[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 22919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09016]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 150105004-5355-01]
RIN 0648-XE569


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Trip Limit Adjustment 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 increases the trip limit for Gulf of Maine cod, 
Gulf of Maine haddock, and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail 
flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the 
remainder of the 2015 fishing year. The regulations authorize the 
Regional Administrator to adjust the trip limits for common pool 
vessels in order to facilitate harvest of, or prevent exceeding, the 
pertinent common pool quotas during the fishing year. Increasing these 
trip limits is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities and 
help allow the common pool fishery to catch its allowable quota for 
this stock.

DATES: The trip limit increase is effective April 14, 2016, through 
April 30, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Heil, Supervisory Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9257.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations at Sec.  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. As of April 5, 2016, the common pool had 
caught approximately 61 percent of its annual quota of Gulf of Maine 
(GOM) cod, 11 percent of its GOM haddock quota, and 88 percent of its 
Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) yellowtail flounder quota. 
To allow the common pool fishery to catch more of its quota for these 
stocks, effective April 14, 2016, the trip limits for GOM cod, GOM 
haddock, and SNE/MA yellowtail flounder for all common pool vessels are 
increased as summarized in Table 1. These changes are intended to 
provide additional fishing opportunities for common pool vessels.

                           Table 1--Fishing Year 2015 Common Pool Trip Limit Increases
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                       Stock                        Current possession/trip limit    New possession/trip limit
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GOM Cod...........................................  25 lb (11.3 kg) per trip.....  100 lb (45.4 kg) per trip.
GOM Haddock.......................................  50 lb (22.7 kg) per DAS up to  500 lb (226.8 kg) per DAS up
                                                     200 lb (90.7 kg) per trip.     to 1,000 lb (453.6 kg) per
                                                                                    trip.
SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder........................  50 lb (22.7 kg) per trip.....  500 lb (226.8 kg) per DAS up
                                                                                    to 1,000 lb (453.6 kg) per
                                                                                    trip.
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    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, 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, finds good cause 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive prior 
notice and the opportunity for public comment and the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness period because it would be impracticable and contrary to 
the public interest.
    The regulations at Sec.  648.86(o) authorize the RA to adjust the 
Northeast multispecies possession and trip limits for common pool 
vessels in order to prevent the overharvest or underharvest of the 
pertinent common pool sub-ACLs. The catch data used to justify 
increasing the possession and trip limit for GOM cod, GOM haddock, and 
SNE/MA yellowtail flounder only recently became available. The 
possession and trip limit increase implemented through this action 
allows for increased harvest of these stocks, to help ensure that the 
fishery may achieve optimum yield. As a result, the time necessary to 
provide for prior notice and comment, and a 30-day delay in 
effectiveness, would prevent us from increasing the possession and trip 
limit for these stocks before the end of the fishing year on April 30, 
2016, which would prevent the additional fishing opportunities this 
action is intended to provide. This would undermine management 
objectives of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and 
cause unnecessary negative economic impacts to the common pool fishery. 
There is additional good cause to waive the delayed effective period 
because this action relieves restrictions on fishing vessels by 
increasing a trip limit.

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

    Dated: April 14, 2016.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-09016 Filed 4-14-16; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P