Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, 1689-1690 [E7-367]
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ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 9 / Tuesday, January 16, 2007 / Proposed Rules
on September 15, 1972, when the Potato
Research and Promotion Plan (Plan) (7
CFR part 1207) was issued. The plan
was amended in May 1984, to increase
the maximum assessment rate from 1
cent per hundredweight to 0.5 percent
of the previous 10-year average price
received by growers. The Plan was
amended again on March 8, 2006, to
increase the assessment rate from 2
cents per hundredweight to 2.5 cents
per hundredweight.
Assessments under this Program are
used to fund promotional campaigns
and to conduct research in the areas of
U.S. marketing, and international
marketing and to enable the Potato
Board (Board) to exercise its duties in
accordance with the Plan.
The Plan is administered by the
Board, which is composed of producer
members, importer members, and one
public member appointed by the
Secretary of Agriculture from
nominations submitted by eligible
groups. Producer membership on the
Board is based upon potato production
within each State. Importer members,
limited to five, are based upon the
amount of potatoes, potato products,
and seed potatoes imported into the
U.S. All members serve terms of three
years.
AMS published in the Federal
Register (63 FR 8014; February 18,
1999) its plan to review certain
regulations, including the Potato
Research and Promotion Plan,
(conducted under the Potato Research
and Promotion Act), under criteria
contained in Section 610 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA; 5
U.S.C. 601–612). The Plan to review
certain regulations was updated in the
Federal Register on August 14, 2003 (68
FR 48574), and updated again on March
24, 2006 (71 FR 14827).
AMS published a notice of review and
request for written comments in the
Federal Register on December 14, 2005
(70 FR 73945). The comment period
ended on February 13, 2006. AMS
received three written comments. One
commenter encouraged the Board to
place more emphasis on the nutritional
benefits of potatoes. The Board
routinely conducts research into the
nutritional benefits of potatoes and uses
that information to promote the benefits
of potatoes. A second commenter
questioned why potato research is
needed and suggested that the program
be terminated. However, the Board does
not conduct production research. The
Board establishes and carries out
research and development projects and
studies in order to encourage, expand,
improve or more efficiently market and
utilize potatoes. The third commenter
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14:30 Jan 12, 2007
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merely sent their organizational
structure and did not provide any
substantive comment.
The review was undertaken to
determine whether the Potato Research
and Promotion Plan should be
continued without change, amended, or
rescinded (consistent with the
objectives of the Potato Research and
Promotion Act of 1971) to minimize the
impacts on small entities. In conducting
this review, AMS considered the
following factors: (1) The continued
need for the Potato Research and
Promotion Plan; (2) the nature of
complaints or comments received from
the public concerning the Potato
Research and Promotion Plan; (3) the
complexity of the Potato Research and
Promotion Plan; (4) the extent to which
the Potato Research and Promotion Plan
overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with
other Federal rules, and, to the extent
feasible, with State and local
regulations; and (5) the length of time
since the Potato Research and
Promotion Plan has been evaluated or
the degree to which technology,
economic conditions, or other factors
have changed in the area affected by the
Potato Research and Promotion Plan.
Currently, there are approximately
1,353 handlers, 5,223 producers, and
300 importers of potatoes and potato
products who are subject to the
provisions of the Plan. Producers of less
than 5 acres of potatoes are exempt from
assessment.
AMS provides Federal oversight of
the Potato Research and Promotion
Plan. The Plan is not unduly complex,
and AMS has not identified any Federal
rules, or State and local regulations that
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the
Plan. Over the years, regulation changes
have been made to address industry
operation changes and to improve
program administration. The goal of
these evaluations is to assure that the
Plan and the regulations implemented
under it fit the needs of the industry and
are consistent with the Act.
Based upon its review, AMS has
determined that the Plan should be
continued without change. AMS plans
to continue working with the potato
industry in maintaining an effective
program.
Dated: January 10, 2007.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. E7–426 Filed 1–12–07; 8:45 am]
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1689
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 229
[Docket No. 060928250–6250–01; I.D.
092506A]
RIN 0648–AU90
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental
to Commercial Fishing Operations;
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction
Plan
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of
public comment period.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: On November 15, 2006,
NMFS proposed to revise the
regulations implementing the Atlantic
Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
(ALWTRP) by expanding the southeast
U.S. restricted area to include waters
out to 35 nautical miles from the South
Carolina coast and modifying
regulations pertaining to gillnetting
within the southeast U.S. restricted area.
