[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 62226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29517]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 652

[Docket No. 900124-0127; I.D. 110795D]


Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fishery; Suspension of 
Minimum Size Limit for Surf Clams in 1996

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Suspension of surf clam minimum size limit.

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SUMMARY: NMFS informs the public that the minimum size limit of 4.75 
inches (12.065 cm) for Atlantic surf clams is suspended for the 1996 
fishing year. The intended effect is to reduce a regulatory burden 
while still safeguarding the resource by assuring that the vast 
majority of surf clams are larger than maximum-yield-per-recruit size.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996, through December 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Resource Policy Analyst, 
508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    A final rule implementing Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fishery was published 
on June 14, 1990 (55 FR 24184). Section 652.22(a)(1) allows the 
Regional Director to suspend, annually, by publication of a document in 
the Federal Register, the minimum size limit for Atlantic surf clams. 
This action may be taken unless discard, catch, and survey data 
indicate that as much as 30 percent of the Atlantic surf clam resource 
is smaller than 4.75 inches (12.065 cm), and the overall reduced size 
is not attributable to beds where growth of the individual clams has 
been reduced because of density-dependent factors.
    At its August 1995 meeting, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) accepted the recommendations of its Statistical and 
Scientific Committee and Surf Clam/Ocean Quahog Committee and voted to 
recommend that the Director, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional 
Director), suspend the minimum size limit for surf clams in 1996. NMFS 
port agents conducted a random sample of surf clams landed in 1995. 
Results indicate that only 10.67 percent of the sample was composed of 
clams that were less than 4.75 inches (12.065 cm). Based on the 
sampling results, the Regional Director adopts the Council's 
recommendation and publishes this document to suspend the minimum size 
limit for Atlantic surf clams for the period January 1, 1996, through 
December 31, 1996.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 652 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: November 16, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-29517 Filed 12-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F