50 Cfr 660.20

Fishery Conservation and Management
be made in writing by the Regional Administrator or designee acting on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce and
will state the reasons therefore.
(1) Submission of appeals. (i) The appeal must be in writing and comply
with this paragraph.
(ii) Appeals must be mailed or faxed
to: National Marine Fisheries Service,
West Coast Region, Sustainable Fisheries Division, ATTN: Appeals, 7600
Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA
98115; Fax: 206–526–6426; or delivered to
National Marine Fisheries Service at
the same address.
(2) Timing of appeals. The appeal must
be filed within 30 calendar days after
the IAD is issued. The IAD becomes the
final decision of the Regional Administrator or designee acting on behalf of
the Secretary of Commerce if no appeal
is filed within 30 calendar days. The
time period to submit an appeal begins
with the date on the IAD. If the last
day of the time period is a Saturday,
Sunday, or Federal holiday, the time
period will extend to the close of business on the next business day.
(3) Address of record. The address used
by the applicant in initial correspondence to NMFS concerning the application will be the address used by NMFS
for the appeal. Notifications and correspondence associated with all actions
affecting the applicant will be mailed
to the address of record unless the applicant provides NMFS, in writing, an
address change. NMFS bears no responsibility if NMFS sends a notification or
correspondence to the address of record
and it is not received because the applicant’s actual address has changed without notification to NMFS.
(4) Statement of reasons for appeals.
Applicants must submit a full written
statement in support of the appeal, including a concise statement of the reasons the IAD determination has a direct and adverse effect on the applicant
and should be reversed or modified. The
appellate officer will limit his/her review to the issues stated in the appeal;
all issues not set out in the appeal will
be waived.
(5) Decisions on appeals. The Regional
Administrator or designee will issue a
final written decision on the appeal

§ 660.21
which is the final decision of the Secretary of Commerce.
[80 FR 22285, Apr. 21, 2015, as amended at 84
FR 31159, June 28, 2019]

§ 660.20 Vessel and gear identification.
(a) Vessel identification—(1) Display.
The operator of a vessel that is over 25
ft (7.6 m) in length and is engaged in
commercial fishing for groundfish
must display the vessel’s official number on the port and starboard sides of
the deckhouse or hull, and on a weather deck so as to be visible from above.
The number must contrast with the
background and be in block Arabic numerals at least 18 inches (45.7 cm) high
for vessels over 65 ft (19.8 m) long and
at least 10 inches (25.4 cm) high for vessels between 25 and 65 ft (7.6 and 19.8 m)
in length. The length of a vessel for
purposes of this section is the length
set forth in USCG records or in state
records, if no USCG record exists.
(2) Maintenance of numbers. The operator of a vessel engaged in commercial
fishing for groundfish must keep the
identifying markings required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section clearly legible and in good repair, and must ensure that no part of the vessel, its rigging, or its fishing gear obstructs the
view of the official number from an enforcement vessel or aircraft.
(3) Commercial passenger vessels. This
section does not apply to vessels carrying fishing parties on a per-capita
basis or by charter.
(b) Gear identification. Gear identification requirements specific to fisheries using fixed gear (limited entry
and open access) are described at
§ 660.219, subpart E and § 660.319, subpart
F.
§ 660.21 Seabird Avoidance Program.
This section contains the requirements of the Seabird Avoidance Program.
(a) Purpose. The purpose of the
Seabird Avoidance Program is to minimize interactions between fishing gear
and seabird species, including shorttailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).
(b) Applicability. The requirements
specified in paragraph (c) of this section apply to the following fishing vessels when operating within the EEZ
north of 36° N latitude:

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