Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 167 / Monday, August 30, 2010 / Proposed Rules 52921 

Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 

Number, GS1 Company Prefix, Allied 

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Government Entity (NCAGE)/Commercial 

and Government Entity (CAGE) Code, or the 

Coded Representation of the North American 

Telecommunications Industry 

Manufacturers, Suppliers, and Related 

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Council (HIBCC). 

(c) Reservation of Rights. The terms of this 

clause shall not be construed to limit the 

Government’s rights or remedies under any 

other contract clause. 

(End of clause)] 

[FR Doc. 2010–21358 Filed 8–27–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 100618274–0377–01] 

RIN 0648–AY92 

Fisheries in the Western Pacific; 

Hawaii Bottomfish and Seamount 

Groundfish; Management Measures for 

Hancock Seamounts to Rebuild 

Overfished Armorhead 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

continue a moratorium on fishing for 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish at 

the Hancock Seamounts until the 

overfished U.S. stock of pelagic 

armorhead (Pseudopentaceros wheeleri) 

is rebuilt. This proposed rule would 

also reclassify the management area 

around the Hancock Seamounts as an 

ecosystem management area. The intent 

of the continued moratorium is to 

facilitate rebuilding of the armorhead 

stock, and the intent of the ecosystem 

management area is to facilitate research 

on armorhead and other seamount 

groundfish. 

DATES: Comments on the amendment 

must be received by October 14, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed 

rule, identified by 0648–AY92, may be 

sent to either of the following addresses: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal 

www.regulations.gov; or 

• Mail: Mail written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Acting Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Blvd, Suite 

1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–4700. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted to one of these two addresses 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. Comments sent to any other 

address or individual, or received after 

the end of the comment period, may not 

be considered. Comments will be posted 

for public viewing after thecomment 

period has closed. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted to 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted 

voluntarily by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘NA’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Amendment 2 to the Fishery 

Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaiian 

Archipelago contains an environmental 

assessment and background 

information, and is available from 

www.regulations.gov and from the 

Council, 1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, 

Honolulu, HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, 

fax 808–522–8226, or web site 

www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jarad Makaiau, NMFS PIR Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–944–2108. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document is also available at 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr. 

Fishing for pelagic armorhead is 

managed under the Fishery Ecosystem 

Plan for the Hawaiian Archipelago 

(FEP). Armorhead are overfished as a 

result of over-exploitation by foreign 

vessels in international waters, dating 

back to at least the 1970s. Although 

there has never been a U.S. fishery 

targeting this fish, continued 

exploitation outside the U.S. Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ) by foreign fleets 

has kept the stock in an overfished 

condition. 

The Hancock Seamounts are the only 

known armorhead habitat within the 

EEZ. These seamounts lie west of 180° 

W. and north of 28° N., to the northwest 

of Kure Atoll in the Northwestern 

Hawaiian Islands. The Council and 

NMFS have responded to the overfished 

condition of armorhead with a series of 

four, 6–year domestic fishing moratoria 

at the Hancock Seamounts, beginning in 

1986. The current 6–year moratorium 

expires on August 31, 2010. Although 

there would be a short time period 

between the expiration of the current 

moratorium and implementation of this 

rule, if approved, the likelihood of a 

new Hawaii-based domestic armorhead 

fishery developing is discountable. The 

Hancock Seamounts are a relatively 

small and isolated fishing area, and the 

costs of starting up fishing operations to 

enter this fishery would be prohibitive 

relative to the potential fishing yield 

during the very short time that the area 

would be open. Additionally, existing 

domestic North Pacific trawl vessels 

would not be allowed to fish at Hancock 

Seamounts because trawls are 

prohibited fishing gear in the U.S. 

Pacific Islands. 

From July 2009 to August 2010, the 

Council developed Amendment 2 to the 

Hawaii FEP to rebuild the armorhead 

stock pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act; the amendment is currently 

undergoing Secretarial review (75 FR 

51237, August 19, 2010). The Council 

recommended in Amendment 2 that 

NMFS establish a minimum rebuilding 

time of 35 years for the U.S. portion of 

the armorhead stock. The Council also 

recommended that NMFS classify the 

portion of the EEZ surrounding the 

Hancock Seamounts as an ecosystem 

management area, and extend the 

moratorium at Hancock Seamounts until 

the stock is rebuilt. In response to these 

recommendations, NMFS developed 

this proposed rule to implement the 

latter two recommendations. 

The Council and NMFS recognize 

that, because less than five percent of 

the armorhead habitat lies within U.S. 

jurisdiction, rebuilding of the stock 

must be accomplished through 

coordinated international management. 

Nonetheless, a prohibition on all 

armorhead catches in U.S. waters would 

provide the maximum protection 

available for armorhead stocks in U.S. 

waters. 

The current moratorium applies to all 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish, 

and the proposed moratorium would 

continue to do so. While only 

armorhead are overfished, other 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish are 

caught with the same gear type as 

armorhead. Opening the Hancock 

Seamount fishery to non-armorhead fish 

would increase the likelihood of 

incidental catches of armorhead, 

resulting in possible delays to 

rebuilding the stock. In addition, the 

fishing gear (anchors, weighted lines, 

and hooks) used to target nonarmorhead fish, or lost on fishing 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
52922 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 167 / Monday, August 30, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

grounds, has the potential to impact 

armorhead essential fish habitat and 

habitat areas of particular concern. For 

these reasons, all bottomfish and 

seamount groundfish have been 

included in past fishing moratoria at 

Hancock Seamounts, and are also 

included in this proposed rule. 

NMFS anticipates that further 

research will be necessary for the 

Regional Administrator to determine 

when armorhead stocks are rebuilt and 

could support a domestic fishery. 

