Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 72 / Tuesday, April 15, 1997 / Proposed Rules 18309

agreement on basic telecommunications

services in the World Trade

Organization (WTO) on proposals made

in the DISCO II proceeding.

DATES: The roundtable discussion will

be held on April 18, 1997, at 1:30–3:30

p.m.

ADDRESSES: The roundtable discussion

will be held in the Commission Meeting

Room, Room 856, 1919 M Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20054.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Suzanne Hutchings, Attorney, (tel: 202–

418–0762, fax: 202–418–0765), and

James Taylor, Attorney, (tel: 202–418–

2113, fax: 202–418–7270), Satellite and

Radiocommunication Division,

International Bureau, Suite 500, 2000 M

Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

International Bureau, Satellite and

Radiocommunication Division, will host

a roundtable discussion on April 18,

1997, at 1:30–3:30 p.m. in the

Commission Meeting Room, Room 856,

1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

20054, to solicit views on rules and

policies for entry of foreign-licensed

satellites in the U.S. market, as

proposed by the Commission in the

DISCO II (61 FR 32399, June 24, 1996).

Comments offered in the roundtable

discussion will assist the Commission

in assessing the impact of the recent

agreement on basic telecommunications

services in the World Trade

Organization (WTO) on proposals made

in the DISCO II proceeding.

One of the principal aims of the

DISCO II proceeding was to encourage

foreign governments to open their

communications markets. As a result of

the recent WTO Agreement, nearly 80%

of countries making offers on basic

telecommunications have committed to

a complete opening of their satellite

markets effective January 1998 or on a

phased-in basis. Additional participants

have committed to at least partial

opening of their satellite markets, and

the United States Trade Representative

continues to urge countries to improve

on their offers on basic

telecommunications.

We seek to assess the impact, if any,

of these developments on the

Commission’s stated goals in DISCO II,

and on whether proposed DISCO II rules

and policies should be revised to reflect

these developments. Specifically, we

ask the industry and the general public

their views on whether and how the

ECO-Sat and public interest criteria for

evaluating applications to access nonU.S.-licensed satellites should change in

light of the WTO Agreement.

• Should our consideration of additional

public interest factors, including the

promotion of competition in the United

States, be modified or expanded?

• How should the proposed ECO-Sat test

be modified with respect to satellites

licensed by WTO members, including

systems that have investment by non-WTO

members?

• Should the proposed ECO-Sat test and

public interest factors be modified with

respect to satellites licensed by non-WTO

members? If so, what specific criteria should

be applied?

• Should the proposed ECO-Sat test and

public interest factors be modified with

respect to satellite services not covered by

the U.S. WTO offer on basic

telecommunications, i.e. DTH, DBS, and

DARS? If so, what specific criteria should be

applied?

Members of industry and the public

who wish to comment in writing should

submit their views sufficiently in

advance of the roundtable meeting so as

to enable all participants to review

them. A public file has been set up in

the International Bureau’s Reference

Room on the First Floor of 2000 M

Street, N.W. for the written submissions

provided during this inquiry. The

address for all correspondence: Office of

the International Bureau Chief, Satellite

Policy Branch, Suite 800, 2000 M Street,

N.W., Stop Code 0800, Washington, D.C.

20554.

Persons with other business currently

before the Commission are asked to

ensure that comments offered do not

violate any restrictions on ex parte

presentations.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–9627 Filed 4–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 960520141–7077–05; I.D.

021897B]

RIN 0648–AH05

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 1997 Scup

Recreational Fishery Measures

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 to retain, for 1997, the 1996

recreational management measures for

the scup fishery implemented under the

regulations implementing Amendment 8

to the Fishery Management Plan for the

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea

Bass Fisheries (FMP). This rule

proposes no change to the measures

implemented under Amendment 8, that

is, a 7–inch (17.78–cm) minimum fish

size, no possession limit and no season

for the recreational scup fishery. The

intent of this document is to comply

with implementing regulations for the

scup fishery that require NMFS to

publish measures for the upcoming

fishing year that will prevent

overfishing of the resource.

DATES: Public comments must be

received on or before May 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the

Environmental Assessment prepared for

the 1997 scup specifications and

supporting documents used by the

Monitoring Committee are available

from: Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, Federal Building, 300 S. New

Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790.

Comments should be sent to: Regional

Administrator, Northeast Region,

NMFS, One Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the

outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on

the Recreational Fishing Measures for

Scup.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy

Analyst, (508) 281–9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP

was developed jointly by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council

(Council) and the Atlantic States Marine

Fisheries Commission (Commission) in

consultation with the New England and

South Atlantic Fishery Management

Councils. Implementing regulations for

the fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648.

Section 648.120 outlines the process

for determining annual commercial and

recreational catch quotas and other

restrictions for the scup fishery. The

Scup Monitoring Committee

(Committee), made up of representatives

from the Council, the Commission, the

New England Fishery Management

Council, and NMFS, is required to

review, on an annual basis, scientific

and other relevant information and to

recommend a quota and other

restrictions necessary to achieve an

annual exploitation rate of 47 percent in

1997 through 1999, 33 percent in 2000

and 2001, and the exploitation rate

associated with Fmax (currently 19

percent) in 2002. This schedule is

mandated by the FMP to prevent

overfishing and to rebuild the scup

resource. The Committee reviews the
18310 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 72 / Tuesday, April 15, 1997 / Proposed Rules

following information annually: (1)

Commercial and recreational catch data;

(2) current estimates of stock mortality;

(3) stock status; (4) recent estimates of

recruitment; (5) virtual population

analysis (a method for analyzing fish

stock abundance); (6) levels of

regulatory noncompliance by fishermen

or individual states; (7) impact of fish

size and net mesh regulations; (8)

impact of gear, other than otter trawls,

on the mortality of scup; and (9) other

relevant information. Pursuant to

§ 648.120, after this review, the

Committee recommends to the Council

and Commission management measures

to ensure achievement of the

appropriate exploitation rate. The

Council and Commission, in turn, make

a recommendation to the Regional

Administrator.

Final specifications for the 1997 scup

fishery were published on March 14,

1997 (62 FR 12105), including a

coastwide recreational harvest limit of

1.947 million lb (0.88 million kg). The

recreational season, possession limit,

and minimum size were not established

as part of those specifications because

recreational catch data for 1996 were

not available for the Committee’s use to

evaluate the effectiveness of the 1996

measures. Shortly after preliminary

1996 data became available, the

Committee met again to review the data

and to recommend measures for the

1997 recreational fishery intended to

achieve the recreational harvest limit.

The Committee, noting uncertainties in

the stock assessment and stock size

projections for 1997, and the landings

projections for 1996, recommended to

the Council and Commission that the

management measures implemented in

1996 for the recreational fishery,

specifically a minimum fish size of 7

inches (17.78 cm), be continued for

1997. The Committee did not

recommend a season or possession limit

for 1997. The Council and Commission

adopted the recommendation on

December 17, 1996, and this

recommendation is proposed in this

action.

The Council and Commission

recommended the continuation of the

1996 limits after reviewing data that

indicated that, while projected 1996

landings would be 2.3 million lb (1.04

million kg), or 16 percent greater than

the harvest limit proposed for 1997,

1995 recreational landings were only 1.3

million lb (0.6 million kg), or 32 percent

less than the harvest limit proposed for

1997. Given this variability in landings

around the harvest level proposed in

1997, when little or no restrictions were

in place, the Council and Commission

were reluctant to implement further

restrictions at this time. In addition, the

Council and Commission noted

uncertainties in the analyses and

projections cited by the Committee and

concluded that the availability of larger

scup (i.e., scup larger than 7 inches

(17.78 cm)) was not expected to

increase. The Council and Commission

determined that the 7–inch (17.78–cm)

minimum size regulation would

constrain anglers to the 1997 coastwide

recreational harvest limit of 1.947

million lb (0.88 million kg). To adopt an

increase in size or possession limit at

this time could preclude the harvest

limit from being taken.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

Part 648, and has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

The Assistant General Counsel for

Legislation and Regulation, Department

of Commerce, certified to the Chief

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small

Business Administration that this

proposed rule issued under the

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities as follows:

This action would retain for 1997, the same

management measures for the recreational

scup fishery implemented in 1996.

Specifically, this action would continue the

minimum fish size of 7 inches (17.8 cm) and

no possession limit in order to allow the

recreational sector of the scup fishery to

harvest the coastwide harvest limit of 1.947

million lb (0.88 million kg). The Council and

Commission recommended the continuation

of the 1996 measures after reviewing data

that indicated that, while projected 1996

landings could be 2.3 million lb (1.04 million

kg), or approximately 17 percent greater than

the 1997 harvest limit, recreational landings

for 1995 were only 1.3 million lb (0.6 million

kg), or 32 percent less than the 1997 harvest

limit. The 1997 harvest level represents an

8.2 percent increase relative to the mean of

those two landings levels.

Currently, there are 290 vessels issued

charter/party permits for the scup fishery. It

is probable that all of these vessels would

qualify as small entities (that is, having

annual receipts of less than 2 million

dollars). Based on 1995 angler intercept data,

scup were the primary species sought in an

estimated 2.3 percent of the reported trips in

the North Atlantic region. Scup was not

among the top ten species sought in either

the Mid-Atlantic or the South Atlantic

(including North Carolina) regions. Those

data include trips by all modes, including

party/charter and private/rental vessels, as

well as fishing from shore and man made

structures (e.g., piers). These data, however,

cannot predict the extent to which

participation would be effected by the

proposed measures. Achievement of the

target harvest limit is dependent upon the

assumption that participation (effort) as well

as scup availability, will not change in 1997.

Since the result of this action is no change

in the recreational fishing measures for 1997,

compliance costs are not expected to

increase, and no vessels are expected to cease

operations. Likewise, since fewer than 3

percent of the reported trips indicate scup as

the primary species sought, ex-vessel

revenues are not expected to increase or

decrease by 5 percent or more for 20 percent

or more of these participants in the

recreational fishery. This presumption is

supported by the fact that the identical

measures implemented under Amendment 8

to the Fishery Management Plan for the

Summer Flounder and Scup Fisheries were

determined to not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of

small entities. It is, therefore, likely that this

rule would similarly not have a significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. As a result, an initial regulatory

flexibility analysis was not prepared.

Dated: April 9, 1996.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Services.

[FR Doc. 97–9589 Filed 4–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F