72 FR 37 pg. 8287 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer
Type: RULEVolume: 72Number: 37Page: 8287
Docket number: [Docket No. 061020273-7001-03; I.D. 013107C]
FR document: [FR Doc. 07-862 Filed 2-21-07; 2:26 pm]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 061020273-7001-03; I.D. 013107C]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer
AGENCY:
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Temporary rule; inseason quota transfer.
SUMMARY:
NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring 3,914 lb (1,775 kg) of commercial summer flounder quota to the State of New Jersey from its 2007 quota. Bythis action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.
DATES:
Effective February 21, 2007 through December 31, 2007, unless NMFS publishes a superseding document in the Federal Register .
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Douglas Potts, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281-9341, FAX (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery arefound at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among the coastal states from North Carolina through Maine. The process toset the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state are described in § 648.100.
The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, which was published on December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for summer flounder quota to be transferred from one state to another. Two or more states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), can transfer or combine summer floundercommercial quota under § 648.100(d). The Regional Administrator is required to consider the criteria set forth in § 648.100(d)(3) in the evaluation of requests for quota transfers or combinations.
North Carolina has agreed to transfer 3,914 lb (1,775 kg) of its 2007 commercial quota to New Jersey to cover landings of a North Carolina vessel granted safe harbor in New Jersey aftersuffering damage as a result of rough seas. The Regional Administrator has determined that the criteria set forth in § 648.100(d)(3) have been met. The revised quotas for calendar year 2007 are: North Carolina, 2,749,866 lb (1,247,318 kg); and New Jersey, 1,682,017 lb (762,950 kg).
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority:
16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 20, 2007.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 07-862 Filed 2-21-07; 2:26 pm]
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