permit Year
This action would allow only one transfer of limited access permits
per permit year, unless the vessel being replaced has been rendered
inoperable and not repairable, due to unforeseen circumstances. The
intent of this measure is to deter vessel owners from moving limited
access permits off their primary vessel prior to the start of a permit
year and then moving them back onto their primary vessel after the
primary vessel has fished part of the permit year in a state waters
fishery program. Under this scenario, a vessel owner would not be able
to move the permits back onto the secondary vessel prior to the start
of the following permit year. It was not foreseen that the flexibility
in replacing a fishing vessel granted via the current regulation would
be abused in order to circumvent fishing regulations. The current
vessel replacement measures were implemented in order to rectify
previous vessel replacement measures, which could potentially have
compromised vessel safety by diminishing a vessel owner's flexibility
to purchase and replace a vessel in a timely manner. The proposed
regulations would maintain this flexibility while ensuring that the
vessel replacement program is not utilized to avoid Federal regulations
for a period of time.
Classification
At this time, NMFS has not determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the national standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and
other applicable laws. NMFS, in making that determination, will take
into account the data, views, and comments received during the comment
period.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 603, an IRFA has been prepared, which
describes the economic impacts that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would have on small entities. A description of the reasons why this
action is being considered, as well as the objectives of and legal
basis for this proposed rule is found in the preamble to this proposed
rule and is not repeated here. There are no Federal rules that may
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule. The proposed
action would modify the requirements for vessels issued or eligible to
be issued certain Federal limited access commercial fishing vessel
permits in the Northeast Region. Current regulations allow the
development of such measures, provided they are consistent with the FMP
objectives.
The proposed alternative to modify the limited access permit
regulations was compared to the No Action alternative and an
alternative that would issue a (reserve permit( in the event a permit
renewal application was not received by a set deadline. The No Action
alternative would result in the continuation of the current management
measures.
[[Page 17088]]
Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to which this
Proposed Rule would Apply
Approximately 3,700 vessels could be affected by this action. In
all, these participants generate close to $ 1 billion annually from the
sale of fish and shellfish. The Small Business Administration (SBA)
size standard for small commercial fishing entities is $ 4.0 million in
gross receipts and would apply to all limited access permit holders
affected by this action. Therefore, this proposed rule would not have a
differential impact between small and large entities.
Data compiled by NMFS from the 2004 fishing year (FY) indicate that
64 vessels delayed their permit renewal and made landings during the
time the Federal permit was invalid. In the same year eight vessels
were replaced that reported landings later in the same fishing year.
Thus, this rule would potentially impact 72 vessels out of the over
3,700 limited access vessels in the NE Region. An average of 94 percent
of vessel owners here renewed their permits by May 1 over the last few
years. With this level of compliance, only about 370 entities,
including the aforementioned vessels that reported landings during this
time period, would likely be affected by the permit renewal portion of
this action.
Federal permit data compiled by the NMFS NE Regional Office
indicate that 64 vessels delayed the renewal of their Federal limited
access permits in 2004 and also had landings both with and without
their Federal permit. In the NE multispecies fishery, where the
practice is most acute, between 2002 and 2005 only nine vessels
repeatedly delayed the renewal of their Federal limited access NE
multispecies permit. In addition to vessels delaying their permit
renewal, some vessels are replaced by another fishing vessel during the
fishing year. The former vessel may then continue to fish outside of
Federal regulations in state waters. Across all limited access
fisheries, about eight vessels per year land fish as a result of
replacing a vessel and then continuing to fish with the old vessel in
2004.
Economic Impacts of this Proposed Action
Analyses of data showed that only a small number of vessels
currently exploit the loophole the proposed action would fix. This
action would affect all limited access fisheries in the NE Region.
