[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 150 (Wednesday, August 5, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 46518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19150]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 141125999-5362-02]
RIN 0648-XE084


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; Closure of the Mid-Atlantic Access Area to General Category 
Individual Fishing Quota Scallop Vessels

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area will 
close to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota 
scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2015 fishing year. No vessel 
issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota 
permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the Mid-Atlantic 
Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action once it is 
projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited Access 
General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for the Mid-
Atlantic Scallop Access Area will be taken.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, August 4, 2015, through February 
29, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 282-8456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reader can find regulations governing 
fishing activity in the Sea Scallop Access Areas in 50 CFR648.59 and 
648.60, which authorize vessels issued a valid Limited Access General 
Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) scallop permit to fish 
in the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area under specific conditions, 
including a total of 2,065 trips that may be taken by LAGC IFQ vessels 
during the 2015 fishing year. Section 648.60(g)(3)(iii) requires the 
Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area to be closed to LAGC IFQ permitted 
vessels for the remainder of the fishing year once the NMFS Greater 
Atlantic Regional Administrator determines that the allowed number of 
trips for fishing year 2015 are projected to be taken.
    Based on trip declarations by LAGC IFQ scallop vessels fishing in 
the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area, and analysis of fishing effort, 
we project that 2,065 trips will be taken as of August 4, 2015. 
Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  648.60(g)(3)(iii), the Mid-Atlantic 
Scallop Access Area is closed to all LAGC IFQ scallop vessels as of 
August 4, 2015. No vessel issued an LAGC IFQ permit may fish for, 
possess, or land scallops in or from the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access 
Area after 0001 local time, August 4, 2015. Any LAGC IFQ vessel that 
has declared into the Mid-Atlantic Access Area scallop fishery, 
complied with all trip notification and observer requirements, and 
crossed the VMS demarcation line on the way to the area before 0001, 
August 4, 2015, may complete its trip. This closure is in effect for 
the remainder of the 2015 scallop fishing year.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS 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 
contrary to the public interest and impracticable. The Mid-Atlantic 
Access Area opened for the 2015 fishing year on May 1, 2015. The 
regulations at Sec.  648.60(g)(3)(iii) require this closure to ensure 
that LAGC IFQ scallop vessels do not take more than their allocated 
number of trips in the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. The 
projections of the date on which the LAGC IFQ fleet will have taken all 
of its allocated trips in an Access Area become apparent only as trips 
into the area occur on a real-time basis and as activity trends begin 
to appear. As a result, an accurate projection only can be made very 
close in time to when the fleet has taken all of its trips. In 
addition, proposing a closure would likely increase activity, 
triggering an earlier closure than predicted. To allow LAGC IFQ scallop 
vessels to continue to take trips in the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access 
Area during the period necessary to publish and receive comments on a 
proposed rule would likely result in vessels taking much more than the 
allowed number of trips in the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. 
Excessive trips and harvest from the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area 
would result in excessive fishing effort in the area, where effort 
controls are critical, thereby undermining conservation objectives of 
the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan and requiring more 
restrictive future management measures. Also, the public had prior 
notice and full opportunity to comment on this closure process when we 
put these provisions in place. NMFS further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period 
for the reasons stated above.

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

    Dated: July 30, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-19150 Filed 7-31-15; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P