Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Proposed Rules 10967 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Councils do not expect this 

proposed rule to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities within the 

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because it 

makes no significant change to the 

policy for the synopses of proposed 

contract actions. An Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis has, therefore, not 

been performed. We invite comments 

from small businesses and other 

interested parties. The Councils will 

consider comments from small entities 

concerning the affected FAR Parts 5, 10, 

12, and 25 in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

610. Interested parties must submit such 

comments separately and should cite 5 

U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAR case 2006–016), 

in correspondence. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the proposed changes 

to the FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 5, 10, 

12, and 25 

Government procurement. 

Dated: March 2, 2007. 

Ralph De Stefano 

Director, Contract Policy Division. 

Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

propose amending 48 CFR parts 5, 10, 

12, and 25 as set forth below: 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 5, 10, 12, and 25 continues to read 

as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c). 

PART 5—PUBLICIZING CONTRACT 

ACTIONS 

2. Amend section 5.203 by revising 

paragraph (a) introductory text to read 

as follows: 

5.203 Publicizing and response time. 

* * * * * 

(a) An agency must transmit a notice 

of proposed contract action to the GPE 

(see 5.201). All publicizing and 

response times are calculated based on 

the date of publication. The publication 

date is the date the notice appears on 

the GPE. The notice must be published 

at least 15 days before issuance of a 

solicitation or a proposed contract 

action the Government intends to solicit 

and negotiate with only one source 

under the authority of 6.302, except 

that, for acquisitions of commercial 

items, the contracting officer may—

* * * * * 

5.205 [Amended] 

3. Amend section 5.205 in the fifth 

sentence following the paragraph 

heading of paragraph(a) by removing the 

words ‘‘cite the appropriate Numbered 

Note,’’

4. Amend section 5.207 by—

a. Removing paragraph (a)(4) and 

redesignating paragraphs (a)(5) through 

(a)(19) as (a)(4) through (a)(18) 

respectively; 

b. Revising newly redesignated 

paragraph (a)(9); 

c. Revising paragraphs (c)(13) and 

(c)(14); 

d. Revising paragraph (d); 

e. Removing paragraph (e) and 

redesignating paragraphs (f) and (g) as 

(e) and (f),respectively; and 

f. Revising the newly designated 

paragraph (f). 

The revised text read as follows: 

5.207 Preparation and Transmittal of 

Synopses. 

(a) * * * 

(9) Closing Response Date. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(13) (i) If the solicitation will include 

the FAR clause at 52.225–3, Buy 

American Act Free Trade 

Agreements Israeli Trade Act, or an 

equivalent agency clause, insert the 

following notice in the synopsis: ‘‘One 

or more of the items under this 

acquisition is subject to Free Trade 

Agreements.’’

(ii) If the solicitation will include the 

FAR clause at 52.225–5, Trade 

Agreements, or an equivalent agency 

clause, insert the following notice in the 

synopsis: ‘‘One or more of the items 

under this acquisition is subject to the 

World Trade Organization Government 

Procurement Agreement and Free Trade 

Agreements.’’

(iii) If the solicitation will include the 

FAR clause at clause 52.225–11, Buy 

American Act–Construction Materials 

under Trade Agreements, or an 

equivalent agency clause, insert the 

following notice in the synopsis: ‘‘One 

or more of the items under this 

acquisition is subject to the World Trade 

Organization Government Procurement 

Agreement and Free Trade 

Agreements.’’

(14) In the case of noncompetitive 

contract actions (including those that do 

not exceed the simplified acquisition 

threshold), identify the intended source 

and insert a statement of the reason 

justifying the lack of competition. 

* * * * * 

(d) Set-asides. When the proposed 

acquisition provides for a total or partial 

small business program set-aside, the 

contracting officer shall identify the 

type of set-aside in the solicitation. 

(e) * * * 

(f) Cancellation of synopsis. 

Contracting officers should not publish 

notices of solicitation cancellations (or 

indefinite suspensions) of proposed 

contract actions in the GPE. 

Cancellations of solicitations must be 

made in accordance with 14.209 and 

14.404–1. 

PART 10—MARKET RESEARCH 

10.002 [Amended] 

5. Amend section 10.002(d)(2) by 

removing the parenthetical from the end 

of the second sentence. 

PART 12—ACQUISITION OF 

COMMERCIAL ITEMS 

12.603 [Amended] 

6. Amend section 12.603 by removing 

paragraph (c)(2)(xv) and redesignating 

paragraphs (c)(2)(xvi) and (xvii) as 

paragraphs (c)(2)(xv) and (xvi), 

respectively. 

PART 25—FOREIGN ACQUISITIONS 

7. Amend section 25.408 by revising 

paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows: 

25.408 Procedures. 

(a) * * * 

(2) Comply with the requirements of 

5.207, Preparation and Transmittal of 

Synopses; 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 07–1102 Filed 3–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 070227048–7048–01; I.D. 

020807C] 

RIN 0648–AU63 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; Total Allowable Catches for 

Georges Bank Cod, Haddock, and 

Yellowtail Flounder in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area for Fishing Year 

2007 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
10968 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2007 fishing 

year (FY) Total Allowable Catches 

(TACs) for Georges Bank (GB) cod, 

haddock, and yellowtail flounder in the 

U.S./Canada Management Area, as 

recommended by the New England 

Fishery Management Council (Council). 

These TACs may be adjusted during FY 

2007, if NMFS determines that the 

harvest of these stocks in FY 2006 

exceeded the TACs specified for FY 

2006. The intent of this action is to 

provide for the conservation and 

management of those three stocks of 

fish. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 11, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: USCATAC@NOAA.gov. 

Include in the subject line the following: 

Comments on the proposed TACs for 

the U.S./Canada Management Area. 

• Federal e-rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Paper, disk, or CD ROM 

comments should be sent to Patricia A. 

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope, 

‘‘Comments on the proposed TACs for 

the U.S./Canada Management Area.’’

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

Copies of the Transboundary 

Management Guidance Committee’s 

2006 Guidance Document and copies of 

the Environmental Assessment (EA) of 

the 2007 TACs (including the 

Regulatory Impact Review and 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

may be obtained from NMFS at the 

mailing address specified above; 

telephone (978) 281–9315. NMFS 

prepared a summary of the IRFA, which 

is contained in the Classification section 

of this proposed rule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tobey Curtis, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9273, fax (978) 

281–9135, e-mail 

Tobey.Curtis@NOAA.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) specifies a 

procedure for setting annual hard TAC 

levels (i.e., the fishery or area closes 

when a TAC is reached) for GB cod, 

haddock, and yellowtail flounder in the 

U.S./Canada Management Area. The 

regulations governing the annual 

development of TACs (§ 648.85(a)(2)) 

were implemented by Amendment 13 to 

the FMP (69 FR 22906; April 27, 2004) 

in order to be consistent with the U.S./ 

Canada Resource Sharing 

Understanding (Understanding), which 

is an informal (i.e. non-binding) 

understanding between the United 

States and Canada that outlines a 

process for the management of the 

shared GB groundfish resources. The 

Understanding specifies an allocation of 

TAC for these three stocks for each 

country, based on a formula that 

considers historical catch percentages 

and current resource distribution. 

Annual TACs are determined through 

a process involving the Council, the 

Transboundary Management Guidance 

Committee (TMGC), and the U.S./ 

Canada Transboundary Resources 

Steering Committee (§ 648.85(a)(2)(i)). In 

November 2006, the TMGC approved 

the 2006 Guidance Document for GB 

cod, GB haddock, and GB yellowtail 

flounder, which included recommended 

U.S. TACs for these stocks. The 

recommended 2007 TACs were based 

upon the most recent stock assessments 

(Transboundary Resource Assessment 

Committee (TRAC) Status Reports for 

2006), and the fishing mortality strategy 

shared by both the United States and 

Canada. The strategy is to maintain a 

low to neutral (less than 50 percent) risk 

of exceeding the fishing mortality limit 

reference (Fref = 0.18, 0.26, and 0.25, for 

cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder, 

respectively). When stock conditions are 

poor, fishing mortality rates (F) should 

be further reduced to promote 

rebuilding. 

For GB cod, the TMGC concluded that 

the most appropriate combined U.S./ 

Canada TAC for FY 2007 is 1,900 mt. 

This corresponds to an F less than the 

Fref of 0.18 in 2007, and represents a low 

risk (less than 25 percent) of exceeding 

the Fref. At this level of harvest it is 

unlikely that the stock biomass will 

decrease from 2007 to 2008. The annual 

allocation shares for FY 2007 between 

the United States and Canada are based 

on a combination of historical catches 

(25 percent weighting) and resource 

distribution based on trawl surveys (75 

percent weighting). Combining these 

factors entitles the United States to 26 

percent and Canada to 74 percent, 

resulting in a national quota of 494 mt 

of cod for the United States and 1,406 

mt of cod for Canada. 

For GB haddock, the TMGC 

concluded that the most appropriate 

combined U.S./Canada TAC for FY 2007 

is 19,000 mt. This corresponds to an F 

of less than the Fref of 0.26 in 2007 and 

would result in a risk of 50 percent of 

exceeding the Fref. The annual allocation 

shares for 2007 between countries are 

based on a combination of historical 

catches (25 percent weighting) and 

resource distribution based on trawl 

surveys (75 percent weighting). 

Combining these factors entitles the 

United States to 33 percent and Canada 

to 67 percent, resulting in a national 

quota of 6,270 mt of haddock for the 

United States and 12,730 mt of haddock 

for Canada. 

For GB yellowtail flounder, the TMGC 

concluded that the most appropriate 

combined U.S./Canada TAC for FY 2007 

is 1,250 mt. This TAC would result in 

a risk of 50 percent that the fishing 

mortality rate in 2007 would exceed the 

Fref of 0.25. The annual allocation shares 

for 2007 between countries are based on 

a combination of historical catches (25 

percent weighting) and resource 

distribution based on trawl surveys (75 

percent weighting). Combining these 

factors entitles the United States to 72 

percent and Canada to 28 percent, 

resulting in a national quota of 900 mt 

of yellowtail flounder for the United 

States and 350 mt of yellowtail flounder 

for Canada. 

On September 7, 2006, the 2006 

Guidance Document was presented to 

the U.S./Canada Transboundary 

Resources Steering Committee. On 

November 16, 2006, the Council 

approved, consistent with the 2006 

Guidance Document, the following U.S. 

TACs recommended by the TMGC and 

recommended their adoption to NMFS: 

494 mt of GB cod, 6,270 mt of GB 

haddock, and 900 mt of GB yellowtail 

flounder. The 2007 haddock and 

yellowtail flounder TACs represent a 

decrease from 2006 TAC levels, and the 

2007 cod TAC represents an increase 

from the 2006 TAC (Tables 1 and 2). 

TABLE 1: 2007 U.S./CANADA TACS (MT) AND PERCENTAGE SHARES (IN PARENTHESES) 

GB Cod GB Haddock GB Yellowtail flounder 

Total Shared TAC 1,900 19,000 1,250 

U.S. TAC 494 (26) 6,270 (33) 900 (72) 

Canada TAC 1,406 (74) 12,730 (67) 350 (28) 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Proposed Rules 10969 

TABLE 2: 2006 U.S./CANADA TACS (MT) AND PERCENTAGE SHARES (IN PARENTHESES) 

GB Cod GB Haddock GB Yellowtail flounder 

Total Shared TAC 1,700 22,000 3,000 

U.S. TAC 374 (22) 7,480 (34) 2,070 (69) 

Canada TAC 1,326 (78) 14,520 (66) 930 (31) 

The 2007 TACs are based upon stock 

assessments conducted in July 2006 by 

the TRAC. The proposed TACs are 

consistent with the results of the TRAC 

and the TMGC’s harvest strategy and, 

therefore, NMFS proposes that they be 

implemented through this action. 

The regulations for the U.S./Canada 

Management Understanding, 

implemented by Amendment 13, at 

§ 648.85(a)(2)(ii), state the following: 

‘‘Any overages of the GB cod, haddock, 

or yellowtail flounder TACs that occur 

in a given fishing year will be subtracted 

from the respective TAC in the 

following fishing year.’’

Therefore, should an analysis of the 

catch of the shared stocks by U.S. 

vessels indicate that an overage 

occurred during FY 2006, the pertinent 

TAC will be adjusted downward in 

order to be consistent with the FMP and 

the Understanding. Although it is very 

unlikely, it is possible that a very large 

overage could result in an adjusted TAC 

of zero. If an adjustment to one of the 

2007 TACs for cod, haddock, or 

yellowtail flounder is necessary, the 

public will be notified through 

publication in the Federal Register and 

through a letter to permit holders. 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that the 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

FMP and preliminarily determined that 

the rule is consistent with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

other applicable laws. 

This proposed rule is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

An initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis (IRFA) was prepared, as 

required by section 603 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The 

IRFA describes the economic impact 

this proposed rule, if adopted, would 

have on small entities. A description of 

the action, why it is being considered, 

and the legal basis for this action are 

contained at the beginning of this 

section in the preamble and in the 

SUMMARY section of the preamble. A 

summary of the analysis follows. A copy 

of this analysis is available from the 

NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

The specification of hard TACs is 

necessary in order to ensure that the 

agreed upon U.S./Canada fishing 

mortality levels for these shared stocks 

of fish are achieved in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area (the geographic area 

on GB defined to facilitate management 

of stocks of cod, haddock, and 

yellowtail flounder that are shared with 

Canada). A description of the objectives 

and legal basis for the proposed TACs 

is contained in the SUMMARY of this 

proposed rule. 

Under the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) size standards for 

small fishing entities ($3.5 million), all 

permitted and participating vessels in 

the groundfish fishery are considered to 

be small entities and, therefore, there 

are no differential impacts between 

large and small entities. Gross sales by 

any one entity (vessel) do not exceed 

this threshold. The maximum number of 

small entities that could be affected by 

the proposed TACs are approximately 

1,000 vessels, i.e., those with limited 

access NE multispecies days-at-sea 

(DAS) permits that have an allocation of 

Category A or B DAS. Realistically, 

however, the number of vessels that 

choose to fish in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area, and that therefore 

would be subject to the associated 

restrictions, including hard TACs, 

would be substantially less. 

From May 2005 through April 2006 

(i.e., FY 2005), 184 individual NE 

multispecies DAS vessels fished in the 

U.S./Canada Management Area. Because 

the regulatory regime in FY 2007 will be 

similar to that in place in FY 2005, it is 

likely that the number of vessels that 

choose to fish in the area during FY 

2007 will be similar to the number of 

vessels that fished in the area during FY 

2005. 

The economic impacts of the 

proposed TACs are difficult to predict 

due to several factors that affect the 

amount of catch, as well as the price of 

the fish. Furthermore, the economic 

impacts are difficult to predict due to 

the relative newness of these regulations 

(May 2004; Amendment 13 to the FMP). 

Therefore, there are relatively few 

historic data, and little is known about 

the specific fishing patterns or market 

impacts that may be caused by this hard 

TAC management system. In general, 

the rate at which yellowtail flounder is 

caught in the Eastern and Western U.S./ 

Canada Area and the rate at which cod 

is caught in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area will determine the length of time 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area will 

remain open. The length of time the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area is open will 

determine the amount of haddock that 

is caught. During the 2004 and 2005 

fishing years, the TACs were not fully 

utilized, and inseason changes to the 

regulations impacted the fishery. 

The amount of GB cod, haddock, and 

yellowtail flounder landed and sold will 

not be equal to the sum of the TACs, but 

will be reduced as a result of discards 

(discards are counted against the hard 

TAC), and may be further reduced by 

limitations on access to stocks that may 

result from the associated rules. 

Reductions to the value of the fish may 

result from fishing derby behavior and 

the potential impact on markets. The 

overall economic impact of the 

proposed 2007 U.S./Canada TACs will 

likely be different from the economic 

impacts of the 2006 TACs due to the 

reduced yellowtail flounder TAC, and 

may result in reduced revenue. 

Although the 2007 cod TAC represents 

an increase from 2006, the 2007 

haddock and yellowtail flounder TACs 

represent decreases from 2006. For 

yellowtail flounder, the decrease is 

substantial. Based on the estimates in 

the EA, revenues from cod caught in the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area may increase 

from 2006 to 2007 by approximately 32 

percent, and revenue from haddock and 

yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area may decline by 16 

percent and 57 percent, respectively. 

According to the analysis, the overall 

change in revenue from 2006 to 2007 for 

the 3 species combined could amount to 

a 33–percent decline (or approximately 

$ 3.5 million), although it is difficult to 

predict future fishing patterns, and there 

are factors that may mitigate the decline 

in overall revenue. For example, there 

could be an increase in yellowtail 

flounder price, as well as the potential 

for increased opportunity to harvest 

haddock from the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area. If the larger GB cod TAC results 

in a longer period of time that the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area is open, and 

if vessels attempt to, and are successful 

in avoidance of cod, the Eastern Area 

may be open for a longer period of time 

in FY 2007 than it was in 2006, 

resulting in additional revenue from 

haddock. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL
10970 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

Although unlikely, a downward 

adjustment to the TACs specified for FY 

2007 could occur after the start of the 

fishing year, if it is determined that the 

U.S. catch of one or more of the shared 

stocks during the 2006 fishing year 

exceeded the relevant TACs specified 

for FY 2006. The economic effects of 

this downward adjustment would likely 

result in a short term loss of revenue 

proportional to the magnitude of the 

adjustment. 

Three alternatives were considered for 

FY 2007: The proposed TACs, the status 

quo TACs, and the no action alternative. 

No additional set of TACs are proposed 

because the process involving the 

TMGC and the Council yields only one 

proposed set of TACs. Accordingly, 

NMFS chooses to either accept or reject 

the recommendation of the Council. The 

proposed TACs would have a similar 

economic impact as the status quo 

TACs. Adoption of the status quo TACs, 

however, would not be consistent with 

the FMP because the status quo TACs 

do not represent the best available 

scientific information incorporated from 

the most recent TRAC. Although the no 

action alternative (no TACs) would not 

constrain catch in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area, and therefore would 

likely provide some additional fishing 

opportunity, the no action alternative is 

not a reasonable alternative because it is 

inconsistent with the FMP in both the 

short and long term. The FMP requires 

specification of hard TACs in order to 

limit catch of shared stocks to the 

appropriate level (i.e., consistent with 

the Understanding and the FMP). As 

such, the no action alternative would 

likely provide less economic benefits to 

the industry in the long term than the 

proposed alternative. 

Two of the three proposed TACs 

would be reduced (haddock and 

yellowtail flounder), and could, under 

certain circumstances, constrain fishing 

opportunity on cod (for which the 

TACis increasing). The proposed TACs 

do not modify any collection of 

information, reporting, or recordkeeping 

requirements. The proposed TACs do 

not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

any other Federal rules. 

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

Dated: March 6, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–4442 Filed 3–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSAL