61638 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 6, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

new bear deterrence applications and 

techniques and will update this set of 

guidelines with examples of future 

approved methods. Deterrence actions 

(other than the measures described in 

these guidelines) that do not result in 

serious injury or death to a polar bear 

remain permissible for persons 

identified in section 101(a)(4)(A) of the 

MMPA. Prior to conducting activities 

beyond those specifically described in 

these guidelines, persons should contact 

the Service’s Alaska Regional Office’s 

Marine Mammal Program for further 

guidance (for the location of the Alaska 

Regional Office see 50 CFR 2.2(g)). 

Dated: September 22, 2010. 

Tom Strickland, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

Parks. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25044 Filed 10–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910131362–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XZ38 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical 

Area 630 in the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Inseason adjustment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues an inseason 

adjustment prohibiting directed fishing 

for pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the 

Gulf of Alaska (GOA) 36 hours after 

opening directed fishing for pollock, 

effective 2400 hrs, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), October 2, 2010. This 

adjustment is necessary to manage the 

pollock total allowable catch limit in 

Statistical Area 630 of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 2400 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), October 2, 2010, through 

2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2010. 

Comments must be received at the 

following address no later than 4:30 

p.m., A.l.t., October 18, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. You may submit 

comments, identified by RIN 0648– 

XZ38, by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802. 

• Fax: (907) 586–7557. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK. 

All comments received are a part of 

the public record. No comments will be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 

public viewing until after the comment 

period has closed. Comments will 

generally be posted without change. All 

Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted 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 N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2010 total allowable catch (TAC) 

of pollock in Statistical Area 630 of the 

GOA is 19,118 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the final 2010 and 2011 

harvest specifications for groundfish of 

the GOA (75 FR 11749, March 12, 2010). 

As of September 29, 2010, 

approximately 5,700 mt of pollock 

remain in the 2010 TAC for pollock in 

Statistical Area 630. The D season 

allowance of the pollock TAC in 

Statistical Area 630 is 5,912 mt for the 

period beginning October 1, 2010 

through November 1, 2010. Section 

679.23(b) specifies that the time of all 

openings and closures of fishing seasons 

other than the beginning and end of the 

calendar fishing year is 1200 hrs, A.l.t. 

Current information shows the catching 

capacity of vessels catching pollock in 

Statistical Area 630 of the GOA is in 

excess of 4,000 mt per day. The 

Administrator, Alaska Region, (Regional 

Administrator) has determined that the 

pollock TAC could be exceeded if a 48- 

hour fishery were allowed to occur. 

NMFS intends that the TAC not be 

exceeded and, therefore, will not allow 

a 48-hour directed fishery. NMFS, in 

accordance with § 679.25(a)(1)(i), is 

issuing an inseason adjustment 

prohibiting directed fishing for pollock 

in Statistical Area 630 of the GOA by 

closing the fishery at 2400 hrs, A.l.t., 

October 2, 2010. This action has the 

effect of opening the fishery for 36 

hours. NMFS is taking this action to 

allow a controlled fishery to occur, 

thereby preventing the overharvest of 

the pollock TAC. In accordance with 

§ 679.25(a)(2)(iii), NMFS has 

determined that prohibiting directed 

fishing at 2400 hrs, A.l.t., October 2, 

2010, after a 36 hour opening is the least 

restrictive management adjustment to 

achieve the pollock TAC and will allow 

other fisheries to continue in noncritical 

areas and time periods. The Regional 

Administrator considered the following 

factors in reaching this decision: (1) The 

current catch of pollock in Statistical 

Area 630 of the GOA and, (2) the harvest 

capacity and stated intent on future 

harvesting patterns of vessels in 

participating in this fishery. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the closure of pollock directed 

fishing in Statistical Area 630 of the 

GOA. NMFS was unable to publish a 

notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of September, 29, 2010. NMFS will be 

accepting comments after the effective 

date of this closure (See DATES). 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 6, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 61639 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: September 30, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, 

Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 

Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–25162 Filed 10–1–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0912231441–0465–03] 

RIN 0648–AY48 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Skate Management in 

the Groundfish Fisheries of the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands; Groundfish 

Annual Catch Limits for the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

and Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues a final rule to 

implement Amendments 95 and 96 to 

the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(BSAI) and Amendment 87 to the FMP 

for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA), (collectively referred to as ‘‘the 

FMPs’’). Amendment 95 moves skates 

from the ‘‘other species’’ category to the 

‘‘target species’’ category in the FMP. 

