[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9475-9476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-1753]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040804229-4300-02; I.D. 021706B]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Modification of the Yellowtail Flounder Landing 
Limit for the U.S./Canada Management Area

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; landing limit.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast (NE) Region, 
NMFS (Regional Administrator), is modifying the Georges Bank (GB) 
yellowtail flounder trip limit from 1,500 lb (680.4 kg) per day up to a 
maximum of 15,000 lb (6,804.1 kg) per trip, to 15,000 lb (6,804.1 kg) 
per trip with no daily limit, for NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) 
vessels fishing in the U.S./Canada Management Area. This action is 
authorized by the regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the NE 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent under-
harvesting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for GB yellowtail flounder 
while ensuring that the TAC will not be exceeded during the 2005 
fishing year. This action is being taken to provide additional 
opportunities for vessels to fully harvest the GB yellowtail flounder 
TAC under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

DATES: Effective February 21, 2006, through April 30, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9145, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the GB yellowtail 
flounder landing limit within the U.S./Canada Management Area are found 
at 50 CFR 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(C) and (D). The regulations authorize 
vessels issued a valid limited access NE multispecies permit and 
fishing under a NE multispecies DAS to fish in the U.S./Canada 
Management Area, as defined at Sec.  648.85(a)(1), under specific 
conditions. The TAC for GB yellowtail flounder for the 2005 fishing 
year (May 1, 2005--April 30, 2006) is 4,260 mt. On

[[Page 9476]]

February 9, 2006 (71 FR 6984), NMFS implemented a GB yellowtail trip 
limit of 1,500 lb (680.4 kg) per day, up to a maximum of 15,000 lb 
(6,804.1 kg) per trip, as required by the regulations at Sec.  
648.85(a)(3)(iv)(C)(2). That action was non-discretionary and was based 
on the Regional Administrator's projection that 70 percent (2,982 mt) 
of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC of 4,260 mt would be harvested by 
February 9, 2006.
    The regulations at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) authorize the Regional 
Administrator to increase or decrease the trip limits in the U.S./
Canada Management Area to prevent over-harvesting or under-harvesting 
the TAC allocation. Based upon Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) reports 
and other available information, the Regional Administrator has 
determined that the current rate of harvest will result in the under-
harvest of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC during the 2005 fishing year. 
Based on this information, the Regional Administrator is removing the 
1,500-lb (680.4-kg) per day limit and retaining the 15,000-lb (6,804.1-
kg) trip limit, for NE multispecies DAS vessels fishing in the U.S./
Canada Management Area, effective February 21, 2006, through April 30, 
2006. Vessels landing on or after February 21, 2006 may possess and 
land up to 15,000 lb (6,804.1 kg) of GB yellowtail flounder, regardless 
of the length of their trip.

Classification

    This action is authorized 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 (AA) 
finds good cause to waive prior notice and opportunity for public 
comment for this action, because notice and comment would be 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. The regulations at 
Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) grant the Regional Administrator the 
authority to adjust the GB yellowtail flounder trip limits to prevent 
over-harvesting or under-harvesting the TAC allocation. Given that 
approximately 30 percent of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC remains 
unharvested and the 2005 fishing year ends on April 30, 2006, the time 
necessary to provide for prior notice, opportunity for public comment, 
or delayed effectiveness would prevent the agency from ensuring that 
the 2005 TAC for GB yellowtail flounder will be fully harvested. It was 
not possible to take this action earlier because the trigger for 
implementing the non-discretionary 1,500-lb (680.4-kg) daily limit 
(projected date that 70 percent of the TAC would be harvested) did not 
occur until February 9, 2006. If implementation of this action is 
delayed, the NE multispecies fishery could be prevented from fully 
harvesting the TAC for GB yellowtail flounder during the 2005 fishing 
year. Under-harvesting the GB yellowtail TAC would result in increased 
economic impacts to the industry and social impacts beyond those 
analyzed for Amendment 13, as the full potential revenue from the 
available GB yellowtail TAC in the U.S./Canada Management Area would 
not be realized.
    The AA finds good cause, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive 
the entire 30-day delayed effectiveness period for this action. For the 
reasons specified above, a delay in the effectiveness of the trip limit 
modification in this rule would prevent the agency from meeting its 
management obligation and ensuring the opportunity for the 2005 catch 
TAC for GB yellowtail flounder specified for the Western and Eastern 
U.S./Canada Areas to be fully harvested. Any such delay could lead to 
the negative impacts to the fishing industry described above.
    The rate of harvest of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC in the 
Western and Eastern U.S./Canada Areas 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 to provide additional opportunities to the NE 
multispecies industry to fully harvest the TAC for GB yellowtail 
flounder during the 2005 fishing year. Further, the potential for this 
action was considered and open to public comment during the development 
of Amendment 13. Therefore, any negative effect the waiving of public 
comment and delayed effectiveness may have on the public is mitigated 
by these factors.

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

    Dated: February 21, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-1753 Filed 2-21-06; 2:48 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P