37676 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 11, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

which may be a section of floating line 

not to exceed one-third the overall 

length of the buoy line; 

3. Fishermen are allowed to use two 

buoy lines per string; 

4. Each net panel must have a total of 

five weak links with a maximum 

breaking strength of 1,100 lb (498.8 kg). 

Net panels are typically 50 fathoms 

(91.4 m) in length, but the weak link 

requirements would apply to all 

variations in panel size. These weak 

links must include three floatline weak 

links. The placement of the weak links 

on the floatline must be: one at the 

center of the net panel and one each as 

close as possible to each of the bridle 

ends of the net panel. The remaining 

two weak links must be placed in the 

center of each of the up and down lines 

at the panel ends; 

5. A weak link with a maximum 

breaking strength of 1,100 lb (498.8 kg) 

must be placed at all buoys; and 

6. All anchored gillnets, regardless of 

the number of net panels, must be 

securely anchored with the holding 

power of at least a 22 lb (10.0 kg) 

Danforth-style anchor at each end of the 

net string. 

The restrictions will be in effect 

beginning at 0001 hours July 13, 2007, 

through 2400 hours July 27, 2007, 

unless terminated sooner or extended by 

NMFS through another notification in 

the Federal Register. 

The restrictions will be announced to 

state officials, fishermen, ALWTRT 

members, and other interested parties 

through e-mail, phone contact, NOAA 

website, and other appropriate media 

immediately upon issuance of the rule 

by the AA. 

Classification 

In accordance with section 118(f)(9) of 

the MMPA, the Assistant Administrator 

(AA) for Fisheries has determined that 

this action is necessary to implement a 

take reduction plan to protect North 

Atlantic right whales. 

Environmental Assessments for the 

DAM program were prepared on 

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: July 6, 2007. 

John Oliver, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operations, National Marine Fisheries 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–3376 Filed 7–6–07; 2:39 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 060314069–6069–01] 

RIN 0648–XA84 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Fishery; Closure of the 

Nantucket Lightship Scallop Access 

Area to General Category Scallop 

Vessels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 11, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 37677 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Nantucket Lightship Scallop Access 

Area (NLCA) will close to general 

category scallop vessels for the 

remainder of the 2007 scallop fishing 

year. This action is based on the 

determination that 394 general category 

scallop trips into the NLCA are 

projected to be taken as of 0001 hr local 

time, July 8, 2007. This action is being 

taken to prevent the allocation of 

general category trips in the NLCA from 

being exceeded during the 2007 fishing 

year, in accordance with the regulations 

implementing Framework 18 to the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

DATES: The closure is effective from 

0001 hours, July 8, 2007, through 

February 29, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ryan Silva, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9326, fax (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing fishing activity in 

the Sea Scallop Access Areas are found 

at §§ 648.59 and 648.60. Regulations 

specifically governing general category 

scallop vessel operations in the NLCA 

are specified at § 648.59(d)(5)(ii). These 

regulations authorize vessels issued a 

valid general category scallop permit to 

fish in the NLCA under specific 

conditions, including a cap of 394 trips 

that may be taken by general category 

vessels during the 2007 fishing year. 

The regulations at § 648.59(d)(5)(ii) 

require the NLCA to be closed to general 

category scallop vessels once the 

Northeast Regional Administrator has 

determined that the allowed number of 

trips are projected to be taken. 

Based on Vessel Monitoring System 

(VMS) trip declarations by general 

category scallop vessels fishing in the 

NLCA, and analysis of fishing effort, a 

projection concluded that, given current 

activity levels by general category 

scallop vessels in the area, the trip cap 

will be attained on July 7, 2007. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 648.59(d)(5)(ii), the NLCA is closed to 

all general category scallop vessels as of 

0001 hr local time, July 8, 2007. No 

general category scallop vessel may 

declare or initiate a trip into this area. 

This closure is in effect for the 

remainder of the 2007 scallop fishing 

year. The NLCA is scheduled to re-open 

to scallop fishing, including trips for 

general category scallop vessels, on June 

15, 2009, unless the schedule for scallop 

access areas is modified by the New 

England Fishery Management Council. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Due to the need to take immediate 

action to close the NLCA once the 

allowed number of trips have been 

taken, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3) 

proposed rulemaking is waived because 

it would be impracticable and contrary 

to the public interest to allow a period 

for public comment. The NLCA opened 

for the 2007 fishing year at 0001 hours 

on June 15, 2007. Data indicating the 

general category scallop fleet has taken 

all of the NLCA trips have only recently 

become available. To allow general 

category scallop vessels to continue to 

take trips in the NLCA during the period 

necessary to publish and receive 

comments on a proposed rule would 

result in vessels taking much more than 

the allowed number of trips in the 

NLCA. Excessive trips and harvest from 

the NLCA would result in excessive 

fishing effort in the NLCA, where effort 

controls are critical, thereby 

undermining conservation objectives of 

the FMP. Should excessive effort occur 

in the NLCA, future management 

measures would need to be more 

restrictive. Furthermore, for the same 

reasons, there is good cause under 5 

U.S.C 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day 

delayed effectiveness period for this 

action. 

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

Dated: July 6, 2007. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–3378 Filed 7–6–07; 2:39 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–XB33 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch 

in the Eastern Aleutian District of 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 ocean perch in the 

Eastern Aleutian District of the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands management 

area (BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the 2007 Pacific 

ocean perch total allowable catch (TAC) 

in the Eastern Aleutian District of the 

BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), July 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 Pacific ocean perch TAC in 

the Eastern Aleutian District of the BSAI 

is 4,598 metric tons (mt) as established 

by the 2007 and 2008 final harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

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

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

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, has determined that the 2007 

Pacific ocean perch TAC in the Eastern 

Aleutian District of the BSAI will soon 

be reached. Therefore, the Regional 

Administrator is establishing a directed 

fishing allowance of 4,298 mt, and is 

setting aside the remaining 300 mt as 

bycatch to support other anticipated 

groundfish fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch 

in the Eastern Aleutian District of 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 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with RULES