[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 8 (Thursday, January 12, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1982-1983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-291]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 010319075-1217-02; I.D. 122905B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Tilefish Fishery; 
Adjustment to the Fishing Year 2006 Tilefish Full-time Tier 1 Permit 
Category Commercial Quota

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; commercial quota adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator) has determined that the quota for the tilefish 
Full-time Tier 1 permit category has been exceeded for fishing year 
(FY) 2005, requiring an adjustment of the Full-time Tier 1 permit 
category quota for FY 2006. This action complies with the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Tilefish Fishery (FMP) and is intended to 
continue the rebuilding program in the FMP by taking into account 
previous overages of the tilefish quota.

DATES: Effective February 13, 2006, through October 31, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian R. Hooker, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations at 50 CFR 648.290(c) state 
that any overages of the quota for any tilefish limited access permit 
category that occur in a given fishing year will be subtracted from the 
quota for that category in the following fishing year. This section 
also specifies that, if an adjustment is required, a notification of 
adjustment of the quota will be published in the Federal Register.
    The tilefish quota of 1,250,865 lb (567,383 kg) for the limited 
access Full-time Tier 1 permit category (Category A) is adjusted for FY 
2006 through this action. Based upon vessel reports and other 
information available as of December 1, 2005, FY 2005 tilefish landings 
for Category A were 1,251,058

[[Page 1983]]

lb (567,471 kg). Therefore, an overage of 193 lb (88 kg) is being 
deducted from the FY 2006 Category A quota through this action, which 
results in an adjusted quota, rounded to the nearest whole pound, of 
1,250,672 lb (567,295 kg) for FY 2006.
    The other tilefish permit categories did not exceed their 
respective quotas in FY 2005. Therefore, the quotas and trip limits 
associated with these permit categories do not need to be adjusted. The 
quotas for the Full-time Tier 2 and Part-time permit categories remain 
284,288 lb (128,951 kg) and 360,098 lb (163,338 kg), respectively, and 
the Incidental catch trip limit is 300 lb (136 kg) for FY 2006.
    The FY 2005 tilefish Full-time Tier 1 permit category quota, as 
well as landings, and the resulting overage for this permit category 
are presented in Table 1.

                    Table 1. Tilefish Full-time Tier 1 Category FY 2005 Landings and Overage
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          2005 Quota                2005 Landings             2005 Overage
         Permit Category         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       lb           kg\1\          lb         kg\1\          lb         kg\1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full-time Tier 1                  1,250,865     567,383       1,251,058    567,471      193          88
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

    The resulting adjusted FY 2006 tilefish Full-time Tier 1 permit 
category commercial quota is presented in Table 2.

   Table 2. Tilefish Full-time Tier 1 Category Adjusted FY 2006 Quota
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                2006 Initial Quota   2006 Adjusted Quota
       Permit Category        ------------------------------------------
                                   lb       kg\1\        lb       kg\1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full-time Tier 1               1,250,865  567,383    1,250,672  567,295
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add
  due to rounding.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator finds 
good cause to waive prior notice and opportunity for public comment as 
notice and comment would be impracticable and unnecessary. The 
regulations under Sec.  648.290(c) requires the Regional Administrator 
to subtract any overage of the quota for any tilefish limited access 
category from the quota for that category in the following fishing 
year. Accordingly, the action being taken by this temporary rule is 
non-discretionary. There is no discretion to modify this action based 
on public comment at this time.
    The rate of harvest of tilefish by the Full-time Tier 1 Category is 
updated weekly on the internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. 
Accordingly, the public is able to obtain information that would 
provide at least some advanced notice of a potential action as a result 
of a tilefish quota being exceeded during the 2005 fishing year. 
Further, the potential for this action was considered and open to 
public comment during the development of the tilefish fishery 
management plan. Therefore, any negative effect the waiving of public 
comment may have on the public is mitigated by these factors.

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

    Dated: January 6, 2006.
John H. Dunnigan
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 06-291 Filed 1-11-06; 8:45 am]
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