[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 77005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30218]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 121009528-2729-02]
RIN 0648-XD021


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State 
of North Carolina are both transferring a portion of their 2013 
commercial summer flounder quotas to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
NMFS is adjusting the quotas and announcing the revised commercial 
quota for each state involved.

DATES: Effective December 17, 2013, through December 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carly Bari, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are in 50 CFR part 648, and require annual specification of a 
commercial quota that is apportioned among the coastal states from 
North Carolina through Maine. The process to set the annual commercial 
quota and the percent allocated to each state are described in Sec.  
648.100.
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, which was published 
on December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for summer 
flounder quota to be transferred from one state to another. Two or more 
states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the 
Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), can 
transfer or combine summer flounder commercial quota under Sec.  
648.102(c)(2). The Regional Administrator is required to consider the 
criteria in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i) to evaluate requests for quota 
transfers or combinations.
    Virginia has agreed to transfer 19,858 lb (9,007 kg) of its 2013 
commercial quota to Massachusetts. North Carolina has agreed to 
transfer 19,857 lb (9,007 kg) of its 2013 commercial quota to 
Massachusetts. These transfers were prompted by summer flounder 
landings of two vessels intending to land in North Carolina and 
Virginia, which were granted safe harbor in Massachusetts due to 
mechanical failure on December 2, 2013, thereby requiring quota 
transfers to account for an increase in Massachusetts' landings that 
would have otherwise accrued against the North Carolina and Virginia 
quotas. The Regional Administrator has determined that the criteria set 
forth in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i) have been met. The revised summer 
flounder commercial quotas for calendar year 2013 are: Virginia, 
5,020,643 lb (2,277,325 kg); North Carolina, 402,773 lb (182,695 kg); 
and Massachusetts, 830,951 lb (376,913 kg).

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: December 16, 2013.
Sean F. Corson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-30218 Filed 12-17-13; 11:15 am]
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