INFORMATION BULLETIN (01-93)         October 19, 2001     
 Sustainable Fisheries Division       4:15 p.m.              
 907-586-7228                           

                                
               NMFS ANNOUNCES REGULATORY CHANGE:
           ALASKA COMMERCIAL OPERATORS ANNUAL REPORT
                                
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces a new
regulation that is effective as of September 19, 2001,
according to James W. Balsiger, Administrator, Alaska Region,
NMFS.

A final rule published on August 20, 2001, in the Federal
Register at 66 FR 43524 (http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/frules/
rrrcoarfr.pdf) requires motherships and catcher/processors in
the groundfish fisheries of the exclusive economic zone off
Alaska to submit an annual Commercial Operators Annual Report
(COAR) to the State of Alaska, Department of Fish & Game
(ADF&G).  The first full-year COAR is required for the year
2002 and will need to be submitted to ADF&G by April of 2003. 
However, NMFS and ADF&G would appreciate any volunteer COAR
submittals for the year 2001. 

The COAR is an important tool for the collection and analyais
of economic data:  to gather information on exvessel and first
wholesale values for state-wide finfish and shellfish products
from catcher/processors and motherships at sea.  These data
together with the COAR information already gathered from
shoreside processors and stationary floating processors will
provide a means to compare value information (in dollars) of
different types of species and products from all processors of
fish harvested from Alaska State and Federal waters within a
year and comparisons of several years through consistent
yearly collection of information.

The 2000 COAR may be found at
http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/permits/intent/coar00.p
df.  Further information on this action may be found in the
preamble to the proposed rule published at 65 FR 78131 (http:
//www.fakr.noaa.gov/prules/coar.pdf) (December 14, 2000).

This information bulletin only provides notice of a regulatory
change.  For the purposes of complying with the regulatory
change, you are advised to see the actual text of the
regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations.