[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 161 (Friday, August 18, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50463-50465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21100]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000119014-0137-02; I.D. 080700C]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Adjustments to the 2000 Summer 
Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas

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

ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment for 2000.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues a listing of additional adjustments to the 2000 
commercial summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass quotas. This 
action complies with the regulations that implement the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 
Fisheries (FMP), which specifies that summer flounder landings in 
excess of a given state's individual commercial quota be deducted from 
that state's quota for the following year. Similarly, for scup and 
black sea bass, the FMP specifies that landings in excess of a quota 
for a given quota period (scup) or quarter (black sea bass) be deducted 
from the same quota period or quarter in the following year. The intent 
of this action is to continue the rate of rebuilding of summer 
flounder, scup and black sea bass in 2000 as described in the FMP's 
objectives, while also taking into account 1999 overages of state, 
period or quarterly quotas.

DATES: Effective August 18, 2000, through December 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Pearson, Fisheries Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9279.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NMFS published a document in the Federal Register on May 24, 2000 
(65 FR 33486), announcing final specifications and preliminary 
adjustments to the 2000 summer flounder, scup and black sea bass 
commercial quotas. Additional adjustment is necessary through this 
notification due to the receipt of late 1999 landings data. The 
adjustment in this notification may not be final. Additional data 
including late landings reported from either federally permitted 
dealers or state statistical agencies reporting landings by non-
federally permitted dealers could be received from the states that 
would further alter the quotas.

Summer Flounder

    The 1999 quota, preliminary 1999 landings, and the resulting 1999 
overages for all states for summer flounder are given in table 1. The 
following states recorded landings of summer flounder different from 
those reported in the May 24, 2000, Federal Register: MA--+219 lb (99 
kg), CT--+13,172 lb (5,975 kg), NY--+10,616 lb (4,815 kg), NJ--+19,780 
lb (8,972 kg), DE---59 lb (27 kg), MD--+35,492 lb (16,099 kg), and VA--
+65,279 lb (29,610 kg).

[[Page 50464]]

    The resulting adjusted 2000 commercial quota for each state is 
given in Table 2, taking into account both the 1999 quota overages 
published in the May 24, 2000, Federal Register and the revised 1999 
landings noted here.

                    Table 1. Summer Flounder Preliminary 1999 Landings and Overages by State
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                                           1999 Quota             Preliminary 1999            1999 Overage
                                   --------------------------         Landings         -------------------------
               State                                         --------------------------
                                         Lb           Kg           Lb           Kg           Lb          Kg 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME                                        4,450        2,018        5,778        2,621        1,328          602
NH                                           51           23            0            0            0            0
MA                                      757,842      343,751      805,183      365,224       47,341       21,474
RI                                    1,742,583      790,422    1,636,528      742,317            0            0
CT                                      238,516      108,189      245,219      111,229        6,703        3,040
NY                                      860,006      390,099      803,903      364,644            0            0
NJ                                    1,853,926      840,927    1,917,732      869,868       63,806       28,942
DE                                    (25,739)2    (11,675)2        7,917        3,591    (33,656)2    (15,266)2
MD                                      202,354       91,786      234,358      106,303       32,004       14,517
VA                                    2,120,696      961,932    2,195,832      996,012       75,136       34,081
NC                                    2,974,589    1,349,274    2,800,749    1,270,398            0            0
Total3                               10,755,013    4,866,746   10,653,199    4,832,209
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\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\2\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.
\3\ Total quota is the sum of all states having allocation. A state with a negative number has an allocation of
  zero (0). Total quota and total landings do not equal overage because they reflect positive quota balances in
  several states.


                                           Table 2. Summer Flounder Preliminary Adjusted 2000 Quotas by State
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                                                                         2000 Initial Quota                            2000 Adjusted Quota
                           State                            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Lb                   Kg 1                        Lb                      Kg1
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ME                                                                       5,284                    2,397                         3,956              1,794
NH                                                                          51                       23                            51                 23
MA                                                                     757,834                  343,748                       710,493            322,274
RI                                                                   1,742,566                  790,041                     1,742,566            790,415
CT                                                                     250,788                  113,756                       244,085            110,715
NY                                                                     849,672                  385,405                       849,672            385,404
NJ                                                                   1,858,346                  842,931                     1,794,540            813,990
DE                                                                       1,977                      897                     (31,679)2          (14,369)2
MD                                                                     226,568                  102,770                       194,564             88,253
VA                                                                   2,368,546                1,074,354                     2,293,410          1,040,273
NC                                                                   3,049,560                1,383,257                     3,049,560          1,383,257
Total                                                               11,109,214                5,039,055                    10,882,897          4,936,398
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\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\2\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.
\3\ Total quota is the sum of all states having allocation. A state with a negative number has an allocation of zero (0).

