[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 43 (Thursday, March 5, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 11918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05118]



[[Page 11918]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

Docket No. 140117052-4402-02]
RIN 0648-XD799


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 State of North Carolina is 
transferring a portion of its 2015 commercial summer flounder quota to 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These quota adjustments are 
necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 
Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provision. This announcement is 
intended to inform the public of the revised commercial quota for each 
state involved.

DATES: Effective March 2, 2015, through December 31, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reid Lichwell, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9112.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are in 50 CFR 648.100-110. These regulations 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.  648.10(c)(1)(i).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan provided a mechanism 
for summer flounder quota to be transferred from one state to another 
(December 17, 1993; 58 FR 65936). Two or more states, under mutual 
agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS Greater Atlantic 
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) when 
evaluating requests for quota transfers or combinations.
    North Carolina has agreed to transfer 10,860 lb (4,926 kg) of its 
2015 commercial quota to Massachusetts. This transfer was prompted by 
landings of the F/V Poseidon, a North Carolina vessel that was granted 
safe harbor in Massachusetts due to a medical emergency, on February 8, 
2015. As a result of these landings, a quota transfer is necessary to 
account for an increase in Massachusetts landings that would have 
otherwise accrued against the North Carolina quota.
    The Regional Administrator has determined that the criteria set 
forth in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i) have been met. These transfers are 
consistent with the criteria because they will not preclude the overall 
annual quota from being fully harvested, the transfers address an 
unforeseen variation or contingency in the fishery, and the transfers 
are consistent with the objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The revised summer flounder 
commercial quotas for calendar year 2015 are: Massachusetts, 760,795 lb 
(345,091 kg); and North Carolina, 2,994,691 lb (1,358,368 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: March 2, 2015.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-05118 Filed 3-2-15; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P