DAS Leasing Request Form

APPLICATION TO LEASE

NE MULTISPECIES DAYS-AT-SEA (DAS)

Provide all information requested.

SUBMIT TO

NE MULTISPECIES DAS LEASING PROGRAM

US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, NOAA

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE

55 GREAT REPUBLIC DRIVE, GLOUCESTER, MA 01930

ONe

ONE BLACKBURN DRIVE, GLOUCESTER, MA 01930

Lessor (person transferring DAS) Information:

Owner Name: Permit #: _____________

Vessel Name: Official #: _____________

(or state registration #)

This permit is: Currently on the above vessel; or

In Confirmation of Permit History (CPH)

Lessee (person receiving DAS) Information:

Owner Name: Permit #: _____________

Vessel Name: Official #: _____________

(or state registration #)

Number of NE Multispecies DAS to be Leased: __________

Total Price Paid for Leased DAS: ___________

Signed: ___________________ Signed: ___________________

(Lessor) (Lessee)

Dated: ____________________ Dated: ____________________

Applications must be received by close of business March 1 of the fishing year.

DAS may be leased only through the end of the current fishing year and must be used in accordance with the regulations found at 50 CFR 648.82(k). Please see a summary of conditions and restrictions on the reverse side of this form.

NOTE: Lessee’s ability to receive leased DAS may be affected by the availability of DAS held by lessor.

Leasing DAS subsequent to a negative DAS balance will not compensate for the negative balance.

DAS leasing baselines may differ from the NE multispecies permit baseline used for vessel replacements.

DAS leasing baseline information is available at www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/amend13/das_baseline.htm

The maximum number of DAS that can be leased has been eliminated

This form is required to obtain approval for the leasing of DAS under 50 CFR 648.82(k) and to monitor DAS allocation and usage for limited access NE multispecies permit holders. Signature of this form certifies that permit holders comply with limited access permit requirements specified in 50 CFR 648.4, and that the information provided on this form is true, complete and correct to the best of their knowledge, and made in good faith (18 U.S.C. 1001). Making a false statement on this form is punishable by law.

Information obtained from the lease application is held confidential as required by NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and would be used only in summarized form (without identifying the source of data, i.e., vessel name, owner, etc.) for management of the fishery in the future.

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, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or suggestions for reducing this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester MA 01930.

OMB Control No. 0648-0605
Expiration Date: 1/31/2019

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: The collection of this information is authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq., the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act, the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFCIA; 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq), the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Fur Seal Act. The authority for the mandatory collection of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) is 31 U.S.C. 7701.

Purpose: In order to manage U.S. fisheries, the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requires the use of permits or registrations by participants in the United States. Information on NOAA Fisheries permit applicants and renewing holders includes vessel owner contact information, date of birth, TIN and vessel descriptive information. Permit holder information may be used as sampling frames for surveys, as part of Fishery Management Council (FMC) analysis to support FMC decisions.

Routine Uses: The Department will use this information to determine permit eligibility and to identify fishery participants. Disclosure of this information is permitted under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. Section 552a), to be shared within NMFS offices, in order to coordinate monitoring and management of sustainability of fisheries and protected resources, as well as with the applicable State or Regional Marine Fisheries Commissions and International Organizations. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all of the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notice COMMERCE/NOAA-19, Permits and Registrations for the United States Federally Regulated Fisheries.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary; however, failure to provide complete and accurate information will prevent the determination of eligibility for a permit.

Federal Regulations

§ 648.2 Definitions.

DAS Lease - the transfer of the use of DAS from one limited access NE multispecies vessel to another limited access NE multispecies vessel for a period not to exceed a single fishing year.

DAS Lessee - the NE multispecies limited access vessel owner and/or the associated vessel that acquires the use of DAS from another NE multispecies limited access vessel.

DAS Lessor - the NE multispecies limited access vessel owner and/or the associated vessel that transfers the use of DAS to another NE multispecies limited access vessel.

Sub-lease - the leasing of DAS that have already been leased to another vessel

§ 648.82(k) NE Multispecies DAS Leasing Program.

1) Program description. Eligible vessels, as specified in paragraph (k)(2) of this section, may lease Category A DAS to and from other eligible vessels, in accordance with the restrictions and conditions of this section. The Regional Administrator has final approval authority for all NE multispecies DAS leasing requests.

(2) Eligible vessels. (i) A vessel issued a valid limited access NE multispecies permit is eligible to lease Category A DAS to or from another such vessel, subject to the conditions and requirements of this part, unless the vessel was issued a valid Small Vessel or Handgear A permit specified under paragraphs (b)(5) and (6) of this section, respectively, or is a valid participant in an approved Sector, as described in §648.87(a). Any NE multispecies vessel that does not require use of DAS to fish for regulated multispecies may not lease any NE multispecies DAS.

