HMS Dealer Reporting Family of Forms adjustment per 0648-AU89

Highly Migratory Species Dealer Reporting Family of Forms
OMB Control No. 0648-0040
Minor adjustments associated with a final rule to modify Southeast Region Dealer
Reporting form for HMS (RIN 0648-AU89)
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is modifying the Highly
Migratory Species (HMS) Dealer Reporting Family of Forms (OMB Control No. 06480040) and its Southeast Region (SER) Dealer Reporting form for HMS to improve
program efficacy and enforceability. The modified regulations will: 1) allow dealers that
receive shark product to check a box on the form to indicate whether or not sharks are
landed with their fins naturally attached; 2) clarify that sharks must be reported according
to species, and 3) specify that forms must be received by NMFS within a specified
timeframe.
The final rule will require that all sharks have their fins naturally attached through
offloading. The check box added to the Dealer Reporting form for HMS will allow
dealers to indicate whether or not sharks are offloaded with their fins naturally attached
and maintained in this form throughout the offloading. This information will also
provide dealer verification for fishermen to show if sharks were offloaded with their fins
naturally attached. The final rule will also clarify that dealers must report sharks
according to species on the Dealer Reporting forms (i.e., no unclassified sharks can be
reported), which is the current regulation; however, unclassified sharks continue to be
reported. The forms will continue to be collected on a biweekly basis to monitor
swordfish, shark, and tuna (i.e., bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack or “BAYS”)
landings as well as landings of coastal pelagics (i.e., dolphin, greater amberjack, king
mackerel, escolar, and wahoo). However, the final rule will adjust NMFS regulations to
indicate that the Dealer Reporting forms must be received by NMFS with ten days after
the bimonthly reporting period (i.e., the 25th or 10th of each month) rather than
postmarked within ten days after the end of the bimonthly reporting period. The
information on this form is used to track landings against quotas and collect landings data
for use in stock assessments; timely and species-specific reports are necessary for
accurate quota monitoring. There will be no change in the amount or frequency of
reporting or to the costs associated to dealers as a result of these adjustments.