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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 9, 2021 / Proposed Rules Samoa pelagic longline fisheries. In September 2020, the Council recommended that NMFS require electronic logbooks for the Hawaii pelagic longline fisheries and for Class C and D vessels in the American Samoa pelagic longline fishery, implementation targeted for July 2021.
Pursuant to the Councils recommendation, NMFS proposes to require the use of electronic logbooks for vessels with Federal permits for the Hawaii fishery, and Class C and D
Federal permits for the American Samoa fishery. This proposed rule would continue to meet existing reporting and recordkeeping requirements set forth in 50 CFR 665.14.
Under the proposed action, vessel operators would be required to use a NMFS-certified electronic logbook consisting of a tablet computer and software application to record catch, effort, location, and other information, and submit it within 24 hours of the completion of a fishing day. In the event of technology malfunction with hardware, software, or transmission, NMFS would require that logbook data be submitted on paper or electronically within 72 hours of the end of the affected fishing trip.
If this rule is finalized, it would be effective no earlier than 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. After the effective date, the requirements would be applicable to an individual permit holder after NMFS
notifies the permit holder of the requirement to submit records electronically and after NMFS assigns an electronic logbook to the vessel.
NMFS would be responsible for purchasing, providing, and maintaining the tablets, software, and data transmission at no cost to fishery participants. In addition to providing the electronic logbooks, NMFS would provide vessel operators with individual user accounts and train them to use the system properly.
If a third party were to develop an electronic logbook system in the future, NMFS would work with prospective providers and fishery participants to review and evaluate those systems and, if appropriate, certify them for use in the fisheries. NMFS has not determined at this time whether it would provide alternative third-party systems to the fisheries at no cost, or if the fishery participants would be required to assume those costs.
Near real-time reporting via electronic logbooks would improve timeliness in catch reporting and add precision and reduce catch forecast inaccuracies. This proposed action would ensure that Hawaii and American Samoa longline
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fishermen have the opportunity to maximize sustainable catch of bigeye tuna and species, facilitate the implementation of in-season accountability measures, and meet market demands, consistent with the conservation needs of the stocks. This proposed action would also support the NMFS Policy Directive on Electronic Technologies ET and Fishery Dependent Data Collection Electronic Technology Policy Directive 04115;
May 7, 2019 to complement and/or improve existing fishery-dependent data collection programs to achieve the most cost-effective and sustainable approach that ensures alignment of management goals, data needs, funding sources and regulations.
NMFS will consider public comments on this proposed rule and will announce the final rule in the Federal Register. NMFS must receive comments on this proposed action by the date provided in the DATES heading. NMFS
may not consider comments postmarked or otherwise transmitted after that date.
Regardless of the final rule, all other existing management measures would continue to apply in the longline fishery.
Classification Pursuant to section 304b1A of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the FEP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
Certification of Finding of No Significant Impact on Substantial Number of Small Entities The Chief Counsel for Regulation for the Department of Commerce has 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 proposed action would apply to pelagic longline fishing vessels holding Hawaii longline permits and American Samoa Class C and D longline permits under the FEP. Vessel operators would be required to record fishing data using electronic, and to submit electronic reports within 24 hours after completion of each fishing day via the NMFSprovided VMS. NMFS would provide the electronic logbooks and training. In the case of a hardware, software, or transmission failure, NMFS would allow submission of electronic or paper
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report forms within 72 hours of the end of each fishing trip. Implementing electronic logbooks would take advantage of emerging technology that could reduce human error, improve data accuracy, save time for fishermen and NMFS, and provide more rigorous monitoring and forecasting of catch limits and application of in-season accountability measures. This action is needed to ensure that the Hawaii and American Samoa longline vessels have the opportunity to maximize sustainable catch of bigeye tuna and other Western Pacific pelagic management unit species under the FEP to meet market demands consistent with the conservation needs of the stocks.
Because NMFS is paying the costs of the hardware, software, data transmission, and training under the existing voluntary, and proposed mandatory, electronic reporting system, there will be minimal burdens on the fishery participants. There may be a brief training and learning period for operators to become familiar with recording and submitting electronic reports. There would be no new reporting elements for fishery participants. Only the method of reporting would change for some operators who are not already using the electronic system.
In 2019, Hawaii longline vessels landed approximately 32.8 million lb 14,874 t of pelagic fish valued at $94.8
million. With 146 vessels making either a deepor shallow-set trip in 2019, the ex-vessel value of pelagic fish caught by Hawaii-based longline fisheries averaged almost $649,000 per vessel. In 2019, American Samoa-based longline vessels landed approximately 2.9
million lb 1,315 t of pelagic fish valued at $3.9 million; albacore made up the largest proportion of pelagic longline commercial landings. With 17
active longline vessels in 2019, the exvessel value of pelagic fish caught by the American Samoa fishery averaged almost $230,000 per vessel.
Complete data are not yet available for 2020, but preliminary information indicates that the longline fisheries experienced a temporary decrease in revenue and other fishery performance measures, possibly resulting from travel restrictions. In Hawaii, declines in tourism led to a reduction in demand for associated goods and services including locally caught seafood. These, in turn, affected fishery landings, fish prices, and revenues. Average revenues, landings, and prices from March through July dropped 45 percent, 34
percent, and 15 percent, respectively, compared to averages for 20152019
NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science
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