[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 194 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61995-61996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25936]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 100923469-1543-05]
RIN 0648-BA27


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Emergency Rule Extension, Georges Bank Yellowtail 
Flounder Catch Limit Revisions

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

ACTION: Temporary final rule; emergency action extension and request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder 
specifications for fishing year (FY) 2011 that were implemented on May 
1, 2011, through emergency authority concurrent with the Framework 
Adjustment (FW) 45 Final Rule under the Northeast (NE) Multispecies 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which is scheduled to expire on October 
24, 2011. Specifically, this temporary rule maintains the current 
Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and Annual Catch Limit (ACL) for GB 
yellowtail flounder for an additional 186 days, i.e., through the end 
of fishing

[[Page 61996]]

year (FY) 2010 (May 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012).

DATES: The effective date of the GB yellowtail flounder specifications 
in the final rule published April 25, 2011 (76 FR 23042) is extended 
through April 30, 2012. Comments are accepted through November 7, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FDMS Docket Number 
NOAA-NMFS-2011-0237, by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 
first click the ``submit a comment'' icon, then enter [NOAA-NMFS-2011-
0237] in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on 
from the resulting list and click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on 
the right of that line.
     Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to 
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2276. Mark the 
outside of the envelope: ``Comments on NE Multispecies GB Yellowtail 
Flounder Specifications Emergency Rule Extension.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, 
name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be 
publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    We will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required 
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF formats only.
    Copies of the small entity compliance guide are available from the 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, at the address 
above. Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for this 
rule may be found at the following Internet address: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Warren, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9347, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This temporary final rule extends the revised GB yellowtail 
flounder catch limits implemented through emergency authority as 
published in the FW 45 final rule on April 25, 2011 (76 FR 23042) in 
order to maintain those measures through the end of FY 2010 (April 30, 
2012). The April 25, 2011 final rule included detailed information on 
the background and reasons for the need to revise the GB yellowtail 
flounder catch limits from those originally proposed in the FW 45 
proposed rule (76 FR 11858; March 3, 2011). The public had an 
opportunity to comment on the April 25, 2011 emergency measures, but no 
comments were submitted. We will again accept public comment on both 
the appropriateness of the emergency action to date, and its extension.
    The emergency specifications extended through this final rule are 
the revised GB yellowtail flounder catch limits for FY 2011, as 
follows: A U.S. ABC of 1,458 mt; a total ACL of 1,416 mt; a groundfish 
sub-ACL of 1,142 mt; a scallop fishery sub-ACL of 200.8 mt; and an 
Other ACL sub-component of 73 mt. The initial emergency action modified 
GB yellowtail flounder catch limits from those originally proposed as a 
result of the passage of new legislation (International Fisheries 
Agreement Clarification Act).
    Although the FW 45 final rule contained preliminary information 
regarding the more specific components of the groundfish sub-ACL (the 
division of the groundfish sub-ACL between sectors and the common pool 
and the Incidental Catch Total Allowable Catches for common pool 
vessels), it did not implement the final specification of these 
components (and this rule does not need to address those aspects of the 
FMP). The components of the GB yellowtail flounder groundfish sub-ACL 
are specified in the final rule that adjusted the FY 2011 groundfish 
sub-ACL components for all stocks (76 FR 34903; June 15, 2011).
    No comments were received on the initial emergency rule.

Classification

    We have determined that the emergency specifications extended by 
this temporary final rule are necessary and are consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable law.
    The interim rule that this rule extends was determined to be not 
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
    This rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis because 
the rule is issued without opportunity for prior public comment.
    The supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the 
initial emergency action analyzed the impacts of the emergency 
specifications for the duration of a year (Supplemental EA, Revised 
Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Catch Limits for Fishing Year 2011; 
April 13, 2011). Therefore, the impacts of this emergency action 
extension have been analyzed, and are within the scope of the Finding 
of No Significant Impact.

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

    Dated: October 3, 2011.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-25936 Filed 10-5-11; 8:45 am]
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