§3333 Program Approval

Summary

States must send their fleet-reduction program and any changes to the Secretary in the form and way the Secretary requires. The Secretary will only approve the program if the State has the legal power to run it and if the program follows many rules: the State may only buy a vessel from the person who owned it on December 22, 1980; the program cannot spend too much money buying vessels from one person; any vessel the State buys must include all its attached state commercial and charter salmon fishing licenses sold to the State; people who sold a vessel (or an immediate family member) cannot buy it back from the State; vessels bought under the program cannot be used for commercial or charter salmon fishing in the Washington conservation area unless state law shows doing so will not increase fishing effort by the non‑Indian fleet; the State must pay fair market value for vessels and for license buybacks; the program must allow buying licenses (but not vessels) from marginally productive commercial salmon fishermen; it may use bonuses and schedules to encourage early retirement, reward productive gear types, and account for charter passenger capacity; the State must keep a moratorium or similar rule to stop new commercial or charter salmon licenses; and the State must set up a revolving fund with separate accounts by license category where resale money goes, that money must be put into the right account for at least 2 years from the program start, and it must be used only to buy vessels and licenses as the law allows. The Secretary must approve a complete program within 90 days if it follows the law, or return it with recommendations if it does not. Any change to an approved program must be approved within 30 days unless it conflicts with the law.