[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43957-43958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15952]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 151210999-6348-02]
RIN 0648-XE709


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 2016 fishing year as of the 
effective date below. After the effective date, 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, July 4, 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 Sea Scallop Access Areas in 50 CFR 648.59 and 
648.60. These regulations 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 2,068 trips that may be taken by LAGC 
IFQ vessels during the 2016 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 2016 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, 
NMFS projects

[[Page 43958]]

that 2,068 trips will be taken as of July 4, 2016. Therefore, in 
accordance with Sec.  648.60(g)(3)(iii), NMFS is closing the Mid-
Atlantic Scallop Access Area is closed to all LAGC IFQ scallop vessels 
as of July 4, 2016. 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, July 4, 2016. 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 
vessel monitoring system demarcation line on the way to the area before 
0001, July 4, 2016, may complete its trip. This closure is in effect 
for the remainder of the 2016 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 2016 fishing year on April 1, 2016. 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, NMFS can only make an accurate projection very 
close in time to when the fleet has taken all of its trips. In order to 
propose a closure for purposes of receiving prior public comment, NMFS 
would need to make a projection based on very little information, which 
would result in a closure too early or too late. 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. Current regulations prohibit LAGC IFQ 
scallop vessels from fishing for, possessing, or landing scallops from 
this area after the effective date of this notification published in 
the Federal Register. 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: June 30, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-15952 Filed 6-30-16; 4:15 pm]
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