77672 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

three-year restriction on carrying credits 

backward. 

(d) Credits earned by a successor may 

be used to offset a predecessor’s 

shortfall, subject to availability of the 

credits and the general three-year 

restriction on carrying credits backward.

§ 534.5 Manufacturers within control 

relationships. 

(a) If a civil penalty arises out of a fuel 

economy shortfall incurred by a group 

of manufacturers within a control 

relationship, each manufacturer within 

that group is jointly and severally liable 

for the civil penalty. 

(b) A manufacturer is considered to be 

within a control relationship for an 

entire model year if and only if it is 

within that relationship on September 

30 of the calendar year in which the 

model year ends. 

(c) Credits of a manufacturer within a 

control relationship may be used by the 

group of manufacturers within the 

control relationship to offset shortfalls, 

subject to the agreement of the other 

manufacturers, the availability of the 

credits, and the general three-year 

restriction on carrying credits forward 

or backward. 

(d) If a manufacturer within a group 

of manufacturers is sold or otherwise 

spun off so that it is no longer within 

that control relationship, the 

manufacturer may use credits that were 

earned by the group of manufacturers 

within the control relationship while 

the manufacturer was within that 

relationship, subject to the agreement of 

the other manufacturers, the availability 

of the credits and the general restriction 

on carrying credits forward or 

backward. 

(e) Agreements among manufacturers 

in a control relationship related to the 

allocation of credits or liabilities 

addressed by this section shall be filed 

with the agency within 60 days of the 

end of each model year in the same form 

as specified in section 534.6. The 

manufacturers may seek confidential 

treatment for information provided in 

the certified report in accordance with 

49 CFR Part 512.

§ 534.6 Reporting corporate transactions. 

Manufacturers who have entered into 

written contracts transferring rights and 

responsibilities such that a different 

manufacturer owns the controlling stock 

or exerts control over the design, 

production or sale of automobiles to 

which a Corporate Average Fuel 

Economy standard applies shall report 

the contract to the agency as follows: 

(a) The manufacturers must file a 

certified report with the agency 

affirmatively stating that the contract 

transfers rights and responsibilities 

between them such that one 

manufacturer has assumed a controlling 

stock ownership or control over the 

design, production or sale of vehicles. 

The report must also specify the first 

full model year to which the transaction 

will apply. 

(b) Each report shall—

(i) Identify each manufacturer; 

(ii) State the full name, title, and 

address of the official responsible for 

preparing the report; 

(iii) Identify the production year being 

reported on; 

(iv) Be written in the English 

language; and 

(v) Be submitted to: Administrator, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20590. 

(c) The manufacturers may seek 

confidential treatment for information 

provided in the certified report in 

accordance with 49 CFR part 512.

§ 534.7 Situations not directly addressed 

by this part. 

To the extent that this part does not 

directly address an issue concerning the 

rights and responsibilities of 

manufacturers in the context of a change 

in corporate relationships, the agency 

will make determinations based on 

interpretation of the statute and the 

principles reflected in the part.

Issued on: December 20, 2004. 

Jeffrey W. Runge, 

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 04–28237 Filed 12–27–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[I.D. 122104C]

Notification of U.S. Fish Quotas and an 

Effort Allocation in the Northwest 

Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 

Regulatory Area

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; notification of U.S. 

fish quotas and an effort allocation.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that fish 

quotas and an effort allocation are 

available for harvest by U.S. fishermen 

in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 

Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area. 

This action is necessary to make 

available to U.S. fishermen a fishing 

privilege on an equitable basis.

DATES: All fish quotas and the effort 

allocation are effective January 1, 2005, 

through December 31, 2005. Expressions 

of interest regarding U.S. fish quota 

allocations for all species except 3L 

shrimp will be accepted throughout 

2005. Expressions of interest regarding 

the U.S. 3L shrimp quota allocation and 

the 3M shrimp effort allocation will be 

accepted through January 12, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest 

regarding the U.S. effort allocation and 

quota allocations should be made in 

writing to Patrick E. Moran in the NMFS 

Office of Sustainable Fisheries, at 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910 (phone: 301–713–2276, fax: 301–

713–2313, e-mail: 

pat.moran@noaa.gov).

