35142 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

submitted under this section be in

writing or electronic form, or the carrier

may permit oral requests.

§ 1305.3 Response to request for

establishment of a new rate.

Where a shipper or a prospective

shipper, or a person acting on behalf of

a shipper or a prospective shipper,

requests that the carrier establish a rate

in the absence of an existing rate for

particular transportation, the carrier

must promptly establish and provide to

the requester a rate and applicable

service terms. The information may be

provided either in writing or in

electronic form, as agreed to by the

parties. If the parties cannot agree, such

information is to be provided in

electronic form where both parties have

the requisite capabilities; otherwise, it is

to be provided in writing. The response

should be provided as soon as

reasonably possible, but no later than 10

business days from receipt of the

request. If a carrier determines that

additional information is required from

the requester before a rate or term can

be established, the carrier must so notify

the requester as soon as possible, but no

later than 10 business days after receipt

of the request. Once the additional

information is received, the carrier must

set the rate and related service terms,

and relay them to the requester, as soon

as possible, but no later than 10

business days. The time period for

response set forth in this section will

not apply when the parties agree to a

different time period. A pipeline carrier

may, at its option, require that requests

submitted under this section be in

writing or electronic form, or the carrier

may permit oral requests.

§ 1305.4 Notice requirement.

(a) A pipeline carrier may not increase

any rates or charges, or change any

service terms (except for changes that

are equivalent to rate reductions) unless

20 days have expired after written or

electronic notice has been provided to

all persons who, within the previous 12

months:

(1) Have requested, under § 1305.2 or

§ 1305.3, the affected rates or service

terms; or

(2) Have made arrangements with the

carrier for a shipment that would be

subject to the increased rates or changed

service terms.

(b) The notice required by this section

may be provided either in writing or in

electronic form, as agreed to by the

parties. If the parties cannot agree, the

information is to be provided in

electronic form where both parties have

the requisite capabilities; otherwise, it is

to be provided in writing.

(c) For purposes of this section, a

mailed notice is deemed ‘‘provided’’ on

the date such notice is postmarked.

(d) The notice required by this section

must clearly identify the increase in

rates or charges or the change in service

terms.

[FR Doc. 96–16990 Filed 7–3–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 062896B]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Northeast Multispecies

Fishery; Exempted Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Additions and modifications to

fishery exemptions.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification

to authorize new fishery exemptions

and to modify an existing exemption

under the regulations implementing the

Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP). This

notification advises the public of three

additional exempted fisheries to be

conducted in the Gulf of Maine/Georges

Bank (GOM/GB) and Southern New

England (SNE) regulated mesh areas,

adds restrictions to an existing

exempted fishery, and adds two species

to the list of allowed bycatch species in

the Cultivator Shoal whiting exemption

program. The intent of this notification

is to maximize fishing opportunities in

a manner that is consistent with the

conservation objectives of the FMP.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The GOM/GB monkfish

exempted fishery is effective from July

1, 1996, through September 14, 1996.

The GOM/GB dogfish exempted fishery

is effective from July 1, 1996, through

August 31, 1996. The SNE monkfish

exempted fishery is effective from July

1, 1996, through October 31, 1996. The

SNE dogfish exempted fishery

modifications are effective from July 29,

1996 through October 31, 1996. The

Cultivator Shoals whiting exemption

program bycatch modification is

effective from July 1, 1996, through

December 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan A. Murphy, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 508–281–9252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing Amendment

7 to the FMP are effective on July 1,

1996 (61 FR 27710, May 31, 1996).

These regulations implement a

comprehensive set of measures to

control fishing mortality and rebuild the

primary stocks of regulated

multispecies. Among the specific

measures is a bycatch control measure

that prohibits prosecution of any fishery

that has not been determined to have a

minimal bycatch of regulated

multispecies.

The bycatch control restriction is

applied on a fishery basis in each of two

specific geographical areas, referred to

as regulated mesh areas: GOM/GB and

SNE. A vessel may not fish in these

areas unless it is fishing lawfully in the

multispecies fishery, under a scallop

days-at-sea allocation, with exempted

gear, or in an exempted fishery. A list

of the exempted fisheries that have been

previously determined to meet the

bycatch criteria and that may currently

be conducted in each area appears in

§ 648.80.

Additions or deletions to the list of

exempted fisheries may be authorized

by the Director, Northeast Region,

NMFS (Regional Director), if he/she

determines that the bycatch of regulated

species is, or can be reduced to, less

than 5 percent by weight of the total

catch and that such exemption will not

jeopardize fishing mortality objectives

(§ 648.80(a)(7), (c)(5), and (d)(4)). The

Regional Director is also authorized to

impose specific gear and area

limitations to exempted fisheries.

Proposals for exemptions were

submitted by members of the fishing

industry and have been examined by the

NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science

Center. The proposals were to allow a

sink gillnet fishery for monkfish and

dogfish and to allow squid (two species)

to be retained as bycatch in the

Cultivator Shoals whiting fishery within

the GOM/GB area. Based on the data

available, the Regional Director has

determined that these fisheries meet the

exemption criteria in specific areas

during limited open seasons and under

certain minimum mesh-size restrictions.

GOM/GB Monkfish Exempted Fishery

For the period July 1, 1996, through

September 14, 1996, an exempted

fishery for monkfish may be conducted

by vessels using sink gillnet gear within

a specific portion of the GOM/GB

regulated mesh area. This is defined by

connecting the following coordinates:

Latitude Longitude

41°35′ N. 70°00′ W.

42°49.5′ N. 70°00′ W.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 35143

42°49.5′ N. 69°40′ W.

43°12′ N. 69°00′ W.

Maine shoreline69°00′ W.

