[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 66160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27845]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 151215999-6960-02]
RIN 0648-XG691
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; 2018 River Herring and Shad Catch Cap Reached for Midwater
Trawl Vessels in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is reducing the Atlantic herring possession limit for
vessels fishing with midwater trawl gear in the Cape Cod Catch Cap
Closure Area, based on a projection that the prescribed catch cap for
that area has been reached. This action is necessary to comply with the
regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan
and is intended to limit the harvest of river herring and shad in the
Cape Cod Catch Cap Area.
DATES: Effective 00:01 hr local time, December 21, 2018, through
December 31, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Luers, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 282-8457.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the Atlantic herring
fishery can be found at 50 CFR part 648, including requirements for
setting annual catch cap allocations for river herring and shad. NMFS
set the 2018 catch cap in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area at 32.4 mt. NMFS
established this value in the 2016 through 2018 herring specifications
(81 FR 75731, November 1, 2016).
The NMFS Administrator of the Greater Atlantic Region (Regional
Administrator) monitors the herring fishery in each of the catch cap
areas based on vessel and dealer reports, state data, and other
available information. The regulations at Sec. 648.201 require that
when the Regional Administrator projects that river herring and shad
catch will reach 95 percent of a catch cap for vessels fishing with a
specific gear type in a specified catch cap area, NMFS must prohibit,
through notification in the Federal Register, vessels fishing with that
gear type from fishing for, catching, possessing, transferring,
receiving, or landing more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip
or calendar day in or from that specified catch cap closure area for
the remainder of the fishing year.
The Regional Administrator has determined, based on dealer reports
and other available information, that herring midwater trawl vessels
will have caught 95 percent of the river herring and shad catch cap
allocated to that gear type in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area by December
21, 2018. Therefore, effective 00:01 hr local time, December 21, 2018,
through December 31, 2018, vessels fishing with midwater trawl gear may
not fish for, catch, possess, transfer, or land more than 2,000 lb
(907.2 kg) of herring per trip or calendar day, in or from the Cape Cod
Catch Cap Closure Area. Midwater trawl vessels that have entered port
before 00:01 hr local time, December 21, 2018, may land and sell more
than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring from the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure
Area from that trip. Midwater trawl vessels may transit through the
Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of
herring on board, provided all herring in excess of 2,000 lb (907.2 kg)
was caught outside of this area and all fishing gear is stowed and not
available for immediate use as defined by 50 CFR 648.2.
This action also prohibits federally permitted dealers from
purchasing herring from federally permitted herring vessels that used
midwater trawl gear to harvest more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring
from the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area through 24:00 hr local time,
December 31, 2018, unless the vessel enters port before 00:01 local
time on December 21, 2018.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
NMFS 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. Further, in
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), NMFS finds good cause to waive the
30-day delayed effectiveness. NMFS is required by Federal regulation to
immediately put in place a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) herring trip limit for
Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area through December 31, 2018. This action
restricts the catch of herring in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area
for the remainder of the fishing year. Once data become available
projecting 95 percent of the river herring/shad quota will be caught,
regulations at Sec. 648.201(a)(4)(ii) require NMFS to implement a
2,000-lb (907.2-kg) herring trip and calendar day possession limit to
ensure that herring vessels fishing with midwater trawl gear do not
exceed the quota allocated to that gear type in the Cape Cod Catch Cap
Area. Federally permitted dealers are also prohibited from purchasing
herring from vessels that used midwater trawl gear to harvest more than
2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring from the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure
Area. High-volume catch and landings in this fishery increase catch
totals relative to catch caps quickly. If implementation of this
closure is delayed to solicit prior public comment, the midwater trawl
catch cap for the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area for this fishing year
will likely be exceeded, thereby undermining the conservation
objectives of the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The public
expects these actions to occur in a timely way consistent with the
fishery management plan's objectives.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 19, 2018.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-27845 Filed 12-19-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P