[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 1, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35686-35687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16176]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 151211999-6343-02]
RIN 0648-XF586


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Georges Bank Cod Trimester Total Allowable Catch 
Area Closure for the Common Pool Fishery

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; area closure.

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SUMMARY: This action closes the Georges Bank (GB) Cod Trimester Total 
Allowable Catch Area to Northeast multispecies common pool vessels 
fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear for 
the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2017. The closure is 
required by regulation because the common pool fishery is projected to 
have caught 90 percent of its Trimester 1 quota for GB cod. This 
closure is intended to prevent an overage of the common pool's quota 
for this stock.

DATES: This action is effective July 28, 2017, through August 31, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claire Fitz-Gerald, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal regulations at Sec.  
648.82(n)(2)(ii) require the Regional Administrator to close a common 
pool Trimester Total Allowable Catch (TAC) Area for a stock when 90 
percent of the Trimester TAC is projected to be caught. The closure 
applies to all common pool vessels fishing with gear capable of 
catching that stock for the remainder of the trimester.
    As of July 27, 2017, the common pool fishery is projected to have 
caught approximately 90 percent of the Trimester 1 TAC (2.9 mt) for 
Georges Bank (GB) cod. Effective July 28, 2017, the GB Cod Trimester 
TAC Area is closed for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 
2017, to all common pool vessels fishing on a Northeast multispecies 
trip with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear. The GB 
Cod Trimester TAC Area consists of statistical areas 521, 522, 525, and 
561. The area reopens at the beginning of Trimester 2, on September 1, 
2017.
    If a vessel declared its trip through the Vessel Monitoring System 
(VMS) or the interactive voice response system, and crossed the VMS 
demarcation line prior to July 28, 2017, it may complete its trip 
within the Trimester TAC Area. A vessel that has set gillnet gear prior 
to July 28, 2017, may complete its trip by hauling such gear.
    Any overage of the Trimester 1 or 2 TACs must be deducted from the 
Trimester 3 TAC. If the common pool fishery exceeds its total quota for 
a stock in the 2017 fishing year, the overage must be deducted from the 
common pool's quota for that stock for fishing year 2018. Any uncaught 
portion of the Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 TACs is carried over into 
the next trimester. However, any uncaught portion of the common pool's 
total annual quota may not be carried over into the following fishing 
year.
    Weekly quota monitoring reports for the common pool fishery are 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, VMS 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 require the Regional Administrator to close a 
trimester TAC area to the common pool fishery when 90 percent of the 
Trimester TAC for a stock has been caught. Updated catch information 
only recently became available indicating that the common pool fishery 
is projected to have caught 90 percent of its Trimester 1 TAC for GB 
cod as of July 27, 2017. The time necessary to provide for prior notice 
and comment, and a 30-day delay in effectiveness, would prevent the 
immediate closure of the GB Cod Trimester TAC Area. This increases the 
likelihood that the common pool fishery

[[Page 35687]]

will exceed its trimester or annual quota of GB cod to the detriment of 
this stock, which could undermine management objectives of the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Additionally, an 
overage of the trimester or annual common pool quota could cause 
negative economic impacts to the common pool fishery as a result of 
overage paybacks deducted from a future trimester or fishing year.

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

    Dated: July 27, 2017.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-16176 Filed 7-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P