Business Context, Transaction Types and Volume
NMFS requires the use of permits or registrations by participants in U.S. federally regulated fisheries. Permits to fish in waters of the United States and international waters are authorized by various statutes and laws, primarily the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Public Law 94-265, as variously amended, most recently by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (P.L. 109-479)) (MSA); High Seas Fishery Management and Conservation Act; and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut Act). The most used permitting authority, the MSA, provides authority for issuance of permits for foreign fishing; or, under § 303(A) Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs) or § 303(b) as a discretionary provision under authority of a Fishery Management Plan: for vessels, vessel operators, or processors.
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From the permit holder perspective, the drivers for holding a permit are participation in harvesting or processing of a public resource. Further, some permits (e.g., LAPPs) are exclusive access to a public resource. Participation in harvest or processing without required permits, or, falsifying information on applications, or failure to meet record-keeping and reporting requirements, are all crimes subject to penalties including fines, loss of catch and other assets, loss of licenses or permits, etc. Business drivers for using the new online system (with e-signature) include faster cycle time, immediate feedback for invalid data entry, and online access to status information during the permit processing phase.
Business Risk in the Permit Context
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Perhaps the most significant mitigating control is that in commercial fisheries transactions, both parties to the transaction (typically the fisher and the fish processor) are permitted entities and each has some responsibility for accurate and complete record-keeping and reporting (for example, the fisher may be required to keep a logbook showing fishing efforts and catch, while the processor is required to report fish purchased). In these transactions it is typical for the parties to the transactions to have opposite and balancing interests (for example, when a fisher is selling fish to a processor, the fisher wants the amount paid to be high, while the processor wants the amount paid to be low). These multiple sources of information and counter-balanced incentives tend to make deception more difficult to initiate and sustain.
Under the authority of the Debt Collection Improvement Act (31 U.S.C. 7701), NMFS would collect Tax Identification Number information from individuals in order to issue, renew, or transfer fishing permits or to make nonpermit registrations.
In the National Permit System registration will be open to new permit applicants, existing permit holders, and agents of both. From the system perspective, there is little difference between permit holders and agents of permit holders. (Agents should file a notarized letter of authorization from each permit owner that the agent represents. The permit owner is responsible for transactions pertaining to their permit, and if they have delegated to an agent without submitting the authorization letter, that doesn't absolve them of any responsibility.) New permit applicants will not be identifiable with the same level of assurance as existing permit holders, but, as the permit application is processed, the confidence in the permit holder's identity will grow. And as a new permit applicant starts out with no value in the system, there is little at risk for these participants whose identity is less certain.
Existing permit holders may have considerable value in the system; for example, they may own fisheries quota that has significant market value. These existing permit holders must demonstrate knowledge of a secret permit access code (PAC) which was mailed by USPS mail to the permit owner's address of record. After a participant has registered and associated their permits with their username (through knowledge of one or more PACs), then the participant can access potentially sensitive permit information as well as renew or transfer permits. There are opportunities for mitigating controls in business processes, so the e-signature process does not necessarily have to address all of the transaction risk.
All permit applications will be subjected to checks for New permit applications generally involve processing rigor commiserate with the value of the permit. Permits for fisheries with low economic opportunity and/or low risk to the public resource generally receive only nominal scrutiny. Permits for fisheries with high economic opportunity and/or high risk to the public resource receive considerable scrutiny. In many cases this involves confirming vessel ownership with the US Coast Guard, verifying participation in prior fisheries through previously submitted state or federal fish tickets or logbooks, confirmation of business ownership, etc.
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