Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 17

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961105310-6374-02; I.D. 102396A]

RIN 0648-AJ31

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast

Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 17

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

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement Framework Adjustment

17 and to correct the regulations implementing Amendment 7 to the

Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Framework 17

restores unused days-at-sea (DAS) to vessels enrolled in the DAS

effort-control call-in system that fished less than one-sixth of their

Amendment 7 DAS allocation during the months of May and June 1996. The

intent of this rule is to provide vessels with their full Amendment 7

allocation of DAS and to correct an inadvertent omission in a previous

rule.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 7 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (Amendment 7), its regulatory impact review (RIR) and

the final regulatory flexibility analysis (RFA) contained within the

RIR, its final supplemental environmental impact statement, and

Framework Adjustment 17 documents are available upon request from

Christopher B. Kellogg, Acting Executive Director, New England Fishery

Management Council (Council), 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906-1097.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan A. Murphy, NMFS, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 508-281-9252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Amendment 7 to the FMP (61 FR 27710, May 31,

1996) became effective on July 1, 1996, and implemented reductions in

DAS for vessels already under the effort-control system. During the

developmental stages of Amendment 7, it became clear that the New

England Fishery Management Council (Council) would be unable to submit

the amendment in time for it to be implemented before the May 1 start

of the new fishing year. To address this situation, the Council agreed

to prorate DAS to adjust for the gap between the

[[Page 2620]]

start of the fishing year and the implementation date of the revised

allocations. However, because this had the unintended effect of

assessing a prorated number of DAS, regardless of whether the DAS were

actually used, and because the call-in system is in place to assess

actual DAS used, the Council opted, through Framework 17, to use the

actual method for those vessels subject to the call-in system in May

and June. Further details concerning justification for and development

of Framework Adjustment 17 were provided in the notice of proposed

rulemaking (61 FR 58365, November 14, 1996) and are not repeated here.

This framework restores unused DAS (up to one-sixth of the full-

year allocation) to vessels enrolled in the call-in system in May and

June 1996, and that did not record more than one-sixth of their full-

year allocation. Since these vessels (vessels holding a 1996 Amendment

5 multispecies permit in the Individual, Fleet, or Combination Vessel

categories) had the opportunity to request a change in permit category,

provided that the application was completed and sent to the Regional

Administrator by August 15, 1996, the restoration of DAS will be

calculated based on the permit category held by the vessel on August

16, 1996.

This rule also adds surf clam and ocean quahog dredge gear to the

definition of exempted gear with respect to the NE multispecies fishery

(i.e., gear that is deemed not capable of catching multispecies). This

gear was inadvertently excluded from the definition in the final rule

for Amendment 7, which created an inconsistency with the final

Amendment 7 document.

Comments and Responses

Comment: Associated Fisheries of Maine, Maine Fishermen's Wives

Association, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., Senators Olympia J. Snowe

and William S. Cohen, and one individual submitted written comments in

support of Framework 17. The commenters asserted that the proposed rule

to Amendment 7 did not explain how DAS would be prorated and,

consequently, was interpreted by many to mean that DAS would be

prorated only for those vessels that were not under the call-in system

previous to Amendment 7. Because of this interpretation, one commenter

stated that many vessels reserved their DAS in May and June for periods

of time throughout the year that are traditionally more profitable to

fish. Several others stated that it would create a financial hardship

if their unused DAS were not restored.

Response: With the approval of Framework Adjustment 17, DAS will

automatically be restored to vessels enrolled in the call-in system

that fished less than one-sixth of their Amendment 7 allocation during

the months of May and June 1996.

Classification

In addition to the restoration of unused DAS for which prior notice

and opportunity for public comment was provided, this rule corrects a

provision for which full prior notice and opportunity for comment were

provided during the development and implementation of Amendment 7.

Therefore, the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), under

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), finds that additional prior notice and opportunity

for public comment is unnecessary.

