Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 8333 

(WVDEP), Division of Air Quality, 601 

57th Street SE, Charleston, West 

Virginia 25304. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rosemarie Nino, (215) 814–3377, or by 

e-mail at nino.rose@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For 

further information, please see the 

information provided in the direct final 

action, with the same title, that is 

located in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’

section of this Federal Register 

publication. 

Dated: February 16, 2007. 

Donald S. Welsh, 

Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 07–846 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 070215036–7036–01; I.D. 

012307A] 

RIN 0648–AU79 

International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna 

Fisheries; Restrictions for 2007 Purse 

Seine and Longline Fisheries in the 

Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes management 

measures to reduce overfishing of the 

eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) 

tuna stocks in 2007, consistent with 

recommendations by the Inter-American 

Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) that 

have been approved by the Department 

of State (DOS) under the Tuna 

Conventions Act. The purse seine 

fishery for tuna in the Convention Area 

would be closed for a 6–week period 

either beginning August 1, 2007, 

through September 11, 2007, or 

November 20, 2007, through December 

31, 2007. This proposed rule would also 

close the U.S. longline fishery in the 

Convention Area in 2007 once the catch 

of bigeye tuna harvested with longline 

gear in the Convention Area reaches 500 

metric tons (mt). This action is taken to 

limit fishing mortality caused by purse 

seine fishing and longline fishing in the 

Convention Area and contribute to longterm conservation of the tuna stocks at 

levels that support healthy fisheries. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 28, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed 

rule or the initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) should be sent to 

Rodney R. McInnis, Regional 

Administrator, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, 501 West Ocean Boulevard, 

Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802 or by 

email to the Southwest Region at 0648–

AU79@noaa.gov. Comments may also be 

submitted by email through the Federal 

e-Rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Include in the 

subject line of the e-mail comment the 

following document identifier: 0648–

AU79. Comments also may be submitted 

by fax to (562) 980–4047. Copies of the 

initial regulatory impact review/IRFA 

may be obtained from the Southwest 

Regional Administrator, Southwest 

Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., 

Long Beach, CA 90902–4213. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. 

Allison Routt, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Southwest Region, NMFS, 

(562) 980–4030. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This proposed rule is also accessible 

via the Internet at the Office of the 

Federal Register’s website at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

The United States is a member of the 

IATTC, which was established under 

the Convention for the Establishment of 

an Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

Commission signed in 1949 

(Convention). The IATTC was 

established to provide an international 

arrangement to ensure the effective 

international conservation and 

management of highly migratory species 

of fish in the Convention Area. For the 

purposes of this closure, the Convention 

Area is defined to include the waters 

bounded by the coast of the Americas, 

the 40° N. and 40° S. parallels, and the 

150° W. meridian. The IATTC has 

maintained a scientific research and 

fishery monitoring program for many 

years and annually assesses the status of 

stocks of tuna and the fisheries to 

determine appropriate harvest limits or 

other measures to prevent 

overexploitation of the stocks and 

promote viable fisheries. 

Under the Tuna Conventions Act, 16 

U.S.C. 951–961 and 971 et seq., NMFS 

must publish proposed rules to carry 

out IATTC recommendations that have 

been approved by DOS. The Southwest 

Regional Administrator also is required 

by 50 CFR 300.25(b)(3) to issue a direct 

notice to the owners or agents of all U.S. 

purse seine vessels that operate in the 

ETP of fishery management actions 

applicable to them that have been 

recommended by the IATTC and 

approved by the DOS. 

In June 2006, the IATTC adopted a 

Resolution for a Program on the 

Conservation of Tuna in the Eastern 

Pacific Ocean for 2007. The June 2006 

resolution is a 1–year program on the 

conservation of tuna in the eastern 

Pacific Ocean for 2007. This resolution 

offers a choice for closing the purse 

seine fishery: either a 6–week closure 

beginning August 1, 2007, or a 6–week 

closure beginning November 20, 2007. 

The resolution of June 2006 

incorporated flexibility for nations to 

administer the purse seine closure in 

accordance with national legislation and 

national sovereignty. The selected 

measure should reduce overfishing in a 

manner that is fair, equitable, and 

readily enforceable. NMFS will select 

one of the two closure periods after 

consideration of public comment. 

