65918 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 212, 

219, and 252 

Government procurement. 

Manuel Quinones, 

Editor, Defense Acquisition Regulations 

System. 

Therefore, 48 CFR parts 212, 219, and 

252 are proposed to be amended as 

follows: 

■ 1. The authority citation for parts 212 

and 252 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1303 and 48 CFR 

chapter 1. 

PART 212—ACQUISITION OF 

COMMERCIAL ITEMS 

■ 2. Amend section 212.301 by— 

■ a. Redesignating paragraphs (f)(xxii) 

through (lxxiv) as (f)(xxiii) through 

(lxxv); and 

■ b. Adding a new paragraph (f)(xxii) to 

read as follows: 

212.301 Solicitation provisions and 

contract clauses for the acquisition of 

commercial items. 

(f) * * * 

(xxii) Use the provision at 252.219– 

XXXX, Advancing Small Business 

Growth, as prescribed in 219.309, to 

comply with 10 U.S.C. 2419. 

PART 219—SMALL BUSINESS 

PROGRAMS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 219 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 1303 and 48 CFR 

chapter 1. 

■ 4. Add section 219.309 to subpart 

219.3 to read as follows: 

219.309 Solicitation provisions and 

contract clauses. 

(a) Use the provision at 252.219– 

XXXX, Advancing Small Business 

Growth, as required by 10 U.S.C. 2419, 

in solicitations, including solicitations 

using FAR part 12 procedures for 

acquisition of commercial items, when 

the estimated annual value of the 

contract is expected to exceed— 

(1) The small business size standard, 

if expressed in dollars, for the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) code assigned by the 

contracting officer; or 

(2) $70,000,000, if the small business 

size standard is expressed as number of 

employees for the NAICS code assigned 

by the contracting officer. 

PART 252—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 5. Add section 252.219–XXXX to read 

as follows: 

252.219–XXXX Advancing Small Business 

Growth. 

As prescribed in 219.309, use the 

following provision: 

Advancing Small Business Growth (Date) 

(a) This provision implements 10 U.S.C. 

2419. 

(b) The Offeror acknowledges that by 

acceptance of this contract, it may exceed the 

applicable small business size standard of the 

NAICS code assigned to the contract and 

would no longer qualify as a small business 

concern for that NAICS code. (Small business 

size standards matched to industry NAICS 

codes are published by the Small Business 

Administration and are available at http://

www.sba.gov/content/table-small-businesssize-standards.) The Offeror is therefore 

encouraged to develop the capabilities and 

characteristics typically desired in 

contractors that are competitive as otherthan-small contractors in this industry. 

(c) For technical assistance in this regard, 

the Offeror may contact the nearest 

Procurement Technical Assistance Center 

(PTAC). PTAC locations are available at 

http://www.aptac-us.org. 

(End of provision) 

[FR Doc. 2014–26268 Filed 11–5–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 229 and 697 

[Docket No. 141002823–4823–01] 

RIN 0648–BE57 

Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental 

to Commercial Fishing Operations; 

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 

Plan Regulations; Atlantic Coastal 

Fisheries Cooperative Management 

Act Provisions; American Lobster 

Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend the 

regulations implementing the Atlantic 

Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to 

modify the start date of the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area to begin 

on February 1, 2015, and to expand the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area by 912 

square miles. In addition, this action 

also proposes to revise the Federal 

lobster regulations to be consistent with 

the revised start date of the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area. Recent 

Federal lobster regulations closed the 

Outer Cape Lobster Management Area to 

lobster trap fishing from January 15 

through March 15, which is consistent 

with the lobster trap haul-out period in 

the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission’s Interstate Fishery 

Management Plan for American Lobster. 

This proposed rule would adjust the 

Outer Cape Lobster Management Area 

closure dates to February 1 through 

March 31. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

November 21, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2014–0127, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Kim Damon-Randall, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Protected Resources, 

NMFS Greater Atlantic Region, 55 Great 

Republic Dr., Gloucester, MA 01930, 

Attn: Large Whale Proposed Rule. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

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

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate 

Swails, NMFS Greater Atlantic Region, 

978–282–8481, Kate.Swails@noaa.gov; 

or, Kristy Long, NMFS Office of 

Protected Resources, 206–526–4792, 

Kristy.Long@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

Several of the background documents 

for the Plan and the take reduction 

planning process can be downloaded 

from the Plan Web site at http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 2014 / Proposed Rules 65919 

protected/whaletrp/index.html. The 

complete text of the regulations 

implementing the Plan can be found in 

the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 

50 CFR 229.32 or downloaded from the 

Web site, along with a guide to the 

regulations. 

