[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23227-23230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11241]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 971015246-7293-02; I.D. 041398A]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder and
Scup Fisheries; Readjustments to 1998 Quotas; Commercial Summer Period
Scup Quota Harvested for Maryland
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment, notice of commercial quota
harvest.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification announcing adjustments to the
1998 summer flounder commercial state quotas and the 1998 scup Summer
period state quotas. This action complies with regulations implementing
the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black
Sea Bass Fisheries (FMP), which require that landings in excess of a
state's annual summer flounder commercial quota and Summer period scup
commercial quota be deducted from a state's respective quota the
following year. The public is advised that quota adjustments have been
made, and is informed of the revised quotas for the affected states.
DATES: Effective April 23, 1998, through December 31, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy
Analyst, 978-281-9221.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Summer Flounder
Regulations implementing summer flounder management measures are
found at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and G. The regulations require
annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among
the Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The
process to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to
each state are described in Sec. 648.100. The final specifications for
the 1998 summer flounder fishery, adopted to ensure achievement of a
fishing mortality rate (F) of 0.24 for 1998, set a commercial quota
equal to 11,105,636 lb (5.0 million kg) (62 FR 66304, December 18,
1997).
Section 648.100(d)(2) provides that all landings for sale in a
state shall be applied against that state's annual commercial quota.
Any landings in excess of the state's quota must be deducted from that
state's annual quota for the following year. NMFS published a
preliminary adjustment to the states' annual quotas on January 23, 1998
(63 FR 3478), that deducted for state overages in the 1997 fishery.
When those data were presented, NMFS noted that the data used in making
the adjustments were preliminary, and if additional data became
available that altered the figures, an additional adjustment would be
necessary. Since that time, additional data have been submitted by
state fisheries agencies and federally permitted dealers who submitted
late reports. Additional landings were reported as the result of NMFS
Law Enforcement investigations. Further Law Enforcement investigations
are ongoing and a resulting quota adjustment from those investigations
will be published if necessary.
Based on dealer reports and other available information, NMFS has
determined that the States of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New
York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina exceeded their
1997 quotas. The remaining States of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New
Hampshire did not exceed their 1997 quotas. This finding differs from
that noted in the notice of preliminary quota adjustment, published on
January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478). At that time, Connecticut and Virginia
did not appear to have exceeded their 1997 quotas.
The final 1997 landings and overages for all states and how those
landings compare with the 1997 landings originally reported in the
January notice are given in Table 1. This table illustrates that, in
the following states, the revised 1997 landings resulted in additional
overage to a state's quota: Massachusetts, New York, Delaware,
Maryland, and North Carolina. There was no change to the data reported
in Maine and New Hampshire. In the State of Rhode Island, revised
landings are fewer than what were originally reported. The State of New
Jersey showed additional landings, but those data still did not result
in an overage for that State. Based on the revised data, the State of
Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Virginia changed from a no-overage
status to an overage. The revised 1998 commercial summer flounder quota
for each state is given in Table 2. While this action adjusts the final
quotas allocated to the states, it does not alter the notification of
commercial quota harvest in the State of Delaware as indicated in that
January notice.
Table 1.--Summer Flounder Final 1997 Commercial Landings Compared to the Preliminary 1997 Landings, by State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 quota \1\ Preliminary 1997 Final 1997 landings Final 1997 overage
-------------------------------- landings \2\ ---------------------------------------------------
State 1997 --------------------------
Lb (Kg) \3\ Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME........................................ 2,342 1,062 2,835 1,286 2,835 1,286 493 224
NH........................................ 51 23 0 0 0 0 0 0
MA........................................ 709,229 321,701 745,105 337,974 745,171 338,004 35,942 16,303
RI........................................ 1,596,443 724,134 1,584,641 718,781 1,557,867 706,637 0 0
CT........................................ 246,924 120,031 246,924 112,003 247,258 112,154 334 151
NY........................................ 754,343 342,164 814,027 369,236 815.741 370,014 61,398 27,850
NJ........................................ 1,323,474 600,318 1,316,837 597,307 1,319,446 598,491 0 0
DE........................................ \4\ (5,662) (2,568) 4,393 1,993 5,187 2,353 10,849 4,921
MD........................................ 188,254 85,391 203,961 92,515 214,948 97,499 26,694 12,108
VA........................................ 2,294,793 1,040,901 2,253,809 1,022,311 2,305,985 1,045,977 11,192 5,077
[[Page 23228]]
NC........................................ 1,273,605 577,698 1,455,212 660,073 1,673,345 759,017 399,740 181,319
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Total................................. 8,383,796 3,802,826 8,627,744 3,913,479 8,887,783 4,031,431 546,642 247,953
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\1\ 1997 quota as published December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).
\2\ 1997 landings data as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.
Table 2.--Summer Flounder Final 1998 Quotas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unadjusted 1998 quota \1\ Preliminary adjusted 1998 Final readjusted 1998 quota
-------------------------------- quota \2\ -------------------------------
State --------------------------------
lb (Kg) \3\ lb (Kg) lb (Kg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME...................................................... 5,284 2,397 4,791 2,173 4,791 2,173
NH...................................................... 51 23 51 23 51 23
MA...................................................... 757,841 343,751 721,965 327,478 721,899 327,448
RI...................................................... 1,742,583 790,422 1,742,583 790,422 1,742,583 790,422
CT...................................................... 250,791 113,757 250,791 113,757 250,457 113,605
NY...................................................... 849,680 385,408 789,996 358,336 788,282 357,559
NJ...................................................... 1,858,363 842,939 1,858,363 842,939 1,858,363 842,939
DE...................................................... \4\ (3,685) (1,671) (13,740) (6,232) (14,534) (6,593)
MD...................................................... 226,570 102,770 210,863 95,646 199,876 90,662
VA...................................................... 2,368,569 1,074,365 2,368,569 1,074,365 2,357,377 1,069,288
NC...................................................... 3,049,589 1,383,270 2,867,982 1,300,895 2,649,849 1,201,951
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Total............................................... 11,105,636 5,037,432 10,802,214 4,899,802 10,558,994 4,789,479
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\1\ As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 6304).
\2\ As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.
Scup
Regulations implementing scup management measures are found at 50
CFR part 648, subparts A and H. The regulations require annual
specification of a commercial quota that is allocated into three
periods: Winter I, Summer, and Winter II. During Winter I and Winter II
periods, the commercial quota is distributed to the coastal states from
Maine through North Carolina on a coastwide basis. During the Summer
period, the commercial quota is apportioned among the Atlantic coastal
states from Maine through North Carolina. The process to set the annual
commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state during the
Summer period is described in Sec. 648.120. The final specifications
for the 1998 scup fishery, adopted to ensure achievement in 1998 of a
target exploitation rate of 47 percent, the rate associated with
F=0.72, set a commercial quota equal to 4,572,000 lb (2.07 million kg)
(62 FR 66304, December 18, 1997).
The 1997 Winter I and Winter II period landings are shown in Table
3.--Landings did not exceed the allowable quota for either period.
Therefore, no deductions from those periods are necessary.
Table 3. Final 1997 Winter Period Commercial Scup Landings
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 quota 1997 landings 1997 overage
Period -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I.......................... 2,706,000 1,227,693 2,046,701 928,368 0 0
Winter II......................... 956,400 433,816 569,412 258,281 0 0
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Section 648.120(d)(4) provides that all scup landed for sale in a
state during the Summer period shall be applied against that state's
summer commercial quota, regardless of where the scup were harvested.
Section 648.120(d)(6) provides that any overages of the commercial
quota landed in any state during the Summer period will be deducted
from that state's Summer period quota for the following year. When the
data were presented in the January notice, NMFS noted that the data
used in making the adjustments were preliminary, and, if additional
data became available that altered the figures, an additional
adjustment would be necessary. Since that time, additional data have
been submitted by state fisheries agencies and federally permitted
dealers who submitted late reports.
Based on dealer reports and other available information, NMFS has
[[Page 23229]]
determined that the States of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland
have exceeded their 1997 Summer period quota for scup. The remaining
States of Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Virginia, and North Carolina did not exceed their 1997 Summer period
quotas. This finding differs from that noted in the notice of
preliminary quota adjustment. At that time, Delaware and Maryland did
not appear to have exceeded their 1997 Summer period quotas. But
Massachusetts and North Carolina appeared to have exceeded theirs.
The revised 1997 Summer period landings for all states and how
those landings compare with the 1997 landings originally reported in
the January notice are given in Table 4. This table illustrates that,
in the States of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland, the revised
1997 landings resulted in overage or additional overage to a state's
quota. There was no change to the data reported in Maine and New
Hampshire. In the States of Rhode Island and North Carolina, the
revised landings are less than what was originally reported. The States
of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia showed additional
landings, but those data did not result in overages for those States.