Information relating to NAFO fish 

quotas, NAFO Conservation and 

Enforcement Measures, and the High 

Seas Fishing Compliance Act (HSFC) 

Permit is available from Sarah 

McLaughlin, at the NMFS Northeast 

Regional Office at One Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930 

(phone: 978–281–9279, fax: 978–281–

9135, e-mail: 

Sarah.McLaughlin@noaa.gov) and from 

NAFO on the World Wide Web at

http://www.nafo.ca.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick E. Moran, 301–713–2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

NAFO has established and maintains 

conservation measures in its Regulatory 

Area that include one effort limitation 

fishery as well as fisheries with total 

allowable catches (TACs) and member 

nation quota allocations. The principal 

species managed are cod, flounder, 

redfish, American plaice, halibut, 

capelin, shrimp, and squid. At the 2004 

NAFO Annual Meeting, the United 

States received fish quota allocations for 

three NAFO stocks and an effort 

allocation for one NAFO stock to be 

fished during 2005. The species, 

location, and allocation (in metric tons 

or effort) of these U.S. fishing 

opportunities, as found in Annexes I.A, 

I.B, and I.C of the 2005 NAFO 

Conservation and Enforcement 

Measures, are as follows:

(1) Redfish NAFO Division 3M 69 mt

(2) Squid 

(Illex)

NAFO Subareas 3 

& 4

453 mt

(3) Shrimp NAFO Division 3L 144 mt

(4) Shrimp NAFO Division 3M 1 vessel/

100 days

Additionally, U.S. vessels may be 

authorized to fish any available portion

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 77673

of the 1,000 mt allocation of oceanic 

redfish in NAFO Subarea 2 and 

Divisions 1F and 3K allocated to NAFO 

members that are not also members of 

the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries 

Commission. Fishing opportunities may 

also be authorized for U.S. fishermen in 

the ‘‘Others’’ category for: Division 

3LNO yellowtail flounder (76 mt); 

Division 3NO white hake (500 mt); 

Division 3LNO skates (500 mt); and 

Division 3O redfish (100 mt). 

Procedures for obtaining NMFS 

authorization are specified below.

U.S. Fish Quota Allocations

Expressions of interest to fish for any 

or all of the U.S. fish quota allocations 

and ‘‘Others’’ category allocations in 

NAFO will be considered from U.S. 

vessels in possession of a valid High 

Seas Fishing Compliance (HSFC) 

permit, which is available from the 

NMFS Northeast Regional Office (see 

ADDRESSES). All expressions of interest 

should be directed in writing to Patrick 

E. Moran (see ADDRESSES). Letters of 

interest from U.S. vessel owners should 

include the name, registration, and 

home port of the applicant vessel as 

required by NAFO in advance of fishing 

operations. In addition, any available 

information on intended target species 

and dates of fishing operations should 

be included. To ensure equitable access 

by U.S. vessel owners, NMFS may 

promulgate regulations designed to 

choose one or more U.S. applicants from 

among expressions of interest.

Note that vessels issued valid HSFC 

permits under 50 CFR part 300 are 

exempt from multispecies permit, mesh 

size, effort-control, and possession limit 

restrictions, specified in 50 CFR parts 

648.4, 648.80, 648.82 and 648.86, 

respectively, while transiting the U.S. 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with 

multispecies on board the vessel, or 

landing multispecies in U.S. ports that 

were caught while fishing in the NAFO 

Regulatory Area, provided:

(1) The vessel operator has a letter of 

authorization issued by the Regional 

Administrator on board the vessel;

(2) For the duration of the trip, the 

vessel fishes, except for transiting 

purposes, exclusively in the NAFO 

Regulatory Area and does not harvest 

fish in, or possess fish harvested in, or 

from, the U.S. EEZ;

(3) When transiting the U.S. EEZ, all 

gear is properly stowed in accordance 

with one of the applicable methods 

specified in 50 CFR part 648.23(b); and

(4) The vessel operator complies with 

the HSFC permit and all NAFO 

conservation and enforcement measures 

while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory 

Area.

