[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 13, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 27027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12182]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 161118999-7280-02]
RIN 0648-XF409


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; Closure of the Elephant Trunk Flex 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 Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access 
Area will close to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing 
Quota scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2017 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 Elephant Trunk Flex 
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 
Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area will be taken.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, June 12, 2017, through March 31, 
2018.

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 Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area under 
specific conditions, including a total of 697 trips that may be taken 
by LAGC IFQ vessels during the 2017 fishing year. Section 
648.59(g)(3)(iii) requires the Elephant Trunk Flex 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 2017 are 
projected to be taken.
    Based on trip declarations by LAGC IFQ scallop vessels fishing in 
the Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area, and analysis of fishing 
effort, NMFS projects that 697 trips will be taken as of June 12, 2017. 
Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  648.59(g)(3)(iii), NMFS is closing 
the Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area to all LAGC IFQ scallop 
vessels as of June 12, 2017. No vessel issued an LAGC IFQ permit may 
fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Elephant Trunk Flex 
Scallop Access Area after 0001 local time, June 12, 2017. Any LAGC IFQ 
vessel that has declared into the Elephant Trunk Flex 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, June 12, 2017, may complete its 
trip. This closure is in effect for the remainder of the 2017 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 Elephant Trunk 
Flex Access Area opened for the 2017 fishing year on March 23, 2017. 
The regulations at Sec.  648.59(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 Elephant Trunk Flex 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 Elephant Trunk Flex 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 
Elephant Trunk Flex Scallop Access Area. Excessive trips and harvest 
from the Elephant Trunk Flex 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 8, 2017.
Margo B. Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-12182 Filed 6-9-17; 8:45 am]
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