However, a fishery of particular concern due to significant state water
and Federal water components, is the fishery that catches Gulf of Maine
and Georges Bank cod stocks in the NE multispecies fishery. Thus, for
the purposes of this economic analysis, the impact to the vessel owners
active in the limited access multispecies fishery is considered the
upper bound of economic impacts to all the affected fisheries. In 2004,
an average of 7,855 lb (3,563 kg) (86,409 lb (39,194 kg) total) of cod
was landed by 11 fishing vessels (approximately 4,000 NE multispecies
limited access permits were issued in FY 2004) fishing exclusively
under state fishing regulations by vessels that were eligible for a
limited access permit in the previous permit year. At an ex-vessel
price of $2.50 per pound for cod, this action could conceivably reduce
annual revenues of a given vessel owner by $36,000. However, there is
no indication from this analysis that these same fish would not have
been caught by state-permitted vessels that are not eligible for a
limited access permit, nor that this same quantity of fish would not
have been caught by a federally permitted limited access commercial
fishing vessel. The total ex-vessel value of cod landed in 2004 was
$21,690,850. Thus, this action could cause a slightly negative economic
impact of less than 1 percent to the commercial groundfish industry. In
2004, other DAS fisheries such as monkfish and sea scallop had average
landings per limited access eligible vessel of 5,852 lb (2,654 kg)
whole weight (N= 21), and 3,270 lb (1,483 kg) (N=9) landed weight,
respectively. For a monkfish vessel, this would result in a decrease in
revenue of approximately $8,193 (using an average monkfish ex-vessel
price of $1.40 per lb whole weight). This would result in a decrease in
revenue for a given scallop vessel of approximately $23,707 (using a
scallop ex-vessel price of $7.25 per lb landed weight). The total ex-
vessel value of the monkfish and scallop fisheries were $33,331,944 and
$320,696,436, respectively, in 2004. All other limited access fisheries
with an inshore (state waters) stock component are managed through a
hard total allowable catch (TAC). These TAC programs are managed on
either a coast-wide or state-by-state basis. Federal TAC programs, for
the most part, are equivalent to the state programs for each fishery.
When this equivalency exists there is no advantage for a vessel owner
eligible for a Federal limited access permit to delay his/her Federal
permit renewal in order to fish exclusively under a state permit.
However, in the absence of Federal and state equivalency in a TAC
program (e.g., the closure of federally controlled waters, lower
Federal possession limits, etc.) there could be an advantage to
splitting fishing effort between state and Federal fisheries in the
same fishing year.
Economic Impacts of Alternatives to the Proposed Action
In addition to the proposed alternative described in the preamble,
a second, non-preferred alternative, and the status quo alternative
were also analyzed. The status quo alternative would leave the current
regulations in place. The second, non-preferred alternative would also
modify the current Federal commercial fishing vessel limited access
permit renewal process; however unlike the preferred alternative, this
alternative places a deadline on the limited access permit renewal for
the permit year in question. Under this alternative, if the vessel
owner misses the application deadline the vessel would not lose its
eligibility to apply for the Federal limited access permit for the
following permit year. If the vessel owner fails to submit a complete
renewal application 30 days prior to the start of the permit year for
which the permit is required, the vessel owner has, by default, elected
to either fish exclusively in state waters, or not to fish at all. A
complete application received after 30 days prior to the start of the
permit year for which the permit is required would reserve that vessel
owner's eligibility to apply for Federal permits the following fishing
year through the issuance of a Federal ``Reserve Permit.'' If the
commercial fishing vessel does not apply for and receive either a
limited access permit or a reserve permit during a permit year it would
become ineligible to receive the limited access permit at any future
time. The one-time per year vessel replacement provision is the same as
outlined in the Agency's preferred alternative.
The second non-preferred alternative, would have the same reduction
in ex-vessel value that was outlined in the section of this
Classification section detailing the preferred alternative. However,
this alternative would have a greater economic impact in that vessel
owners would be prohibited from renewing their Federal limited access
permit at any time during the permit year, if they failed to renew
their permit prior to the start of the permit year. The 2004 data
analyzed indicated that approximately 2 percent (65 entities) of
limited access permit holders delayed the renewal of their permits. It
is not feasible to identify the total landings and ex-vessel value of
these landings to determine if this 2 percent contribute a greater or
lesser amount to annual fishery landings than an average vessel.