U.S. 3M Effort Allocation

Expressions of interest in harvesting 

the U.S. portion of the 2005 NAFO 3M 

shrimp effort allocation (1 vessel/100 

days) will be considered from owners of 

U.S. vessels in possession of a valid 

HSFC permit. All expressions of interest 

should be directed in writing to Patrick 

E. Moran (see ADDRESSES).

Letters of interest from U.S. vessel 

owners should include the name, 

registration and home port of the 

applicant vessel as required by NAFO in 

advance of fishing operations. In the 

event that multiple expressions of 

interest are made by U.S. vessel owners, 

NMFS may promulgate regulations 

designed to choose one U.S. applicant 

from among expressions of interest.

NAFO Conservation and Management 

Measures

Relevant NAFO Conservation and 

Enforcement Measures include, but are 

not limited to, maintenance of a fishing 

logbook with NAFO-designated entries; 

adherence to NAFO hail system 

requirements; presence of an on-board 

observer; deployment of a functioning, 

autonomous vessel monitoring system; 

and adherence to all relevant minimum 

size, gear, bycatch, and other 

requirements. Further details regarding 

these requirements are available from 

the NMFS Northeast Regional Office, 

and can also be found in the current 

NAFO Conservation and Enforcement 

Measures on the Internet (see 

ADDRESSES).

Chartering Arrangements

In the event that no adequate 

expressions of interest in harvesting the 

U.S. portion of the 2005 NAFO 3L 

shrimp quota allocation and/or 3M 

shrimp effort allocation are made on 

behalf of U.S. vessels, expressions of 

interest will be considered from U.S. 

fishing interests intending to make use 

of vessels of other NAFO Parties under 

chartering arrangements to fish the 2005 

U.S. quota allocation for 3L shrimp and/

or the effort allocation for 3M shrimp. 

Under NAFO rules in effect through 

2005, a vessel registered to another 

NAFO Contracting Party may be 

chartered to fish the U.S. effort 

allocation provided that written consent 

for the charter is obtained from the 

vessel’s flag state and the U.S. allocation 

is transferred to that flag state. NAFO 

Parties must be notified of such a 

chartering operation through a mail 

notification process.

A NAFO Contracting Party wishing to 

enter into a chartering arrangement with 

the United States must be in full current 

compliance with the requirements 

outlined in the NAFO Convention and 

Conservation and Enforcement 

Measures including, but not limited to, 

submission of the following reports to 

the NAFO Executive Secretary: 

provisional monthly catches within 30 

days following the calendar month in 

which the catches were made; 

provisional daily catches of shrimp 

taken from Division 3L; provisional 

monthly fishing days in Division 3M 

within 30 days following the calendar 

month in which the catches were made; 

observer reports within 30 days 

following the completion of a fishing 

trip; and an annual statement of actions 

taken in order to comply with the NAFO 

Convention. Furthermore, the United 

States may also consider a Contracting 

Party’s previous compliance with the 

NAFO incidental catch limits, as 

outlined in the NAFO Conservation and 

Enforcement Measures, before entering 

into a chartering arrangement.

Expressions of interest from U.S. 

fishing interests intending to make use 

of vessels from another NAFO 

Contracting Party under chartering 

arrangements should include 

information required by NAFO 

regarding the proposed chartering 

operation, including: the name, 

registration and flag of the intended 

vessel; a copy of the charter; the fishing 

opportunities granted; a letter of consent 

from the vessel’s flag state; the date from 

which the vessel is authorized to 

commence fishing on these 

opportunities; and the duration of the 

charter (not to exceed six months). More 

details on NAFO requirements for 

chartering operations are available from 

NMFS (see ADDRESSES). In addition, 

expressions of interest for chartering 

operations should be accompanied by a 

detailed description of anticipated 

benefits to the United States. Such 

benefits might include, but are not 

limited to, the use of U.S. processing 

facilities/personnel; the use of U.S. 

fishing personnel; other specific 

positive effects on U.S. employment; 

evidence that fishing by the chartered 

vessel actually would take place; and 

documentation of the physical 

characteristics and economics of the 

fishery for future use by the U.S. fishing 

industry.

