[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 8, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52715-52716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-25792]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 951116270-5308-02; I.D. 100196A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for New Jersey

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

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification announcing that the summer 
flounder commercial quota available to the State of New Jersey has been 
harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the 
summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in New Jersey for 
the remainder of calendar year 1996, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer. Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery require publication of this notification to advise the State of 
New Jersey that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel and 
dealer permit holders that no commercial quota is available for landing 
summer flounder in that state.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 3, 1996 through December 31, 1996.


[[Page 52716]]


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

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 
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. Amendment 7 to the FMP (November 24, 1995, 60 FR 
57955) revised the fishing mortality rate reduction schedule for summer 
flounder, and the revised schedule was the basis for establishing the 
1996 quota. The total commercial quota for summer flounder for the 1996 
calendar year was adopted to ensure achievement of the appropriate 
fishing mortality rate of 0.41 for 1996, and is set equal to 11,111,298 
lb (5,040,000 kg) (January 4, 1996, 61 FR 291). The percent allocated 
to vessels landing summer flounder in New Jersey is 16.724 percent or 
1,858,363 lb (842,939 kg).
    Section 648.101(b) requires the Regional Administrator, Northeast 
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor state commercial 
quotas and to determine when a state commercial quota is harvested. The 
Regional Administrator is further required to publish a notification in 
the Federal Register advising a state and notifying Federal vessel and 
dealer permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, the state's 
commercial quota has been harvested and no commercial quota is 
available for landing summer flounder in that state. Because the 
available information indicates that New Jersey has attained its quota 
for 1996, the Regional Administrator has determined, based on dealer 
reports and other available information, that the State's commercial 
quota has been harvested.
    The regulations at Sec. 648.4(b) provide that Federal permit 
holders agree as a condition of the permit not to land summer flounder 
in any state that the Regional Administrator has determined no longer 
has commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours October 
3, 1996 further landings of summer flounder in New Jersey by vessels 
holding commercial Federal fisheries permits are prohibited for the 
remainder of the 1996 calendar year, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. 
Federally permitted dealers are also advised that they may not purchase 
summer flounder from Federally permitted vessels that land in New 
Jersey for the remainder of the calendar year, or until additional 
quota becomes available, effective on October 3, 1996.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: October 3, 1996.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-25792 Filed 10-3-96; 4:20 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F