18988 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

be limited to the contract’s allocable

share of the contractor’s total IR&D/B&P

expenditures. In pricing contracts for

such foreign military sales—

* * * * *

4. Section 225.7303–5 is added to

read as follows:

225.7303–5 Aquisitions wholly paid for

from nonrepayable funds.

(a) In accordance with 22 U.S.C.

2762(d), foreign military sales wholly

paid for from funds made available on

a nonrepayable basis shall be priced on

the same costing basis with regard to

profit, overhead, IR&D/B&P, and other

costing elements, as is applicable to

acquisitions of like items purchased by

DoD for its own use.

(b) Direct costs associated with

meeting a foreign customer’s additional

or unique requirements will be

allowable under such contracts. Indirect

burden rates applicable to such direct

costs shall be permitted at the same

rates applicable to acquisitions of like

items purchased by DoD for its own use.

(c) A U.S. defense contractor may not

recover costs incurred to implement its

offset agreement with a foreign

government or international

organization if the organization if the

foreign military sale Letter of Offer and

Acceptance is financed with funds

made available on a nonrepayable basis.

[FR Doc. 96–10542 Filed 4–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 611 and 663

[Docket No. 951227306–6117–02; I.D.

121295C]

Foreign Fishing; Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery; Annual

Specifications; and Correction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final 1996 groundfish fishery

specifications for Pacific whiting and

correction.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 1996

fishery specifications for Pacific whiting

in the U.S. exclusive economic zone

(EEZ) and state waters off the coasts of

Washington, Oregon, and California as

authorized by the Pacific Coast

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP). The specifications include the

level of the acceptable biological catch

(ABC) and harvest guideline, including

the distribution between domestic and

foreign fishing operations. The intended

effect of this action is to establish

allowable harvest levels of Pacific

whiting based on the best available

scientific information. Corrections are

also made to Table 1 in the annual

specifications and management

measures for the Pacific coast

groundfish fishery.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 15, 1996, until the

effective date of the 1997 annual

specifications and management

measures, which will be published in

the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William L. Robinson (Northwest Region,

NMFS) 206–526–6140; or Rodney R.

McInnis (Southwest Region, NMFS)

310–980–4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP

requires that fishery specifications for

groundfish be evaluated each calendar

year, that harvest guidelines or quotas

be specified for species or species

groups in need of additional protection,

and that management measures

designed to achieve the harvest

guidelines or quotas be published in the

Federal Register and made effective by

January 1, the beginning of the fishing

year. This was done for the 1996

groundfish fishery (61 FR 279, January

4, 1996), with one exception, Pacific

whiting (whiting). Final specifications

for whiting were not announced because

the Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council), which makes management

recommendations to NMFS, decided to

delay its consideration until 1995

hydroacoustic survey information could

be included in the assessment on

whiting and the new results reviewed.

Consequently, preliminary

specifications for whiting were

announced concurrent with the final

specifications for other groundfish

species. As in the past, the

specifications include fish caught in

state ocean waters (0–3 nautical miles

(nm) offshore) as well as fish caught in

the EEZ (3–200 nm offshore).

In 1994, the ABC for whiting was

substantially higher than in previous

years, primarily because it was based on

data from the 1992 hydroacoustic

survey that utilized new, more sensitive

equipment, and extended farther

offshore and farther north to encompass

the species’ range. To provide for

cautious exploitation until the 1992

survey results could be confirmed, a

conservative harvest rate policy was

adopted in 1994 and 1995 to minimize

the risk to the resource if the ABC is

later found to be too high. Because

initial results of the recent 1995 survey

were favorable, the Council initially

supported resumption of the moderate

exploitation rate in 1996. When applied

to the previous year’s stock assessment,

this resulted in a preliminary ABC

recommendation of 123,000 metric tons

(mt) for the U.S. and Canada combined.

The Council also recommended that the

preliminary U.S. harvest guideline

continue at 80 percent (98,400 mt) of the

ABC. When the preliminary

specifications were announced, NMFS

indicated that the final specifications

could be higher or lower, depending on

the information resulting from the new

survey and stock assessment on whiting.

