Proposed Rule RIN 0648-AT95 pub 062306

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 121 / Friday, June 23, 2006 / Proposed Rules
special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses.
Docket: All documents in the docket
are listed in the http://
www.regulations.gov index. Although
listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Certain other
material, such as copyrighted material,
will be publicly available only in hard
copy. Publicly available docket
materials are available either
electronically in http://
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
the information repositories.
John
C. Meyer, Remedial Project Manager
(RPM), U.S. EPA Region 6 (6SF–LP),
1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202–
2733, (214) 665–6742 or 1–800–533–
3508 ([email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For
additional information, see the Direct
Final Notice of Deletion which is
located in the Rules section of this
Federal Register.
Information Repositories: Repositories
have been established to provide
detailed information concerning this
decision at the following addresses: U.S.
EPA Region 6 Library, 7th Floor, 1445
Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas
75202–2733, (214) 665–6424, Monday
through Friday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1
p.m. to 4 p.m.; San Jacinto College,
South Campus Library, 13735 Beamer
Road, Houston, Texas 77089, (281) 992–
3416, Monday through Thursday 8 a.m.
to 9 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.;
Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality
(TCEQ), Central File Room Customer
Service Center, Building E, 12100 Park
35 Circle, Austin, Texas 78753, (512)
239–2900, Monday through Friday 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300

rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL_1

Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous
substances, Hazardous waste,
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C.
9601–9657; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR,
1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR 2923,
3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.
Dated: May 25, 2006.
Richard E. Greene,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 06–5569 Filed 6–22–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–M

VerDate Aug<31>2005

16:54 Jun 22, 2006

Jkt 208001

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 665
[Docket No. 060606149–6149–01; I.D.
052506A]
RIN 0648–AT95

Fisheries in the Western Pacific;
Omnibus Amendment for the
Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish
Fisheries, Crustacean Fisheries, and
Precious Coral Fisheries of the
Western Pacific Region
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would
amend three fishery management plans
to include fisheries and waters around
the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Pacific
Remote Island Areas (PRIA). These
amendments affect United States
domestic fisheries that offload or
operate in Federal waters around the
CNMI and the PRIA. These amendments
would establish new permitting and
reporting requirements for vessel
operators targeting bottomfish species
around the PRIA to improve
understanding of the ecology of these
species and the activities and harvests
of the vessel operators that target them.
They would also establish new
permitting and reporting requirements
for vessel operators targeting crustacean
species and precious corals around the
CNMI and PRIA.
DATES: Comments on the proposed rule
must be received by August 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed
rule, identified by 0648–AT95, should
be sent to any of the following
addresses:
• E-mail: [email protected].
Include in the subject line of the e-mail
comment the following document
identifier AAT95 Omnibus. Comments
sent via e-mail, including all
attachments, must not exceed a 5
megabyte file size.
• Federal e-Rulemaking portal:
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: William L. Robinson,
Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands
Region (PIR), 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard,
Suite 1110, Honolulu, HI 96814–4700.
Copies of the FMPs, Amendments,
and Environmental Assessment (EA)

PO 00000

Frm 00016

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

36049

may be obtained from Kitty M. Simonds,
Executive Director, Western Pacific
Fishery Management Council (WPFMC),
1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1400,
Honolulu, HI 96813, or the Internet at
www.wpcouncil.org.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimates or other aspects
of the collection-of-information
requirements contained in this proposed
rule may be submitted to William L.
Robinson (see ADDRESSES), or by e-mail
to [email protected], or fax
to 202–395–7285.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Harman, NMFS PIR, 808–944–
2271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
NMFS Pacific Islands region
encompasses Federal waters, i.e., the
U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
around the Territories of Guam and
American Samoa, the State of Hawaii,
the CNMI, and the PRIA. The EEZ
extends from this inner boundary to 200
nautical miles (nm) offshore. The inner
boundary of the EEZ is the seaward
limit of each coastal state,
commonwealth, territory and
possession. The EEZ extends from this
inner boundary to 200 nautical miles
(nm) offshore. For the CNMI and PRIA,
the inner boundary of the EEZ is
extends to the shoreline, while for the
seaward limits of Guam, American
Samoa, and Hawaii, the inner boundary
of the EEZ is extend to 3 nm from the
shoreline.
The WPFMC has developed, and
NMFS has approved and implemented,
five fishery management plans that
cover pelagic species, crustaceans,
bottomfish and seamount groundfish,
precious corals, and coral reef
ecosystems fisheries. The Federal waters
surrounding the CNMI are currently not
included in the Fishery Management
Plans for the Bottomfish, Crustaceans, or
Precious Corals Fisheries of the Western
Pacific Region (Bottomfish FMP),
(Crustaceans FMP), and (Precious Corals
FMP). Similarly, Federal waters
surrounding the PRIA are not included
in the Bottomfish or Crustaceans FMPs.
Vessels have been known to fish for
bottomfish and crustaceans in the
Federal waters surrounding the CNMI
and the PRIA, although on a small scale.
While there are currently no known
fisheries operating in the PRIA, and no
precious corals fisheries operating in the
CNMI, interest may arise in the future.
These proposed amendments would
include the fisheries operating in these
areas under the FMPs.
The CNMI bottomfish fishery consists
primarily of small boats (< 30 ft, 9.1 m)
engaged in commercial and subsistence

