[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 10, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17806-17807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-1764]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 04011-2010-4114-02; I.D. 040407D]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) 
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 increasing the Georges Bank (GB) 
yellowtail flounder trip limit to 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) 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 of the Total Allowable 
Catch (TAC) for GB yellowtail flounder while ensuring that the TAC will 
not be exceeded during the 2006 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 April 5, 2007, through April 30, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tobey Curtis, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9273, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the GB yellowtail 
flounder landing limit within the U.S./Canada Management Area are found 
at Sec.  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 2006 fishing year (May 1, 2006 - April 
30, 2007) is 2,070 mt. 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. On March 8, 2007, the 10,000-lb 
(4,536-kg) trip limit for GB yellowtail flounder was reduced to 5,000 
lb (2,268 kg) in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to prevent over-
harvesting the TAC (72 FR 10426), and the requirement to only use a 
haddock separator trawl in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area was removed. 
Currently, NE multispecies vessels fishing in the Eastern U.S./Canada 
Area under a NE multispecies day-at-sea (DAS) with trawl gear must use 
either a haddock separator trawl or a flounder trawl net, as specified 
at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iii). Based upon the most

[[Page 17807]]

recent 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 2006 fishing year. Based on this information, 
the Regional Administrator is increasing the current 10,000-lb (4,536-
kg) trip limit in the Western U.S./Canada Area, and the 5,000-lb 
(2,268-kg) trip limit in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to 25,000 lb 
(11,340 kg) in both areas, effective April 5, 2007, through April 30, 
2007. Accordingly, there is a 25,000-lb (11,340-kg) trip limit on the 
amount of GB yellowtail flounder that can be harvested or landed for 
the remainder of the fishing year for vessels subject to these 
regulations. GB yellowtail flounder landings will be closely monitored 
through VMS and other available information. Should 100 percent of the 
TAC allocation for GB yellowtail flounder be projected to be harvested, 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area will close to all groundfish DAS vessels, 
and all vessels will be prohibited from harvesting, possessing, or 
landing yellowtail flounder from the U.S./Canada Management Area for 
the remainder of the fishing year. Additionally, the Eastern GB cod TAC 
will also be closely monitored, and should 100 percent of its TAC 
allocation be projected to be harvested, groundfish DAS vessels will be 
prohibited from entering the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for the remainder 
of the fishing year, as required by the regulations at Sec.  
648.85(a)(3)(iv).

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 20 percent of the GB yellowtail flounder TAC remains 
unharvested and the 2006 fishing year ends on April 30, 2007, the time 
necessary to provide for prior notice, opportunity for public comment, 
or delayed effectiveness would prevent the agency from ensuring that 
the 2006 TAC for GB yellowtail flounder will be fully harvested. 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 2006 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 flounder 
TAC in the U.S./Canada Management Area would not be realized. This 
action also relieves a restriction placed on the NE multispecies 
fishing industry by liberalizing the trip limits for GB yellowtail 
flounder.
    For the reasons specified above and because this action relieves a 
restriction, 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. 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 2006 TAC for GB 
yellowtail flounder specified for the U.S./Canada Management Area to be 
harvested at a level that approaches optimum yield. 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 U.S./
Canada Management Area 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 2006 fishing year. Further, the potential for this 
action was considered and open to public comment during the development 
of Amendment 13 and Framework 42. 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: April 5, 2007.
James P. Burgess
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 07-1764 Filed 4-5-07; 1:36 pm]
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