[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34841-34842]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14942]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 150105004-5355-01]
RIN 0648-XD984


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Possession Limit Adjustments for the Common Pool 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.

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SUMMARY: This action decreases the possession and landing limit for 
Gulf of Maine cod to zero for Northeast multispecies common pool 
vessels for the remainder of the 2015 fishing year. NMFS is taking this 
action because the common pool has caught 44.5 percent of its Trimester 
1 Total Allowable Catch Gulf of Maine cod quota in the first month of 
the trimester. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of 
the common pool's fishing year 2015 allocation of Gulf of Maine cod and 
prevent the closure of the Gulf of Maine to all common pool vessels 
before the end of the Trimester.

DATES: Effective June 15, 2015, through April 30, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz Sullivan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-282-8493.

[[Page 34842]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the Northeast (NE) 
multispecies fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart F. The 
regulations at 50 CFR 648.86(o) authorize the Regional Administrator 
(RA) to adjust the possession limits for common pool vessels in order 
to prevent the overharvest or underharvest of the common pool quotas.
    Based on data reported through May 25, 2015, 44.5 percent of the 
common pool trimester Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 1.5 mt, and 12 
percent of the sub-Annual Catch Limit (sub-ACL) of 5.6 mt for Gulf of 
Maine (GOM) cod has been caught. Recent analysis shows that the common 
pool would likely exceed its Trimester TAC for the GOM cod stock before 
the end of June if action is not taken, which would result in the 
closure of the GOM cod Trimester TAC Area. We are reducing the 
possession limit and trip limit for GOM cod to zero. The possession 
limit and trip limit adjustments are effective June 15, 2015, through 
April 30, 2016. If a vessel has declared its trip through the vessel 
monitoring system (VMS) or interactive voice response system, and 
crossed the VMS demarcation line prior to the effective date, it will 
not be subject to the new trip limits for that trip.
    Under a zero possession limit, the bycatch and discard of GOM cod 
will continue to be accounted for. On observed common pool trips, 
observers record actual discards; unobserved trips receive the assumed 
discard rate based on observed trips. The assumed discard rate is 
applied based on the pounds of all landed species, which means that 
even at a zero possession limit for GOM cod, the cumulative catch of 
GOM cod (which includes both landed and discards) will continue to 
increase. If vessels respond to this action by vigorously redirecting 
onto other NE multispecies, the landing of those species and the 
associated assumed discards of GOM cod could push the cumulative catch 
of GOM cod closer to 90 percent of the Trimester TAC, potentially 
triggering the closure of the GOM cod Trimester TAC Area. 
Alternatively, this action could cause a reduction of common pool 
fishing effort in the GOM, leading to less bycatch and discard of GOM 
cod, if the zero possession limit makes it uneconomical for some trips 
to occur.
    Weekly quota monitoring reports for the common pool fishery can be 
found on our Web site at: http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/ro/fso/MultiMonReports.htm. We 
will continue to monitor common pool catch through vessel trip reports, 
dealer-reported landings, vessel monitoring system catch reports, VMS 
catch reports, and other available information, and if necessary, we 
will make additional adjustments to common pool management measures.

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 because it would be impracticable and 
contrary to the public interest. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the AA 
also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period.
    The regulations at Sec.  648.86(o) authorize the RA to adjust the 
NE multispecies trip limits for common pool vessels in order to prevent 
the overharvest or underharvest of the common pool quotas. The catch 
data and analysis used as the basis for this action only became 
available on June 1, 2015. The available analysis indicates that if the 
GOM cod trip limits are not reduced immediately, the common pool 
fishery will likely exceed its Trimester TAC for this stock. As a 
result, this action reduces the likelihood that the RA will be required 
to close a significant portion of the GOM to the common pool fishery. 
Any overages of the common pool quota for this stock would undermine 
conservation objectives and trigger the implementation of 
accountability measures that would have negative economic impacts on 
the common pool vessels. As a result, the time necessary to provide for 
prior notice and comment, and a 30-day delay in effectiveness, would 
prevent NMFS from implementing the necessary trip limit adjustments in 
a timely manner, which could undermine conservation objectives of the 
NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, and cause negative economic 
impacts to the common pool fishery.

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

    Dated: June 12, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-14942 Filed 6-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P