[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71320-71321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33012]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 981014259-8312-02; I.D. 121499B]


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 announces 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 1999, 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 permit holders and 
dealer permit holders that no commercial quota is available for landing 
summer flounder in New Jersey.


[[Page 71321]]


DATES: Effective 0001 hours December 22, 1999 through 2400 hours 
December 31, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9273.

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 on a percentage 
basis among the coastal 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.
    The final total commercial quota for summer flounder for the 1999 
calendar year was set equal to 10,729,274 lb (4,866,717 kg) (64 FR 
46596, August 26, 1999). The percent allocated to vessels landing 
summer flounder in New Jersey is 16.72499 percent, or 1,853,926 lb 
(840,927 kg).
    Section 648.101(b) requires the Regional Administrator, Northeast 
Region (Regional Administrator) to monitor state commercial quotas and 
to determine when a state's commercial quota is harvested. The Regional 
Administrator is further required to publish 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. The Regional 
Administrator has determined, based upon dealer reports and other 
available information, that the State of New Jersey has attained its 
quota for 1999 as of December 22, 1999.
    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 22, 1999, further landings of summer flounder in New Jersey by 
vessels holding commercial Federal fisheries permits are prohibited for 
the remainder of the 1999 calendar year, unless additional quota 
becomes available through a transfer and is announced in the Federal 
Register. Effective the same date, 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 through a 
transfer.

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 15, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-33012 Filed 12-16-99; 4:48 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F