[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19461-19462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09377]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 180110025-8285-02]
RIN 0648-XG202


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; 2018 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management 
Area

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine 
Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year for 
Limited Access General Category vessels. Vessels subject to this 
closure may not fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the 
Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area through March 31, 2019. 
Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of 
the Limited Access General Category 2018 total allowable catch for the 
Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will be harvested.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, May 2, 2018, through March 31, 
2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 282-8456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reader can find regulations governing 
fishing activity in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop 
Management Area in 50 CFR 648.54 and 648.62. These regulations 
authorize vessels issued a valid federal scallop permit to fish in the 
NGOM Scallop Management Area under specific conditions, including a 
total allowable catch (TAC) of 135,000 lb (61,235 kg) for the Limited 
Access General Category (LAGC) fleet for the 2018 fishing year, and a 
State Waters Exemption Program for the State of Maine and Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM Scallop 
Management Area to be closed to scallop vessels issued federal LAGC 
scallop permits, except as provided below, for the remainder of the 
fishing year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator 
determines that the LAGC TAC for the fishing year is projected to be 
harvested. Any vessel that holds a federal NGOM (category LAGC B) or 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) (LAGC A) permit may continue to fish in 
the Maine or Massachusetts state waters portion of the NGOM Scallop 
Management Area under the State Waters Exemption Program found in Sec.  
648.54 provided it has a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop 
permit and fishes in that states respective waters only.
    Based on trip declarations by federally permitted LAGC scallop 
vessels fishing in the NGOM Scallop Management Area and analysis of 
fishing effort, we project that the 2018 LAGC TAC will be harvested as 
of May 2, 2018. Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  648.62(b)(2), the 
NGOM Scallop Management Area is closed to all federally permitted LAGC 
scallop vessels as of May 2, 2018. As of this date, no vessel issued a 
federal LAGC scallop permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops in 
or from the NGOM Scallop Management Area after 0001 local time, May 2, 
2018, unless the vessel is fishing exclusively in state waters and is 
participating in an approved state waters exemption program as 
specified in Sec.  648.54. Any federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel 
that has declared into the NGOM Scallop Management Area, complied with 
all trip notification and observer requirements, and crossed the VMS 
demarcation line on the way to the area before 0001, May 2, 2018, may 
complete its trip and land scallops. This closure is in effect until 
the end of the 2018 scallop fishing year, through March 31, 2019. This 
closure does not apply to the Limited Access (LA) scallop fleet, which 
was allocated a separate TAC of 65,000 lb (29, 484 kg) for the 2018 
fishing year under Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery Management Plan. Vessels that are participating in the 2018 
scallop Research Set-Aside Program and have been issued letters of 
authorization to conduct compensation fishing activities will harvest 
the 2018 LA TAC.

[[Page 19462]]

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 and impracticable. The NGOM Scallop Management Area 
opened for the 2018 fishing year on April 1, 2018. The regulations at 
Sec.  648.60(b)(2) require this closure to ensure that federally 
permitted scallop vessels do not harvest more than the allocated LAGC 
TAC for the NGOM Scallop Management Area. NMFS can only make 
projections for the NGOM closure date as trips into the area occur on a 
real-time basis and as activity trends appear. As a result, NMFS can 
typically make an accurate projection only shortly before the TAC is 
harvested. A rapid harvest rate, that has occurred in the last two 
weeks, makes it more difficult to project a closure well in advance. To 
allow federally permitted LAGC scallop vessels to continue to take 
trips in the NGOM Scallop Management Area during the period necessary 
to publish and receive comments on a proposed rule would result in 
vessels harvesting more than the 2018 LAGC TAC for the NGOM Scallop 
Management Area. This would result in excessive fishing effort in the 
area thereby undermining conservation objectives of the Atlantic Sea 
Scallop Fishery Management Plan and requiring more restrictive future 
management measures to make up for the excessive harvest. Also, the 
public had prior notice and full opportunity to comment on this closure 
process when we put the NGOM management provisions in place on April 1, 
2018 (83 FR 12857). NMFS also 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: April 30, 2018.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09377 Filed 4-30-18; 4:15 pm]
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