[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 18985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09138]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 151211999-6343-02]
RIN 0648-XG175


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Gulf of Maine 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 Gulf of Maine Cod Trimester Total 
Allowable Catch Area to Northeast multispecies common pool vessels 
fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear. The 
closure is required by regulation because the common pool fishery is 
projected to have caught 90 percent of its Trimester 3 quota for Gulf 
of Maine cod. This closure is intended to prevent an overage of the 
common pool's quota for this stock.

DATES: This action is effective April 26, 2018, through April 30, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9232.

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.
    Based on catch data through April 23, 2018, the common pool fishery 
is projected to have caught approximately 90 percent of the Trimester 3 
TAC (3.0 mt) for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod on April 24, 2018. Projections 
show that catch will likely reach 100 percent of the annual quota by 
April 26, 2018. Effective April 26, 2018, the GOM Cod Trimester TAC 
Area is closed for the remainder of Trimester 3, through April 30, 
2018. This closure applies to all common pool vessels fishing on a 
Northeast multispecies trip with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and 
longline/hook gear. The GOM Cod Trimester TAC Area consists of 
statistical areas 513 and 514. The area reopens at the beginning of 
Trimester 1 of the 2018 fishing year on May 1, 2018.
    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 April 26, 2018, it may complete its trip 
within the GOM Cod Trimester TAC Area. A vessel that has set gillnet 
gear prior to April 26, 2018, may complete its trip by hauling such 
gear.
    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 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 website 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 
through April 23, 2018, only recently became available indicating that 
the common pool fishery is projected to have caught 90 percent of its 
Trimester 3 TAC for GOM cod on April 24, 2018. The time necessary to 
provide for prior notice and comment, and a 30-day delay in 
effectiveness, would prevent the immediate closure of the GOM Cod 
Trimester TAC Area. This would be contrary to the regulatory 
requirement and would increase the likelihood that the common pool 
fishery would exceed its trimester or annual quota of GOM cod to the 
detriment of this stock. This could undermine management objectives of 
the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Fishermen expect 
these closures to occur in a timely way to prevent overages and their 
payback requirements. Overages 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: April 26, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09138 Filed 4-26-18; 4:15 pm]
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