[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27906-27907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-12935]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 625
[Docket No. 950206038-5038-01; I.D. 051595E]
Summer Flounder Fishery; Adjustments to 1995 State Quotas
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of commercial quota adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces adjustments to the commercial quota for the
1995 summer flounder fishery. This action complies with regulations
implementing the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder
Fishery (FMP), which require that annual quota overages landed in any
state be deducted from that state's quota for the following year. The
public is advised that a quota adjustment has been made and is informed
of the revised state quotas. The Director, Northeast Region, NMFS
(Regional Director), has also determined that there is no Federal
summer flounder quota available for those coastal states that did not
receive a portion of the annual commercial summer flounder quota.
Vessels issued a Federal moratorium permit for the summer flounder
fishery may not land summer flounder in these states.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1995.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah Goodale, 508-281-9101.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing Amendment 2 to the
FMP are found at 50 CFR part 625 (57 FR 57358, December 4, 1992). The
regulations require annual specification of a commercial quota that is
apportioned among the Atlantic coastal states from North Carolina
through Maine. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the
percent allocated to each state is described in Sec. 625.20. The
commercial summer flounder quota for the 1995 calendar year, adopted to
ensure achievement of the appropriate fishing mortality rate of 0.53
for 1995, is set to equal 14,690,407 lb (6.7 million kg) (60 FR 8958,
February 16, 1995).
Section 625.20(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 will be deducted from that
state's annual quota for the following year. Based on dealer reports
and other available information, NMFS has determined that the States of
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have exceeded their 1994 quota by 17,707
lb (8.8 kg) and 60,670 lb (27.4 kg), respectively. The remaining States
of Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Delaware,
Maryland, and North Carolina did not exceed their 1994 quotas. A
complete summary of quota adjustments for 1995 is in Table 1.
The Commonwealth of Virginia collects landings data from the summer
flounder fishery conducted in its waters, and the landings for the
fourth quarter of 1994 have not yet been compiled. If those final
figures result in landings in excess of the 1994 quota, a further
adjustment will be required and a notification will be published in the
Federal Register. [[Page 27907]]
Table 1--Adjusted 1995 Commercial Quota for the Summer Flounder Fishery
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Initial Adjusted 1995 quota
1994 1994 1994 1995 -------------------------
quota(lb) landings(lb) overage(lb) quota(lb) (lb) (kg)
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ME............................... 7,463 4,857 ........... 6,987 6,987 3,169
NH............................... 74 ............ ........... 67 67 30
MA............................... 1,031,194 1,048,901 17,707 1,001,953 984,246 446,446
RI............................... 2,510,149 2,570,819 60,670 2,303,894 2,243,224 1,017,526
CT............................... 384,247 370,413 ........... 331,574 331,574 150,399
NY............................... 1,423,943 1,270,012 ........... 1,123,374 1,123,374 509,554
NJ............................... 2,510,745 2,413,761 ........... 2,456,969 2,456,969 1,114,462
DE............................... 4,681 3,635 ........... 2,614 2,614 1,186
MD............................... 273,117 160,380 ........... 299,551 299,551 135,874
VA............................... 3,240,192 3,100,801 ........... 3,131,519 3,131,519 1,420,433
NC............................... 4,216,993 3,571,188 ........... 4,031,905 4,031,905 1,828,841
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This notification also announces the Regional Director's
determination that no quota is available for those coastal states that
did not receive a distribution from the annual commercial summer
flounder quota. The Regional Director's determination triggers the
summer flounder moratorium permit condition that owners of federally
permitted vessel agree not to land summer flounder in any state that
did not receive any part of the annual commercial summer flounder
quota. The purpose of this condition is to aid in maintaining the
integrity of the overall quota, which is set to achieve a specific
mortality reduction goal, as state quotas are filled.
Historically, measurable landings of summer flounder have occurred
only in those coastal states from North Carolina northward to Maine.
These are the states that have received distributions from the annual
commercial summer flounder quota. Recent reports, however, indicate
that harvesters intend to land summer flounder in other states, such as
South Carolina, in response to the closures of Virginia and North
Carolina to landings of summer flounder. States other than those
specified in Table 1 do not have any available summer flounder quota
because they did not receive a share of the annual commercial quota.
Therefore, vessels with a Federal summer flounder moratorium permit may
not land summer flounder in these states.
This notification serves to trigger the permit condition that
prevents vessels that are issued a Federal summer flounder moratorium
permit from landing summer flounder in any state that has no commercial
summer flounder quota.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 625 and is exempt from
review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 22, 1995.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-12935 Filed 5-22-95; 4:58 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W