In the event that multiple expressions 

of interest are made by U.S. fishing 

interests proposing the use of chartering 

operations, the information submitted 

regarding benefits to the United States 

will be used in making a selection. In 

the event that applications by U.S. 

fishing interests proposing the use of 

chartering operations are considered, all 

applicants will be made aware of the 

allocation decision as soon as possible. 

77674 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

Once the allocation has been awarded 

for use in a chartering operation, NMFS 

will immediately take appropriate steps 

to notify NAFO and transfer the U.S. 3L 

shrimp quota allocation and/or the 3M 

shrimp effort allocation to the 

appropriate Contracting Party.

After reviewing all requests for 

allocations submitted, NMFS may 

decide not to grant any allocations if it 

is determined that no requests meet the 

criteria described in this notice. All 

individuals/companies submitting 

expressions of interest to NMFS will be 

contacted if an allocation has been 

awarded. Please note that if the U.S. 

portion of the 2005 NAFO 3L shrimp 

quota allocation and/or 3M shrimp 

effort allocation is awarded to a U.S. 

vessel or a specified chartering 

operation, it may not be transferred 

without the express, written consent of 

NMFS.

Dated: December 22, 2004.

John H. Dunnigan,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28366 Filed 12–27–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 031119283–4001–02; I.D. 

122204F]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Commercial Quota Harvested for North 

Carolina

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure of commercial fishery.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

summer flounder commercial quota 

available to North Carolina has been 

harvested. Vessels issued a commercial 

Federal fisheries permit for the summer 

flounder fishery may not land summer 

flounder in North Carolina for the 

remainder of calendar year 2004, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer. Regulations 

governing the summer flounder fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise North Carolina that the quota 

has been harvested and to advise vessel 

permit holders and dealer permit 

holders that no commercial quota is 

available for landing summer flounder 

in North Carolina.

DATES: Effective 1800 hours, December 

26, 2004, through 2400 hours, December 

31, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jason Blackburn, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9326, e-mail 

jason.blackburn@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

part 648. The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned on a percentage basis 

among the coastal states from North 

Carolina through Maine. The process to 

set the annual commercial quota and the 

percent allocated to each state is 

described in § 648.100.

The initial total commercial quota for 

summer flounder for the 2004 calendar 

year was set equal to 16,920,000 lb 

(7,674,862 kg) (69 FR 2074, January 14, 

2004). The percent allocated to vessels 

landing summer flounder in North 

Carolina is 27.44584 percent, resulting 

in a commercial quota of 4,643,836 lb 

(2,106,430 kg). The adjusted 2004 

allocation was reduced to 4,163,464 lb 

(1,888,535 kg) due to research set-aside 

and quota overages from 2003. However, 

on March 9, 2004 (69 FR 10937), NMFS 

published notification of a commercial 

quota restoration of 451,595 lb (204,842 

kg) to North Carolina increasing the 

commercial quota to 4,615,059 lb 

(2,093,377 kg).

Section 648.101(b) requires the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) to monitor 

state commercial quotas and to 

determine when a state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested. NMFS then 

publishes a notification in the Federal 

Register to advise the state and to notify 

Federal vessel and dealer permit holders 

that, effective upon a specific date, the 

state’s commercial quota has been 

harvested and no commercial quota is 

available for landing summer flounder 

in that state. The Regional 

Administrator has determined, based 

upon dealer reports and other available 

information, that North Carolina has 

harvested its quota for 2004.

The regulations at § 648.4(b) provide 

that Federal permit holders agree, as a 

condition of the permit, not to land 

summer flounder in any state that the 

Regional Administrator has determined 

no longer has commercial quota 

available. Therefore, effective 1800 

hours, December 26, 2004, through 2400 

hours, December 31, 2004, further 

landings of summer flounder in North 

Carolina by vessels holding summer 

flounder commercial Federal fisheries 

permits are prohibited for the remainder 

of the 2004 calendar year, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer and is announced in 

the Federal Register. Effective 1800 

hours, December 26, 2004, through 2400 

hours, December 31, 2004, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in North Carolina for the remainder 

of the calendar year, or until additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer.

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: December 22, 2004.

Alan D. Risenhoover,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28365 Filed 12–22–04; 1:48 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S