Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 15, 2008 / Notices 61021 

DATES: This agency decision is effective 

October 6, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the MCP are 

available from the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, fax 808– 

522–8226. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alvin Katekaru, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, at (808)944–2207. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

Section 204(e)(1)(A)of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act), the Secretary of State, with the 

concurrence of the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) and in 

consultation with the Council, may 

negotiate and enter into a Pacific Insular 

Area fishery agreement (PIAFA) to allow 

foreign fishing within waters of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 

adjacent to American Samoa, Guam, or 

the Northern Mariana Islands, and at the 

request and with the concurrence of, 

and in consultation with, the Governor 

of the Pacific Insular Area to which the 

PIAFA applies. Section 204(e)(4) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 

prior to entering into a PIAFA, the 

appropriate Governor and the Western 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) shall develop a three-year 

MCP containing detailing the uses for 

funds to be collected by the Secretary 

under the PIAFA. Any payments 

received under a PIAFA shall be 

deposited into the United States 

Treasury and then covered over to the 

Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for 

which funds were collected. In the case 

of violations by foreign fishing vessels 

occurring within the EEZ off any Pacific 

Insular Area, any amount received by 

the Secretary which is attributable to 

fines and penalties imposed under the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, including such 

sums collected from the forfeiture and 

disposition or sale of property seized 

subject to its authority, after payment of 

direct costs of the enforcement action to 

all entities involved in such action, 

shall be deposited into the Treasury of 

the Pacific Insular Area adjacent to the 

EEZ in which the violation occurred, to 

be used for fisheries enforcement and 

for implementation of a MCP. 

The MCP to be approved by the 

Secretary must be consistent with the 

Council’s fishery management plans, 

identify conservation and management 

objectives (including criteria for 

determining when such objectives have 

been met), and prioritize planned 

marine conservation projects. 

At its 138th meeting held in June 

2007, the Council approved the MCP for 

the Northern Mariana Islands and 

recommended its submission to the 

Secretary for approval. NMFS, designee 

of the Secretary, received the MCP on 

March 10, 2008. Following a review of 

the MCP, NMFS informed the Council 

and Government of the Commonwealth 

of the Mariana Islands (CNMI) that the 

MCP was incomplete. On September 23, 

2008, the Department of Lands and 

Natural Resources, CNMI, submitted an 

amended MCP to NMFS. 

The MCP contains 12 objectives, 

listed below, which are consistent with 

the Council’s five existing fishery 

management plans: 

1. Data collection and reporting; 

2. Resource assessment and 

monitoring; 

3. Incidental catch, bycatch, and 

protected species interaction; 

4. Habitat assessment and monitoring; 

5. Management procedures; 

6. Surveillance and enforcement; 

7. Domestic fisheries development; 

8. Marine conservation education; 

9. Public participation; 

10. Regional cooperation; 

11. Performance evaluation; and 

12. Western Pacific demonstration 

projects. 

The MCP identifies 19 programs or 

projects associated with the MCP 

objectives for potential funding under a 

PIAFA. The top ten projects in order of 

priority are: 

1. EEZ enforcement program; 

2. Subsistence and recreational 

harvest monitoring system; 

3. Commercial harvest monitoring 

system; 

4. Charter fishing economic impact 

study; 

5. Analysis of data on pelagic fishery 

resources; 

6. CNMI commercial fisheries 

baseline assessment; 

7. Regional fisheries meeting and 

conferences funding assistance; 

8. Recreational and subsistence 

fishing economic impact and use study; 

9. Fisheries technology program; and 

10. Local auction marketplace 

feasibility study. 

This notice announces that NMFS has 

determined that the MCP for the 

Northern Mariana Islands satisfies the 

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and has approved the MCP for a 

three-year period: October 6, 2008, 

through October 6, 2011. 

Dated: October 9, 2008. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24485 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XK55 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog Fisheries; Notice that Vendor 

Will Provide Year 2009 Cage Tags 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of vendor to provide year 

2009 cage tags. 

SUMMARY: NMFS informs surfclam and 

ocean quahog allocation owners that 

they will be required to purchase their 

year 2009 cage tags from the National 

Band and Tag Company. The intent of 

this notice is to comply with regulations 

for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean 

quahog fisheries and to promote 

efficient distribution of cage tags. 

ADDRESSES: Written inquiries may be 

sent to Edward Stern, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional 

Office, One Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Edward Stern, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9177; fax (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Atlantic surfclam and ocean 

quahog fishery regulations at 50 CFR 

648.75(b) authorize the Regional 

Administrator of the Northeast Region, 

NMFS, to specify in the Federal 

Register a vendor from whom cage tags, 

required under the Atlantic Surfclam 

and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP), shall be purchased. Notice 

is hereby given that National Band and 

Tag Company of Newport, Kentucky, is 

the authorized vendor of cage tags 

required for the year 2009 Federal 

surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries. 

Detailed instructions for purchasing 

these cage tags will be provided in a 

letter to allocation owners in these 

fisheries from NMFS within the next 

several weeks. 

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

October 7, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–24509 Filed 10–14–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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