10934 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

[FR Doc. E7–4416 Filed 3–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 230 

[Docket No. 070302051–7051–01; I.D. 

021607D] 

Whaling Provisions; Aboriginal 

Subsistence Whaling Quotas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

aboriginal subsistence whaling quota for 

bowhead whales, and other limitations 

deriving from regulations adopted at the 

2002 Special Meeting of the 

International Whaling Commission 

(IWC). For 2007, the quota is 75 

bowhead whales struck. This quota and 

other limitations will govern the harvest 

of bowhead whales by members of the 

Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 

(AEWC). 

DATES: Effective March 12, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Office of International 

Affairs, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, 1315 East West Highway, Silver 

Spring, MD 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cheri McCarty, (301) 713–9090. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aboriginal 

subsistence whaling in the United States 

is governed by the Whaling Convention 

Act (16 U.S.C. 916 et seq.). Regulations 

that implement the Act, found at 50 CFR 

230.6, require the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) to publish, at 

least annually, aboriginal subsistence 

whaling quotas and any other 

limitations on aboriginal subsistence 

whaling deriving from regulations of the 

IWC. 

At the 2002 Special Meeting of the 

IWC, the Commission set quotas for 

aboriginal subsistence use of bowhead 

whales from the Bering-ChukchiBeaufort Seas stock. The bowhead quota 

was based on a joint request by the 

United States and the Russian 

Federation, accompanied by 

documentation concerning the needs of 

two Native groups: Alaska Eskimos and 

Chukotka Natives in the Russian Far 

East. 

This action by the IWC thus 

authorized aboriginal subsistence 

whaling by the AEWC for bowhead 

whales. This aboriginal subsistence 

harvest is conducted in accordance with 

a cooperative agreement between NOAA 

and the AEWC. 

The IWC set a 5–year block quota of 

280 bowhead whales landed. For each 

of the years 2003 through 2007, the 

number of bowhead whales struck may 

not exceed 67, except that any unused 

portion of a strike quota from any year, 

including 15 unused strikes from the 

1998 through 2002 quota, may be 

carried forward. No more than 15 strikes 

may be added to the strike quota for any 

one year. At the end of the 2006 harvest, 

there were 15 unused strikes available 

for carry-forward, so the combined 

strike quota for 2007 is 82 (67 + 15). 

This arrangement ensures that the 

total quota of bowhead whales landed 

and struck in 2007 will not exceed the 

quotas set by the IWC. Under an 

arrangement between the United States 

and the Russian Federation, the Russian 

natives may use no more than seven 

strikes, and the Alaska Eskimos may use 

no more than 75 strikes. 

NOAA is assigning 75 strikes to the 

Alaska Eskimos. The AEWC will 

allocate these strikes among the 10 

villages whose cultural and subsistence 

needs have been documented in past 

requests for bowhead quotas from the 

IWC, and will ensure that its hunters 

use no more than 75 strikes. 

Other Limitations 

The IWC regulations, as well as the 

NOAA regulation at 50 CFR 230.4(c), 

forbid the taking of calves or any whale 

accompanied by a calf. 

NOAA regulations (at 50 CFR 230.4) 

contain a number of other prohibitions 

relating to aboriginal subsistence 

whaling, some of which are summarized 

here. Only licensed whaling captains or 

crew under the control of those captains 

may engage in whaling. They must 

follow the provisions of the relevant 

cooperative agreement between NOAA 

and a Native American whaling 

organization. The aboriginal hunters 

must have adequate crew, supplies, and 

equipment. They may not receive 

money for participating in the hunt. No 

person may sell or offer for sale whale 

products from whales taken in the hunt, 

except for authentic articles of Native 

handicrafts. Captains may not continue 

to whale after the relevant quota is 

taken, after the season has been closed, 

or if their licenses have been suspended. 

They may not engage in whaling in a 

wasteful manner. 

Dated: March 6, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–4443 Filed 3–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 061109296-7009-02; I.D. 

030607B] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Commonwealth of Virginia is 

transferring 150,000 lb (68,039 kg) of 

commercial bluefish quota to the State 

of New York from its 2007 quota. By 

this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas 

and announces the revised commercial 

quota for each state involved. 

DATES: Effective March 7, 2007 through 

December 31, 2007, unless NMFS 

publishes a superseding document in 

the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9341, FAX (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery are found at 50 CFR part 

648. The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned among the coastal states 

from Florida through Maine. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.160. 

Two or more states, under mutual 

agreement and with the concurrence of 

the Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), can 

transfer or combine bluefish commercial 

quota under § 648.160(f). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

the criteria set forth in § 648.160(f)(1) in 

the evaluation of requests for quota 

transfers or combinations. 

Virginia has agreed to transfer 150,000 

lb (68,039 kg) of its 2007 commercial 

quota to New York. The Regional 

Administrator has determined that the 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 10935 

criteria set forth in § 648.160(f)(1) have 

been met. The revised bluefish quotas 

for calendar year 2007 are: New York, 

1,034,278 lb (469,141 kg); and Virginia, 

868,660 lb (394,018 kg). 

Classification 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 6, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–1148 Filed 3–7–07; 2:38 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 061113298–7046–02; I.D. 

110106A] 

RIN 0648–AU91 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Highly Migratory Species Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes this final 

rule to revise the method for renewing 

and replacing permits issued under the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 

U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly 

Migratory Species (HMS). Permits are 

required for all commercial vessels and 

all recreational charter vessels 

participating in HMS fisheries managed 

under the FMP. The final rule modifies 

the renewal process by substituting the 

last day of the month corresponding to 

the last digit of the vessel’s 

identification number with the last day 

of the vessel owner’s birth month as the 

expiration date. The rule also requires 

that vessel owners requiring a duplicate 

permit to submit a completed 

application form to NMFS. These 

regulations are needed to improve the 

efficiency and timeliness of the permit 

system. The proposed rule is adopted 

without change. 

DATES: Effective April 11, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Requests to renew an HMS 

permit or to apply for a replacement 

permit may be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Fax: 562–980–4047, Attn. Permits 

Coordinator. 

• Telephone: 562–980–4030. 

• Mail to: Permits Coordinator, 

Sustainable Fisheries Division (SFD) 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long 

Beach, CA 90802. 

• E-mail: 

HMSpermitrenewal.swr@noaa.gov 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Helvey, NMFS, Southwest Region, 

SFD, (562) 980–4040. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These 

regulations modify the process NMFS 

uses to renew and replace permits in the 

U. S. West Coast HMS fisheries 

managed under the HMS FMP. The FMP 

was prepared by the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council and was 

implemented through regulations at 50 

CFR part 660 under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq. 

Background 

NMFS requires a permit for all 

commercial vessels and all recreational 

charter vessels that fish for HMS in the 

U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off 

the States of California, Oregon, and 

Washington, or land or transship HMS 

shoreward of the outer boundary of the 

U.S. EEZ off the States of California, 

Oregon, and Washington. The purpose 

of the HMS permit is to identify vessels 

in the HMS fisheries so that NMFS 

knows those participants who need to 

be contacted when management 

information is required and who to 

notify when potential management 

actions affecting the fisheries are being 

considered. 

The requirement for a permit was 

established by final rule implementing 

the approved portions of the FMP for 

HMS published on April 7, 2004 (69 FR 

18444). These permits were initially 

issued in 2005 after publishing a 

Federal Register notice on February 10, 

2005 (70 FR 7022), that announced 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget of the collection-ofinformation components of the permit 

system. 

Permit Renewal 

Permits are issued to the managing 

owner of a specific vessel for a 2-year 

term. The initial issuance of HMS 

permits began in 2005 and these permits 

expire in 2007. NMFS initially 

implemented a permit term renewal 

process intentionally staggered so that 

there will be less likelihood of an 

excessive number of renewals at any 

one time of the year. NMFS used the last 

day of the month designated by the last 

digit of the vessel identification number 

as determining the renewal date for 

expiring permits (e.g., if the vessel 

identification number ends in 3, the 

renewal date is March 31, 2 years later). 

Use of this criterion extends the renewal 

process over a 10-month term: January 

through October. 

Because of the administrative burden 

of processing the high number of 

permits in effect, this final rule modifies 

the criterion by using the last day of the 

managing vessel owner’s birth month as 

the expiration date. The managing 

vessel owner’s date of birth is required 

in the Pacific HMS Vessel Permit 

Application and is already contained in 

the Pacific HMS Vessel Permit database. 

NMFS believes that staggering the 

renewal process over 12 months rather 

than 10 months will improve the 

efficiency of the permit renewal process. 

The first renewal date under this new 

system will be the last day of the vessel 

owner’s birthday month in the second 

calender year after the permit is issued. 

NMFS anticipates that the system 

implemented by this final rule should 

result in delivery of permits to vessel 

operators in a more efficient manner. 

This final rule does not require any new 

information to be provided by the 

applicant. A Southwest Region Pacific 

HMS Vessel Permit Application form 

may still be obtained from the SFD (see 

ADDRESSES) or downloaded from the 

Southwest Region home page (http:// 

swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/permits.htm) to 

apply for a permit under this section. A 

completed application is one that 

contains all the required information 

and signatures. NMFS intends to contact 

vessel owners with a renewal notice by 

mail 3 months in advance of their 

permit expiration date. This procedure 

should provide additional time for 

fishermen to renew their HMS permits 

before the start of the fishing season. 

NMFS will also allow HMS fishermen to 

renew their permits even earlier by 

contacting NMFS directly (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Replacement Permits 

Replacement permits are issued by 

NMFS to vessel owners to replace lost 

or mutilated permits. Vessel owners 

with a lost or mutilated permit 

primarily notify NMFS by telephone 

when requesting a replacement permit. 

NMFS has never established a formal 

process to provide replacement permits, 

but the number of requests for 

replacements over the past year make it 

clear that such a process is required. 

Under this regulation, vessel owners 

requiring a replacement permit must 

submit a new completed application 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with RULES