[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12462-12463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5720]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 080521698-9067-02]
RIN 0648-XU84


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Removal of Gear Restriction for the U.S./Canada 
Management Area

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; removal of gear restrictions.

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SUMMARY: This action removes temporary gear restrictions in both the 
Eastern and Western U.S./Canada Areas for limited access Northeast (NE) 
multispecies vessels fishing on a NE multispecies Category A day-at-sea 
(DAS) for the remainder of the 2009 fishing year (FY) (i.e., through 
April 30, 2010). This action is authorized by the regulations 
implementing Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) to optimize the harvest of transboundary stocks of Georges 
Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder, haddock, and cod under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).

DATES: Removal of the temporary gear restriction in the Western U.S./
Canada Area is effective March 11, 2010, through April 30, 2010.
    Removal of the temporary gear restriction in the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area is effective April 13, 2010, through April 30, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-6341, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing fishing activity in 
the U.S./Canada Management Area are found at Sec.  648.85. These 
regulations authorize vessels issued a valid limited access NE 
multispecies permit and fishing under a NE multispecies DAS to fish in 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area under specific conditions. The Eastern 
U.S./Canada Area GB cod TAC for FY 2009 was specified at 527 mt, and 
the TAC for the entire U.S./Canada Management Area for GB yellowtail 
flounder was specified at 1,617 mt, by the 2009 interim final rule (72 
FR 25709). The regulations at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv) authorize the 
Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to 
modify gear requirements, modify or close access to the area, modify 
trip limits, or modify the total number of trips into the U.S./Canada 
Management Area, to prevent over-harvesting or to facilitate achieving 
the U.S./Canada Management Area TACs.
    Pursuant to Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(E), once the available TAC for 
GB yellowtail flounder is projected to be caught, the Regional 
Administrator is required to close the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to all 
NE multispecies DAS vessels and prohibit retention of yellowtail 
flounder in the Western U.S./Canada Area for the remainder of the 
fishing year.
    Based upon Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) reports and other 
available information, the catch of GB yellowtail flounder was at 81 
percent of the FY 2009 TAC as of March 5, 2010, and was projected to 
not be fully harvested by April 30, 2010, potentially resulting in the 
under-harvest of the available TAC for GB yellowtail flounder during FY 
2009. Based on this information, the Regional Administrator is removing 
the current temporary prohibition on the use of trawl gear, other than 
the haddock separator trawl and the Ruhle trawl, as specified at Sec.  
648.85(a)(3)(ix) and Sec.  648.85 (b)(10)(iv)(J)(3), respectively, by 
any limited access NE multispecies vessel fishing in the Western U.S./
Canada Area south of 41[deg] 40' N. lat. Therefore, effective March 11, 
2010, through April 30, 2010, unless modified by a subsequent action, a 
NE multispecies vessel fishing under a Category A DAS may fish with any 
legal trawl gear throughout the Western U.S./Canada Area.
    In addition, as of March 5, 2010, the catch of Eastern GB cod was 
72 percent of the FY 2009 TAC and was projected to not be fully 
harvested by April 30, 2010. Projected catch rates indicate that 
lifting the current prohibition on the use of flounder trawl gear in 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area on April 13, 2010, will allow vessels to 
harvest the Eastern GB cod TAC without exceeding it. Based on this 
information, the Regional Administrator is removing the temporary 
prohibition on the use of flounder trawl gear in the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area effective April 13, 2010. Therefore, effective April 13, 
2010, through April 30, 2010, unless modified by a subsequent action, a 
NE multispecies vessel fishing with trawl gear under a Category A DAS 
in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area may fish with any one of the gears 
specified for this area at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(ix), i.e., a flounder 
trawl, haddock separator trawl, or a Ruhle trawl.

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) and (d)(3), there is good cause to 
waive prior notice and opportunity for public comment, as well as the 
delayed effectiveness for this action, because notice, comment, and a 
delayed effectiveness would be impracticable and contrary to the public 
interest. The regulations under Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv) grant the 
Regional Administrator the authority to modify gear requirements to 
prevent over-harvesting or under-harvesting the TAC allocation. Because 
of the time necessary to provide for prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment, NMFS would be prevented from taking immediate action to 
remove

[[Page 12463]]

gear restrictions in the U.S./Canada Management Area. Such a delay 
would allow the current slow catch rates of GB yellowtail flounder and 
Eastern GB cod to continue and could result in under-harvest of the GB 
yellowtail flounder and Eastern GB cod TACs. Thus, delayed 
implementation could undermine the conservation objectives of the FMP 
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Under-harvesting of the GB yellowtail TAC 
would result in increased negative economic impacts to the industry and 
social impacts beyond those analyzed for Amendment 13 as the full 
potential revenue from the fishery would not be realized.
    The rate of harvest of the Eastern GB cod, Eastern GB haddock, and 
GB yellowtail flounder TACs in the U.S./Canada Management Area are 
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 any species during FY 2009. Further, the Regional 
Administrator's authority to modify gear requirements in the U.S./
Canada Management Area to help ensure that the shared U.S./Canada 
stocks of fish are harvested, but not exceeded, was considered and open 
to public comment during the development of Amendment 13 and Framework 
Adjustment 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: March 11, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5720 Filed 3-11-10; 4:15 pm]
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