(a) This subpart recognizes that catch and effort data necessary for implementing the PCGFMP are collected by the States of Washington, Oregon, and California under existing state data collection requirements.
(b) Any person who is required to do so by the applicable state law must make and/or file, retain, or make available any and all reports (i.e., logbooks, state landing receipts, etc.) of groundfish harvests and landings containing all data, and in the exact manner, required by the applicable state law.
(c) Any person landing groundfish must retain on board the vessel from which groundfish is landed, and provide to an authorized officer upon request, copies of any and all reports of groundfish landings containing all data, and in the exact manner, required by the applicable state law throughout the cumulative limit period during which a landing occurred and for 15 days thereafter.
(d) Declaration reporting requirements--(1) Declaration reports for vessels registered to limited entry permits. The operator of any vessel registered to a limited entry permit must provide NMFS OLE with a declaration report, as specified at paragraph (d)(5)(iv) of this section, before the vessel leaves port on a trip in which the vessel is used to fish in U.S. ocean waters between 0 and 200 nm offshore of Washington, Oregon, or California.
(1) Declaration reports for vessels registered to limited entry permits. The operator of any vessel registered to a limited entry permit must provide NMFS OLE with a declaration report, as specified at paragraph (d)(5)(iv) of this section, before the vessel leaves port on a trip in which the vessel is used to fish in U.S. ocean waters between 0 and 200 nm offshore of Washington, Oregon, or California.
(2) Declaration reports for all vessels using non-groundfish trawl gear. The operator of any vessel that is not registered to a limited entry permit and which uses non-groundfish trawl gear to fish in the EEZ (3-200 nm offshore), must provide NMFS OLE with a declaration report, as specified at paragraph (d)(5)(iv) of this section, before the vessel leaves port to fish in the EEZ.
(3) Declaration reports for open access vessels using non trawl gear (all types of open access gear other than non-groundfish trawl gear). The operator of any vessel that is not registered to a limited entry permit, must provide NMFS with a declaration report, as specified at paragraph (d)(5)(iv) of this section, before the vessel leaves port on a trip in which the vessel is used to take and retain or possess groundfish in the EEZ or land groundfish taken in the EEZ.
(4) Declaration reports for tribal vessels using trawl gear. The operator of any tribal vessel using trawl gear must provide NMFS with a declaration report, as specified at paragraph (d)(5)(iv) of this section, before the vessel leaves port on a trip in which fishing occurs within the trawl RCA.
(5) Declaration reports. (i) The operator of a vessel specified in paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3) of this section must provide a declaration report to NMFS OLE prior to leaving port on the first trip in which the vessel meets the requirement specified at Sec. 660.14(b) to have a VMS.
(i) The operator of a vessel specified in paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3) of this section must provide a declaration report to NMFS OLE prior to leaving port on the first trip in which the vessel meets the requirement specified at Sec. 660.14(b) to have a VMS.
(ii) The vessel operator must send a new declaration report before leaving port on a trip in which a gear type that is different from the gear type most recently declared for the vessel will be used. A declaration report will be valid until another declaration report revising the existing gear declaration is received by NMFS OLE.
(iii) During the period of time that a vessel has a valid declaration report on file with NMFS OLE, it cannot fish with a gear other than a gear type declared by the vessel.
(iv) Declaration reports will include: The vessel name and/or identification number, and gear type (as defined in paragraph (d)(5)(iv)(A) of this section). Upon receipt of a declaration report, NMFS will provide a confirmation code or receipt to confirm that a valid declaration report was received for the vessel. Retention of the confirmation code or receipt to verify that a valid declaration report was filed and the declaration requirement was met is the responsibility of the vessel owner or operator. Vessels using nontrawl gear may declare more than one gear type with the exception of vessels participating in the Shorebased IFQ Program (i.e. gear switching), however, vessels using trawl gear may only declare one of the trawl gear types listed in paragraph (d)(5)(iv)(A) of this section on any trip and may not declare nontrawl gear on the same trip in which trawl gear is declared.
(A) One of the following gear types or sectors must be declared:
(1) Limited entry fixed gear, not including shorebased IFQ,
(2) Limited entry groundfish non-trawl, shorebased IFQ,
(3) Limited entry midwater trawl, non-whiting shorebased IFQ,
(4) Limited entry midwater trawl, Pacific whiting shorebased IFQ,
(5) Limited entry mid water trawl, Pacific whiting catcher/processor sector,
(6) Limited entry midwater trawl, Pacific whiting mothership sector (catcher vessel or mothership),
(7) Limited entry bottom trawl, shorebased IFQ, not including demersal trawl,
(8) Limited entry demersal trawl, shorebased IFQ,
(9) Non-groundfish trawl gear for pink shrimp,
(10) Non-groundfish trawl gear for ridgeback prawn,
(11) Non-groundfish trawl gear for California halibut,
(12) Non-groundfish trawl gear for sea cucumber,
(13) Open access longline gear for groundfish,
(14) Open access Pacific halibut longline gear,
(15) Open access groundfish trap or pot gear,
(16) Open access Dungeness crab trap or pot gear,
(17) Open access prawn trap or pot gear,
(18) Open access sheephead trap or pot gear,
(19) Open access line gear for groundfish,
(20) Open access HMS line gear,
(21) Open access salmon troll gear,
(22) Open access California Halibut line gear,
(23) Open access Coastal Pelagic Species net gear,
(24) Other gear, or
(25) Tribal trawl.
(26) Open access California gillnet complex gear.
(B) [Reserved] [75 FR 60897, Oct. 1, 2010, as amended at 75 FR 78374, Dec. 15, 2010; 76 FR 74733, Dec. 1, 2011]