Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Emergency Rule to Extend the Application Period To Renew Permits for 1995

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

50 CFR Part 663

[Docket No. 950126029-5029-01; I.D. 011095A]

RIN 0648-AH80

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Emergency Rule to Extend the

Application Period To Renew Permits for 1995

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Emergency rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this emergency rule to amend the implementing

regulations for the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP) to provide an additional 4 months during which limited entry

permit owners may apply for permit renewals for 1995. This action is

necessary to rectify an administrative requirement that is overly

restrictive for the first year of permit renewals in the limited entry

fishery. The intended effect of this rule is to allow continued

participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by permit owners

who failed to apply for a permit renewal by November 30, 1994.

DATES: Effective January 27, 1995 through May 2, 1995. Comments will be

accepted through March 3, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, BIN-

C15700, Seattle, WA 98115-0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director

Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean

Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. Documentation supporting

this emergency action is available at the Northwest Regional Office,

NMFS, at the address above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at (206) 526-6140;

or Rodney McInnis at (310) 980-4030. For further information on

application procedures, phone (206) 526-4353.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS issues this emergency rule under the

authority of section 305(c)(1) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act). An emergency rule that changes a fishery

management plan is treated as an amendment to such plan for the period

during which such regulation is in effect.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared, and NMFS

approved and implemented, an amendment (Amendment 6) to the FMP, that

established a limited entry program for the Pacific Coast groundfish

fishery off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Final

regulations implementing the limited entry program were published on

November 16, 1992 (57 FR 54001) and the program went into effect on

January 1, 1994.

The final regulations, at 50 CFR 663.41(c), require permits to be

renewed each year between October 1 and November 30, in order to remain

in force the following year. In addition, 50 CFR 663.41(c)(3) specifies

that a limited entry permit that is allowed to expire will not be

renewed unless the Northwest Region, NMFS, Fisheries Management

Division determines that failure to renew was proximately caused by the

illness, injury, or death of the permit holder.

Amendment 6, section 4.10, provided the following rationale as to

why the administrative procedures should be so rigid:

As initially worded, the draft license limitation program of

Amendment 6 provided no means by which the number of permits with

'A' endorsements might be reduced through attrition. A vessel could

leave the fishery without transferring the permit to another vessel,

and a number of years later the permit could be resurrected

[[Page 6040]] and effort reintroduced. The Council requested an

option be developed such that, if a permit holder failed to maintain

continuous interest in participating in the fishery, as evidenced by

annual permit renewal, the permit would expire. In this way, when

attrition occurs, i.e., someone discontinues interest in the fishery

without transferring the access rights to someone else, that

attrition may be 'locked in' and the permit may not be brought back

'on-line' at a later date.

Section 14.3.5 of Amendment 6, specified very limited exceptions to

the timely permit renewal requirement: ``With respect to permit

renewal, only illness, injury or death of one of the vessel owners will

be considered good cause.''

NMFS has determined that this administrative requirement is overly

restrictive for the program's first annual renewal period. During such

period, some permit owners may not have been aware of the need to renew

by November 30, 1994, or the penalty for failing to do so. Permanent

loss of the permit is too severe a consequence for a late renewal

application the first year.

NMFS has determined that it is necessary to provide immediate

relief from the overly restrictive administrative requirements at 50

CFR 663.41(c)(3) and to allow permit owners to continue to fish in

1995. All permit owners, even those who failed to submit their first

annual renewal by November 30, 1994, demonstrated substantial

participation in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery by meeting

initial permit issuance qualifications. Ensuring an opportunity for

each permit holder's continued participation is consistent with the

goals and objectives of the FMP. In the absence of an amendment to the

regulations, permit owners who applied for permit renewal late or whose

permits were not renewed by November 30, could lose their permits

forever and face a potential loss of livelihood. Allowing the extra

time for renewal does not frustrate the program's ultimate goal of

``locking in'' attrition, because permit owners still need to renew

within a reasonable period of time.

Under this emergency rule, a permit owner who did not apply for

limited entry permit renewal by November 30, 1994, has until March 31,

1995, to submit a request for annual renewal. If NMFS approves the

renewal, the permit shall be reissued for the remainder of 1995.

Classification

NMFS has determined that this rule is necessary to respond to an

emergency situation and is consistent with the Magnuson Act and other

applicable law.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds that the

reasons justifying implementation of this rule on an emergency basis

are good cause not to provide prior notice and opportunity for public

comment under section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

NMFS has determined that limiting the period for applying for a permit

renewal to 2 months in this first year of the limited entry program is

unnecessarily restrictive. In order to allow fishermen, who otherwise

would forgo their fishing opportunities in 1995, to renew their permits

and fish early in 1995, and to keep their permits from permanently

expiring, NMFS has determined it is impracticable and contrary to

provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment. Further,

pursuant to section 553(d)(1) of the APA, these emergency regulations

are being made effective on filing because they relieve a restriction.

This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

No environmental assessment was prepared under the provisions of

the National Environmental Policy Act because this rule makes a minor

change and is within the scope of the Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement prepared for the limited entry plan (Amendment 6 to the FMP).

This emergency rule is in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction

Act. This rule will not increase the information collection burden of

the existing limited entry permit program. The emergency rule does not

alter the types of information required in a limited entry permit

application, as approved by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB

Control Number 0648-0203.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 663

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: January 26, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 663 is amended

as follows:

PART 663--PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH FISHERY

1. The authority citation for part 663 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

2. In Sec. 663.41, a new paragraph (c)(4) is added to read as

follows:

Sec. 663.41 Limited entry permits.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(4) Notwithstanding Sec. 663.41(c)(1) and (3), limited entry

permits that expired at the end of 1994 may be renewed after November

30, 1994, but not later than March 31, 1995, in order to remain in

force during 1995.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95-2496 Filed 1-27-95; 4:51 pm]

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