(ii) Subject to the conditions and requirements of this part, DAS associated with a confirmation of permit history may be leased to another vessel without placing the permit on an active vessel.

(3) Application to lease NE multispecies DAS. To lease Category A DAS, the eligible Lessor and Lessee vessel must submit a completed application form obtained from the Regional Administrator. The application must be signed by both Lessor and Lessee and be submitted to the Regional Office at least 45 days before the date on which the applicants desire to have the leased DAS effective. The Regional Administrator will notify the applicants of any deficiency in the application pursuant to this section. Applications may be submitted at any time prior to the start of the fishing year or throughout the fishing year in question, up until the close of business on March 1. Eligible vessel owners may submit any number of lease applications throughout the application period, but any DAS may only be leased once during a fishing year.

(4) Conditions and restrictions on leased DAS —(i) Confirmation of Permit History. Pursuant to paragraph (k)(2)(ii) of this section, DAS associated with a confirmation of permit history may be leased.

(ii) Sub-leasing. In a fishing year, a Lessor or Lessee vessel may not sub-lease DAS that have already been leased to another vessel. Any portion of a vessel's DAS may not be leased more than one time during a fishing year.

(iii) Carry-over of leased DAS. Leased DAS that remain unused at the end of the fishing year may not be carried over to the subsequent fishing year by the Lessor or Lessee vessel.

(v) History of leased DAS use and landings. . The history of leased DAS use shall be presumed to remain with the Lessor vessel. In the case of multiple leases to one vessel, the history of leased DAS use shall be presumed to remain with the Lessor in the order in which such leases were approved by NMFS. For the purpose of accounting for leased DAS use, leased DAS will be accounted for (subtracted from available DAS) prior to allocated DAS.

(vi) Monkfish Category C, D, F, G and H vessels. A vessel that possesses a valid limited access NE multispecies DAS permit and a valid limited access monkfish Category C, D, F, G, or H permit and leases NE multispecies DAS to or from another vessel is subject to the restrictions specified in §648.92(b)(2).

(vii) DAS Category restriction. A vessel may lease only Category A DAS, as described under paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(viii) Duration of lease. A vessel leasing DAS may only fish those leased DAS during the fishing year in which they were leased.

(ix) Size restriction of Lessee vessel. A Lessor vessel only may lease DAS to a Lessee vessel with a baseline main engine horsepower rating that is no more than 20 percent greater than the baseline engine horsepower of the Lessor vessel. A Lessor vessel may only lease DAS to a Lessee vessel with a baseline length overall that is no more than 10 percent greater than the baseline length overall of the Lessor vessel. For the purposes of this program, the baseline horsepower and length overall specifications of vessels are those associated with the permit as of January 29, 2004, unless otherwise modified according to paragraph (k)(4)(xi) of this section.

(x) Leasing by vessels fishing under a sector allocation. A sector vessel may not lease DAS to or from common pool vessels, but may lease DAS to or from another sector vessel during the fishing year in which the vessel is a member of a sector.

(xi) One-time downgrade of DAS Leasing Program baseline . Unless otherwise specified in paragraph (k)(4)(xi)(B) and (C) of this section, for the purposes of determining eligibility for leasing DAS only, a vessel owner may elect to make a one-time downgrade to the vessel’s DAS Leasing Program baseline length and horsepower as specified in paragraph (k)(4)(ix) of this section to match the length overall and horsepower specifications of the vessel that is currently issued the permit.

(A) Application for a one-time DAS Leasing Program baseline downgrade. To downgrade the DAS Leasing Program baseline, eligible NE multispecies vessels must submit a completed application form obtained from the Regional Administrator. An application to downgrade a vessel's DAS Leasing Program baseline must contain at least the following information: Vessel owner's name, vessel name, permit number, official number or state registration number, current vessel length overall and horsepower specifications, an indication whether additional information is included to document the vessel's current specifications, and the signature of the vessel owner.

(B) Applicability of the one-time DAS Leasing Program baseline downgrade. The downgraded DAS Leasing Program baseline may only be used to determine eligibility for the DAS Leasing Program and does not affect or change the baseline associated with the DAS Transfer Program specified in paragraph (l)(1)(ii) of this section, or the vessel replacement or upgrade restrictions specified at § 648.4(a)(1)(i)(E) and (F), or any other provision.

(C) Duration of the one-time DAS Leasing Program baseline downgrade. Unless otherwise specified in this paragraph (k)(4)(xi)(C) of this section, the downgraded DAS Leasing Program baseline remains in effect until the DAS Leasing Program expires or the permit is transferred to another vessel via a vessel replacement, or through a DAS transfer. With the exception of vessels combining DAS Leasing Program baselines from two different vessels through the DAS Transfer Program as outlined in paragraph (k)(4)(xi)(C)(2) of this section, once the DAS Leasing Program baseline is downgraded for a particular permit, no further downgrades may be authorized for that permit.