Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 120 / Thursday, June 20, 1996 / Proposed Rules 31499

performed and materials furnished under this

contract, the Contractor shall—

(1) Obtain all warranties that would be

given in normal commercial practice;

(2) Require all warranties to be executed,

in writing, for the benefit of the Government,

if directed by the Contracting Officer; and

(3) Enforce all warranties for the benefit of

the Government as directed by the

Contracting Officer.

(h) In the event the Contractor’s warranty

under paragraph (b) of this clause has

expired, the Government may bring suit at its

expense to enforce a subcontractor’s,

manufacturer’s, or supplier’s warranty.

(i) Unless a defect is caused by the

Contractor’s negligence, or the negligence of

a subcontractor or supplier at any tier, the

Contractor shall not be liable for the repair

of any defects of material or design furnished

by the Government nor the repair of any

damage resulting form any defect in

Government-furnished material or design.

(j) This warranty shall not limit the

Government’s right under the Inspection

clause of this contract, with respect to latent

defects, gross mistakes, or fraud.

(End of clause)

[FR Doc. 96–15222 Filed 6–19–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5000–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 652

[I.D. 061396A]

Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog

Fisheries; Notice of Availability for

Amendment 9

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery

management plan amendment; request

for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council (Council) has submitted

Amendment 9 to the Fishery

Management Plan for the Atlantic Surf

Clam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries

(FMP) for Secretarial review and is

requesting comments from the public.

The amendment would revise

overfishing definitions for Atlantic surf

clams and ocean quahogs.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before August 13, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr.

Andrew Rosenberg, Regional Director,

National Marine Fisheries Service,

Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799.

Mark the outside of the envelope

‘‘Comments on Overfishing Definitions

for Clams and Quahogs.’’

Copies of Amendment 9 and the

environmental assessment are available

from David R. Keifer, Executive

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, Room 2115

Federal Building, 300 S. New Street,

Dover, DE 19904-6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,

508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)

(Magnuson Act) requires that each

fishery management council submit any

fishery management plan or plan

amendment it prepares to the Secretary

of Commerce (Secretary) for review and

approval, disapproval, or partial

disapproval. The Magnuson Act also

requires that NMFS, on behalf of the

Secretary, upon receiving the plan or

amendment, immediately make a

preliminary evaluation of whether the

amendment is sufficient to warrant

continued review, and publish a

document that the plan or amendment

is available for public review and

comment. NMFS will consider the

public comments in determining

whether to approve the amendment.

Amendment 9, if approved, would

revise overfishing definitions for the

stocks managed under the FMP in

compliance with the NOAA Guidelines

for Fishery Management Plans (50 CFR

part 602).

During its discussions of the 1996

quota recommendations, the Council

considered revising the overfishing

definitions specified in the FMP.

Overfishing is presently defined for both

species in terms of actual yield levels—

that is, overfishing is defined as harvests

in excess of the specified quota levels.

This definition does not incorporate

biological considerations to protect

against overfishing. NMFS has

concluded that a harvesting strategy

based on Council policy is no longer

acceptable, since it depends on the

Council taking appropriate action,

rather than adhering to a rate-based

biological standard. The overfishing

definition proposed by the Council for

surf clams as contained in Amendment

9 is a fishing mortality rate of F20% (20

percent of maximum spawning potential

(MSP)), which equates to an annual

exploitation rate of 15.3 percent. The

overfishing definition proposed by the

Council for ocean quahogs as contained

in Amendment 9 is a fishing mortality

of F25% (25 percent of MSP), which

equates to an annual exploitation rate of

4.3 percent.

The receipt date for this amendment

is June 12, 1996. No proposed or final

regulations will be published for this

amendment, because, if it is approved,

no changes will be needed in the

codified regulatory text that implements

this FMP.

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

Dated: June 14, 1996.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Fisheries

Conservation and Management, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 96–15661 Filed 6–14–96; 4:52 pm

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

50 CFR Part 652

[Docket No. 960531155–6155–01; I.D.

050996B]

Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog

Fishery; Control Date

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking; consideration of a control

date.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management

Council (Council) is considering

limiting future access to anyone

entering that portion of the ocean

quahog (Arctica islandica) fishery,

commonly referred to as the Maine

mahogany quahog fishery, that is

managed through the Maine Mahogany

Quahog Experimental Fishery Program

after June 20, 1996 (control date). Future

access to the Maine mahogany quahog

resource in the exclusive economic zone

(EEZ) will not be assured beyond the

control date if a management regime is

developed and implemented under the

Magnuson Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (Magnuson Act) that

limits the number of participants in the

fishery. This document is intended to

promote awareness of potential

eligibility criteria for future access to

that portion of the ocean quahog fishery

managed through the Maine Mahogany

Quahog Experimental Fishery Program

and to discourage new entries into this

fishery based on economic speculation

while the Council contemplates whether

and how access should be controlled.

The potential eligibility criteria may be

based on historical participation,

defined as any number of trips having

any documented amount of ocean

quahog landings. This document,

therefore, gives the public notice that

they should locate and preserve records