50 CFR 600 Subpart F - Foreign Fishing

§ 600.420

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)
(2) Have reviewed and are familiar
with the procedures to protect confidential statistics.

(1) Council employees who are responsible for FMP development and
monitoring.
(2) A Council for use by the Council
for conservation and management purposes, with the approval of the Assistant Administrator. In addition to the
information described in paragraph (a)
of this section, the Assistant Administrator will consider the following in deciding whether to grant access:
(i) The possibility that Council members might gain personal or competitive advantage from access to the data.
(ii) The possibility that the suppliers
of the data would be placed at a competitive disadvantage by public disclosure of the data at Council meetings or
hearings.
(3) A contractor of the Council for
use in such analysis or studies necessary for conservation and management purposes, with approval of the
Assistant Administrator and execution
of an agreement with NMFS as described by NOAA Administrative Order
(NAO) 216–100.
(e) Prohibitions. Persons having access to these data are prohibited from
unauthorized use or disclosure and are
subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C.
1905, 16 U.S.C. 1857, and NOAA/NMFS
internal procedures, including NAO
216–100.

§ 600.425 Release of statistics.
(a) The Assistant Administrator will
not release to the public any statistics
required to be submitted under an FMP
in a form that would identify the submitter, except as required by law.
(b) All requests from the public for
statistics submitted in response to a
requirement of an FMP will be processed consistent with the NOAA FOIA
regulations (15 CFR part 903), NAO 205–
14, Department of Commerce Administrative Orders 205–12 and 205–14 and 15
CFR part 4.
(c) NOAA does not release or allow
access to confidential information in
its possession to members of Council
advisory groups, except as provided by
law.

Subpart F—Foreign Fishing
§ 600.501 Vessel permits.
(a) General. (1) Each FFV fishing
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act must
have on board a permit issued under
this section, unless it is engaged only
in recreational fishing.
(2) Permits issued under this section
do not authorize FFV’s or persons to
harass, capture, or kill marine mammals. No marine mammals may be
taken in the course of fishing unless
that vessel has on board a currently
valid Authorization Certificate under
the MMPA. Regulations governing the
taking of marine mammals incidental
to commercial fishing operations are
contained in 50 CFR part 229 of this
title.
(b) Responsibility of owners and operators. The owners and operators of each
FFV are jointly and severally responsible for compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the applicable GIFA,
this subpart, and any permit issued
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and
this subpart. The owners and operators
of each FFV bear civil responsibility
for the acts of their employees and
agents constituting violations, regardless of whether the specific acts were
authorized or even forbidden by the
employer or principal, and regardless

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

§ 600.420

Control system.

(a) The Assistant Administrator
maintains a control system to protect
the identity of submitters of statistics
required by an FMP. The control system:
(1) Identifies those persons who have
access to the statistics.
(2) Contains procedures to limit access to confidential data to authorized
users.
(3) Provides for safeguarding the
data.
(b) This system requires that all persons who have authorized access to the
data be informed of the confidentiality
of the data. These persons are required
to sign a statement that they:
(1) Have been informed that the data
are confidential.

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Fishery Conservation and Management
of knowledge concerning the occurrence.
(c) Activity codes. Permits to fish
under this subpart may be issued by
the Assistant Administrator for the activities described in this paragraph,
but the permits may be modified by
regulations of this subpart and by the
conditions and restrictions attached to
the permit (see paragraphs (e)(1)(v) and
(l) of this section). The Assistant Administrator may issue a permit, as appropriate, for one or more of the activity codes listed. Only vessels of nations
having a GIFA with the United States
may be issued permits for activity
codes 1 through 9. A GIFA is not required for a vessel to be issued a permit
for activity code 10. The activity codes
are described as follows:
(1) Activity Code 1. Catching, scouting, processing, transshipping, and supporting foreign vessels. Activity is limited to fish harvested or to be harvested by foreign vessels in the EEZ.
(2) Activity Code 2. Processing, scouting, transshipping, and supporting foreign vessels. Activity is limited to fish
harvested or to be harvested by foreign
vessels in the EEZ.
(3) Activity Code 3. Transshipping,
scouting, and supporting foreign vessels. Activity is limited to fish harvested or to be harvested by foreign
vessels in the EEZ.
(4) Activity Code 4. Processing, scouting, transshipping, and supporting U.S.
vessels delivering fish to foreign vessels. Activity is limited to the receipt
of unprocessed fish harvested or to be
harvested by U.S. vessels.
(5) Activity Code 5. Transshipping,
scouting, and supporting foreign vessels. Transshipment limited to fish received or to be received from foreign
vessels processing fish from U.S. harvesting vessels.
(6) Activity Code 6. Transshipping,
scouting, and supporting U.S. vessels.
Transshipment limited to U.S.-harvested fish processed on board U.S. vessels.
(7) Activity Code 7. Processing, transshipping, and supporting foreign vessels. Activity limited to fish harvested
or to be harvested by foreign vessels
seaward of the EEZ.
(8) Activity Code 8. Transshipping and
supporting foreign vessels. Activity is

§ 600.501
limited to fish harvested or to be harvested seaward of the EEZ by foreign
vessels or fish duly authorized for processing in the internal waters of one of
the states.
(9) Activity Code 9. Supporting U.S.
fishing vessels and U.S. fish processing
vessels and any foreign fishing vessels
authorized under any activity code
under paragraph (c) of this subpart.
(10) Activity Code 10. Transshipping at
sea for the purpose of transporting fish
or fish products from a point within
the EEZ or, with the concurrence of a
state, within the boundaries of that
state, to a point outside the United
States.
(d) Application. (1) Applications for
FFV permits authorizing activity
codes 1 through 9 must be submitted by
an official representative of a foreign
nation to the DOS. Applications for
permits authorizing activity codes 1
through 9 are available from, and
should be submitted to, DOS, OES/
OMC, Washington, DC 20520. Applications for FFV permits authorizing activity code 10 may be submitted by any
person to the Assistant Administrator.
Applications for permits authorizing
activity code 10 are available from
NMFS, Attn: Office of International
Affairs, 1315 East West Highway, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910. All applicants
should allow 90 days for review and
comment by the public, involved governmental agencies, and appropriate
Councils and for processing before the
anticipated date to begin fishing. The
permit application fee must be paid at
the time of application according to
§ 600.518.
(2) Applicants must provide complete
and accurate information requested on
the permit application form.
(3) Applicants for FFV’s that will
support U.S. vessels in joint ventures
(Activity Code 4) must provide the additional information specified by the
permit application form.
(4) Each applicant may request to
substitute one FFV for another of the
same flag by submitting a new application form and a short explanation of
the reason for the substitution to the
appropriate address listed at paragraph
(d)(1) of this section. Each substitution
is considered a new application, and a
new application fee must be paid.

73

§ 600.501

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

NMFS will promptly process an application for a vessel replacing a permitted FFV that is disabled or decommissioned, once the appropriate Council(s) and governmental agencies have
been notified of the substituted application.
(e) Issuance. (1) Permits may be
issued to an FFV by the Assistant Administrator after—
(i) The Assistant Administrator determines that the fishing described in
the application will meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and approves the permit application.
(ii) The applicant has paid the fees
and provided any assurances required
by the Secretary in accordance with
the provisions of § 600.518.
(iii) The applicant has appointed an
agent.
(iv) The applicant has identified a
designated representative.
(v) The applicant has accepted the
general ‘‘conditions and restrictions’’
of receiving permits, as required by
section 204(b)(7) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and any ‘‘additional restrictions’’ attached to the permit for the
conservation and management of fishery resources or for the prevention of
significant impairment of the national
defense or security interests.
(2) The DOS will provide permits for
activity codes 1 through 9 to the official representative of the applicant foreign nation. The Assistant Administrator will provide permits for activity
code 10 directly to the applicant.
(3) An approved permit will contain—
(i) The name and IRCS of the FFV
and its permit number.
(ii) The permitted fisheries and/or activity codes.
(iii) The date of issuance and expiration date, if other than December 31.
(iv) All conditions and restrictions,
and any additional restrictions and
technical modifications appended to
the permit.
(4) Permits are not issued for boats
that are launched from larger vessels.
Any enforcement action that results
from the activities of a launched boat
will be taken against the permitted
vessel.
(f) Duration. A permit is valid from
its date of issuance to its date of expiration, unless it is revoked or sus-

pended or the nation issuing the FFV’s
documents does not accept amendments to the permit made by the Assistant Administrator in accordance
with the procedures of paragraph (l) of
this section. The permit will be valid
for no longer than the calendar year in
which it was issued.
(g) Transfer. Permits are not transferable or assignable. A permit is valid
only for the FFV to which it is issued.
(h) Display. Each FFV operator must
have a properly completed permit form
available on board the FFV when engaged in fishing activities and must
produce it at the request of an authorized officer or observer.
(i) Suspension and revocation. NMFS
may apply sanctions to an FFV’s permit by revoking, suspending, or imposing additional permit restrictions on
the permit under 15 CFR part 904, if the
vessel is involved in the commission of
any violation of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, the GIFA, or this subpart; if an
agent and a designated representative
are not maintained in the United
States; if a civil penalty or criminal
fine imposed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act has become overdue; or as
otherwise specified in the MagnusonStevens Act.
(j) Fees. Permit application fees are
described in § 600.518.
(k) Change in application information.
The applicant must report, in writing,
any change in the information supplied
under paragraph (d) of this section to
the Assistant Administrator within 15
calendar days after the date of the
change. Failure to report a change in
the ownership from that described in
the current application within the
specified time frame voids the permit,
and all penalties involved will accrue
to the previous owner.
(l) Permit amendments. (1) The Assistant Administrator may amend a permit by adding ‘‘additional restrictions’’
for the conservation and management
of fishery resources covered by the permit, or for the national defense or security if the Assistant Administrator
determines that such interests would
be significantly impaired without such
restrictions. Compliance with the
added additional restrictions is a condition of the permit. Violations of

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Fishery Conservation and Management

USCG and NMFS as specified in this
section.
(b) All reports required by this section must be in English and in the formats specified in the permit additions
and restrictions. Reports must be delivered via private or commercial communications facilities, facsimile, or
other electronic means acceptable to
NMFS and the USCG, directly to the
appropriate NMFS Region or Center
and USCG commander. Weekly reports
must also be delivered directly to the
appropriate NMFS Region or Center
(see tables 1 and 2 of this section). (The
required reports may be delivered to
the closest USCG communication station as indicated in table 3 of this section or other USCG communication
station only if adequate private or
commercial communications facilities
have not been successfully contacted.)
Radio reports must be made via radiotelegraphy, Telex, or facsimile where
available. For the purposes of this section, a message is considered ‘‘transmitted’’ when its receipt is acknowledged by a communications facility
and considered ‘‘delivered’’ upon its receipt by the offices of the appropriate
USCG commander, NMFS Regional Office, or NMFS Center identified in
table 2 of this section. Reports required
by this section may be submitted by
the vessel’s designated representative;
however, the operator of the FFV is responsible for the correct and timely filing of all required reports.
(c) Activity reports. The operator of
each FFV must report the FFV’s movements and activities before or upon the
event, as specified in this paragraph
(c). Appropriate forms, instructions,
codes, and examples are contained in
the conditions and restrictions of the
FFV’s permit. Each FFV report must
contain the following information: The
message identifier ‘‘VESREP’’ to indicate it is a vessel activity report, FFV
name, international radio call sign
IRCS, date (month and day based on
GMT), time (hour and minute GMT),
position (latitude and longitude to the
nearest degree and minute) where required, area (by fishing area code)
where required, the appropriate action

added additional restrictions will be
treated as violations of this subpart.
(2) The Assistant Administrator may
make proposed additional restrictions
effective immediately, if necessary, to
prevent substantial harm to a fishery
resource of the United States, to allow
for the continuation of ongoing fishing
operations, or to allow for fishing to
begin at the normal time for opening of
the fishery.
(3) The Assistant Administrator will
send proposed additional restrictions
to each Nation whose vessels are affected (via the Secretary of State), to
the appropriate Councils, and to the
Commandant of the Coast Guard.
NMFS will, at the same time, publish a
document of any significant proposed
additional restrictions in the FEDERAL
REGISTER. The document will include a
summary of the reasons underlying the
proposal, and the reasons that any proposed additional restrictions are made
effective immediately.
(4) The Nation whose vessels are involved, the owners of the affected vessels, their representatives, the agencies
specified in paragraph (l)(3) of this section, and the public may submit written comments on the proposed additional restrictions within 30 days after
publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER.
(5) The Assistant Administrator will
make a final decision regarding the
proposed additional restrictions as
soon as practicable after the end of the
comment period. The Assistant Administrator will provide the final additional restrictions to the Nation whose
vessels are affected (via the Secretary
of State) according to the procedures of
paragraph (e) of this section. The Assistant Administrator will include with
the final additional restrictions to the
Nation, a response to comments submitted.
(6) Additional restrictions may be
modified by following the procedures of
paragraphs (l)(2) through (l)(5) of this
section.
[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 64 FR 39019, July 21,
1999; 76 FR 59305, Sept. 26, 2011]

§ 600.502

§ 600.502

Vessel reports.

