Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 13, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 53969 

reparable and consumable items required for 

maintenance support of all equipment, 

excluding medical-peculiar repair parts; and 

(ii) Are being shipped to—

(A) Defense Distribution Depot, 

Susquehanna, PA: DoDAAC W25G1U or 

SW3124; or 

(B) Defense Distribution Depot, San 

Joaquin, CA: DoDAAC W62G2T or SW3224. 

(2) Bulk commodities are excluded from 

the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this 

clause. 

(c) The Contractor shall ensure that—

(1) The data encoded on each passive RFID 

tag are unique (i.e., the binary number is 

never repeated on any and all contracts) and 

conforms to the requirements in paragraph 

(d) of this clause; 

(2) Each passive tag is readable at the time 

of shipment in accordance with MIL–STD–

129 (Section 4.9.1.1) readability performance 

requirements; and 

(3) The passive tag is affixed at the 

appropriate location on the specific level of 

packaging, in accordance with MIL–STD–129 

(Section 4.9.2) tag placement specifications. 

(d) Data syntax and standards. The 

Contractor shall use one or more of the 

following data constructs to write the RFID 

tag identification to the passive tag, 

depending upon the type of passive RFID tag 

being used in accordance with the tag 

construct details located at http: 

//www.dodrfid.org/tagdata.htm (version in 

effect as of the date of the solicitation): 

(1) Class 0, 64 Bit Tag—EPCglobal 

Serialized Global Trade Item Number 

(SGTIN), Global Returnable Asset Identifier 

(GRAI), Global Individual Asset Identifier 

(GIAI), or Serialized Shipment Container 

Code (SSCC). 

(2) Class 0, 64 Bit Tag—DoD Tag Construct. 

(3) Class 1, 64 Bit Tag—EPCglobal SGTIN, 

GRAI, GIAI, or SSCC. 

(4) Class 1, 64 Bit Tag—DoD Tag Construct. 

(5) Class 0, 96 Bit Tag—EPCglobal SGTIN, 

GRAI, GIAI, or SSCC. 

(6) Class 0, 96 Bit Tag—DoD Tag Construct. 

(7) Class 1, 96 Bit Tag—EPCglobal SGTIN, 

GRAI, GIAI, or SSCC. 

(8) Class 1, 96 Bit Tag—DoD Tag Construct. 

(e) Receiving report. The Contractor shall 

electronically submit advance shipment 

notice(s) with the RFID tag identification 

(specified in paragraph (d) of this clause) in 

advance of the shipment in accordance with 

the procedures at http://www.dodrfid.org/ 

asn.htm. 

(End of Clause) 

[FR Doc. 05–18025 Filed 9–12–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 050708184–5235–02; I.D. 

070105B] 

RIN 0648–AT50 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish and Summer 

Flounder Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to 

amend the regulations implementing the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Atlantic bluefish fishery and the FMP 

for the summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries. This rule makes 

administrative changes that will allow 

NMFS to consider and process state 

commercial quota transfer requests that 

address late-season circumstances that 

necessitate a state quota transfer. The 

intent of this action is solely to provide 

the flexibility to address unpredictable 

late-season events (such as severe 

weather or port obstruction) that may 

result in safety concerns in the 

commercial bluefish and summer 

flounder fisheries. 

DATES: Effective October 13, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, (978) 281–9279. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The bluefish and summer flounder 

fisheries are managed cooperatively by 

the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) and the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council), in consultation with the New 

England and South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Councils. Regulations 

implementing the Atlantic Bluefish 

FMP appear at 50 CFR part 648, 

subparts A and J. Regulations 

implementing the summer flounder 

portion of the Summer Flounder, Scup, 

and Black Sea Bass FMP appear at 50 

CFR part 648, subparts A and G. 

NMFS published a proposed rule to 

amend the regulations regarding state 

commercial bluefish and summer 

flounder quota transfers on July 26, 

2005 (70 FR 43111). A complete 

discussion of the development of this 

regulatory amendment appeared in the 

preamble of the proposed rule and is not 

repeated here. 