The June 2006 resolution also calls 

upon each Party and cooperating nonParty to ensure that each nation’s 

longline catch of bigeye tuna in the ETP 

during 2007 will not exceed the catch 

level of 2001 or 500 mt, whichever is 

higher. The U.S. catch level of longline 

caught bigeye tuna for 2001 was 

estimated to be 150 mt in the 

Convention Area. Therefore, under this 

rule, the U.S. quota for longline caught 

bigeye in the Convention Area would be 

500 mt for 2007. 

In 2006, the U.S. catch level of 

longline-caught bigeye tuna in the 

Convention Area of 150 mt was reached. 

On July 6, 2006, NMFS closed the U.S. 

longline fishery for bigeye tuna in the 

Convention Area for the remainder of 

2006. 

The IATTC adopted the June 2006 

resolution after considering a variety of 

measures, including the use of quotas 

and closures (as in 1999 through 2002), 

a full-month purse seine closure (used 

in 2003), and a 6–week purse seine 

closure as used in 2004, 2005, and 2006. 

The proposed 2007 time/area closure 

is based on 2005 assessments of the 

condition of the tuna stocks in the ETP 

and historic catch and effort data for 

different portions of the ETP, as well as 

records relating to implementation of 

quotas and closures in prior years. The 

closure targets the Convention Area and 

is believed to be sufficient to reduce the 

risk of overfishing of the tuna stocks, 

especially when considered in 

combination with the 6–week closures 

implemented in 2004, 2005, and 2006. 

The combined multi-annual, 

multilateral restrictions should increase 

the protections from overfishing of the 

tuna stocks in the Convention Area. In 

an international fishery the best 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
8334 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

approach is through multilateral 

conservation and management 

measures. The IATTC met in June 2006 

and reviewed tuna stock assessments 

and fishery information and considered 

that new information in evaluating the 

need for management measures for 2007 

and future years. The DOS has approved 

the June 2006 resolution covering the 

year 2007, including the management 

measures described above. 

On October 30, 2006, the Regional 

Administrator, Southwest Region, sent a 

notice to owners and agents of U.S. 

fishing vessels of the June 2006 

resolution adopted by the IATTC and 

approved by the DOS. 

Classification 

This action is proposed under the 

regulations for the Pacific Tuna 

Fisheries at 50 CFR 300.25. 

On December 8, 1999, NMFS 

prepared a biological opinion (BO) 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., assessing 

the impacts of the fisheries as they 

would operate under the interim final 

rule (65 FR 47, January 3, 2000) 

implementing the International Dolphin 

Conservation Program Act (IDCPA). For 

the final rule (69 FR 176, September 13, 

2004) to implement the IDCPA, NMFS 

amended the incidental take statement 

included in the December 8, 1999, BO. 

NMFS concluded that the fishing 

activities conducted under those 

regulations are not likely to jeopardize 

the continued existence of any 

endangered or threatened species under 

the jurisdiction of NMFS or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

critical habitat. This proposed rule will 

not result in any changes in the fisheries 

such that there would be impacts 

beyond those considered in that BO. 

The IATTC has also taken action to 

reduce sea turtle injury and mortality 

from interactions in the purse seine 

fishery so impacts of the fisheries 

should be lower than in the past. 

Because this closure does not alter the 

scope of the fishery management regime 

analyzed in the IDCPA rule, or the scope 

of the impacts considered in that 

consultation, NMFS is relying on that 

analysis to conclude that the purse seine 

fishery managed under this proposed 

rule will not likely adversely effect any 

endangered or threatened species under 

the jurisdiction of NMFS or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

critical habitat. On October 4, 2005, 

NMFS concluded that the Hawaii-based 

pelagic, deep-set, tuna longline fishery 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Pelagic 

Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region 

is not likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species under the 

jurisdiction of NMFS or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

critical habitat. This proposed rule will 

not result in any changes in the longline 

fishery such that there would be 

impacts beyond those considered in that 

BO. 

The U.S. ETP tuna purse seine 

fisheries occasionally interact with a 

variety of species of dolphin, and 

dolphin takes are authorized and 

managed under the IDCPA. The 

conservation management measures in 

this proposed rule do not affect the 

administration of that program, which is 

consistent with section 303(a)(2) of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1413 (a)(2). 