E:\FR\FM\23JNP1.SGM

23JNP1

rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL_1

36050

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 121 / Friday, June 23, 2006 / Proposed Rules

fishing. These boats are usually limited
to fishing in daylight hours within 50
nm of Saipan, with fishermen relying on
land features for navigation (as opposed
to GPS and fathometers). In addition to
the small boats, a few larger vessels (>
50 ft, 15.2 m) sometimes participate in
the fishery, ranging farther north on
multi-day trips, and with more
sophisticated navigation tools. Data
about bottomfish landings from the
larger vessels are collected only
voluntarily, so the future reliability of
data collection cannot be assured.
Similarly, an offshore deep-water
shrimp fishery at one time operated in
the CNMI, but knowledge of the fishery
and collection of data about the catch
was not timely. Additionally, precious
corals have been landed from Federal
waters around the CNMI, with little or
no information about the fishery
collected. This history led the WPFMC
to recommend the preliminary step of
including CNMI waters under the
Bottomfish, Crustaceans, and Precious
Corals FMPs. This would facilitate
further steps to monitor catches and, if
needed in the future, to implement
other management measures for these
fisheries. While the EEZ around the
CNMI extends from the shoreline to 200
nm, the WPFMC recommended
deferring to the CNMI regulatory control
for fishing toby by CNMI citizens,
including fishery permitting and data
collection, in waters 0 to 3 nm of the
EEZ around CNMI. These FMP
amendments do not, however, confer
authority to the CNMI over EEZ
resources.
Although no fishing is being
conducted currently in the PRIA, there
has been some recent historical activity
by vessels using mixed fishing gear in
the PRIA. These vessels have targeted
bottomfish with handlines, and they
troll for pelagic species, or trap for deepwater shrimp. A 2002 regulatory
amendment to the Pelagics FMP (67 FR
30346, May 6, 2002) requires Federal
reporting for vessels trolling for and
landing pelagic management unit
species (PMUS) in the PRIA. Data
collection for other PRIA fisheries
occurs at the landing port which, to
date, has been exclusively in Hawaii.
However, Hawaii’s state-required
landings data do not include details on
effort, bycatch, location, or protected
species interactions. There is currently
no mechanism to gather fishery
statistics for bottomfish landings from
the PRIA. As in the case of the CNMI,
the Council determined that the PRIA
need to be included under its
management plans to allow for the
collection of fishery data and the timely

VerDate Aug<31>2005

17:45 Jun 22, 2006

Jkt 208001

implementation of further management
actions should they become necessary.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) manages a number of National
Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in the western
Pacific, including fishing activities
within refuge boundaries pursuant to
the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act (NWRSAA) of 1966,
as amended by the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997, and other authorities. Under the
NWRSAA, as amended, NWR waters are
closed to all uses until they are
specifically opened for such uses, and
that the USFWS determines whether to
open NWR waters for any use that is
compatible with the refuges’= primary
purpose(s) and mission. While
commercial fishing is generally
prohibited in NWR waters, specific
regulations are absent. Including NWR
areas under the Bottomfish,
Crustaceans, and Precious Corals FMPs,
as proposed in these amendments,
would add specific regulations to these
areas. However, these regulations would
not supersede any valid existing Federal
regulations that are more restrictive to
fishing operations.
Amendments 8, 12, and 6 also
consider including in the management
unit a variety of bottomfish and
crustacean species that are currently or
potentially targeted by fishermen. The
importance of these species as a
component of catches is known from
both existing data collection programs
and anecdotal information, and before
Federal management measures can be
applied to these species they must be
included in the management unit. After
consideration, the Council decided to
designate 48 bottomfish species as part
of the management unit. Subsequently,
however, these 48 species were
included in the management unit of the
Fishery Management Plan for Coral Reef
Ecosystems in the Western Pacific
Region, developed by the WPFMC and
implemented in 2004. Thus, this
document does not include the
designation of bottomfish species in the
preferred alternative. The WPFMC did
not designate the three crustacean
species or species groups because they
determined that these species groups
Federal waters are not sufficiently
harvested in Federal waters to warrant
designation at this time. This action is
designed to establish monitoring
systems and management mechanisms
to implement specific regulatory
controls should the need arise; specific
management measures (such as time
and area closures, or effort and landing
limits) are not included.

