Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Proposed Rules 75535 

25. Confidential and/or Otherwise 

Protected Materials. To the extent any 

party to this proceeding wishes to 

submit materials or information that it 

would like withheld from the public 

record, it may do so in accordance with 

the procedures set forth in § 1.314 of the 

Commission’s rules. The parties may 

also enter into a Protective Order. As 

stated above, requests for a Protective 

Order should be made in the parties’ 

pre-conference submission in 

accordance with the schedule set forth 

in the Initial Case Order. 

26. Initial Decision. The presiding 

officer shall issue an Initial Decision on 

the issues set forth herein, as well as 

any other issues designated for hearing 

in the course of the proceeding. This 

Initial Decision shall contain, at a 

minimum, findings of fact and 

conclusions of law, as well as the 

reasons or basis therefor, and the 

appropriate rule or order or policy and 

the sanction, relief or denial thereof, as 

appropriate. 

27. Accordingly, it is ordered that the 

Petition for De Novo Review, filed on 

September 14, 2023, by Mongoose, is 

granted. 

28. it is further ordered that, pursuant 

to the RPC Appeals Procedures Public 

Notice, this matter, as described above, 

is designated for hearing before an 

Administrative Law Judge, at a time and 

place to be specified in a subsequent 

order, on the following issues: 

a. To determine whether the Bureau 

erred in determining that Mongoose had 

not met its burden of proof to 

demonstrate that the RPC erred in its 

classification of, and reimbursement for, 

the two antennas at issue; 

b. To determine whether the Bureau 

erred in separately determining that the 

RPC properly classified the two 

antennas at issue based on Commission 

guidance; and 

c. To determine whether the 

reimbursed amount of $33,994 for the 

two antennas at issue should be 

adjusted to restore the disallowed 

amount of $69,686. 

29. it is further ordered that the 

burden of proceeding with the 

introduction of evidence and the burden 

of proof with respect to all issues 

specified herein SHALL BE UPON 

Mongoose. 

30. it is further ordered, that 

Mongoose Works, Ltd. (Mongoose) is 

made a party to the proceeding pursuant 

to § 1.221(d) of the Commission’s rules, 

47 CFR 1.221(d). To avail itself of the 

opportunity to be heard, pursuant to 

§ 1.221(e) of the Commission’s rules, 

Mongoose, in person or by its attorneys, 

shall file a written appearance, stating 

its intention to appear on the date fixed 

for the hearing and present evidence on 

the issues specified in this Hearing 

Designation Order. Such written 

appearance shall be filed within twenty 

(20) days of the mailing of this Order 

pursuant to Paragraph 32 below. If 

Mongoose fails to file an appearance 

within the time specified, it shall, 

unless good cause for such failure is 

shown, forfeit its hearing rights. 

31. it is further ordered that the Chief, 

Enforcement Bureau, SHALL BE MADE 

A PARTY to this proceeding without the 

need to file a written appearance. 

32. it is further ordered that a copy of 

this Hearing Designation Order shall be 

sent, via Certified Mail—Return Receipt 

Requested to: Mongoose Works, Ltd., c/ 

o Mark Derbyshire, 4950 S El Camino 

Dr, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80111. 

33. it is further ordered that a copy of 

each document filed in this proceeding 

subsequent to the date of adoption of 

this Hearing Designation Order shall be 

served on the counsel of record 

appearing on behalf of the Chief, 

Enforcement Bureau. Parties may 

inquire as to the identity of such 

counsel by calling the Investigations & 

Hearings Division of the Enforcement 

Bureau at (202) 418–1420. Electronic 

service on counsel of record for the 

Enforcement Bureau shall be made 

using the following email address: 

EBHearings@fcc.gov. 

34. it is further ordered that this 

Hearing Designation Order or a 

summary thereof SHALL BE 

PUBLISHED at the earliest practicable 

date in the Federal Register. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Amy Brett, 

Acting Chief of Staff, Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23788 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[RTID 0648–XD197] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Scallop Specification 

Process Flexibility 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) 

submitted Amendment 18 to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the Scallop 

Fishery off Alaska (Scallop FMP) to the 

Secretary of Commerce for review. If 

approved, Amendment 18 would revise 

timing requirements for Stock 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

(SAFE) reports to allow more flexibility 

for non-annual assessments and to set 

scallop harvest specifications less 

frequently than on an annual basis. This 

would reduce the burden on staff and 

provide more time for the development 

of new stock assessment methods. 

