[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32711-32712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16170]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 625

[Docket No. 960412110-6166-02; I.D. 030596E]
RIN 0648-AI93


Summer Flounder Fishery; 1996 Recreational Fishery Measures

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

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final specifications for the 1996 summer 
flounder recreational fishery, including no closed season, a possession 
limit of eight fish per person and a minimum fish size of 14 inches 
(35.6 cm). The intent of this document is to comply with implementing 
regulations for the fishery that require NMFS to publish measures for 
the upcoming fishing year that will prevent overfishing of the 
resource.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 20, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment and supporting 
documents used by the Monitoring Committee are available from: 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, 
Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (508) 281-9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for the Summer 
Flounder Fishery (FMP) was developed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), in consultation with the New England and 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. The management unit for the 
FMP is summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. waters of the 
Atlantic Ocean from the southern border of North Carolina northward to 
the Canadian border. Implementing regulations for the fishery are found 
at 50 CFR part 625.
    Section 625.20 outlines the process for determining annual 
commercial and recreational catch quotas and other restrictions for the 
summer flounder fishery. Pursuant to Sec. 625.20, the Director, 
Northeast Region, NMFS, implements measures for the fishing year to 
ensure achievement of the fishing mortality rate specified in the FMP. 
This document announces the following measures pertaining to the 
recreational fishery, which are unchanged from the proposed measures 
that were published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1996 (61 FR 
17682): (1) The continued elimination of the closed season, (2) an 
individual possession limit of 8 fish per person, and (3) a minimum 
fish size of 14 inches (35.6 cm).

Comments and Responses

    No comments were received during the comment period concerning the 
proposed measures.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 625.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    When this rule was proposed, the Assistant General Counsel for 
Legislation and Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
that this action would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The reasons were published in the 
proposed rule and are not repeated here. As such, a Regulatory 
Flexibility Act analysis has not been prepared.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds that there 
is good cause to waive the delayed effectiveness of this rule under 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3). As was noted in the proposed rule, these measures 
should become effective immediately as the season has

[[Page 32712]]

already started and the increase in possession limit eases a 
restriction. Also, the final specifications for the 1996 summer 
flounder recreational fishery could not be established when the final 
1996 specifications were implemented because recreational catch data 
for 1995 were not available for the Summer Flounder Monitoring 
Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the management measures in 
attaining the 1995 harvest limit.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 625

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: June 19, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 625 is amended 
to read as follows:

PART 625--SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY

    1. The authority citation for part 625 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 625.25, in paragraph (a) the first sentence is revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 625.25  Possession limit.

    (a) No person shall possess more than eight summer flounder in, or 
harvested from, the EEZ unless that person is the owner or operator of 
a fishing vessel issued a moratorium permit under Sec. 625.4. * * *
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-16170 Filed 6-20-96; 2:13pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F