PO 00000

Frm 00017

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

Classification
At this time, NMFS has not
determined that the FMP amendments
that this rule would implement are
consistent with the national standards
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act and
other applicable laws. NMFS, in making
that determination, will take into
account the data, views, and comments
received during the comment period.
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 that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
This rule would amend three fishery
management plans to include fisheries and
waters around the CNMI and PRIA in the
management units. Amendment 8 to the
Bottomfish FMP would establish new
permitting and reporting requirements for
vessel operators targeting bottomfish species
around the PRIA in order to improve our
understanding of the ecology of the species,
and the activities and harvests of the vessel
operators that target them. For the same
reasons, Amendment 12 to the Crustaceans
FMP would establish new permitting and
reporting requirements for vessel operators
targeting crustacean species around the
CNMI or the PRIA, and Amendment 6 to the
Precious Corals FMP would establish new
permitting and reporting requirements for
vessel operators targeting precious corals
around the CNMI.
This action is anticipated to affect the
entire universe of active bottomfish fishery
participants (approximately 43) based in the
CNMI who fish more than three miles from
shore, as well as an unknown number of
vessel operators who may enter the fishery in
the future. The CNMI bottomfish fishery
consists primarily of small boats (< 30 ft, 9.1
m) engaged in commercial and subsistence
fishing. These boats are usually limited to
fishing in daylight hours within 50 nm of
Saipan, with fishermen relying on land
features for navigation (as opposed to GPS
and fathometers). In addition to the small
boats, a few larger vessels (> 50 ft, 15.2 m)
sometimes participate in the fishery, ranging
farther north on multi-day trips, and with
more sophisticated navigation tools. Data
about bottomfish landings from the larger
vessels are now collected only voluntarily.
Given this fleet’s aggregate annual ex-vessel
revenue of $142,260, the annual average pervessel revenue is $3,308; therefore, all
affected operations are classified as ‘‘small
entities’’ because their annual revenues are
below the $4 million threshold set for this
determination. The affected entities, CNMI
bottomfish vessels, landed a total of 54,400
lb (24,675 kg) of fish in 2004.
Also affected will be future participants in
the CNMI-based offshore crustacean and
precious coral fisheries. Available

E:\FR\FM\23JNP1.SGM

23JNP1

rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL_1

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 121 / Friday, June 23, 2006 / Proposed Rules
information indicates that there are no
current participants in these fisheries and it
is unlikely that an offshore commercial
crustacean (i.e., lobster) fishery will develop,
as the topography beyond three miles in most
locations has limited lobster habitat and
access is difficult. Should such a lobster
fishery develop, however, the potential costs
to fishermen would be minimal (i.e., no more
than those associated with permitting and
reporting, discussed below). Also affected
would be future participants in the
bottomfish and crustacean fisheries around
the PRIA, but available information indicates
that there are no current participants in these
fisheries, either.
The largest potential impact to affected
participants would be compliance costs
associated with new Federal permitting and
reporting requirements. There is no monetary
cost for these permits, but a time burden of
30 minutes is required for each permit
application and renewal. The completion of
Federal reporting forms will be required for
each fishing trip, with an associated time cost
of 5 minutes per reporting action. Lesser and
uUnquantifiable impacts may result from the
future prohibition of the use of destructive
fishing gear (e.g., bottom set trawls, poisons
and explosives) in the current or future CNMI
and PRIA bottomfish fisheries, and the future
prohibition of the use of non-selective gear in
any future NMI precious corals fishery. There
is no evidence that such gears are in use at
this time, so any futurethe prohibition
against using such gear would have no
immediate impact on current fishery
participants.
Because there are no management actions
that affect operations of the fishery, other
than providing for potential data collection,
there will be no significant reductions in
profitability for a substantial number of small
entities in any user groups, and there will be
no disproportionate impacts between gear
types, vessels, or port of landing.
The proposed rule does not impose
impacts on a substantial number of small
entities. The proposed action is
administrative in nature and will not impact
operations of the fishery. Most vessels in the
CNMI fishery are small vessels that operate
in nearshore areas, so the majority of small
entities in the CNMI will be unaffected by the
action. A very small proportion of larger
vessels that may be impacted would be
subject to the permit and reporting
requirements of the action.
The CNMI fishery is characterized based
on data collected through the Commercial
Purchase Database, which indirectly records
actual landings by recording all local fish
sales to commercial establishments. This data
collection program is dependeant on
voluntary participation by first level
purchasers of locally caught fresh fish to
record purchases on specially designed
invoices. These figures are then expanded by
30 percent to represent the CNMI as a whole,
assuming 60 percent coverage of the
commercial sales on Saipan, and that Saipan
is 90 percent of the total market.