Vessels fishing under this exemption

are restricted to a minimum mesh size

of 10 inches (25.4 cm)(diamond). No

species other than monkfish, or lobsters

in an amount not to exceed 10 percent

by weight of the total catch on board or

200 lobsters (whichever is less), may be

retained when fishing in this exempted

fishery.

GOM/GB Dogfish Exempted Fishery

For the period July 1, 1996, through

August 31, 1996, an exempted fishery

for dogfish may also be conducted in the

area defined above by vessels using sink

gillnet gear with a minimum mesh size

of 6.5 inches (16.5 cm)(diamond). No

species other than dogfish, or lobsters in

an amount not to exceed 10 percent by

weight of the total catch on board or 200

lobsters (whichever is less), may be

retained when fishing in this exemption

program.

SNE Monkfish Exempted Fishery

For the period July 1, 1996, through

October 31, 1996, an exempted fishery

for monkfish may be conducted by

vessels using sink gillnet gear within a

specific portion of the SNE regulated

mesh area. This is defined by a line

running south from the Massachusetts

shoreline at 41°35′ N. lat. and 70°00′ W.

long. and bounded on the west by the

Mid-Atlantic regulated mesh area.

Vessels fishing under this exemption are

restricted to a minimum mesh size of 12

inches (25.4 cm)(diamond). No species

other than monkfish may be retained

when fishing in this exempted fishery.

SNE Dogfish Exempted Fishery

Modification

Analysis of the available data also

revealed that an existing fishery

exemption, allowing sink gillnets in the

dogfish fishery to be used year-round in

the SNE regulated mesh area, should be

restricted by a season and a minimum

mesh-size requirement to remain

consistent with the bycatch control

objective. NMFS observer data

documents that several trips exceeded

the bycatch limit during the months of

November through April. Therefore, the

Regional Director has determined that,

during the months of November through

April, this fishery should no longer be

exempted; NMFS intends to address this

through future rulemaking. To provide

additional assurance against bycatch of

regulated multispecies during the time

period the fishery is exempted, effective

from July 29, 1996 through October 31,

1996, a minimum mesh size of 6 inches

(15.24 cm)(diamond) must be used.

Further, from July 1, 1996, through

October 31, 1996, this fishery is

restricted to the area described above for

the SNE monkfish exempted fishery

(i.e., the area defined by a line running

south from the Massachusetts shoreline

at 41°35′ N. lat. and 70°00′ W. long. and

bounded on the west by the MidAtlantic regulated mesh area). The

allowed bycatch species for this

exemption are not changed.

Cultivator Shoals Whiting Exemption

Program Bycatch

For the period July 1, 1996, through

December 31, 1996, the bycatch of squid

is to be allowed under the existing time,

area, and mesh-size restrictions of the

Cultivator Shoals whiting fishery

exemption.

The Regional Director has informed

the New England Fishery Management

Council of the proposals to allow the

sink gillnet fisheries for monkfish and

dogfish in the GOM/GB area and to add

squid to the list of allowable bycatch in

the Cultivator Shoals whiting fishery

during 1996. No objection was raised.

The Regional Director has determined

that the GOM/GB sink gillnet fisheries,

as described above, and the previously

exempted SNE sink gillnet fishery for

dogfish, as temporarily modified by this

action, meet the exemption qualification

requirements specified in § 648.80(a)(7).

Fish that are caught, possessed, or

landed in accordance with provisions of

this action will be deemed by NMFS to

be in accordance with 50 CFR 648.80.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

648.80 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: June 28, 1996.

Richard H. Schaefer,

Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and

Management, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 96–17061 Filed 6–28–96; 4:20 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–W

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 951227306–5306–01 ; I.D.

062696A]

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Trip

Limit Reductions

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Fishing restrictions; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces further

restrictions to the Pacific coast

groundfish fisheries for Pacific ocean

perch (POP) coastwide and Dover sole

north of Cape Mendocino, CA (40°30′ N.

lat.). These actions are authorized by

regulations implementing the Pacific

Coast Groundfish Fishery Management

Plan (FMP), which governs the

groundfish fishery off Washington,

Oregon, and California. These

restrictions are intended to keep

landings as close as possible to the 1996

harvest guidelines for these species.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours (local

time) July 1, 1996, until the effective

date of the 1997 annual specifications

and management measures for the

Pacific Coast groundfish fishery, which

will be published in the Federal

Register. Comments will be accepted

through July 22, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to

William Stelle, Jr., Director, Northwest

Region (Director), National Marine

Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way

NE., BIN-C15700, Seattle, WA 98115–

0070; or Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director,

Southwest Region, National Marine

Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean

Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA

90802–4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William L. Robinson at 206–526–6140;

or Rodney McInnis at 310–980–4040.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following changes to routine

management measures for POP and

Dover sole were recommended by the

Pacific Fishery Management Council

(Council) at its June 18–19, 1996,

meeting in Seattle, WA.

POP. POP has been overfished and

has been managed under a rebuilding

schedule since 1981. The acceptable

biological catch (ABC) is zero, and the

harvest guideline is intended to provide

only for incidental catch of POP taken

while fishing for other species. The

harvest guideline was reduced from

1,300 metric tons (mt) in 1995 to 750 mt

on January 1, 1996, at which time a 2-

month cumulative trip limit of 10,000 lb

(4,536 kg) was implemented.

The best available information at the

June 1996 Council meeting indicated

that 315 mt of POP had been taken

through May 31, 1996, and that the 750–

mt harvest guideline would be reached

by September 28, 1996, if the rate of

landings is not slowed. The Council

recommended that the 2-month

cumulative limit for POP be reduced

from 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) to 8,000 lb

(3,629 kg) coastwide to keep landings

within the harvest guideline in 1996.

Dover sole. Dover sole is one

component of the Dover sole,