[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56867-56868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28492]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 971015246-7293-02; I.D. 101998M]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fisheries; Readjustment to the 1998 Commercial State Quota for North 
Carolina

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

ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces an adjustment to the 1998 summer flounder 
commercial quota for North Carolina. The North Carolina adjustment 
complies with a court order setting aside the 1997 overage, which had 
been deducted from the 1998 quota earlier this year. The public is 
advised that the quota adjustment has been made and is informed of the 
revised quota.

DATES: Effective October 20, 1998, through December 31, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fisheries Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9326.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing summer flounder 
management measures 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 Atlantic coastal states from North Carolina 
through Maine. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the 
percent allocated to each state is described in Sec. 648.100. Section 
648.100(d)(2) provides that all landings for sale in a state shall be 
applied against that state's annual commercial quota. Any landings in 
excess of the state's quota must be deducted from that state's annual 
quota for the following year.
    The final specifications for the 1998 summer flounder fishery (62 
FR 66304, December 18, 1997), adopted to ensure achievement of a 
fishing mortality rate (F) of 0.24 for 1998, set a total commercial 
quota equal to 11,105,636 lb (5.0 million kg). In the preamble to the 
rule implementing these specifications, NMFS noted that associated 
adjustments to states' 1998 quotas would be required as a result of any 
landings in excess of the 1997 quota. Two adjustments were made to the 
1998 state commercial quotas, effective January 16, 1998 (63 FR 3478, 
January 23, 1998) and April 23, 1998 (63 FR 23227, April 28, 1998) to 
reflect updated 1997 landings. This resulted in an overage of 399,740 
lb (181,319 kg) for North Carolina for 1998.
    The adjustment in this notification to the North Carolina quota is 
required by a court order. In response to a lawsuit filed by the North 
Carolina Fisheries Association, Inc., Georges Seafood, Inc., and the 
State of North Carolina, the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, on September 28, 1998, 
ordered that the 1997 overage for the North Carolina summer flounder 
fishery be set aside. Therefore, this adjustment subtracts 399,740 lb 
(181,319 kg) from North Carolina's 1997 overage and adds this amount to 
the 1998 North Carolina quota for summer flounder, revising it from 
2,649,849 lb (1,201,951 kg) to 3,049,589 lb (1,383,270 kg) and total 
coastwide readjusted quota for summer flounder are revised from 
10,558,994 lb (4,789,479 kg) to 10,958,734 lb (4,972,102 kg). Table 1. 
displays the current 1998 quotas resulting from this readjustment to 
the North Carolina quota.

[[Page 56868]]



                                                 Table 1.--Summer Flounder Final Readjusted 1998 Quotas
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                                                            Unadjusted 1998  quota \1\       Adjusted 1998  quota \2\      Final readjusted  1998 quota
                          State                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                lb           (Kg) \3\           lb             (Kg)             lb             (Kg)
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ME......................................................           5,284           2,397           4,791           2,173           4,791           2,173
NH......................................................              51              23              51              23              51              23
MA......................................................         757,841         343,751         721,889         327,448         721,899         327,448
RI......................................................       1,742,583         790,422       1,742,583         790,422       1,742,583         790,422
CT......................................................         250,791         113,757         250,791         113,757         250,457         113,605
NY......................................................         849,680         385,408         788,282         357,559         788,282         357,559
NJ......................................................       1,858,363         842,939       1,858,363         842,939       1,858,363         842,940
DE......................................................     \4\ (3,685)         (1,671)        (14,534)         (6,593)        (14,534)         (6,593)
MD......................................................         226,570         102,770         199,876          90,662         199,876          90,662
VA......................................................       2,368,569       1,074,365       2,357,377       1,069,288       2,357,377       1,069,288
NC......................................................       3,049,589       1,383,270       2,649,849       1,201,951       3,049,589       1,383,270
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................      11,105,636       5,037,432      10,558,994       4,789,479      10,958,734      4,972,102
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\1\ As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 6304).
\2\ As published on April 28, 1998 (63 FR 23227).
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.

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 20, 1998.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28492 Filed 10-20-98; 3:50 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P