Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Dealer and Vessel Reporting Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 991104295-0259-02; I.D. 100599D]

RIN 0648-AM74

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Dealer and Vessel

Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to amend the existing reporting

regulations for dealers and owners whose vessels are federally

permitted to operate in the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass,

Atlantic sea scallop, Northeast (NE) multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic

mackerel, squid, butterfish, surfclam, ocean quahog, spiny dogfish or

Atlantic bluefish fisheries. Changes to the existing regulations are

needed to improve the monitoring of commercial landings and to enhance

the enforceability of the reporting regulations. The intent of this

action is to improve the collection of fisheries-dependent data.

DATES: Effective November 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Regulatory Impact Review supporting this

action are available from Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

Northeast Region, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

Comments regarding the collection-of-information requirements contained

in this final rule should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul and to the

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: NOAA Desk

Officer, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503. Send

comments regarding any ambiguity or unnecessary complexity arising from

the language used in this rule to Patricia Kurkul.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandra Arvilla, (978) 281-9255, Kelley

McGrath, (978) 281-9307 or Gregory Power, (978) 281-9304.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In order to improve monitoring of commercial landings and to

enhance enforceability of the reporting regulations, this final rule

clarifies or modifies several of the existing reporting requirements

for dealers and owners whose vessels are federally permitted in the

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE

multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, surfclam,

ocean quahog, spiny dogfish or Atlantic bluefish fisheries. Regulations

implementing the fishery management plans (FMPs) for the summer

flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies,

monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, surfclam, ocean quahog,

spiny dogfish and Atlantic bluefish fisheries were prepared under the

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management

Act and are found at 50 CFR part 648. A proposed rule to implement

these changes was published on December 2, 1999 (64 FR 67551). NMFS

reopened the comment period on the proposed rule to ensure that

affected fishmen and dealers were aware of the proposed reporting

changes and had an opportunity to provide comments (65 FR 7820,

February 16, 2000).

Trip Identifier

One of the data elements that dealers are required to provide on

the weekly reports is a trip identifier for each trip from which fish

are purchased. This requirement is in the existing regulations.

However, the term ``trip identifier'' has not been defined and, thus,

has not been reported by industry. Supplying a trip identifier for each

trip from which fish are purchased would aid in matching dealer data

with the corresponding vessel data by using a uniquely identifiable

serial number from the vessel logbook, if applicable, or a combination

of the date sailed, and, if the vessel sailed more than once on the

same day, the sequential trip number within that date sailed. To enable

dealers to provide the trip identifier to NMFS, vessel owners/operators

would have to provide each dealer with the trip identifier information

at the time of offloading.

Because dealer compliance would be dependent upon compliance by the

vessel owner/operator, establishing responsibility for compliance would

be difficult, making fair and equitable enforcement of the requirement

equally difficult. Thus, a requirement to provide a trip identifier is

not being imposed at this time. Due to the importance of establishing a

link between the dealer and vessel data, NMFS intends to make reporting

a trip identifier mandatory in the near future. NMFS will work with

industry members to explore various options for transferring trip

identifier information from vessels to dealers without overly burdening

either party. NMFS encourages the industry to assist in the development

of alternative methods for providing this information.

Dealer Reporting Changes

This final rule modifies two requirements affecting summer

flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies,

monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, spiny dogfish or

Atlantic bluefish dealers, and two requirements affecting surfclam or

ocean quahog dealers.

To collect more comprehensive and accurate data on the processing

segment of the industry, dealers who have been issued a summer

flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies,

monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, spiny dogfish or an

Atlantic bluefish permit must complete all sections of the Annual

Processed Products Report.

Federally permitted dealers must retain copies of reports, and

records upon which the reports were based, for a total of 3 years after

the date of the last entry on the report. This time frame is in keeping

with standard business practices and will allow for validating the

compliance of past landings reported by dealers and vessels.

To ensure that quotas in the surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries

are not exceeded, harvest levels must be monitored on a timely basis.

While dealers have historically provided these data on a weekly basis,

this action specifies that reports must be postmarked or received

within 3 days of the end of the reporting week.

[[Page 60893]]

Vessel Reporting Changes

This final rule modifies three requirements affecting vessels that

have been issued a summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea

scallop, NE multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid and

butterfish, spiny dogfish or Atlantic bluefish permit. This final rule

also modifies two requirements affecting vessels federally permitted in

the surfclam or ocean quahog fisheries.

