Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 198 / Monday, October 15, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 58261 

be impacted by as much as a 15 percent 

reduction in gross receipts under the 

preferred Alternative 3. A 15 percent 

reduction would occur only if all corals 

currently harvested in Federal waters 

are harvested under the base 

requirement exemption. Otherwise, 

gross receipt reductions of 0 to 15 

percent would occur under the 

preferred alternative depending upon 

the relative contribution of currently 

exempted products to the overall 

harvest. Excluding the no-action 

Alternative 1, which represents no 

change in net benefits to the affected 

small entities, all other alternatives 

considered (and described in detail in 

the IRFA accompanying the proposed 

rule) could yield potential beneficial 

impacts to the fishery because they 

eliminate certain size requirements for 

black coral harvest. However, these 

alternatives were not chosen since they 

would not be consistent with the 

objectives of the FMP and the MSA in 

that they would weaken the regulatory 

protection to black corals resources by 

removing size restrictions. 

Small Business Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a letter to permit 

holders was prepared that also serves as 

a small entity compliance guide, which 

will be sent to all holders of permits for 

the precious coral fishery. Copies of the 

small business compliance guide are 

available from William L. Robinson, 

NMFS Pacific Islands Region, 1601 

Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110, Honolulu, 

HI 96814, or from the NMFS PIRO web 

site www.fpir.noaa.gov. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries, 

Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian 

Natives, Northern Mariana Islands, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: October 9, 2007. 

John Oliver, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operations, National Marine Fisheries 

Service. 

■ For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 665 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 665.86, paragraph (b) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 665.86 Size restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Black coral. Live black coral 

harvested from any precious coral 

permit area must have attained either a 

minimum stem diameter of 1 inch (2.54 

cm), or a minimum height of 48 inches 

(122 cm). 

[FR Doc. E7–20228 Filed 10–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070213032–7032–01] 

RIN 0648–XD33 

Fisheries of the Economic Exclusive 

Zone Off Alaska; 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 groundfish by vessels using 

trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), 

effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time, 

October 10, 2007. This action is 

necessary to fully use the 2007 Pacific 

halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) 

limit specified for vessels using trawl 

gear in the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), October 10, 2007, through 

2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2007. 

Comments must be received at the 

following address no later than 4:30 

p.m., A.l.t., October 25, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘RIN 0648–XD33,’’ by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Mail to: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802; 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building, 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, Alaska; 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

• FAX to 907–586–7557, Attn: Ellen 

Sebastian 

• Mail to the Federal Building, 709 

West 9th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, 

Alaska 

• 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. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Hogan, 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 Management Area (FMP) 

prepared by the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council under authority of 

the Magnuson-Stevens 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. 

The 2007 Pacific halibut bycatch 

allowance specified for trawl gear in the 

GOA is 2,000 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the 2007 and 2008 

harvest specifications for groundfish of 

the GOA (72 FR 9676, March 5, 2007, 

as corrected by 72 FR 13217, March 21, 

2007). 

NMFS closed directed fishing for 

groundfish by vessels using trawl gear 

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

October 8, 2007 (published on October 

11, 2007 in the Federal Register). As of 

October 9, 2007, NMFS has determined 

that 330 metric tons of the 2007 Pacific 

halibut bycatch allowance for the 

fishery remains. Therefore, in 

accordance with § 679.25(a)(1)(i), 

(a)(2)(i)(C), and (a)(2)(iii)(D), and to fully 

use the 2007 Pacific halibut PSC limit 

specified for vessels using trawl gear in 

the GOA, NMFS is terminating the 


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58262 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 198 / Monday, October 15, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

previous closure and is opening 

directed fishing for groundfish by 

vessels using trawl gear in the GOA, 

effective 1200 hrs, A.l.t., October 10, 

2007. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

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 

delay the opening of the groundfish 

fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the 

GOA. Immediate notification is 

necessary to allow for the orderly 

conduct and efficient operation of this 

fishery, to allow the industry to plan for 

the fishing season, and to avoid 

potential disruption to the fishing fleet 

and processors. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of October 9, 2007. 

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. 

Without this inseason adjustment, 

NMFS could not allow the fishery for 

groundfish by vessels using trawl gear 

in the GOA to be harvested in an 

expedient manner and in accordance 

with the regulatory schedule. Under 

§ 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

this action to the above address until 

October 25, 2007. 

This action is required by § 679.25 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: October 9, 2007. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–5066 Filed 10–10–07; 2:01 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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