Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 232 / Monday, December 4, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 70323 

December 28, 2001, and August 6, 2003. 

This action falls within the scope of the 

analyses of these EAs, which are 

available from the agency upon request. 

NMFS provided prior notice and an 

opportunity for public comment on the 

regulations establishing the criteria and 

procedures for implementing a DAM 

zone. Providing prior notice and 

opportunity for comment on this action, 

pursuant to those regulations, would be 

impracticable because it would prevent 

NMFS from executing its functions to 

protect and reduce serious injury and 

mortality of endangered right whales. 

The regulations establishing the DAM 

program are designed to enable the 

agency to help protect unexpected 

concentrations of right whales. In order 

to meet the goals of the DAM program, 

the agency needs to be able to create a 

DAM zone and implement restrictions 

on fishing gear as soon as possible once 

the criteria are triggered and NMFS 

determines that a DAM restricted zone 

is appropriate. If NMFS were to provide 

prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment upon the creation of a 

DAM restricted zone, the aggregated 

right whales would be vulnerable to 

entanglement which could result in 

serious injury and mortality. 

Additionally, the right whales would 

most likely move on to another location 

before NMFS could implement the 

restrictions designed to protect them, 

thereby rendering the action obsolete. 

Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B), the AA finds that good cause 

exists to waive prior notice and an 

opportunity to comment on this action 

to implement a DAM restricted zone to 

reduce the risk of entanglement of 

endangered right whales in commercial 

lobster trap/pot and anchored gillnet 

gear as such procedures would be 

impracticable. 

For the same reasons, the AA finds 

that, under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good 

cause exists to waive the 30-day delay 

in effective date. If NMFS were to delay 

for 30 days the effective date of this 

action, the aggregated right whales 

would be vulnerable to entanglement, 

which could cause serious injury and 

mortality. Additionally, right whales 

would likely move to another location 

between the time NMFS approved the 

action creating the DAM restricted zone 

and the time it went into effect, thereby 

rendering the action obsolete and 

ineffective. Nevertheless, NMFS 

recognizes the need for fishermen to 

have time to either modify or remove (if 

not in compliance with the required 

restrictions) their gear from a DAM zone 

once one is approved. Thus, NMFS 

makes this action effective 2 days after 

the date of publication of this document 

in the Federal Register. NMFS will also 

endeavor to provide notice of this action 

to fishermen through other means upon 

issuance of the rule by the AA, thereby 

providing approximately 3 additional 

days of notice while the Office of the 

Federal Register processes the 

document for publication. 

NMFS determined that the regulations 

establishing the DAM program and 

actions such as this one taken pursuant 

to those regulations are consistent to the 

maximum extent practicable with the 

enforceable policies of the approved 

coastal management program of the U.S. 

Atlantic coastal states. This 

determination was submitted for review 

by the responsible state agencies under 

section 307 of the Coastal Zone 

Management Act. Following state 

review of the regulations creating the 

DAM program, no state disagreed with 

NMFS’ conclusion that the DAM 

program is consistent to the maximum 

extent practicable with the enforceable 

policies of the approved coastal 

management program for that state. 

The DAM program under which 

NMFS is taking this action contains 

policies with federalism implications 

warranting preparation of a federalism 

assessment under Executive Order 

13132. Accordingly, in October 2001 

and March 2003, the Assistant Secretary 

for Intergovernmental and Legislative 

Affairs, Department of Commerce, 

provided notice of the DAM program 

and its amendments to the appropriate 

elected officials in states to be affected 

by actions taken pursuant to the DAM 

program. Federalism issues raised by 

state officials were addressed in the 

final rules implementing the DAM 

program. A copy of the federalism 

Summary Impact Statement for the final 

rules is available upon request 

(ADDRESSES). 

The rule implementing the DAM 

program has been determined to be not 

significant under Executive Order 

12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. and 50 

CFR 229.32(g)(3). 

Dated: November 29, 2006. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

RegulatoryPrograms, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9499 Filed 11–29–06; 2:35 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 060216045–6045–01; I.D. 

112806A] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Greenland Turbot in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Modification of a closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reopening directed 

fishing for Greenland turbot for vessels 

using hook-and-line gear in the Bering 

Sea subarea in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to fully 

use the 2006 total allowable catch (TAC) 

of Greenland turbot for vessels using 

hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea 

subarea in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands (BSAI). 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), November 29, 2006, 

through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 

2006. Comments must be received no 

later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., December 14, 

2006. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Walsh. Comments may be 

submitted by: 

• Mail to: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802; 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, Alaska; 

• Fax to 907–586–7557; 

• E-mail to turbot@noaa.gov and 

include in the subject line of the e-mail 

comment the document identifier: 

‘‘bsturbotro.fo.wpd’’ (E-mail comments, 

with or without attachments, are limited 

to 5 megabytes); or 

• Webform at the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions at that site for submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Hogan, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI according to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP) prepared by 

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70324 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 232 / Monday, December 4, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

Regulations governing fishing by U.S. 

vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

NMFS closed the directed fishery for 

Greenland turbot in the BSAI under 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii) on July 27, 2006 (71 

FR 43074, July 31, 2006). 

NMFS has determined that 191 metric 

tons of Greenland turbot remain in the 

directed fishing allowance in the BSAI. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 679.25(a)(1)(i), (a)(2)(i)(C) and 

(a)(2)(iii)(D), NMFS is terminating the 

previous closure and is reopening 

directed fishing for Greenland turbot for 

vessels using hook-and-line gear in the 

Bering Sea subarea in the BSAI. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 679.25(c)(1)(ii) as 

such requirement is impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest. This 

requirement is impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest as it 

would prevent NMFS from responding 

to the most recent fisheries data in a 

timely fashion and would delay the 

opening of Greenland turbot for vessels 

using hook-and-line gear in the Bering 

Sea subarea in the BSAI. NMFS was 

unable to publish a notice providing 

time for public comment because the 

most recent, relevant data only became 

available as of November 27, 2006. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

Without this inseason adjustment, 

NMFS could not allow the fishery by 

vessels using hook-and-line gear in the 

BSAI to be harvested in an expedient 

manner and in accordance with the 

regulatory schedule. Under 

§ 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

this action to the above address until 

December 14, 2006. 

This action is required by § 679.25 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: November 28, 2006. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9501 Filed 11–29–06; 12:20 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

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