Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 124 / Monday, June 29, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 35161

telecommunications revenues that such

telecommunications carrier derives from

providing telecommunications service

in the areas that regional database

serves, ii) to the sum of the intrastate,

interstate, and international end-user

telecommunications revenues that all

telecommunications carriers derive from

providing telecommunications service

in the areas that regional database

serves.

(b) The local number portability

administrator for a particular regional

database may require the

telecommunications carriers providing

telecommunications service in the areas

served by the regional database to

provide once a year that data necessary

to calculate, pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

or (a)(2) of this section, those carriers’

portions of the shared costs of long-term

number portability attributable to that

regional database. All such

telecommunications carriers shall

comply with any such requests.

(c) Once a telecommunications carrier

has been allocated, pursuant to

paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section,

its portion of the shared costs of longterm number portability attributable to a

regional database, the carrier shall treat

that portion as a carrier-specific cost

directly related to providing number

portability.

3. Add § 52.33 to read as follows:

§ 52.33 Recovery of carrier-specific costs

directly related to providing long-term

number portability.

(a) Incumbent local exchange carriers

may recover their carrier-specific costs

directly related to providing long-term

number portability by establishing in

tariffs filed with the Federal

Communications Commission a

monthly number-portability charge, as

specified in paragraph (a)(1), and a

number portability query-service charge,

as specified in paragraph (a)(2).

(1) The monthly number-portability

charge may take effect no earlier than

February 1, 1999, on a date the

incumbent local exchange carrier

selects, and may end no later than five

years after that date.

(i) An incumbent local exchange

carrier may assess each end user it

serves in the 100 largest metropolitan

statistical areas, and each end user it

serves from a number-portabilitycapable switch outside the 100 largest

metropolitan statistical areas, one

monthly number-portability charge per

line except that:

(A) One PBX trunk shall receive nine

monthly number-portability charges.

(B) One PRI ISDN line shall receive

five monthly number-portability

charges.

(C) Lifeline Assistance Program

customers shall not receive the monthly

number-portability charge.

(ii) An incumbent local exchange

carrier may assess on carriers that

purchase the incumbent local exchange

carrier’s switching ports as unbundled

network elements under section 251 of

the Communications Act, and resellers

of the incumbent local exchange

carrier’s local service, the same charges

as described in paragraph (a)(1)(A) of

this section, as if the incumbent local

exchange carrier were serving those

carriers’ end users.

(iii) An incumbent local exchange

carrier may not assess a monthly

number-portability charge for local

loops carriers purchase as unbundled

network elements under section 251.

(iv) The incumbent local exchange

carrier shall levelize the monthly

number-portability charge over five

years by setting a rate for the charge at

which the present value of the revenue

recovered by the charge does not exceed

the present value of the cost being

recovered, using a discount rate equal to

the rate of return on investment which

the Commission has prescribed for

interstate access services pursuant to

Part 65 of the Commission’s Rules.

(2) The number portability queryservice charge may recover only carrierspecific costs directly related to

providing long-term number portability

that the incumbent local exchange

carrier incurs to provide long-term

number portability query service to

carriers on a prearranged and default

basis.

(b) All telecommunications carriers

other than incumbent local exchange

carriers may recover their number

portability costs in any manner

consistent with applicable state and

federal laws and regulations.

[FR Doc. 98–17076 Filed 6–26–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 285

[I.D. 061898D]

Atlantic Tuna Fisheries; Atlantic

Bluefin Tuna

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Catch limit adjustment.

SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the daily catch

limit for the Angling category fishery for

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) in the

southern area (Delaware and states

south) to one fish per angler, with a

maximum of three fish per vessel, from

the school size class and one fish per

vessel from the large school or small

medium size class. The duration of the

catch limit adjustment is limited to the

period of June 26 through July 27, 1998,

whereupon the limit will revert to one

BFT from the school, large school, or

small medium size class per vessel per

day. This action is being taken to

provide increased fishing opportunities

in the southern area without risking

overharvest of this category.

DATES: The daily catch limit adjustment

is effective 1:00 a.m., local time, June

26, 1998, until 11:30 p.m., local time,

July 27, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat

Scida, 978–281–9260, or Sarah

McLaughlin, 301–713–2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implemented under the

authority of the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.)

governing the harvest of BFT by persons

and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction

are found at 50 CFR part 285.

Implementing regulations for the

Atlantic tuna fisheries at § 285.24 allow

for adjustments to the daily catch limits

in order to provide for maximum

utilization of the quota spread over the

longest possible period of time. The

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA, may increase or reduce the per

angler catch limit for any size class BFT

or may change the per angler limit to a

per boat limit or a per boat limit to a per

angler limit.

NMFS is responsible for

implementing the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas recommendation to limit

the annual catch of school bluefin to 8

percent by weight of the total annual

domestic quota, i.e., 1,344 metric tons

(mt). In addition, it is NMFS’ goal to

increase the geographical and temporal

distribution of data collection and

fishing opportunities for all fishermen

in the Angling category.

Since January 1, 1998, NMFS has

maintained the daily catch limit at one

BFT per vessel to ensure that the

southern area quota would not be

exceeded and to provide increased

fishing opportunities throughout the

southern area. Preliminary estimates of

southern area landings for January

through May 1998 indicate that no more

than 5 mt of school BFT (subquota of 51

mt), no more than 10 mt of large school/

small medium BFT (subquota of 72 mt),
35162 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 124 / Monday, June 29, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

and approximately 2.3 mt of large

medium/giant BFT (subquota of 5 mt)

were landed. Updates to these estimates

will be used to effect any further

inseason adjustments as necessary.

NMFS has determined that a catch limit

adjustment is warranted to ensure

reasonable fishing opportunities in all

geographic areas without risking

overharvest.

The daily catch limit for the southern

area is adjusted as follows: No more

than one BFT per angler, with a

maximum of three fish per vessel, from

the school size class may be retained

each day per Angling category vessel. In

addition, one BFT per vessel per day

may be landed from the large school or

small medium size class. This catch

limit adjustment is effective June 26

through July 27, 1998, whereupon the

catch limit will revert to one BFT from

the school, large school, or small

medium size class per vessel per day.

These catch limits have been selected

based on catch rates for the 1997 fishing

season. Therefore, NMFS will continue

to monitor the Angling category fishery

closely through the Automated Catch

Reporting System and the Large Pelagic

Survey. Depending on the level of

fishing effort and catch rates of BFT,

NMFS may determine that an interim

closure or additional catch limit

adjustment is necessary to enhance

scientific data collection from all

geographic areas. Closures or

subsequent adjustments to the daily

catch limit, if any, shall be announced

through publication in the Federal

Register. In addition, anglers may call

the Atlantic Tunas Information Line at

888–USA-TUNA (888–872–8862), 301–

713–1279, or 978–281–9305 for updates

on quota monitoring and catch limit

adjustments. Anglers aboard Charter/

Headboat vessels, when engaged in

recreational fishing for school, large

school, and small medium BFT, are

subject to the same rules as anglers

aboard Angling category vessels. All

BFT landed under the Angling category

quota must be reported within 24 hours

of landing to the NMFS Automated

Catch Reporting System by phoning

888–USA-TUNA (888–872–8862), or in

North Carolina, to a reporting station.

For information about the North

Carolina Harvest Tagging Program,

including reporting station locations,

call 800–338–7804.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

285.24(d)(3) and is exempt from review

under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

Dated: June 23, 1998.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–17166 Filed 6–23–98; 5:02 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 980319068–8155–02; I.D.

021998A]

RIN 0648–AK59

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Western Pacific

Bottomfish Fishery; Fishing

Moratorium

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS is extending the

current moratorium on harvesting

seamount groundfish from the Hancock

Seamount in the Northwestern

Hawaiian Islands until August 31, 2004.

The fishery has been under a

moratorium since 1986. This action is

being taken in response to a

recommendation by the Western Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council),

which heard reports from its Bottomfish

Plan Team and Scientific and Statistical

Committee that revealed that armorhead

(Pentaceros richardsoni), an overfished

seamount species, has not recovered.

The intent of this action is to allow the

protection provided for this resource to

continue.

DATES: Effective September 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Request for information

relevant to this action should be sent to

William T. Hogarth, Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James J. Morgan or Svein Fougner,

Assistant Regional Administrator for

Sustainable Fisheries, (562) 980–4030,

or Al Katekaru, Pacific Islands Area

Office, (808) 973–2985.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

proposed rule was published in the

Federal Register on March 26, 1998 (63

FR 14675) requesting public comments

on extending the moratorium on

harvesting seamount groundfish from

Hancock Seamount in the Northwestern

Hawaiian Islands until August 31, 2004.

There were no comments received

during the public comment period

ending May 11, 1998.

This resource was overfished by

foreign vessels before the Magnuson

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act was implemented; it has never been

the target of domestic fishermen. The

original Fishery Management Plan for

the Bottomfish and Seamount

Groundfish Fisheries of the Western

Pacific Region, implemented in 1986,

established a moratorium on fishing for

bottomfish and seamount groundfish (51

FR 27413, July 31, 1986). Periodic

reviews of the stocks indicated that no

recovery had occurred. Therefore, on

August 17, 1992 (57 FR 36907), the

moratorium was extended to August 31,

1998. Armorhead was listed as

overfished in the September 1997

‘‘Report to Congress Status of Fisheries

of the United States.’’

The last U.S. research cruise of

Hancock Seamount was conducted in

1993; however, the Japanese trawl fleet

continues to harvest armorhead on

neighboring seamounts outside the

exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

According to bottom trawl catch and

effort statistics provided by the National

Research Institute of the Far Seas

Fisheries, the most current (1995)

spawning potential ratio (SPR) for the

armorhead stock is 1.8 percent at all

seamounts outside the EEZ. These

seamounts comprise 95 percent of the

trawl grounds and 91 percent of the

total historic seamount-wide catch in

the Japanese trawl fishery. Based on the

low SPR value, it is inferred that the

status of the Hancock Seamount

armorhead stock is similarly depressed

and well under the current 20 percent

SPR definition for an overfished stock.

At its April 21, 1997, meeting, the

Council heard reports from its

Bottomfish Plan Team and Scientific

and Statistical Committee on the status

of seamount groundfish resources. On

the basis of those reports, and in

accordance with the framework

procedures at 50 CFR 660.67, the

Council recommended that the

moratorium be extended for at least

another 6 years (i.e., August 31, 2004).

The Council recognizes that the stocks

extend outside the EEZ and that the

moratorium will not ensure recovery of

the resource within the EEZ; however,

the action is in accordance with U.S.

responsibilities under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act. The Council also has

taken action to convene a panel of

international experts to explore possible

international management of the

Emperor and Hawaiian Ridge Seamount

armorhead fishery under the aegis of the

United Nations Agreement Relating to