[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 7, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 33042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11289]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 041110317-4364-02; I.D. 053105F]


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; inseason quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it has approved the request of the State 
of North Carolina to transfer 82,774 lb (37,546 kg) of commercial 
summer flounder quota to the States of Maine, Connecticut, New York, 
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). By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the 
revised commercial quota for each state involved.

DATES: Effective June 2, 2005 through December 31, 2005, unless NMFS 
publishes a superseding document in the Federal Register.

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 requests 
submitted by the State of North Carolina.
    Consistent with Addendum XV, North Carolina, a designated ``donor 
state,'' has voluntarily employed the quota transfer provisions of the 
FMP to transfer a total of 82,774 lb (37,546 kg) to be allocated as 
follows: Maine 1,639 lb (743 kg); Connecticut 22,917 lb (10,395 kg); 
New York 17,085 lb (7,750 kg); Maryland 23,153 lb (10,502 kg); and 
Massachusetts--17,980 lb (8,156 kg) (see Table 1).

                               Table 1. Summer Flounder Commercial Quota Transfers
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                                  Amount Transferred             2005 Quota\1\             2005 Revised Quota
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            State                    lb           kg          lb              kg             lb           kg
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                  North               -82,774  -37,546       4,680,519       2,123,089    4,597,745    2,085,537
                   Carolina
                  Maine                 1,639      743           9,820           4,454       11,459        5,198
                  Massachuset          17,980    8,156       1,191,519         540,473    1,209,499      548,629
                   ts
                  Connecticut          22,917   10,395         423,396         192,052      446,313      202,448
                  New York             17,085    7,750       1,387,434         629,336    1,404,519      637,090
                  Maryland             23,153   10,502         365,381         165,737      388,534      176,239
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\1\ Reflects quotas as published on May 24, 2005 (70 FR 29645), inclusive of previous Addendum XV and ``safe
  harbor'' transfers.

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: June 1, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-11289 Filed 6-2-05; 2:30 pm]
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