[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53430-53431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24880]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 161017970-6999-02]
RIN 0648-XF814


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for the State of Rhode Island

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 2017 summer flounder commercial quota 
allocated to the State of Rhode Island has been harvested. Vessels 
issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for summer flounder may 
not land summer flounder in Rhode Island 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 vessel and dealer 
permit holders that Federal commercial quota is no longer available to 
land summer flounder in Rhode Island.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, November 14, 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 coastwide commercial quota for summer flounder for the 2017 
calendar year is 5,658,260 lb (2,566,544 kg) (81 FR 93842, December 22, 
2016). The percent allocated to vessels landing summer flounder in 
Rhode Island is 15.68298 percent, resulting in an initial commercial 
quota of 887,542 lb (402,582 kg). Rhode Island has received one quota 
transfer of 380 lb (172 kg) from New Jersey on October 4, 2017 (82 FR 
46936), bringing its commercial quota to 887,922 lb (402,755 kg).
    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 a notice 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 summer flounder quota is available to land in that state. 
The Regional Administrator has determined, based on dealer reports and 
other available information, that the 2017 Rhode Island commercial 
summer flounder quota will be harvested by November 14, 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, November 14, 2017, 
landings of summer flounder in Rhode Island 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

[[Page 53431]]

announced in the Federal Register. Effective 0001 hours, November 14, 
2017, federally permitted dealers are also notified that they may not 
purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land in 
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island until January 1, 2018, under current 
regulations. The regulations at Sec.  648.103(b) require such action to 
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: November 13, 2017.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-24880 Filed 11-13-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P