[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67142-67143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28215]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 170828822-70999-02]
RIN 0648-XG692
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; 2018 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.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 2018 summer flounder commercial quota
allocated to the state of Rhode Island has been harvested. Vessels
issued a commercial Federal permit for the summer flounder fishery may
not land summer flounder in Rhode Island for the remainder of calendar
year 2018, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer
from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery
require publication of this notice to advise Rhode Island that the
quota has been harvested, and to advise vessel and dealer permit
holders that no Federal commercial quota is available to land summer
flounder in Rhode Island.
DATES: Effective 0001 hours, December 29, 2018, through December 31,
2018.
[[Page 67143]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, (978) 281-9180, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart G. 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 overall 2018 summer flounder commercial quota is 6,436,120 lb
(2,919,375 kg) (83 FR 4165, January 30, 2018). The percent allocated to
vessels landing summer flounder in Rhode Island is 15.68 percent,
resulting in an initial state commercial quota of 1,009,375 lb (457,845
kg). Rhode Island's initial 2018 commercial quota was reduced to
996,373 lb (451,947 kg) due to a 2017 quota overage of 13,002 lb (5,898
kg). Rhode Island has received one quota transfer of 5,008 lb (2,272
kg) from North Carolina on February 6, 2018 (83 FR 5735), bringing its
2018 commercial quota to 1,001,381 lb (454,219 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 notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying
Federally permitted commercial vessels and dealers that, effective upon
a specific date, the state's commercial quota has been harvested and no
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in that
state. The Regional Administrator has determined, based upon dealer
reports and other available information, that the 2018 Rhode Island
commercial summer flounder quota will be harvested by December 29,
2018.
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, December 29, 2018,
landings of summer flounder are prohibited in Rhode Island by vessels
holding Federal summer flounder commercial fisheries permits for the
remainder of the 2018 calendar year, unless additional quota becomes
available through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register.
Effective 0001 hours, December 29, 2018, 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.
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
under 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, 2019. 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 would be exceeded, thereby undermining the conservation
objectives of the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 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: December 21, 2018.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-28215 Filed 12-21-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P