Regulations requiring vessel owners/operators to submit fishing log

reports are clarified to indicate that a vessel logbook report needs to

be submitted only for each trip taken, rather than for each day within

a trip. The current regulations state that vessel owner/operators must

submit an ``accurate daily fishing log report'' for all trips. To

clarify that a report must be submitted only for each fishing trip, the

word ``daily'' is removed from the existing regulations.

Vessel owners/operators are required to report the pounds, by

species, of all fish landed or discarded. This final rule clarifies

that ``hail weight'' should be reported rather than exact weight.

Because many vessel owners/operators interpret the pounds landed to be

the exact pounds sold to the dealer, many vessel operators copy the

catch information from the dealer receipts after the catch has been

sold. ``Hail weight'' is defined to mean a good-faith estimate, in

pounds for commercial vessels and in numbers of individual fish for

party and charter vessels, by species, or parts of species, such as

monkfish livers, of all fish landed or discarded for each trip.

To clarify, for enforcement purposes, which logbook information

must be completed prior to the vessel entering port with fish, this

final rule specifies that all information, other than that which is not

able to be ascertained (i.e., dealer name, dealer permit number, and

date sold) must be completed prior to entering port with fish.

Vessel log reports and any records upon which the reports were

based must be kept on board the vessel for at least 1 year and retained

for a total of 3 years after the date of the last entry on the report.

This time frame is in keeping with standard business practices and will

allow for validation of compliance of past landings reported by dealers

and vessels.

To better monitor harvest levels of surfclams and ocean quahogs,

surfclam and ocean quahog vessel log reports must be postmarked or

received within 3 days of the end of the reporting week. While vessel

owners have historically provided these data on a weekly basis, this

action clarifies that reports must be submitted within the specified

time frame.

Comments and Responses

NMFS received three written comments during the initial comment

period from December 2, 1999, through January 3, 2000, and 12

additional comments during the reopening of the comment period, which

ran from February 16, 2000, through March 2, 2000. Only comments

received during the comment periods were considered for response. Seven

comments were received after one or both comment periods were closed.

Those comments were not considered. However, all but one of those

comments were contained in comments received during the comment period.

Comment 1: Eight commenters cited increased costs and compliance

issues as the two primary reasons for opposition to the trip identifier

requirement. One concern was the requirement for fishermen to supply

dealers with a trip identifier at the time of offloading. This would be

difficult in cases where product is being shipped, sold on consignment,

or sold to multiple dealers, as the owner/operator would not be in

contact with the dealer. The commenters felt that the burden imposed on

dealers would be significant, causing a halt to production in the

crucial period of offloading to fill out logbooks. Several commenters

were also concerned about potential violations and who would be held

responsible if the trip identifier is not reported. Since dealer

compliance would be dependent upon compliance by the vessel owner/

operator, establishing responsibility for compliance would be

difficult.

Three commenters supported the rule to provide a trip identifier,

expressing that it would not be unreasonable or cumbersome for dealers

to provide the information. One commenter felt that this change would

help improve the accuracy of landings data and it would also make it

easier to determine the location of catches.

Response: While the requirement for federally permitted dealers to

provide a trip identifier is in the existing regulations, trip

identifier has not been defined, and, thus, has not been reported by

industry. Supplying a trip identifier for each trip from which fish are

purchased would aid in matching dealer data with the corresponding

vessel data by using a uniquely identifiable serial number from the

vessel logbook, if applicable, or a combination of the date sailed,

and, if the vessel sailed more than once on the same day, the

sequential trip number within that date sailed. NMFS believes that

having a unique trip identifier to link dealer and vessel data is

critical to provide accurate data for fishery scientists, managers and

analysts to quantify harvest rates, set quotas, predict closures, and

assess stocks. Because of its importance, reporting a trip identifier

will be mandatory in the near future.

Comment 2: Five commenters opposed the requirement to complete trip

reports prior to entering port with fish because of a variety of

physical conditions at sea that sometimes make it impossible to

complete a vessel trip report. Also, loss of revenue may result from

having to complete trip reports rather than actually fishing while at

sea. One commenter expressed that although the Agency requires ``hail

weight,'' a captain may not have the ability to estimate weights

accurately and that actual weights would allow assessments, analyses

and management decisions to be based on more accurate data. One

commenter also perceived the requirement as an excuse to revoke

licenses for non-compliance. Another commenter expressed concern that

completing trip reports at sea does not promote legibility and/or

accuracy.

