[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 213 (Wednesday, November 4, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59492-59493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29521]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

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


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

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

ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification announcing an adjustment to the 
1998 summer flounder commercial state quota for New York. This 
adjustment complies with regulations implementing the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 
Fisheries (FMP), which require that landings in excess of a state's 
annual summer flounder commercial quota be deducted from a state's 
respective quota the following year. The public is advised that the 
quota adjustment has been made, and is informed of the revised quota.

DATES: Effective October 30, 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 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. In addition, NMFS adjusted the North 
Carolina commercial quota to comply with a court order setting aside 
the 1997 overage, which had been deducted from the 1998 quota earlier 
this year. This adjustment was effective on October 20, 1998 (63 FR 
56867, October 23, 1998).
    In the April 28, 1998, notification announcing readjustments to the 
1998 summer flounder commercial quotas, it was noted that further law 
enforcement investigations were ongoing, and a resulting quota 
adjustment from those investigations would be published, if necessary. 
The conclusion of such investigations resulted in an increase of 24,863 
lb (11,277.8 kg) to the amount of summer flounder landed in New York in 
1997 so that the 1997 overage for New York is revised from 61,398 lb 
(27,850 kg) to 86,261 lb (39,127.9 kg). Therefore, the final readjusted 
quota for New York in 1998 is 24,863 lb (11,277.8 kg) less than the 
adjusted quota published in the April 28 notification for a final 1998 
quota for that state of 763,419 lb (346,286.8 kg). The final readjusted 
1998 statewide quota is revised from 10,958,734 lb (4,972,102 kg) to 
10,933,871 lb (4,959,603 kg). Also, commercial landings for New York 
for 1997 are revised from 815,741 lb (370,014 kg) to 840,604 lb 
(381,297.9 kg) and total coastwide commercial landings for summer 
flounder are revised from 8,887,783 lb (4,031,431 kg) to 8,912,646 lb 
(4,042,776.2 kg). Table 1. displays the current 1998 quotas resulting 
from these readjustments.

                             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

[[Page 59493]]

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       763,419       346,286
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    10,933,871     4,959,603
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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 29, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-29521 Filed 10-30-98; 3:15 pm]
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