3416 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 13 / Thursday, January 21, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

determination that the total number of 

marine mammals taken by the activity 

as a whole will have no more than a 

negligible impact on the affected species 

or stock of marine mammal(s). 

§ 218.187 Renewal of Letters of 

Authorization and adaptive management. 

(a) A Letter of Authorization issued 

under § 216.106 of this chapter and 

§ 218.186 for the activity identified in 

§ 218.180(c) will be renewed annually 

upon: 

(1) Notification to NMFS that the 

activity described in the application 

submitted under § 218.185 shall be 

undertaken and that there will not be a 

substantial modification to the 

described work, mitigation or 

monitoring undertaken during the 

upcoming 12 months; 

(2) Timely receipt of the monitoring 

reports required under § 218.184(b); and 

(3) A determination by the NMFS that 

the mitigation, monitoring and reporting 

measures required under § 218.183 and 

the Letter of Authorization issued under 

§§ 216.106 of this chapter and 218.186, 

were undertaken and will be undertaken 

during the upcoming annual period of 

validity of a renewed Letter of 

Authorization. 

(b) If a request for a renewal of a 

Letter of Authorization issued under 

§§ 216.106 of this chapter and 218.187 

indicates that a substantial modification 

to the described work, mitigation or 

monitoring undertaken during the 

upcoming season will occur, the NMFS 

will provide the public a period of 30 

days for review and comment on the 

request. Review and comment on 

renewals of Letters of Authorization are 

restricted to: 

(1) New cited information and data 

indicating that the determinations made 

in this document are in need of 

reconsideration, and 

(2) Proposed changes to the mitigation 

and monitoring requirements contained 

in these regulations or in the current 

Letter of Authorization. 

(c) A notice of issuance or denial of 

a renewal of a Letter of Authorization 

will be published in the Federal 

Register. 

(d) NMFS, in response to new 

information and in consultation with 

the Navy, may modify the mitigation or 

monitoring measures in subsequent 

LOAs if doing so creates a reasonable 

likelihood of more effectively 

accomplishing the goals of mitigation 

and monitoring set forth in the preamble 

of these regulations. Below are some of 

the possible sources of new data that 

could contribute to the decision to 

modify the mitigation or monitoring 

measures: 

(1) Results from the Navy’s 

monitoring from the previous year 

(either from NSWC PCD Study Area or 

other locations). 

(2) Findings of the Monitoring 

Workshop that the Navy will convene in 

2011 (§ 218.184(i)). 

(3) Compiled results of Navy-funded 

research and development (R&D) 

studies. 

(4) Results from specific stranding 

investigations (either from the NSWC 

PCD Study Area or other locations). 

(5) Results from general marine 

mammal and sound research (funded by 

the Navy (described below) or 

otherwise). 

(6) Any information which reveals 

that marine mammals may have been 

taken in a manner, extent or number not 

authorized by these regulations or 

subsequent Letters of Authorization. 

§ 218.188 Modifications to Letters of 

Authorization. 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this section, no substantive 

modification (including withdrawal or 

suspension) to the Letter of 

Authorization by NMFS, issued 

pursuant to § 216.106 of this chapter 

and § 218.186 and subject to the 

provisions of this subpart shall be made 

until after notification and an 

opportunity for public comment has 

been provided. For purposes of this 

paragraph, a renewal of a Letter of 

Authorization under § 218.187, without 

modification (except for the period of 

validity), is not considered a substantive 

modification. 

(b) If the Assistant Administrator 

determines that an emergency exists 

that poses a significant risk to the wellbeing of the species or stocks of marine 

mammals specified in § 218.181(b), a 

Letter of Authorization issued pursuant 

to § 216.106 of this chapter and 

§ 218.186 may be substantively 

modified without prior notification and 

an opportunity for public comment. 

Notification will be published in the 

Federal Register within 30 days 

subsequent to the action. 

[FR Doc. 2010–1074 Filed 1–20–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 090218199–91223–02] 

RIN 0648–AX38 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Pelagic Fisheries; Vessel Identification 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule revises 

identification requirements for U.S. 

vessels that fish for pelagic management 

unit species in the western and central 

Pacific Ocean. Each vessel is required to 

display its International 

Telecommunication Union Radio Call 

Sign (IRCS) or, if an IRCS has not been 

assigned, its official number preceded 

by the characters ‘‘USA ’’. This rule 

makes Federal vessel identification 

requirements consistent with 

international requirements. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

February 22, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the burden-hour estimates or 

other aspects of the collection-ofinformation requirements contained in 

this final rule may be submitted to 

William L. Robinson, NMFS, 1601 

Kapiolani Blvd. 1110, Honolulu, HI 

96814, e-mailed to 

DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, or faxed 

to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jarad Makaiau, Sustainable Fisheries, 

NMFS PIR, 808–944–2108. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

Federal Register document is also 

accessible at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/. 

