[Federal Register: October 18, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 200)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 60449-60450]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18oc05-10]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 041110317-4364-02; I.D. 053105F]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; Quota Transfer
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it has approved the request of the State
of New Jersey to transfer 36,333 lb (16,481 kg) of commercial summer
flounder quota to the states of Maine, Connecticut, and New York, and
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in accordance with the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Addendum XV to the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). By
this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised
commercial quota for each state involved.
DATES: Effective October 13, 2005 through December 31, 2005, unless
NMFS publishes a superseding document in the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ruccio, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9104, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations require annual
specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among the
coastal states from North Carolina through Maine. The process to set
the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state are
described in Sec. 648.100.
The ASMFC adopted Addendum XV to the FMP in November 2004. The
Addendum is being implemented under the adaptive management and
framework procedures that are part of the FMP. Addendum XV establishes
a program, for 2005 and 2006, that allocates the increase in commercial
summer flounder quota (from the 2004 amount) differently than the
existing allocation scheme, in order to reduce the amount of fish that
must be discarded as bycatch in the commercial fishery in states with
relatively low summer flounder quotas. The transfer of quota from donor
states will allow recipient states to marginally increase trip limits,
thereby decreasing the amount of summer flounder discarded at sea.
The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the FMP (December 17,
1993; 58 FR 65936) provided a mechanism for summer flounder quota to be
transferred from one state to another. Two or more states, under mutual
agreement and with the concurrence of the Administrator, Northeast
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), can transfer or combine summer
flounder commercial quota under Sec. 648.100(d). The Regional
Administrator is required to consider the criteria set forth in Sec.
648.100(d)(3) in the evaluation of requests for quota transfers or
combinations. The Regional Administrator has reviewed those criteria
and approved the quota transfer requests submitted by the State of New
Jersey.
Consistent with Addendum XV, New Jersey, a designated ``donor
state,'' has voluntarily employed the quota transfer provisions of the
FMP to transfer a total of 36,333 lb (16,481 kg) to be allocated as
follows: Maine 999 lb (453 kg); Massachusetts 10,957 lb (4,970 kg);
Connecticut 13,965 lb (6,335 kg); and New York 10,412 lb (4,723 kg)(see
Table 1).
[[Page 60450]]
Table 1. Summer Flounder Commercial Quota Transfers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amount 2005 2005 Revised
Transferred Quota\1\ Quota
State ------------------------------------------
lb kg lb kg lb kg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey -36,33 -16,4 3,005 1,363 2,969 1,346
3 81 ,481 ,286 ,148 ,806
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine +999 +453 12,39 5,623 13,39 6,076
6 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Massachusetts +10,95 +4,97 1,219 553,2 1,230 558,2
7 0 ,773 89 ,730 59
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connecticut +13,96 +6,33 459,4 208,3 473,3 214,7
5 5 08 87 73 22
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York +10,41 +4,72 1,414 641,5 1,424 646,2
2 3 ,282 18 ,694 41
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\1\Reflects quotas as published on June 21, 2005 (70 FR 35557),
inclusive of previous Addendum XV and ``safe harbor'' transfers.
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 12, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-20829 Filed 10-13-05; 3:01 pm]
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