(a) The operator of each FFV must
report the FFV’s activities to the

75

§ 600.502

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

code, confirmation codes where required, and the other information specified in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(11)
of this section.
(1) ‘‘BEGIN’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position, and
area the FFV will actually ‘‘BEGIN’’
fishing in the EEZ and the species (by
species code), product (by product
code), and quantity of all fish and fish
products (by product weight to the
nearest hundredth of a metric ton) on
board when entering the EEZ (action
code ‘‘BEGIN’’). The message must be
delivered at least 24 hours before the
vessel begins to fish.
(2) ‘‘DEPART’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position, and
area the FFV will ‘‘DEPART’’ the EEZ
to embark or debark an observer, to
visit a U.S. port, to conduct a joint
venture in internal waters, or to otherwise temporarily leave an authorized
fishing area, but not depart the seaward limit of the EEZ (action code
‘‘DEPART’’). The message must be
transmitted before the FFV departs
the present fishing area and delivered
within 24 hours of its transmittal.
(3) ‘‘RETURN’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position, and
area the FFV will ‘‘RETURN’’ to the
EEZ following a temporary departure,
and the species (by species code), product (by product code), and quantity of
all fish and fish products (by product
weight to the nearest hundredth of a
metric ton) on board that were received in a joint venture in internal
waters (action code ‘‘RETURN’’). The
message must be transmitted before returning to the EEZ and delivered within 24 hours of its transmittal.
(4) ‘‘SHIFT’’. Each operator must report each SHIFT in fishing area (as described for each fishery) by specifying
the date, time, and position the FFV
will start fishing, and the new area (action code ‘‘SHIFT’’). The message must
be transmitted before leaving the original area and delivered within 24 hours
of its transmittal. If a foreign vessel
operates within 20 nautical miles (37.04
km) of a fishing area boundary, its operator may submit in one message the
shift reports for all fishing area shifts
occurring during 1 fishing day (0001–
2400 GMT). This message must be
transmitted prior to the last shift ex-

pected to be made in the day and delivered within 24 hours of its transmittal.
(5) ‘‘JV OPS’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position, and
area at which the FFV will ‘‘START’’
joint venture operations (action code
‘‘START JV OPS’’) or ‘‘END’’ joint
venture operations (action code ‘‘END
JV OPS’’). These reports must be made
in addition to other activity reports
made under this section. Each message
must be transmitted before the event
and delivered within 24 hours of its
transmittal.
(6) ‘‘TRANSFER’’. The operator of
each FFV that anticipates a transshipping operation in which the FFV
will receive fish or fisheries products
must specify the date, time, position
and area the FFV will conduct the
‘‘TRANSFER’’ and the name and IRCS
of the other FFV or U.S. vessel involved (action code ‘‘TRANSFER’’).
The report must include the permit activity code under which the transfer
will be made. The message must be
transmitted prior to the transfer and
delivered within 24 hours of its transmittal. The movement of raw fish from
a permitted foreign catching vessel or,
under an Activity Code 4, from a U.S.
fishing vessel to the reporting processing vessel and the return of nets or
codends is not considered a transfer.
(7) ‘‘OFFLOADED’’. Each operator
must specify the date, time, position,
and area the FFV ‘‘OFFLOADED’’ fish
or fisheries products TO another FFV
or a U.S. vessel in a transfer, the other
FFV’s or U.S. vessel’s name, IRCS,
Permit Activity Code under which the
transfer was made, species (by species
code) and quantity of fish and fisheries
products (by product code and by product weight, to the nearest hundredth of
a metric ton) offloaded (action code
‘‘OFFLOADED TO’’). The message
must be transmitted within 12 hours
after the transfer is completed and delivered within 24 hours of its transmittal and before the FFV ceases fishing in the EEZ.
(8) ‘‘RECEIVED’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position and
area the vessel ‘‘RECEIVED’’ fish or
fisheries products FROM another FFV
in a transfer, the other FFV’s or U.S.
vessel’s name, IRCS, Permit Activity
Code under which the receipt was

76

Fishery Conservation and Management
made, species (by species code) and
quantity of fish and fisheries products
(by product code and by product
weight, to the nearest hundredth of a
metric ton) received (action code ‘‘RECEIVED FROM’’). The message must
be transmitted within 12 hours after
the transfer is completed and delivered
within 24 hours of its transmittal and
before the vessel ceases fishing in the
EEZ.
(9) ‘‘CEASE’’. Each operator must
specify the date, time, position, and
area the FFV will ‘‘CEASE’’ fishing in
order to leave the EEZ (action code
‘‘CEASE’’). The message must be delivered at least 24 hours before the FFV’s
departure.
(10) ‘‘CHANGE’’. Each operator must
report any ‘‘CHANGE’’ TO the FFV’s
operations if the position or time of an
event specified in an activity report
will vary more than 5 nautical miles
(9.26 km) or 4 hours from that previously reported, by sending a revised
message inserting the word ‘‘CHANGE’’
in front of the previous report, repeating the name, IRCS, date, and time of
the previous report, adding the word
‘‘TO’’ and the complete revised text of
the new report (action code ‘‘CHANGE
TO’’). Changes to reports specifying an
early beginning of fishing by an FFV or
other changes to reports contained in
paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(9) of this
section must be transmitted and delivered as if the ‘‘CHANGE’’ report were
the original message.
(11) ‘‘CANCEL’’. Each operator wanting to ‘‘CANCEL’’ a previous report
may do so by sending a revised message, and inserting the word ‘‘CANCEL’’ in front of the previous report’s
vessel name, IRCS, date, time and action code canceled (action code ‘‘CANCEL’’). The message must be transmitted and delivered prior to the date
and time of the event in the original
message.
(d) The operator of an FFV will be in
violation of paragraphs (c)(1) through
(c)(9) of this section if the FFV does
not pass within 5 nautical miles (9.26
km) of the position given in the report
within 4 hours of the time given in the
report.
(e) The notices required by this section may be provided for individual or
groups of FFV’s (on a vessel-by-vessel

§ 600.502
basis) by authorized persons. An FFV
operator may retransmit reports on
the behalf of another FFV, if authorized by that FFV’s operator. This does
not relieve the individual vessel operator of the responsibility of filing required reports. In these cases, the message format should be modified so that
each line of text under ‘‘VESREP’’ is a
separate vessel report.
(f) Weekly reports. (1) The operator of
each FFV in the EEZ must submit appropriate weekly reports through the
Nation’s designated representative.
The report must arrive at the address
and time specified in paragraph (g) of
this section. The reports may be sent
by facsimile or Telex, but a completed
copy of the report form must be mailed
or hand delivered to confirm the Telex.
Appropriate forms, instructions, codes,
and examples are contained in the conditions and restrictions of the FFV’s
permit.
Designated
representatives
may include more than one vessel report in a facsimile or Telex message, if
the information is submitted on a vessel-by-vessel basis. Requests for corrections to previous reports must be submitted through the Nation’s designated
representative and mailed or hand-delivered, together with a written explanation of the reasons for the errors.
The appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and Research Director may accept or reject any correction
and initiate any appropriate civil penalty actions.
(2) Weekly catch report (CATREP). The
operator of each FFV must submit a
weekly catch report stating any catch
(Activity Code 1) in round weight of
each species or species group allocated
to that Nation by area and days fished
in each area for the weekly period Sunday through Saturday, GMT, as modified by the fishery in which the FFV is
engaged. Foreign vessels delivering
unsorted, unprocessed fish to a processing vessel are not required to submit CATREP’s, if that processing vessel (Activity Code 2) submits consolidated CATREP’s for all fish received
during each weekly period. No report is
required for FFV’s that do not catch or
receive foreign-caught fish during the
reporting period.
(3) Weekly receipts report (RECREP).
The operator of each FFV must submit

77

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50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

a weekly report stating any receipts of
U.S.-harvested fish in a joint venture
(Activity Code 4) for the weekly period
Sunday through Saturday, GMT, as
modified by the fishery in which the
FFV is engaged, for each fishing area,
by authorized or prohibited species or
species group; days fish received; round
weight retained or returned to the U.S.
fishing vessel; number of codends received; and number of vessels transferring codends. The report must also include the names of U.S. fishing vessels
transferring codends during the week.
No report is required for FFV’s that do
not receive any U.S.-harvested fish
during the reporting period.
(4) Marine mammal report (MAMREP).
The operator of each FFV must submit
a weekly report stating any incidental
catch or receipt of marine mammals
(Activity Codes 1 or 2 and/or 4), the
geographical position caught, the condition of the animal, number caught (if
more than one of the same species and
condition), and nationality of the
catching vessel for the period Sunday
through Saturday, GMT, as modified
by the fishery in which the vessel is engaged. Foreign catching vessels delivering unsorted, unprocessed fish to
processing vessel are not required to
submit MAMREP’s, provided that the
processing or factory vessel (Activity
Code
2)
submits
consolidated
MAMREP’s for all fish received during

each weekly period. FFV’s receiving
U.S.-harvested fish in a joint venture
(Activity Code 4) must submit consolidated reports for U.S. vessels operating
in the joint venture. No report is required for FFV’s that do not catch or
receive marine mammals during the reporting period.
(g) Submission instructions for weekly
reports. The designated representative
for each FFV must submit weekly reports in the prescribed format to the
appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director of
NMFS by 1900 GMT on the Wednesday
following the end of the reporting period. However, by agreement with the
appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director, the designated representative may submit
weekly reports to some other facility
of NMFS.
(h) Alternative reporting procedures. As
an alternative to the use of the specific
procedures provided, an applicant may
submit proposed reporting procedures
for a general type of fishery operation
(i.e., transshipments under Activity
Code 10) to the appropriate Regional
Administrator and the USCG commander (see tables 1 and 2 to § 600.502 of
this chapter). With the agreement of
the USCG commander, the Regional
Administrator may authorize the use
of alternative reporting procedures.

