Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 12357 

The agency believes that this change 

would mean that a lamp on the 

instrument panel would illuminate (or 

some other type of indicator would 

signal) every time that the air 

compressor cycled on at cut-in pressure. 

Since cycling of the compressor occurs 

during normal operation of a vehicle 

equipped with an air brake system, the 

agency believes that most truck drivers 

would find this to be a nuisance, 

particularly when driving at night. The 

agency’s fleet evaluation experience in 

the early 1990’s with antilock brake 

systems (ABS) warning lamps was that 

drivers would sometimes remove the 

bulb or cover it with opaque tape 

because of a perceived nuisance (when 

in fact it was indicating a malfunction 

in the ABS that, under hard braking, 

could result in a loss-of-control crash). 

A warning system that activates during 

normal operation may have a limited 

safety benefit, and activations are more 

effective when they only occur when 

there is a condition that warrants some 

type of intervention by the driver. 

Therefore, we do not believe it would be 

appropriate to adopt the petitioner’s 

first request. However, we note that 

neither FMVSS No. 101, Controls and 

Displays, nor FMVSS No. 121 prohibits 

the addition of a compressor cycling 

lamp, if a truck operator chooses to have 

such a system installed. 

The second requested change is: 

They need to set the time on new vehicles 

at the factory on how long it takes the air 

compressor at the start of its cycle to meet 

the cut off pressure. If it is taking to[o] long 

or continuous running occurs there needs to 

be something to warn the driver there is a 

major problem. This is a very unsafe 

situation and should have a priority warning 

to the driver. 

Regarding the requested change by the 

petitioner to set the required time for air 

pressure build time, we note that this 

facet of air brake systems is addressed 

in the previously discussed section 

S5.1.1 in FMVSS No. 121, which 

requires the air compressor to have 

sufficient capacity to increase the air 

system pressure from 85 to 100 psi in 

the specified amount of time. However, 

this requirement allows for some 

variation in the amount of time needed 

to charge the air system. Under FMVSS 

No. 121, the time for charging the air 

system is measured with the engine at 

maximum rated speed, so the actual 

charging time during normal driving can 

vary based upon actual engine speed 

and gear selection. Compared to 

charging time with the engine at 

maximum rated speed, the charging 

time would be longer when the truck is 

sitting at idle. Other factors, such as the 

frequency of brake application, number 

of towed units, air being supplied to 

increase air suspension pressure, etc., 

would cause air to be depleted at the 

same time the air compressor is 

charging the system. Therefore, these 

would also affect the charging time, and 

we believe that requiring a warning to 

activate when a constant time period 

has elapsed is an impracticable 

requirement, given the variable nature 

of the charging period under the current 

regulatory scheme. We note that our 

safety standard already regulates 

performance in the area of air pressure 

charging time, but we believe that it 

does so more appropriately than the 

proposed change. For this reason, we 

are not adopting the petitioner’s second 

request. 

The final requested change is: 

It would be some help to have a low air 

pressure warning device that comes on just 

before the start of the air compressor cycle. 

When this low air warning comes on the 

vehicle is in a dangerous situation. Number 

1 and 2 will prevent this. 

The third requested change in the 

petition is not clearly defined for the 

agency to fully evaluate. The statement 

‘‘just before the start of the air 

compressor cycle’’ has two meanings. 

The first meaning is a pressure slightly 

above the cut-in pressure, e.g., 

approximately 105 to 110 psi. The 

second meaning is a pressure slightly 

below the cut-in pressure, e.g., 

approximately 90 to 95 psi. Based upon 

the information in the petition, the 

agency does not understand the concept 

of this warning lamp, and how its 

operation differs from the currentlyrequired low pressure warning signal 

required in FMVSS No. 121, other than 

being set to activate at a higher air 

pressure. It also seems nearly identical 

to/redundant with the petitioner’s first 

requested change, as this warning 

would activate just before the start of a 

new air compressor cycle, and then the 

warning from the first request would 

activate when the compressor began that 

new cycle. Furthermore, we note that 

activation of a warning signal at either 

of these pressures would result in the 

warning being activated extremely 

frequently, including during normal 

driving operations. Given these reasons, 

we are denying the petitioner’s third 

requested change. 

VI. Conclusion 

Based upon this review of the 

petition, the agency is denying it. In 

summary, it appears that one or two 

warning lamps would be required to 

activate upon each cut-in of the 

compressor cycle, and this would not 

provide additional information to the 

driver beyond the information that is 

already available from the existing air 

pressure gauges. In addition, we believe 

that warning systems that activate 

frequently during normal driving 

conditions can be perceived as a 

nuisance, and may have limited safety 

effect. Finally, we are not aware of any 

known safety problems not addressed 

by the existing low pressure warning 

signal requirements in FMVSS No. 121. 

Issued: March 3, 2008. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. E8–4460 Filed 3–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070917520–8258–02] 

RIN 0648–AW06 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish Fisheries 

of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a proposed rule 

that would implement Amendment 89 

to the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) to establish Bering Sea habitat 

conservation measures. Amendment 89, 

if approved, would prohibit nonpelagic 

trawling in certain waters of the Bering 

Sea subarea to protect bottom habitat 

from the potential adverse effects of 

nonpelagic trawling. Amendment 89 

also would establish the Northern 

Bering Sea Research Area for studying 

the impacts of nonpelagic trawling on 

bottom habitat. This proposed rule is 

necessary to protect Bering Sea subarea 

bottom habitat from the potential effects 

of nonpelagic trawling and to provide 

the opportunity to further study the 

effects of nonpelagic trawling on bottom 

habitat. This action is intended to 

promote the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by April 21, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 


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12358 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. You may submit 

comments, identified by 0648–AW06, 

by any one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal website at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802. 

• Fax: (907) 586–7557. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK. 

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 (e.g., name, address) 

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 

portable document file (pdf) formats 

only. 

Copies of the FMP amendment, maps 

of the Bering Sea subarea nonpelagic 

trawl closure areas and Northern Bering 

Sea Research Area, and the 

Environmental Assessment/Regulatory 

Impact Review/Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) for 

this action may be obtained from the 

Alaska Region NMFS address above or 

from the Alaska Region NMFS website 

at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melanie Brown, 907–586–7228 or email 

at melanie.brown@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (BSAI) groundfish 

fisheries are managed under the FMP. 

The North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) prepared the FMP 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). Regulations implementing the 

FMP appear at 50 CFR parts 679 and 

680. General regulations governing U.S. 

fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600. 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 89 for review by the 

Secretary of Commerce, and a notice of 

availability of the amendment was 

published in the Federal Register on 

February 27, 2008 (73 FR 10415), with 

comments on the amendment invited 

through April 28, 2008. Comments may 

address the FMP amendment, the 

proposed rule, or both, but must be 

received by April 28, 2008, to be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision on the FMP amendment. All 

comments received by that time, 

whether specifically directed to the 

FMP amendment or to the proposed 

rule, will be considered in the approval/ 

disapproval decision on the FMP 

amendment. 

Background 

In 2006, NMFS implemented essential 

fish habitat (EFH) protection measures 

for the Aleutian Islands subarea, Gulf of 

Alaska, and adjacent State of Alaska 

(State) waters (71 FR 36694, June 28, 

2006, and corrected 72 FR 63500, 

November 9, 2007). The background on 

the development of the EFH protection 

measures is available in the proposed 

rule for that action (71 FR 14470, March 

22, 2006). The EFH protection measures 

did not include the Bering Sea subarea 

as the Council recommended that 

additional analysis was needed to 

identify bottom habitat concerns and to 

develop potential conservation 

measures. 

In June 2007, the Council 

recommended, and the Secretary 

proposes, closing areas to nonpelagic 

trawling as a precautionary measure to 

prevent the potential adverse effects of 

nonpelagic trawling on portions of 

bottom habitat of the Bering Sea 

subarea. These closed areas would 

include locations that have not been 

previously fished with nonpelagic trawl 

gear, nearshore bottom habitat areas that 

support subsistence marine resources, 

and a research area for further study of 

the potential impacts of nonpelagic 

trawling on bottom habitat. The 

proposed closed areas that extend into 

State waters would apply to federally 

permitted vessels operating in State 

waters. Maps of the proposed areas to be 

closed to nonpelagic trawling and the 

proposed research area are available 

from the Alaska Region NMFS website 

at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/ 

efh.htm. Each closed area and the 

research area are described in detail 

below. 

Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 

The Council recommended, and the 

Secretary proposes, limiting nonpelagic 

trawling in the Bering Sea subarea to 

areas that have historically been or are 

presently being fished with nonpelagic 

trawl gear. This action is intended to 

prevent expansion of the nonpelagic 

trawl fisheries into areas not previously 

fished with nonpelagic trawl gear and to 

provide for the developing arrowtooth 

flounder fishery. The remainder of the 

Bering Sea subarea would be closed to 

nonpelagic trawling. This action would 

provide protection from the potential 

effects of nonpelagic trawling for areas 

where substantial amounts of 

nonpelagic trawling has not occurred. 

The center of distribution of the 

arrowtooth flounder fishery is shifting 

to the northwest, and the Council 

intended that this fishery have the 

opportunity to target concentrations of 

arrowtooth flounder to ensure an 

efficient fishery. This potential 

movement of the arrowtooth flounder 

stock distribution may be related to an 

increase in the mean bottom water 

temperature in the Bering Sea subarea 

and is further described in the EA/RIR/ 

IRFA for this action (see ADDRESSES). 

The Council, working with the fishing 

industry and environmental 

organizations, identified the portion of 

the Bering Sea subarea that would be 

left open to nonpelagic trawling based 

on more than one occurrence of 

nonpelagic trawl fishing through 2005, 

and to provide for potential northwest 

shifting of the arrowtooth flounder 

distribution. Historical and present 

nonpelagic trawling is primarily on the 

continental slope extending into the 

southern portions of statistical areas 514 

and 524. Several trawl closures 

currently exist within and to the south 

of this location. These include the Red 

King Crab Savings Area, Pribilof Island 

Area Habitat Conservation Zone, 

Chinook Salmon Savings Area, Chum 

Salmon Savings Area, and Nearshore 

Bristol Bay trawl closures under 

§§ 679.22(a) and 679.21(e)(7). In 

addition, waters north of Kuskokwim 

Bay are included in several additional 

nonpelagic trawl closures under this 

action and are further explain below. 

Most of the Bering Sea subarea west of 

the current trawled area does not have 

existing nonpelagic trawl closures. 

The Bering Sea subarea east of the 

current trawled area is currently closed 

to nonpelagic trawling or is proposed to 

be closed to nonpelagic trawling under 

this action. The Council intends, and 

the Secretary proposes, to limit the 

nonpelagic trawl footprint in the Bering 

Sea subarea by establishing a nonpelagic 

trawl closed area in waters of the Bering 

Sea subarea to the west of areas that 

have been trawled with nonpelagic gear. 

To provide a clear delineation of the 

location where nonpelagic trawling is 

prohibited, the proposed rule would 

establish the Bering Sea Habitat 

Conservation Area (BSHCA). The 

BSHCA would encompass waters of the 

Bering Sea subarea west of areas that 

have been trawled by nonpelagic gear 

along the shelf break of the continental 

slope. The BSHCA would include 

waters where no more than one 

occurrence of nonpelagic trawling has 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 12359 

occurred and where the future 

arrowtooth flounder fishery is not likely 

to occur. This area would be closed to 

nonpelagic trawling and would cover 

46,776 square nautical miles (nm2). 

The BSHCA would be located in 

statistical area 530 and portions of areas 

518, 523, 533, and 531. The eastern 

border of the area generally follows the 

shelf break of the continental slope, 

provides for the expansion of the 

arrowtooth flounder fishery and meets 

the goal of prohibiting nonpelagic 

trawling where no more than one event 

of nonpelagic trawling has occurred. 

