Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 205 / Tuesday, October 25, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 61577 

Sections 6.2 and 6.3 of NACE Standard 

RP0502–2002 (see Appendix D of NACE 

Standard RP0502–2002). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 19, 

2005. 

Brigham A. McCown, 

Acting Administrator, PHMSA. 

[FR Doc. 05–21233 Filed 10–24–05; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 031015257-3308-02 ; I.D. 

101705B] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog Fisheries; Suspension of 

Minimum Atlantic Surfclam Size Limit 

for Fishing Year 2006 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; suspension of 

the Atlantic surfclam minimum size 

limit. 

SUMMARY: NMFS suspends the 

minimum size limit of 4.75 inches (120 

mm) for Atlantic surfclams for the 2006 

fishing year. This action is taken under 

the authority of the implementing 

regulations for this fishery, which allow 

for the annual suspension of the 

minimum size limit based upon set 

criteria. The intended effect is to relieve 

the industry from a regulatory burden 

that is not necessary, as the majority of 

surfclams harvested are larger than the 

minimum size limit. 

DATES: Effective January 1, 2006, 

through December 31, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Written inquiries may be 

sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional 

Office, One Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian R. Hooker, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281-9220; fax (978) 281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

648.72(c) of the regulations 

implementing the Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) for the Atlantic Surfclam 

and Ocean Quahog Fisheries allows the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) to suspend 

annually, by publication of a 

notification in the Federal Register, the 

minimum size limit for Atlantic 

surfclams. This action may be taken 

unless discard, catch, and biological 

sampling data indicate that 30 percent 

of the Atlantic surfclam resource is 

smaller than 4.75 inches (120 mm) and 

the overall reduced size is not 

attributable to harvest from beds where 

growth of the individual clams has been 

reduced because of density-dependent 

factors. 

At its June 2004 meeting, the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council) voted to recommend that the 

Regional Administrator suspend the 

minimum size limit for the 2005, 2006, 

and 2007 fishing years. In accordance 

with the provisions of the FMP, the 

Regional Administrator will publish the 

suspension of the surfclam minimum 

size if the proportion of undersized 

surfclams is under 30 percent of the 

total surfclam landings for each fishing 

year. 

Commercial surfclam data for 2005 

were analyzed to determine the 

percentage of surfclams that were 

smaller than the minimum size 

requirement. The analysis indicated that 

6.8 percent of the overall commercial 

landings were composed of surfclams 

that were less than 4.75 inches (120 

mm). Based on these data, the Regional 

Administrator adopts the Council’s 

recommendation and suspends the 

minimum size limit for Atlantic 

surfclams from January 1, 2006, through 

December 31, 2006. 

Classification 

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866.Authority: 

16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: October 20, 2005. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–21302 Filed 10–24–05; 8:45 am] 

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