NMFS prepared an EA for the final 

rule (70 FR 69, April 12, 2005) to 

implement resolutions adopted by the 

IATTC and by the Parties to the 

Agreement on the International Dolphin 

Conservation Program. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries concluded 

that there would be no significant 

impact on the human environment as a 

result of that final rule. The impacts of 

the fisheries as they will operate under 

the closures in 2007 are within the 

range of impacts of the alternatives 

considered in that EA, and are not 

expected to pose different impacts to the 

human environment. Therefore, this 

action does not require further analysis 

under NEPA. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA). The IRFA prepared describes 

the economic impact that this proposed 

rule, if adopted, would have on small 

entities. A copy of the IRFA for this 

proposed rule is available for public 

comment (see ADDRESSES). A summary 

of the analysis follows. 

A description of the reasons for, 

objectives of, and legal basis for this 

proposed rule is included in the 

preamble and not repeated here. 

This action would prohibit the use of 

purse seine gear to harvest tuna in the 

Convention Area for a 6- week period 

beginning August 1, 2007, through 

September 11, 2007, or beginning 

November 20, 2007, through December 

31, 2007, and limit the annual 2007 U.S. 

catch of bigeye tuna caught by longline 

in the ETP to 500 mt. 

The proposed purse seine closure 

would apply to the U.S. tuna purse 

seine fleet, which consists of five to ten 

small vessels (carrying capacity below 

400 short tons (363 mt)) and one to two 

large vessels (carrying capacity 400 

short tons (363 mt) or greater). The large 

vessels usually fish outside U.S. waters 

and deliver their catch to foreign ports 

or transship to processors outside the 

mainland United States. The large 

vessels are categorized as large business 

entities (revenues in excess of $4 

million per year). A large purse seine 

vessel typically generates 4,000 to 5,000 

mt of tuna valued at between $4 and $5 

million per year. The closure should not 

significantly affect the operations of the 

one to two large vessels because they are 

capable of fishing in other areas that 

would remain open. Also, the one to 

two large purse seine vessels do conduct 

fishing operation in other areas. The 

small vessels are categorized as small 

business entities (revenues below $4 

million per year). They fish out of 

California in the U.S. exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) most of the year 

for small pelagic fish (Pacific sardine, 

Pacific mackerel) and for market squid 

in summer. Some small vessels harvest 

tuna seasonally when they are available. 

The proposed time/area closure will 

have no effect on small vessels because 

they do not have the endurance and 

markets to fish that far south for tunas 

on a regular basis. 

For 2006, the United States chose to 

close the purse seine fishery beginning 

November 20, 2006, for the remainder of 

2006. In 2006 the U.S. catch level of 

longline caught bigeye tuna in the 

Convention Area of 150 mt was reached. 

On July 6, 2006, NMFS closed the U.S. 

longline fishery for bigeye tuna in the 

Convention Area for the remainder of 

2006. 

The existing California based longline 

fishery, currently consisting of one 

vessel, does catch bigeye tuna. The 

portion of the fleet operating out of 

Hawaii has generally operated outside 

the boundaries of the Convention Area, 

and has not made significant catches in 

those waters. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, 

the California and Hawaii based 

longline fishery was limited to 150 

metric tons of bigeye tuna in the 

Convention Area. A closure for the 

California based longline fleet will 

significantly affect their operations. 

However, the California based longline 

fleet is capable of fishing for other 

species of fish in the Convention Area 

which should mitigate the effects of the 

closure. In 2004, 2005, and 2006, the 

California based longline fleet landed 

swordfish and showed fishery 

management that they were capable of 

fishing for other species of fish in the 

Convention Area. With the reopening of 

the swordfish fishery for the Hawaii 

fleet, effort directed at bigeye tuna 

(which has mainly occurred west of the 

Convention Area) should remain at the 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 37 / Monday, February 26, 2007 / Proposed Rules 8335 

same level. A closure should not 

significantly affect their operations as 

they are capable of fishing in other areas 

that would remain open, outside the 

boundaries of the Convention Area. In 

2005, 500 mt of bigeye tuna were caught 

by the U.S. longline fishery in the 

Convention Area. In 2007, if the U.S. 

longline fishery reaches the 500 metric 

ton limit, this fishery is capable of 

fishing in other areas that would remain 

open. 