Response: Although NMFS understands the industry's concerns, the

Agency's objective is to collect the most accurate data. To ensure that

NMFS is receiving the most accurate data, the information should be

recorded at the time of the vessel's trip. The information submitted on

the vessel trip reports, such as the vessel's gear type and statistical

area fished, is used to augment the dealer data, which provide exact

weight and value. These data are used by fishery scientists, managers,

and analysts to quantify harvest rates, set quotas, predict closures,

and assess stock status. This modification would enhance the

enforceability of the reporting requirements.

Therefore, NMFS is requiring that all information in the logbooks,

other than that which is not able to be ascertained, be completed prior

to entering port with fish. To complete the log books within this time

frame, this action clarifies that vessel owners/operators must report

hail weight, defined as a good faith estimate, by species, or parts of

species, such as monkfish livers, of all fish landed or discarded.

Comment 3: Two commenters were concerned with NMFS over- burdening

the industry with reporting requirements. Another concern was that

additional data-collection measures will impose increased costs of

compliance

[[Page 60894]]

(without improvements in data collection); present unnecessary

complexity due to differences between primary versus secondary product

sales at auction; and introduce administrative burdens, increasing both

risk and liability to dealers.

Response: The intention of the proposed changes is to improve the

collection of fisheries-dependent data by modifying or clarifying

several dealer and vessel reporting requirements. It will also improve

the monitoring of commercial landings and enhance the enforceability of

the reporting regulations. The modifications and clarifications of the

existing regulations being implemented by this rule do not add any new

reporting requirements.

Comment 4: One commenter was concerned that requiring a vessel

logbook report to be submitted for ``each trip taken'' rather than for

``each day of the trip'' would result in the loss of detailed catch and

area information, and that the vessel logbook information would be

diminished in value.

Response: This rule would not change the current regulations that

require a separate logbook report to be completed for each statistical

area fished, and each change in gear or mesh size within a trip.

Existing regulations state that vessels must submit an ``accurate daily

fishing log report'' for all trips. This has resulted in

misinterpretation of when a logbook report must be completed and

submitted. To clarify that reports must be submitted only for each

fishing trip, the word ``daily'' would be removed from the existing

regulations. Because a separate report will continue to be required for

any change in gear type, mesh or statistical area, this change will not

cause any pertinent data to be lost.

Comment 5: One commenter was concerned that an extra paperwork

burden would be imposed on the Maine Mahogany Quahog dealers to report

the ocean quahog landings to NMFS because Maine Mahogany Quahog dealers

are also required to submit monthly reports to the state of Maine. The

commenter expressed that detailed weekly reports are too burdensome to

an industry with limited clerical staff.

Response: As part of the final rule implementing Amendment 10 for

the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries (63 FR 27481, May 19,

1998) and joint management between NMFS and the state of Maine, NMFS is

responsible for setting and monitoring Maine Mahogany quahog quotas.

Maine dealers are currently required to submit weekly reports to NMFS.

Although state- certified dealers submit monthly reports to the state

of Maine, they need to submit weekly reports, within 3 days of the end

of the reporting week, to NMFS so that the Agency may effectively

monitor quotas. NMFS is working with the state of Maine in an effort to

eliminate duplicate reporting, where possible.

Comment 6: Two comments received stated that the additional record

retention from 1 year to 3 years is not justified, and that 2 more

years of additional storage is unreasonable.

Response: Increasing the record retention requirement for dealer

and vessel reports from 1 year to a total of 3 years, after the date of

the last entry on the report, is consistent with standard business

practices and the Internal Revenue Service requirements. In keeping

with current regulations, vessel owner/operators will continue to be

required to retain logbooks on board the vessel for at least 1 year. It

will allow for validating the compliance of past landings reported by

dealers and vessel owners or operators. Requirement of records for

storage for the total retention period would be minimal since many

companies keep their records for at least 3 years for business purposes

already. In addition, only 1 year need be stored on board. Thus, the

actual amount of records required to be on board a vessel has not

changed.

