Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery, 53164-53167 [2012-21586]
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53164
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2012 / Proposed Rules
Federal Communications Commission.
Bulah P. Wheeler,
Deputy Manager, Office of the Secretary,
Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012–21478 Filed 8–30–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
49 CFR Part 214
[Docket No. FRA–2008–0059, Notice No. 6]
RIN 2130–AC37
Railroad Workplace Safety; AdjacentTrack On-Track Safety for Roadway
Workers
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Petitions for reconsideration;
response status.
AGENCY:
This document provides
notice that, due to the complex issues
raised in both the petitions for
reconsideration of the final rule
published November 30, 2011, and the
comments received on the petitions,
FRA continues to formulate an
appropriate response to the petitions
and comments. FRA’s response will be
published as soon as practicable and
will be filed in the same docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kenneth Rusk, Staff Director, Track
Division, Office of Safety Assurance and
Compliance, FRA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., RRS–15, Mail Stop 25,
Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202–
493–6236); or Anna Winkle, Trial
Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., RCC–12,
Mail Stop 10, Washington, DC 20590
(telephone 202–493–6166 or 202–493–
6052).
SUMMARY:
On
November 30, 2011, FRA published a
final rule concerning adjacent-track ontrack safety for roadway workers. See
Docket No. FRA–2008–0059, Notice No.
4 at 76 FR 74586. In response, FRA
received two petitions for
reconsideration (Petitions) that raised
substantive issues. One of the Petitions
included a request for a delay in the
effective date of the final rule until July
1, 2013.
On March 8, 2012, FRA published a
final rule delaying the effective date of
the November 30, 2011, final rule until
July 1, 2013, and establishing a 60-day
comment period in order to permit
interested parties an opportunity to
EMCDONALD on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
11:21 Aug 30, 2012
Jkt 226001
respond to the Petitions. See 77 FR
13978. FRA received five comments on
the Petitions, some of which raise
additional substantive issues or provide
further detailed information on the
issues already raised. The Petitions and
comments on the Petitions are available
for review in the docket for this
rulemaking, and have been assigned
identification numbers of FRA–2008–
0059–0031 and FRA–2008–0059–0032,
for the Petitions, and identification
numbers of FRA–2008–0059–0034,
FRA–2008–0059–0035, FRA–2008–
0059–0036, FRA–2008–0059–0037, and
FRA–2008–0059–0038, for the
comments on the Petitions.
Due to the complex issues raised and
extensive estimates provided in the
Petitions and comments, FRA continues
to formulate an appropriate response.
FRA’s response to the Petitions and
comments will be published as soon as
practicable and will be filed in the same
docket.
[Docket No. 120604138–2289–01]
Written comments must be
received no later than 5 p.m. eastern
standard time, on October 1, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2012–0121,
by any of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking portal https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Fax: (978) 281–9177, Attn: Jason
Berthiaume.
• Mail: Daniel S. Morris, Acting
Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Mark the outside of the envelope:
‘‘Comments on Proposed Opening of GB
PSP Closed Area.’’
Instructions: All comments received
are part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov 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. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted via
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jason Berthiaume, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone (978) 281–9177, fax
(978) 281–9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
RIN 0648–BC21
Background
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 27,
2012.
Jo Strang,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety/
Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012–21585 Filed 8–30–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States; Atlantic
Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS proposes to re-open a
portion of the Georges Bank Closed Area
to the harvest of Atlantic surfclams and
ocean quahogs. The area has been
closed since 1990 due to the presence of
toxins known to cause paralytic
shellfish poisoning. The proposed reopening is based on a request from the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council and the recent adoption of a
testing protocol into the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program.
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
DATES:
The Georges Bank (GB) Closed Area,
located in the Exclusive Economic Zone
east of 69°00′ W. long. and south of
42°20′ N. lat., has been closed to the
harvest of surfclams and ocean quahogs
since 1990 due to red tide blooms that
cause paralytic shellfish poisoning
(PSP). The closure was implemented
based on advice from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) after
samples tested positive for toxins
(saxitoxins) that cause PSP. These
toxins are produced by the alga
Alexandrium fundyense, which can
form blooms commonly referred to as
red tides, or harmful algal blooms, and
can produce toxins that accumulate in
water column filter-feeding shellfish.
Shellfish contaminated with the toxin, if
eaten in large enough quantity, can
cause illness or death in humans.