Specifically, research must be 

conducted to obtain better information 

about armorhead life history, ecological 

information such as food-web dynamics 

and essential fish habitat, population 

dynamics, and fishery-independent 

information at the population level. 

Additionally, the Council has identified 

the need for habitat mapping and 

characterization, and fish distribution 

and abundance by habitat types. This 

information is necessary to determine 

whether the status of the stock could 

support a domestic fishery at Hancock 

Seamounts in the future. 

Classifying the portion of the EEZ 

around the Hancock Seamounts as an 

ecosystem management area would 

acknowledge the significance of the area 

as a monitoring and research site for 

ecological studies on armorhead and 

other bottomfish and seamount 

groundfish and their associated benthic 

habitats. The ecosystem management 

area would also serve as the area in 

which the maximum U.S. contribution 

to rebuilding of the armorhead stock 

would occur. Hancock Seamounts could 

also serve as a control site for future 

research that assesses the effectiveness 

of management actions being considered 

by other nations and regional fishery 

management organizations, such as 

seasonal closures and bank-specific 

closures in international waters adjacent 

to Hancock Seamounts. 

Additional information and analyses 

may be found in Amendment 2, 

available from the Council (see 

ADDRESSES). 

To be considered, comments on this 

proposed rule must be received by 

October 14, 2010, not postmarked or 

otherwise transmitted by that date. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the fishery ecosystem plan for 

Hawaii, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable laws, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The analysis follows: 

Pelagic armorhead (Pseudopentaceros 

wheeleri) is a management unit species under 

the Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Hawaiian 

Archipelago. Armorhead are overfished as a 

result of over-exploitation by foreign vessels 

in international waters. There has never been 

a U.S. fishery targeting this fish, but 

continued exploitation by foreign fleets has 

kept the stock in an overfished condition. 

The Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) and National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) have responded to 

the overfished condition of armorhead with 

a series of four, 6–year domestic fishing 

moratoria, beginning in 1986, around the 

Hancock Seamounts. These seamounts are 

the only known armorhead habitat in the 

U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The 

current 6–year moratorium expires on August 

31, 2010. 

The Council developed Amendment 2 to 

the Hawaii fishery ecosystem plan to 

establish rebuilding requirements pursuant to 

Magnuson-Stevens Act section 304(e)(4). 

Amendment 2 would: (1) continue a 

moratorium on fishing for armorhead and 

other bottomfish and seamount groundfish 

until the armorhead stock is rebuilt; (2) 

establish a minimum rebuilding time of 35 

years for the U.S. portion of the armorhead 

stock; and (3) classify the portion of the EEZ 

around the Hancock Seamounts as an 

ecosystem management area. 

The fishing moratorium continues to apply 

to all bottomfish and seamount groundfish. 

While only armorhead are overfished, other 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish are 

caught with the same gear type as armorhead. 

Thus, opening the fishery to non-armorhead 

fish increases the likelihood of incidental 

catches of armorhead, resulting in possible 

delays to rebuilding the stock. In addition, 

the fishing gear (anchors, weighted lines, and 

hooks) used to target non-armorhead fish, or 

lost on fishing grounds, may impact 

armorhead essential fish habitat and habitat 

areas of particular concern. For these reasons, 

all bottomfish and seamount groundfish have 

been included in the fishing moratoriums at 

Hancock Seamounts in the past, and are also 

included in this action. The intent of the 

continued moratorium and minimum 

rebuilding time is to facilitate rebuilding of 

the armorhead stock, and the intent of the 

ecosystem management area is to facilitate 

research on armorhead and other seamount 

groundfish. A description of the action, why 

it is being considered, and the legal basis for 

this action are contained in the preamble to 

this proposed rule. 

This proposed rule does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with other Federal rules. 

All fishing vessels having the potential to 

participate in this fishery are considered to 

be small entities under the current Small 

Business Administration definition of small 

fish-harvesting businesses (gross receipts not 

in excess of $ 4.0 million). There are no 

additional small entities that could be 

affected by this proposed rulemaking. 

There has never been any U.S. fishery at 

Hancock Seamounts, nor has there been any 

recent interest in starting one, so this 

proposed rule would not affect the 

profitability of fishing businesses under 

Federal management. Therefore, there are no 

disproportionate economic impacts from this 

proposed rule based on home port, gear type, 

or relative vessel size. For these reasons, 

pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), it has been 

determined that this proposed rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, based 

on the pre-existing status of U.S. fishery for 

armorhead and other bottomfish and 

seamount groundfish at Hancock Seamounts. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Armorhead, Bottomfish, Fisheries, 

Fishing, Hancock Seamounts, Hawaii, 

Seamount groundfish. 

Dated: August 24, 2010. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is proposed 

to be 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 § 665.202, revise paragraph (a)(3) 

to read as follows: 

§ 665.202 Management subareas. 

* * * * * 

(3) Hancock Seamounts Ecosystem 

Management Area means that portion of 

the EEZ in the Northwestern Hawaiian 

Islands west of 180° W. long. and north 

of 28° N. lat. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 665.204, add new paragraph (k) 

to read as follows: 

§ 665.204 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(k) Fish for or possess any Hawaii 

bottomfish or seamount groundfish 

MUS in the Hancock Seamounts 

Ecosystem Management Area, in 

violation of § 665.209. 

4. Revise § 665.209 to read as follows: 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 167 / Monday, August 30, 2010 / Proposed Rules 52923 

§ 665.209 Fishing moratorium at Hancock 

Seamounts. 

Fishing for, and possession of, Hawaii 

bottomfish and seamount groundfish 

MUS in the Hancock Seamounts 

Ecosystem Management Area is 

prohibited until the Regional 

Administrator determines that the 

armorhead stock is rebuilt. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21537 Filed 8–27–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE S 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS