Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

(e) A Mau Zone permit may be held by an individual, partnership, or corporation. No more than49 percent of the underlying ownership interest in a Mau Zone permit may be sold, leased,chartered, or otherwise transferred to another person or entity. If more than 49 percent of theunderlying ownership of the permit passes to persons or entities other than those listed in theoriginal permit application supplemental information sheet, then the permit expires and must besurrendered to NMFS. A Mau Zone permit holder may apply to NMFS to register the permit foruse with another vessel if that vessel is owned by the permit holder, and is no longer than 60 ft(18.3 meters). If a Mau Zone permit holder sells the vessel, for which the permit is registered foruse, the permit holder must within 12 months of the date of sale apply to NMFS to register thepermit for use with a vessel owned by the permit holder. If the permit holder has not applied toregister a replacement vessel within 12 months, then the permit expires. If a permitted vesselowned by the permit holder is sold or becomes un-seaworthy, the Mau Zone permit with whichthe vessel was registered may be registered for use with a leased or chartered vessel for a periodnot to exceed 12 months from the date of registration of the leased or chartered vessel. If by theend of that 12-month period the permit holder fails to apply to NMFS to register the permit foruse with a vessel owned by the permit holder, then the permit expires.(ii) A Mau Zone permit will be eligible for renewal if the vessel for which the permit isregistered for use made at least five separate fishing trips with landings of at least 500lbs (227kg) of bottomfish management unit species per trip during the calendar year. Only one landing ofbottomfish management unit species per fishing trip to the Mau Zone will be counted toward thelanding requirement. If the vessel for which the permit is registered for use fails to meet thelanding requirement, the owner may apply to the NMFS Regional Administrator for a waiver ofthe landing requirement. Grounds for a waiver are limited to captain incapacitation, vesselbreakdowns, and the loss of the vessel at sea if the event prevented the vessel from meeting thelanding requirement. Lack of profitability is not sufficient for waiver of the landing requirement.The NWHI Bottomfish fishery will close on June 15, 2011, in accordance with the provisions ofthe Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which was established in the NWHIthrough Presidential Proclamation No. 8031 on June 15, 2006.5.3.3 Gear RestrictionsGear restrictions include prohibitions against the use or possession of bottom trawls and bottomset gillnets; and the use or possession of poisons, explosives, or intoxicating substances toharvest bottomfish or seamount groundfish in the bottomfish fishery.5.3.4 At-sea Observer CoverageAll fishing vessels with bottomfish permits must carry an on-board observer when directed to doso by NMFS. Vessel owners or operators will be given at least 72 hour prior notice by NMFS ofan observer requirement. Required standards of treatment and accommodations for observersmust be followed.5.3.5 Framework for Regulatory Adjustments141