[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 214 (Friday, November 7, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50490-50491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19810]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 241203-0308; RTID 0648-XF320]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; 2025 Commercial Quota Harvested for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 2025 summer flounder commercial quota
allocated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been harvested.
Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer
flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the
remainder of calendar year 2025, unless additional quota becomes
available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing
the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to
advise Massachusetts that the quota has been harvested, and to advise
vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in
Massachusetts.
DATES: Effective 0001 hours November 7, 2025, through December 31,
2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Rigdon, (978) 281-9336, or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder
fishery are found at 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.111. 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 commercial quota for summer flounder for 2025 was set equal to
8,761,471 pounds (lb; 3,974,136 kilograms (kg)) (89 FR 99138, December
10, 2024). The amount allocated to vessels landing summer flounder in
Massachusetts is 571,147 lb (259,068 kg). Massachusetts received a
commercial summer flounder quota transfer of 23,702 lb (10,751 kg) (90
FR 45154, September 19, 2025), from North Carolina. Massachusetts
transferred 609 lb (276 kg) (90 FR 46528, September 29, 2025) of
commercial summer flounder quota to Rhode Island, resulting in a
revised commercial summer flounder quota for Massachusetts of 594,240
lb (269,543 kg).
The NMFS Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region
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 commercial
vessels and dealer permit holders 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. Based on dealer
reports and other available information, the Regional Administrator has
determined that the available quota has been harvested. The
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed the state fishery on
October 25, 2025, and this action promotes consistency between state
and Federal management measures.
The regulations at 50 CFR 648.14(n) prohibit Federally permitted
vessels from landing summer flounder for sale in a state, and prohibit
all persons from purchasing or otherwise receiving
[[Page 50491]]
summer flounder for a commercial purpose after the effective date
published in the Federal Register notification that commercial quota is
no longer available in that state. Therefore, effective 0001 hours on
November 7, 2025, landings of summer flounder in Massachusetts by
vessels holding Federal summer flounder commercial fishery permits are
prohibited for the remainder of the 2025 calendar year, unless
additional quota becomes available through a transfer and is announced
in the Federal Register. Effective 0001 hours on November 7, 2025,
federally permitted dealers are also notified that they may not
purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land in
Massachusetts for the remainder of the calendar year, or until
additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another
state.
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. This action closes the commercial summer flounder
fishery for Massachusetts until January 1, 2026, under current
regulations. The regulations at 50 CFR 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 will 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: November 5, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-19810 Filed 11-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P