[[Page 17089]]
The economic impacts of the non-preferred alternative are greater
than those under the status quo and preferred alternatives. It is
estimated that the status quo alternative would realize a small short-
term positive economic impact to the fishing industry due to a slight
increase in landings. It is highly probable that this increase,
especially if more vessels take advantage of fishing in both state and
Federal fishing programs in the same permit year, would be offset in
the future by a decrease in landings due to more restrictive fishing
regulations required after target fishing mortality rates are not
realized.
Public Reporting Burden
This proposed rule contains collection of information requirements
previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) under OMB control numbers 0648-0202
and 0648-0212. The current expiration dates for the reporting
requirements under these collections are October 31, 2009, and
September 30, 2008, respectively. The public(s reporting burden for the
collection-of-information requirements includes the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection-of-information requirements.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to a 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 in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: April 2, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 648.2, the definition for ``Permit year'' is added, in
alphabetical order, to read as follows:
Sec. 648.2 Definitions.
* * * * *
Permit year means:
(1) For the Atlantic sea scallop and Atlantic deep-sea red crab
fisheries, from March 1 through the last day of February of the
following year;
(2) For all other fisheries in this part, from May 1 through April
30 of the following year.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 648.4, paragraphs (a)(1)(i)(B), (a)(1)(i)(E),
introductory text (a)(1)(i)(K), and (b) are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.4 Vessel permits.
* * * * *
(a)* * *
(1)* * *
(i)* * *
(B) Application/renewal restrictions. All limited access or
moratorium permits established under this section must be issued on an
annual basis by the last day of the permit year for which the permit is
required, unless a confirmation of permit history (CPH) has been issued
as specified in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(J) of this section. Application for
such permits must be received no later than 30 days before the last day
of the permit year. Failure to renew a limited access or moratorium
permit in any permit year bars the renewal of the permit in subsequent
years. If a vessel is issued more than one limited access or moratorium
permit under this section, these permits will be regarded as a permit
suite and must be renewed together in accordance with this paragraph
(a)(1)(i)(B). Open access permits may not be issued to a vessel
eligible to renew a limited access or moratorium permit until such time
that the vessel(s limited access or moratorium permit(s) are renewed,
or the limited access or moratorium permit has been voluntarily
relinquished pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i)(K) of this section, or
transferred from the vessel via a replacement vessel pursuant to
paragraph (a)(1)(i)(E) of this section, or confirmation of permit
history pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i)(J) of this section.
* * * * *
(E) Replacement vessels. With the exception of vessels that have
obtained a limited access Handgear A permit described in Sec.
648.82(b)(6), an owner of a vessel that has been issued any limited
access or moratorium permit under this section is limited to one vessel
replacement per permit year, using the earliest permit year start date
of the limited access or moratorium permits for which the vessel is
eligible, unless the vessel has been rendered inoperable and non-
repairable. To be eligible for a limited access or moratorium permit
under this section, the replacement vessel must meet the following
criteria and any other applicable criteria under paragraph (a)(1)(i)(F)
of this section:
* * * * *
(K) Abandonment or voluntary relinquishment of a limited access or
moratorium permit. If a vessel's limited access or moratorium permit
for a particular fishery is voluntarily relinquished to the Regional
Administrator or abandoned through failure to renew or otherwise, no
limited access or moratorium permit for that fishery may be reissued or
renewed based on that vessel(s limited access or moratorium permit
history or to any other vessel relying on that vessel(s limited access
or moratorium permit history.
* * * * *
(b) Permit conditions. (1)(i) Any person who applies for and is
issued or renews a fishing permit under this section agrees, as a
condition of the permit, that the vessel and the vessel's fishing
activity, catch, and pertinent gear (without regard to whether such
fishing occurs in the EEZ or landward of the EEZ; and without regard to
where such fish or gear are possessed, taken, or landed); are subject
to all requirements of this part, unless exempted from such
requirements under this part. All such fishing activities, catch, and
gear will remain subject to all applicable state requirements. Except
as otherwise provided in this part, if a requirement of this part and a
management measure required by a state or local law differ, any vessel
owner permitted to fish in the EEZ for any species managed under this
part, except tilefish, must comply with the more restrictive
requirement. Except as otherwise provided in this part, if a
requirement of this part and a management measure required by a state
or local law differ, any vessel owner permitted to fish in the tilefish
management unit for tilefish managed under this part must comply with
the more restrictive requirement. Owners and operators of vessels
fishing under the terms of a summer flounder moratorium, scup
moratorium, or black sea bass moratorium; or a spiny dogfish or
bluefish commercial vessel permit, must also agree not to land summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, spiny dogfish, or bluefish,
respectively, in any state after NMFS has published a notification in
the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota for that state
or period has been harvested and that no commercial quota is available
for the respective species. A
[[Page 17090]]
state not receiving an allocation of summer flounder, scup, black sea
bass, or bluefish, either directly or through a coast-wide allocation,
is deemed to have no commercial quota available. Owners and operators
of vessels fishing under the terms of the tilefish limited access
permit must agree not to land tilefish after NMFS has published a
notification in the Federal Register stating that the quota for the
tilefish limited access category under which a vessel is fishing has
been harvested. Owners or operators fishing for surfclams and ocean
quahogs within waters under the jurisdiction of any state that requires
cage tags are not subject to any conflicting Federal minimum size or
tagging requirements. If a surfclam and ocean quahog requirement of
this part differs from a surfclam and ocean quahog management measure
required by a state that does not require cage tagging, any vessel
owners or operators permitted to fish in the EEZ for surfclams and
ocean quahogs must comply with the more restrictive requirement while
fishing in state waters. However, surrender of a surfclam and ocean
quahog vessel permit by the owner by certified mail addressed to the
Regional Administrator allows an individual to comply with the less
restrictive state minimum size requirement, as long as fishing is
conducted exclusively within state waters.
(ii) Any person who applies for or has been issued a limited access
or moratorium permit on or after [EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL RULE] agrees,
as a condition of the permit, that the vessel may not fish for, catch,
possess, or land, in or from Federal or state waters, any species of
fish authorized by the permit, unless and until the permit has been
issued or renewed in any subsequent fishing year, or the permit either
has been voluntarily relinquished pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i)(K) of
this section or otherwise forfeited, revoked, or transferred from the
vessel.
(2) A vessel that is issued or renewed a limited access or
moratorium permit on or after [EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL RULE] for any
fishery governed under this section is prohibited from fishing for,
catching, possessing, and/or landing any fish for which the vessel
would be authorized under the respective limited access or moratorium
permit in or from state and/or Federal waters in any subsequent fishing
year, unless and until the limited access or moratorium permit has been
issued or renewed pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i)(B) of this section
and the valid permit is on board the vessel. This prohibition does not
apply to a vessel for which the limited access or moratorium permit has
been voluntarily relinquished pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)(i)(K) of
this section or otherwise forfeited, revoked, or transferred from the
vessel.
* * * * *
4. In Sec. 648.14, paragraph (a)(31)(ii) is revised, and
paragraphs (a)(178) and (a)(179) are added to read as follows:
Sec. 648.14 Prohibitions.
(a) * * *
(31) * * *
(ii) The NE multispecies were harvested by a vessel not issued a NE
multispecies permit, nor eligible to renew or be reissued a limited
access NE multispecies permit as specified in Sec. 648.4 (b)(2), that
fishes for NE multispecies exclusively in state waters;
* * * * *
(178) If eligible for re-issuance or renewal of a limited access or
moratorium permit:
(i) Fish for, take, catch, harvest or land any species of fish
regulated by this part for which the vessel is eligible to possess
under a limited access or moratorium permit until the vessel has been
issued the applicable limited access or moratorium permit by NMFS.
(ii) [Reserved]
(179) Attempt to replace a limited access or moratorium fishing
vessel, as specified at Sec. 648.4 (a)(1)(i)(E), more than one time
during a permit year, unless the vessel has been rendered inoperable
and non-repairable.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-6490 Filed 4-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
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