2021-23819. Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer From NC to CT
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Start Preamble
Start Printed Page 60375
AGENCY:
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Notification of quota transfer.
SUMMARY:
NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2021 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of Connecticut. This adjustment to the 2021 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 revised 2021 commercial quotas for North Carolina and Connecticut.
DATES:
Effective October 28, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
Start Further InfoFOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Hansen, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281-9225.
End Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental InformationSUPPLEMENTARY 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 § 648.102 and final 2021 allocations were published on December 21, 2020 (85 FR 82946).
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 Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Regional Administrator has determined these three criteria have been met for the transfer approved in this notification.
North Carolina is transferring 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) to Connecticut through mutual agreement of the states. This transfer was requested so that Connecticut would not exceed its 2021 commercial quota. The revised summer flounder quotas for 2021 are: North Carolina, 2,954,923 lb (1,340,331 kg); and, Connecticut, 599,376 lb (271,872 kg).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempted from review under Executive Order 12866.
Start SignatureDated: October 27, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-23819 Filed 10-28-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
Document Information
- Effective Date:
- 10/28/2021
- Published:
- 11/02/2021
- Department:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Entry Type:
- Rule
- Action:
- Notification of quota transfer.
- Document Number:
- 2021-23819
- Dates:
- Effective October 28, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
- Pages:
- 60375-60375 (1 pages)
- Docket Numbers:
- RTID 0648-XB536
- PDF File:
- 2021-23819.pdf
- Supporting Documents:
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfers from North Carolina to Massachusetts and Virginia to New Jersey
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Scup Fishery; Adjustment to the 2021 Winter II Quota
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer from North Carolina to Connecticut
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfers from Virginia to Connecticut and North Carolina to Rhode Island
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfers from Virginia to Connecticut and North Carolina to Rhode Island; Correction
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer from North Carolina to Virginia
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer from Virginia to Rhode Island
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfers From NC to CT and ME to RI
- » Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Retroactive Quota Transfer from Massachusetts to Connecticut
- CFR: (1)
- 50 CFR 648