Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 110 / Friday, June 8, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 31757 

the proposed rule. The regulatory text 

was not modified in drafting of the final 

rule. 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that the final 

rule is consistent with the HMS FMP 

and is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act and other applicable 

laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification or the economic impact 

of the rule. As a result, a regulatory 

flexibility analysis was not required and 

none was prepared. 

List of Subjects 

50 CFR Part 224 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Endangered and threatened 

species, Exports, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

50 CFR Part 660 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: June 04, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR parts 224 and 660 are 

amended as follows: 

PART 224—ENDANGERED MARINE 

AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 224 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531–1543 and 16 

U.S.C. 1361 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 224.104, paragraph (c) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 224.104 Special requirements for fishing 

activities to protect endangered sea turtles. 

* * * * * 

(c) Special prohibitions relating to sea 

turtles are provided at § 223.206(d). 

PART 660—FISHERIES OFF THE WEST 

COAST STATES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 660 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 4. In § 660.713, paragraph (c)(2) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 660.713 Drift gillnet fishery. 

* * * * * 

(c)(2) Pacific loggerhead conservation 

area. No person may fish with, set, or 

haul back drift gillnet gear in U.S. 

waters of the Pacific Ocean east of the 

120° W. meridian from June 1 through 

August 31 during a forecasted, or 

occurring, El Nino event off the coast of 

southern California. 

(i) Notification of an El Nino event. 

The Assistant Administrator will 

publish in the Federal Register a 

notification that an El Nino event is 

occurring, or is forecast to occur, off the 

coast of southern California and the 

requirement of a closure under this 

paragraph (c)(2). Furthermore, the 

Assistant Administrator will announce 

the requirement of such a closure by 

other methods as are necessary and 

appropriate to provide actual notice to 

the participants in the California/ 

Oregon drift gillnet fishery. 

(ii) Determination of El Nino 

conditions. The Assistant Administrator 

will rely on information developed by 

NOAA offices which monitor El Nino 

events, such as NOAA’s Climate 

Prediction Center and the West Coast 

Office of NOAA’s Coast Watch program, 

in order to determine whether an El 

Nino is forecasted or occurring for the 

coast of southern California. The 

Assistant Administrator will use the 

monthly sea surface temperature 

anomaly charts to determine whether 

there are warmer than normal sea 

surface temperatures present off of 

southern California during the months 

prior to the closure month for years in 

which an El Nino event has been 

declared by the NOAA Climate 

Prediction Center. Specifically, the 

Assistant Administrator, will use sea 

surface temperature data from the third 

and second months prior to the month 

of the closure for determining whether 

El Nino conditions are present off of 

southern California. 

(iii) Reopening. If, during a closure as 

described within this paragraph (c)(2), 

sea surface temperatures return to 

normal or below normal, the Assistant 

Administrator may publish a Federal 

Register notice announcing that El Nino 

conditions are no longer present off the 

coast of southern California and may 

terminate the closure prior to August 31. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–11124 Filed 6–7–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 010319075–1217–02 ] 

RIN 0648–XA54 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Tilefish Fishery; Quota 

Harvested for Full-time Tier 2 Category 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; tilefish Fulltime Tier 2 permit category closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

percentage of the tilefish annual total 

allowable landings (TAL) available to 

the Full-time Tier 2 permit category for 

the 2007 fishing year has been 

harvested. Commercial vessels fishing 

under the tilefish Full-time Tier 2 

permit may not harvest tilefish from 

within the Golden Tilefish Management 

Unit for the remainder of the 2007 

fishing year (through October 31, 2007). 

Regulations governing the tilefish 

fishery require publication of this 

notification to advise the public of this 

closure. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hrs local time, 

June 7, 2007, through 2400 hrs local 

time, October 31, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian R. Hooker, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

at (978) 281–9220. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the tilefish 

fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. 

