[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 78 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 21162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8222]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 041110317-4364-02; I.D. 041805C]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it has approved the request of the 
Commonwealth of Virginia to transfer 68,214 lb (30,941 kg) of 
commercial summer flounder quota to the States of Maine, Connecticut, 
New York, Delaware, and Maryland, and the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, in accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission (ASMFC) Addendum XV to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 
Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The recipients of the 
transferred quota, and the amount transferred, are as follows: Maine--
1,273 lb (577 kg); Connecticut--17,799 lb (8,073 kg); New York--13,270 
lb (6,019 kg); Delaware--3,924 lb (1,780 kg); Maryland--17,983 lb 
(8,157 kg); and Massachusetts--13,965 lb (6,334 kg). By this action, 
NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for 
each state involved.

DATES: Effective April 20, 2005, through December 31, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ruccio, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9104, FAX (978) 281-9135.

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 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 ASMFC adopted Addendum XV to the FMP in November, 2004. The 
Addendum is being implemented under the adaptive management and 
framework procedures that are part of the FMP. Addendum XV establishes 
a program, for 2005 and 2006, that allocates the increase in commercial 
summer flounder quota (from the 2004 amount) differently than the 
existing allocation scheme, in order to reduce the amount of fish that 
must be discarded as bycatch in the commercial fishery in states with 
relatively low summer flounder quotas. The transfer of quota from donor 
states will allow recipient states to marginally increase trip limits, 
thereby decreasing the amount of summer flounder discarded at sea.
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the FMP that was 
published on December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for 
summer flounder quota to be transferred from one state to another. Two 
or more states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the 
Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), can 
transfer or combine summer flounder commercial quota under Sec.  
648.100(d). The Regional Administrator is required to consider the 
criteria set forth in Sec.  648.100(d)(3) in the evaluation of requests 
for quota transfers or combinations. The Regional Administrator has 
reviewed those criteria and approved the quota transfer request 
submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
    Consistent with Addendum XV, Virginia, a designated ``donor 
state,'' has voluntarily employed the quota transfer provisions of the 
FMP to transfer a total of 68,214 lb (30,941 kg) to be allocated to the 
aforementioned recipient states, as presented in Table 1.

                               Table 1. Summer Flounder Commercial Quota Transfers
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                                       Amount Transferred       2005 Initial Quota\1\      2005 Revised Quota
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                                         lb           kg           lb           kg           lb           kg
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State                               ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........  ...........
Virginia                                -68,214      -30,941    4,073,914    1,847,896    4,005,700    1,816,955
Maine                                     1,273          577        8,547        3,877        9,820        4,454
Massachusetts                            13,965        6,335    1,177,554      534,130    1,191,519      540,465
Connecticit                              17,799        8,074      405,597      183,978      423,396      192,052
New York                                 13,270        6,019    1,374,164      623,317    1,387,434      629,336
Delaware\2\                               3,924        1,780      -51,339      -23,287      -47,415      -21,507
Maryland                                 17,983        8,157      347,398      157,577      365,381      165,734
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\1\ Reflects quotas as published on January 4, 2005 (70 FR 303); for Virginia, amount is adjusted by a transfer
  of 243,292 lb (110,355 kg) from North Carolina, effective March 4, 2005 (70 FR 11584).
\2\ Landings of summer flounder in Delaware by vessels holding commercial Federal fisheries permits are
  prohibited for the 2005 calendar year.

Classification

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

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

    Dated: April 19, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-8222 Filed 4-20-05; 2:30 pm]
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