[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 180 (Friday, September 15, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55926-55927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23807]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000907254-0254-01; I.D. 082400A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid and Butterfish Fisheries; Inseason Adjustment Procedures

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

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS corrects the regulations implementing the Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) by 
reinserting regulatory text that was incorrectly removed in the final 
rule that implemented measures contained in Amendment 12 to the Summer 
Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP, Amendment 8 to the Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish FMP, and Amendment 12 to the Atlantic 
Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog FMP, which was published on October 26, 
1999.

DATES: Effective September 15, 2000.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 26, 1999, NMFS published a final rule at 64 FR 57587 to 
implement management measures contained in Amendment 12 to the Summer 
Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP, Amendment 8 to the Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish FMP, and Amendment 12 to the Atlantic 
Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog FMP. However, the final rule incorrectly 
removed Sec.  648.21 (e), because the measures were thought to be 
redundant with the inseason adjustment process established under the 
framework

[[Page 55927]]

provision in Sec.  648.24, which allows the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) to modify or add management measures 
through a streamlined public review process. The text previously 
codified at Sec.  648.21 (e), allowed the Administrator, Northeast 
Region, NMFS, in consultation with the Council, to recommend inseason 
adjustments to the annual specifications during the fishing year by 
publishing notification in the Federal Register and providing a 30-day 
public comment period. This process is not redundant with the framework 
provision process that was established under Sec.  648.24. Therefore, 
this technical amendment reinserts Sec.  648.21 (e), that was 
incorrectly removed on October 26, 1999.

Classification

    This technical amendment is issued under 50 CFR part 648. Because 
it only corrects an inadvertent deletion, the Assistant Administrator 
for Fisheries, NOAA, finds, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), that it is 
unnecessary to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment 
as such procedures would serve no useful purpose. This rule simply 
restores text that was inadvertently removed by a prior rule. Because 
this rule is not substantive, it is not subject to a 30-day delay in 
effective date. The provision is procedural in nature because it merely 
restores the process through which NMFS may make inseason adjustments 
to the annual specifications, and it does not impose any requirements 
with which the public must comply.
    This rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 11, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended 
as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

    1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec.  648.21, redesignate paragraph (e) as paragraph (f) and 
add new paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.21  Procedures for determining initial annual amounts.

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    (e) Inseason adjustments. The specifications established pursuant 
to this section may be adjusted by the Regional Administrator, in 
consultation with the MAFMC, during the fishing year by publishing 
notification in the Federal Register stating the reasons for such an 
action and providing a 30-day public comment period.
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[FR Doc. 00-23807 Filed 9-14-00; 8:45 am]
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