[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30202-30203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11494]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 151210999-6348-02]
RIN 0648-XE620


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; 2016 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management 
Area

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 Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop 
Management Area will close for the remainder of the 2016 fishing year. 
No vessel issued a federal scallop permit, with the exception of 
Northern Gulf of Maine permit holders also holding a Maine state 
scallop permit and fishing under the state waters exemption program in 
Maine state waters, may fish for, possess, or land scallops from the 
Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. Regulations require 
this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the 2016 total 
allowable catch for the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area 
will be harvested.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, May 13, 2016, through February 28, 
2017.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reader can find regulations governing 
fishing activity in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop 
Management Area in 50 CFR 648.54 and Sec.  648.62. These regulations 
authorize vessels issued a valid federal scallop permit to fish in the 
NGOM Scallop Management Area under specific conditions, including a 
total allowable catch (TAC) of 67,454 lb (30.6 mt) for the 2016 fishing 
year, and a State Waters Exemption Program for the state of Maine. NMFS 
reduced the 2016 NGOM Scallop Management Area TAC from 70,000 lb (31.8 
mt) to 67,454 lb (30.6 mt) to account for a 2,546-lb (1,155-kg) over 
harvest of the 2015 TAC during the 2015 fishing year. Section 
648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM Scallop Management Area to be closed to 
federally permitted scallop vessels for the remainder of the fishing 
year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator determines 
that the TAC for fishing year 2016 is projected to be harvested. Any 
vessel that holds a federal NGOM permit (category LAGC B) may continue 
to fish in the Maine state waters portion of the NGOM Scallop 
Management Area under the State Waters Exemption Program found in Sec.  
648.54 provided they have a valid Maine state scallop permit and fish 
in state waters only.
    Based on trip declarations by federally permitted scallop vessels 
fishing in the NGOM Scallop Management Area, and analysis of fishing 
effort, we project that the 2016 TAC will be harvested as of May 13, 
2016. Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  648.62(b)(2), the NGOM 
Scallop Management Area is closed to all federally permitted scallop 
vessels as of May 13, 2016. No vessel issued a federal scallop permit 
may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the NGOM Scallop 
Management Area after 0001 local time, May 13, 2016, unless the vessel 
is fishing exclusively in state waters and is participating in an 
approved state waters exemption program as specified in Sec.  648.54. 
Any federally permitted scallop vessel that has declared into the NGOM 
Scallop Management Area, complied with all trip notification and 
observer requirements, and crossed the VMS demarcation line on the way 
to the area before 0001, May 13, 2016, may complete its trip. All 
limited access scallop vessels fishing on a day-at-sea must exit the 
NGOM Scallop

[[Page 30203]]

Management Area before 0001 hr local time, May 13, 2016. This closure 
is in effect through February 28, 2017.

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 NGOM Scallop 
Management Area opened for the 2016 fishing year on March 1, 2016. The 
regulations at Sec.  648.60(b)(2) require this closure to ensure that 
federally permitted scallop vessels do not harvest more than the 
allocated TAC for the NGOM Scallop Management Area. The projections of 
the date on which the NGOM Scallop Management Area TAC will be 
harvested 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 TAC 
is harvested. In addition, proposing a closure would likely increase 
activity, triggering an earlier closure than predicted. To allow 
federally permitted scallop vessels to continue to take trips in the 
NGOM Scallop Management Area during the period necessary to publish and 
receive comments on a proposed rule would likely result in vessels over 
harvesting the 2016 TAC for the NGOM Scallop Management Area. Over 
harvest from the NGOM Scallop Management 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: May 11, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-11494 Filed 5-11-16; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P