As a result, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and
none has been prepared.
This proposed rule contains a
collection-of-information requirement

VerDate Aug<31>2005

17:45 Jun 22, 2006

Jkt 208001

subject to review and approval by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA). This requirement has been
submitted to OMB for approval. The
public reporting burden for the permit
application process is 30 minutes per
application. In the crustaceans fishery,
it is estimated that one permit
application would be submitted
annually for the permit area, resulting in
a paperwork burden of 30 min/yr. In the
bottomfish fishery, it is estimated that
no more than five permit applications
would be received annually for the
permit area, resulting in a paperwork
burden of 2.5 hr/yr. In the precious
corals fishery, it is estimated that one
permit would be applied for annually
for the permit area, resulting in 30 min/
yr in paperwork burden. Therefore, the
total paperwork burden of these
collections of information would be no
more than four hours annually. The
public burden for the proposed
reporting requirements is five minutes
per daily logsheet. It is estimated that
eight vessels would be subject to the
reporting requirement at any given time,
and that each vessel would fish, on
average, no more than 50 days/yr,
resulting in a total paperwork burden of
approximately 35 hr/yr. These estimates
include the time for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the
data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection information.
Public comment is sought regarding:
whether this proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
the accuracy of the burden estimate;
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information,
including through the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology. Send comments
on these or any other aspects of the
collection of information to William L.
Robinson (see ADDRESSES), and email to
[email protected] or fax to
202–395–7285.
Notwithstanding any other provision
of the law, no person is required to
respond to, and no person shall be
subject to penalty for failure to comply
with, a collection of information subject
to the requirements of the PRA, unless
that collection of information displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665
Administrative practice and
procedure, American Samoa, Fisheries,

PO 00000

Frm 00018

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

36051

Fishing, Guam, Hawaii, Hawaiian
natives, Northern Mariana Islands,
Pacific Remote Island Areas, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 20, 2006.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 665 is proposed
to be amended as follows:
PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE
WESTERN PACIFIC
1. The authority citation for part 665
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

In § 665.12, the definitions for
‘‘Crustaceans management area’’,
‘‘Crustaceans permit area 3’’, and
‘‘Crustaceans receiving vessel’’ are
revised, the definitions of ‘‘Crustaceans
permit area 4’’, ‘‘Pacific Remote Island
Areas bottomfish fishing permit’’, and
‘‘Pacific Remote Island Areas crustacean
fishing permit’’ are added, and under
the definition of ‘‘Precious coral permit
area’’ paragraph (4)(v) is added to read
as follows:
§ 665.12

Definitions.

*

*
*
*
*
Crustaceans management area means
the EEZ waters around American
Samoa, the CNMI, Guam, Hawaii, and
the PRIA.
*
*
*
*
*
Crustacean Permit Area 3 (Permit
Area 3) means the EEZ around Guam
and American Samoa, and the EEZ
seaward of points 3 nautical miles from
the shoreline of the CNMI.Crustaceans
Permit Area 4 (Permit Area (4) means
the EEZ around the PRIA, with the
exception of EEZ waters around
Midway Atoll.
*
*
*
*
*
Crustaceans receiving vessel means a
vessel of the United States to which
lobsters taken in the crustaceans
management area are transferred from
another vessel.
*
*
*
*
*
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA)
bottomfish fishing permit means the
permit required by § 665.61 to use a
vessel to fish for bottomfish
management unit species (MUS) in the
EEZ, or to land bottomfish MUS
shoreward of the outer boundary of the
EEZ around the PRIA, with the
exception of waters around Midway
Atoll.
Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA)
crustacean fishing permit means the

E:\FR\FM\23JNP1.SGM

23JNP1

36052

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 121 / Friday, June 23, 2006 / Proposed Rules

permit required by § 665.41 to use a
vessel to fish for crustacean
management unit species (MUS) in the
EEZ, or to land crustacean MUS
shoreward of the outer boundary of the
EEZ around the PRIA, with the
exception of waters around Midway
Atoll.
*
*
*
*
*
Precious coral permit area * * *
(4) * * *
(v) Permit Area X-P-CNMI includes all
coral beds, other than established beds,
conditional beds, or refugia, in the EEZ
seaward of points 3 nautical miles from
the shoreline of the CNMI.
*
*
*
*
*
3. In § 665.14, paragraph (a) is revised
to read as follows:
§ 665.14

Reporting and recordkeeping.

rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSAL_1

(a) Fishing record forms. The operator
of any fishing vessel subject to the
requirements of §§ 665.21, 665.41,
665.81, or 665.602 must maintain on
board the vessel an accurate and
complete record of catch, effort, and
other data on report forms provided by
the Regional Administrator. All
information specified on the forms must
be recorded on the forms within 24 hr
after the completion of each fishing day.
Each form must be signed and dated by
the fishing vessel operator. For the
fisheries managed under §§ 665.21,
665.41, and 665.81, the original logbook
form for each day of the fishing trip
must be submitted to the Regional
Administrator within 72 hr of each
landing of MUS, unless the fishing was
authorized under a PRIA troll and
handline permit, a PRIA crustaceans
fishing permit, or a PRIA precious corals
fishing permit, in which case the
original logbook form for each day of
fishing within the PRIA EEZ waters
must be submitted to the Regional
Administrator within 30 days of each
landing of MUS. For fisheries managed
under § 665.602, the original logbook
form for each day of the fishing trip
must be submitted to the Regional

VerDate Aug<31>2005

16:54 Jun 22, 2006

Jkt 208001

Administrator within 30 days of each
landing of MUS.
*
*
*
*
*
4. In § 665.41, paragraph (a)(2) is
revised to read as follows:
§ 665.41

Permits.

(a) * * *
(2) The owner of any vessel used to
fish for lobster in Permit Area 2, Permit
Area 3, or Permit Area 4, must have a
permit issued for that vessel.
*
*
*
*
*
5. In § 665.42, paragraph (c) is added
to read as follows:
§ 665.42

Prohibitions.

*

*
*
*
*
(c) In Permit Area 3 and Permit Area
4, it is unlawful for any person to refuse
to make available to an authorized
officer or employee of NMFS designated
by the Regional Administrator for
inspection and copying any records that
must be made available in accordance
with § 665.14(f)(2).
6. In § 665.61, paragraph (a)(1) is
revised to read as follows:
§ 665.61

Permits.

(a) * * *
(1) The owner of any vessel used to
fish for bottomfish management unit
species in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands Subarea or Pacific Remote Island
Areas Subarea must have a permit
issued under this section and the permit
must be registered for use with that
vessel.
*
*
*
*
*
7. In § 665.62 paragraph (b) is revised,
and paragraph (f) is added to read as
follows:
§ 665.62

Prohibitions.

*

*
*
*
*
(b) Fish for, or retain on board a
vessel, bottomfish management unit
species in the Hoomalu Zone, the Mau
Zone, or the Pacific Remote Island Areas
without the appropriate permit
registered for use with that vessel issued
under § 665.13.
*
*
*
*
*

PO 00000

Frm 00019

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

(f) Falsify or fail to make or file all
reports of bottomfish management unit
species landings taken in the Pacific
Remote Island Areas, containing all data
in the exact manner, as specified in
§ 665.14(a).
8. In § 665.69, paragraphs (a)
introductory text, (b), and (c) are
revised, and paragraphs (a)(6), (a)(7),
and (a)(8) are added, to read as follows:
§ 665.69

Management subareas.

(a) The bottomfish fishery
management area is divided into eight
subareas with the following
designations and boundaries:
*
*
*
*
*
(6) CNMI Inshore Area means that
portion of the EEZ shoreward of 3
nautical miles of the shoreline of the
CNMI.
(7) CNMI Offshore Area means that
portion of the EEZ seaward of 3 nautical
miles from the shoreline of the CNMI.
(8) Pacific Remote Island Areas means
that portion of the EEZ seaward of the
Pacific Remote Island Areas, with the
exception of Midway Atoll.
(b) The inner boundary of each fishery
management area is a line coterminous
with the seaward boundaries of the
State of Hawaii, the Territory of
American Samoa, the Territory of Guam
and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.
(c) The outer boundary of each fishery
management area is a line drawn in
such a manner that each point on it is
200 nautical miles from the baseline
from which the territorial sea is
measured, or is coterminous with
adjacent international maritime
boundaries. The boundary between the
fishery management areas of Guam and
the Northern Mariana IslandsCNMI
extends to those points which are
equidistant between Guam and the
island of Rota in the CNMINorthern
Mariana Islands.
[FR Doc. E6–9966 Filed 6–22–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

E:\FR\FM\23JNP1.SGM

23JNP1