The proposed action was determined to
be necessary to protect northern right
whales from serious injury or mortality
from entanglement in gillnet gear in
their calving area in Atlantic Ocean
waters off the Southeastern U.S. With
this notice, NMFS is reopening the
public comment period for 15 days
beginning January 16, 2007.
DATES: Written comments on this
proposed rule must be received by 5
p.m. EST on January 31, 2007.
Comments received between the close of
the first comment period on December
15, 2006, and the reopening of the
comment period on January 16, 2007
will be considered timely received.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should
be identified by the Regulatory
Information Number (RIN) ‘‘0648–
AU90’’ and submitted by any of the
following methods:
• E-mail:
sewhalerule.comments@noaa.gov.
Include RIN 0648–AU90 in the subject
line of the message.
• Mail: Assistant Regional
Administrator for Protected Resources,
NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701.
• Facsimile (fax) to: 727–824–5309,
Attn: Assistant Regional Administrator,
Protected Resources, NMFS.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 9 / Tuesday, January 16, 2007 / Proposed Rules
Instructions: All submissions received
must include the agency name and
docket number or RIN for this proposed
rulemaking.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
50 CFR Part 300
Laura Engleby, 727–824–5312, or Barb
Zoodsma, 904–321–2806. Individuals
who use telecommunications devices
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 1–800–
877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
eastern time, Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays.
Electronic Access: Regulations and
background documents for the ALWTRP
can be downloaded from the ALWTRP
web site at https://www.nero.noaa.gov/
whaletrp/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 15, 2006, NMFS
published a proposed rule to revise the
regulations implementing the ALWTRP
by expanding the southeast U.S.
restricted area and modifying
regulations pertaining to gillnetting
within the southeast U.S. restricted area
(71 FR 66482). That proposed rule
allowed for a NMFS’ 30–day public
comment period, which ended on
December 15, 2006.
NMFS subsequently received requests
from the State of North Carolina and the
Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) to
extend the comment period. These
requests stated that more time is
necessary for the North Carolina public
and members of the MMC to more fully
review and provide comments on the
proposed rule. Therefore, NMFS is
reopening the public comment period
for 15 additional days to allow
additional time for these requesters and
other interested parties to provide
comments while ensuring permanent
protections are in place for right whales
before the end of the calving season. In
this notice, NMFS is reopening the
public comment period for 15 days from
January 16, 2007 until January 31, 2007.
ycherry on PROD1PC64 with PROPOSALS
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.;
§ 229.32(f) also issued under 16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.
Dated: Januaary 8, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7–367 Filed 1–12–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[Docket No. 061229343–6343–01; I.D.
121406A]
RIN 0648–AV03
Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch
Sharing Plan
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve
and implement changes to the Pacific
Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (Plan) for
the International Pacific Halibut
Commission′s (IPHC or Commission)
regulatory Area 2A off Washington,
Oregon, and California (Area 2A). NMFS
proposes to implement the portions of
the Plan and management measures that
are not implemented through the IPHC,
which includes the sport fishery
management measures for Area 2A.
NMFS also proposes to revise the Area
2A non-treaty commercial fishery closed
areas, codified at 50 CFR part 300,
subpart E. These actions are intended to
enhance the conservation of Pacific
halibut, to provide greater angler
opportunity where available, to protect
yelloweye rockfish and other overfished
groundfish species from incidental
catch in the halibut fisheries, and to
ensure consistency between Federal
groundfish and halibut regulations and
between State and Federal regulations.
DATES: Comments on the proposed
changes to the Plan and on the proposed
domestic Area 2A halibut management
measures must be received no later than
5 p.m., local time on February 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Plan,
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA),
and/or Categorical Exclusion (CE) are
available from D. Robert Lohn, Regional
Administrator, Northwest Region,
NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE,
Seattle, WA 98115–0070. Electronic
copies of the Plan, including proposed
changes for 2007, and of the CE and
draft RIR/IRFA are also available at the
NMFS Northwest Region website:
https://www.nwr.noaa.gov, click on
‘‘Groundfish & Halibut.’’
You may submit comments on the
proposed Plan and domestic Area 2A
halibut management measures or
supporting documents, identified by I.D.
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121406A, by any of the following
methods:
• E-mail:
PHalibut2007.nwr@noaa.gov. Include
the I.D. number 121406A in the subject
line of the message.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: D. Robert Lohn,
Administrator, Northwest Region,
NMFS, Attn: Jamie Goen, 7600 Sand
Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115–0070.
• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Jamie
Goen.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jamie Goen or Yvonne deReynier
(Northwest Region, NMFS), phone: 206–
526–6150, fax: 206–526–6736 or e-mail:
jamie.goen@noaa.gov or
yvonne.dereynier@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Northern Pacific Halibut Act (Halibut
Act) of 1982, at 16 U.S.C. 773c, gives the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary)
general responsibility for implementing
the provisions of the Halibut
Convention between the United States
and Canada (Halibut Convention). It
requires the Secretary to adopt
regulations as may be necessary to carry
out the purposes and objectives of the
Halibut Convention and the Halibut Act.
Section 773c of the Halibut Act
authorizes the regional fishery
management councils to develop
regulations governing the Pacific halibut
catch in their corresponding U.S.
Convention waters that are in addition
to, but not in conflict with, regulations
of the IPHC. Each year between 1988
and 1995, the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Pacific Council)
had developed a catch sharing plan in
accordance with the Halibut Act to
allocate the total allowable catch (TAC)
of Pacific halibut between treaty Indian
and non-treaty harvesters and among
non-treaty commercial and sport
fisheries in Area 2A.
In 1995, NMFS implemented the
Pacific Council-recommended long-term
Plan (60 FR 14651, March 20, 1995). In
each of the intervening years between
1995 and the present, minor revisions to
the Plan have been made to adjust for
the changing needs of the fisheries. The
Plan allocates 35 percent of the Area 2A
TAC plus 25,000 lb (11.3 mt) to
Washington treaty Indian tribes in
Subarea 2A–1 and 65 percent minus
25,000 lb (11.3 mt) to non-Indian
fisheries in Area 2A. The annual shift of
25,000 lb (11.3 mt) from the non-tribal
to the tribal fisheries has been made in
response to a court order; 2007 is the
final year that this shift must be made.
The allocation to non-Indian fisheries is
E:\FR\FM\16JAP1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 16, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1689-1690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-367]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 229
[Docket No. 060928250-6250-01; I.D. 092506A]
RIN 0648-AU90
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing
Operations; Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of public comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On November 15, 2006, NMFS proposed to revise the regulations
implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) by
expanding the southeast U.S. restricted area to include waters out to
35 nautical miles from the South Carolina coast and modifying
regulations pertaining to gillnetting within the southeast U.S.
restricted area. The proposed action was determined to be necessary to
protect northern right whales from serious injury or mortality from
entanglement in gillnet gear in their calving area in Atlantic Ocean
waters off the Southeastern U.S. With this notice, NMFS is reopening
the public comment period for 15 days beginning January 16, 2007.
DATES: Written comments on this proposed rule must be received by 5
p.m. EST on January 31, 2007. Comments received between the close of
the first comment period on December 15, 2006, and the reopening of the
comment period on January 16, 2007 will be considered timely received.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified by the Regulatory
Information Number (RIN) ``0648-AU90'' and submitted by any of the
following methods:
E-mail: sewhalerule.comments@noaa.gov. Include RIN 0648-
AU90 in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected
Resources, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Facsimile (fax) to: 727-824-5309, Attn: Assistant Regional
Administrator, Protected Resources, NMFS.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
[[Page 1690]]
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number or RIN for this proposed rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Engleby, 727-824-5312, or Barb
Zoodsma, 904-321-2806. Individuals who use telecommunications devices
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-
800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Electronic Access: Regulations and background documents for the
ALWTRP can be downloaded from the ALWTRP web site at https://
www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 15, 2006, NMFS published a proposed rule to revise the
regulations implementing the ALWTRP by expanding the southeast U.S.
restricted area and modifying regulations pertaining to gillnetting
within the southeast U.S. restricted area (71 FR 66482). That proposed
rule allowed for a NMFS' 30-day public comment period, which ended on
December 15, 2006.
NMFS subsequently received requests from the State of North
Carolina and the Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) to extend the comment
period. These requests stated that more time is necessary for the North
Carolina public and members of the MMC to more fully review and provide
comments on the proposed rule. Therefore, NMFS is reopening the public
comment period for 15 additional days to allow additional time for
these requesters and other interested parties to provide comments while
ensuring permanent protections are in place for right whales before the
end of the calving season. In this notice, NMFS is reopening the public
comment period for 15 days from January 16, 2007 until January 31,
2007.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; Sec. 229.32(f) also issued
under 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.
Dated: Januaary 8, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-367 Filed 1-12-07; 8:45 am]
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