13330 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

B. Executive Order 12866 and 13563 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. In accordance with Executive 

Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review, dated January 18, 

2011, GSA has determined that this rule 

is not excessively burdensome to the 

public, and that GSA Form 1142 which 

is prescribed by the rule is useful to 

contractors in presenting their release of 

claims to the Government. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The General Services Administration 

does not expect this proposed rule to 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

within the meaning of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., 

because the rule requires the collection 

of the information that is administrative 

in nature. Submission of this 

information should not be burdensome 

to the contractor but should provide a 

consistent format that the contractor can 

use to report their claims information to 

the GSA. An Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis has, therefore, not 

been performed. We invite comments 

from small businesses and other 

interested parties. GSA will consider 

comments from small entities 

concerning the affected GSAR Part 532 

in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 610. 

Interested parties must submit such 

comments separately and should cite 5 

U.S.C. 601, et seq. (GSAR case 2010– 

G509), in correspondence. 

D. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

apply; however, these changes to the 

GSAR do not impose additional 

information collection requirements to 

the paperwork burden previously 

approved under OMB Control Number 

3090–0080. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 532 

Government procurement. 

Dated: March 7, 2011. 

Millisa Gary, 

Acting Director, Office of Governmentwide 

Acquisition Policy. 

Therefore, GSA proposes to amend 48 

CFR part 532 as set forth below: 

PART 532—CONTRACT FINANCING 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 532 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c). 

2. Add section 532.905–70 to read as 

follows: 

532.905–70 Final payment—construction 

and building service contracts. 

The following procedures apply to 

construction and building service 

contracts: 

(a) The Government shall pay the 

final amount due the Contractor under 

this contract after the documentation in 

FAR 52.232–5 is provided. 

(b) Contracting Officers may not 

process the final payment on 

construction or building service 

contracts until the contractor submits a 

properly executed GSA Form 1142, 

Release of Claims, except as provided in 

paragraph (c) of this section. 

(c) In cases where, after 60 days from 

the initial attempt, the Contracting 

Officer is unable to obtain a release of 

claims from the contractor, the final 

payment may be processed with the 

approval of assigned legal counsel. 

(d) The amount of final payment must 

include, as appropriate, deductions to 

cover any of the following: 

(1) Liquidated damages for late 

completion. 

(2) Liquidated damages for labor 

violations. 

(3) Amount withheld for improper 

payment of labor wages. 

(4) The amount of unilateral change 

orders covering defects and omissions. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5502 Filed 3–10–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–61–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

RIN 0648–AW67 

Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries; 

Prohibiting Purse Seine Fishing in the 

U.S. EEZ Around Guam and the 

Northern Mariana Islands, and 

Prohibiting Longline Fishing Within 

30 nm of the Northern Mariana Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) proposes Amendment 

2 to the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for 

Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific 

Region (FEP). If approved by the 

Secretary of Commerce, this amendment 

would create a 30-nautical mile (nm) 

longline prohibited area around the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands (CNMI), and prohibit purse 

seine fishing within the entire U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around 

the Mariana Archipelago, including 

Guam and the CNMI. The area closures 

are intended to prevent and minimize 

gear conflicts and resource competition 

among the various fishery sectors (troll, 

longline and purse seine) in the Mariana 

Archipelago. In addition, this action is 

intended to facilitate the conservation of 

important stocks such as bigeye, 

yellowfin, and skipjack tuna throughout 

their range in the Pacific Ocean. 

DATES: Comments on the amendment 

must be received by May 10, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 2, 

including an environmental assessment, 

are available from http:// 

www.regulations.gov, or the Council, 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, fax 808– 

522–8226, http://www.wpcouncil.org. 

Comments on the amendment, 

including the environmental 

assessment, identified by 0648–AW67, 

may be sent to either of the following 

addresses: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or 

• Mail: Mail written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd., 

Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–4700. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted to one of the above two 

addresses to ensure that the comments 

are received, documented, and 

considered by NMFS. Comments sent to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period, may not be considered. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.) 

submitted voluntarily by the sender may 

be publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Toby Wood, NMFS PIR Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–944–2234. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2011 / Proposed Rules 13331 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pelagic 

fisheries in the U.S. western Pacific are 

managed under the FEP. The Council 

prepared Amendment 2 to address 

pelagic fishing concerns in the Mariana 

Archipelago (Guam and the CNMI). 

Pelagic fisheries in the Marianas consist 

mostly of small trolling fleets, several 

pelagic longline vessels, and purse seine 

vessels based there, but not fishing near 

the islands. Guam’s pelagic fishery 

consists of 300–400 mostly small 

trolling boats that catch skipjack tuna, 

yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, and 

Pacific blue marlin. Trolling is also the 

primary fishing method in the CNMI 

pelagic fishery. About 50–100 small 

vessels target skipjack tuna, and also 

catch yellowfin tuna and mahimahi. 

Pelagic longline vessels in the 

Marianas are typically larger than 50 ft 

(15 m) and can fish for more than 30 

days. Interest in the longline fishery has 

been variable; currently four Federallypermitted longline vessels are based in 

the CNMI and one is based in Guam. 

Longliners target yellowfin and bigeye 

tunas and retain incidental catches of 

albacore, blue marlin, mahimahi, 

skipjack tuna, and spearfish. 