Amendment 18 is intended to promote 

the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Scallop 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than January 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0094, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0094 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Electronic copies of proposed 

Amendment 18 and the draft Analysis 

prepared for this action may be obtained 

from https://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 

each regional fishery management 


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75536 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

council submit any FMP amendment it 

prepares to NMFS for review and 

approval, disapproval, or partial 

approval by the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

an FMP amendment, immediately 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

announcing that the amendment is 

available for public review and 

comment. The Council has submitted 

Amendment 18 to the Secretary for 

review. This document announces that 

proposed Amendment 18 is available for 

public review and comment. 

The scallop fishery in the exclusive 

economic zone off Alaska under the 

Scallop FMP is jointly managed by 

NMFS and the State of Alaska. The 

Council prepared the FMP under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Regulations 

governing U.S. fisheries and 

implementing the FMP appear at 50 

CFR parts 600 and 679. 

The Scallop FMP delegates many 

management aspects of the scallop 

fishery to the State of Alaska but 

maintains Federal oversight. This 

authority is limited by the MagnusonStevens Act and the FMP. While the 

FMP includes scallop stocks off the 

coast of Alaska, including weathervane 

scallop (Patinopecten caurinus), reddish 

scallop (Chlamys rubida), spiny scallop 

(Chlamys hastata), and rock scallop 

(Crassadoma gigantea), the weathervane 

scallop is the only commercially 

targeted stock at this time. Commercial 

fishing for weathervane scallops occurs 

in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and 

waters off the Aleutian Islands. There is 

currently no formal stock assessment 

model for the scallop fishery. Instead, 

the State sets guideline harvest levels 

(GHLs) informed by data collected 

through the scallop fishery observer 

program and fishery-independent 

scallop dredge surveys. Standardized 

catch per unit effort (CPUE) indices are 

estimated to account for depth, month, 

vessel, bed, and season variations. 

Previously, the overfishing level 

(OFL) and acceptable biological catch 

(ABC) have been set based on the 

definition of optimal yield (OY). More 

recently, OFL and ABC have been based 

on the OY re-defined in 2012 

(Amendment 13), when OY was redefined as 0 to 1.29 million pounds (lb) 

(585 tons (t)) of shucked scallop meats 

to include estimated discards over the 

reference time frame. Annual 

specifications have been defined as: 

max OFL = OY, and ABC = 90 percent 

of OFL. Alaska scallop harvests have not 

exceeded OY in any year since it was 

first established. 

In the absence of stock-size estimates, 

the status of the scallop stock relative to 

its overfished state is unknown. 

Consistent with assessments since the 

2011/12 season, the 2022/23 OFL is set 

equal to the OY (1.284 million lb.; 582 

t) as defined in the Scallop FMP and the 

2022/23 ABC is set equal to the 

maximum ABC control rule value (90 

percent of OFL or 1.156 million lb.; 524 

t). Estimated total fishing removals 

(retained and discarded) for the 2021/22 

and 2022/23 seasons were 311,978 lb 

(141.5 t) and 345,690 lb (156.8 t) of 

shucked meats, respectively (table 1). 

These estimates are less than 30 percent 

of the ABC/annual catch limit (ACL) 

and OFL; therefore, overfishing did not 

occur in 2021/22 or 2022/23. 

Currently, the Scallop FMP requires 

the SAFE report to be created on an 

annual basis. The proposed 

management measure in Amendment 18 

would amend the FMP to allow 

flexibility for non-annual assessments. 

This would remove prescriptive 

language dictating that SAFE reports are 

produced on an annual basis. 

Amendment 18 would give the Council 

flexibility in modifying the assessment 

cycle with the potential to set multi-year 

specifications, based on a period of no 

more than 3 years, that best suit the 

needs of the stock. If a formal stock 

assessment model is developed, or there 

is a decrease in estimated stock 

abundance, the Council could request 

that the development of the SAFE report 

revert to being reviewed annually. 

NMFS is soliciting public comments 

on proposed Amendment 18 through 

the end of the comment period (see 

DATES). All relevant written comments 

received by the end of the applicable 

comment period will be considered by 

NMFS in the approval/partial approval/ 

disapproval decision for Amendment 18 

and addressed in the response to 

comments in the final decision. 

Comments received after the end of the 

applicable comment period will not be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision on Amendment 18. To be 

considered, comments must be received, 

not just postmarked or otherwise 

transmitted, by the last day of the 

comment period (see DATES). 

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

Dated: October 31, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24309 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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