NMFS is not aware of any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this proposed rule. This 

rule does not impose reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements, and the 

compliance requirements for the closure 

areas are as described at the outset of 

this summary. 

NMFS considered three alternatives 

for this proposed rule: The 2006 IATTC 

Tuna Conservation Resolution allows 

nations to opt for a 6–week summer 

closure of the purse seine fishery from 

August 1 through September 20 of 2007 

or a closure from November 20 through 

December 31, 2007. The August 1 

September 20 closure alternative may 

have a greater economic impact on 

small entities than the November 20 

December 31 closure. In particular, the 

U.S. purse seine fleet may prefer a 

closure later in the fishing year because 

the winter weather is not conducive to 

fishing. Also, throughout the history of 

this fishery shipyards have been 

prepared to accept vessels for scheduled 

repairs during the winter months. The 

fishery closure later in the year allows 

the industry to plan for and mitigate 

economic impacts of a closure while 

still providing the conservation benefits 

to the tuna resources in the ETP. 

NMFS also considered the alternative 

of not implementing the 2006 IATTC 

Tuna Conservation Resolution. This 

alternative would have imposed no 

economic costs on small entities. 

However, failure to implement measures 

that have been agreed on pursuant to the 

Convention would violate the United 

States’ obligations under the 

Convention, and would violate the Tuna 

Conventions Act. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951–961 and 971 et 

seq. 

Dated: February 21, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–3251 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[I.D. 021607G] 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meetings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

convene the Law Enforcement Advisory 

Panel (LEAP) to review a revised Draft 

Joint Amendment 27 to the Reef Fish 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP)/ 

Amendment 14 to the Shrimp FMP. 

This amendment contains alternatives 

to regulate the harvest and bycatch of 

red snapper by both the directed 

commercial and recreational fisheries 

and the shrimp fishery in the Gulf of 

Mexico. The need for this amendment 

arose from the Southeast Data, 

Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process through which a recent stock 

assessment showed that the red snapper 

stock in the Gulf was overfished and 

overfishing was continuing. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, March 13, 2007 from 1 p.m. to 

5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, 875 

Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, Mississippi, 

888–383–7037. 

Council address: Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

Florida 33607. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Richard Leard, Deputy Executive 

Director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council; telephone: 813–

348–1630. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The LEAP 

will review a scoping document for a 

potential amendment to address the 

need for additional management 

measures for gray triggerfish, greater 

amberjack, gag, and red grouper. The 

LEAP will discuss enforcement 

implications of the potential 

implementation of a fish-tagging 

program for stocks managed under 

individual fishing quotas (IFQs) such as 

red snapper and the potential use of a 

Federal fish stamp to identify 

recreational fishermen fishing in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Finally, 

the LEAP will discuss any enforcement 

problems and successes of the recently 

implemented IFQ program for red 

snapper and review the status of various 

FMP amendments and other regulatory 

actions previously approved by the 

Council. 

The LEAP consists of principal law 

enforcement officers in each of the Gulf 

States, as well as the NMFS, U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service (FWS), the U.S. 

Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration’s 

(NOAA) General Counsel. A copy of the 

agenda and related materials can be 

obtained by calling the Council office at 

813–348–1630. 

Although other non-emergency issues 

not on the agendas may come before the 

LEAP for discussion, in accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), those issues may not be the 

subject of formal action during this 

meeting. Actions of the LEAP will be 

restricted to those issues specifically 

identified in the agendas and any issues 

arising after publication of this notice 

that require emergency action under 

Section 305(c) of the M-SFCMA, 

provided the public has been notified of 

the Council’s intent to take action to 

address the emergency. 

These meetings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Tina Trezza at the 

Council (see ADDRESSES) five working 

days prior to the meeting. 

Dated: February 20, 2007. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–3244 Filed 2–23–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[I.D. 012607A] 

RIN 0648–AU26 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery; 

Amendment 12 to the Coastal Pelagic 

Species Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS