[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 243 (Monday, December 18, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 78993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32136]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000119014-0137-02; I.D. 121200H]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for North Carolina

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 North Carolina has been harvested. Vessels 
issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder 
fishery may not land summer flounder in North Carolina for the 
remainder of calendar year 2000, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer. Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery require publication of this notification to advise the State of 
North Carolina 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 North Carolina.

DATES:  Effective 0001 hours, December 17, 2000, through 2400 hours, 
December 31, 2000.

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 is described in Sec. 648.100.
    The initial total commercial quota for summer flounder for the 2000 
calendar year was set equal to 11,109,214 lb (5,039,055 kg)(65 FR 
33486, May 24, 2000). The percent allocated to vessels landing summer 
flounder in North Carolina is 27.44584 percent, or 3,049,560 lb 
(1,383,257 kg).
    Section 648.101(b) requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS (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 a 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 North Carolina has attained 
its quota for 2000.
    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 17, 2000, further landings of summer flounder in North 
Carolina by vessels holding summer flounder commercial Federal 
fisheries permits are prohibited for the remainder of the 2000 calendar 
year, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer and 
is announced in the Federal Register. Effective 0001 hours, December 
17, 2000, federally permitted dealers are also advised that they may 
not purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land 
in North Carolina 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 12, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-32136 Filed 12-13-00; 3:26 pm]
BILLING CODE: 3510-22 -S