About 36 U.S. purse seine vessels 

operate in the western and central 

Pacific Ocean, targeting skipjack and 

yellowfin tuna. Vessels range from 164 

to 377 ft (50 to 115 m). Fish-carrying 

capacities range from approximately 800 

to 1,500 mt (2.2 to 3.9 million lb). The 

U.S. purse seine catch in the western 

Pacific is made on the high seas, in 

foreign EEZs, and in the U.S. EEZ 

around American Samoa and the U.S. 

Pacific Remote Island Areas (i.e., Wake, 

Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, 

Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and 

Palmyra Atoll). Two U.S. purse seine 

vessels are based in Guam, but have not 

fished in the EEZ around the Mariana 

Archipelago. To date, limited purse 

seine activity has occurred adjacent to 

the EEZ around Guam since 1980, but 

no U.S. purse seine catches have been 

recorded within the EEZ. 

The Council is concerned about the 

potential impacts if purse seine fishing 

effort shifts to areas fished by domestic 

troll and longline fishermen of Guam 

and the CNMI. Those smaller vessels 

could experience reduced catch rates 

due to localized depletion and catch 

competition, or would have to travel 

further to maintain catch rates, 

potentially resulting in lost revenue and 

possible safety-at-sea issues. 

The Council is also concerned about 

the impact of purse seine fishing on the 

recruitment of juvenile bigeye tuna. 

While targeting skipjack tuna, purse 

seines may also catch juvenile yellowfin 

and bigeye tuna. Juvenile bigeye tuna 

caught by purse seines may be 

contributing to the overfishing status of 

bigeye tuna in the western and central 

Pacific Ocean. The impacts from an 

increase in juvenile catch of bigeye tuna 

can reduce the number of mature fish, 

thereby decreasing reproduction. This 

also decreases the future availability of 

adult fish for fisheries that target adult 

bigeye tuna, such as the longline 

fishery. 

The Council is further concerned that 

any future expansion of longline fishing 

around the Mariana Archipelago could 

result in adverse impacts to the CNMI 

troll fishery. If the number of CNMIbased longline vessels increases and 

move into areas traditionally utilized by 

the troll fleet (typically within 30 nm 

(55.6 km) of shore), there is potential for 

gear conflicts and catch competition 

between the two fleets, resulting in 

potential gear loss, increased costs, and 

decreased revenues. 

To address their concerns about the 

potential impact of purse seine fishing 

on the troll and longline fisheries in the 

Marianas, the Council recommends in 

Amendment 2 prohibiting U.S. purse 

seine vessels from fishing within the 

EEZ around Guam and the CNMI. 

Furthermore, under Amendment 2, to 

address their concerns about the 

potential impact of uncontrolled 

expansion in the CNMI longline fishery, 

the Council recommends prohibiting 

longline fishing within 30 nm (55.6 km) 

of the CNMI. The Council’s 

recommendations are intended to 

reduce temporary localized fish 

depletion, catch competition, and gear 

conflicts to sustain local troll and 

longline fisheries, and to limit the 

potential impacts of purse seine fishing 

on recruitment of juvenile bigeye tuna. 

Public comments on proposed 

Amendment 2 must be received by May 

10, 2011 to be considered by NMFS in 

the decision to approve, partially 

approve, or disapprove the amendment. 

NMFS expects to soon publish and 

request public comment on a proposed 

rule that would implement the measures 

recommended in Amendment 2. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: March 8, 2011. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–5683 Filed 3–10–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 100201056–0076–01] 

RIN 0648–AY65 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Revisions to Pacific 

Cod Fishing in the Parallel Fishery in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes a regulatory 

amendment that would limit access of 

Federally permitted pot and hook-andline catcher/processors (C/P) to the 

Pacific cod fishery in State of Alaska 

waters adjacent to the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). The affected fishery is 

commonly known as the ‘‘parallel’’ 

fishery. The parallel fishery occurs off 

the coast of Alaska, within 3 nautical 

miles of shore and is managed by the 

State of Alaska concurrent with the 

Federal pot and hook-and-line fishery 

for Pacific cod in the BSAI. This 

proposed rule would limit access to the 

parallel fishery for Pacific cod in three 

ways. First, it would require that an 

owner of a Federally permitted pot or 

hook-and-line C/P vessel used to catch 

Pacific cod in the State of Alaska 

parallel fishery be issued the same 

endorsements on their Federal fisheries 

permit (FFP) or license limitation 

program (LLP) license as currently are 

required for catching Pacific cod in the 

Federal waters of the BSAI. Second, an 

operator of any Federally permitted pot 

or hook-and-line C/P vessel used to 

catch Pacific cod in the parallel fishery 

would also be required to comply with 

the same seasonal closures of Pacific 

cod that apply in the Federal fishery. 

Third, an owner of a pot or hook-andline C/P vessel who surrenders an FFP 

would not be reissued a new FFP within 

the 3-year term of the permit. These 

three measures are necessary to limit 

some C/Ps from catching a greater 

amount of Pacific cod in the parallel 

fishery than have been allocated to their 

sector from the BSAI Total Allowable 

Catch. Maintaining Pacific cod catch 

amounts within sector allocations 

would also reduce the potential for 

shortened Pacific cod seasons for C/Ps 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS