464 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 171—GENERAL INFORMATION, 

REGULATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS 

■ 13. The authority citation for part 171 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5101–5128, 44701; 49 

CFR 1.45 and 1.53; Pub. L. 101–410 section 

4 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note); Pub. L. 104–134 

section 31001. 

■ 14. In § 171.8, the definition for 

‘‘Special permit’’ is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 171.8 Definitions and abbreviations. 

* * * * * 

Special permit means a document 

issued by the Associate Administrator, 

or other designated Department official, 

under the authority of 49 U.S.C. 5117 

permitting a person to perform a 

function that is not otherwise permitted 

under subchapter A or C of this chapter, 

or other regulations issued under 49 

U.S.C. 5101 et seq. (e.g., Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety routing requirements). 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

29, 2010 under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

part 106. 

Cynthia L. Quarterman, 

Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–33316 Filed 1–4–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

RIN 0648–XA125 

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. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that fish 

quotas 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: Effective January 1, 2011, 

through December 31, 2011. Expressions 

of interest regarding U.S. fish quota 

allocations for all species except 

Division 3L shrimp and Division 3M 

redfish will be accepted throughout 

2011. Expressions of interest regarding 

the U.S. 3L shrimp and 3M redfish 

quota allocations and the 3LNO 

yellowtail flounder to be transferred by 

Canada will be accepted through 

January 20, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest 

regarding U.S. quota allocations should 

be made in writing to Patrick E. Moran 

in the NMFS Office of International 

Affairs, 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 (HSFCA) 

Permit is available from Allison 

McHale, at the NMFS Northeast 

Regional Office at 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 (phone: 

978–281–9103, fax: 978–281–9135, 

e-mail: allison.mchale@noaa.gov) and 

from NAFO on the World Wide Web at 

http://www.nafo.int. 

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, hake, 

capelin, shrimp, skates and squid. At 

the 2010 NAFO Annual Meeting, the 

United States received fish quota 

allocations for three NAFO stocks to be 

fished during 2011. Please note that 

NAFO has eliminated the Division 3M 

shrimp effort allocation for 2011 due to 

conservation concerns. Fishing 

opportunities for this stock will be reopened when the NAFO Scientific 

Council advice estimates that the stock 

is showing signs of recovery. 

The species, location, and allocation 

(in metric tons) of 2011 U.S. fishing 

opportunities, as found in Annexes I.A, 

I.B, and I.C of the 2011 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.

334 mt. 

Additionally, the United States may 

be transferred up to 1,000 mt of 3LNO 

yellowtail flounder from Canada’s quota 

allocation for express use by U.S. 

vessels if the United States requests a 

transfer before January 1 of 2011, or any 

succeeding year through 2017. If such a 

request is made, an additional 500 mt of 

3LNO yellowtail flounder could be 

made available on the condition that the 

United States transfers its 3L shrimp 

allocation to Canada or through some 

other arrangement. Participants in this 

fishery will be restricted to an overall 

bycatch harvest limit for American 

plaice equal to 15% of the total 

yellowtail fishery. 

Further, U.S. vessels may be 

authorized to fish any available portion 

of the 385 mt allocation of oceanic 

redfish in NAFO Subarea 2 and 

Divisions 1F and 3K available 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 (85 mt); 

Division 3NO white hake (353 mt); 

Division 3LNO skates (444 mt); Division 

3M cod (40 mt), 3LN redfish (35 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 2011 U.S. fish quota 

allocations, including the up to 1,500 mt 

of yellowtail flounder to be transferred 

by Canada under the circumstances 

described above, and ‘‘Others’’ category 

allocations in NAFO will be considered 

from U.S. vessels in possession of, or 

eligible for, a valid HSFCA 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 HSFCA 

permits under 50 CFR part 300 are 

exempt from multispecies permit, mesh 

size, effort-control, and possession limit 

restrictions, specified in 50 CFR 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 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 465 

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 648.23(b); and 

(4) The vessel operator complies with 

the HSFCA permit and all NAFO 

conservation and enforcement measures 

while fishing in the NAFO Regulatory 

Area. 

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). 

Transfer and Chartering of U.S. Quota 

Allocations 

In the event that no adequate 

expressions of interest in harvesting the 

U.S. portion of the 2011 NAFO Division 

3M redfish quota 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 

through a transfer of quota allocated to 

the United States. Under NAFO rules in 

effect for 2011, the United States may 

transfer fishing possibilities with the 

consent of the receiving Contracting 

Party and with prior notification to the 

NAFO Executive Secretary. Expressions 

of interest from U.S. fishing interests 

intending to make use of vessels from 

another NAFO Contracting Party 

through a transfer of quota allocated to 

the United States should include a letter 

of consent from the vessel’s flag state. In 

addition, expressions of interest for 

transfers 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 recipient 

NAFO Contracting Party actually would 

take place; and any available 

documentation of the physical 

characteristics and economics of the 

fishery for future use by the U.S. fishing 

industry. 

In the event that no adequate 

expressions of interest in harvesting the 

U.S. portion of the 2011 NAFO Division 

3L shrimp quota 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 2011 

U.S. quota allocation for 3L shrimp. 

Under NAFO rules in effect through 

2011, a vessel registered to another 

NAFO Contracting Party may be 

chartered to fish the U.S. shrimp quota 

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; 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; and notification to NMFS 

of the termination of the charter fishing 

activities. Furthermore, the United 

States may also consider a Contracting 

Party’s previous compliance with NAFO 

bycatch, reporting and other provisions, 

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 transfer of 

Division 3L redfish quota allocated to 

the United States, or chartering 

operations to fish Division 3L shrimp 

quota allocated to the United States, 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 transfer or the use of 

chartering operations are considered, all 

applicants will be made aware of the 

allocation decision as soon as possible. 

Once the allocation has been awarded, 

NMFS will immediately take 

appropriate steps to notify NAFO to take 

appropriate action . 

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 any 2011 NAFO quota 

allocation, or the 3LNO yellowtail 

flounder transferred from Canada 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 30, 2010. 

Rebecca Lent, 

Director, Office of International Affairs, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–33312 Filed 1–4–11; 8:45 am] 

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