Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 73269 

permission to submit the reports 

required under paragraph (v) of this 

section annually rather than quarterly. 

The Administrator will review the 

request and issue a notification of 

permission to file annual reports if, in 

the Administrator’s judgment, the 

distributor meets the requirements of 

this paragraph. Upon receipt of a 

notification of extension from the 

Administrator, the distributor must 

submit annually the quantity of each 

controlled substance purchased by each 

laboratory customer whose certification 

was previously provided to the 

distributor pursuant to paragraph (w) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Appendix G to subpart A of part 82 

is amended by adding item paragraph 1. 

(d) and by adding paragraph 5. to read 

as follows: 

Appendix G to Subpart A of Part 82—

UNEP Recommendations for Conditions 

Applied to Exemptions and Essential 

Laboratory and Analytical Uses 

1. * * * 

d. Testing of organic matter in coal. 

* * * * * 

5. Pursuant to Decision XVIII/15 of the 

Parties to the Montreal Protocol, methyl 

bromide is exempted for the following 

approved essential laboratory and analytical 

purposes listed in following items (a) through 

(d). Use of methyl bromide for field trials is 

not an approved use under the global 

laboratory and analytical use exemption. The 

provisions of Appendix G, paragraphs (1), 

(2), (3), and (4), regarding purity, mixing, 

container, and reporting requirements for 

other exempt ODSs, also apply to the use of 

methyl bromide under this exemption. 

a. Methyl bromide is exempted as an 

approved essential laboratory and analytical 

use as a reference or standard to calibrate 

equipment which uses methyl bromide, to 

monitor methyl bromide emission levels, or 

to determine methyl bromide residue levels 

in goods, plants and commodities; 

b. Methyl bromide is exempted as an 

approved essential laboratory and analytical 

when used in laboratory toxicological 

studies; 

c. Methyl bromide is exempted as an 

approved essential laboratory and analytical 

use to compare the efficacy of methyl 

bromide and its alternatives inside a 

laboratory; and 

d. Methyl bromide is exempted as an 

approved essential laboratory and analytical 

use as a laboratory agent which is destroyed 

in a chemical reaction in the manner of 

feedstock. 

[FR Doc. E7–25091 Filed 12–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 001005281–0369–02] 

RIN 0648–XE53 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the 

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Trip 

Limit Reduction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; trip limit 

reduction. 

SUMMARY: NMFS reduces the trip limit 

in the commercial hook-and-line fishery 

for king mackerel in the northern 

Florida west coast subzone to 500 lb 

(227 kg) of king mackerel per day in or 

from the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ). This trip limit reduction is 

necessary to protect the Gulf king 

mackerel resource. 

DATES: This rule is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, December 27, 2007, through 

June 30, 2008, unless changed by further 

notification in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Gerhart, telephone 727–824–

5305, fax 727–824–5308, e-mail 

susan.gerhart@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish 

(king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cero, 

cobia, little tunny, and, in the Gulf of 

Mexico only, dolphin and bluefish) is 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf 

of Mexico and South Atlantic (FMP). 

The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of 

Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Councils and is 

implemented under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations 

at 50 CFR part 622. 

On April 27, 2000, NMFS 

implemented the final rule (65 FR 

16336, March 28, 2000) that divided the 

Florida west coast subzone of the 

eastern zone into northern and southern 

subzones, and established their separate 

quotas. The quota for the northern 

Florida west coast subzone is 168,750 lb 

(76,544 kg)(50 CFR 

622.42(c)(1)(i)(A)(2)(ii)). 

In accordance with 50 CFR 

622.44(a)(2)(ii)(B)(2), from the date that 

75 percent of the northern Florida west 

coast subzone’s quota has been 

harvested until a closure of the 

subzone’s fishery has been effected or 

the fishing year ends, king mackerel in 

or from the EEZ may be possessed on 

board or landed from a permitted vessel 

in amounts not exceeding 500 lb (227 

kg) per day. 

NMFS has determined that 75 percent 

of the quota for Gulf group king 

mackerel from the northern Florida west 

coast subzone has been reached. 

Accordingly, a 500–lb (227–kg) trip 

limit applies to vessels in the 

commercial fishery for king mackerel in 

or from the EEZ in the northern Florida 

west coast subzone effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, December 27, 2007. The 500–

lb (227–kg) trip limit will remain in 

effect until the fishery closes or until the 

end of the current fishing year (June 30, 

2008), whichever occurs first. 

The Florida west coast subzone is that 

part of the eastern zone south and west 

of 25°20.4′ N. lat. (a line directly east 

from the Miami-Dade County, FL 

boundary). The Florida west coast 

subzone is further divided into northern 

and southern subzones. The northern 

subzone is that part of the Florida west 

coast subzone that is between 26°19.8′ 

N. lat. (a line directly west from the Lee/ 

Collier County, FL boundary) and 

87°31′06′′; W. long. (a line directly south 

from the Alabama/Florida boundary). 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

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 prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment is 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. Such procedures would be 

unnecessary because the rule itself 

already has been subject to notice and 

comment, and all that remains is to 

notify the public of the closure, if 

warranted. 

NMFS also finds good cause that the 

implementation of this action cannot be 

delayed for 30 days. There is a need to 

implement this measure in a timely 

fashion to prevent an overrun of the 

commercial quota of Gulf king mackerel 

in the northern Florida west coast 

subzone, given the capacity of the 

fishing fleet to harvest the quota 

quickly. Any delay in implementing this 

action would be contrary to the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and the FMP. 