Due to inadequate testing or
monitoring of this area for the presence
of PSP-causing toxins, the closure was
made permanent in 1999, under
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2012 / Proposed Rules
VerDate Mar<15>2010
11:21 Aug 30, 2012
Jkt 226001
(FDA 2010). The FDA and NMFS also
developed a Protocol for Onboard
Screening and Dockside Testing in
Molluscan Shellfish that is designed to
test and verify that clams harvested
from GB are safe. The protocol was
formally adopted into the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program at the
October 2011 Interstate Shellfish
Sanitation Conference.
On June 30, 2010, NMFS published a
similar proposal in the Federal Register
(75 FR 37745) to re-open a portion of the
GB Closed Area. This proposed rule was
later withdrawn due to public
comments that opposed re-opening the
GB Closed Area without having a testing
protocol in place. Now that the protocol
has been formally adopted, NMFS is
proposing to re-open a portion of the GB
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4725
Closed Area with the requirement that
the protocol be used on all fishing trips
into the area.
Three areas are being considered for
re-opening. To allow the industry to
access as much of the area as possible
and to generate public comment on all
options, NMFS is proposing to re-open
the largest of the three areas (Alternative
A). The Alternative A area reflects the
largest area that was previously
permitted for sampling under an EFP,
and the other alternatives areas are
smaller subsets of the larger Alternative
A area. The area proposed for reopening is defined in the table below
and the remaining portion of the GB
Closed Area would remain closed.
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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EP31AU12.023</GPH>
EMCDONALD on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Amendment 12 to the Atlantic Surfclam
and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management
Plan (FMP). Since the implementation
of the closure, NOAA’s National Ocean
Service has provided grants to the FDA,
the states of Maine, New Hampshire,
and Massachusetts, and a clam industry
representative to collect water and
shellfish samples from Federal waters
off southern New England. NMFS has
also issued exempted fishing permits
(EFPs) since 2008 to surfclam and ocean
quahog vessels to conduct research in
the closure area. Testing of clams on GB
by the FDA in cooperation with NMFS
and the fishing industry under the EFPs
demonstrate that PSP toxin levels have
been well below the regulatory limit
established for public health safety
53165
53166
EMCDONALD on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
BILLING CODE 3510–22–C
There have been no recent PSP toxin
measurements recorded above
regulatory limits, and PSP toxin
monitoring would be conducted under
the terms of the protocol for all trips
into the area. Further, NMFS has the
authority to close any area to harvesting
of surfclams and ocean quahogs to
prevent contaminated shellfish from
entering the market. Any future closures
or openings within the GB Closed Area
will be based upon PSP toxin testing
VerDate Mar<15>2010
11:21 Aug 30, 2012
Jkt 226001
results conducted under the terms of the
protocol, the advice of the FDA, and the
most current information available.
NMFS proposes to re-open the portion
of the GB Closed Area to the harvest of
surfclams and ocean quahogs, under its
authority at § 648.76(c). However, we
will continue to defer to the FDA in
matters of public health and, should we
receive new advice from the FDA, we
will reconsider which portion of the GB
PO 00000
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Closed Area should be opened for
harvesting.
In addition, while NMFS proposes to
re-open a portion of the GB Closed Area
as requested by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, NMFS
also recognizes that red-tide events can
vary inter-annually. For that reason,
NMFS has prepared an environmental
assessment (EA) that analyzes the
proposed re-opening and two smaller
area alternatives within the GB Closed
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2012 / Proposed Rules
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 170 / Friday, August 31, 2012 / Proposed Rules
EMCDONALD on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Area, to cover the possibility that the
proposed opening could shift or vary,
depending on a change in conditions or
if new information becomes available.
Given the temporal nature of PSP
conditions, NMFS is seeking public
comment on whether this proposed reopening should be implemented and, if
so, which of the three areas should be
re-opened (Alternatives A, B, or C).
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has
determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Atlantic Surfclam
and Ocean Quahog FMP, other
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to
further consideration after public
comment.
NMFS prepared a draft EA for this
action that analyzes the impacts of this
proposed rule. A copy of the draft EA
is available from the Federal eRulemaking portal https://
www.regulations.gov. Type ‘‘NOAA–
NMFS–2012–0121’’ in the Enter
Keyword or ID field and click search. A
copy of the EA is also available upon
request from NMFS Northeast Acting
Regional Administrator, Daniel S.
Morris (see ADDRESSES).