Background 

This proposed rule combines two 

regulatory modifications that are 

authorized under different statutes. 

Specifically, this action proposes to 

amend the regulations implementing: 

(1) the Atlantic Large Whale Plan 

(Plan)_regulations found at 50 CFR part 

229 under the authority of the MMPA; 

and (2) the Federal American lobster 

Fishery Management Plan regulations 

found at 50 CFR part 697 under the 

authority of the Atlantic Coastal 

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. 

NMFS published a final rule 

implementing an amendment to the 

Plan on June 27, 2014 (79 FR 36586) to 

address large whale entanglement risks 

associated with vertical line (or buoy 

lines) from commercial trap/pot 

fisheries. That amendment included 

gear modifications, gear setting 

requirements, a seasonal closure 

(Massachusetts Restricted Area) and 

gear marking for both the trap/pot and 

the gillnet fisheries. The Massachusetts 

Restricted Area is a seasonal closure 

that is effective January 1 through April 

30 for all trap/pot fisheries, which 

accounts for the largest number of 

vertical lines in the water column. 

In September 2010, in consultation 

with the Atlantic Large Whale Take 

Reduction Team (Team), NMFS 

developed protocols for considering 

modifications or exemptions to the 

regulations implementing the Plan. 

Following these protocols, on August 

18, 2014, the Massachusetts Division of 

Marine Fisheries (DMF) submitted a 

proposal to modify the Massachusetts 

Restricted Area and exempt several 

areas from the gear setting requirements 

to address safety and economic 

concerns raised by Massachusetts 

fishermen. 

Review of Massachusetts Restricted 

Area 

The proposal submitted by DMF 

contains two components: 

(1) Modify the Massachusetts 

Restricted Area (closure), which begins 

on January 1, 2015 by: 

Æ Modifying the timing and size of 

the closure. 

Æ Establishing gear stowage areas 

during a portion of the closure. 

(2) Establish several exemption areas 

to the current minimum number of traps 

per trawl requirement, which take effect 

June 1, 2015. 

Æ Exemption areas would include 

portions of Southern New England 

waters (Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, 

and Nantucket Sound) as well as state 

waters north and east of Cape Cod. 

Given the importance of addressing 

the Massachusetts Restricted Area 

before the closure begins on January 1, 

2015, and the time needed to complete 

the analysis of the entire suite of 

requests contained in the entire DMF 

proposal, NMFS decided to address the 

modifications to the Massachusetts 

Restricted Area and the exemption of 

the minimum number of traps per trawl 

requirements separately. 

Changes Proposed to the Plan 

NMFS proposes to modify the start 

date of the Massachusetts Restricted 

Area to begin on February 1, 2015 and 

expand the area by 912 square miles. 

NMFS proposes this action because it 

responds to comments to improve the 

past action while balancing risk 

reduction considerations. Specifically, 

the action decreases the number of 

affected vessels and results in 

reductions in compliance costs while 

maintaining the same entanglement risk 

reduction as provided in the June 2014 

amendment to the Plan. 

At its October 1, 2014 meeting, the 

Team discussed the requested 

modifications to the Massachusetts 

Restricted Area, as well as the creation 

of the trap/pot storage areas. The 

discussion included a review of the 

merits and analysis of the DMF proposal 

utilizing NMFS’ co-occurrence model. 

The model incorporates information on 

geographic and temporal variations in 

fishing effort and the distribution of 

fishing line, as well as whale sightings 

per unit of survey effort, and identifies 

areas and times at which whales and 

commercial fishing gear are likely to cooccur. The model’s final product is a set 

of indicators that provide information 

on factors that contribute to the risk of 

entanglement at various locations and at 

different points in time. These 

indicators, in particular the number of 

vertical lines in an area and the area’s 

co-occurrence score, assumed to be 

related to the relative entanglement risk 

in different locations. They also provide 

a basis for comparing the impact of 

alternative management measures on 

the potential for entanglements to occur. 

