[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 59588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23966]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[RTID 0648-XX020]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer From NC to RI and VA

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

ACTION: Notification of quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is 
transferring a portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to 
the State of Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Virginia. This quota 
adjustment is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 
Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This 
announcement informs the public of the revised commercial quotas for 
North Carolina, Virginia, and Rhode Island.

DATES: Effective November 4, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.110. These regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
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 and final 2019 allocations were 
published on May 17, 2019 (84 FR 22392).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder 
Fishery Management Plan, as published in the Federal Register on 
December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for transferring 
summer flounder commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more 
states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS 
Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, can transfer or combine summer 
flounder commercial quota under Sec.  648.102(c)(2). The Regional 
Administrator is required to consider three criteria in the evaluation 
of requests for quota transfers or combinations: The transfer or 
combinations would preclude the overall annual quota from being fully 
harvested, the transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or 
contingency in the fishery, and the transfer is consistent with the 
objectives of the GMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    North Carolina is transferring 23,481 lb (10,651 kg) and 7,706 lb 
(3,495 kg) of summer flounder commercial quota to Rhode Island and 
Virginia, respectively, through mutual agreement of the states. These 
transfers were requested to repay landings made by North Carolina-
permitted vessels in Rhode Island and Virginia under safe harbor 
agreements. Based on the revised Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 
Bass Specifications, the revised summer flounder quotas for fishing 
year 2019 are now: North Carolina, 2,926,555 lb (1,327,463 kg); Rhode 
Island, 1,745,943 lb (9,1946 kg); and Virginia, 2,398,416 lb (1,087,903 
kg).

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: October 29, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-23966 Filed 11-4-19; 8:45 am]
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