The southern boundary of the area 

follows the northern borders of the 

statistical areas of the Aleutian Islands 

subarea (areas 541, 542, and 543) with 

two deviations around the northern 

portions of the Bowers Ridge Habitat 

Conservation Zone (BRHCZ). The 

BRHCZ was established with the EFH 

protection measures for the Aleutian 

Islands (71 FR 36694, June 28, 2006) 

and is closed to mobile bottom contact 

gear, including nonpelagic trawling. The 

western boundary follows the edge of 

statistical area 550 and the limits of the 

U. S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The 

proposed BSHCA boundaries would 

facilitate enforcement of the closure by 

generally following established 

statistical areas and present closed area 

boundaries. The BSHCA is depicted in 

Figure 16 in the proposed regulations 

below. 

St. Lawrence Island Habitat 

Conservation Area 

The Council recommended, and the 

Secretary proposes, closing waters 

surrounding St. Lawrence Island to 

nonpelagic trawl gear to conserve blue 

king crab habitat and minimize 

potential interactions with community 

use and subsistence fisheries taking 

place in nearshore areas. The 

boundaries of this area are based on the 

areas likely to support subsistence 

resources and along latitude and 

longitude lines to facilitate enforcement 

of the closure. This closure would cover 

7,052 nm2. The St. Lawrence Island 

Habitat Conservation Area is depicted in 

Figure 17 in the proposed regulations 

below. 

St. Matthew Island Habitat 

Conservation Area 

The proposed rule would close waters 

near St. Matthew Island to nonpelagic 

trawling to protect bottom habitat for 

blue king crab. Various life stages of 

blue king crab occur in waters 

surrounding St. Matthew Island. Waters 

southwest of the island contain juvenile, 

non-ovigerous female and male blue 

king crab habitat, and waters to the 

northeast contain ovigerous females. 

The blue king crab stock is severely 

depleted; the last pot survey found only 

5 legal male blue king crab in the St. 

Matthew Island area. Some flatfish 

nonpelagic trawling has occurred near 

St. Matthew Island as the distribution of 

arrowtooth flounder, rock sole, flathead 

sole, and Alaska plaice has moved north 

in the Bering Sea subarea (Section 3 of 

the EA/RIR/IRFA, see ADDRESSES). 

Flatfish fishing near St. Matthew Island 

may increase if the flatfish fishery 

continues to move north. The Council 

recommended that the area near St. 

Matthew Island be closed to nonpelagic 

trawling given the depleted blue king 

crab stock and the potential effects of 

nonpelagic trawling on blue king crab 

habitat. The recommended closed area 

includes the waters where blue king 

crab have been found and is shaped 

using straight lines to facilitate 

enforcement of the closure (Figure 1). 

This closure would cover 4,013 nm2. 


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12360 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and 

Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation 

Area 

The Council consulted with a 

workgroup of fishing industry and 

subsistence resources users to identify 

bottom habitat supporting subsistence 

marine resources for protection. These 

resources include marine mammals, 

fish, and seabirds harvested by 

subsistence users from coastal and 

interior Alaska. Based on the results of 

the workgroup, the Council 

recommended, and the Secretary 

proposes, prohibiting nonpelagic 

trawling in waters surrounding Nunivak 

Island and within Etolin Strait and 

Kuskokwim Bay. The northern and 

western edges of the area include waters 

with bottom habitat supporting 

subsistence resources and follow 

latitude and longitude lines to facilitate 

enforcement of the nonpelagic trawl 

closure. The southern boundary of the 

area is based on negotiations between 

the fishing industry and subsistence 

marine resource users. The boundaries 

of the closure area ensure access to 

important flatfish fishing locations 

while providing protection of important 

bottom habitat supporting subsistence 

marine resources. This closure would 

cover 9,777 nm2. The Nunivak Island, 

Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay 

Habitat Conservation Area is depicted in 

Figure 21 in the proposed regulations 

text. 

Northern Bering Sea Research Area 

The Council also recommended, and 

the Secretary proposes, to establish the 

Northern Bering Sea Research Area 

(NBSRA) to further understand the 

potential effects of nonpelagic trawling 

on Bering Sea subarea bottom habitat. 

