59550 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 031015257–3308–02 ; I.D. 

092804B]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog Fishery; Suspension of 

Minimum Surfclam Size for 2005

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of suspension of 

surfclam minimum size limit.

SUMMARY: NMFS suspends the 

minimum size limit of 4.75 inches 

(12.07 cm) for Atlantic surfclams for the 

2005 fishing year. This action is taken 

under the authority of the implementing 

regulations for this fishery, which allow 

for the annual suspension of the 

minimum size limit based upon set 

criteria. The intended effect is to relieve 

the industry from a regulatory burden 

that is not necessary, as the majority of 

surfclams harvested are larger than the 

minimum size limit.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2005, 

through December 31, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brian R. Hooker, Policy Analyst, 978–

281–9220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

648.72(c) of the regulations 

implementing the Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) for the Atlantic Surfclam 

and Ocean Quahog Fisheries allows the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) to suspend 

annually, by publication of a 

notification in the Federal Register, the 

minimum size limit for Atlantic 

surfclams. This action may be taken 

unless discard, catch, and survey data 

indicate that 30 percent of the Atlantic 

surfclam resource is smaller than 4.75 

inches (12.07 cm) and the overall 

reduced size is not attributable to 

harvest from beds where growth of the 

individual clams has been reduced 

because of density-dependent factors.

At its June 2004, meeting, the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council) voted to recommend that the 

Regional Administrator suspend the 

minimum size limit for the 2005, 2006, 

and 2007 fishing years. In accordance 

with the provisions of the FMP the 

Regional Administrator will publish the 

suspension of the surfclam minimum 

size annually for fishing years 2005–

2007 if the proportion of undersized 

surfclams is under 30 percent of the 

total surfclam landings for each fishing 

year. The Council will also continue to 

review these specifications annually 

and may modify these specifications, if 

necessary. Commercial surfclam shell 

length data for 2004 were analyzed to 

determine the percentage of surfclams 

landed that were smaller than the 

minimum size requirement. The 

analysis indicated that 0.7 percent of the 

samples taken overall were composed of 

surfclams that were less than 4.75 

inches (12.07 cm). Based on these data, 

the Regional Administrator adopts the 

Council’s recommendation and 

suspends the minimum size limit for 

Atlantic surfclams from January 1, 2005, 

through December 31, 2005.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: September 28, 2004.

Alan D. Risenhoover,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–22342 Filed 10–4–04; 8:45 am]

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