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 (SBA)
that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for this
certification is as follows.
The proposed measures would only
affect vessels holding an active Federal
open access surfclam and/or ocean
quahog permit. In 2011, there were 47
Federal open-access surfclam and/or
ocean quahog permitted vessels that
landed surfclams and/or ocean quahogs.
All of these vessels fall within the SBA’s
definition of a small business. This
action proposes to re-open an area that
has previously been closed. The
surfclam and ocean quahog fishery is
managed under an Individual
Transferable Quota system, and, since
overall quotas are not being changed as
a result of this action, no additional
harvest would be permitted with this
action. Participating vessels would still
be able to fish in any of the existing
areas open to the harvest of surfclams
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:36 Aug 30, 2012
Jkt 226001
and ocean quahogs. Those vessels that
may fish in the area proposed to be
opened may experience increased
operational costs, if they choose to fish
there; however, these costs may be offset
due to increased productivity and
efficiency of the fishing effort because of
greater abundance of surfclams and
ocean quahogs in the GB Closed Area.
Regardless, any increased costs would
not be considered significant.
In addition, for the past 5 years,
NMFS has issued EFPs allowing the
harvest of surfclams using the FDAapproved Protocol for Onboard
Screening and Dockside Testing in
Molluscan Shellfish. Because NMFS has
issued EFPs to harvest surfclams within
the GB Closure Area, and given that
surfclams are more valuable than ocean
quahogs, it is likely that vessels would
continue this trend of targeting
surfclams from the GB Closed Area. Due
to the seasonal variability of PSP toxin
levels, any or all of the areas associated
with this action could open or close
based on PSP conditions. Given this
uncertainty as to whether the area
would remain open, it is not anticipated
that there would be an overall increase
in participation in the surfclam and
ocean quahog fishery due to the opening
of this area. Therefore, because this
action only proposes to re-open an area
that has previously been closed, and
because no net change in fishing effort,
participation in the fishery, or fishery
expenses is expected, this action will
not have a significant economic effect
on a substantial number of small
entities. As a result, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and
none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: August 28, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
performing the functions and duties of the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE
NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In § 648.76, paragraph (a)(4) is
revised to read as follows:
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
§ 648.76
53167
Closed areas.
(a) * * *
(4) Georges Bank. The paralytic
shellfish poisoning (PSP) contaminated
area, which is located on Georges Bank,
and is located east of 69° W. long., and
south of 42°20′ N., lat., is closed to the
harvest of surfclams and ocean quahogs.
A portion of the Georges Bank Closed
Area is open to harvest surfclams and
ocean quahogs provided the vessel
complies with the requirements
specified in paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this
section. The open portion of the Georges
Bank Closed Area is defined by straight
lines connecting the following points in
the order stated:
OPEN PORTION OF THE GEORGES
BANK CLOSED AREA
Point
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
................
N. Latitude
W. Longitude
42°00′
42°00′
41°00′
41°00′
40°40′
40°40′
41°30′
41°30′
68°50′
67°20′
67°20′
67°10′
67°10′
68°30′
68°30′
68°50′
(i) Requirements for Vessels Fishing in
the Open Portion of the Georges Bank
Closed Area. A vessel may fish in the
open portion of the Georges Bank
Closed Area as specified in this
paragraph (a)(4), provided it complies
with the following terms and
conditions:
(A) A valid letter of authorization
issued by the Regional Administrator
must be onboard the vessel; and
(B) The vessel must adhere to the
terms and conditions of the PSP testing
protocol as adopted into the National
Shellfish Sanitation Program by the
Interstate Shellfish Sanitation
Conference. All surfclams and ocean
quahogs harvested from the area must
be handled in accordance with the
terms and conditions of the protocol
from the first point of harvest through
completion of testing and release by the
State Shellfish Control Authority as
required by the PSP testing protocol;
and
(C) Prior to leaving port at the start of
a fishing trip, the vessels’ owner or
operator must declare its intent to fish
in the area through the vessel’s vessel
monitoring system.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2012–21586 Filed 8–30–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53164-53167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21586]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 120604138-2289-01]
RIN 0648-BC21
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic
Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to re-open a portion of the Georges Bank Closed
Area to the harvest of Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs. The area
has been closed since 1990 due to the presence of toxins known to cause
paralytic shellfish poisoning. The proposed re-opening is based on a
request from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the recent
adoption of a testing protocol into the National Shellfish Sanitation
Program.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. eastern
standard time, on October 1, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2012-0121,
by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal https://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: (978) 281-9177, Attn: Jason Berthiaume.
