[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 5, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 53648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22665]



[[Page 53648]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000407096-0096-01; I.D. 082300A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Implementation of Conditional Closures

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

ACTION: Implementation of conditional closures in the Gulf of Maine.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator), has determined that at least 759 metric tons 
(mt) of Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod have been landed as of July 31, 2000. 
Therefore, pursuant to regulations governing the Northeast multispecies 
fishery, the area identified as the Cashes Ledge Closure Area will be 
closed from November 1, 2000, through November 30, 2000, and the area 
identified as Rolling Closure Area VI will be closed from January 1, 
2001, through January 31, 2001, to all fishing vessels, and to fishing 
gear capable of catching Northeast multispecies, except as provided 
under specific provisions in the regulations. The intent of this action 
is to protect overfished GOM cod resources.

DATES: Effective November 1, 2000, through January 31, 2001.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the conditional 
Cashes Ledge and GOM Rolling Closure Areas in Framework Adjustment 33 
(65 FR 21658, April 24, 2000) became effective on June 1, 2000. To 
ensure that GOM cod landings remain within the target Total Allowable 
Catch (TAC) of 1,918 mt established for the 2000 fishing year, 
Framework 33 provided a mechanism to close the area identified as the 
Cashes Ledge Closure Area from November 1, 2000, through November 30, 
2000, and the area identified as Rolling Closure Area VI from January 
1, 2001, through January 31, 2001, if the Regional Administrator 
determines that at least 50 percent of the average between the F0.1 
target TAC and the Fmax target TAC (1.67 million lb (759 mt) for the 
fishing year beginning May 1, 2000) has been landed as of, or before, 
July 31, 2000. The regulations at Sec.  648.81(o) require NMFS to 
publish a notification action in the Federal Register informing the 
public of the implementation of the conditional closures if GOM cod 
landings have exceeded those levels.
    Based on the best available scientific information, the Regional 
Administrator has determined that at least 1.67 million lb (759 mt) of 
GOM cod was landed as of July 31, 2000. Therefore, NMFS is required to 
implement the Cashes Ledge Closure Area, as described in Sec.  
648.81(h)(1), and to implement Rolling Closure Area VI, as described in 
Sec.  648.81(g)(1)(vi), to better ensure that GOM cod landings remain 
within the target TAC for the fishing year beginning May 1, 2000. 
Pursuant to Sec.  648.81(o), the area identified as the Cashes Ledge 
Closure Area will be closed from November 1, 2000, through November 30, 
2000, and the area identified as Rolling Closure Area VI will be closed 
from January 1, 2001, through January 31, 2001, to all fishing vessels, 
and to fishing gear capable of catching Northeast multispecies, except 
as provided under Sec.  648.81(g)(2) and (h)(2).
    The coordinates of the closed areas are as follows:

                        Cashes Ledge Closure Area
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                     Point                        N. Lat.      W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CL1                                              43 deg.07'   69 deg.02'
CL2                                             42 deg.49.5   68 deg.46'
                                                          '
CL3                                             42 deg.46.5  68 deg.50.5
                                                          '            '
CL4                                             42 deg.43.5  68 deg.58.5
                                                          '            '
CL5                                             42 deg.42.5  69 deg.17.5
                                                          '            '
CL6                                             42 deg.49.5   69 deg.26'
                                                          '
CL1                                              43 deg.07'   69 deg.02'
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                         Rolling Closure Area VI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               W. Long.
                     Point                        N. Lat.       (\1\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GM1                                              42 deg.00'        (\2\)
GM2                                              42 deg.00'        (\3\)
GM3                                              42 deg.00'        (\4\)
GM4                                              42 deg.00'   70 deg.00'
GM8                                              42 deg.30'   70 deg.00'
GM9                                              42 deg.30'        (\2\)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Or other intersecting line:
\2\ Massachusetts shoreline
\3\ Cape Cod shoreline on Cape Cod Bay
\4\ Cape Cod shoreline on the Atlantic Ocean

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 29, 2000.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-22665 Filed 9-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22-S