TABLE 1 TO § 600.502—ADDRESSES
NMFS regional administrators

NMFS science and research directors

U.S. Coast Guard
commanders

Administrator, Northeast Region, National
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930–2298.
Administrator, Southeast Region, National
Marine Fisheries Service, 263 13th Ave.
South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Director, Northeast Fisheries Science
Center, National Marine Fisheries
Service, NOAA, 166 Water St., Woods
Hole, MA 02543–1097.
Director, Southeast Fisheries Science
Center, National Marine Fisheries
Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach
Drive, Miami, FL 33149.
Director, Northwest Fisheries Science
Center, National Marine Fisheries
Service, NOAA, 2725 Montlake Blvd.
East, Seattle, WA 98112–2097.
Director, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service,
NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE,
BIN C15700, Bldg. 4, Seattle, WA
98115–0070.
Director, Southwest Fisheries Science
Center, National Marine Fisheries
Service, NOAA, P.O. Box 271, La
Jolla, CA 92038–0271.

Commander, Atlantic Area, U.S. Coast
Guard, 431 Crawford St., Portsmouth,
VA 23704.

Administrator, Northwest Region, National
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 7600
Sand Point Way, NE, BIN C15700,
Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 98115.
Administrator, Alaska Region, National
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, P.O.
Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668.

Administrator, Southwest Region, National
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 501
West Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long
Beach, CA 90802–4213.

78

Commander, Atlantic Area, U.S. Coast
Guard, Governor’s Island, New York
10004.
Commander, Pacific Area, U.S. Coast
Guard, Government Island, Alameda,
CA 94501.
Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard
District, P.O. Box 25517, Juneau, AK
99802.

Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard
District, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96850.

Fishery Conservation and Management

§ 600.502

TABLE 1 TO § 600.502—ADDRESSES—Continued
NMFS regional administrators

NMFS science and research directors

U.S. Coast Guard
commanders

Administrator, Pacific Islands Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA,
1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu,
HI 96818.

Director, Pacific Islands Fisheries
Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 1845 Wasp
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.

Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard
District, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96850.

TABLE 2 TO § 600.502—AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY OF NMFS AND U.S. COAST GUARD OFFICES
Area of responsibility/fishery

National Marine Fisheries Service

Atlantic Ocean North of Cape Hatteras ....

Director, Northeast Science Center, Attn:
Observer Program.
Director, Northeast Science Center, Attn:
Observer Program.
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries

Commander, Atlantic Area.

Administrator, Southeast Region ............
Administrator, Northwest Region ............

Commander, Atlantic Area.
Commander, Pacific Area.

Administrator, Alaska Region ..................

Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard
District.
Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard
District.

Atlantic Ocean South of Cape Hatteras ....
Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, Billfish and
Sharks.
Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea ...........
Pacific Ocean off the States of California,
Oregon, and Washington.
North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea off
Alaska.
Pacific Ocean off Hawaii, American
Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Insular Possessions in the Central and
Western Pacific.

U.S. Coast Guard
Commander, Atlantic Area.
Commander, Atlantic Area.

Administrator, Pacific Islands Region .....

TABLE 3 TO § 600.502—U.S. COAST GUARD COMMUNICATIONS STATIONS AND FREQUENCIES
Radiotelephone
U.S. Coast Guard communications station
Channel 1

IRCS
Boston ....................................................................................

NMF

CAMSLANT Chesapeake (Portsmouth, VA) ..........................

NMN

New Orleans ...........................................................................

NMG

CAMSPAC Point Reyes (San Francisco, CA) .......................

NMC

Honolulu .................................................................................

NMO

Kodiak .....................................................................................

NOJ

1 Carrier

A-E
B,C
D
E
A
B,C
D
E
A
B,C
D
E
A-D
E
A-D
E
A-D
E

2330–1100.
All.
1100–2330.
(On request).
2330–1100.
All.
1100–2330.
(On request).
2330–1100.
All.
1100–2330.
(On request).
All.
(On request).
All.
(On request).
All.
(On request).

frequencies of duplex, high-frequency single-sideband channels are:
Letter

A
B
C
D
E

GMT time

Shore transmit

........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................

4426.0
6501.0
8764.0
13089.0
17314.0

Ship transmit
4134.0
6200.0
8240.0
12242.0
16432.0

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 7073, Feb. 12, 1998; 64 FR 39020, July 21, 1999;
69 FR 8341, Feb. 24, 2004; 76 FR 34902, June 15, 2011; 79 FR 64111, Oct. 28, 2014]

79

§ 600.503

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)
of traps or pots, and gillnets are
marked at the surface at each terminal
end with: (see paragraphs (c)(1)(i)
through (c)(1)(iii) of this section).
(3) Additional requirements may be
specified for the fishery in which the
vessel is engaged.
(4) Unmarked or incorrectly identified fishing gear may be considered
abandoned and may be disposed of in
accordance with applicable Federal
regulations by any authorized officer.
(d) Maintenance. The operator of each
FFV must—
(1) Keep the vessel and gear identification clearly legible and in good repair.
(2) Ensure that nothing on the FFV
obstructs the view of the markings
from an enforcement vessel or aircraft.
(3) Ensure that the proper navigational lights and shapes are displayed
for the FFV’s activity and are properly
functioning.

§ 600.503 Vessel and gear identification.
(a) Vessel identification. (1) The operator of each FFV assigned an IRCS
must display that call sign amidships
on both the port and starboard sides of
the deckhouse or hull, so that it is visible from an enforcement vessel, and on
an appropriate weather deck so it is
visible from the air.
(2) The operator of each FFV not assigned an IRCS, such as a small trawler
associated with a mothership or one of
a pair of trawlers, must display the
IRCS of the associated vessel, followed
by a numerical suffix. (For example,
JCZM–1, JCZM–2, etc., would be displayed on small trawlers not assigned
an IRCS operating with a mothership
whose IRCS is JCZM; JANP–1 would be
displayed by a pair trawler not assigned an IRCS operating with a trawler whose IRCS is JANP.)
(3) The vessel identification must be
in a color in contrast to the background and must be permanently affixed to the FFV in block Roman alphabet letters and Arabic numerals at
least 1 m in height for FFV’s over 20 m
in length, and at least 0.5 m in height
for all other FFV’s.
(b) Navigational lights and shapes.
Each FFV must display the lights and
shapes prescribed by the International
Regulations for Preventing Collisions
at Sea, 1972 (TIAS 8587, and 1981 amendment TIAS 10672), for the activity in
which the FFV is engaged (as described
at 33 CFR part 81).
(c) Gear identification. (1) The operator of each FFV must ensure that all
deployed fishing gear that is not physically and continuously attached to an
FFV:
(i) Is clearly marked at the surface
with a buoy displaying the vessel identification of the FFV (see paragraph (a)
of this section) to which the gear belongs.
(ii) Has attached a light visible for 2
nautical miles (3.70 km) at night in
good visibility.
(iii) Has a radio buoy.
Trawl codends passed from one vessel
to another are considered continuously
attached gear and are not required to
be marked.
(2) The operator of each FFV must
ensure that deployed longlines, strings

§ 600.504

Facilitation of enforcement.

(a) General. (1) The owner, operator,
or any person aboard any FFV subject
to this subpart must immediately comply with instructions and signals
issued by an authorized officer to stop
the FFV; to move the FFV to a specified location; and to facilitate safe
boarding and inspection of the vessel,
its gear, equipment, records, and fish
and fish products on board for purposes
of enforcing the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and this subpart.
(2) The operator of each FFV must
provide vessel position or other information when requested by an authorized officer within the time specified in
the request.
(b) Communications equipment. (1)
Each FFV must be equipped with a
VHF-FM radiotelephone station located so that it may be operated from
the wheelhouse. Each operator must
maintain a continuous listening watch
on channel 16 (156.8 mHz).
(2) Each FFV must be equipped with
a radiotelephone station capable of
communicating via 2182 kHz (SSB)
radiotelephony and at least one set of
working frequencies identified in table
3 to § 600.502 appropriate to the fishery
in which the FFV is operating. Each
operator must monitor and be ready to

80

Fishery Conservation and Management
communicate via 2182 kHz (SSB) radiotelephone each day from 0800 GMT to
0830 GMT and 2000 to 2030 GMT, and in
preparation for boarding.
(3) FFV’s that are not equipped with
processing facilities and that deliver
all catches to a foreign processing vessel are exempt from the requirements
of paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(4) FFV’s with no IRCS that do not
catch fish and are used as auxiliary
vessels to handle codends, nets, equipment, or passengers for a processing
vessel are exempt from the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of
this section.
(5) The appropriate Regional Administrator, with the agreement of the appropriate USCG commander, may,
upon request by a foreign nation, accept alternatives to the radio requirements of this section to certain FFV’s
or types of FFV’s operating in a fishery, provided they are adequate for the
communications needs of the fishery.
(c) Communications procedures. (1)
Upon being approached by a USCG vessel or aircraft, or other vessel or aircraft with an authorized officer aboard,
the operator of any FFV subject to this
subpart must be alert for communications conveying enforcement instructions. The enforcement unit may communicate by channel 16 VHF-FM radiotelephone, 2182 kHz (SSB) radiotelephone, message block from an aircraft, flashing light or flag signals
from the International Code of Signals,
hand signal, placard, loudhailer, or
other appropriate means. The following
signals, extracted from the International Code of Signals, are among
those that may be used.
(i) ‘‘AA, AA, AA, etc.’’, which is the
call for an unknown station. The signaled vessel should respond by identifying itself or by illuminating the vessel identification required by § 600.505.
(ii) ‘‘RY-CY’’, meaning ‘‘You should
proceed at slow speed, a boat is coming
to you’’.
(iii) ‘‘SQ3’’, meaning ‘‘You should
stop or heave to; I am going to board
you’’.
(iv) ‘‘L’’, meaning ‘‘You should stop
your vessel instantly.’’
(2) Failure of an FFV’s operator to
stop the vessel when directed to do so
by an authorized officer using VHF-FM

§ 600.504
radiotelephone (channel 16), 2182 kHz
(SSB) radiotelephone (where required),
message block from an aircraft, flashing light signal, flaghoist, or loudhailer
constitutes a violation of this subpart.
(3) The operator of or any person
aboard an FFV who does not understand a signal from an enforcement
unit and who is unable to obtain clarification by radiotelephone or other
means must consider the signal to be a
command to stop the FFV instantly.
(d) Boarding. The operator of an FFV
signaled for boarding must—
(1) Monitor 2182 kHz (SSB) radiotelephone and channel 16 (156.8 mHz)
VHF-FM radiotelephone.
(2) Stop immediately and lay to or
maneuver in such a way as to maintain
the safety of the FFV and facilitate
boarding by the authorized officer and
the boarding party or an observer.
(3) Provide the authorized officer,
boarding party, or observer a safe pilot
ladder. The operator must ensure the
pilot ladder is securely attached to the
FFV and meets the construction requirements of Regulation 17, Chapter V
of the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974
(TIAS 9700 and 1978 Protocol, TIAS
10009), or a substantially equivalent national standard approved by letter
from the Assistant Administrator, with
agreement with the USCG. Safe pilot
ladder
standards
are
summarized
below:
(i) The ladder must be of a single
length of not more than 9 m (30 ft), capable of reaching the water from the
point of access to the FFV, accounting
for all conditions of loading and trim of
the FFV and for an adverse list of 15°.
Whenever the distance from sea level
to the point of access to the ship is
more than 9 m (30 ft), access must be
by means of an accommodation ladder
or other safe and convenient means.
(ii) The steps of the pilot ladder must
be—
(A) Of hardwood, or other material of
equivalent properties, made in one
piece free of knots, having an efficient
non-slip surface; the four lowest steps
may be made of rubber of sufficient
strength and stiffness or of other suitable material of equivalent characteristics.

