Merchant Marine Act and Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fishing Vessel, Fishing Facility and Individual Fishing Quota and Harvesting Rights Lending Program Regulations
NMFS' Fisheries Finance Program (FFP) provides long-term financing to the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries for fishing vessels, fisheries facilities, aquaculture facilities, and certain designated individual fishing quota (IFQ). Section 302 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 included new authority to finance the purchase of harvesting rights in a fishery that is federally managed under a limited access system. Through this final rule, the FFP adds a new section to the existing FFP regulations to implement this statutory change. The net effect of this change to the regulations will be to provide additional authority for the program to lend, and providing FFP financing to additional fisheries while leaving the original IFQ authority to Fishery Management Councils to use as needed.