[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 13, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53969-53970]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-18088]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 050708184-5235-02; 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: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule 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 makes administrative changes that will 
allow NMFS to consider and process state commercial quota transfer 
requests that address late-season circumstances that necessitate a 
state quota transfer. 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: Effective October 13, 2005.

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

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.
    NMFS published a proposed rule to amend the regulations regarding 
state commercial bluefish and summer flounder quota transfers on July 
26, 2005 (70 FR 43111). A complete discussion of the development of 
this regulatory amendment appeared in the preamble of the proposed rule 
and is not repeated here.
    The current regulations, found at Sec. Sec.  648.160 and 648.100, 
respectively, outline a process by which a state may request written 
approval from the Regional Administrator to transfer all or part of its 
annual commercial bluefish or summer flounder quota to one or more 
other states. Currently, NMFS maintains a policy of considering only 
quota transfer requests submitted by December 15 of each year in order 
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. NMFS agrees that this 
administrative change in the regulations will facilitate the 
consideration and processing of state quota transfer requests to 
address unpredictable late-season events and consequent safety issues 
in these fisheries. This rule eliminates 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 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.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received three comment letters regarding the proposed rule (70 
FR 43111, July 26, 2005).
    Comment 1: The State of North Carolina and a North Carolina 
industry association both indicated that the proposed action would 
address safety concerns, particularly for fishermen using Oregon Inlet, 
NC, and would give states the flexibility to allow fisheries to 
continue through transfers of quota that would otherwise not be 
harvested.
    Response:
    NMFS agrees and is implementing the proposed action in this final 
rule.

[[Page 53970]]

    Comment 2: The other commenter indicated general concern about 
overfishing and opposition to the use of quota transfers in any 
fishery.
    Response: As discussed above, this action is purely administrative 
in nature, and is taken solely to facilitate the consideration and 
processing of state quota transfer requests to address unpredictable 
late-season events in these fisheries. Any quota transfer would 
continue to be valid only for the calendar year (and fishing year) for 
which the request is made. Thus, there would be no impacts on the 
resource or mortality objectives of the FMPs. This action would not 
make any substantive change in the state commercial quota transfer 
request or approval process for these fisheries.

Classification

    This 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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. No comments were received regarding this certification. As a 
result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

James W. Balsiger,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons stated in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended as 
follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

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

0
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.
* * * * *

0
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. 05-18088 Filed 9-12-05; 8:45 am]
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