The revised 1998 commercial Summer period scup quota for each state
is given in Table 5. While this action adjusts the final Summer period
quotas allocated to the states, it does not alter the notification of
commercial quota harvest in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as
indicated in that January notice or in the State of Delaware as
indicated in the final specifications. However, this notice does
eliminate the overage and subsequent reduction of Summer period quota
in the State of North Carolina.
Section 648.121(b) requires the Administrator, Northeast Region,
NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor the Summer period state
commercial quotas and to determine the date when a state's commercial
quota is harvested. NMFS is required to publish notification in the
Federal Register advising a state and notifying vessel and dealer
permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, a state's Summer
period commercial scup quota has been harvested and that no Summer
period commercial quota is available for landing scup for the remainder
of the period.
Since this adjustment reduces the 1998 Maryland Summer period
commercial quota allocation from 229 lb (104 kg) to -635 lb (-288 kg),
this document also announces that the Summer period quota available to
Maryland has been harvested and that no commercial quota is available
for landings during the 1998 Summer period.
The regulations at Sec. 648.4(b) provide that Federal scup
commercial permit holders agree as a condition of the permit not to
land scup in any state that the Regional Administrator has determined
no longer has commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001
hours May 1, 1998, until 2400 hours, October 31, 1998, landings of scup
in Maryland by vessels holding Federal commercial scup fisheries
permits are prohibited, unless additional quota becomes available
through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. Federally
permitted dealers are also advised that they may not purchase scup from
federally permitted scup vessels that land in Maryland for the Summer
period or until additional quota becomes available through a transfer.
Table 4.--Scup Final 1997 Summer Period Commercial Landings Compared to the Preliminary 1997 Landings, by State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997 quota Preliminary 1997 Final 1997 landings Final 1997 overage
------------------------ landings \1\ -----------------------------------------------
State ------------------------
Lb (Kg) \2\ lb (Kg) lb (Kg) lb (Kg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME...................................................... 3,048 1,383 0 0 0 0 0 0
NH...................................................... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MA...................................................... 362,029 164,214 1,428,183 647,813 1,486,630 674,324 1,124,601 510,110
RI...................................................... 1,415,425 642,026 398,880 180,929 353,735 160,451 0 0
CT...................................................... 79,431 36,029 40,858 18,533 65,642 29,775 0 0
NY...................................................... 398,527 180,769 221,320 100,389 307,159 139,325 0 0
NJ...................................................... 73,453 33,318 2,056 933 2,181 989 0 0
DE...................................................... 0 0 0 0 51 23 51 23
MD...................................................... 301 137 162 73 1,165 528 864 392
VA...................................................... 4,157 1,886 148 67 354 161 0 0
NC...................................................... 628 285 888 403 575 261 0 0
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Total............................................... 2,337,000 1,060,045 2,092,495 949,140 2,217,492 1,005,837 1,125,516 510,525
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\1\ Original 1997 Summer period landings data, as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).
\2\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
Table 5.--Final Readjusted 1998 Summer Period Quotas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unadjusted 1998 quota Preliminary adjusted 1998 Final readjusted 1998
------------\1\----------- quotas \2\ quotas
State ---------------------------------------------------------
Lb (Kg) \3\ Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME.......................... 2,322 1,053 2,322 1,053 2,322 1,053
NH.......................... 1 0 1 0 1 0
MA.......................... 275,866 125,131 \4\ (790,288) (358,469) (848,735) (384,980)
RI.......................... 1,078,554 489,224 1,078,554 489,224 1,078,554 489,224
CT.......................... 60,526 27,454 60,526 27,454 60,526 27,454
NY.......................... 303,678 137,746 303,678 137,746 303,678 137,746
NJ.......................... 55,972 25,388 55,972 25,388 55,972 25,388
[[Page 23230]]
DE.......................... 0 0 0 0 (51) (23)
MD.......................... 229 104 229 104 (635) (288)
VA.......................... 3,167 1,437 3,167 1,437 3,167 1,437
NC.......................... 479 217 219 99 479 217
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Total................... 1,780,794 807,755 714,380 324,037 655,278 297,252
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\1\ As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).
\2\ As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 23, 1998.
George H. Darcy,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-11241 Filed 4-23-98; 2:23 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
