01-28918. Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for Winter II Period

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Commercial quota harvested for Winter II period.

SUMMARY:

NMFS announces that the scup commercial quota available in the Winter II period to the coastal states from Maine to North Carolina has been harvested. Federally permitted commercial vessels may not land scup in these states for the remainder of the 2001 Winter II quota period (through December 31, 2001). Regulations governing the scup fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina that the quota has been harvested and to advise Federal vessel permit holders and Federal dealer permit holders.

DATES:

Effective 0001 hrs local time, November 20, 2001, through 2400 hrs local time, December 31, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer L. Anderson, Fishery Management Specialist, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the scup fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations require annual specification of a commercial quota that is allocated into three quota periods. The Winter II commercial quota (November through December) is distributed to the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the seasonal allocation is described in § 648.120. -

The total commercial quota for scup for the 2001 calendar year was initially set at 4,444,600 lb (2,016,037 kg)(66 FR 12902; March 1, 2001) and subsequently adjusted downward to 3,495,261 lb (1,585,424 kg) (66 FR 47413; September 12, 2001), to account for 2002 period overages. The Winter II period quota is set at 708,469 lb (321,356 kg). Because there were no commercial overages from the 2000 Winter II period, it was not necessary to adjust the 2001 Winter II period quota. -

Section 648.121 requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor the commercial scup quota for each quota period and, based upon dealer reports, state data, and other available information, to determine when the commercial quota has been harvested. NMFS is required to publish notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying federally permitted commercial vessels and federally permitted dealers that, effective upon a specific date, the scup commercial quota has been harvested. The Regional Administrator has determined, based upon dealer reports and other available information, that the scup commercial quota for the 2001 Winter II period has been harvested. -

The regulations at § 648.4(b) provide that Federal scup moratorium permit holders agree as a condition of the permit not to land scup in any state after NMFS has published a notification in the Federal Register stating that the commercial quota for the period has been harvested and that no commercial quota for scup is available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, November 20, 2001, further landings of scup by vessels holding Federal scup moratorium permits are prohibited through December 31, 2001. The Winter I period for commercial scup harvest will open on January 1, 2002. Effective 0001 hours, November 20, 2001, federally permitted dealers are also advised that they may not purchase scup from federally permitted vessels that land in coastal states from Maine through North Carolina for the remainder of the Winter II period (through December 31, 2001). -

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: November 14, 2001.

Valerie L. Chambers,

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