Amendments 96 and 87 revise the FMPs 

to meet the National Standard 1 

guidelines for annual catch limits and 

accountability measures. These 

amendments move all remaining species 

groups from the ‘‘other species’’ category 

to the ‘‘target species’’ category, remove 

the ‘‘other species’’ and ‘‘non-specified 

species’’ categories from the FMPs, 

establish an ‘‘ecosystem component’’ 

category, and describe the current 

practices for groundfish fisheries 

management in the FMPs, as required 

by the guidelines. The final rule 

removes references to the ‘‘other 

species’’ category for purposes of the 

harvest specifications and adds skate 

species to the reporting codes for the 

BSAI groundfish fisheries. This action is 

intended to promote the goals and 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, the FMPs, and other applicable 

laws. 

DATES: Effective November 5, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Amendments 95 and 96 to the FMP for 

Groundfish of the BSAI, Amendment 87 

to the FMP for Groundfish of the GOA, 

the Environmental Assessments (EAs), 

and the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) 

prepared for this action are available 

from NMFS Alaska Region, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, AK 99802 or from the 

Alaska Region NMFS Web site at 

http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/

regs/summary.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melanie Brown, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone of the BSAI and GOA are 

managed under the FMPs. The North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council) prepared the FMPs under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. Regulations implementing 

the FMPs appear at 50 CFR part 679. 

General regulations governing U.S. 

fisheries also appear at 50 CFR part 600. 

Background 

Amendment 95 was unanimously 

adopted by the Council in October 2009. 

This amendment moves skates from the 

‘‘other species’’ category to the ‘‘target 

species’’ list in the BSAI FMP, allowing 

the management of skates as a target 

species complex or as individual skate 

species. NMFS trawl survey and catch 

information shows that 15 skate species 

occur in the BSAI. In the Bering Sea 

subarea, the most abundant species is 

the Alaska skate, while the most 

abundant species in the Aleutian 

Islands subarea is the whiteblotched 

skate. Individual species of skate could 

be listed under the skate complex in the 

‘‘target species’’ list during the harvest 

specifications process to allow NMFS to 

separately manage harvest of these 

individual species. 

The Council unanimously adopted 

Amendments 96 and 87 in April 2010. 

These amendments revise the FMPs to 

meet the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

requirements to establish annual catch 

limits (ACLs) and accountability 

measures (AMs), and conform to the 

National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines 

(74 FR 3178, January 16, 2009). The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management 

Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA), 

which was signed into law on January 

12, 2007, included new requirements 

regarding ACLs and AMs, which 

reinforce existing requirements to 

prevent overfishing and rebuild 

fisheries. The proposed rule for this 

action presents background on the NS1, 

MSRA requirements for ACLs and AMs, 

and harvest management of groundfish 

species (75 FR 41424, July 16, 2010). 

The Council submitted Amendments 

87, 95, and 96 for review by the 

Secretary of Commerce, and a notice of 

availability of the amendments was 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 2, 2010 (75 FR 38454), with 

comments on the amendments invited 

through August 31, 2010. The comments 

on the proposed rule were invited 

through August 30, 2010. The Secretary 

of Commerce approved the amendments 

to the FMPs on September 22, 2010. 

Regulatory Amendments 

This final rule revises definitions for 

‘‘groundfish,’’ ‘‘license limitation 

groundfish,’’ and ‘‘target species,’’ in 

§ 679.2, to remove reference to the 

‘‘other species’’ category. Removing the 

term ‘‘other species category’’ from these 

definitions reduces confusion related to 

target species and the harvest 

specifications, as Amendments 96 and 

87 remove the ‘‘other species’’ category 

from the FMPs for purposes of the 

harvest specifications, and leave only 

‘‘target species’’ as a category for which 

NMFS must establish harvest 

specifications. This final rule revises the 

definition for ‘‘other species’’ to allow 

the continued management of BSAI and 

GOA sharks, sculpins, and octopuses, 

and GOA squids as a group for purposes 

of prohibited species catch under 

§ 679.21 and maximum retainable 

amounts specified in Tables 10 and 11 

to part 679. 

This final rule revises § 679.20 by 

removing the term ‘‘other species 

category’’ in paragraphs related to 

harvest limits, reserves, harvest 

specifications, and fishery closures. 

This revision ensures the regulations for 

harvest specifications and ‘‘target 

species’’ management are consistent 

with Amendments 96 and 87, which 

remove ‘‘other species’’ from the FMP for 

purposes of harvest specifications and 

inseason management. 

This final rule revises § 679.25 to 

remove the ‘‘other species’’ category 

from the paragraph related to reopening 

an area to achieve total allowable catch 

(TAC) for a target species. This revision 

ensures the regulations are consistent 

with removing ‘‘other species’’ from the 

FMP for purposes of target species 

management. 

This final rule revises Table 2a to part 

679 by adding whiteblotched, Alaska, 

and Aleutian skates, as well as the 

scientific names for individual skate 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with RULES