[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 158 (Monday, August 17, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49171-49172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20221]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 120109034-2171-01]
RIN 0648-XE094


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Small-Mesh 
Multispecies Fishery; Adjustment to the Northern Red Hake Inseason 
Possession Limit

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason adjustment.

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SUMMARY: We announce the reduction of the commercial possession limit 
for northern red hake for the remainder of the 2015 fishing year. This 
action is

[[Page 49172]]

required to prevent the northern red hake total allowable landing limit 
from being exceeded. This announcement informs the public that the 
northern red hake possession limit is reduced.

DATES: Effective August 12, 2015 through April, 30, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reid Lichwell, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-675-9112.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The small-mesh multispecies fishery is 
managed primarily through a series of exemptions from the Northeast 
Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan. Regulations governing the red 
hake fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations describing 
the process to adjust inseason commercial possession limits of northern 
red hake are described in Sec.  648.86(d)(4) and (5). These regulations 
require the Regional Administrator to reduce the northern red hake 
possession limit from 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) to 1,500 lb (680 kg) when 
landings have been projected to reach or exceed 45 percent of the total 
allowable landings (TAL). The northern red hake possession limit is 
required to be further reduced to 400 lb (181 kg) if landings are 
projected to reach or exceed 62.5 percent of the TAL, unless such a 
reduction would be expected to prevent the TAL from being reached. The 
setting of these inseason adjustment thresholds were established in the 
final rule implementing the small-mesh multispecies specifications for 
2015-2017, published in the Federal Register on May 28, 2015 (80 FR 
30379).
    These measures were imposed because the annual catch limits (ACL) 
for northern red hake were exceeded for the 2012 and 2013 fishing 
years, and northern red hake was experiencing overfishing. To reduce 
the risk of continued overfishing on the stock and to better constrain 
catch to the ACL, we implemented this possession limit reduction 
trigger.
    Based on commercial landings data reported through July 30, 2015, 
the northern red hake fishery is projected to reach 45 percent of the 
TAL on August 10, 2015. Based on this projection, reducing the 
commercial northern red hake possession limit to 1,500 lb (680 kg) is 
required to prevent the TAL from being exceeded. Upon the effective 
date of this action, no person may possess on board or land more than 
1,500 lb (680 kg) of northern red hake, per trip for the remainder of 
the fishing year.

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: August 12, 2015.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-20221 Filed 8-12-15; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P