81

§ 600.505

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

(B) Not less than 480 mm (19 inches)
long, 115 mm (4.5 inches) wide, and 25
mm (1 inch) in depth, excluding any
non-slip device.
(C) Equally spaced not less than 300
millimeters (12 inches) nor more than
380 mm (15 inches) apart and secured in
such a manner that they will remain
horizontal.
(iii) No pilot ladder may have more
than two replacement steps that are
secured in position by a method different from that used in the original
construction of the ladder.
(iv) The side ropes of the ladder must
consist of two uncovered manila ropes
not less than 60 mm (2.25 inches) in circumference on each side (or synthetic
ropes of equivalent size and equivalent
or greater strength). Each rope must be
continuous, with no joints below the
top step.
(v) Battens made of hardwood, or
other material of equivalent properties, in one piece and not less than
1.80 m (5 ft 10 inches) long must be provided at such intervals as will prevent
the pilot ladder from twisting. The
lowest batten must be on the fifth step
from the bottom of the ladder and the
interval between any batten and the
next must not exceed nine steps.
(vi) Where passage onto or off the
ship is by means of a bulwark ladder,
two handhold stanchions must be fitted
at the point of boarding or leaving the
FFV not less than 0.70 m (2 ft 3 inches)
nor more than 0.80 m (2 ft 7 inches)
apart, not less than 40 mm (2.5 inches)
in diameter, and must extend not less
than 1.20 m (3 ft 11 inches) above the
top of the bulwark.
(4) When necessary to facilitate the
boarding or when requested by an authorized officer or observer, provide a
manrope, safety line, and illumination
for the ladder; and
(5) Take such other actions as necessary to ensure the safety of the authorized officer and the boarding party
and to facilitate the boarding and inspection.
(e) Access and records. (1) The owner
and operator of each FFV must provide
authorized officers access to all spaces
where work is conducted or business
papers and records are prepared or
stored, including but not limited to,

personal quarters and areas within personal quarters.
(2) The owner and operator of each
FFV must provide to authorized officers all records and documents pertaining to the fishing activities of the
vessel, including but not limited to,
production records, fishing logs, navigation logs, transfer records, product
receipts, cargo stowage plans or
records, draft or displacement calculations, customs documents or records,
and an accurate hold plan reflecting
the current structure of the vessel’s
storage and factory spaces.
(f) Product storage. The operator of
each permitted FFV storing fish or fish
products in a storage space must ensure that all non-fish product items are
neither stowed beneath nor covered by
fish products, unless required to maintain the stability and safety of the vessel. These items include, but are not
limited to, portable conveyors, exhaust
fans, ladders, nets, fuel bladders, extra
bin boards, or other movable non-product items. These items may be in the
space when necessary for safety of the
vessel or crew or for storage of the
product. Lumber, bin boards, or other
dunnage may be used for shoring or
bracing of product to ensure safety of
crew and to prevent shifting of cargo
within the space.
[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

§ 600.505 Prohibitions.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to do
any of the following:
(1) Ship, transport, offer for sale, sell,
purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or possession of any fish
taken or retained in violation of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the applicable
GIFA, this subpart, or any permit
issued under this subpart;
(2) Refuse to allow an authorized officer to board an FFV for purposes of
conducting any search or inspection in
connection with the enforcement of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the applicable
GIFA, this subpart, or any other permit issued under this subpart;
(3) Assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any authorized officer in the conduct of any inspection or search described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section;

82

Fishery Conservation and Management
(4) Resist a lawful arrest for any act
prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, the applicable GIFA, this subpart,
or any permit issued under this subpart;
(5) Interfere with, delay, or prevent
by any means the apprehension or arrest of another person with the knowledge that such other person has committed any act prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the applicable
GIFA, this subpart, or any permit
issued under this subpart;
(6) Interfere with, obstruct, delay, oppose, impede, intimidate, or prevent by
any means any boarding, investigation
or search, wherever conducted, in the
process of enforcing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the applicable GIFA, this
subpart, or any permit issued under
this subpart;
(7) Engage in any fishing activity for
which the FFV does not have a permit
as required under § 600.501;
(8) Engage in any fishing activity
within the EEZ without a U.S. observer
aboard the FFV, unless the requirement has been waived by the Assistant
Administrator or appropriate Regional
Administrator;
(9) Retain or attempt to retain, directly or indirectly, any U.S. harvested
fish, unless the FFV has a permit for
Activity Codes 4, 6, or 10;
(10) Use any fishing vessel to engage
in fishing after the revocation, or during the period of suspension, of an applicable permit issued under this subpart;
(11) Violate any provision of the applicable GIFA;
(12) Falsely or incorrectly complete
(including by omission) a permit application or permit form as specified in
§ 600.501 (d) and (k);
(13) Fail to report to the Assistant
Administrator within 15 days any
change in the information contained in
the permit application for a FFV, as
specified in § 600.501(k);
(14) Assault, resist, oppose, impede,
intimidate, or interfere with an observer placed aboard an FFV under this
subpart;
(15) Interfere with or bias the sampling procedure employed by an observer, including sorting or discarding
any catch prior to sampling, unless the
observer has stated that sampling will

§ 600.505
not occur; or tamper with, destroy, or
discard an observer’s collected samples, equipment, records, photographic
film, papers, or effects without the express consent of the observer;
(16) Prohibit or bar by command, impediment, threat, coercion, or refusal
of reasonable assistance, an observer
from collecting samples, conducting
product recovery rate determinations,
making observations, or otherwise performing the observer’s duties;
(17) Harass or sexually harass an authorized officer or observer;
(18) Fail to provide the required assistance to an observer as described at
§ 600.506 (c) and (e);
(19) Fail to identify, falsely identify,
fail to properly maintain, or obscure
the identification of the FFV or its
gear as required by this subpart;
(20) Falsify or fail to make, keep,
maintain, or submit any record or report required by this subpart;
(21) Fail to return to the sea or fail
to otherwise treat prohibited species as
required by this subpart;
(22) Fail to report or falsely report
any gear conflict;
(23) Fail to report or falsely report
any loss, jettisoning, or abandonment
of fishing gear or other article into the
EEZ that might interfere with fishing,
obstruct fishing gear or vessels, or
cause damage to any fishery resource
or marine mammals;
(24) Continue Activity Codes 1
through 4 after those activity codes
have been canceled under § 600.511;
(25) Fail to maintain health and safety standards set forth in § 600.506(d);
(26) Violate any provisions of regulations for specific fisheries of this subpart;
(27) On a scientific research vessel,
engage in fishing other than recreational fishing authorized by applicable state, territorial, or Federal regulations;
(28) Violate any provision of this subpart, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
applicable GIFA, any notice issued
under this subpart or any permit issued
under this subpart; or
(29) Attempt to do any of the foregoing.
(b) It is unlawful for any FFV, and
for the owner or operator of any FFV

83

§ 600.506

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)
tain the name and IRCS of each FFV
intending to fish within the EEZ during the upcoming quarter, and each
FFV’s expected date of arrival and expected date of departure.
(1) The appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and Research Director must be notified immediately of
any substitution of vessels or any cancellation of plans to fish in the EEZ for
FFV’s listed in the effort plan required
by this section.
(2) If an arrival date of an FFV will
vary more than 5 days from the date
listed in the quarterly schedule, the appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director must be
notified at least 10 days in advance of
the rescheduled date of arrival. If the
notice required by this paragraph (b)(2)
is not given, the FFV may not engage
in fishing until an observer is available
and has been placed aboard the vessel
or the requirement has been waived by
the appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and Research Director.
(c) Assistance to observers. To assist
the observer in the accomplishment of
his or her assigned duties, the owner
and operator of an FFV to which an observer is assigned must—
(1) Provide, at no cost to the observer
or the United States, accommodations
for the observer aboard the FFV that
are equivalent to those provided to the
officers of that vessel.
(2) Cause the FFV to proceed to such
places and at such times as may be designated by the appropriate Regional
Administrator or Science and Research
Director for the purpose of embarking
and debarking the observer.
(3) Allow the observer to use the
FFV’s communications equipment and
personnel upon demand for the transmission and receipt of messages.
(4) Allow the observer access to and
use of the FFV’s navigation equipment
and personnel upon demand to determine the vessel’s position.
(5) Allow the observer free and unobstructed access to the FFV’s bridge,
trawl, or working decks, holding bins,
processing areas, freezer spaces, weight
scales, cargo holds and any other space
that may be used to hold, process,
weigh, or store fish or fish products at
any time.

except an FFV engaged only in recreational fishing, to fish—
(1) Within the boundaries of any
state, unless:
(i) The fishing is authorized by the
Governor of that state as permitted by
section 306(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act to engage in a joint venture for
processing and support with U.S. fishing vessels in the internal waters of
that state; or
(ii) The fishing is authorized by, and
conducted in accordance with, a valid
permit issued under § 600.501, and the
Governor of that state has indicated
concurrence to allow fishing consisting
solely of transporting fish or fish products from a point within the boundaries of that state to a point outside
the United States; or
(2) Within the EEZ, or for any anadromous species or continental shelf
fishery resources beyond the EEZ, unless the fishing is authorized by, and
conducted in accordance with, a valid
permit issued under § 600.501.
[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 64 FR 39020, July 21,
1999]

§ 600.506 Observers.
(a) General. To carry out such scientific, compliance monitoring, and
other functions as may be necessary or
appropriate to carry out the purposes
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director (see
table 2 to § 600.502) may assign U.S. observers to FFV’s. Except as provided
for in section 201(h)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, no FFV may conduct
fishing operations within the EEZ unless a U.S. observer is aboard.
(b) Effort plan. To ensure the availability of an observer as required by
this section, the owners and operators
of FFV’s wanting to fish within the
EEZ will submit to the appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and
Research Director and also to the
Chief, Financial Services Division,
NMFS, 1315 East West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910 a schedule of fishing
effort 30 days prior to the beginning of
each quarter. A quarter is a time period of 3 consecutive months beginning
January 1, April 1, July 1, and October
1 of each year. The schedule will con-

84

Fishery Conservation and Management
(6) Allow the observer to inspect and
copy the FFV’s daily log, communications log, transfer log, and any other
log, document, notice, or record required by these regulations.
(7) Provide the observer copies of any
records required by these regulations
upon demand.
(8) Notify the observer at least 15
minutes before fish are brought on
board or fish or fish products are transferred from the FFV to allow sampling
the catch or observing the transfer, unless the observer specifically requests
not to be notified.
(9) Provide all other reasonable assistance to enable the observer to carry
out his or her duties.
(d) Health and safety standards. All
foreign fishing vessels to which an observer is deployed must maintain, at
all times that the vessel is in the EEZ,
the following:
(1) At least one working radar.
(2) Functioning navigation lights as
required by international law.
(3) A watch on the bridge by appropriately trained and experienced personnel while the vessel is underway.
(4) Lifeboats and/or inflatable life
rafts with a total carrying capacity
equal to or greater than the number of
people aboard the vessel. Lifeboats and
inflatable life rafts must be maintained
in good working order and be readily
available.
(5) Life jackets equal or greater in
number to the total number of persons
aboard the vessel. Life jackets must be
stowed in readily accessible and plainly marked positions throughout the
vessel, and maintained in a state of
good repair.
(6) At least one ring life buoy for
each 25 ft (7.6 m) of vessel length,
equipped with automatic water lights.
Ring life buoys must have an outside
diameter of not more than 32 inches
(81.3 cm) nor less than 30 inches (76.2
cm), and must be maintained in a state
of good repair. Ring life buoys must be
readily available, but not positioned so
they pose a threat of entanglement in
work areas. They must be secured in
such a way that they can be easily cast
loose in the event of an emergency.
(7) At least one VHF-FM radio with a
functioning channel 16 (156.8 mHz),
International Distress, Safety and Call-

§ 600.506
ing Frequency, and one functioning AM
radio (SSB-Single Side Band) capable
of operating at 2182 kHz (SSB). Radios
will be maintained in a radio room,
chartroom, or other suitable location.
(8) At least one Emergency Position
Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), approved by the USCG for offshore commercial use, stowed in a location so as
to make it readily available in the
event of an emergency.
(9) At least six hand-held, rocket-propelled, parachute, red-flare distress signals, and three orange-smoke distress
signals stowed in the pilothouse or
navigation bridge in portable watertight containers.
(10) All lights, shapes, whistles,
foghorns, fog bells and gongs required
by and maintained in accordance with
the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
(11) Clean and sanitary conditions in
all living spaces, food service and preparation areas and work spaces aboard
the vessel.
(e) Observer transfers. (1) The operator
of the FFV must ensure that transfers
of observers at sea via small boat or
raft are carried out during daylight
hours as weather and sea conditions
allow, and with the agreement of the
observer involved. The FFV operator
must provide the observer 3 hours advance notice of at-sea transfers, so that
the observer may collect personal belongings, equipment, and scientific
samples.
(2) The FFV’s involved must provide
a safe pilot ladder and conduct the
transfer according to the procedures of
§ 600.504(d) to ensure the safety of the
during the transfer.
(3) An experienced crew member
must assist the observer in the small
boat or raft in which the transfer is
made.
(f) Supplementary observers. In the
event funds are not available from Congressional appropriations of fees collected to assign an observer to a foreign fishing vessel, the appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and
Research Director will assign a supplementary observer to that vessel. The
costs of supplementary observers will
be paid for by the owners and operators
of foreign fishing vessels as provided
for in paragraph (h) of this section.