This final rule revises the vessel 

identification requirements at 50 CFR 

§ 665 to make them consistent with 

international requirements. Currently, 

each fishing vessel is required to display 

its official number (United States Coast 

Guard documentation or other 

registration number) on the port and 

starboard sides of the deckhouse or hull, 

and on an appropriate weather deck, so 

as to be visible from enforcement 

vessels and aircraft. 

New international rules require each 

vessel that fishes on the high seas in the 

Area of the Convention on the 

Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 13 / Thursday, January 21, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 3417 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(Convention) to display its IRCS on the 

port and starboard sides of the hull or 

superstructure, and on a deck surface. If 

an IRCS has not been assigned, the 

vessel must display its official number 

preceded by the characters ‘‘USA’’ and a 

hyphen (i.e., ‘‘USA-’’). 

U.S. vessels fishing for pelagic species 

on the high seas of the Convention area 

would be required to display the 

international vessel markings (IRCS or 

USA-official number). A pelagic vessel 

that fishes only within the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or on 

the high seas outside the Convention 

Area, would have the option to display 

either the international markings or 

official number. 

On July 17, 2009, NMFS published a 

proposed rule and request for public 

comment on the vessel identification 

requirements (74 FR 34707). The 

comment period for the proposed rule 

ended on August 3, 2009, and NMFS 

did not receive any comments. 

This final rule modifies only the 

manner in which federally-permitted 

pelagic fishing vessels are identified, 

and does not change vessel operations 

or other aspects of pelagic fisheries. 

Additional background information on 

this final rule may be found in the 

preamble to the proposed rule, and is 

not repeated here. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

NMFS made one administrative 

clarification to the final rule for 

consistency with a change implemented 

by a recent, separately published final 

rule in which NMFS restructured 

western Pacific fishing regulations. In 

that rule, former § 665.21, relating to 

pelagic fishing permits, was 

redesignated as § 665.801. This final 

rule updates the regulatory text to be 

consistent with the above change. 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator, Pacific 

Islands Region, NMFS, determined that 

this action is necessary for the 

conservation and management of 

western and central Pacific high seas 

pelagic fisheries, and that it is 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and other applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Council for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Council 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. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

This final rule contains a collectionof-information requirement subject to 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 

and which has been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under control number 0648– 

0360. The one-time public reporting 

burden for vessel identification 

requirements is estimated at 45 minutes 

and $100 in supplies per vessel. This 

includes the time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information. 

Send comments regarding this burden 

estimate, or any other aspect of this data 

collection, including suggestions for 

reducing the burden, to William L. 

Robinson (see ADDRESSES) and by e-mail 

to DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, or fax 

to 202–395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Vessel 

identification, Western and central 

Pacific. 

Dated: January 14, 2010. 

James W. Balsiger, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

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 § 665.16, revise paragraphs (a) 

and (b) to read as follows: 

§ 665.16 Vessel identification. 

(a) Applicability. Each fishing vessel 

subject to this part, except those 

identified in paragraph (e) of this 

section, must be marked for 

identification purposes, as follows: 

(1) A vessel that is registered for use 

with a valid permit issued under 

§ 665.801 and used to fish on the high 

seas within the Convention Area as 

defined in § 300.211 of this title must be 

marked in accordance with the 

requirements at §§ 300.14 and 300.217 

of this title. 

(2) A vessel that is registered for use 

with a valid permit issued under 

§ 665.801 of this part and not used to 

fish on the high seas within the 

Convention Area must be marked in 

accordance with either: 

(i) Sections 300.14 and 300.217 of this 

title, or 

(ii) Paragraph (b) of this section. 

(3) A vessel that is registered for use 

with a valid permit issued under 

Subparts B through E of this part must 

be marked in accordance with 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

(b) Identification. Each vessel subject 

to this section must be marked as 

follows: 

(1) The vessel’s official number must 

be affixed to the port and starboard 

sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on 

an appropriate weather deck, so as to be 

visible from enforcement vessels and 

aircraft. Marking must be legible and of 

a color that contrasts with the 

background. 

(2) For fishing and receiving vessels of 

65 ft (19.8 m) LOA or longer, the official 

number must be displayed in block 

Arabic numerals at least 18 inches (45.7 

cm) in height, except that vessels in 

precious coral fisheries that are 65 ft 

(19.8 m) LOA or longer must be marked 

in block Arabic numerals at least 14 

inches (35.6 cm) in height. 

(3) For all other vessels, the official 

number must be displayed in block 

Arabic numerals at least 10 inches (25.4 

cm) in height. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–1085 Filed 1–20–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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