Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 35855

chapter. A winning bidder that qualifies

as a very small business or a consortium

of very small businesses as defined in

this section may use the bidding credit

specified in § 1.2110(e)(2)(ii) of this

chapter. (2)(i) Businesses owned by members

of minority groups and women,

including small businesses owned by

members of minority groups and

women, that are winning bidders on

nationwide licenses on Channel 5,

Channel 8, and Channel 11 prior to

[effective date of rules] will be eligible

for a twenty-five (25) percent bidding

credit.

(ii) Businesses owned by members of

minority groups and women, including

small businesses owned by members of

minority groups and women, that are

winning bidders on regional licenses on

Channel 13 and Channel 17 prior to

August 7, 2000 will be eligible for a

forty (40) percent bidding credit. (d) Installment payments. Small

businesses, including small businesses

owned by members of minority groups

and women, that are winning bidders on

any regional license prior to August 7,

2000 will be eligible to pay the full

amount of their winning bids in

installments over the term of the license

pursuant to the terms set forth in

§ 1.2110(f) of this chapter.

12. Section 24.404 is amended by

revising paragraph (a)(1) to read as

follows:

§ 24.404 Eligibility.

(a) * * *

(1) The applicant is qualified under

the applicable laws and the regulations,

policies and decisions issued under the

laws, including § 24.12;

* * * * *

§ 24.430 [Amended]

13. Section 24.430 is amended by

removing paragraph (a)(4), redesignating

paragraph (a)(5) as paragraph (a)(4) and

adding the word ‘‘and’’ at the end of

paragraph (a)(3).’’

[FR Doc. 00–13961 Filed 6–2–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 635

I.D. 052500B

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species

(HMS) Fisheries; Large Coastal Shark,

Small Coastal Shark, and Pelagic

Shark Species

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Quota adjustment and fishing

season notification.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

landings of large coastal sharks (LCS) in

the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and

Caribbean Sea totaled 742.7 metric tons

(mt) dressed weight (dw) during the first

semiannual 2000 season. Because this

constitutes an overharvest of 100 mt dw,

the second semiannual 2000 LCS quota

is reduced accordingly. NMFS also

notifies eligible participants of the

opening and closing of fishing seasons

for Atlantic LCS, small coastal sharks

(SCS), and pelagic sharks.

DATES: The fishery opening for LCS is

effective July 1, 2000; the LCS closure

is effective from 11:30 p.m. local time

August 7, 2000, through December 31,

2000. The fishery opening for SCS and

pelagic sharks are July 1, 2000; no

closure dates for these fisheries are

included in this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Margo Schulze-Haugen, Karyl BrewsterGeisz or Steve Meyers, 301–713–2347;

fax 301–713–1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Atlantic shark fishery is managed under

the Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks

(HMS FMP), and its implementing

regulations found at 50 CFR part 635

issued under authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

On June 30, 1999, NMFS received a

Court Order from Judge Steven D.

Merryday relative to the May 1997

lawsuit challenging commercial harvest

quotas for Atlantic sharks. Specifically,

the order states: ‘‘. . . the Court hereby

preliminarily, and until further order of

the Court, expressly ENJOINS the

defendant and his designees from

enforcing the 1999 regulations, 64 FR

29090 (May, 28, 1999) with respect to

Atlantic shark commercial catch quotas

and fish-counting methods (including

the counting of dead discards and state

commercial landings after federal

closures) that are different from the

quotas and fish counting methods

prescribed by the 1997 Atlantic shark

regulations, 62 FR 16648 (April 7,

1997).’’

As such, the annual 2000 LCS quota

continues at the 1997 level of 1,285 mt

dw for all species of LCS, (Table 1 of

appendix A to part 635), with no

minimum size on ridgeback LCS. The

SCS and pelagic shark quotas also revert

to their annual 1997 levels, of 1,760 and

580 mt dw, respectively. The 1997

prohibited species list includes only

five prohibited species: white, basking,

whale, sand tiger and bigeye sand tiger.

The limited access provisions for

commercial harvests still apply,

including trip limits for directed and

incidental shark permit holders.

A motion to clarify the terms of the

court injunction is pending before the

court. If granted, the 1999 prohibited

species list would be in effect for the

Atlantic commercial shark fishery.

NMFS will announce the court’s

decision with specific details in the

Federal Register once the court rules on

the motion.

Under the terms of the Court

injunction, the Assistant Administrator

for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), is authorized

to adjust the semiannual quota to reflect

actual catches during the preceding

semiannual period. Harvest data

submitted to NMFS indicate that the

landings of LCS from January through

March 31, 2000, totaled 742.7 mt dw,

which is 100.7 mt dw more than the

available semiannual quota of 642.5 mt

dw. Therefore, the adjusted quota for

LCS for the second 2000 semiannual

period is decreased from 642.5 mt dw to

542 mt dw. The adjusted quota of 542

mt dw is available for the period July 1

through December 31, 2000.

The second semiannual fishing season

of the 2000 fishing year for the

commercial fishery for LCS in the

Western North Atlantic Ocean,

including the Gulf of Mexico and the

Caribbean Sea, will open July 1, 2000.

Catch rate data from the second

semiannual fishing seasons from 1997,

1998, and 1999 for LCS species indicate

that the available LCS quota of 542.5 mt

dw will be attained within 38 days.

Accordingly, the AA has determined,

based on these projected catch rates and

the adjusted quota, that the quota for the

2000 second semiannual season for LCS

in or from the Western North Atlantic

Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico

and Caribbean Sea, will be attained as

of August 7, 2000. The LCS fishery will

close August 7, 2000, at 11:30 p.m. local

time.

During a closure, retention of, fishing

for, possessing or selling LCS are

prohibited for persons fishing aboard

vessels issued a limited access permit

under § 635.4. The sale, purchase, trade,

or barter of carcasses and/or fins of LCS

harvested by a person aboard a vessel

that has been issued a permit under

§ 635.4 are prohibited, except for those

that were harvested, offloaded, and sold,

traded, or bartered prior to the closure

and were held in storage by a dealer or

processor.

The second semiannual quota for SCS

is 880 mt dw. The second semiannual

35856 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 6, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

quota for pelagic sharks is 290 mt dw.

When quotas are projected to be reached

for these fisheries, the AA will file

notification of closure at the Office of

the Federal Register at least 14 days

before the effective date.

Those vessels that have not been

issued a limited access permit under

§ 635.4 may not sell sharks and are

subject to the recreational retention

limits and size limits specified at

§§ 635.20(e) and 635.22(c). The

recreational fishery is not affected by

any closure in the commercial fishery.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

part 635 and is exempt from review

under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: May 31, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14036 Filed 5–31–00; 4:33 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F