Accordingly, under 5 U.S.C. 553(d), a 

delay in the effective date is waived. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES
73270 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 247 / Thursday, December 27, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

622.43(a) and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: December 20, 2007. 

Galen R. Tromble, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–6200 Filed 12–20–07; 2:16 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No.070719385–7574–02] 

RIN 0648–AV59 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Revision 

of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 

Requirements for Commercial Gulf 

Reef Fish Vessels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to 

revise VMS requirements applicable to 

the commercial reef fish fishery in the 

Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and to revise the 

allowable methods for complying with 

the advance notification of landing 

requirement in the Gulf red snapper 

individual fishing quota (IFQ) program. 

Regarding the VMS program, this final 

rule allows commercial reef fish vessel 

owners or operators to reduce the 

frequency of VMS transmissions while 

in port; extends the existing powerdown exemption to include reef fish 

vessels while in port; and adds a 

grandfather clause to address VMS units 

approved for use in the Gulf reef fish 

fishery. Regarding the IFQ program, this 

final rule expands the allowable 

methods for communicating the 

required advance notification of 

landing. The intended effects of this 

final rule are to resolve an unanticipated 

technological problem with the VMS 

draining power from vessels that are in 

port without access to external power 

sources; provide a grandfather clause for 

previously approved Gulf reef fish VMS 

units; and facilitate compliance with the 

advance notification of landing 

requirement in the IFQ program. 

Finally, NMFS informs the public of the 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) of the collection-ofinformation requirements contained in 

this final rule and publishes the OMB 

control numbers for those collections. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 28, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) 

may be obtained from Peter Hood, 

NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 263 

13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 

33701; telephone 727–824–5305; fax 

727–824–5308; e-mail 

peter.hood@noaa.gov. 

Comments regarding the burden-hour 

estimates or other aspects of the 

collection-of-information requirements 

contained in this final rule may be 

submitted in writing to Jason Rueter at 

the Southeast Regional Office address 

(above) and to David Rostker, OMB, by 

e-mail at DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, 

or by fax to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter Hood, telephone 727–824–5305; 

fax 727–824–5308; e-mail 

peter.hood@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef 

fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico is 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). 

The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council 

(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). 

On August 6, 2007, NMFS published 

the proposed rule to revise VMS 

requirements applicable to the 

commercial Gulf reef fish fishery and 

revise the allowable methods for 

complying with the advance notification 

of landing requirement in the Gulf red 

snapper IFQ program and requested 

public comment (72 FR 43583). The 

rationale for the measures contained in 

this final rule is provided in the 

preamble to the proposed rule and is not 

repeated here. 

Comments and Responses 

Comment 1: Several commenters 

indicated the 4–hour in port reporting 

exemption, while it would reduce the 

overall power consumption by VMS 

units, was insufficient to address the 

VMS power drain issue addressed in 

this final rule. Commenters suggested 

reducing in-port reporting to less than 

once every 4 hours, for example, once 

every 12 hours. Other suggestions 

included using a vessel’s ignition switch 

to power VMS units on and off, or tying 

VMS units to global positioning systems 

(GPS), so VMS only power on when 

vessels are in motion. 

Response: The 4–hour in port 

reporting exemption is designed to 

reduce battery power drain when 

vessels have returned from fishing 

activities. If the vessel is not used for an 

extended period of time, batteries could 

be drained while in port creating safety 

problems for vessels. Vendors of VMS 

units have indicated a 4–hour reporting 

interval, while in port and without 

access to external power sources, should 

reduce the battery drain sufficiently to 

solve this issue. However, for vessel 

owners/operators who anticipate their 

vessels to be inactive for longer periods, 

this rule also provides the ability for 

them to power down their VMS unit if 

in port or continuously out of the water 

for more than 72 hours. This can be 

accomplished through the power-down 

exemption from NMFS OLE. Once an 

owner/operator is authorized to use this 

exemption, they need only send a report 

via their vessel’s VMS terminal to the 

NMFS OLE VMS program each time 

they meet the power-down exemption 

criteria and wish to power down their 

VMS unit. 

Revising the in port reporting interval 

to time periods longer than 4 hours 

would require VMS vendors to 

reconfigure their units to a time period 

longer than they recommend is needed 

to solve this problem. The power-down 

exemption provides owners/operators 

an alternative to the 4–hour in port 

reporting exemption to conserve battery 

power. Currently VMS units are tied to 

GPS such that if a vessel enters or leaves 

a port, the vessel’s VMS unit recognizes 

this movement and activates the VMS 

accordingly (i.e., once every 4 hours in 

port or once every hour out of port). The 

rationale for requiring 1–hour position 

reports once a vessel is out of port, even 

when the vessel is not moving, is to 

ensure that vessel owners/operators are 

not engaging in illegal activities, such as 

anchoring in closed areas, or fishing 

during closed seasons. NMFS OLE 

currently does not allow VMS units to 

be powered on or off through the 

ignition system, and is not considering 

this as an allowable capability at this 

time. This could create another safety 

issue by draining battery power should 

the ignition switch be left on when the 

engine is not running. 

Comment 2: One commenter 

expressed concern about who will pay 

for VMS units to be reconfigured to 

allow in-port reporting, power-down 

exemption requests, trip declarations, 

and red snapper IFQ program 3–hour 

notifications. The commenter also 

expressed concern about the cost of the 

actual transmission of these reports 

through the VMS terminal. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with RULES