2020-01083. Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer From VA to NY  

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    AGENCY:

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

    ACTION:

    Notification of quota transfer.

    SUMMARY:

    NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia is transferring a portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of New York. This retroactive adjustment to the 2019 fishing year quota 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 retroactively revised 2019 commercial quotas for Virginia and New York.

    DATES:

    Effective January 17, 2020, until December 31, 2020.

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    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Laura Hansen, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281-9225.

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    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 Start Printed Page 3856state is described in § 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 (FMP), 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 § 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 not 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 FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Regional Administrator has determined these three criteria have been met for the transfer approved in this notice.

    Virginia is transferring 8,787 lb (3,986 kg) of 2019 summer flounder commercial quota to New York. This transfer was requested to repay 2019 landings made by a Virginia-permitted vessel in New York under a safe harbor agreement. The transfer will retroactively apply to the state's 2019 summer flounder quota. Based on the revised 2019 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications, the summer flounder quotas for 2019 are now: Virginia, 2,397,129 lb (1,087,319 kg); and, New York, 848,656 lb (384,943 kg). Given the time of the request, we were unable to process the transfer before the end of the 2019 fishing year that ended on December 31, 2019. The revised quotas will be used to calculate overages for the 2019 fishing year and adjust, as needed, 2020 summer flounder quotas.

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

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    Dated: January 16, 2020.

    Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz,

    Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

    End Signature End Supplemental Information

    [FR Doc. 2020-01083 Filed 1-17-20; 4:15 pm]

    BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

Document Information

Effective Date:
1/17/2020
Published:
01/23/2020
Department:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Notification of quota transfer.
Document Number:
2020-01083
Dates:
Effective January 17, 2020, until December 31, 2020.
Pages:
3855-3856 (2 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 190312234-9412-01
PDF File:
2020-01083.Pdf
Supporting Documents:
» Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska: Inseason Adjustment to the 2021 Gulf of Alaska Pollock and Pacific Cod Total Allowable Catch Amounts
» Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications
» Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; Quota Transfer from MD to NC
» Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan; Correction
» Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic: Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Headboats in Atlantic Fisheries
» Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Illex Squid Fishery; Revised 2020 Illex Squid Specifications
» Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic: Electronic Reporting for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Headboats in Gulf of Mexico Fisheries
» Pacific Halibut Fisheries: Catch Sharing Plan
» Vessel Monitoring Systems: Requirements for Type-Approval of Cellular Transceiver Units
» Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Incidental to the U.S. Navy Training and Testing Activities in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Study Area
CFR: (1)
50 CFR 648