Final Regulatory Impact Review for a Proposed Regulatory Amendment to Remove GOA Sablefish IFQ Pot Gear Tags and Notary Certification Requirements

This Regulatory Impact Review analyzes proposed changes to regulations to remove recordkeeping and reporting requirements. This action is intended to reduce administrative burden on the regulated fishing industry and the Agency. In April 2021, the Council requested that NMFS initiate rulemaking under the authority of section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to remove the requirement for a notary certification on IFQ Program transfer applications as well as remove the requirement for IFQ fishermen using longline pot gear in the GOA to obtain and mark their gear with pot tags. Upon review of the suite of application forms used in the administration of Alaska fisheries management programs, NMFS identified additional changes to application forms that are described in this document.