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Fisheries are managed regionally, but, many participants in the fishing industry are national or multinational in scope. It would be a convenience to these participants to offer a one-stop-shop for permits. Also, a one-stop-shop would facilitate maintenance of a single identifier for an industry participant who fishes or processes fish in multiple regions, and it would leverage efforts to improve data quality across regions. More.... The more could include what business benefit they derive from the permit and what business risk they incur if they break NMFS rules. Is this the spot for cycle times?The National Permits System (NPS) Project is a high profile NMFS project aimed at harmonizing the different permit systems across the agency. From this system all regional permit offices will standardize the collection of fees, automate the issuance of commercial fishing permits, and share readily available data from a single national source. In addition, constituents will benefit from a uniform agency permitting process, automated and streamlined online access, and improved customer service.
In order for NMFS offices to be able to issue permits to applicants who apply online via NPS, the system must be able to offer complete electronic renditions of permit application forms that are offered on paper. Since many of these application forms require the applicant to sign a completed application form to affirm that the information placed on the form is correct, NPS needs to implement an e-signature feature to ensure that the data being received electronically is valid and legally binding.
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 Risk in the Permit Context
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