38216 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

elements to provide exchange access

services. The criteria is consistent with

several of the Commission’s findings in

the Supplemental Order. It also extends

the date by which the Commission will

resolve its Fourth FNPRM from June 30,

2000. Until resolution of the Fourth

FNPRM, IXCs are prohibited from

converting special access services that

they purchase from the Bell Operating

Companies or other incumbent local

exchange carriers to combinations of

unbundled loops and transport network

elements unless they meet the

designated criteria. This clarification

therefore pertains directly to IXCs, and

indirectly to Bell Operating Companies

(BOCs), other incumbent local exchange

carriers, competitive local exchange

carriers, and competitive access

providers.

13. The Commission certifies that this

clarification of the Supplemental Order

will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities because it maintains the status

quo regarding the ability of IXCs to

purchase special access services for a

longer period of time. It also maintains

the status quo for any small incumbent

local exchange carriers from which

interexchange carriers purchase special

access services. The clarification also

allows some limited auditing by

incumbent local exchange carriers to

determine whether IXCs that use

combinations of unbundled network

elements meet the established criteria in

the Order. This limited auditing will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because any incumbent LEC that

chooses to voluntarily exercise its

limited auditing rights will bear all

expenses associated with any resulting

audit. The Commission has also

required that audits be conducted based

on the records that a small carrier keeps

in the normal course of business. The

Commission will send a copy of the

Supplemental Order Clarification,

including a copy of this final

certification, in a report to Congress

pursuant to the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of

1996, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). In

addition, the Supplemental Order

Clarification and this certification will

be sent to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration, and will be published

in the Federal Register. See 5 U.S.C.

605(b).

Ordering Clauses

14. Pursuant to authority contained in

sections 1,3,4,201–205, 251, 256, 271,

and 303(r) of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 153,

154, 201–205, 251, 252, 256, 271, 303(r),

the Commission clarifies the

Supplemental Order discussed.

15. The requirements in this order

will become effective immediately upon

publication in the Federal Register.

16. The Commission’s Consumer

Information Bureau, Reference

Information Center, SHALL SEND a

copy of this Supplemental Order

Clarification, including the Final

Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–15576 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 022500C]

RIN 0648–AM29

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Rebuilding

Overfished Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Approval of fishery

management plan amendment.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the

approval of Amendment 11 to the

Fishery Management Plan for Bering

Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner

Crabs (FMP). This amendment is

necessary to implement a plan to

rebuild the overfished stock of Bering

Sea Tanner crab (Chionoecetes bairdi).

This action is intended to ensure that

conservation and management measures

continue to be based on the best

scientific information available and is

intended to achieve, on a continuing

basis, the optimum yield from the

affected crab fisheries.

DATES: The amendment was approved

on June 8, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 11 to

the FMP, and the Environmental

Assessment (EA) prepared for the

amendment are available from the

Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska

Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,

AK 99802–1668, Attn: Lori Gravel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gretchen Harrington, 907-586-7228 or

gretchen.harrington@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

declared the Bering Sea stock of Tanner

crab overfished on March 3, 1999,

because the spawning stock biomass

was below the minimum stock size

threshold defined in Amendment 7 to

the FMP (64 FR 11390). Amendment 7

specified objective and measurable

criteria for identifying when all of the

crab fisheries covered by the FMP are

overfished or when overfishing is

occurring. NMFS notified the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) once NMFS determined that

the stock was overfished (64 FR 15308,

March 31, 1999). The Council then took

action to develop a rebuilding plan

within 1 year. Amendment 11, the

rebuilding plan, is an FMP amendment

that accomplishes the purposes outlined

in the national standard guidelines to

rebuild the overfished stock.

Amendment 11 specifies a time period

for rebuilding the stock that satisfies the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The rebuilding plan is estimated to

allow the Bering Sea Tanner crab stock

to rebuild, with a 50 percent probability,

in 10 years. The stock will be

considered ‘‘rebuilt’’ when the stock

reaches the maximum sustainable yield

stock size level in 2 consecutive years.

The Council’s rebuilding plan

incorporates the harvest strategy

developed by the Alaska Department of

Fish and Game and adopted by the

Alaska Board of Fisheries. Section 8.0 of

the FMP defers to the State of Alaska the

authority to develop harvest strategies,

with oversight by NMFS and the

Council. The rebuilding harvest strategy

should result in more spawning biomass

because fishery and bycatch mortality

would be reduced. This higher

spawning biomass is expected to

produce large year-classes when

environmental conditions are favorable.

An EA was prepared for Amendment

11 that describes the management

background, the purpose and need for

action, the management alternatives,

and the environmental and the socioeconomic impacts of the alternatives. A

copy of the EA can be obtained from

NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

A notice of availability for the

proposed Amendment 11 to the FMP,

which described the proposed

amendment and invited comments from

the public, was published in the Federal

Register on March 7, 2000 (65 FR

11973). Comments were invited until

May 8, 2000. NMFS received no public

comments on Amendment 11.

NMFS determined that Amendment

11 to the FMP is consistent with the

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 38217

applicable laws and approved

Amendment 11 on June 8, 2000.

Additional information on this action is

contained in the March 7, 2000, notice

of availability (65 FR 11973).

No regulatory changes are necessary

to implement this FMP amendment.

Dated: June 14, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–15510 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F