Scup

    The 1999 quotas (by period), preliminary 1999 landings (by period), 
and resulting overages for scup for all quota periods are given in 
Table 3. Changes in 1999 landings from those reported in the May 24, 
2000, Federal Register are as follows: Winter I---167 lb (76 kg), 
Summer--+47,750 lb (21,659 kg), Winter II--+36,627 lb (16,614 kg). Note 
that the 1999 overage and 2000 quota for the scup Winter I period was 
incorrectly calculated in the May 24, 2000, Federal Register. The 1999 
overage should have been 106,074 lb (48,069 kg) rather than 106,174 lb 
(48,114 kg), and the resulting 2000 adjusted quota should have been 
1,037,086 lb (470,422 kg) rather than 1,037,986 lb (470,369 kg). 
Therefore, the 2000 adjusted quota for scup for Winter I period should 
now be 1,037,086 lb (470,422 kg) plus 167 lb (76 kg) = 1,037,253 lb 
(470,490 kg).
    The resulting adjusted 2000 commercial quota for each quota period 
is given in Table 4.

                                             Table 3. Scup Preliminary 1999 Landings and Overages By Period
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                                                                    1999 Quota               Preliminary 1999 Landings             1999 Overage
                         Period                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Lb             Kg 1             Lb             Kg 1             Lb             Kg 1
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Winter I                                                       1,143,160         518,529       1,249,067         566,567         105,907          48,039
Summer                                                           987,055         447,721       1,336,232         606,105         349,177         158,384
Winter II                                                        403,945         183,226         737,534         334,539         333,589         151,313
Total                                                          2,534,160       1,149,476       3,322,833       1,507,211
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\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.


[[Page 50465]]


                            Table 4. Scup Preliminary Adjusted 2000 Quotas by Period
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                                                        2000 Initial Quota              2000 Adjusted Quota
                     Period                      ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Lb             Kg 1               Lb             Kg 1
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Winter I                                               1,143,160         518,529          1,037,253      470,490
Summer                                                   987,055         447,721            637,878      289,337
Winter II                                                403,945         183,226             70,356       31,913
Total                                                  2,534,160       1,149,476          1,745,487     791,740
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\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

Black Sea Bass

    The 1999 quotas (by quarter), preliminary 1999 landings (by 
quarter), and resulting overages for black sea bass for all quarters 
are given in Table 5. Changes in landings from those reported in the 
May 24, 2000, Federal Register are as follows: Quarter 1--+7,753 lb 
(3,571 kg), Quarter 2--+30,837 lb (13,988 kg), Quarter 3--+52,464 lb 
(23,798 kg), and Quarter 4--+89,509 lb (40,601 kg).

                    Table 5. Black Sea Bass Preliminary 1999 Landings and Overages by Quarter
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                                           1999 Quota1            Preliminary 1999            1999 Overage
                                   --------------------------         Landings         -------------------------
              Quarter                                        --------------------------
                                         Lb          Kg 2          Lb          Kg 2          Lb          Kg 2
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1. (Jan-Mar)                          1,168,860      530,186      715,988      324,767
2. (Apr-Jun)                            885,115      401,481    1,062,155      481,785      177,040       80,304
3. (Jul-Sep)                            372,983      169,182      525,243      238,246      152,260       69,064
4. (Oct-Dec)                            598,043      271,268      745,373      338,095      147,330       66,828
Total                                 3,025,000    1,372,117    3,048,759    1,382,893
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\1\ Reflects quotas as published on August 26, 1999 (64 FR 46596).
\2\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.


                       Table 6. Black Sea Bass Preliminary Adjusted 2000 Quotas by Quarter
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                                               2000 Initial Quota                    2000 Adjusted Quota
               Quarter               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Lb                Kg 1                Lb                Kg 1
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1. (Jan-Mar)                                  1,168,760            530,141          1,168,760            530,141
2. (Apr-Jun)                                    885,040            401,447            708,000            321,143
3. (Jul-Sep)                                    372,951            169,168            220,691            100,104
4. (Oct-Dec)                                    597,991            271,244            450,661            204,416
Total                                         3,024,742          1,372,000          2,548,112         1,155,804
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\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

Classification

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

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

    Dated: August 15, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Services.
[FR Doc. 00-21100 Filed 8-17-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F