76222 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 20, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

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). 

Chartering Arrangements 

In the event that no adequate 

expressions of interest in harvesting the 

U.S. portion of the 2007 NAFO 3L 

shrimp quota allocation and/or 3M 

shrimp effort 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 2007 

U.S. quota allocation for 3L shrimp and/ 

or the effort allocation for 3M shrimp. 

Under NAFO rules in effect through 

2007, a vessel registered to another 

NAFO Contracting Party may be 

chartered to fish the U.S. effort 

allocation 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; provisional 

monthly fishing days in Division 3M 

within 30 days following the calendar 

month in which the catches were made; 

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. Furthermore, the United 

States may also consider a Contracting 

Party’s previous compliance with the 

NAFO incidental catch limits, 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 use of chartering 

operations, 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 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 

for use in a chartering operation, NMFS 

will immediately take appropriate steps 

to notify NAFO and transfer the U.S. 3L 

shrimp quota allocation and/or the 3M 

shrimp effort allocation to the 

appropriate Contracting Party. 

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 the 2007 NAFO 3L shrimp 

quota allocation and/or 3M shrimp 

effort allocation 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 14, 2006. 

Rebecca Lent, 

Director, Office of International Affairs, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E6–21741 Filed 12–19–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 060418103–6181–02 ; I.D. 

121306B] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Spiny Dogfish Fishery; 

Commercial Period 2 Quota Harvested 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Closure of spiny dogfish 

fishery. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

spiny dogfish commercial quota 

available to the coastal states from 

Maine through Florida for the semiannual quota period, November 1, 2006 

– April 30 , 2007, has been harvested. 

Therefore, effective 0001 hours, 

December 19, 2006, federally permitted 

commercial vessels may not fish for, 

possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish 

until May 1, 2007, when the 2007 

Period 1 quota becomes available. 

Regulations governing the spiny dogfish 

fishery require publication of this 

notification to advise the coastal states 

from Maine through Florida that the 

quota has been harvested and to advise 

vessel permit holders and dealer permit 

holders that no Federal commercial 

quota is available for landing spiny 

dogfish in these states. This action is 

necessary to prevent the fishery from 

exceeding its Period 2 quota and to 

allow for effective management of this 

stock. 

DATES: Quota Period 2 for the spiny 

dogfish fishery is closed effective at 

0001 hr local time, December 19, 2006, 

through 2400 hr local time April 30, 

2007. Effective December 19, 2006, 

federally permitted dealers are also 

advised that they may not purchase 

spiny dogfish from federally permitted 

spiny dogfish vessels. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don 

Frei, Fisheries Management Specialist, 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 20, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 76223 

at (978) 281–9221, or 

Don.Frei@Noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the spiny dogfish 

fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. 

The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota, 

which is allocated into two quota 

periods based upon percentages 

specified in the fishery management 

plan. The commercial quota is 

distributed to the coastal states from 

Maine through Florida, as described in 

§ 648.230. 

The initial total commercial quota for 

spiny dogfish for the 2006 fishing year 

is 4 million lb (1.81 million kg) (71 FR 

40436, July 17, 2006 ). The commercial 

quota is allocated into two periods (May 

1 through October 31, and November 1 

through April 30). Vessel possession 

limits are intended to preclude directed 

fishing, and they are set at 600 lb (272 

kg) for both quota Periods 1 and 2. 

Quota Period 1 is allocated 2.3 million 

lb (1.05 million kg), and quota Period 2 

is allocated 1.7 million lb (763,849 kg) 

of the commercial quota. The total quota 

cannot be exceeded, so landings in 

excess of the amount allocated to quota 

Period 1 have the effect of reducing the 

quota available to the fishery during 

quota Period 2. 

The Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator) 

monitors the commercial spiny dogfish 

quota for each quota period and, based 

upon dealer reports, state data, and 

other available information, determines 

when the total commercial quota will be 

harvested. NMFS is required to publish 

a notification in the Federal Register 

advising and notifying commercial 

vessels and dealer permit holders that, 

effective upon a specific date, the 

Federal spiny dogfish commercial quota 

has been harvested and no Federal 

commercial quota is available for 

landing spiny dogfish for the remainder 

of that quota period. 

Section 648.4(b) provides that Federal 

spiny dogfish permit holders agree, as a 

condition of the permit, not to land 

spiny dogfish in any state after NMFS 

has published notification in the 

Federal Register that the commercial 

quota has been harvested and that no 

commercial quota for the spiny dogfish 

fishery is available. Therefore, effective 

0001 hr local time, December 19, 2006, 

landings of spiny dogfish in coastal 

states from Maine through Florida by 

vessels holding commercial Federal 

fisheries permits are prohibited through 

April 30, 2007, 2400 hr local time. The 

2007 Period 1 quota will be available for 

commercial spiny dogfish harvest on 

May 1, 2007. Effective December 19, 

2006, federally permitted dealers are 

also advised that they may not purchase 

spiny dogfish from vessels issued 

Federal spiny dogfish permits that land 

in coastal states from Maine through 

Florida. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: December 15, 2006. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9785 Filed 12–15–06; 1:30 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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