[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 250 (Friday, December 27, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 68164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32890]



[[Page 68164]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 951116270-5308-02; I.D. 102896B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest; Closure of the exclusive economic 
zone (EEZ).

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification to announce that the summer 
flounder commercial quota available to the State of Maryland has been 
harvested and to announce the closure of the summer flounder fishery in 
the EEZ. Accordingly, vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries 
permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in 
Maryland and no commercial vessel may fish for or possess summer 
flounder in the EEZ for the remainder of calendar year 1996. 
Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication 
of this notification to advise Maryland that the State's 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. Also, regulations governing this fishery require that once the 
commercial fisheries for summer flounder are closed in all states, such 
as is now the case, the Regional Administrator close the EEZ to fishing 
for summer flounder for the remainder of the calendar year.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 27, 1996, through December 31, 1996.

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, Subparts A and G. 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 Fishery Management Plan for the 
Summer Flounder Fishery (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 achieve 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 Maryland is 2.03910 percent or 226,570 lb (102,770 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 notice 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. The Regional 
Administrator has determined that the 1996 summer flounder quota 
allocation for vessels landing in Maryland 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 
December 27, 1997, through December 31, 1997, further landings of 
summer flounder in Maryland 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 Maryland for the remainder of the 
calendar year, or until additional quota becomes available, effective 
on December 27, 1996, through December 31, 1996.
    Furthermore, the closure of the State of Maryland to landings means 
that the quota allocated to all of the states for 1996 has been 
attained and all of those states have been closed by virtue of either 
state of Federal action. As required by Sec. 648.101(a), this 
notification closes the summer flounder fishery in the EEZ to 
harvesting or otherwise possessing summer flounder by commercial 
vessels for the remainder of the 1996 calendar year. During the 
closure, harvesting or otherwise possessing summer flounder in the EEZ 
is prohibited as authorized under Sec. 600.725(a) and (k).

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: December 20, 1996.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 96-32890 Filed 12-20-96; 4:26 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F