Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 9901 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

Proposed Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 64 as follows: 

PART 64—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 

RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS 

■ 1. Amend subpart HH by adding 

§ 64.6308 to read as follows: 

§ 64.6308 Review of Governance Authority 

decision to revoke an SPC token. 

(a) Parties permitted to seek review of 

Governance Authority decision. (1) Any 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider aggrieved by a Governance 

Authority decision to revoke that 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider’s Service Provider Code (SPC) 

token, must seek review from the 

Governance Authority and complete the 

appeals process established by the 

Governance Authority prior to seeking 

Commission review. 

(2) Any intermediate provider or 

voice service provider aggrieved by an 

action to revoke its SPC token taken by 

the Governance Authority, after 

exhausting the appeals process provided 

by the Governance Authority, may then 

seek review from the Commission, as set 

forth in this section. 

(b) Filing deadlines. (1) An 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider requesting Commission review 

of a Governance Authority decision to 

revoke that intermediate provider or 

voice service provider’s SPC token by 

the Commission, shall file such a 

request electronically in the designated 

Electronic Comment Filing System 

(ECFS) inbox within sixty days from the 

date the Governance Authority issues its 

final decision. 

(2) Parties shall adhere to the time 

periods for filing oppositions and 

replies set forth in § 1.45. 

(c) Filing requirements. (1) A request 

for review of a Governance Authority 

decision to revoke an intermediate 

provider or voice service provider’s SPC 

token by the Commission shall be filed 

electronically in the designated ECFS 

inbox. The request for review shall be 

captioned ‘‘In the matter of Request for 

Review by (name of party seeking 

review) of Decision of the Governance 

Authority to Revoke an SPC Token.’’ 

(2) A request for review shall contain: 

(i) A statement setting forth the 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider’s asserted basis for appealing 

the Governance Authority’s decision to 

revoke the SPC token; 

(ii) A full statement of relevant, 

material facts with supporting affidavits 

and documentation, including any 

background information the 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider deems useful to the 

Commission’s review; and 

(iii) The question presented for 

review, with reference, where 

appropriate, to any underlying 

Commission rule or Governance 

Authority policy. 

(3) A copy of a request for review that 

is submitted to the Commission shall be 

served on the Governance Authority via 

sti-ga@atis.org or in accordance with 

any alternative delivery mechanism the 

Governance Authority may establish in 

its operating procedures. 

(d) Review by the Wireline 

Competition Bureau or the Commission. 

(1) Requests for review of a Governance 

Authority decision to revoke an 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider’s SPC token that are submitted 

to the Commission shall be considered 

and acted upon by the Wireline 

Competition Bureau, which shall issue 

a written decision; provided, however, 

that requests for review that raise novel 

questions of fact, law, or policy shall be 

considered by the full Commission. 

(2) An affected party may seek review 

of a decision issued under delegated 

authority by the Wireline Competition 

Bureau pursuant to the rules set forth in 

§ 1.115. 

(e) Standard of review. (1) The 

Wireline Competition Bureau shall 

conduct de novo review of Governance 

Authority decisions to revoke an 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider’s SPC token. 

(2) The Commission shall conduct de 

novo review of Governance Authority 

decisions to revoke an intermediate 

provider or voice service provider’s SPC 

token that involve novel questions of 

fact, law, or policy; provided, however, 

that the Commission shall not conduct 

de novo review of decisions issued by 

the Wireline Competition Bureau under 

delegated authority. 

(f) Status during pendency of a 

request for review and a Governance 

Authority decision. (1) When an 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider has sought timely Commission 

review of a Governance Authority 

decision to revoke an intermediate 

provider or voice service provider’s SPC 

token under this section, the 

intermediate provider or voice service 

provider shall not be considered to be 

in violation of the Commission’s call 

authentication rules under § 64.6301 

until and unless the Wireline 

Competition Bureau or the Commission, 

pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) of this 

section, has upheld or otherwise 

decided not to overturn the Governance 

Authority’s decision. 

(2) In accordance with §§ 1.102(b) and 

1.106(n), the effective date of any action 

pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section 

shall not be stayed absent order by the 

Wireline Competition Bureau or the 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03043 Filed 2–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 210208–0016; RTID 0648– 

XX065] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog Fisheries; Proposed 2021– 

2026 Fishing Quotas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes status quo 

commercial quotas for the Atlantic 

surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 

2021 and projected status quo quotas for 

2022–2026. This action is necessary to 

establish allowable harvest levels of 

Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs 

that will prevent overfishing and allow 

harvesting of optimum yield. This 

action would also continue to suspend 

the minimum shell size for Atlantic 

surfclams for the 2021 fishing year. The 

intended effect of this action is to 

provide benefit to the industry from 

stable quotas to maintain a consistent 

market. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 4, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: An Environmental 

Assessment (EA) was prepared for the 

surfclam and ocean quahog 

specifications. Copies of the EA are 

available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

These documents are also accessible via 

the internet at http://www.mafmc.org. 

You may submit comments on this 

document, identified by NOAA–NMFS– 

2020–0152, by the following method: 


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9902 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. 

1. Go to www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020- 

0152, 

2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and 

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

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

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). If you are unable to 

submit your comment through 

www.regulations.gov, contact Laura 

Hansen, Fishery Management Specialist. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9225. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

requires that NMFS, in consultation 

with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, set quotas for 

surfclam and ocean quahog for up to a 

3-year period. It is the policy of the 

Council that the catch limit allow for 

sustainable fishing to continue at that 

level for at least 10 years for surfclams, 

and 30 years for ocean quahogs. The 

Council policy also considers the 

economic impact of the quotas. 

Regulations implementing Amendment 

10 to the FMP (63 FR 27481; May 19, 

1998) added Maine ocean quahogs 

(locally known as Maine mahogany 

quahogs) to the management unit and 

provided for a small artisanal fishery for 

ocean quahogs in the waters north of 

43°50′ N lat. The Maine ocean quahog 

quota is allocated separately from the 

quota for the ocean quahog fishery. 

Regulations implementing Amendment 

13 to the FMP (68 FR 69970; December 

16, 2003) established the ability to 

propose multi-year quotas with an 

annual quota review to be conducted by 

the Council to determine if the multiyear quota specifications remain 

appropriate for each year. NMFS then 

publishes the annual final quotas in the 

Federal Register. The fishing quotas 

must ensure overfishing will not occur. 

In recommending these quotas, the 

Council considered the most recent 

stock assessments, conducted in June 

2020, and other relevant scientific 

information. 

In August 2020, the Council voted to 

maintain status quo quota levels of 5.36 

million bushels (bu); 285 million Liters 

(L) for the ocean quahog fishery, 3.40 

million bu (181 million L) for the 

Atlantic surfclam fishery, and 100,000 

Maine bu (3.52 million L) for the Maine 

ocean quahog fishery for 2021–2026. 

The Council recommended that 

specifications be set for 2021 and 

proposed for years 2022–2026 to create 

administrative efficiencies as a result of 

the new stock assessment process, 

which is expected to assess surfclam 

and ocean quahog on a 4 and 6 year 

cycle, respectively. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.72(a) 

allow for setting of sections for up to 3 

years. Through this action, we would 

only set 2021 specifications and include 

the projected specifications for 2022– 

2026 to inform the public. The Council 

approved a regulatory change in the 

Excessive Shares Amendment that 

would allow us to set specifications for 

the maximum number of years needed 

to be consistent with the Northeast 

Region Coordinating Council-approved 

stock assessment schedule, which 

currently anticipates assessments for 

both stocks every 6 years. Although the 

FMP currently authorizes specifications 

to be set for multiple years, we are still 

required to publish a final rule each 

year to formally set the specifications 

for the coming year. We expect the 

timing change in the Amendment will 

be implemented within the next year, 

well before years 4 and 5 (fishing years 

2025 and 2026) are finalized. However, 

if for some reason the Amendment is 

not approved, the Council would adopt 

new specifications for 2025 and 2026. 

The proposed and projected quotas 

for the 2021–2026 Atlantic surfclam and 

ocean quahog fishery are shown in 

Tables 1 and 2. 

TABLE 1—PROPOSED ATLANTIC SURFCLAM MEASURES 2021–2026 

[2022–2026 Projected] 

Year 

Allowable 

biological 

catch 

(ABC) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

limit 

(ACL) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

target 

(ACT) 

(mt) 

Commercial quota 

Atlantic Surfclam 

2021 ...................................................................... 47,919 47,919 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

2022 ...................................................................... 44,522 44,522 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

2023 ...................................................................... 42,237 42,237 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

2024 ...................................................................... 40,946 40,946 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

2025 ...................................................................... 40,345 40,345 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

2026 ...................................................................... 40,264 40,264 29,363 3.4 million bushels (181 million L). 

TABLE 2—PROPOSED OCEAN QUAHOG MEASURES 2021–2026 

[2022–2026 Projected] 

Year 

Allowable 

biological 

catch 

(ABC) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

limit 

(ACL) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

target 

(ACT) 

(mt) 

Commercial quota 

2021 ...................................................................... 44,031 44,031 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 9903 

TABLE 2—PROPOSED OCEAN QUAHOG MEASURES 2021–2026—Continued 

[2022–2026 Projected] 

Year 

Allowable 

biological 

catch 

(ABC) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

limit 

(ACL) 

(mt) 

Annual catch 

target 

(ACT) 

(mt) 

Commercial quota 

2022 ...................................................................... 44,072 44,072 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 

2023 ...................................................................... 44,082 44,082 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 

2024 ...................................................................... 44,065 44,065 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 

2025 ...................................................................... 44,020 44,020 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 

2026 ...................................................................... 43,948 43,948 25,924 Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 

million L); Non-Maine quota: 5.36 million bu (285 million L). 

The Atlantic surfclam and ocean 

quahog quotas are specified in 

‘‘industry’’ bushels of 1.88 cube feet (ft3) 

(53.24 L) per bushel, while the Maine 

ocean quahog quota is specified in 

Maine bushels of 1.24 ft3 (35.24 L) per 

bushel. Because Maine ocean quahogs 

are the same species as ocean quahogs, 

both fisheries are assessed under the 

same overfishing definition. When the 

two quota amounts (ocean quahog and 

Maine ocean quahog) are added, the 

total allowable harvest is below the 

level that would result in overfishing for 

the entire stock. The 2021–2026 quotas 

are the same as those implemented in 

the 2018–2020 specifications. 

Surfclam 

The proposed 2021–2026 status quo 

surfclam quotas were developed after 

reviewing the results of the management 

track stock assessment for Atlantic 

surfclam, conducted in June 2020. The 

surfclam quota recommendation is 

consistent with the assessment finding 

that the Atlantic surfclam stock is not 

overfished, and overfishing is not 

occurring. Based on this information, 

the Council is recommending, and we 

are proposing, to maintain the status 

quo surfclam quota of 3.40 million bu 

(181 million L) for 2021–2026. 

Ocean Quahog 

As with surfclams, the proposed 

2021–2026 status quo ocean quahog 

quotas were developed after reviewing 

the results of the management track 

stock assessment for ocean quahogs, 

conducted in June 2020. The ocean 

quahog quota is consistent with the 

assessment finding that the ocean 

quahog stock is not overfished, and 

overfishing is not occurring. Consistent 

with the Council recommendation, we 

are proposing the following for ocean 

quahog. The proposed 2021–2026 nonMaine quota for ocean quahog is the 

status quo quota of 5.36 million bu (285 

million L). The 2021–2026 proposed 

quota for Maine ocean quahogs is the 

status quo level of 100,000 Maine bu 

(3.52 million L), which represents the 

maximum allowable quota under the 

FMP. 

Surfclam Minimum Size 

In August 2020, the Council voted to 

recommend that the minimum size limit 

for surfclams continue to be suspended 

for 2021. The minimum size limit has 

been suspended annually since 2005. 

Minimum size suspension may not be 

taken unless discard, catch, and 

biological sampling data indicate that 30 

percent or more of the Atlantic surfclam 

resource have a shell length less than 

4.75 inches (120 millimeters (mm)), and 

the overall reduced size is not 

attributable to harvest from beds where 

growth of the individual clams has been 

reduced because of density-dependent 

factors. 

Commercial surfclam data for 2020 

were analyzed to determine the 

percentage of surfclams that were 

smaller than the minimum size 

requirement. The analysis indicated that 

11 percent of the overall commercial 

landings, to date, were composed of 

surfclams that were less than the 4.75- 

inch (120-mm) default minimum size. 

Based on the information available, the 

Regional Administrator concurs with 

the Council’s recommendation, and is 

proposing to suspend the minimum size 

limit for Atlantic surfclams in the 

upcoming fishing year (January 1 

through December 31, 2021). 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with the Atlantic Surfclam 

and Ocean Quahog FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This action is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

that this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for this 

certification is as follows. 

A complete description of the 

specifications, why they are being 

considered, and the legal basis for 

proposing and implementing 

specifications for the surfclam and 

ocean quahog fisheries are contained in 

the preamble to this proposed rule. 

The measures proposed by this action 

apply to surfclam and ocean quahog 

allocation owners. These are the 

individuals or entities that received 

initial individual transferable quota 

(ITQ) allocations (i.e., owners of record) 

at the beginning of each fishing year. 

There were 64 allocation owners of 

record for surfclam and 33 for ocean 

quahog in 2019. 

Of the 64 initial surfclam allocation 

owners of record for 2019, 19 were 

categorized as ‘‘Commercial Fishing,’’ 


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9904 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

with 100 percent of them classified as 

small entities. Of the 9 allocation 

owners that were categorized as ‘‘Fish 

and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers,’’ 1 

was classified as a small entity (11 

percent) and 8 were classified as large 

entities (89 percent). Eight allocations 

owners were categorized as 

‘‘Commercial Banking,’’ 1 was classified 

as a small entity (12 percent), and 7 

classified as large entities (88 percent). 

Six allocations were categorized as 

‘‘Credit Unions,’’ with 100 percent of 

them classified as large entities. There 

were also 5 allocations categorized as 

‘‘Sector 92’’ (Public Administration 

sector); therefore, small business size 

standards are not applicable for these 5 

allocation owners. Lastly, the 

(SBA)classification for 17 surfclam 

allocation owners was unknown. 

Of the 33 initial ocean quahog 

allocation owners of record for 2019, 14 

were categorized as ‘‘Commercial 

Fishing,’’ with 100 percent of them 

classified as small entities. Of the six 

allocation owners that were categorized 

as ‘‘Fish and Seafood Merchant 

Wholesalers,’’ two were classified as 

small entities (33 percent) and 4 were 

classified as large entities (67 percent). 

One allocation owner was categorized as 

‘‘Commercial Banking’’ and 1 

categorized as ‘‘Credit Unions’’ with 100 

percent of them classified as large 

entities. The SBA classification for the 

remaining allocations owners is 

unknown. 

The proposed quotas are status quo. 

As a result, this action will have no 

impacts on the way the fishery operates. 

These measures are expected to provide 

similar fishing opportunities when 

compared to earlier years. Additionally, 

the surfclam and ocean quahog 

fisheries, including the Maine quahog 

fishery, have harvested well below their 

respective quota allocations for several 

years. As such, revenue changes are not 

expected in 2021–2026 when compared 

to landings and revenues in 2019. 

Therefore, adoption of the proposed 

specifications is not expected to have 

impacts on entities participating in the 

fishery if landings are similar to those 

that occurred in 2019. 

Maintaining the suspension of the 

surfclam minimum shell length 

requirement would result in no change 

when compared to 2017–2020. The 

minimum shell length requirement has 

been suspended each year since 2005. 

The proposed action would have no 

impact on the way the fishery operates, 

and is not expected to 

disproportionately affect small entities. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

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

Dated: February 8, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02984 Filed 2–16–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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