At its March 1996 meeting in

Portland, OR, the Council reviewed the

new stock assessment, which indicated

that the biomass of 3-year-old whiting

was 60 percent greater than expected,

and that a moderate abundance of 2-

year-old fish will be recruited to the

fishery in 1996. However, the Council

recommended delaying the return to the

moderate exploitation rate until

resolution of new questions concerning

the correct hydroacoustic target strength

used in estimating biomass. The target

strength calibrates the hydroacoustic

survey data into absolute biomass of

whiting. Even so, by applying the

conservative exploitation rate to the

new stock assessment, the Council’s

final ABC recommendation (U.S. and

Canadian combined) of 265,000 mt is

42,000 mt higher than the 1995 ABC of

223,000 mt and more than double the

preliminary ABC of 123,000 mt. (Under

the new stock assessment, a moderate

exploitation rate would have led to a

1996 ABC of 369,000 mt.)

The Council also confirmed its

preliminary recommendation to set the

U.S. harvest guideline at 80 percent of

the U.S.-Canadian ABC. Therefore, the

final U.S. harvest guideline is 212,000

mt for 1996. If Canada adopts the same

ABC and calculates its share as 30

percent of the total catch, as in the

recent past, the U.S.-Canadian ABC will

be exceeded by about 14 percent. These

overages have not caused a biological

problem, particularly given the large

increase in the ABC in 1994 and use of

the conservative exploitation rate in

1994–96. The total harvest will not

reach the overfishing level. Bilateral

discussions with Canada are expected to

continue.

The whiting harvest guideline in 1996

is designated entirely for domestic

harvesting and processing, and there is

no surplus for joint venture or foreign

fishing operations.

Public comments on the preliminary

whiting specifications were requested

through February 5, 1996, but none

were received. Whiting caught in 1996
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 18989

before the effective date of this action

will be counted toward the new harvest

guideline.

Other Changes to the Whiting Fishery

The start of the regular whiting season

north of 42° N. lat. is changed from

April 15 to May 15 (61 FR 16402, April

15, 1996). In addition, NMFS has

proposed a framework regulation for

implementing the treaty rights of certain

Washington State coastal treaty Indian

tribes and presented options for an

allocation to the Makah tribe in 1996 (61

FR 10303, March 13, 1996). This

proposal also appears in a separate

Federal Register document, and is not

yet approved. Other specifications and

management measures announced at (61

FR 279, January 4, 1996) or at 50 CFR

part 663 are not changed by this action

except as corrected.

Correction of Publication

In the publication of the annual

specifications and management

measures on January 4, 1996 (I.D.

121295C), in the table on page 280,

under ‘‘roundfish,’’ the entry for pacific

whiting, under ‘‘rockfish,’’ the entries

thornyheads, yellowtail, and the text of

footnotes d and n at the end of the table

are corrected as set forth. For the

convenience of the user, the table is

revised to include these changes to read

as follows:

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W
18990 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 18991
18992 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 18993

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C
18994 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 84 / Tuesday, April 30, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Classification

The final specifications and

management measures for 1996 are

issued under the authority of the

Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act and are in accordance

with 50 CFR parts 611 and 663, the

regulations implementing the FMP.

NMFS finds good cause, pursuant to

5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive a portion of

the 30-day delay in effectiveness, so that

this rule may become effective before

the fishery begins on May 15, 1996. The

initial whiting specifications were

announced January 4, 1996 (61 FR 27),

and explained clearly to the public that

the harvest guideline might be adjusted

later by notice in the Federal Register.

This final rule is that notice. Since this

action has been publicized widely

through the Council process, the

industry is aware of the increase and

would be hurt if the final specifications

were not effective on May 15. Since the

at-sea processing sector is capable of

taking its share of the harvest guideline

within less than a month, delaying full

releases of the harvest guideline may

cause an unnecessary disruption in

fishing. Therefore, it would be contrary

to the public interest to delay the

effectiveness of the rule beyond the start

of the fishery.

Dated: April 23, 1996.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–10663 Filed 4–29–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W