Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 15911 

Issued at Washington DC this 25th day of 

March 2009. 

Ray LaHood, 

Secretary of Transportation. 

For reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Department of 

Transportation proposes to amend Title 

49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

Part 26, as follows: 

1. The authority citation for 49 CFR 

part 26 is amended to read as follows: 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 324; 42 U.S.C. 2000d 

et seq.; 49 U.S.C. 1615, 47107, 47113, 47123; 

Public Law 105–59, sec. 1101(b). 

2. Revise § 26.45(f)(1) to read as 

follows: 

§ 26.45 How do recipients set overall 

goals? 

* * * * * 

(f)(1) If you set overall goals on a 

fiscal year basis, you must submit them 

to the applicable DOT operating 

administration by August 1 at three-year 

intervals, based on a schedule 

established by the FAA, FTA, or FHWA, 

as applicable, and posted on that 

agency’s Web site. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–7904 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–AX39 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 29 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of 

Amendment 29 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 29 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) 

for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. Amendment 

29 proposes actions to establish an 

individual fishing quota (IFQ) program 

for grouper and tilefish species, 

establish design elements of the 

program, allow permit stacking, and 

establish dual classifications to the 

shallow water and deepwater 

management units for speckled hind 

and warsaw grouper. The measures 

contained in the subject amendment are 

intended to reduce effort in the Gulf of 

Mexico grouper and tilefish fisheries. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on June 

8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the amendment, identified by ‘‘0648– 

AX39’’, by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Susan Gerhart, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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. 

To submit comments through the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov, enter ‘‘NOAANMFS–2008–0223’’ in the keyword 

search, then check the box labeled 

‘‘Select to find documents accepting 

comments or submissions’’, then select 

‘‘Send a Comment or Submission.’’ 

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, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Copies of Amendment 29 may be 

obtained from the Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council, 2203 

North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 

FL 33607; telephone 813–348–1630; fax 

813–348–1711; e-mail 

gulfcouncil@gulfcouncil.org; or may be 

downloaded from the Council’s website 

at http://www.gulfcouncil.org/. 

Amendment 29 includes an 

Environmental Impact Statement, an 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, a 

Regulatory Impact Review, and a Social 

Impact Assessment/Fishery Impact 

Statement. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Gerhart, telephone: 727–824– 

5305; fax: 727–824–5308; e-mail: 

Susan.Gerhart@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef 

fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 

is managed under the FMP. The FMP 

was prepared by the Council and is 

implemented through regulations at 50 

CFR part 622 under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Background 

Current regulatory measures used to 

manage the commercial fisheries for the 

grouper/tilefish complex in the Gulf 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) include 

a license limitation system, quotas, trip 

limits, minimum size limits, area/gear 

restrictions, and seasonal closures. 

Nonetheless, the commercial grouper 

and tilefish fisheries have become 

overcapitalized, which has caused 

increasingly restrictive commercial 

regulations. Under the current 

management structure, the commercial 

grouper and tilefish fisheries are 

expected to continue to have higher 

than necessary levels of capital 

investment, increased operating costs, 

increased likelihood of shortened 

seasons, reduced safety at-sea, wide 

fluctuations in grouper supply, and 

depressed ex-vessel prices. 

The Council chose a multi-species 

IFQ program for grouper and tilefish 

species in the Gulf EEZ as the preferred 

alternative for effort management. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act stipulates the 

Council may not submit, and the 

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) may 

not approve, an IFQ program that has 

not first been approved by a majority of 

eligible voters in a referendum. NMFS 

conducted a referendum in December 

2008, with more than 80 percent of the 

respondents voting in favor of the IFQ 

program. 

Amendment 29 contains many design 

elements of the IFQ program, as well as 

major requirements for limited access 

privilege programs listed in the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. Initial IFQ share 

distribution, and transfer of shares and 

allocation during the first 5 years, 

would be restricted to commercial reef 

fish permit holders. Initially, shares 

would be distributed proportionately 

among eligible participants based on 

landings during 1999–2004, with an 

allowance for dropping 1 year. The 

Regional Administrator would establish 

a formal appeals process and reserve 3 

percent of the total available IFQ shares 

during the first year of the program for 

use in resolving disputes. If NMFS 

implemented commercial quota 

adjustments or reallocations, IFQ 

allocation would be redistributed 

proportionally among shareholders. 

Five species-specific share types 

would be established for red grouper, 

gag, other shallow water groupers, 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS-1
15912 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 66 / Wednesday, April 8, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

deepwater groupers, and tilefishes. In 

addition, 4 percent of red grouper 

allocation and 8 percent of gag grouper 

allocation for each participant would be 

converted into multi-use allocation 

valid for harvesting red or gag grouper, 

with restrictions. Each share type would 

have a separate share cap equal to the 

maximum share of that type assigned to 

an IFQ participant during initial 

distribution. A cap on total annual 

allocation equivalent to the share caps 

would also be established. 

All dealer and shareholder operations 

would be conducted online. Up to 3 

percent of the ex-vessel value of a 

transaction could be charged as cost 

recovery fees. IFQ share or allocation 

holders would be responsible for these 

fees and IFQ dealers would be 

responsible for fee collection and 

submission on a quarterly basis. 

Fishermen would be allowed to select 

landing sites for IFQ programs, but 

would require approval by NMFS Office 

of Law Enforcement. 

Amendment 29 also contains actions 

to allow permit consolidation and to 

create dual classification for speckled 

hind and warsaw grouper. Permit 

consolidation would allow the owner of 

multiple Gulf of Mexico reef fish 

commercial vessel permits to 

consolidate some or all of his/her 

permits into one, which could 

contribute to a faster reduction in the 

number of permits and ease permit 

renewal requirements. Dual 

classification of speckled hind and 

warsaw grouper would reduce bycatch 

and allow more flexibility in the IFQ 

program because these species are 

caught in both shallow and deep water. 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 29 for Secretarial review, 

approval, and implementation. A 

proposed rule that would implement 

measures outlined in Amendment 29 

has been received from the Council. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law. 

If that determination is affirmative, 

NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 

the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

Comments received by June 8, 2009, 

whether specifically directed to the 

amendment or the proposed rule, will 

be considered by NMFS in its decision 

to approve, disapprove, or partially 

approve the amendment. Comments 

received after that date will not be 

considered by NMFS in this decision. 

All comments received by NMFS on the 

amendment or the proposed rule during 

their respective comment periods will 

be addressed in the final rule. 

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

Dated: April 1, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–7855 Filed 4–7–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS-1