Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 3, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 26589 

(1) Name of the U.S. citizen 

requesting the authorization, 

(2) A description of the activity, the 

dates of the activity, and the specific 

location of the activity, and 

(3) Plans to monitor the behavior and 

effects of the activity on marine 

mammals. 

(d) A copy of the Letter of 

Authorization must be in the possession 

of the persons conducting activities that 

may involve incidental takings of 

pinnipeds. 

§ 216.157 Letters of Authorization. 

(a) A Letter of Authorization, unless 

suspended or revoked, will be valid for 

a period of time not to exceed the period 

of validity of this subpart, but must be 

renewed annually subject to annual 

renewal conditions in § 216.158. 

(b) Each Letter of Authorization will 

set forth: 

(1) Permissible methods of incidental 

taking; 

(2) Means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact on the 

species, its habitat, and on the 

availability of the species for 

subsistence uses (i.e., mitigation); and 

(3) Requirements for mitigation, 

monitoring and reporting. 

(c) Issuance and renewal of the Letter 

of Authorization will be based on a 

determination that the total number of 

marine mammals taken by the activity 

as a whole will have no more than a 

negligible impact on the affected species 

or stock of marine mammal(s). 

§ 216.158 Renewal of Letters of 

Authorization. 

(a) A Letter of Authorization issued 

under §§ 216.106 and 216.157 for the 

activity identified in § 216.150 will be 

renewed annually upon: 

(1) Notification to NMFS that the 

activity described in the application 

submitted under § 216.156 will be 

undertaken and that there will not be a 

substantial modification to the 

described work, mitigation or 

monitoring undertaken during the 

upcoming 12 months; 

(2) Timely receipt of the monitoring 

reports required under § 216.155(e), and 

the Letter of Authorization issued under 

§ 216.157, which has been reviewed and 

accepted by NMFS; and 

(3) A determination by NMFS that the 

mitigation, monitoring and reporting 

measures required under §§ 216.154 and 

216.155 and the Letter of Authorization 

issued under §§ 216.106 and 216.157, 

were undertaken and will be undertaken 

during the upcoming annual period of 

validity of a renewed Letter of 

Authorization. 

(b) If a request for a renewal of a 

Letter of Authorization issued under 

§ 216.106 and this section indicates that 

a substantial modification to the 

described work, mitigation or 

monitoring undertaken during the 

upcoming season will occur, NMFS will 

provide the public a period of 30 days 

for review and comment on the request. 

Review and comment on renewals of 

Letters of Authorization are restricted 

to: 

(1) New cited information and data 

indicating that the determinations made 

in this document are in need of 

reconsideration, and 

(2) Proposed changes to the mitigation 

and monitoring requirements contained 

in these regulations or in the current 

Letter of Authorization. 

(c) A notice of issuance or denial of 

a renewal of a Letter of Authorization 

will be published in the Federal 

Register. 

§ 216.159 Modifications of Letters of 

Authorization. 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this section, no substantive 

modification (including withdrawal or 

suspension) to the Letter of 

Authorization by NMFS, issued 

pursuant to §§ 216.106 and 216.157 and 

subject to the provisions of this subpart 

shall be made until after notification 

and an opportunity for public comment 

has been provided. For purposes of this 

paragraph, a renewal of a Letter of 

Authorization under § 216.158, without 

modification (except for the period of 

validity), is not considered a substantive 

modification. 

(b) If the Assistant Administrator 

determines that an emergency exists 

that poses a significant risk to the wellbeing of the species or stocks of marine 

mammals specified in § 216.150(b), a 

Letter of Authorization issued pursuant 

to §§ 216.106 and 216.157 may be 

substantively modified without prior 

notification and an opportunity for 

public comment. Notification will be 

published in the Federal Register 

within 30 days subsequent to the action. 

[FR Doc. E9–12948 Filed 6–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.070817467–8554–02] 

RIN 0648–XP59 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Fishery; Closure of the 

Elephant Trunk Scallop Access Area to 

General Category Scallop Vessels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Elephant Trunk Scallop Access Area 

(ETAA) is closed effective 0001, June 1, 

2009, to general category scallop vessels 

for the remainder of the 2009 fishing 

year. This action is based on the 

determination that allowing the ETAA 

to remain open when the Quarter II 

LAGC IFQ fishery opens on June 1, 

2009, will result in an overrun of trip 

and catch quotas for that access area. 

This action is being taken to prevent the 

allocation of general category trips in 

the ETAA from being exceeded during 

the 2009 fishing year, in accordance 

with the regulations implementing 

Framework 19 to the Atlantic Sea 

Scallop Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) and the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. 

DATES: The closure of the ETAA to all 

general category scallop vessels is 

effective 0001, June 1, 2009, through 

February 28, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don 

Frei, Fishery Management Specialist, 

(978) 281–9221, fax (978) 281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing fishing activity in 

the Sea Scallop Access Areas are found 

at §§ 648.59 and 648.60. Regulations 

specifically governing general category 

scallop vessel operations in the ETAA 

are specified at § 648.59(e)(4)(ii). These 

regulations authorize vessels issued a 

valid general category scallop permit to 

fish in the ETAA under specific 

conditions, including a total of 1,964 

trips that may be taken by general 

category vessels during the 2009 fishing 

year. The regulations at § 648.59(e)(4)(ii) 

require the ETAA to be closed to general 

category scallop vessels once the 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with RULES
26590 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 3, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

Northeast Regional Administrator has 

determined that the allowed number of 

trips are projected to be taken. 

Based on VMS declaration and 

analysis of fishing effort through May 

15, 2009, 1,826 trips were completed by 

general category scallop vessels fishing 

in the ETAA, leaving 138 allotted trips 

when the Quarter II LAGC IFQ fishery 

opens on June 1, 2009. It is projected 

that the remaining 138 allocated trips 

would be taken by June 2, 2009, based 

on an average number of trips per day 

to date. This would result in only a 24- 

hour opening of the ETAA. A 24-hour 

opening could create a derby fishery 

situation, which would likely result in 

an overrun of the trip and catch quota, 

and could also create unsafe conditions 

for LACG IFQ vessels. Therefore, as of 

0001, June 1, 2009, the ETAA is closed 

and will remain closed for the 

remainder of the 2009 fishing year, in 

accordance with the regulations at 

§ 648.59(e)(4)(ii) to all general category 

scallop vessels. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

This action closes the ETAA to all 

general category scallop vessels, as of 

0001, June 1,2009, for the remainder of 

the 2009 fishing year. The regulations at 

§ 648.59(e)(4)(ii) allow such action to 

ensure that general category scallop 

vessels do not take more than their 

allocated number of trips in the ETAA. 

The ETAA opened for the 2009 fishing 

year at 0001 hours on March 1, 2009. 

Data indicating the general category 

scallop fleet has taken all of the ETAA 

trips have only recently become 

available. To allow general category 

scallop vessels to continue to take trips 

in the ETAA during the period 

necessary to publish and receive 

comments on a proposed rule would 

result in vessels taking much more than 

the allowed number of trips in the 

ETAA. Excessive trips and harvest from 

the ETAA would result in excessive 

fishing effort in the ETAA, where effort 

controls are critical, thereby 

undermining conservation objectives of 

the FMP. Should excessive effort occur 

in the ETAA, future management 

measures would need to be more 

restrictive. Based on the above, under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3), proposed rulemaking 

is waived because it would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest to allow a period for public 

comment. Furthermore, for the same 

reasons, there is good cause under 5 

U.S.C 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day 

delayed effectiveness period for this 

action. 

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

Dated: May 29, 2009 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–12930 Filed 5–29–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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