85

§ 600.506

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

(g) Supplementary observer authority
and duties. (1) A supplementary observer aboard a foreign fishing vessel
has the same authority and must be
treated in all respects as an observer
who is employed by NMFS, either directly or under contract.
(2) The duties of supplementary observers and their deployment and work
schedules will be specified by the appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director.
(3) All data collected by supplementary observers will be under the exclusive control of the Assistant Administrator.
(h) Supplementary observer payment—
(1) Method of payment. The owners and
operators of foreign fishing vessels
must pay directly to the contractor the
costs of supplementary observer coverage. Payment must be made to the
contractor supplying supplementary
observer coverage either by letter of
credit or certified check drawn on a
federally chartered bank in U.S. dollars, or other financial institution acceptable to the contractor. The letter
of credit used to pay supplementary observer fees to contractors must be separate and distinct from the letter of
credit required by § 600.518(b)(2). Billing
schedules will be specified by the terms
of the contract between NOAA and the
contractors. Billings for supplementary
observer coverage will be approved by
the appropriate Regional Administrator or Science and Research Director and then transmitted to the owners
and operators of foreign fishing vessels
by the appropriate designated representative. Each country will have
only one designated representative to
receive observer bills for all vessels of
that country, except as provided for by
the Assistant Administrator. All bills
must be paid within 10 working days of
the billing date. Failure to pay an observer bill will constitute grounds to
revoke fishing permits. All fees collected under this section will be considered interim in nature and subject
to reconciliation at the end of the fiscal year in accordance with paragraph
(h)(4) of this section and § 600.518(d).
(2) Contractor costs. The costs charged
for supplementary observer coverage to
the owners and operators of foreign
fishing vessels may not exceed the

costs charged to NMFS for the same or
similar services, except that contractors may charge to the owners and operators of foreign fishing vessels an additional fee to cover the administrative
costs of the program not ordinarily
part of contract costs charged to
NMFS. The costs charged foreign fishermen for supplementary observers
may include, but are not limited to the
following:
(i) Salary and benefits, including
overtime, for supplementary observers.
(ii) The costs of post-certification
training required by paragraph (j)(2) of
this section.
(iii) The costs of travel, transportation, and per diem associated with
deploying supplementary observers to
foreign fishing vessels including the
cost of travel, transportation, and per
diem from the supplementary observer’s post of duty to the point of embarkation to the foreign fishing vessel,
and then from the point of disembarkation to the post of duty from where the
trip began. For the purposes of these
regulations, the appropriate Regional
Administrator or Science and Research
Director will designate posts of duty
for supplementary observers.
(iv) The costs of travel, transportation, and per diem associated with
the debriefing following deployment of
a supplementary observer by NMFS officials.
(v) The administrative and overhead
costs incurred by the contractor and, if
appropriate, a reasonable profit.
(3) NMFS costs. The owners and operators of foreign fishing vessels must also
pay to NMFS as part of the surcharge
required by section 201(i)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the following costs:
(i) The costs of certifying applicants
for the position of supplementary observer.
(ii) The costs of any equipment, including safety equipment, sampling
equipment, operations manuals, or
other texts necessary to perform the
duties of a supplementary observer.
The equipment will be specified by the
appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director according to the requirements of the fishery
to which the supplementary observer
will be deployed.

86

Fishery Conservation and Management
(iii) The costs associated with communications with supplementary observers for transmission of data and
routine messages.
(iv) For the purposes of monitoring
the supplementary observer program,
the costs for the management and
analysis of data.
(v) The costs for data editing and
entry.
(vi) Any costs incurred by NMFS to
train, deploy or debrief a supplementary observer.
(vii) The cost for U.S. Customs inspection for supplementary observers
disembarking after deployment.
(4) Reconciliation. Fees collected by
the contractor in excess of the actual
costs of supplementary observer coverage will be refunded to the owners
and operators of foreign fishing vessels,
or kept on deposit to defray the costs
of future supplementary observer coverage. Refunds will be made within 60
days after final costs are determined
and approved by NMFS.
(i) Supplementary observer contractors—(1) Contractor eligibility. Supplementary observers will be obtained by
NMFS from persons or firms having established contracts to provide NMFS
with observers. In the event no such
contract is in place, NMFS will use established, competitive contracting procedures to select persons or firms to
provide supplementary observers. The
services supplied by the supplementary
observer contractors will be as described within the contract and as
specified below.
(2) Supplementary observer contractors must submit for the approval of
the Assistant Administrator the following:
(i) A copy of any contract, including
all attachments, amendments, and enclosures thereto, between the contractor and the owners and operators
of foreign fishing vessels for whom the
contractor will provide supplementary
observer services.
(ii) All application information for
persons whom the contractor desires to
employ as certified supplementary observers.
(iii) Billing schedules and billings to
the owners and operators of foreign
fishing vessels for further transmission

§ 600.506
to the designated representative of the
appropriate foreign nation.
(iv) All data on costs.
(j) Supplementary observers—certification, training—(1) Certification. The
appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director will certify persons as qualified for the position of supplementary observer once
the following conditions are met:
(i) The candidate is a citizen or national of the United States.
(ii) The candidate has education or
experience equivalent to the education
or experience required of persons used
as observers by NMFS as either Federal personnel or contract employees.
The education and experience required
for certification may vary according to
the requirements of managing the foreign fishery in which the supplementary observer is to be deployed.
Documentation of U.S. citizenship or
nationality, and education or experience will be provided from personal
qualification statements on file with
NMFS contractors who provide supplementary observer services, and will not
require the submission of additional information to NMFS.
(2) Training. Prior to deployment to
foreign fishing vessels, certified supplementary observers must also meet the
following conditions:
(i) Each certified supplementary observer must satisfactorily complete a
course of training approved by the appropriate Regional Administrator or
Science and Research Director as
equivalent to that received by persons
used as observers by NMFS as either
Federal personnel or contract employees. The course of training may vary
according to the foreign fishery in
which the supplementary observer is to
be deployed.
(ii) Each certified supplementary observer must agree in writing to abide
by standards of conduct as set forth in
Department of Commerce Administrative Order 202–735 (as provided by the
contractor).
(k) Supplementary observer certification
suspension or revocation. (1) Certification of a supplementary observer
may be suspended or revoked by the
Assistant Administrator under the following conditions:

87

§ 600.507

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

(i) A supplementary observer fails to
perform the duties specified in paragraph (g)(2) of this section.
(ii) A supplementary observer fails to
abide by the standards of conduct described by Department of Commerce
Administrative Order 202–735.
(2) The suspension or revocation of
the certification of a supplementary
observer by the Assistant Administrator may be based on the following:
(i) Boarding inspection reports by authorized officers of the USCG or NMFS,
or other credible information, that indicate a supplementary observer has
failed to abide by the established
standards of conduct; or
(ii) An analysis by NMFS of the data
collected by a supplementary observer
indicating improper or incorrect data
collection or recording. The failure to
properly collect or record data is sufficient to justify decertification of supplementary observers; no intent to defraud need be demonstrated.
(3) The Assistant Administrator will
notify the supplementary observer, in
writing, of the Assistant Administrator’s intent to suspend or revoke certification, and the reasons therefor,
and provide the supplementary observer a reasonable opportunity to respond. If the Assistant Administrator
determines that there are disputed
questions of material fact, then the Assistant Administrator may in this respect appoint an examiner to make an
informal fact-finding inquiry and prepare a report and recommendations.

(2) The owner and operator of each
FFV must retain all required records
on board the FFV whenever it is in the
EEZ, for 3 years after the end of the
permit period.
(3) The owner and operator of each
FFV must retain the required records
and make them available for inspection upon the request of an authorized
officer at any time during the 3 years
after the end of the permit period,
whether or not such records are on
board the vessel.
(4) The owner and operator of each
FFV must provide to the Assistant Administrator, in the form and at the
times prescribed, any other information requested that the Assistant Administrator determines is necessary to
fulfill the fishery conservation, management and enforcement purposes of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
(b) Communications log. The owner
and operator of each FFV must record
in a separate communications log, at
the time of transmittal, the time and
content of each notification made
under § 600.504.
(c) Transfer log. Except for the transfer of unsorted, unprocessed fish via
codend from a catching vessel to a
processing vessel (Activity Code 2 or 4),
the owner and operator of each FFV
must record, in a separate transfer log,
each transfer or receipt of any fish or
fishery product, including quantities
transferred or offloaded outside the
EEZ. The operator must record in the
log within 12 hours of the completion
of the transfer:
(1) The time and date (GMT) and location (in geographic coordinates) the
transfer began and was completed.
(2) The product weight, by species
and product (use species and product
codes), of all fish transferred, to the
nearest 0.01 mt.
(3) The name, IRCS, and permit number of both the FFV offloading the fish
and the FFV receiving the fish.
(d) Daily fishing log. (1) The owner or
operator of each FFV authorized to
catch fish (Activity Code 1) must maintain a daily fishing log of the effort,
catch and production of the FFV, as
modified by paragraph (d)(2) of this
section and the regulations for the
fishery in which the FFV is engaged.
The operator must maintain on a daily

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7074, 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 64 FR 39020, July
21, 1999]

§ 600.507

Recordkeeping.

(a) General. The owner and operator
of each FFV must maintain timely and
accurate records required by this section as modified by the regulations for
the fishery in which the FFV is engaged.
(1) The owner and operator of each
FFV must maintain all required
records in English, based on Greenwich
mean time (GMT) unless otherwise
specified in the regulation, and make
them immediately available for inspection upon the request of an authorized
officer or observer.

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Fishery Conservation and Management
and cumulative basis for the permit period a separate log for each fishery (see
table 2 to § 600.502) in which the FFV is
engaged according to this section and
in the format specified in the instructions provided with the permit or other
format authorized under paragraph (i)
of this section. Daily effort entries are
required for each day the vessel conducts fishing operations within the
EEZ. Daily entries are not required
whenever the FFV is in port or engaged
in a joint venture in the internal
waters of a state. Each page of log may
contain entries pertaining to only one
day’s fishing operations or one gear
set, whichever is longer.
(2) The owner or operator of each
FFV authorized to catch fish (Activity
Code 1) and that delivers all catches to
a processing vessel, must maintain
only ‘‘SECTION ONE-EFFORT’’, of the
daily fishing log, provided the processing vessel maintains a daily consolidated fishing log as described in paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section.
(e) Daily fishing log—contents. The
daily fishing log must contain the following information, as modified by
paragraph (d)(2) of this section and the
regulations for the fishery in which the
FFV is engaged, and be completed according to the format and instructions
provided with the permit or other format authorized under paragraph (i) of
this section.
(1) ‘‘SECTION ONE-EFFORT’’ must
contain on a daily basis—
(i) A consecutive page number, beginning with the first day the vessel started fishing operations within the EEZ
and continuing throughout the log.
(ii) The date (based on GMT).
(iii) The FFV’s name.
(iv) The FFV’s IRCS.
(v) The FFV’s U.S. permit number.
(vi) The FFV’s noon (1200 GMT) position in geographic coordinates.
(vii) The master or operator’s signature or title.
(2) ‘‘SECTION ONE-EFFORT’’ must
contain, for each trawl or set, as appropriate to the gear type employed—
(i) The consecutive trawl or set number, beginning with the first set of the
calendar year.
(ii) The fishing area in which the
trawl or set was completed.
(iii) The gear type.

§ 600.507
(iv) The time the gear was set.
(v) The position of the set.
(vi) The course of the set.
(vii) The sea depth.
(viii) The depth of the set.
(ix) The duration of the set.
(x) The hauling time.
(xi) The position of the haul.
(xii) The number of pots or longline
units (where applicable).
(xiii) The average number of hooks
per longline unit (where applicable).
(xiv) The trawl speed (where applicable).
(xv) The mesh size of the trawl’s
codend (where applicable).
(xvi) The estimated total weight of
the catch for the trawl of set, to at
least the nearest metric ton round
weight.
(3) ‘‘SECTION TWO-CATCH’’ must
contain, for each trawl or set—
(i) The consecutive set or trawl number from ‘‘SECTION ONE’’.
(ii) The catch of each allocated species or species group to at least the
nearest 0.1 mt round weight.
(iii) The prohibited species catch to
at least the nearest 0.1 mt round
weight or by number, as required by
the regulations for the fishery in which
the FFV is engaged.
(iv) The species code of each marine
mammal caught and its condition when
released.
(4) ‘‘SECTION TWO-CATCH’’ must
contain, on a daily basis—
(i) The species codes for all allocated
or prohibited species or species groups
caught.
(ii) For each allocated species—the
amount, to at least the nearest 0.1 mt,
and the daily disposition, either processed for human consumption, used for
fishmeal, or discarded; the daily catch
by fishing area; the daily catch for all
fishing areas; and the cumulative total
catch.
(iii) For the total catch of allocated
species—the amount to at least the
nearest 0.1 mt and the daily disposition, daily total catch by fishing area,
daily total catch for all fishing areas,
and cumulative total catch.
(iv) The catch by fishing area, daily
total, and cumulative total of each prohibited species.
(5) ‘‘SECTION THREE—PRODUCTION’’ must contain, on a daily basis,

89

§ 600.507

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

for each allocated species caught and
product produced—
(i) The product by species code and
product type.
(ii) The daily product recovery rate
of each species and product.
(iii) The daily total product produced
by species to at least the nearest 0.01
mt.
(iv) The cumulative total of each
product to at least the nearest 0.01 mt.
(v) The cumulative amount of product transferred.
(vi) The balance of product remaining aboard the FFV.
(vii) The total daily amount, cumulative amount, transferred product and
balance of frozen product aboard the
FFV to the nearest 0.01 mt.
(viii) Transferred amount and balance of fishmeal and fish oil aboard to
at least the nearest 0.01 mt.
(f) Daily consolidated fishing or joint
venture log. The operator of each FFV
that receives unsorted, unprocessed
fish from foreign catching vessels (Activity Code 2) for processing or receives
U.S.-harvested fish from U.S. fishing
vessels in a joint venture (Activity
Code 4) must maintain a daily joint
venture log of the effort, catch and production of its associated U.S. or foreign
fishing vessels and the processing vessel as modified by the regulations for
the fishery in which the FFV is engaged. This log is separate and in addition to the log required by paragraph
(d) of this section. The operator must
maintain a separate log for each fishery in which the FFV is engaged, on a
daily and cumulative basis, according
to this section and in the format specified in the instructions provided with
the permit or other format authorized
under paragraph (i) of this section. Receipts of fish caught outside the EEZ
must be included. Each page of the log
may contain entries pertaining to only
one day’s fishing operations.
(g) Daily joint venture log—contents.
Daily joint venture logs must contain
the following information, as modified
by the fishery in which the vessel is engaged, and be completed according to
the format and instructions provided
with the permit or other format authorized under paragraph (i) of this section.

(1) ‘‘SECTION ONE-EFFORT’’ must
contain, on a daily basis, that information required in paragraph (e)(1) of this
section.
(2) ‘‘SECTION ONE-EFFORT’’ must
contain for each receipt of a codend—
(i) The consecutive codend number,
beginning with the first codend received for the calendar year.
(ii) The name of the U.S. fishing vessel or the name and IRCS of the foreign
fishing vessel the codend was received
from.
(iii) The fishing area where the
codend was received.
(iv) The time the codend was received.
(v) The position the codend was received.
(vi) The estimated weight of the
codend to at least the nearest metric
ton round weight.
(3) ‘‘SECTION TWO-CATCH’’ must
contain, for each codend received—
(i) The consecutive codend number
from ‘‘SECTION ONE’’.
(ii) The receipts of each authorized
species or species group and its disposition, either processed for human consumption, used for fishmeal, discarded,
or returned to the U.S. fishing vessel,
to at least the nearest 0.1 mt round
weight.
(iii) The estimated receipts of each
prohibited species or species group and
its disposition, either discarded or returned to the U.S. fishing vessel if authorized in the fishery in which the
U.S. vessel is engaged, to at least the
nearest 0.1 mt round weight.
(iv) The species code of each marine
mammal received and its condition
when released.
(4) ‘‘SECTION TWO-CATCH’’ must
contain on a daily basis—
(i) The species codes of all authorized
or prohibited species or species groups
received.
(ii) The daily disposition, as described in paragraph (g)(3)(ii) of this
section, daily total, and cumulative
total receipts of each authorized species or species groups.
(iii) The daily disposition, daily total
and cumulative total receipts of all authorized species or species groups.
(iv) The daily and cumulative total
receipts of prohibited species groups

90

Fishery Conservation and Management
and their disposition as described in
paragraph (g)(3)(iii) of this section.
(5) ‘‘SECTION THREE—PRODUCTION’’ must contain, on a daily basis,
for each authorized species or species
group received and product produced,
that information required in paragraph
(e)(5) of this section.
(h) Daily log maintenance. The logs required by paragraphs (e) through (g) of
this section must be maintained separately for each fishery (see table 2 to
§ 600.502).
(1) The effort section (all of ‘‘SECTION ONE’’) of the daily logs must be
updated within 2 hours of the hauling
or receipt time. The catch or receipt by
trawl or set (‘‘SECTION TWO’’) must
be entered within 12 hours of the hauling or receipt time. The daily and cumulative total catch or receipts
(‘‘SECTION TWO’’) and the production
portion (‘‘SECTION THREE’’) of the
log must be updated within 12 hours of
the end of the day on which the catch
was taken. The date of catch is the day
and time (GMT) the gear is hauled.
(2) Entries for total daily and cumulative catch or receipt weights (disposition ‘‘C’’ or ‘‘M’’) must be based on the
most accurate method available to the
vessel, either scale round weights or
factory weights converted to round
weights. Entries for daily and cumulative weights of discarded or returned
fish (disposition ‘‘D’’ or ‘‘R’’) must be
based on the most accurate method
available to the vessel, either actual
count, scale round weight, or estimated
deck weights. Entries for product
weights must be based on the number
of production units (pans, boxes,
blocks, trays, cans, or bags) and the average weight of the production unit,
with reasonable allowances for water
added. Allowances for water added cannot exceed 5 percent of the unit weight.
Product weights cannot be based on
the commercial or arbitrary wholesale
weight of the product, but must be
based on the total actual weight of the
product as determined by representative samples.
(3) The owner or operator must make
all entries in indelible ink, with corrections to be accomplished by lining out
and rewriting, rather than erasure.
(i) Alternative log formats. As an alternative to the use of the specific for-

§ 600.508
mats provided, a Nation may submit a
proposed log format for FFV’s of that
Nation for a general type of fishery operation in a fishery (i.e., joint venture
operations) to the appropriate Regional
Administrator and the USCG commander (see tables 1 and 2 to § 600.502).
With the agreement of the USCG commander, the Regional Administrator
may authorize the use of that log format for vessels of the requesting Nation.
[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

§ 600.508 Fishing operations.
(a) Catching. Each FFV authorized
for activity code 1 may catch fish. An
FFV may retain its catch of any species or species group for which there is
an unfilled national allocation. All fish
caught will be counted against the national allocation, even if the fish are
discarded, unless exempted by the regulations of the fishery in which the
FFV is engaged. Catching operations
may be conducted as specified by the
regulations of the fishery in which the
FFV is engaged and as modified by the
FFV’s permit.
(b) Scouting. Each FFV authorized for
Activity Codes 1 through 6 may scout
for fish. Scouting may be conducted
only in the fisheries area authorized by
the scouting vessel’s permit and under
such other circumstances as may be
designated in this subpart or the permit.
(c) Processing. Each FFV with Activity Code 1 or 2 may process fish. Processing may only be conducted whenever and wherever catching operations
for FFV’s of that Nation are permitted,
whenever and wherever joint venture
operations are authorized by an FFV’s
permit under Activity Code 4, and
under such other circumstances as may
be designated in this subpart or the
permit.
(d) Support. Each FFV with Activity
Codes 1, 2, 3, 5, or 8 may support other
permitted FFV’s. Each FFV with Activity Codes 4 or 6 may support U.S.
vessels. Support operations may be
conducted only in the fisheries areas
authorized by the supporting vessel’s
permit, and under such other circumstances as may be designated in
this subpart or the permit.

91

§ 600.509

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

(e) Joint ventures. Each FFV with Activity Code 4 in addition to Activity
Codes 1 or 2 may also conduct operations with U.S. fishing vessels. These
joint venture operations with U.S. fishing vessels may be conducted throughout the EEZ, and under such other circumstances as may be designated in
these regulations or the permit. FFV’s
with activity code 4 may continue operations assisting U.S. fishing vessels,
despite closures under § 600.511(a).
(f) Internal waters. For FFV’s authorized under section 306(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act:
(1) Each FFV may engage in fish
processing and support of U.S. fishing
vessels within the internal waters of
that state in compliance with terms
and conditions set by the authorizing
Governor.
(2) The owner or operator of each
FFV must submit weekly reports on
the amount of fish received from vessels of the United States and the location(s) where such fish were harvested.
(i) Reports must include:
(A) Vessel identification information
for the FFV.
(B) Date of each receipt of fish.
(C) Amount of fish received, by species.
(D) Location(s) from which the fish
received were harvested and the name
and official number of the vessel of the
United States that harvested the fish.
(ii) Owners or operators of FFV’s
processing fish in internal waters
under the provisions of this paragraph
(f) must request, from the Regional Administrator, the requirements regarding timing and submission of the reports, at least 15 days prior to the first
receipt of fish from a vessel of the
United States. The Regional Administrator shall stipulate the timing and
submission requirements in writing.
(g) Transshipping. Each FFV with Activity Code 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10 may
transship in accordance with this subpart and the vessel’s permit.

