[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 6, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31194-31195]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2813]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 070427094-7113-02, I.D. 042407A]
RIN 0648-AV50


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Allocation of Trips in the Closed Area II 
Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program

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

ACTION: Final rule; allocation of trips.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator), has allocated zero trips to the Closed Area 
(CA) II Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program (SAP) during the 
2007 fishing year (FY) (i.e., May 1, 2007, through April 30, 2008). The 
Regional Administrator has determined that the available catch of 
Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder is insufficient to support a 
minimum level of fishing activity within the CA II Yellowtail Flounder 
SAP for FY 2007. The intent of this action is to help achieve optimum 
yield (OY) in the fishery by maximizing the utility of available GB 
yellowtail flounder total allowable catch (TAC) throughout FY 2007.

DATES: Effective July 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final rule implementing the FY 2007 TAC for GB 
yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area are available 
upon request from the NE Regional Office at the following mailing 
address: George H. Darcy, Assistant Regional Administrator for 
Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Copies may also be requested by calling 
(978) 281-9315.

[[Page 31195]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone: (978) 281-9145, fax: (978) 281-9135, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Framework Adjustment (FW) 40B (70 FR 31323; 
June 1, 2005), requires the Regional Administrator annually allocate 
the total number of trips into the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP. A 
formula was developed in FW 40B to assist the Regional Administrator in 
determining the appropriate number of trips for this SAP on a yearly 
basis. The FY 2007 calculations for this equation were detailed in the 
proposed rule (72 FR 26770; May 11, 2007) and are not repeated here.
    FW 40B authorized the Regional Administrator to allocate zero trips 
to this SAP if the available GB yellowtail flounder catch is not 
sufficient to support 150 trips with a 15,000-lb (6,804-kg) trip limit 
(i.e., if the available GB yellowtail catch is less than 1,021 mt), as 
required. Using the formula developed in FW 40B and based on the 900-mt 
U.S./Canada GB yellowtail flounder TAC for 2007 (72 FR 25709; May 7, 
2007), the Regional Administrator has determined that there will be 
insufficient GB yellowtail flounder TAC to support the CA II Yellowtail 
Flounder SAP for FY 2007. Therefore, zero trips are allocated to the 
SAP for FY 2007.

Comments and Responses

    Two comments were received on this action.
    Comment 1: One commenter did not specifically address the proposed 
allocation of trips, but asserted that all of GB should be closed 
permanently because it has been denuded of all fish species.
    Response: Amendment 13 (69 FR 22906; April 27, 2004) to the NE 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) implemented a rebuilding 
plan for all overfished stocks managed under the FMP. Included in this 
rebuilding plan was the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP. The 
Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 13 determined that this 
SAP has minimal negative impacts to the GB yellowtail flounder stock, 
neutral impacts on Essential Fish Habitat, and negligible impacts on 
other stocks managed by the FMP. The current regulatory restrictions in 
place are designed to protect and rebuild fish stocks in accordance 
with applicable laws; therefore, it is not necessary to close BG to 
fishing in order to rebuild fish stocks.
    Comment 2: Another commenter did not specifically address the 
proposed allocation of trips, but asserted that GB yellowtail flounder 
trip limits in the Western U.S./Canada Area were preventing the harvest 
of GB haddock.
    Response: the GB yellowtail flounder TAC for FY 2007 is greatly 
reduced (57 percent less than FY 2006). For this reason, allowing any 
trips into this SAP will likely result in fully harvesting the TAC 
prior to the end of the fishing year, resulting in a possession ban for 
GB yellowtail flounder, premature closure of the entire Eastern U.S./
Canada Area to all NE multispecies DAS vessels, and reduced 
opportunities to fully harvest the GB haddock and GD cod TACs in the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Area. NMFS is allocating zero trips to this SAP to 
help achieve OY in the U.S./Canada Area by maximizing the utility of 
available GB yellowtail flounder TAC throughout FY 2007.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator has determined that this action is 
necessary for the conservation and management of the NE multispecies 
fishery and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
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. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    This final rule does not contain any new, nor revises existing 
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements.


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

    Dated: May 31, 2007.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 07-2813 Filed 6-1-07; 2:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-M