Mail: Daniel S. Morris, Acting Regional Administrator,
NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester,
MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Proposed
Opening of GB PSP Closed Area.''
Instructions: All comments received are part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov 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. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted via Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel,
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Berthiaume, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone (978) 281-9177, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Georges Bank (GB) Closed Area, located in the Exclusive
Economic Zone east of 69[deg]00' W. long. and south of 42[deg]20' N.
lat., has been closed to the harvest of surfclams and ocean quahogs
since 1990 due to red tide blooms that cause paralytic shellfish
poisoning (PSP). The closure was implemented based on advice from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after samples tested positive
for toxins (saxitoxins) that cause PSP. These toxins are produced by
the alga Alexandrium fundyense, which can form blooms commonly referred
to as red tides, or harmful algal blooms, and can produce toxins that
accumulate in water column filter-feeding shellfish. Shellfish
contaminated with the toxin, if eaten in large enough quantity, can
cause illness or death in humans.
Due to inadequate testing or monitoring of this area for the
presence of PSP-causing toxins, the closure was made permanent in 1999,
under
[[Page 53165]]
Amendment 12 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). Since the implementation of the closure, NOAA's
National Ocean Service has provided grants to the FDA, the states of
Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and a clam industry
representative to collect water and shellfish samples from Federal
waters off southern New England. NMFS has also issued exempted fishing
permits (EFPs) since 2008 to surfclam and ocean quahog vessels to
conduct research in the closure area. Testing of clams on GB by the FDA
in cooperation with NMFS and the fishing industry under the EFPs
demonstrate that PSP toxin levels have been well below the regulatory
limit established for public health safety (FDA 2010). The FDA and NMFS
also developed a Protocol for Onboard Screening and Dockside Testing in
Molluscan Shellfish that is designed to test and verify that clams
harvested from GB are safe. The protocol was formally adopted into the
National Shellfish Sanitation Program at the October 2011 Interstate
Shellfish Sanitation Conference.
On June 30, 2010, NMFS published a similar proposal in the Federal
Register (75 FR 37745) to re-open a portion of the GB Closed Area. This
proposed rule was later withdrawn due to public comments that opposed
re-opening the GB Closed Area without having a testing protocol in
place. Now that the protocol has been formally adopted, NMFS is
proposing to re-open a portion of the GB Closed Area with the
requirement that the protocol be used on all fishing trips into the
area.
Three areas are being considered for re-opening. To allow the
industry to access as much of the area as possible and to generate
public comment on all options, NMFS is proposing to re-open the largest
of the three areas (Alternative A). The Alternative A area reflects the
largest area that was previously permitted for sampling under an EFP,
and the other alternatives areas are smaller subsets of the larger
Alternative A area. The area proposed for re-opening is defined in the
table below and the remaining portion of the GB Closed Area would
remain closed.
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31AU12.023
[[Page 53166]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP31AU12.024
BILLING CODE 3510-22-C
There have been no recent PSP toxin measurements recorded above
regulatory limits, and PSP toxin monitoring would be conducted under
the terms of the protocol for all trips into the area. Further, NMFS
has the authority to close any area to harvesting of surfclams and
ocean quahogs to prevent contaminated shellfish from entering the
market. Any future closures or openings within the GB Closed Area will
be based upon PSP toxin testing results conducted under the terms of
the protocol, the advice of the FDA, and the most current information
available.
NMFS proposes to re-open the portion of the GB Closed Area to the
harvest of surfclams and ocean quahogs, under its authority at Sec.
648.76(c). However, we will continue to defer to the FDA in matters of
public health and, should we receive new advice from the FDA, we will
reconsider which portion of the GB Closed Area should be opened for
harvesting.
In addition, while NMFS proposes to re-open a portion of the GB
Closed Area as requested by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council, NMFS also recognizes that red-tide events can vary inter-
annually. For that reason, NMFS has prepared an environmental
assessment (EA) that analyzes the proposed re-opening and two smaller
area alternatives within the GB Closed
[[Page 53167]]
Area, to cover the possibility that the proposed opening could shift or
vary, depending on a change in conditions or if new information becomes
available. Given the temporal nature of PSP conditions, NMFS is seeking
public comment on whether this proposed re-opening should be
implemented and, if so, which of the three areas should be re-opened
(Alternatives A, B, or C).