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), both provisions of this rule are not

subject to a delay in effectiveness because they relieve restrictions

on the fishing industry.

This final rule has been determined to be not significant for

purposes of E.O. 12866.

The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the

Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of

the Small Business Administration that this rule would not have a

significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

The reasons were published in the notice of proposed rulemaking for

Framework Adjustment 17. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis

was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: January 13, 1997.

Charles Karnella,

Acting 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. In Sec. 648.2, the definition for ``Exempted gear'' is revised

to read as follows:

Sec. 648.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Exempted gear, with respect to the NE multispecies fishery, means

gear that is deemed to be not capable of catching NE multispecies and

includes: Pelagic hook and line, pelagic longline, spears, rakes,

diving gear, cast nets, tongs, harpoons, weirs, dipnets, stop nets,

pound nets, pelagic gillnets, pots and traps, purse seines, shrimp

trawls (with a properly configured grate as defined under this part),

surf clam and ocean quahog dredges, and midwater trawls.

* * * * *

3. In Sec. 648.82, paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (b)(2)(i), (b)(5)(i), and

(b)(7)(i) are revised, and paragraph (j) is added to read as follows:

Sec. 648.82 Effort-control program for limited access vessels.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Individual DAS

category shall be allocated 65 percent of its initial 1994 allocation

baseline, as established under Amendment 5 to the NE Multispecies FMP,

multiplied by the proration factor of 0.833 for the 1996 fishing year,

unless a vessel qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j)

of this section, and 50 percent of its initial allocation baseline for

the 1997 fishing year and beyond, as calculated under paragraph (d)(1)

of this section.

* * * * *

(2) * * *

(i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Fleet DAS category

shall be allocated 116 DAS (139 DAS multiplied by the proration factor

of 0.833) for the 1996 fishing year, unless a vessel qualifies for a

restoration of DAS under paragraph (j) of this section, and 88 DAS for

the 1997 fishing year and beyond.

* * * * *

(5) * * *

(i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Combination Vessel

category shall be allocated 65 percent of its initial 1994 allocation

baseline, as established under Amendment 5 to the NE Multispecies FMP,

multiplied by the proration factor of 0.833 for the 1996 fishing year,

unless a vessel qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j)

of this section, and 50 percent of its initial allocation baseline for

the 1997 fishing year and beyond, as calculated under paragraph (d)(1)

of this section.

* * * * *

(7) * * *

(i) DAS allocation. A vessel fishing under the Large Mesh Fleet DAS

category shall be allocated 129 DAS (155 DAS multiplied by the

proration factor of 0.833) for the 1996 fishing year,

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unless a vessel qualifies for a restoration of DAS under paragraph (j)

of this section, and 120 DAS for the 1997 fishing year, and beyond. To

be eligible to fish under the Large Mesh Fleet DAS category, a vessel

while fishing under this category must fish with gillnet gear with a

minimum mesh size of 7-inch (17.78-cm) diamond mesh or trawl gear with

a minimum mesh size of 8-inch (20.32-cm) diamond mesh, as described

under Sec. 648.80(a)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(ii), and (c)(2)(ii).

* * * * *

(j) Restoration of unused DAS. Vessels that held valid 1996

Amendment 5 NE multispecies permits in the Individual, Fleet or

Combination Vessel categories are eligible for restoration of unused

DAS if DAS fished during May and June 1996 was less than one-sixth of

their 1996 Amendment 7 allocation. Restoration of DAS will be based on

the NE multispecies permit category held on August 16, 1996. These

vessels will be automatically credited with DAS equal to the difference

between the proration reduction and their DAS fished during May and

June 1996, as recorded in the NMFS call-in system specified at

Sec. 648.10(c) (or on other verifiable evidence of days spent fishing

for multispecies). If the number of DAS fished during this time period

exceeded the proration reduction amount, those days will not be

subtracted from a vessel's 1996 allocation.

[FR Doc. 97-1204 Filed 1-14-97; 4:13 pm]

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