[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43111-43112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14725]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 050708184-5184-01; I.D. 070105B]
RIN 0648-AT50


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
and Summer Flounder Fisheries

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend the regulations implementing the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Atlantic bluefish fishery and the 
FMP for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. This 
rule would make administrative changes that would allow NMFS to 
consider and process state commercial quota transfer requests that 
address late-season circumstances that necessitate a state quota 
transfer and that occur through December 31 (the end of the fishing 
year for the bluefish and summer flounder fisheries). The intent of 
this action is solely to provide the flexibility to address 
unpredictable late-season events (such as severe weather or port 
obstruction) that may result in safety concerns in the commercial 
bluefish and summer flounder fisheries.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 10, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line the following identifier: ``Comments on Bluefish and Summer 
Flounder State Quota Transfer Amendment.''
     Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Bluefish and Summer 
Flounder State Quota Transfer Amendment.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9279, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The bluefish and summer flounder fisheries are managed 
cooperatively by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 
(Commission) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), 
in consultation with the New England and South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Councils. Regulations implementing the Atlantic Bluefish FMP 
appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and J. Regulations implementing 
the summer flounder portion of the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 
Bass FMP appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and G. The regulations 
regarding quota transfers and combinations for the bluefish and summer 
flounder fisheries are found at Sec. Sec.  648.160 and 648.100, 
respectively. For each fishery, the FMPs establish state allocations of 
the commercial

[[Page 43112]]

quotas, and current Federal regulations outline a process by which a 
state may request written approval from the Regional Administrator to 
transfer all or part of its annual commercial quota to one or more 
other states. Two or more states may request approval from the Regional 
Administrator to combine their commercial quotas, or part of their 
quotas, into an overall regional quota. As established initially 
through implementation of Amendment 1 to the Bluefish FMP (65 FR 45844, 
July 26, 2000) and Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder FMP (58 FR 65937, 
December 17, 1993), the transfer of quota or the combination of quotas, 
if approved, is valid only for the calendar year for which the request 
was made and is effective upon the filing by NMFS of a notice of the 
approval of the transfer or combination with the Office of the Federal 
Register. Because the regulations stipulate that quota transfers and/or 
combinations are effective upon filing of a notice of approval with the 
Office of the Federal Register, NMFS is precluded from making quota 
transfers and/or combinations that file with the Office of the Federal 
Register in January of a given year, retroactively effective for the 
previous fishing year.
    At its March 2005 meeting, the Council raised a concern regarding 
the current NMFS policy of considering only quota transfer requests 
submitted by December 15 of each year. NMFS established this policy to 
ensure that a notice announcing the quota transfer could be filed with 
the Office of the Federal Register by the end of the year for which the 
request is made. However, the Council is concerned that unforeseen 
circumstances such as severe weather or physical obstruction may 
prevent vessels from returning safely to their intended port of landing 
and that this situation has arisen and may continue to arise during the 
second half of December in any given year. End-of-year transfers of 
quota allow vessels to land in another state without causing 
overharvest of that state's fishing year quota, provided that both 
states agree to the transfer. At its May 2005 meeting, the Council 
passed a motion requesting that NMFS remove the text regarding time of 
effectiveness from the state commercial quota transfer regulations for 
both the bluefish and summer flounder fisheries at Sec. Sec.  
648.160(f)(2) and 648.100(d)(4), respectively. NMFS agrees that this 
administrative change in the regulations would facilitate the 
consideration and processing of state quota transfer requests to 
address unpredictable late-season events and consequent safety issues 
in these fisheries. This proposed rule would eliminate the references 
to time of effectiveness in the bluefish and summer flounder quota 
transfer and combination regulations. With these changes, quota 
transfer requests addressing unforeseen conditions in either fishery 
that arise late in the fishing year could be approved, even if the 
transfer request is made early in the subsequent fishing year. Any 
quota transfer would continue to be valid only for the calendar year 
for which the request is made, and would therefore have no impact on 
the resource or the mortality objectives of the FMPs.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that the proposed rule is consistent with the 
Atlantic bluefish FMP and the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 
FMP and has preliminarily determined that the rule is consistent with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable laws.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The proposed rule is administrative in nature and merely would 
eliminate the specification that bluefish and summer flounder quota 
transfer or combination requests will be effective upon filing of a 
notice of approval with the Office of the Federal Register. This would 
allow NMFS to consider and process state quota transfer requests that 
address late-season circumstances that necessitate a state quota 
transfer and that occur through December 31 (the end of the fishing 
year for the bluefish and summer flounder fisheries), even if the 
notice announcing the transfer were filed with the Office of the 
Federal Register after the start of the subsequent fishing year. A 
quota transfer would continue to be valid only for the calendar year 
(and fishing year) for which the request is made. This rule would not 
alter the results of the Regulatory Flexibility Analyses prepared 
annually to address economic impacts to individual vessels resulting 
from the specification of annual quotas in these fisheries. As a 
result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and 
none has been prepared. The proposed action would provide flexibility 
to mitigate safety concerns and would impose no burden on small 
entities.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 20, 2005.
James W. Balsiger
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 
to be 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.  648.100, revise paragraph (d)(4) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.100  Catch quotas and other restrictions.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (4) The transfer of quota or the combination of quotas will be 
valid only for the calendar year for which the request was made.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec.  648.160, revise paragraph (f)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.160  Catch quotas and other restrictions.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (2) The transfer of quota or the combination of quotas will be 
valid only for the calendar year for which the request was made.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-14725 Filed 7-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S