NMFS compared the impacts of the 

two closure areas for conservation 

benefit using its co-occurrence model 

and economic analysis. The methods 

and data sources used in this analysis 

are consistent with those applied in the 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

(FEIS) for the 2014 Plan amendments 

referred above. The proposed changes to 

the closure would allow approximately 

125 vessels to continue to fish during a 

lucrative time of year for the fishing 

industry and would require a slightly 

greater number of vessels to suspend 

activity from February through April. 

This is because the proposed closure 

area is larger than the current closure 

area, an increase of 912 square miles. 

On average, the proposed closure area 

offers a similar reduction in cooccurrence to that of the current closure 

(38.2%) while providing less of an 

economic burden. Therefore, this 

proposed action minimizes potential 

economic impacts without increasing 

risk to large whales. 

At the conclusion of the October 1, 

2014, meeting, the Team, by consensus, 

recommended that we modify the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area as 

proposed by DMF. However, the Team 

recommended that NMFS not act on 

DMF’s proposed trap/pot storage areas. 

The remainder of DMF’s proposal will 

be analyzed and discussed with the 

Team during its January 2015 meeting. 

The Team will provide NMFS a 

recommendation at that time on 

whether to move forward with the 

remaining components of the DMF 

proposal. 

Changes to American Lobster 

Regulations 

On April 7, 2014, NMFS published a 

final rule (79 FR 19015) that 

implemented the Outer Cape Area 

lobster haul-out period. In that rule, 

NMFS acknowledged in the preamble 

that it might need to adjust the closure 

dates if Massachusetts ultimately 

requested a different time period (See 

Response to Comment 22, 78 FR 35217, 

June 12, 2013). Now that Massachusetts 

has done so, if this proposed rule is 

adopted, the original Outer Cape Area 

lobster closure dates would become 

outdated and may create unintended 

impacts to Federal lobster fishers. For 

example, if NMFS does not adjust the 

January 15 start date, Federal lobster 

fishers would have to remove their traps 

from the Outer Cape Area two weeks 

earlier than the February 1 start date 

that exists in the Massachusetts 

regulations and the large whale Plan. 

Therefore, in this rule, NMFS proposes 

to change the start date of the Outer 

Cape Lobster Management Area closure 

dates from January 15 to February 1. 

Further, NMFS proposes to adjust the 

end of the Outer Cape Area haul-out 

period by two weeks from March 15 to 

March 31, to continue with a full twomonth haul-out period as dictated by 

the Commission. NMFS considered 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
65920 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

extending the haul-out period to April 

30, to be consistent with the Plan. 

However, the southwestern portion of 

the Outer Cape Area is not included in 

the Plan’s revised closure area, and 

would be closed for an additional 

month longer than the Commission’s 

two-month haul-out period. 

Accordingly, NMFS proposes to simply 

shift the Outer Cape Area haul-out 

period dates ahead by two weeks. After 

March 31, lobster trap fishermen in the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area will be 

held to the more restrictive Plan dates 

through April 30. 

Classification 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this action 

is not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce has 

certified to the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) that this proposed 

rule, if adopted, would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The fisheries affected by this 

proposed rule are the Northeast 

American lobster trap/pot, Atlantic blue 

crab trap/pot and Atlantic mixed 

species trap/pot. The population of 

vessels that are affected by this 

proposed action includes commercial 

trap/pot vessels fishing in state and 

federal waters in Massachusetts. On 

June 12, 2014, the SBA issued an 

interim final rule revising the small 

business size standards for several 

industries effective July 14, 2014 (79 FR 

33647). The rule increased the size 

standard for Finfish Fishing from $19.0 

to 20.5 million, Shellfish Fishing from 

$5.0 to 5.5 million, and Other Marine 

Fishing from $7.0 to 7.5 million (79 FR 

33656, 33660, 33666). Currently, the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area closure 

impacts an average of 109 vessels. All of 

the entities (fishing vessels) affected by 

this action are considered small entities 

under the SBA size standards for small 

fishing businesses. 

The analysis of the economic impacts 

for this action were based on data from 

the 2014 FEIS that supported the most 

recent Plan amendment published as a 

final rule on June 27, 2014 (79 FR 

36586). The number of vessels and level 

of overall fishing effort have remained 

constant since the preparation of the 

FEIS. Therefore, NMFS believes that 

these data are still relevant for the 

purpose of this analysis. 