Comment 7: Two commenters who were opposed to the requirement for

dealers to fill out an annual processing report on all processed

seafood stated that most product is in some way processed, whether

purchased from vessels, domestic dealers or foreign countries. One

commenter felt that NMFS should currently have enough data with landing

data, import data and employment data to assess economic factors in the

processing industry. One commenter stated that completion time would

exceed the estimated 30 minutes per annual report.

Response: The data on volume and value are used by NMFS and

Regional Fishery Management Council economists to estimate processing

capacity and to forecast and subsequently measure the economic impact

of fishery management regulations on fish and shellfish supplies. The

information collected through all sections of the Annual Processed

Product survey is a necessary part of the economic and social analyses

NMFS must perform when proposing and evaluating management actions

affecting federally managed fisheries. Many of the species under

Federal management are considered overfished and some stocks have

reached critically low levels. In order to manage these fisheries

effectively and balance the needs of the resource and the industry

members, NMFS must have a comprehensive database that accurately

represents the fishing industry, including the processing segment of

the industry. If decisions affecting the fisheries are based on

inadequate or incomplete data, the long-term viability and economic

yield from those fisheries, as well as the credibility of the fishery

management process itself, are jeopardized.

Direct feedback from respondents provide the estimate for average

response time. The 30 minutes per response was based on a statistical

analysis of 1,260 respondents.

Comment 8: Two commenters felt that NMFS should place the same

level of reporting requirements on the recreational sector, including

party/charter vessels and head boats, as exist for the commercial

vessels. They were concerned that statistical information on the

recreational sector is lacking.

Response: Any recreational fishing vessel that fishes for federally

managed species in the EEZ, under 50 CFR part 648, and takes passengers

for hire, must have been issued a Federal permit. Federally-permitted

vessels in the recreational fisheries are subject to the same reporting

requirements as federally permitted commercial vessels. Under the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, recreational

fishing vessels that do not fish in the EEZ are not required to be

issued a Federal permit, and therefore are not subject to Federal

reporting requirements. Similarly, recreational vessels that fish in

the EEZ for their own recreation and do not take passengers for hire

are also not required to obtain a Federal permit and are not required

to report their catch. However, recreational vessels do provide catch

and effort data to NMFS for inclusion in the Marine Recreational

Fishery Statistics Survey.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

Because reporting a trip identifier is not being implemented at

this time, changes were made to two sections of the proposed rule to

clarify the measures and the intent of the regulations, and to respond

to public comments. These changes are listed here in the order that

they appear in the regulations:

Section 648.2 is revised to delete definitions for ``Serial

number'' and ``Trip identifier'' to reflect that the ``trip

identifier'' requirement is not being implemented at this time. The

definition for ``Hail weight'' has been expanded to clarify that a

party or charter vessel report in numbers of individual fish.

[[Page 60895]]

In Sec. 648.7, paragraph (b)(1)(i) is modified to reflect the new

language from the final rule implementing Amendment 1 to the FMP for

the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery. The new language was incorporated into

the Atlantic bluefish final rule to make it easier for the public to

understand which vessel owner/operators are affected by the reporting

requirements specified in this part. Also, in this paragraph the phrase

``hail weight, in pounds (or count, if a party or charter vessel) by

species, of all species landed or discarded'' was expanded to read

``hail weight, in pounds (or count of individual fish, if a party or

charter vessel), by species, of all species, or parts of species, such

as monkfish livers, landed or discarded.''

The President has directed Federal agencies to use plain language

in their communications with the public, including regulations. To

comply with this directive, we seek public comment on any ambiguity or

unnecessary complexity arising from the language used in this rule.

Send comments to Patricia Kurkul (see ADDRESSES).

Classification

This final 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 final rule would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The basis

for this certification was contained in the classification section of

the proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received

regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility

analysis was not prepared.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is

required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty

for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the

requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) unless that

collection of information displays a currently valid Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

This rule contains collection-of-information requirements subject

to review and approval by the OMB under the PRA, and clarifies or

modifies requirements previously approved under OMB control number

0648-0229 (2 minutes per response for dealer purchase reports, 4

minutes for interactive voice response reports, and 30 minutes for

shellfish processor reports); OMB control number 0648-0212 (5 minutes

per response for vessel logbook reports and 12 minutes for shellfish

logs); and OMB control number 0648-0018 (30 minutes per response for

processed products reports and 15 minutes for fish meal and oil

production reports). The requirement to complete all sections of the

Annual Processed Products Report was approved on March 4, 2000, under

OMB control number 0648-0018. Public reporting burden for this

collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per

response.

The aforementioned response estimates include the time for

reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and

maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the

collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden

estimate, or any other aspect of this data collection, including

suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: October 6, 2000.

William T. Hogarth,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended

as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES 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. Section 648.2 is revised by adding definition for ``Hail

Weight'', to read as follows:

Sec. 648.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Hail Weight means a good-faith estimate in pounds (or count of

individual fish, if a party or charter vessel), by species, of all

species, or parts of species, such as monkfish livers, landed or

discarded for each trip.

* * * * *

3. In Sec. 648.7 paragraphs (f)(1)(ii) and (f)(1)(iii) are

redesignated as (f)(1)(iii) and (f)(1)(iv) respectively; new paragraph

(f)(1)(ii) is added; paragraph (f)(2) is redesignated as paragraph

(f)(2)(i) and the first sentence is revised; new paragraph (f)(2)(ii)

is added; and paragraphs (a)(3)(i), (b)(1)(i), (c), (e), and (f)(1)(i)

first sentence are revised to read as follows:

Sec. 648.7 Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

(a) * * *

(3) * * *

(i) All dealers issued a dealer permit under this part, with the

exception of those processing only surfclams or ocean quahogs, must

complete all sections of the Annual Processed Products Report for all

species of fish or shellfish that were processed during the previous

year. Reports must be submitted to the address supplied by the Regional

Administrator.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) The owner or operator of any vessel issued a valid permit under

this part must maintain on board the vessel, and submit, an accurate

fishing log report for each fishing trip, regardless of species fished

for or taken, on forms supplied by or approved by the Regional

Administrator. If authorized in writing by the Regional Administrator,

a vessel owner or operator may submit reports electronically, for

example by using a VMS or other media. With the exception of those

vessel owners or operators fishing under a surfclam or ocean quahog

permit, at least the following information and any other information

required by the Regional Administrator, must be provided: vessel name;

USCG documentation number (or state registration number, if

undocumented); permit number; date/time sailed; date/time landed; trip

type; number of crew; number of anglers (if a charter or party boat);

gear fished; quantity and size of gear; mesh/ring size; chart area

fished; average depth; latitude/longitude (or loran station and

bearings); total hauls per area fished; average tow time duration; hail

weight, in pounds (or count of individual fish, if a party or charter

vessel), by species, of all species, or parts of species, such as

monkfish livers, landed or discarded; dealer permit number; dealer

name; date sold, port and state landed; and vessel operator's name,

signature, and operator's permit number (if applicable).

* * * * *

(c) When to fill out a log report. Log reports required by

paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section must be filled out with all

required information, except for information not yet ascertainable,

prior to entering port with fish. Information that may be considered

unascertainable prior to entering port with fish includes dealer name,

dealer permit number, and date sold. Log reports must be completed as

soon as the information becomes available. Log reports required by

paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section

[[Page 60896]]

must be filled out before landing any surfclams or ocean quahogs.

* * * * *

(e) Record retention. Copies of dealer reports, and records upon

which the reports were based, must be retained and be available for

review for a total of 3 years after the date of the last entry on the

report. Dealers must retain required reports and records at their

principal place of business. Copies of fishing log reports must be kept

on board the vessel for at least 1 year and available for review and

retained for a total of 3 years after the date of the last entry on the

log.

(f) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) Detailed weekly trip reports, required by paragraph (a)(1)(i)

of this section, must be postmarked or received within 16 days after

the end of each reporting week. * * *

(ii) Surfclam and ocean quahog reports, required by paragraph

(a)(1)(ii) of this section, must be postmarked or received within 3

days after the end of each reporting week.

* * * * *

(2) * * *

(i) Fishing vessel log reports, required by paragraph (b)(1)(i) of

this section, must be postmarked or received within 15 days after the

end of the reporting month. * * *

(ii) Surfclam and ocean quahog log reports, required by paragraph

(b)(1)(ii) of this section, must be postmarked or received within 3

days after the end of each reporting week.

* * * * *

FR Doc. 00-26357 Filed 10-12-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-S