Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 10463 

taxes and duties, except as provided in 

subparagraph (b)(2)(i) of this clause. 

(2) Taxes imposed under 26 U.S.C. 

5000C may not be— 

(i) Included in the contract price; nor 

(ii) Reimbursed. 

* * * * * 

4. Amend section 52.229–4 by 

revising the date of the clause and 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

52.229–4 Federal, State, and Local Taxes 

(State and Local Adjustments). 

* * * * * 

Federal, State, and Local Taxes (state 

and local adjustments) (Date) 

* * * * * 

(b)(1) Unless otherwise provided in 

this contract, the contract price includes 

all applicable Federal, State, and local 

taxes and duties, except as provided in 

subparagraph (b)(2)(i) of this clause. 

(2) Taxes imposed under 26 U.S.C. 

5000C may not be— 

(i) Included in the contract price; nor 

(ii) Reimbursed. 

* * * * * 

5. Amend section 52.229–6 by: 

(a) Revising the date of the clause; 

(b) Redesignating paragraph (c) as 

(c)(1); removing from the newly 

designated paragraph (c)(1) ‘‘States.’’ 

and adding ‘‘States, except as provided 

in subparagraph (c)(2) of this clause.’’ in 

its place; 

(c) Adding a new paragraph (c)(2); 

(d) Redesignating paragraph (d) as 

(d)(1); removing from the newly 

designated paragraph (d)(1) ‘‘The 

contract price shall’’ and adding 

‘‘Except as provided in subparagraph 

(d)(2) of this clause, the contract price 

shall’’ in its place; and 

(e) Adding a new paragraph (d)(2). 

The revised and newly added text 

reads as follows: 

52.229–6 Taxes-Foreign Fixed—Price 

Contracts. 

* * * * * 

Taxes-Foreign Fixed-Price Contracts 

(Date) 

* * * * * 

(c)(1) * * * 

(2) Taxes imposed under 26 U.S.C. 

5000C may not be— 

(i) Included in the contract price; nor 

(ii) Reimbursed. 

(d)(1) * * * 

(2) The contract price may not be 

increased to offset taxes imposed under 

26 U.S.C. 5000c. 

* * * * * 

6. Amend section 52.229–7 by: 

a. Revising the date of the clause; 

b. Redesignating paragraph (b) as 

(b)(1); and 

c. Adding a new paragraph (b)(2). 

The revised and newly added text 

reads as follows: 

52.229–7 Taxes-Foreign Fixed-Price 

Contract With Foreign Governments. 

* * * * * 

Taxes-Foreign Fixed-Price Contracts 

With Foreign Governments (Date) 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) Taxes imposed under 26 U.S.C. 

5000c may not be included in the 

contract price. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–3905 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 120208116–2115–01] 

RIN 0648–BB83 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Proposed 2012–2013 Northeast 

Skate Complex Fishery Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule proposes catch 

limits and associated measures for the 

Northeast Skate Complex Fishery for the 

2012–2013 fishing years. The proposed 

action was developed by the New 

England Fishery Management Council 

pursuant to the provisions of the 

Northeast Skate Complex Fishery 

Management Plan. The proposed catch 

limits are supported by the best 

available scientific information and 

reflect recent increases in skate biomass. 

DATES: Public comments must be 

received no later than 5 p.m., eastern 

standard time, on March 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: An environmental 

assessment (EA) was prepared that 

describes the proposed action and other 

considered alternatives, and provides a 

thorough analysis of the impacts of the 

proposed measures and alternatives. 

Copies of the EA and the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), 

are available on request from Paul J. 

Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council, 

50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 

01950. These documents are also 

available online at http:// 

www.nefmc.org. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2012–0015, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ 

icon, and then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS– 

2012–0015’’ in the keyword search. 

Locate the document you wish to 

comment on from the resulting list, and 

click on the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon 

on the right of that line. 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: Tobey 

Curtis. 

• Mail: Daniel Morris, Acting 

Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope, 

‘‘Comments on Skate Specifications.’’ 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. 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. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov. All personal 

identifying information (e.g., name, 

address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by 

the sender will be publicly accessible. 

