25698 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules

serve the petitioner, or its counsel or

consultant, as follows: Willison H.

Gormly, Owner and Electrical Engineer,

Sierra Grande Broadcasting, P.O. Box

51, Des Moines, New Mexico 88418–

0051.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leslie K. Shapiro, Mass Media Bureau,

(202) 418–2180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, MM Docket No.

00–66, adopted April 5, 2000, and

released April 14, 2000. The full text of

this Commission decision is available

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC

Reference Center, 445 12th Street, SW,

Washington, DC. The complete text of

this decision may also be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Services,

Inc., (202) 857–3800, 1231 20th Street,

NW, Washington, DC 20036.

Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to

this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that from the time a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making is issued until the matter

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contacts.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 00–10925 Filed 5–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 000412106–0106–01; I.D.

032200A]

RIN 0648–AO02

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative

Management Act Provisions; Atlantic

Coast Horseshoe Crab Fishery; Closed

Area to Horseshoe Crab Fishing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (ANPR); consideration of a

closed area to fishing for horseshoe crab.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is

considering, and is seeking public

comment on, a prohibition on fishing

for horseshoe crab (Limulus

polyphemus) in Federal waters (EEZ) in

an area encompassing a 30-nautical mile

(nm) (55.6 km) radius from the mouth

of the Delaware Bay (measured from the

territorial sea boundary midway

between Cape May, New Jersey and

Cape Henlopen, Delaware). NMFS

would take such action, if appropriate,

under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries

Cooperative Management Act

(ACFCMA, 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) with

the purpose of conserving the Delaware

Bay population of horseshoe crabs at a

level that can sustain fisheries and

provide a sufficient amount of

horseshoe crab eggs for migratory

shorebirds, which feed on such eggs.

DATES: Comments must be received by

June 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

addressed to Richard Schaefer, Chief,

Staff Office for Intergovernmental and

Recreational Fisheries (Fx2), National

Marine Fisheries Service, 8484 Georgia

Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

Perra, 301–427–2014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Atlantic coast horseshoe crab fishery

takes place from Maine through Florida.

Approximately 60 percent of horseshoe

crabs are taken in the territorial sea (an

area which extends from the coastline

seaward to a distance of 3 nm (5.56 km))

off of the mid-Atlantic states (New York

through Virginia). The fishery in Federal

waters (3–200 nm) takes place seaward

of the 3-nm line off of the mid-Atlantic

states, where horseshoe crabs are

primarily harvested with trawls or

dredges.

In the mid-Atlantic area in recent

years, there has been a dramatic shift in

fishing effort on horseshoe crabs from

waters under state jurisdiction to waters

under Federal jurisdiction. This has

raised concern about maintaining the

Delaware Bay population of horseshoe

crabs at levels that can sustain fisheries

and provide an abundance of horseshoe

crab eggs, an important food source for

migratory shorebirds. While no

complete Atlantic coast stock

assessment is available for horseshoe

crabs, some mid-Atlantic surveys show

declining trends in horseshoe crab

abundance. Fisheries in waters under

state jurisdiction are managed through

the Interstate Fishery Management Plan

for the Horseshoe Crab (Plan) developed

by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission (Commission). Since the

majority of horseshoe crabs are

harvested from waters under state

jurisdiction, horseshoe crab fisheries are

managed most appropriately and

effectively under the authority of the

ACFCMA, which provides for the

issuance of compatible Federal

regulations in the EEZ complementary

to those of the states.

The Commission approved the Plan in

November 1999, and Addendum 1 to

the Plan in February 2000. The states,

through adoption of the Plan and its

Addendum 1, recognize the need to

conserve horseshoe crab stocks. Under

Addendum 1, a variety of new

requirements in state waters is being

implemented to better monitor and

manage the horseshoe crab fishery,

including a 25 percent reduction in each

state’s horseshoe crab bait-fishery

landings. Addendum 1 also

recommends to NMFS that it ‘‘should

establish an offshore horseshoe crab

sanctuary in federal waters within a 30

nautical mile radius of the mouth of the

Delaware Bay. The taking of horseshoe

crabs for any purpose, including

biomedical, would be prohibited in this

sanctuary. Furthermore, the NMFS

should prohibit the transfer of

horseshoe crabs in Federal waters.’’

The Commission requested that the

area in the EEZ off the mouth of the

Delaware Bay be closed to fishing to

give special protection to that Bay’s

population of horseshoe crabs. The

Commission determined that this

protection is necessary to conserve the

Delaware Bay population of horseshoe

crabs at sustainable levels and to

maintain the abundance of horseshoe

crab eggs in Delaware Bay as a food

source for migratory shorebirds.

Because of the difficulty in enforcing

a closed area in the shape of a radius

(semi-circle), NMFS is considering

establishing a closed area in Federal

waters that would be roughly equivalent

in the shape of a rectangle. The closed

area would be bounded as follows:

(1) On the north by a straight line

connecting points 39°15.0′ N. lat.,

74°32.66′ W. long. (3 nm off of Peck

Beach, New Jersey) and 39°15.0′ N lat.,

74°22.0′ W. long.

(2) On the east by a straight line

connecting points 39°15.0′ N. lat.,

74°22.0′ W. long. and 38°22.0′ N. lat.,

74°22.0′ W. long.

(3) On the south side by a straight line

connecting points 38°22.0′ N. lat.,

74°22.0′ W. long. and 38°22.0′ N. lat.,

75°35.46′ W. long. (3 nm off of Ocean

City, Maryland).

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / Proposed Rules 25699

(4) On the west by state waters.

NMFS is seeking public comment on

this ANPR (see ADDRESSES) under the

ACFCMA. Public comment is sought as

to whether there is a need to close

fishing for horseshoe crabs seaward

from the mouth of the Delaware Bay,

and, if so, what should be the size and

shape of the closure area.

During the ANPR process for the

closed area, NMFS also intends to

publish a proposed rule on permitting

and reporting requirements and a

prohibition of transfers at sea for the

horseshoe crab fishery. After reviewing

comments received during the ANPR

process, a separate proposed rule for the

closed area may be published.

This action has been determined to be

not significant for the purposes of

Executive Order 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.

Dated: April 27, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Services.

[FR Doc. 00–11021 Filed 5–2–00; 8:45 am]

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