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Statement of Need: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to propose this rule to govern the requests for determinations of fishery resource disasters as a basis for acquiring potential disaster assistance. The regulations would establish definitions, and characteristics of commercial fishery failures, fishery resource disasters, serious disruptions affecting future production, and harm incurred by fishermen, as well as requirements for initiating a review by NMFS, and the administrative process it will follow in processing such applications. The intended result of these procedures and requirements is to clarify and interpret the fishery disaster assistance provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act (IFA) through rulemaking and thereby ensure consistency and facilitate the processing of requests.

Summary of the Legal Basis: NMFS is proposing these regulations pursuant to its rulemaking authority under sections 312(a) or 315 of the MSA (16 U.S.C. 1861, 1864), as amended, and sections 308(b) or 308(d) of the IFA (16 U.S.C. 4107).

Alternatives: Because this rule is presently in the beginning stages of development, no alternatives have been formulated or analyzed at this time.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: Because this rule is presently in the beginning stages of development, no analysis has been completed at this time to assess the amount that would be saved or imposed as a result of this rule. However, this rule does not meet the $100 million annual economic impact threshold and thus has not been determined to be economically significant under EO 12866.

Risks: Without this rulemaking, there is a risk that disaster determinations can be made on an ad hoc basis, without regard to any standardized guidelines or procedures.