Do not submit confidential business 

information, or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, 

or Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tobey Curtis, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9273; fax: (978) 281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) is 

responsible for developing management 

measures for skate fisheries in the 

northeastern U.S. through the Northeast 

Skate Complex Fishery Management 

Plan (Skate FMP). Seven skate species 

are managed under the Skate FMP: 

Winter, little, thorny, barndoor, smooth, 

clearnose, and rosette. The Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) reviews the best available 

information on the status of skate 


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10464 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

populations and makes 

recommendations on acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) for the skate 

complex (all seven species). This 

recommendation is then used as the 

basis for catch limits and other 

management measures for the skate 

fisheries. 

Amendment 3 to the Skate FMP was 

implemented in July 2010 (75 FR 34049, 

June 16, 2010). It instituted an annual 

catch limit (ACL) and accountability 

measures (AMs) for the skate fishery, 

created an annual review and 

specifications process, and set fishery 

specifications for the 2010–2011 fishing 

years (through April 30, 2012). The ACL 

was set equal to the ABC 

recommendation of the SSC (41,080 

metric tons (mt)). Amendment 3 also 

implemented an annual catch target 

(ACT), which is 75 percent of the ACL, 

and annual total allowable landings 

(TALs) for the skate wing and bait 

fisheries (TAL = ACT—dead discards 

and state landings), three seasonal 

quotas for the bait fishery, and 

possession limits in each fishery. Skate 

wing possession limits were 

subsequently modified by Framework 

Adjustment 1 (76 FR 28328, May 17, 

2011). 

In June 2011, the SSC gave the 

Council a new recommendation for 

skate ABC to be used for the 2012–2013 

fishing years (50,435 mt). The proposed 

specifications reflect the best available 

scientific information on skates. The 

ABC is calculated by multiplying the 

median catch/biomass ratio by the most 

recent 3-year average skate biomass 

from the NMFS bottom trawl survey. A 

calibration workshop was conducted in 

early 2011 to determine the best method 

to calibrate skate survey biomass 

between the new survey vessel, Henry 

B. Bigelow, and the retired vessel, 

Albatross IV. The workshop resulted in 

minor updates to skate overfishing 

definitions (described below). 

Significant increases in the survey 

biomass of little and winter skates 

through autumn 2010 supported 

increases in the ABC recommendation. 

Additionally, new research on the 

discard mortality of winter and little 

skates in trawl gear indicates that the 

assumed discard mortality rate of 50 

percent is too high, and that the dead 

discard portion of the catch has been 

overestimated in the past. Updates to 

estimates on state waters and transfer at 

sea landings were also incorporated. 

In light of the significant increase in 

ABC, the Council requested that NMFS 

implement the revised catch limits 

through a Secretarial emergency action 

for the remainder of the 2011 fishing 

year. NMFS reviewed the Council’s 

request and published a final rule on 

November 28, 2011, implementing 

increases in ABC, ACL, ACT, and TALs 

(76 FR 66856, October 28, 2011). The 

emergency action provided an otherwise 

unavailable economic opportunity by 

allowing the fishery to harvest more 

skates and have a longer fishing season 

during the 2011 fishing year. This also 

helped avoid the detrimental economic 

impacts that would have been 

associated with possibly closing the 

skate fisheries in the absence of the 

emergency action. These proposed 

specifications are intended to replace 

the measures implemented by the 2011 

emergency action (which expire April 

30, 2012), but are similar to the 

emergency action measures in most 

cases. 

Proposed Measures 

Based on the June 2011ABC 

recommendation from the SSC, the 

Council proposed the following 

specifications for the skate fishery for 

the 2012–2013 fishing years: 

1. That the skate ABC and ACL be 

specified at 50,435 mt; 

2. That the ACT be specified at 37,826 

mt; 

3. That the TAL be specified at 23,365 

mt (the skate wing fishery would be 

allocated 66.5 percent of the TAL 

(15,538 mt) and the skate bait fishery 

would be allocated 33.5 percent of the 

TAL (7,827 mt)); 

4. That the skate bait possession limit 

be increased from 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) 

to 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) whole weight 

per trip for vessels carrying a valid 

Skate Bait Letter of Authorization; and, 

5. That the skate wing possession 

limits be reduced from 2,600 lb (1,179 

kg) to 2,200 lb (998 kg) wing weight per 

trip for Season I (May 1 through August 

31), and decreased from 4,100 lb (1,860 

kg) to 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) wing weight 

per trip for Season II (September 1 

through April 30). 

As described in the 2011 emergency 

action, the Council-recommended TAL 

uses an inappropriately low estimate of 

state water landings that must be 

deducted from the ACT (3 percent of 

total landings). More recent analyses 

using a more accurate definition of state 

water landings indicate that the 2007– 

2009 average state water landings were 

approximately 6.7 percent of total 

landings. Therefore, this action 

proposes to use the same TAL specified 

in the emergency action (21,561 mt), 

rather than the slightly higher TAL 

proposed by the Council and described 

above. This would effectively keep the 

skate TALs and associated quotas at 

status quo levels through the 2013 

fishing year (Table 1). This TAL is 56 

percent greater than the 2010 and initial 

2011 TAL (no action alternative), 

continuing higher allowable harvest 

levels for skates. 

This rule proposes minor reductions 

to the skate wing possession limits in an 

effort to avoid implementation of the 

incidental skate wing possession limit 

(i.e., closure of the directed skate wing 

fishery) before the end of the fishing 

year. The possession limit analysis used 

by the Council was based on skate 

landing rates in 2010 and early 2011 

when landing rates were particularly 

high. However, landing rates have 

slowed during 2011, and the wing 

fishery is not currently projected to 

harvest 100 percent of its 2011 TAL. 

Therefore, there may not be justification 

to reduce the skate wing possession 

limits for the 2012–2013 fishing years. 

This rule proposes to increase the skate 

bait possession limit because the bait 

fishery consistently under-harvested its 

quotas in 2010 and 2011. NMFS is 

requesting comment on whether or not 

these proposed possession limit changes 

should be implemented. 

Based upon the results of the trawl 

survey vessel calibration, this rule 

proposes to update stock status 

determination criteria for skates. These 

updates include refinement of the 

survey strata used for determining the 

stock status of each skate species, as 

described in the EA for this action (see 

the ADDRESSES section of this proposed 

rule for how to obtain copies of the EA). 

The updates of stock status 

determination criteria also adjust the 

overfishing definition for clearnose 

skate. Overfishing would be deemed to 

be occurring if the 3-year moving 

average biomass of clearnose skate 

declines by 40 percent or more 

(compared to the current threshold of 30 

percent), reflecting the higher 

coefficients of variation (i.e., variability 

in catch between individual survey 

tows) for this species with the new trawl 

survey vessel. 

The specifications in this proposed 

rule also apply previously unaccounted 

for skate bait transfers at sea against the 

skate bait fishery quotas. Analysis 

indicates that bait transfers at sea, on 

average, represent approximately 18 

percent of total skate landings, and need 

to be considered when monitoring 

catch. Finally, in order to be consistent 

with the requirements of Amendment 3, 

this rule also proposes to remove a 

reference to Northeast multispecies 

sectors in the skate wing possession 

limit regulations found at § 648.322 (b). 

The skate wing possession limits were 

not intended to apply to sector vessels, 

and this reference should have been 

removed from the Amendment 3 final 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 10465 

rule. This rule does not propose changes 

to any other regulations implemented by 

Amendment 3 or Framework 

Adjustment 1 (including inseason TAL 

triggers or incidental possession limits). 

TABLE 1—NO ACTION AND PROPOSED 2012–2013 SKATE ABC AND ASSOCIATED CATCH LIMITS (MT) 

No action Preferred Percent 

difference 

ABC .............................................................................................................................................. 41,080 50,435 +23 

ACL .............................................................................................................................................. 41,080 50,435 +23 

ACT .............................................................................................................................................. 30,810 37,826 +23 

TAL .............................................................................................................................................. 13,848 21,561 +56 

Wing TAL ..................................................................................................................................... 9,209 14,338 +56 

Bait TAL ....................................................................................................................................... 4,639 7,223 +56 

Assumed Discard Rate ................................................................................................................ 52.0% 36.3% ¥30 

Assumed State Landings ............................................................................................................. 3.0% 6.7% +123 

The proposed specifications are 

expected to maintain positive economic 

impacts for the fishery, such as the 

increases in skate revenues that resulted 

from implementation of the emergency 

rule, while also maintaining the 

conservation objectives of the Skate 

FMP. Although the landings of skate 

wings are expected to remain high 

under the proposed specifications, 

overall catch of skates will not likely be 

significantly affected due to the nature 

of the skate wing fishery, which is 

primarily an incidental fishery within 

the groundfish and monkfish fisheries. 

Under the no action alternative with 

lower quotas, once the possession limit 

trigger is reached, skates that are caught 

in these primary fisheries above the 

incidental possession limit of 500 lb 

(227 kg) would be discarded. This 

proposed rule would enable fishermen 

to continue to retain and land for sale 

those skates that would otherwise have 

to be discarded. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has made a 

preliminary determination that this 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Skate FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this proposed rule 

is not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Council prepared an IRFA, 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 

this action, why it is being considered, 

and the legal basis for this action are 

contained at the beginning of this 

section of the preamble and in the 

SUMMARY of this proposed rule. A 

summary of the IRFA follows. A copy of 

the complete IRFA analysis is available 

from the Council (see ADDRESSES). 

The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) considers commercial fishing 

entities (NAICS code 114111) to be 

small entities if they have no more than 

$4 million in annual sales, while the 

size standard for charter/party operators 

(NAICS code 487210) is $7 million in 

sales. All of the entities (fishing vessels) 

affected by this action are considered 

small entities under the SBA size 

standards for small fishing businesses. 

Although multiple vessels may be 

owned by a single owner, available 

tracking of ownership is not readily 

available to reliably ascertain affiliated 

entities. Therefore, for the purposes of 

this analysis, each permitted vessel is 

treated as a single small entity and is 

determined to be a small entity under 

the RFA. Accordingly, there are no 

differential impacts between large and 

small entities under this rule. 

Information on costs in the fishery is not 

readily available, and individual vessel 

profitability cannot be determined 

directly; therefore, expected changes in 

gross revenues were used as a proxy for 

profitability. 

This action does not introduce any 

new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

compliance requirements. This 

proposed rule does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with other Federal 

rules. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule Would 

Apply 

The proposed increase in the skate 

ACL and TALs would impact vessels 

that hold Federal open access 

commercial skate permits that 

participate in the skate fishery. 

According to the Framework 1 final rule 

and Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (76 FR 28328, May 17, 2011), 

as of December 31, 2010, the maximum 

number of small fishing entities (as 

defined by the SBA) that may be 

affected by this action is 2,607 entities 

(number of skate permit holders). 

However, during fishing year 2010, only 

601 vessels landed any amount of skate. 

Economic Impacts of the Proposed 

Action Compared to Significant NonSelected Alternatives 

The purpose of annual fishery 

specifications is to ensure that 

management measures accurately reflect 

the best available scientific information. 

The proposed action represents the 

maximum catch limits that could be 

implemented under the approved Skate 

FMP and regulations. Alternatives with 

higher catch limits, that might provide 

increased fishing opportunities, were 

not considered because such 

alternatives would be inconsistent with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 

Skate FMP. Any other alternatives 

would provide fewer fishing 

opportunities than the proposed action; 

therefore, the IRFA analyzes only the 

proposed action and the no action 

alternative. 

The purpose of the proposed action is 

to maintain the increased skate catch 

and landing limits of the emergency 

rule, thereby providing economic 

benefits to the fishery by continuing to 

extend the duration of the fishing 

season. This contrasts with the negative 

economic impacts that would be 

associated with the lower catch limits 

and potential fishery closures that 

would occur under the no action 

alternative. The proposed action is 

expected to maximize the short-term 

profitability for the skate fishery by 

continuing higher levels of landings for 

fishing years 2012 and 2013. It is also 

expected to minimize potential longterm economic impacts by 

implementing catch levels that are 

sustainable and that contribute to stock 

rebuilding. Therefore, the economic 

impacts resulting from the proposed 


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10466 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 22, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

action as compared to the no action 

alternative are positive. 

The proposed action is almost certain 

to result in greater revenue from skate 

landings. Based on recent landing 

information, the skate fishery is able to 

land close to the full amount of skates 

allowable under the quotas. The 

estimated potential revenue from the 

sale of skates under the proposed catch 

limits is approximately $9.8 million per 

year, compared to $5.8 million if this 

action were not implemented. However, 

vessels that participate in the skate 

fishery derive most (an average of 96 

percent) of their revenues from other 

fisheries (e.g., groundfish, monkfish). In 

fishing year 2010, the average total 

revenue (from all species combined) for 

the 601 vessels that landed skates was 

$234,389, of which an average of 

$17,042 was derived from skates. 

Therefore alterations to catch limits of 

other species would be expected to 

result in greater impacts on total fishing 

revenues than would alterations in skate 

catch limits. The proportion of revenue 

derived from skates may change over 

time, as skate prices have begun 

increasing in recent years, and more 

vessels have been deriving a greater 

proportion of their income from skates. 

Dated: February 15, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

2. In § 648.322, revise paragraph (b) 

introductory text, (b)(1) and (c)(4) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.322 Skate allocation, possession, 

and landing provisions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Skate wing possession and landing 

limits. A vessel or operator of a vessel 

that has been issued a valid Federal 

skate permit under this part, and fishes 

under an Atlantic sea scallop, NE 

multispecies, or monkfish DAS as 

specified at §§ 648.53, 648.82, and 

648.92, respectively, unless otherwise 

exempted under § 648.80 or paragraph 

(c) of this section, may fish for, possess, 

and/or land up to the allowable trip 

limits specified as follows: 

(1) Up to 2,200 lb (998 kg) of skate 

wings (4,994 lb (2,265 kg) whole weight) 

per trip from May 1 through August 31, 

and 3,600 lb (1,633 kg) of skate wings 

(8,172 lb (3,707 kg) whole weight) per 

trip from September 1 through April 30, 

except for a vessel fishing on a declared 

NE multispecies Category B DAS 

described under § 648.85(b), which is 

limited to no more than 220 lb (100 kg) 

of skate wings (500 lb (227 kg) whole 

weight) per trip (or any prorated 

combination of skate wings and whole 

skates based on the conversion factor for 

wing weight to whole weight of 2.27— 

for example, 100 lb (45.4 kg) of skate 

wings X 2.27 = 227 lb (103.1 kg) of 

whole skates). 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(4) The vessel owner or operator 

possesses or lands no more than 25,000 

lb (11,340 kg) of only whole skates less 

than 23 inches (58.42 cm) total length, 

and does not possess or land any skate 

wings or whole skates greater than 23 

inches (58.42 cm) total length. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–4111 Filed 2–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 120207106–2105–01] 

RIN 0648–BB85 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2012 

Tribal Fishery for Pacific Whiting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed 

rule for the 2012 Pacific whiting fishery 

under the authority of the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and the Pacific 

Whiting Act of 2006. This proposed rule 

would establish a tribal allocation of 

17.5 percent of the U.S. total allowable 

catch (TAC) for 2012. 

The regulations proposed by this 

action would also establish a process for 

reapportionment of unused tribal 

allocation of Pacific whiting to the nontribal fisheries. 

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule 

must be received no later than 5 p.m., 

local time on March 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–BB85 by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon, 

then enter (RIN Number) in the keyword 

search. Locate the document you wish 

to comment on from the resulting list 

and click on the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ 

icon on the right of that line. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Kevin C. 

Duffy. 

• Mail: William W. Stelle, Jr., 

Regional Administrator, Northwest 

Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way 

NE., Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: 

Kevin C. Duffy. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (if submitting comments via 

the Federal Rulemaking portal, enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the relevant required fields if 

you wish to remain anonymous). 

Attachments to electronic comments 

will be accepted in Microsoft Word, 

Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file 

formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kevin C. Duffy (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–4743, fax: 206– 

526–6736 and email: 

kevin.duffy@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This proposed rule is accessible via 

the Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Web site at http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s Web site at 

http://www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

The regulations at 50 CFR 660.50(d) 

establish the process by which the tribes 

with treaty fishing rights in the area 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS