Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 44 / Monday, March 9, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 9963 

The PRA information collection 

requirements contained in the Eighth 

Report and Order are as follows: 

1. The Commission plans to modify 

the ‘‘Application for Satellite Space and 

Earth Station Authorizations’’ (FCC 

Form 312), including Schedule B, in the 

International Bureau Filing System 

(‘‘MyIBFS’’) to reflect the off-axis 

equivalent isotropically radiated power 

(EIRP) envelope compliance 

requirement. In the interim, earth 

station applicants must submit a table as 

an attachment to the FCC Form 312 to 

show their compliance with the off-axis 

EIRP requirement. 

2. Earth station licensees who plan to 

use a contention protocol must certify 

that their contention protocol usage will 

be reasonable. In the future, the 

Commission will revise the FCC Form 

312 in MyIBFS to provide a streamlined 

method for earth station applicants 

planning to use a contention protocol to 

make this certification. 

The information collection 

requirements accounted for in this 

collection are necessary to determine 

the technical and legal qualifications of 

applicants or licensees to operate a 

station, transfer or assign a license, and 

to determine whether the authorization 

is in the public interest, convenience 

and necessity. Without such 

information, the Commission could not 

determine whether to permit 

respondents to provide 

telecommunication services in the U.S. 

Therefore, the Commission would be 

unable to fulfill its statutory 

responsibilities in accordance with the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, and the obligations imposed 

on parties to the World Trade 

Organization (WTO) Basic Telecom 

Agreement. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–4905 Filed 3–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 071004577–8124–02] 

RIN 0648–XN46 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Northeast 

Multispecies Fishery; Reduction of the 

Landing Limit for Eastern Georges 

Bank Cod in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reduction of 

landing limit. 

SUMMARY: This action decreases the 

landing limit of Eastern Georges Bank 

(GB) cod to 500 lb (226.8 kg) per dayat-sea (DAS), or any part of a DAS, up 

to 5,000 lb (2,267.9 kg) per trip for NE 

multispecies DAS vessels fishing in the 

U.S./Canada Management Area. This 

action is authorized by the regulations 

implementing Amendment 13 to the NE 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 

and is intended to increase the 

likelihood of harvesting the total 

allowable catch (TAC) for Eastern GB 

cod without exceeding it during the 

2008 fishing year. This action is being 

taken to allow vessels to fully harvest 

the TACs for transboundary stocks of 

GB cod, haddock, and yellowtail 

flounder under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Effective March 9, 2009, through 

April 30, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9341, fax (978) 281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the GB cod 

landing limit within the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area are found at 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(A) and (D). The 

regulations authorize vessels issued a 

valid limited access NE multispecies 

permit and fishing under a NE 

multispecies DAS to fish in the U.S./ 

Canada Management Area, as defined at 

§ 648.85(a)(1), under specific 

conditions. The TAC for Eastern GB cod 

for the 2008 fishing year (May 1, 2008 

–April 30, 2009) was set at 667 mt (73 

FR 16572, March 28, 2008), a 35– 

percent increase from the TAC for the 

2007 fishing year. 

The regulations at § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) 

authorize the Administrator, Northeast 

(NE) Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), to increase or decrease 

the trip limits in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area to prevent overharvesting or under-harvesting the TAC 

allocation. The default landing limit of 

Eastern GB cod for NE multispecies 

DAS vessels fishing in the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area is 500 lb (226.8 kg) per 

DAS, or any part of a DAS, up to 5,000 

lb (2,268 kg) per trip. NMFS published 

a temporary rule on December 23, 2008 

(73 FR 78659), increasing the landing 

limit for Eastern GB cod to 1,000 lb 

(453.6 kg) per DAS, or any part of a 

DAS, up to 10,000 lb (4,535.9 kg) per 

trip. 

According to the most recent Vessel 

Monitoring System (VMS) reports and 

other available information, the 

cumulative Eastern GB cod catch, is 

approximately 53.8 percent of the TAC, 

as of February 12, 2009, and is expected 

to achieve the TAC by early April; prior 

to conclusion of the 2008 fishing year. 

If the TAC were reached it would 

require that the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area be closed for the remainder of the 

2008 fishing year, preventing the 

harvest of the remaining portion of the 

Eastern GB haddock TAC and 

preventing harvest of GB yellowtail 

flounder in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area. Based on this information, the 

Regional Administrator is decreasing 

the current Eastern GB cod landing limit 

of 1,000 lb (453.6 kg) per DAS, or any 

part of a DAS, up to 10,000 lb (4,535.9 

kg) per trip in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area; to 500 lb (226.8 kg) per DAS, or 

any part of a DAS, up to 5,000 lb (2,268 

kg) per trip, effective 0001 hours local 

time March 9, 2009, through April 30, 

2009. 

Eastern GB cod landings will continue 

to be closely monitored. Further 

inseason adjustments to increase or 

decrease the trip limit may be 

considered, based on updated catch data 

and projections. Should 100 percent of 

the TAC allocation for Eastern GB cod 

be projected to be harvested, the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area would be closed to 

limited access NE multispecies DAS 

vessels for the remainder of the fishing 

year. 

Classification 

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and 

(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator finds 

good cause to waive prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment, as well 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with RULES
9964 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 44 / Monday, March 9, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

as the delayed effectiveness for this 

action, because prior notice and 

comment and a delayed effectiveness 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest. The regulations 

under § 658.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) grant the 

Regional Administrator the authority to 

adjust the Eastern GB cod trip limit to 

prevent over-harvesting or underharvesting the TAC allocation. This 

action would reduce the Eastern GB cod 

limit for all NE multispecies DAS 

vessels fishing in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area for the remainder of 

the 2008 fishing year. This action is 

intended to prevent the over-harvest of 

the Eastern GB cod TAC while allowing 

continued opportunities to achieve 

optimum yield in the NE multispecies 

fishery. 

It is important to take this action 

immediately to slow the rate of Eastern 

GB cod harvest. Any further delay of 

this action is likely to result in a 

precipitous harvest of the Eastern GB 

cod TAC which may require that the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area be closed for 

the remainder of the 2008 fishing year, 

preventing the harvest of the remaining 

portion of the Eastern GB haddock TAC, 

and preventing harvest of GB yellowtail 

flounder in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Management Area, thereby reducing the 

ability of fishers to maximize their 

fishing opportunities. Exceeding the 

2008 TAC for Eastern GB cod would 

increase mortality of this overfished 

stock beyond that evaluated during the 

development of Amendment 13, 

resulting in decreased revenue for the 

NE multispecies fishery, increased 

negative economic impacts to vessels 

operating in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Management Area, a reduced chance of 

achieving optimum yield in the 

groundfish fishery, and unnecessary 

delays to the rebuilding of this 

overfished stock. Exceeding the 2008 

Eastern GB cod TAC would also 

necessitate that any overages during the 

2008 fishing year be deducted from the 

Eastern GB cod TAC for the 2009 fishing 

year. Reducing the 2009 TAC due to any 

2008 TAC overage as a result of delaying 

this action would create an unnecessary 

burden on the fishing industry and 

further negative economic and social 

impacts that were not previously 

considered. 

The Regional Administrator’s 

authority to decrease the trip limit for 

Eastern GB cod in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area to ensure the shared 

U.S./Canada stocks of fish are harvested, 

but not exceeded, was publicly 

considered and open to public comment 

during the development of Amendment 

13. Further, the potential of decreasing 

the Eastern GB cod trip limit was 

announced to the public when the 

current trip limit was implemented on 

December 23, 2008. The public is able 

to obtain information on the rate of 

harvest of the Eastern GB cod TAC via 

the NMFS Northeast Regional Office 

website (http://www.nero.noaa.gov), 

which provides at least some advanced 

notice of a potential action to prevent 

the TAC for Eastern GB cod from being 

exceeded during the 2008 fishing year. 

Therefore, any negative effect the 

waiving of public comment and delayed 

effectiveness may have on the public is 

mitigated by these factors. 

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

Dated: March 4, 2009 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–4893 Filed 3–4–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0809251266–81485–02] 

RIN 0648–XN33 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of North Carolina is transferring a 

portion of its 2009 commercial summer 

flounder quota to the Commonwealth of 

Virginia. By this action, NMFS adjusts 

the quotas and announces the revised 

commercial quota for each state 

involved. 

DATES: Effective March 4, 2009 through 

December 31, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Bryant, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9244, FAX (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

part 648. The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned among the coastal states 

from North Carolina through Maine. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state are described in § 648.100. 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan, which was published 

on December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), 

provided a mechanism for summer 

flounder quota to be transferred from 

one state to another. Two or more states, 

under mutual agreement and with the 

concurrence of the Administrator, 

Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), can transfer or combine 

summer flounder commercial quota 

under § 648.100(d). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

the criteria set forth in § 648.100(d)(3) in 

the evaluation of requests for quota 

transfers or combinations. 

North Carolina has agreed to transfer 

23,130 lb (10,492 kg) of its 2009 

commercial quota to Virginia to cover 

the summer flounder landings of three 

North Carolina vessels granted safe 

harbor in Virginia due to mechanical 

issues between January 16 and January 

28, 2009. The Regional Administrator 

has determined that the criteria set forth 

in § 648.100(d)(3) have been met. The 

revised quotas for calendar year 2009 

are: North Carolina, 2,893,992 lb 

(1,312,693 kg) and Virginia, 2,341,054 lb 

(1,061,884 kg). 

Classification 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 4, 2009. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–4896 Filed 3–4–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 09100091344–0956–02] 

RIN 0648–XN71 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Deep–Water Species 

Fishery by Vessels Using Trawl Gear in 

the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 


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