Federal Register: October 1, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 189)
DOCID: fr01oc09-27 FR Doc E9-23704
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
CFR Citation: 50 CFR Part 648
Docket ID: [Docket No. 0909011267-91269-01]
RIN ID: RIN 0648-AY19
NOTICE: PROPOSED RULES
DOCID: fr01oc09-27
DOCUMENT ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern standard time, on November 2, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
NMFS is proposing to implement a regulatory amendment to modify the fishing vessel permit regulations to include specific terms and conditions for Federal fishing vessel permits obtained through the purchase of fishing vessels using Federal grant awards. The terms and conditions would authorize the NMFS Administrator, Northeast Region (Regional Administrator), to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, or the rights thereto, if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by the grant recipient.
SUMMARY:
Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Background
This proposed rule would implement changes to the Northeast (NE) fisheries regulations at 50 CFR part 648 to authorize the Regional Administrator to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, including the rights thereto, held by a person, corporation, nonprofit organization, or government entity if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by the grant recipient. The intent of this proposed action is to establish a new regulatory mechanism through which NOAA would be able to enforce the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain Federal fishing vessel permits in the NE Region.
As several fisheries in the NE Region begin to transition to catch share management strategies, various fishing organizations, conservations groups, and states are exploring alternatives to the traditional vesselpermit ownership model. Traditionally, an individual or corporation invests in a fishing vessel and obtains the appropriate vessel permits necessary to participate in the target fishery. An individual or corporation may own multiple vessels, but each of these vessels is generally associated with a unique vessel permit (or, a unique set of permits to operate in different fisheries may be associated with each vessel). An alternative model known as ``permit banking'' is developing in the Northeast, whereby an organization obtains a suite of permits in a particular fishery, with the option to lease out the fishing rights associated with those permits.
Permit banks hold promise for addressing two important issues
related to the development and implementation of effective catchshare management programs: First, permit banks can be
[[Page 50760]]
used to ease the transition to catchshare management by expanding the
pool of catch shares available for use; and, second, permit banks could
demonstrate that small fishing operations and small communities can be
successful participants in catchshare management programs. Depending
on the structure of the permit bank, and the criteria used for
participation, permit banks could be very effective at protecting the
fishing interests of small communities and small fishing operations by
mitigating some of the consolidation of fishing rights that often follows implementation of catchshare programs.
Examples of new permit banks in the Northeast Region include those being developed by the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust, the Northeast Seafood Coalition, and The Nature Conservancy in partnership with the Penobscot East Resource Center. These groups are using donations and other funds to purchase fishing vessels with NE multispecies fishing permits. The permits would be held by the permit bank organization, which would then make the fishing rights associated with the permits available to its members or other qualified applicants. The fishing rights associated with the permits initially would include daysatsea, to be leased out at generally belowmarket value. With the development of sector management in the NE multispecies fishery, the fishing rights may include annual catch entitlements (ACEs) associated with the permits (i.e., the shares of the overall quotas allocated to each permit based on fishing history). The ACEs may be used in establishing a new fishing sector, or to bolster the total catch shares available to an existing sector.
Interest in developing permit banking programs is expanding in the NE and, because of NOAA's policy position promoting catchshare management, the NMFS NE Regional Office has proposed a pilot program designed to guide the development and expansion of permit banks in order to facilitate the implementation of effective catchshare programs. In the spending plan for a recent Congressional authorization for New England fisheries assistance, NOAA proposed to award a $1 million grant to develop this pilot permit banking program in the State of Maine. Since then, we have been working in partnership with Maine's Division of Marine Resources on a program that would allow the state to use the grant award to purchase fishing vessels with associated permits. The fishing rights associated with those permits would then serve as the basis for a permit bank to be operated by the state to facilitate the transition to catchshare management by leasing additional fishing opportunities to qualified vessels in small ports. The State of Maine is very interested in developing such a partnership and establishing a permit bank. If the pilot program proves successful, NOAA may consider expanding the program throughout other parts of the NE Region.
Absent a regulatory change such as the proposed action, NOAA would not be able to retain sufficient control and oversight of the resulting permit banking program to ensure its success. Under current grant management rules and fishing vessel permit regulations, once a grant award is made to an organization, and the award is used to obtain fishing vessel permits, NOAA would lose all control over the implementation and operation of the resulting permit bank. Even if the grant includes special award conditions specifying the criteria to be used in operation of the permit bank, NOAA would have no effective mechanism to enforce those criteria once an organization obtains the permits. In order to protect NOAA's and the public's interests in the successful development, implementation, and operation of such a program, a regulatory change is required to provide NOAA with an appropriate enforcement mechanism.
The proposed action would amend the NMFS NE Region regulations regarding fishing vessel permits to include specific terms and conditions that would apply to Federal fishing vessel permits obtained through the purchase of fishing vessels using Federal grant awards. The terms and conditions would authorize the Regional Administrator to suspend, cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing vessel permit, including the rights thereto, held by a person, corporation, nonprofit organization, or government entity if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by the grant recipient.
Classification
Pursuant to section 305(d) of the MagnusonStevens Act, the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) of the NE Region, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law, and is necessary to discharge the general responsibility to carry out said FMPs, subject to further consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The intent of this proposed action is to establish a new
regulatory mechanism through which NOAA would be able to enforce the
terms and conditions of any Federal grant award used to obtain
Federal fishing vessel permits. This action would have no effect on
any Federal fishing vessel permit currently held by a person,
corporation, nonprofit organization, or government entity, and
would only affect such permits obtained in the future if the person,
corporation, nonprofit organization, or government entity obtains a
Federal fishing vessel permit using funds awarded to that entity
through a Federal grant award. Further, the proposed action would
have no effect on any entity unless that entity violates the terms
and conditions of the Federal grant award used to obtain such a
permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding. If the terms
and conditions of a Federal grant award, or associated memorandum of
understanding, are violated, this action would authorize the
Regional Administrator to take appropriate action to enforce the terms and conditions of the grant award or memorandum of
understanding. These administrative changes are intended to ensure
NOAA has available appropriate enforcement mechanisms when awarding
Federal grants that may be used to obtain Federal fishing vessel
permits. As such, the rule will not have significant direct or indirect economic impacts on small entities.
As a result, an initial flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 28, 2009.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 648FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 648.4, paragraph (n) is added to read as follows: [[Page 50761]]
Sec. 648.4 Vessel permits.
* * * * *
(n) Federal grant awards. The Regional Administrator may suspend,
cancel, fail to renew, modify, or otherwise rescind any Federal fishing
vessel permit, issued pursuant to this section, including the rights
thereto, held by a person, corporation, nonprofit organization, or
government entity if the terms and conditions of any Federal grant
award used to obtain said permit, or an associated memorandum of understanding, are violated by the grant recipient.
[FR Doc. E923704 Filed 93009; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 351022S
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Michael Pentony, Senior Fishery Policy Analyst, phone (978) 2819283.