The regulations require annual 

specification of a TAL for federally 

permitted tilefish vessels harvesting 

tilefish from the Golden Tilefish 

Management Unit. The Golden Tilefish 

Management Unit is defined as an area 

of the Atlantic Ocean from the latitude 

of the VA and NC border (36°33.36′ N. 

lat.), extending eastward from the shore 

to the outer boundary of the exclusive 

economic zone, and northward to the 

U.S.-Canada border. After 5 percent of 

the TAL is deducted to reflect landings 

by vessels issued an open-access 

Incidental permit category, and after up 

to 3 percent of the TAL is set aside for 

research purposes, should research TAL 

be set aside, the remaining TAL is 

distributed among three tilefish limited 

access permit categories: Full-time tier 1 

category (66 percent), Full-time tier 2 

category (15 percent), and the Part-time 

category (19 percent). 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with RULES
31758 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 110 / Friday, June 8, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

The TAL for tilefish for the 2007 

fishing year was set at 1.995 million lb 

(905,172 kg) and then adjusted 

downward by 5 percent to 1,895,250 lb 

(859,671 kg) to account for incidental 

catch. There was no research set-aside 

for the 2007 fishing year. Thus, the Fulltime Tier 2 permit quota for the 2007 

fishing year, which is equal to 15 

percent of the TAL, was specified at 

284,288 lb (106,108 kg). Notification of 

the 2007 Full-time Tier 2 category quota 

for the 2007 fishing year was published 

in the Federal Register on October 31, 

2006 (71 FR 63703). 

The Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator) 

monitors the commercial tilefish quota 

for each fishing year using dealer 

reports, vessel catch reports, and other 

available information to determine 

when the quota for each limited access 

permit category is projected to have 

been harvested. NMFS is required to 

publish notification in the Federal 

Register notifying commercial vessels 

and dealer permit holders that, effective 

upon a specific date, the tilefish TAL for 

the specific limited access category has 

been harvested and no commercial 

quota is available for harvesting tilefish 

by that category for the remainder of the 

fishing year, from the Golden Tilefish 

Management Unit. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information, that the 

2007 tilefish TAL for the Full-time Tier 

2 category has been harvested. 

Therefore, effective 0001 hr local time, 

June 7, 2007, further landings of tilefish 

harvested from the Golden Tilefish 

Management Unit by tilefish vessels 

holding Full-time Tier 2 category 

Federal fisheries permits are prohibited 

through October 31, 2007. The 2008 

fishing year for commercial tilefish 

harvest will open on November 1, 2007. 

Federally permitted dealers are also 

advised that, effective June 7, 2007, they 

may not purchase tilefish from Full-time 

Tier 2 category federally permitted 

tilefish vessels who land tilefish 

harvested from the Golden Tilefish 

Management Unit for the remainder of 

the 2007 fishing year (through October 

31, 2007). 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

E.O. 12866. 

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

Dated: June 05, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office Of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–2858 Filed 6–5–07; 1:25 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070213033–7033–01] 

RIN 0648–XA70 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Catcher Vessels Less than 60 Feet 

(18.3 m) LOA Using Pot or Hook-andLine Gear in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels 

less than 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length 

overall (LOA) using pot or hook-andline gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands management area (BSAI). This 

action is necessary to prevent exceeding 

the 2007 Pacific cod total allowable 

catch (TAC) allocated to catcher vessels 

less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using pot 

or hook-and-line gear in the BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), June 6, 2007, through 2400 

hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2007. 

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 

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. 

The 2007 and 2008 final harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (72 FR 9451, March 2, 2007), the 

reallocation on March 5, 2007 (72 FR 

10428, March 8, 2007), and the 

reallocation on April 31, 2007 (72 FR 

18595, April 30, 2007) allocated a 

directed fishing allowance for Pacific 

cod of 2,853 metric tons to catcher 

vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA 

using pot or hook-and-line gear in the 

BSAI. 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), 

the Regional Administrator finds that 

the 2007 Pacific cod directed fishing 

allowance allocated to catcher vessels 

less than 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using pot 

or hook-and-line gear in the BSAI has 

been reached. Consequently, NMFS is 

prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific 

cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet 

(18.3 m) LOA using pot or hook-andline gear in the BSAI. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

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) 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 closure of Pacific cod by 

catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 m) 

LOA using pot or hook-and-line gear 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 June 4, 2007. 

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. 

This action is required by section 

679.20 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: June 4, 2007 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–2857 Filed 6–5–07; 1:25 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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