This area would include waters with 

little or no nonpelagic trawling north of 

the open area for nonpelagic trawling 

described above under the BSHCA 

description and north of the Nunivak 

Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim 

Bay Habitat Conservation Area. The 

proposed rule would close the NBSRA 

to commercial nonpelagic trawling to 

provide a controlled area to study the 

potential effects of nonpelagic trawling 

on bottom habitat. This area would 

include the northern portions of 

statistical areas 514 and 524, exclusive 

of the closures around St. Lawrence. 

This closure would cover 65,859 nm2. 

The NBSRA is depicted in Figure 17 in 

the proposed regulations below. 

The proposed rule would allow 

nonpelagic trawling within the NBSRA 

only within the scope of a nonpelagic 

trawling effects research plan. The 

Council intends that a research plan 

would be developed, in cooperation 

with the Alaska Fisheries Science 

Center, NMFS, that addresses potential 

protection measures for species that 

may depend on bottom habitat, 

including king and snow crabs, marine 

mammals, Endangered Species Actlisted species, and subsistence marine 

resources for Western Alaska 

communities. This research plan would 

be reviewed by the Council within 24 

months after the publication of the final 

rule implementing Amendment 89. Any 

future nonpelagic trawling in the 

NBSRA would be limited to fishing 

under an exempted fishing permit 

issued under § 679.6 that meets the 

purposes of the approved research plan. 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALSEP07mr08.010</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 12361 

Regulatory Amendments 

The proposed rule would add 

definitions to § 679.2 and new 

coordinate tables and figures for the 

areas proposed to be closed to 

nonpelagic trawling and the research 

area. Because of the complexity of the 

area boundaries, the definitions for the 

BSHCA; NBSRA; and Nunivak Island, 

Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay 

Habitat Conservation Area would refer 

to Tables 42, 43, and 44, and Figures 16, 

17, and 21 to part 679, respectively. The 

definitions for the St. Lawrence Island 

Habitat Conservation Area and St 

Matthew Island Habitat Conservation 

Area would refer to Tables 45 and 46 to 

part 679 for the area boundaries; no 

figures are necessary due to the simple 

shapes of these closures. 

The proposed rule would add to 

§ 679.22(a)(16) through (20) to close the 

BSHCA, St. Matthew Island, St. 

Lawrence Island, Nunivak Island, Etolin 

Strait, Kuskokwim Bay habitat 

conservation areas, and NBSRA to 

nonpelagic trawling. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Acting Assistant Administrator has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with Amendment 89 to the 

FMP for Groundfish of the BSAI, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS prepared an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis (IRFA), as required 

by section 603 of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA). The IRFA 

describes the economic impact this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. Descriptions of the 

action, the reasons it is under 

consideration, and its objectives and 

legal basis, are contained at the 

beginning of this section in the 

preamble and in the SUMMARY section 

of the preamble. A summary of the 

analysis follows. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

Fishing vessels, both catcher vessels 

and catcher/processors (CPs), are 

considered small, for RFA purposes, if 

their gross receipts, from all their 

economic activities combined, as well 

as those of any and all their affiliates 

anywhere in the world, (including 

fishing in federally-managed nongroundfish fisheries, and in Alaskamanaged fisheries), are less than or 

equal to $4.0 million annually. Further, 

fishing vessels were considered to be 

large if they were affiliated with an 

American Fisheries Act fishing 

cooperative in 2004. The members of 

these cooperatives had combined 

revenues that exceeded the $4.0 million 

threshold. 

The entities that would be directly 

regulated by the alternatives are those 

vessels that fish for groundfish with 

nonpelagic trawl gear in the eastern 

Bering Sea off Alaska. Section 5.6 of the 

RIR provides a description of these 

fisheries and estimates the numbers of 

unique vessels that presently participate 

(see ADDRESSES). Approximately 22 to 

24 vessels have participated in the 

nonpelagic trawl CP fishery off Alaska 

in recent years. Based on analysis of 

total annual gross revenues, two of the 

vessels should be classified as small 

entities. Six Community Development 

Quota groups and their associated 

communities are considered small 

entities and are directly regulated by 

this action because their allocation of 

BSAI species harvested by nonpelagic 

trawl gear occurs within the areas 

defined by this action. 