Currently, the Massachusetts 

Restricted Area closure impacts an 

average of 109 vessels, with $1.2 M in 

gross revenue potentially lost during the 

closure period. Relatively strong 

landings make this a critical time for the 

Massachusetts lobster fishery, especially 

in the northern part of the closure area. 

Based on an analysis of the affected 

number of vessels, average traps per 

vessel, and net revenues, NMFS 

estimates that by starting the closure in 

February, instead of January, this action 

would result in net revenue gains of 

$447,000. The net change in revenue 

has two components: (1) the revenue 

gain associated with allowing trap/pot 

fishing in January within the current 

boundaries of the Massachusetts Bay 

Restricted Area, and (2) the revenue loss 

associated with expanding the 

boundaries of the closure to include all 

waters within the Outer Cape Lobster 

Management Area, thus prohibiting 

trap/pot fishing in these newly-closed 

waters from February through April. 

The difference between the two is the 

overall net revenue gain. 

This rule would result in positive 

economic impacts on the affected 

vessels by excluding the prime fishing 

month of January. The start date of 

February 1 would allow lobstermen to 

complete normal lobster fishing 

operations through the lucrative holiday 

months of November into January. 

Although the closed area is increasing 

by 912 square miles, the number of 

vessels affected by the increase in area 

is minimal. The average number of 

vessels impacted in the larger area is 

106 versus the 109 vessels impacted 

under current regulations. 

NMFS has determined that this action 

is consistent to the maximum extent 

practicable with the approved coastal 

management programs of 

Massachusetts. This determination was 

submitted for review by the responsible 

state agency under section 307 of the 

Coastal Zone Management Act. 

This proposed rule contains policies 

with federalism implications as that 

term is defined in Executive Order 

13132. Accordingly, the Assistant 

Secretary for Legislative and 

Intergovernmental Affairs will provide 

notice of the proposed action to the 

appropriate official(s) of affected state, 

local, and/or tribal governments. 

List of Subjects 

50 CFR Part 229 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Fisheries, Marine 

mammals, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

50 CFR Part 697 

Fisheries, fishing. 

Dated: October 31, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR parts 229 and 697 are 

proposed to be amended to read as 

follows: 

PART 229—AUTHORIZATION FOR 

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES UNDER THE 

MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT 

OF 1972 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 229 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; 

§ 229.32(f) also issued under 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq. 

■ 2. In § 229.32, paragraph (c)(3) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 229.32 Atlantic large whale take 

reduction plan regulations. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(3) Massachusetts Restricted Area—(i) 

Area. The Massachusetts restricted area 

is bounded by the following points 

connected by straight lines in the order 

listed, and bounded on the west by the 

shoreline of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 

Point N. Lat. W. Long. 

MRA1 ................ 42°12′ 70°44′ 

MRA2 ................ 42°12′ 70°30′ 

MRA3 ................ 42°30′ 70°30′ 

MRA4 ................ 42°30′ 69°45′ 

MRA5 ................ 41°56.5′ 69°45′ 

MRA6 ................ 41°21.5′ 69°16′ 

MRA7 ................ 41°15.3′ 69°57.9′ 

MRA8 ................ 41°20.3′ 70°00′ 

MRA9 ................ 41°40.2′ 70°00′ 

(ii) Closure. From February 1 to April 

30, it is prohibited to fish with, set, or 

possess trap/pot gear in this area unless 

stowed in accordance with § 229.2. 

(iii) Area-specific gear or vessel 

requirements. From May 1 through 

January 30, no person or vessel may fish 

with or possess trap/pot gear in the 

Massachusetts Restricted Area unless 

that gear complies with the gear 

marking requirements specified in 

paragraph (b) of this section, the 

universal trap/pot gear requirements 

specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section, and the area-specific 

requirements listed in (c)(2) of this 

section, or unless the gear is stowed as 

specified in § 229.2. 

* * * * * 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 215 / Thursday, November 6, 2014 / Proposed Rules 65921 

PART 697—ATLANTIC COASTAL 

FISHERIES COOPERATIVE 

MANAGEMENT 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 697 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. 

■ 4. In § 697.7, revise paragraph 

(c)(1)(xxx) introductory paragraph to 

read as follows: 

§ 697.7 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(xxx) Outer Cape Area seasonal 

closure. The Federal waters of the Outer 

Cape Area shall be closed to lobster 

fishing with traps by Federal lobster 

permit holders from February 1 through 

March 31. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2014–26323 Filed 11–5–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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