[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 139 (Friday, July 21, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33827-33828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15298]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 161017970-6999-02]
RIN 0648-XF550


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts

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 2017 summer flounder commercial quota 
allocated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been harvested. 
Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer 
flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the 
remainder of calendar year 2017, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing 
the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to 
advise Massachusetts that the quota has been harvested and to advise 
vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal 
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in 
Massachusetts.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, July 20, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Hanson, (978) 281-9180, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations require annual 
specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned on a percentage 
basis among the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The 
process to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to 
each state is described in Sec.  648.102.
    The initial commercial quota for summer flounder for the 2017 
calendar year was set equal to 5,658,260 lb (2,566,544 kg) (81 FR 
93842, December 22, 2016). The percent allocated to vessels landing 
summer flounder in Massachusetts is 6.82046 percent, resulting in a 
commercial quota of 385,988 lb (175,081 kg). Massachusetts has not 
received any quota transfers in 2017 that would cause the initial 
commercial quota to be adjusted.
    The NMFS Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region (Regional 
Administrator), monitors the state commercial landings and determines 
when a state's commercial quota has been harvested. NMFS is required to 
publish notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying 
commercial vessels and dealer permit holders that, effective upon a 
specific date, the state's commercial quota has been harvested and no 
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in that 
state. The Regional Administrator has determined, based upon dealer 
reports and other available information, that the 2017 Massachusetts 
commercial summer flounder quota will be harvested by July 19, 2017.
    Section 648.4(b) provides that Federal permit holders agree, as a 
condition of the permit, not to land summer flounder in any state that 
the Regional Administrator has determined no longer has commercial 
quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, July 20, 2017, 
landings of summer flounder in Massachusetts by vessels holding summer 
flounder commercial Federal fisheries permits are prohibited for the 
remainder of the 2017 calendar year, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. 
Effective 0001 hours, July 20, 2017, federally permitted dealers are 
also notified that they may not purchase summer flounder from federally 
permitted vessels that land in Massachusetts for the remainder of the 
calendar year, or until additional quota becomes available through a 
transfer from another state.

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) to waive prior notice and the 
opportunity for public comment because it would be contrary to the 
public interest. This action closes the commercial summer flounder 
fishery for Massachusetts until January 1, 2018, under current 
regulations. The regulations at Sec.  648.103(b) require such action to

[[Page 33828]]

ensure that summer flounder vessels do not exceed quotas allocated to 
the states. If implementation of this closure was delayed to solicit 
prior public comment, the quota for this fishing year will be exceeded, 
thereby undermining the conservation objectives of the Summer Flounder 
Fishery Management Plan. The Assistant Administrator further finds, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness period for the reason stated above.

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

    Dated: July 17, 2017.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-15298 Filed 7-18-17; 11:15 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P