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this
proposed rule is consistent with the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog
FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable
law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
NMFS prepared a draft EA for this action that analyzes the impacts
of this proposed rule. A copy of the draft EA is available from the
Federal e-Rulemaking portal https://www.regulations.gov. Type ``NOAA-
NMFS-2012-0121'' in the Enter Keyword or ID field and click search. A
copy of the EA is also available upon request from NMFS Northeast
Acting Regional Administrator, Daniel S. Morris (see ADDRESSES).
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 (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for this certification is as follows.
The proposed measures would only affect vessels holding an active
Federal open access surfclam and/or ocean quahog permit. In 2011, there
were 47 Federal open-access surfclam and/or ocean quahog permitted
vessels that landed surfclams and/or ocean quahogs. All of these
vessels fall within the SBA's definition of a small business. This
action proposes to re-open an area that has previously been closed. The
surfclam and ocean quahog fishery is managed under an Individual
Transferable Quota system, and, since overall quotas are not being
changed as a result of this action, no additional harvest would be
permitted with this action. Participating vessels would still be able
to fish in any of the existing areas open to the harvest of surfclams
and ocean quahogs. Those vessels that may fish in the area proposed to
be opened may experience increased operational costs, if they choose to
fish there; however, these costs may be offset due to increased
productivity and efficiency of the fishing effort because of greater
abundance of surfclams and ocean quahogs in the GB Closed Area.
Regardless, any increased costs would not be considered significant.
In addition, for the past 5 years, NMFS has issued EFPs allowing
the harvest of surfclams using the FDA-approved Protocol for Onboard
Screening and Dockside Testing in Molluscan Shellfish. Because NMFS has
issued EFPs to harvest surfclams within the GB Closure Area, and given
that surfclams are more valuable than ocean quahogs, it is likely that
vessels would continue this trend of targeting surfclams from the GB
Closed Area. Due to the seasonal variability of PSP toxin levels, any
or all of the areas associated with this action could open or close
based on PSP conditions. Given this uncertainty as to whether the area
would remain open, it is not anticipated that there would be an overall
increase in participation in the surfclam and ocean quahog fishery due
to the opening of this area. Therefore, because this action only
proposes to re-open an area that has previously been closed, and
because no net change in fishing effort, participation in the fishery,
or fishery expenses is expected, this action will not have a
significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities.
As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required
and none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: August 28, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 648.76, paragraph (a)(4) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 648.76 Closed areas.
(a) * * *
(4) Georges Bank. The paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP)
contaminated area, which is located on Georges Bank, and is located
east of 69[deg] W. long., and south of 42[deg]20' N., lat., is closed
to the harvest of surfclams and ocean quahogs. A portion of the Georges
Bank Closed Area is open to harvest surfclams and ocean quahogs
provided the vessel complies with the requirements specified in
paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this section. The open portion of the Georges
Bank Closed Area is defined by straight lines connecting the following
points in the order stated:
Open Portion of the Georges Bank Closed Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Latitude W. Longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................... 42[deg]00' 68[deg]50'
2..................................... 42[deg]00' 67[deg]20'
3..................................... 41[deg]00' 67[deg]20'
4..................................... 41[deg]00' 67[deg]10'
5..................................... 40[deg]40' 67[deg]10'
6..................................... 40[deg]40' 68[deg]30'
7..................................... 41[deg]30' 68[deg]30'
8..................................... 41[deg]30' 68[deg]50'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Requirements for Vessels Fishing in the Open Portion of the
Georges Bank Closed Area. A vessel may fish in the open portion of the
Georges Bank Closed Area as specified in this paragraph (a)(4),
provided it complies with the following terms and conditions:
(A) A valid letter of authorization issued by the Regional
Administrator must be onboard the vessel; and
(B) The vessel must adhere to the terms and conditions of the PSP
testing protocol as adopted into the National Shellfish Sanitation
Program by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference. All
surfclams and ocean quahogs harvested from the area must be handled in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the protocol from the first
point of harvest through completion of testing and release by the State
Shellfish Control Authority as required by the PSP testing protocol;
and
(C) Prior to leaving port at the start of a fishing trip, the
vessels' owner or operator must declare its intent to fish in the area
through the vessel's vessel monitoring system.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2012-21586 Filed 8-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