The current regulations, found at 

§§ 648.160 and 648.100, respectively, 

outline a process by which a state may 

request written approval from the 

Regional Administrator to transfer all or 

part of its annual commercial bluefish 

or summer flounder quota to one or 

more other states. Currently, NMFS 

maintains a policy of considering only 

quota transfer requests submitted by 

December 15 of each year in order to 

ensure that a notice announcing the 

quota transfer could be filed with the 

Office of the Federal Register by the end 

of the year for which the request is 

made. However, the Council is 

concerned that unforeseen 

circumstances, such as severe weather 

or physical obstruction, may prevent 

vessels from returning safely to their 

intended port of landing, and that this 

situation has arisen and may continue to 

arise during the second half of 

December in any given year. End-of-year 

transfers of quota allow vessels to land 

in another state without causing 

overharvest of that state’s fishing year 

quota, provided that both states agree to 

the transfer. NMFS agrees that this 

administrative change in the regulations 

will facilitate the consideration and 

processing of state quota transfer 

requests to address unpredictable lateseason events and consequent safety 

issues in these fisheries. This rule 

eliminates the references to time of 

effectiveness in the bluefish and 

summer flounder quota transfer and 

combination regulations. With these 

changes, quota transfer requests 

addressing unforeseen conditions in 

either fishery that arise late in the 

fishing year could be approved, even if 

the transfer request is made in the 

subsequent fishing year. Any quota 

transfer would continue to be valid only 

for the calendar year for which the 

request is made, and would therefore 

have no impact on the resource or the 

mortality objectives of the FMPs. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received three comment letters 

regarding the proposed rule (70 FR 

43111, July 26, 2005). 

Comment 1: The State of North 

Carolina and a North Carolina industry 

association both indicated that the 

proposed action would address safety 

concerns, particularly for fishermen 

using Oregon Inlet, NC, and would give 

states the flexibility to allow fisheries to 

continue through transfers of quota that 

would otherwise not be harvested. 

Response: 

NMFS agrees and is implementing the 

proposed action in this final rule. 

53970 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 176 / Tuesday, September 13, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

Comment 2: The other commenter 

indicated general concern about 

overfishing and opposition to the use of 

quota transfers in any fishery. 

Response: As discussed above, this 

action is purely administrative in 

nature, and is taken solely to facilitate 

the consideration and processing of 

state quota transfer requests to address 

unpredictable late-season events in 

these fisheries. Any quota transfer 

would continue to be valid only for the 

calendar year (and fishing year) for 

which the request is made. Thus, there 

would be no impacts on the resource or 

mortality objectives of the FMPs. This 

action would not make any substantive 

change in the state commercial quota 

transfer request or approval process for 

these fisheries. 

Classification 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. No comments were received 

regarding this certification. As a result, 

a regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

prepared. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons stated in the preamble, 

50 CFR part 648 is 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 § 648.100, revise paragraph (d)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.100 Catch quotas and other 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(4) The transfer of quota or the 

combination of quotas will be valid only 

for the calendar year for which the 

request was made. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.160, revise paragraph (f)(2) 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.160 Catch quotas and other 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(2) The transfer of quota or the 

combination of quotas will be valid only 

for the calendar year for which the 

request was made. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 05–18088 Filed 9–12–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 041126333-5040-02 ; I.D. 

090705D] 

Fisheries of the Economic Exclusive 

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; modification of 

a closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is opening directed 

fishing for species that comprise the 

deep-water species fishery by vessels 

using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA) for 48 hours. This action is 

necessary to allow the deep-water 

species fisheries by vessels using trawl 

gear in the GOA to resume. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), September 8, 2005, through 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., September 10, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

NMFS closed directed fishing for 

species that comprise the deep-water 

species fishery by vessels using trawl 

gear in the GOA under § 679.21(d)(7)(i) 

on September 4, 2005 (70 FR 52326, 

September 2, 2005). 

NMFS has determined that 

approximately 50 mt of halibut remain 

in the fourth seasonal apportionments of 

the 2005 Pacific halibut bycatch 

allowance specified for the deep-water 

species fishery in the GOA. Therefore, 

in accordance with § § 679.25(a)(2)(i)(C) 

and (a)(2)(iii)(D), and to allow the deepwater species fisheries by vessels using 

trawl gear in the GOA to resume, NMFS 

is terminating the previous closure and 

is reopening directed fishing for species 

that comprise the deep-water species 

fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the 

GOA. In accordance with 

§ 679.21(d)(7)(i), the Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS, has determined 

that the fourth seasonal apportionment 

of the 2005 Pacific halibut bycatch 

allowance specified for the trawl deepwater species fishery in the GOA will be 

reached after 48 hours. Consequently, 

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for 

the deep-water species fishery by 

vessels using trawl gear in the GOA after 

48 hours. Therefore the reopening is 

effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), September 8, 2005, through 1200 

hrs, A.l.t., September 10, 2005. 

The species and species groups that 

comprise the deep-water species fishery 

are all rockfish of the genera Sebastes 

and Sebastolobus, deep-water flatfish, 

rex sole, arrowtooth flounder, and 

sablefish. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

unduly delay the opening of the fishery. 

NMFS was unable to publish an action 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of August 7, 

2005. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.21 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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