[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 7, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 54290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22202]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 0908191244-91427-02]
RIN 0648-XY61


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery; 
Adjustment to the 2010 Winter II Quota

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2010 Winter II commercial scup quota. This 
action complies with Framework Adjustment 3 (Framework 3) to the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, which 
established a process to allow the rollover of unused commercial scup 
quota from the Winter I period to the Winter II period.

DATES: Effective September 7, 2010, through December 31, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Heil, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9257.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule in the Federal 
Register on November 3, 2003 (68 FR 62250), implementing a process, for 
years in which the full Winter I commercial scup quota is not 
harvested, to allow unused quota from the Winter I period (January 1 
through April 30) to be added to the quota for the Winter II period 
(November 1 through December 31), and to allow adjustment of the 
commercial possession limits for the Winter II period commensurate with 
the amount of quota rolled over from the Winter I period.
    For 2010, the initial Winter II quota is 1,701,695 lb (772 mt), and 
the best available landings information indicates that 76,256 lb (35 
mt) remain of the Winter I quota of 4,815,775 lb (2,184 mt). Consistent 
with the intent of Framework 3, the full amount of unused 2010 Winter I 
quota is transferred to Winter II, resulting in a revised 2010 Winter 
II quota of 1,777,951 lb (806 mt). Because the amount transferred is 
less than 499,999 lb (227 mt), the possession limit per trip will 
remain 2,000 lb (907 kg) during the Winter II quota period, consistent 
with the final rule Winter I to Winter II possession limit increase 
table (table 4) published in the 2010 final scup specifications (74 FR 
67978, December 22, 2009).

Classification

     This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds good 
cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the 
opportunity for public comment on this in-season adjustment because it 
is impracticable and contrary to the public interest. The landings data 
upon which this action is based is not available on a real-time basis 
and were compiled only a short time before the determination was made 
that this action is warranted. If implementation of this in-season 
action is delayed to solicit prior public comment, the objective of the 
fishery management plan to achieve the optimum yield from the fishery 
could be compromised; deteriorating weather conditions during the later 
part of the fishery year will reduce fishing effort and could result in 
the annual quota from being fully harvested. This would conflict with 
the agency's legal obligation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act to achieve the optimum yield from a 
fishery on a continuing basis. This will have a negative economic 
impact on vessels permitted to fish in this fishery.

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

    Dated: September 1, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-22202 Filed 9-1-10; 4:15 pm]
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