This regulation does not impose new 

recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements on the regulated small 

entities. 

The IRFA did not reveal any Federal 

rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with the proposed action. 

The Council considered three 

alternatives (Alternatives 1, 2, and 3) 

and five options (Options 1, 2, 3, 4, and 

5) to the alternatives for this action. The 

suite of alternatives and options were 

developed in consultation with 

members of the nonpelagic trawl CP 

fleet to minimize potential adverse 

economic effects on directly regulated 

entities. The preferred alternative and 

options constituting the ‘‘proposed 

action’’ reflect the least burdensome of 

management structures available in 

terms of directly regulated small 

entities, while fully achieving the 

conservation and management purposes 

articulated by the Council. 

Alternative 1, the no action 

alternative, would not meet the 

objectives of this action. This alternative 

would allow nonpelagic trawling to 

expand into areas not previously 

trawled and would not meet the 

objective to protect certain bottom 

habitat in the Bering Sea subarea. 

Alternative 3, which would modify 

flatfish trawl gear to reduce contact with 

the bottom, was not recommended by 

the Council at this time because the gear 

is currently under development, and 

gear standards are not yet ready for 

implementation. 

Under Alternative 2 for the BSHCA, 

the boundaries of the closure area were 

established in locations that have not 

been trawled more than once and are 

not likely to be trawled in the future. In 

addition, the boundary of the BSHCA 

was adjusted to allow for potential 

future development of the arrowtooth 

flounder fishery. These features of the 

BSHCA mitigate potential adverse 

economic effects on small entities by 

allowing continued fishing where 

substantial amounts of fishing have 

already occurred and to allow for future 

expansion of the arrowtooth flounder 

fishery. 

The boundaries for the nonpelagic 

trawl closures under Options 1, 3, 4, 

and 5 also were developed in 

consultation with members of the 

nonpelagic trawl CP fleet. Under 

Options 1 and 5, the waters near St. 

Matthew and St. Lawrence Islands were 

not substantially trawled and are not 

likely to be trawled in the future, so the 

closures in these areas are not likely to 

result in an adverse economic effect on 

small entities. Option 2 closed waters 

near Nunivak Island and Etolin Strait 

but would not close waters within 

Kuskokwim Bay to nonpelagic trawling. 

Option 3 expanded on the closures 

under Option 2 by establishing the 

Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and 

Kuskokwim Bay closure boundaries. 

Option 3 closures were carefully 

negotiated between members of the 

nonpelagic trawl CP fleet and some 

users of the subsistence marine 

resources in the area. Adjustments were 

made to the boundaries to ensure the 

flatfish fleet had access to 

concentrations of flatfish while still 

maintaining overall protection to bottom 

habitat from the potential effects of 

nonpelagic trawling. These boundary 

adjustments reduce potential adverse 

economic effects on small entities 

participating in the flatfish trawl 

fishery. 

Under Option 4 for the NBSRA, the 

southern boundary of the area was also 

based on consultation with members of 

the affected trawl CP fleet to ensure the 

closure would not prevent fishing in 

areas currently fished and allowed for 

some northern movement of the fleet if 

fish stocks also move north with global 

warming. The southern boundary of the 

NBSRA would mitigate any potential 

adverse economic impact on small 

entities by allowing continued fishing in 

locations historically fished and 

permitting some flexibility with any 

future movement of fish stocks. 

Executive Order (E.O.) 13175 of 

November 6, 2000 (25 U.S.C. 450 note), 

the Executive Memorandum of April 29, 

1994 (25 U.S.C. 450 note), and the 


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American Indian and Alaska Native 

Policy of the U. S. Department of 

Commerce (March 30, 1995) outline the 

responsibilities of NMFS in matters 

affecting tribal interests. Section 161 of 

Public Law (P.L.) 108–199 (188 Stat. 

452), as amended by section 518 of P.L. 

109–447 (118 Stat. 3267), extends the 

consultation requirements of E. O. 

13175 to Alaska Native corporations. 

NMFS will contact tribal governments 

and Alaska Native corporations which 

may be affected by the proposed action, 

provide them with a copy of this 

proposed rule, and offer them an 

opportunity to consult. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 679 

Alaska, Fisheries, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: March 3, 2008. 

John Oliver, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operations, National Marine Fisheries 

Service. 

For reasons set out in the preamble, 

NMFS proposes to amend 50 CFR part 

679 as follows: 

PART 679—FISHERIES OF THE 

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF 

ALASKA 

1. The authority citation for part 679 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et 

seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 108 447. 

2. In § 679.2, add in alphabetical order 

definitions for ‘‘Bering Sea Habitat 

Conservation Area’’, ‘‘Northern Bering 

Sea Research Area’’, ‘‘Nunivak Island, 

Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay 

Habitat Conservation Area’’, ‘‘St. 

Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation 

Area’’, and ‘‘St. Matthew Island Habitat 

Conservation Area’’ to read as follows: 

§ 679.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 

means a habitat protection area 

specified at Table 42 and Figure 16 to 

this part. 

* * * * * 

Northern Bering Sea Research Area 

means a habitat research area specified 

at Table 43 and Figure 17 to this part. 

Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and 

Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation 

Area means a habitat protection area 

specified at Table 44 and Figure 21 to 

this part. 

* * * * * 

St. Lawrence Island Habitat 

Conservation Area means a habitat 

protection area specified at Table 45 to 

this part. 

St. Matthew Island Habitat 

Conservation Area means a habitat 

protection area specified at Table 46 to 

this part. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 679.22, paragraphs (a)(16) 

through (a)(20) are added to read as 

follows: 

§ 679.22 Closures. 

(a) * * * 

(16) Bering Sea Habitat Conservation 

Area. No federally permitted vessel may 

fish with nonpelagic trawl gear in the 

Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 

specified at Table 42 and Figure 16 to 

this part. 

(17) Northern Bering Sea Research 

Area. No federally permitted vessel may 

fish with nonpelagic trawl gear in the 

Northern Bering Sea Research Area 

specified at Table 43 and Figure 17 to 

this part. 

(18) Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and 

Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation 

Area. No federally permitted vessel may 

fish with nonpelagic trawl gear in the 

Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and 

Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation 

Area specified at Table 44 and Figure 21 

to this part. 

(19) St. Lawrence Island Habitat 

Conservation Area. No federally 

permitted vessel may fish with 

nonpelagic trawl gear in the St. 

Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation 

Area specified at Table 45 to this part. 

(20) St. Matthew Island Habitat 

Conservation Area. No federally 

permitted vessel may fish with 

nonpelagic trawl gear in the St. Matthew 

Island Habitat Conservation Area 

specified at Table 46 to this part. 

* * * * * 

4. Tables 42 through 46 are added to 

part 679 to read as follows: 

TABLE 42 TO PART 679 – BERING SEA

HABITAT CONSERVATION AREA. 

Longitude Latitude 

179 19.95 W 59 25.15 N 

177 51.76 W 58 28.85 N 

175 36.52 W 58 11.78 N 

174 32.36 W 58 8.37 N 

174 26.33 W 57 31.31 N 

174 0.82 W 56 52.83 N 

173 0.71 W 56 24.05 N 

170 40.32 W 56 1.97 N 

168 56.63 W 55 19.30 N 

168 0.08 W 54 5.95 N 

170 0.00 W 53 18.24 N 

170 0.00 W 55 0.00 N 

178 46.69 E 55 0.00 N 

178 27.25 E 55 10.50 N 

178 6.48 E 55 0.00 N 

177 15.00 E 55 0.00 N 

177 15.00 E 55 5.00 N 

176 0.00 E 55 5.00 N 

176 0.00 E 55 0.00 N 

172 6.35 E 55 0.00 N 

173 59.70 E 56 16.96 N 

Note: The area is delineated by connecting 

the coordinates in the order listed by straight 

lines. The last set of coordinates for each area 

is connected to the first set of coordinates for 

the area by a straight line. The projected coordinate system is North American Datum 

1983, Albers. 

TABLE 43 TO PART 679 – NORTHERN

BERING SEA RESEARCH AREA. 

Longitude Latitude 

168 7.48 W 65 37.48N* 

165 1.54 W 60 45.54 N 

167 59.98 W 60 45.55 N 

171 9.92 W 60 3.52 N 

172 0.00 W 60 54.00 N 

174 1.24 W 60 54.00 N 

176 13.51 W 62 6.56 N 

172 24.00 W 63 57.03 N 

172 24.00 W 62 42.00 N 

168 24.00 W 62 42.00 N 

168 24.00 W 64 0.00 N 

172 17.42 W 64 0.01 N 

168 58.62 W 65 30.00 N 

168 58.62 W 65 37.48 N 

Note: The area is delineated by connecting 

the coordinates in the order listed by straight 

lines except as noted by * below. The last set 

of coordinates for each area is connected to 

the first set of coordinates for the area by a 

straight line. The projected coordinate system 

is North American Datum 1983, Albers. 

* This boundary extends in a clockwise direction from this set of geographic coordinates 

along the shoreline at mean lower-low tide line 

to the next set of coordinates. 


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TABLE 44 TO PART 679 – NUNIVAK ISLAND, ETOLIN STRAIT, AND

KUSKOKWIM BAY HABITAT CONSERVATION AREA. 

Longitude Latitude 

165 1.54 W 60 45.54 N* 

162 7.01 W 58 38.27 N 

162 10.51 W 58 38.35 N 

162 34.31 W 58 38.36 N 

162 34.32 W 58 39.16 N 

162 34.23 W 58 40.48 N 

162 34.09 W 58 41.79 N 

162 33.91 W 58 43.08 N 

162 33.63 W 58 44.41 N 

162 33.32 W 58 45.62 N 

162 32.93 W 58 46.80 N 

162 32.44W 58 48.11 N 

162 31.95 W 58 49.22 N 

162 31.33 W 58 50.43 N 

162 30.83 W 58 51.42 N 

162 30.57 W 58 51.97 N 

163 17.72 W 59 20.16 N 

164 11.01 W 59 34.15 N 

164 42.00 W 59 41.80 N 

165 0.00 W 59 42.60 N 

165 1.45 W 59 37.39 N 

167 40.20 W 59 24.47 N 

168 0.00 W 59 49.13 N 

167 59.98 W 60 45.55 N 

Note: The area is delineated by connecting 

the coordinates in the order listed by straight 

lines, except as noted by * below. The last set 

of coordinates for each area is connected to 

the first set of coordinates for the area by a 

straight line. The projected coordinate system 

is North American Datum 1983, Albers. 

* This boundary extends in a clockwise direction from this set of geographic coordinates 

along the shoreline at mean lower-low tide line 

to the next set of coordinates. 

TABLE 45 TO PART 679 – ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND HABITAT CONSERVATION AREA. 

Longitude Latitude 

168 24.00 W 64 0.00 N 

168 24.00 W 62 42.00 N 

172 24.00 W 62 42.00 N 

172 24.00 W 63 57.03 N 

172 17.42 W 64 0.01 N 

Note: The area is delineated by connecting 

the coordinates in the order listed by straight 

lines. The last set of coordinates for each area 

is connected to the first set of coordinates for 

the area by a straight line. The projected coordinate system is North American Datum 

1983, Albers. 

TABLE 46 TO PART 679 – ST. MATTHEW ISLAND HABITAT CONSERVATION AREA. 

Longitude Latitude 

172 0.00 W 60 54.00 N 

171 59.92 W 60 3.52 N 

174 0.50 W 59 42.26 N 

174 24.98 W 60 9.98 N 

174 1.24 W 60 54.00 N 

Note: The area is delineated by connecting 

the coordinates in the order listed by straight 

lines. The last set of coordinates for each area 

is connected to the first set of coordinates for 

the area by a straight line. The projected coordinate system is North American Datum 

1983, Albers. 

5. Figures 16 and 17 are added to part 

679 to read as follows: 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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12364 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 


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6. Figure 21 is added to part 679 to 

read as follows: 


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12366 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 46 / Friday, March 7, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

[FR Doc. 08–988 Filed 3–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


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