(b) After allowing for sampling by an
observer (if any), the owner or operator
of each FFV must sort its catch of fish
received as soon as possible and return
all prohibited species and species parts
to the sea immediately with a minimum of injury, regardless of condition, unless a different procedure is
specified by the regulations for the
fishery in which the FFV is engaged.
All prohibited species must be recorded
in the daily fishing log and other fishing logs as specified by the regulations
for the fishery in which the FFV is engaged.
(c) All species of fish that an FFV
has not been specifically allocated or
authorized under this subpart to retain, including fish caught or received
in excess of any allocation or authorization, are prohibited species.
(d) It is a rebuttable presumption
that any prohibited species or species
part found on board an FFV was caught
and retained in violation of this section.
§ 600.510 Gear avoidance and disposal.
(a) Vessel and gear avoidance. (1)
FFV’s arriving on fishing grounds
where fishing vessels are already fishing or have set their gear for that purpose must ascertain the position and
extent of gear already placed in the sea
and must not place themselves or their
fishing gear so as to interfere with or
obstruct fishing operations already in
progress. Vessels using mobile gear
must avoid fixed fishing gear.
(2) The operator of each FFV must
maintain on its bridge a current plot of
broadcast fixed-gear locations for the
area in which it is fishing, as required
by the regulations for the fishery in
which the FFV is engaged.
(b) Gear conflicts. The operator of
each FFV that is involved in a conflict
or that retrieves the gear of another
vessel must immediately notify the appropriate USCG commander identified
in tables 1 and 2 to § 600.502 and request
disposal instructions. Each report must
include:
(1) The name of the reporting vessel.
(2) A description of the incident and
articles
retrieved,
including
the
amount, type of gear, condition, and
identification markings.
(3) The location of the incident.

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 62
FR 27183, May 19, 1997; 62 FR 34397, June 26,
1997; 64 FR 39020, July 21, 1999]

§ 600.509 Prohibited species.
(a) The owner or operator of each
FFV must minimize its catch or receipt of prohibited species.

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Fishery Conservation and Management

(3) The letter of credit required in
§ 600.518(b)(2) is not established and
maintained.
(c) Notification. (1) The Regional Administrator is authorized to close a
fishery on behalf of NMFS. The Regional Administrator will notify each
FFV’s designated representative of closures.
(2) If possible, notice will be given 48
hours before the closure. However, each
Nation and the owners and operators of
all FFV’s of that Nation are responsible for ending fishing operations
when an allocation is reached.
(d) Catch reconciliation. Vessel activity reports, U.S. surveillance observations, observer reports, and foreign
catch and effort reports will be used to
make the determination listed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. If
NMFS estimates of catch or other values made during the season differ from
those reported by the foreign fleets, efforts may be initiated by the designated representative of each Nation
to resolve such differences with NMFS.
If, however, differences still persist
after such efforts have been made,
NMFS estimates will be the basis for
decisions and will prevail.
(e) Duration. Any closure under this
section will remain in effect until an
applicable new or increased allocation
or JVP becomes available or the letter
of credit required by § 600.518(b)(2) is reestablished.

(4) The date and time of the incident.
(c) Disposal of fishing gear and other
articles. (1) The operator of an FFV in
the EEZ may not dump overboard, jettison or otherwise discard any article
or substance that may interfere with
other fishing vessels or gear, or that
may catch fish or cause damage to any
marine resource, including marine
mammals and birds, except in cases of
emergency involving the safety of the
ship or crew, or as specifically authorized by communication from the appropriate USCG commander or other authorized officer. These articles and substances include, but are not limited to,
fishing gear, net scraps, bale straps,
plastic bags, oil drums, petroleum containers, oil, toxic chemicals or any
manmade items retrieved in an FFV’s
gear.
(2) The operator of an FFV may not
abandon fishing gear in the EEZ.
(3) If these articles or substances are
encountered, or in the event of accidental or emergency placement into
the EEZ, the vessel operator must immediately report the incident to the
appropriate USCG Commander indicated in tables 1 and 2 to § 600.502, and
give the information required in paragraph (b) of this section.
§ 600.511

§ 600.512

Fishery closure procedures.

(a) Activity Codes 1 and 2 for a fishery are automatically canceled in the
following cases, unless otherwise specified by regulations specific to a fishery, when—
(1) The OY for any allocated species
or species group has been reached in
that fishery;
(2) The TALFF or catch allowance
for any allocated species or species
group has been reached in that fishery;
(3) The foreign nation’s allocation for
any allocated species or species group
has been reached; or
(4) The letter of credit required in
§ 600.518(b)(2) is not established and
maintained.
(b) Activity Code 4 is automatically
canceled when—
(1) The OY for a species with a JVP
amount is reached;
(2) The JVP amount for a species or
species group is reached; or

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

§ 600.512 Scientific research.
(a) Scientific research activity. Persons
planning to conduct scientific research
activities on board a scientific research
vessel in the EEZ that may be confused
with fishing are encouraged to submit
to the appropriate Regional Administrator or Director, 60 days or as soon as
practicable prior to its start, a scientific research plan for each scientific
activity. The Regional Administrator
or Director will acknowledge notification of scientific research activity by
issuing to the operator or master of
that vessel, or to the sponsoring institution, a Letter of Acknowledgment.
This Letter of Acknowledgment is separate and distinct from any permit or
consultation
required
under
the

93

§ 600.513

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

MMPA, the ESA, or any other applicable law. The Regional Administrator or
Director will include text in the Letter
of Acknowledgment informing the applicant that such permits may be required and should be obtained from the
agency prior to embarking on the activity. If the Regional Administrator
or Director, after review of a research
plan, determines that it does not constitute scientific research activity but
rather fishing, the Regional Administrator or Director will inform the applicant as soon as practicable and in
writing. In making this determination,
the Regional Administrator, Director,
or designee shall consider: the merits
of the individual proposal and the institution(s) involved; whether the proposed activity meets the definition of
scientific research activity; and whether the vessel meets all the requirements for a scientific research vessel.
Foreign vessels that qualify as scientific research vessels and which are
engaged in a scientific research activity may only engage in compensation
fishing during the scientific research
cruise and in accordance with the applicable scientific research plan. The
Regional Administrator or Director
may also make recommendations to revise the research plan to ensure the activity will be considered to be a scientific research activity. The Regional
Administrator or Director may designate a Science and Research Director, or the Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, to receive scientific research plans and
issue Letters of Acknowledgment. In
order to facilitate identification of the
activity as scientific research, persons
conducting scientific research activities are advised to carry a copy of the
scientific research plan and the Letter
of Acknowledgment on board the scientific research vessel and to make it
available for inspection upon the request of any authorized officer. It is
recommended that for any scientific
research activity, any fish, or parts
thereof, retained pursuant to such activity be accompanied, during any exvessel activities, by a copy of the Letter of Acknowledgment. Activities conducted in accordance with a scientific
research plan acknowledged by such a
Letter of Acknowledgment are pre-

sumed to be scientific research activities. An authorized officer may overcome this presumption by showing that
an activity does not fit the definition
of scientific research activity or is outside the scope of the scientific research
plan.
(b) Reports. Persons conducting scientific research are requested to submit a copy of any cruise report or
other publication created as a result of
the cruise, including the amount, composition, and disposition of their catch,
to the appropriate Science and Research Director.
[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 74 FR 42793, Aug. 25,
2009]

§ 600.513 Recreational fishing.
(a) Foreign vessels conducting recreational fishing must comply only
with
this
section,
and
§§ 600.10,
600.504(a)(1), and 600.505 (as applicable).
Such vessels may conduct recreational
fishing within the EEZ and within the
boundaries of a state. Any fish caught
may not be sold, bartered, or traded.
(b) The owners or operator and any
other person aboard any foreign vessel
conducting recreational fishing must
comply with any Federal laws or regulations applicable to the domestic fishery while in the EEZ, and any state
laws or regulations applicable while in
state waters.
§ 600.514 Relation to other laws.
(a) Persons affected by these regulations should be aware that other Federal and state statutes may apply to
their activities.
(b) Fishing vessel operators must exercise due care in the conduct of fishing activities near submarine cables.
Damage to submarine cables resulting
from intentional acts or from the failure to exercise due care in the conduct
of fishing operations subjects the fishing vessel operator to enforcement action under the International Convention for the Protection of Submarine
Cables, and to the criminal penalties
prescribed by the Submarine Cable Act
(47 U.S.C. 21) and other laws that implement that Convention. Fishing vessel operators also should be aware that
the Submarine Cable Act prohibits
fishing operations at a distance of less

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Fishery Conservation and Management

§ 600.518
mated and actual performance of domestic and foreign fleets, and other relevant factors.
(c) Specifications of OY and the initial estimates of U.S. harvests and
TALFF’s at the beginning of the relevant fishing year will be published in
the FEDERAL REGISTER. Adjustments to
those numbers will be published in the
FEDERAL REGISTER upon occasion or as
directed by regulations implementing
FMPs. For current apportionments,
contact the appropriate Regional Administrator or the Director.

than 1 nautical mile (1.85 km) from a
vessel engaged in laying or repairing a
submarine cable; or at a distance of
less than 0.25 nautical mile (0.46 km)
from a buoy or buoys intended to mark
the position of a cable when being laid,
or when out of order, or broken.
§ 600.515 Interpretation of 16 U.S.C.
1857(4).
Section 307(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act prohibits any fishing vessel
other than a vessel of the United
States (foreign fishing vessel) from operating in the EEZ if all of the fishing
gear on board the vessel is not stowed
in compliance with that section ‘‘unless such vessel is authorized to engage
in fishing in the area in which the vessel is operating.’’ If such a vessel has a
permit authorization that is limited to
fishing activities other than catching,
taking or harvesting (such as support,
scouting or processing activities), it
must have all of its fishing gear stowed
at all times while it is in the EEZ. If
such a vessel has a permit authorization to engage in catching, taking or
harvesting activities, but such authorization is limited to a specific area
within the EEZ, and/or to a specific period of time, the vessel must have all of
its fishing gear stowed while it is in
the EEZ, except when it is in the specific area authorized, and/or during the
specific period of time authorized.

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 73 FR 67811, Nov. 17,
2008]

§ 600.517 Allocations.
The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the Secretary, determines
the allocation among foreign nations of
fish species and species groups. The
Secretary of State officially notifies
each foreign nation of its allocation.
The burden of ascertaining and accurately transmitting current allocations
and status of harvest of an applicable
allocation to fishing vessels is upon the
foreign nation and the owner or operator of the FFV.
§ 600.518 Fee schedule for foreign fishing.
(a) Permit application fees. Each vessel
permit application submitted under
§ 600.501 must be accompanied by a fee.
The amount of the fee will be determined in accordance with the procedures for determining administrative
costs of each special product or service
contained in the NOAA Finance Handbook, which is available upon request
from the Office of International Affairs
(see address at § 600.501(d)(1)). The fee is
specified with the application form. At
the time the application is submitted,
a check for the fees, drawn on a U.S.
bank, payable to the order of ‘‘Department of Commerce, NOAA,’’ must be
sent to the Assistant Administrator.
The permit fee payment must be accompanied by a list of the vessels for
which the payment is made. In the case
of applications for permits authorizing
activity code 10, the permit application
fee will be waived if the applicant provides satisfactory documentary proof
to the Assistant Administrator that

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

§ 600.516 Total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF).
(a) The TALFF, if any, with respect
to any fishery subject to the exclusive
fishery management authority of the
United States, is that portion of the
OY of such fishery, which cannot or
will not be harvested by vessels of the
United States. Allocations of TALFF
are discretionary, except that the total
allowable level shall be zero for fisheries determined by the Secretary to
have adequate or excess domestic harvest capacity.
(b) Each specification of OY and each
assessment of the anticipated U.S. harvest will be reviewed during each fishing season. Adjustments to TALFF’s
will be made based on updated information relating to status of stocks, esti-

95

§ 600.518

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

the foreign nation under which the vessel is registered does not collect a fee
from a vessel of the United States engaged in similar activities in the
waters of such foreign nation. The documentation presented (e.g., copy of foreign fishing regulations applicable to
vessels of the United States) must
clearly exempt vessels of the United
States from such a fee.
(b) Poundage fees—(1) Rates. If a Nation chooses to accept an allocation,
poundage fees must be paid at the rate
specified in the following table.

priate Regional Administrator will reconcile catch figures with each country
following the procedures of § 600.511(d).
When the catch figures are agreed
upon, NOAA will present a bill for collection as the documentary demand for
payment to the confirming bank. If,
after 45 days from the end of the quarter, catches have not been reconciled,
the estimate of the Regional Administrator will stand and a bill will be
issued for that amount. If necessary,
the catch figures may be refined by the
Regional Administrator during the
next 60 days, and any modifications
will be reflected in the next quarter’s
bill.
(c) Observer fees. The Assistant Administrator will notify the owners or
operators of FFV’s of the estimated annual costs of placing observers aboard
their vessels. The owners or operators
of any such vessel must provide for repayment of those costs by including
one-fourth of the estimated annual observer fee as determined by the Assistant Administrator in a L/C as prescribed in § 600.518(b)(2). During the fiscal year, payment will be withdrawn
from the L/C as required to cover anticipated observer coverage for the upcoming fishery. The Assistant Administrator will reconcile any differences
between the estimated cost and actual
costs of observer coverage within 90
days after the end of the fiscal year.
(d) Financial assurances. (1) A foreign
nation, or the owners and operators of
certain vessels of that foreign nation,
may be required by the Assistant Administrator to provide financial assurances. Such assurances may be required if—
(i) Civil and criminal penalties assessed against fishing vessels of the Nation have not effectively deterred violations;
(ii) Vessels of that Nation have engaged in fishing in the EEZ without
proper authorization to conduct such
activities;
(iii) The Nation’s vessel owners have
refused
to
answer
administrative
charges or summons to appear in court;
or
(iv) Enforcement of Magnuson-Stevens Act civil or criminal judgments in
the courts of a foreign nation is unattainable.

TABLE—SPECIES AND POUNDAGE FEES
[Dollars per metric ton]
Species
Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries:
1. Butterfish ....................................................
2. Herring, Atlantic ..........................................
3. Herring, River .............................................
4. Mackerel, Atlantic .......................................
5. Other finfish ................................................
6. Squid, Illex ..................................................
7. Squid, Loligo ..............................................

Poundage fees
277.96
25.75
49.59
64.76
45.48
97.56
321.68

(2) Method of payment of poundage fees
and observer fees. (i) If a Nation chooses
to accept an allocation, a revolving letter of credit (L/C) must be established
and maintained to cover the poundage
fees for at least 25 percent of the previous year’s total allocation at the rate
in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, or as
determined by the Assistant Administrator, plus the observer fees required
by paragraph (c) of this section. The L/
C must—
(A) Be irrevocable.
(B) Be with a bank subscribing to ICC
Pub. 290.
(C) Designate ‘‘Department of Commerce, NOAA’’ as beneficiary;
(D) Allow partial withdrawals.
(E) Be confirmed by a U.S. bank.
(ii) The customer must pay all commissions, transmission, and service
charges. No fishing will be allowed
until the L/C is established, and authorized written notice of its issuance
is provided to the Assistant Administrator.
(3) Assessment of poundage fees.
Poundage fees will be assessed quarterly for the actual catch during January through March, April through
June, July through September, and October through December. The appro-

96

Fishery Conservation and Management
(2) The level of financial assurances
will be guided by the level of penalties
assessed and costs to the U.S. Government.

§ 600.520
(i) The other allocated species, namely: Short-finned squid, long-finned
squid, Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, river herring (includes alewife,
blueback herring, and hickory shad),
and butterfish.
(ii) The prohibited species, namely:
American plaice, American shad, Atlantic cod, Atlantic menhaden, Atlantic redfish, Atlantic salmon, all marlin, all spearfish, sailfish, swordfish,
black sea bass, bluefish, croaker, haddock, ocean pout, pollock, red hake,
scup, sea turtles, sharks (except
dogfish), silver hake, spot, striped bass,
summer flounder, tilefish, yellowtail
flounder, weakfish, white hake, windowpane flounder, winter flounder,
witch flounder, Continental Shelf fishery resources, and other invertebrates
(except nonallocated squids).
(5) Closures. The taking of any species
for which a Nation has an allocation is
permitted, provided that:
(i) The vessels of the foreign nation
have not caught the allocation of that
Nation for any species or species group
(e.g., ‘‘other finfish’’). When vessels of
a foreign nation have caught an applicable allocation of any species, all further fishing other than scouting, processing, or support by vessels of that
Nation must cease, even if other allocations have not been reached. Therefore, it is essential that foreign nations
plan their fishing strategy to ensure
that the reaching of an allocation for
one species does not result in the premature closing of a Nation’s fishery for
other allocated species.
(ii) The fishery has not been closed
for other reasons under § 600.511.
(6) Allocation utilization. Foreign fishing vessels may elect to retain or discard allocated species; however, the
computation of allocation utilization
and fee refunds will be based on the
total quantity of that species that was
caught. Prohibited species must always
be returned to the sea as required
under § 600.509.
(c) Fishing areas. For the purposes of
the Northwest Atlantic Ocean fishery,
fishing areas are that portion of the
EEZ shown inside the boundaries of the
‘‘three digit statistical areas’’ described in Figure 1 to this section.

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63
FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 64 FR 39020, July 21,
1999; 66 FR 28132, May 22, 2001; 76 FR 59305,
Sept. 26, 2011]

§ 600.520 Northwest Atlantic Ocean
fishery.
(a) Purpose. Sections 600.520 and
600.525 regulate all foreign fishing conducted under a GIFA within the EEZ in
the Atlantic Ocean north of 35°00′ N.
lat.
(b) Authorized fishery—(1) Allocations.
Foreign vessels may engage in fishing
only in accordance with applicable national allocations.
(2) Time and area restrictions. (i) Fishing, including processing, scouting, and
support of foreign or U.S. vessels, is
prohibited south of 35°00′ N. lat., and
north and east of a line beginning at
the shore at 44°22′ N. lat., 67°52′ W. long.
and intersecting the boundary of the
EEZ at 44°11′12″ N. lat., 67°16′46″ W.
long.
(ii) The Regional Administrator will
consult with the Council prior to giving notice of any area or time restriction. NMFS will also consult with the
USCG if the restriction is proposed to
reduce gear conflicts. If NMFS determines after such consultation that the
restriction appears to be appropriate,
NMFS will publish the proposed restriction in the FEDERAL REGISTER, together with a summary of the information on which the restriction is based.
Following a 30-day comment period,
NMFS will publish a final action.
(iii) The Regional Administrator may
rescind any restriction if he/she determines that the basis for the restriction
no longer exists.
(iv) Any notice of restriction shall
operate as a condition imposed on the
permit issued to the foreign vessels involved in the fishery.
(3) TALFF. The TALFFs for the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean
are published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Current TALFFs are also available from the Regional Administrator.
(4) Species definitions. The category
‘‘other finfish’’ used in TALFFs and in
allocations includes all species except:

97

§ 600.525

50 CFR Ch. VI (10–1–23 Edition)

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998]

this section and § 600.530 of this subpart
F, and is exempt from any other requirements of this subpart F. Regulations governing fishing by U.S. vessels
in waters under the fisheries jurisdiction of the Canada more than 12 nautical miles from the baseline from
which the territorial sea is measured

§ 600.525 Applicability of subpart F to
Canadian Albacore Fishing Vessels
off the West Coast.
Fishing by vessels of Canada under
the 1981 Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America
and the Government of Canada on Pacific Coast Albacore Tuna Vessels and
Port Privileges is regulated only under

98

Fishery Conservation and Management
are found at §§ 300.170–300.176 of chapter
II of this title.

(d) Vessel identification. A Canadian
vessel fishing under the Treaty as
amended in 2002 must clearly display
its Canadian vessel registration number followed by the letter C in the same
height and size as the numerals, consistent with Canadian vessel marking
requirements.
(e) Hail-in reports. The operator of a
Canadian Vessel eligible to fish for albacore in U.S. waters under the Treaty
as amended in 2002 must file a hail-in
report with the Reporting Office at
least 24 hours prior to beginning any
such fishing.
(f) Hail-out Reports. The operator of a
Canadian vessel that has been fishing
in U.S. waters under the Treaty as
amended in 2002 must file a hail-out report with the Reporting Office at least
24 hours prior to exiting from U.S.
waters.
(g) Prohibitions. It is prohibited for
the operator of a Canadian vessel to engage in fishing in U.S. waters if the
vessel:
(1) Is not on the vessel list in paragraph (c) of this section;
(2) Has not filed a hail-in report to
advise of an intent to fish under the
Treaty as amended in 2002 prior to engaging in such fishing; or
(3) Is not clearly marked in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

[69 FR 31535, June 4, 2004]

§ 600.530

§ 600.610

Pacific albacore fishery.

(a) Purpose and scope. This section
regulates fishing by Canadian vessels
under the 1981 Treaty Between the
Government of the United States of
America and the Government of Canada on Pacific Coast Albacore Tuna
Vessels and Port Privileges as amended
in 2002. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart F, fishing vessels
of Canada may be authorized to fish in
waters under the fisheries jurisdiction
of the United States more than 12 nautical miles from the baseline from
which the territorial sea is measured in
accordance with the Treaty and this
section, pursuant to Public Law 108–219
(118 Stat. 616; 16 U.S.C. 1821 note).
(b) Definitions. In addition to the definitions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
and § 600.10, the terms used in this subpart have the following meanings:
Fishing under the Treaty as amended in
2002 means to engage in fishing for albacore tuna in waters under the fisheries jurisdiction of the United States
seaward of 12 nautical miles from the
baseline from which the territorial sea
is measured.
Regional Administrator means the Regional Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Boulevard,
Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802–4213,
or a designee.
Reporting Office means the office designated by the Regional Administrator
to take hail-in and hail-out reports
from U.S. and Canadian vessel operators.
Treaty means the 1981 Treaty Between the Government of the United
States of America and the Government
of Canada on Pacific Coast Albacore
Tuna Vessels and Port Privileges as
amended in 2002.
(c) Vessel list. A Canadian vessel is
not eligible to fish for albacore in U.S.
waters under the Treaty as amended in
2002 unless the vessel is on the list provided to NMFS by the Government of
Canada of vessels authorized by Canada
to fish under the Treaty as amended in
2002.

[69 FR 31535, June 4, 2004]

Subpart G—Preemption of State
Authority Under Section 306(b)
§ 600.605

General policy.

It is the policy of the Secretary that
preemption proceedings will be conducted expeditiously. The administrative law judge and counsel or other representative for each party are encouraged to make every effort at each stage
of the proceedings to avoid delay.
§ 600.610 Factual findings for Federal
preemption.
(a) The two factual findings for Federal preemption of state management
authority over a fishery are:
(1) The fishing in a fishery that is
covered by an FMP implemented under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act is engaged
in predominately within the EEZ and
beyond such zone.

99