67142 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness. 

This action is being taken under 

§ 635.27(a)(9) (Inseason adjustments), 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: December 21, 2018. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28336 Filed 12–21–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 180202111–8353–02] 

RIN 0648–XG690 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 

Closure of the Mid-Atlantic Scallop 

Access Area to General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota Scallop 

Vessels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area is 

closed to Limited Access General 

Category Individual Fishing Quota 

scallop vessels for the remainder of the 

2018 fishing year. No vessel issued a 

Limited Access General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota permit may 

fish for, possess, or land scallops from 

the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area. 

Regulations require this action once it is 

projected that 100 percent of trips 

allocated to the Limited Access General 

Category Individual Fishing Quota 

scallop vessels for the Mid-Atlantic 

Scallop Access Area will be taken. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, 

December 24, 2018, through March 31, 

2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 282–8456. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing fishing activity in 

the Sea Scallop Access Areas can be 

found in 50 CFR 648.59 and 648.60. 

These regulations authorize vessels 

issued a valid Limited Access General 

Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing 

Quota (IFQ) scallop permit to fish in the 

Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area under 

specific conditions, including a total of 

1,142 trips that may be taken during the 

2018 fishing year. Section 

648.59(g)(3)(iii) requires the MidAtlantic Scallop Access Area to be 

closed to LAGC IFQ permitted vessels 

for the remainder of the fishing year 

once the NMFS Greater Atlantic 

Regional Administrator determines that 

the allocated number of trips for fishing 

year 2018 are projected to be taken. 

Based on trip declarations by LAGC 

IFQ scallop vessels fishing in the MidAtlantic Scallop Access Area, analysis 

of fishing effort, and other information, 

NMFS projects that 1,142 trips will be 

taken as of December 24, 2018. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 648.59(g)(3)(iii), NMFS is closing the 

Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area to all 

LAGC IFQ scallop vessels as of 

December 24, 2018. No vessel issued an 

LAGC IFQ permit may fish for, possess, 

or land scallops in or from the MidAtlantic Scallop Access Area after 0001 

local time, December 24, 2018. Any 

LAGC IFQ vessel that has declared into 

the Mid-Atlantic Access Area scallop 

fishery, complied with all trip 

notification and observer requirements, 

and crossed the VMS demarcation line 

on the way to the area before 0001, 

December 24, 2018, may complete its 

trip without being subject to this 

closure. This closure is in effect for the 

remainder of the 2018 scallop fishing 

year, through March 31, 2019. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. NMFS finds 

good cause under to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) 

to waive prior notice and the 

opportunity for public comment 

because it would be contrary to the 

public interest and impracticable. The 

Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area 

opened for the 2018 fishing year on 

April 19, 2018. The regulations at 

§ 648.59(g)(3)(iii) require this closure to 

ensure that LAGC IFQ scallop vessels do 

not take more than their allocated 

number of trips in the area. The 

projected date on which the LAGC IFQ 

fleet will have taken all of its allocated 

trips in an Access Area becomes 

apparent only as trips into the area 

occur on a real-time basis and as activity 

trends begin to appear. As a result, 

NMFS can only make an accurate 

projection very close in time to when 

the fleet has taken all of its trips. To 

allow LAGC IFQ scallop vessels to 

continue to take trips in the MidAtlantic Scallop Access Area during the 

period necessary to publish and receive 

comments on a proposed rule would 

likely result in the vessels taking much 

more than the allowed number of trips 

in the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access 

Area. Excessive trips and harvest from 

the Mid-Atlantic Scallop Access Area 

would result in excessive fishing effort 

in the area, where effort controls are 

critical, thereby undermining 

conservation objectives of the Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan 

and requiring more restrictive future 

management measures. Also, the public 

had prior notice and full opportunity to 

comment on this closure process when 

it was enacted For these same reasons, 

NMFS further finds, under to 5 U.S.C 

553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30- 

day delayed effectiveness period. 

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

Dated: December 21, 2018. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28247 Filed 12–21–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 170828822–70999–02] 

RIN 0648–XG692 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

2018 Commercial Quota Harvested for 

the State of Rhode Island 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

2018 summer flounder commercial 

quota allocated to the state of Rhode 

Island has been harvested. Vessels 

issued a commercial Federal permit for 

the summer flounder fishery may not 

land summer flounder in Rhode Island 

for the remainder of calendar year 2018, 

unless additional quota becomes 

available through a transfer from 

another state. Regulations governing the 

summer flounder fishery require 

publication of this notice to advise 

Rhode Island that the quota has been 

harvested, and to advise vessel and 

dealer permit holders that no Federal 

commercial quota is available to land 

summer flounder in Rhode Island. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, December 

29, 2018, through December 31, 2018. 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 248 / Friday, December 28, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 67143 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Ferrio, (978) 281–9180, or 

Cynthia.Ferrio@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

part 648, subpart G. The regulations 

require annual specification of a 

commercial quota that is apportioned on 

a percentage basis among the coastal 

states from Maine through North 

Carolina. The process to set the annual 

commercial quota and the percent 

allocated to each state is described in 

§ 648.102. 

The overall 2018 summer flounder 

commercial quota is 6,436,120 lb 

(2,919,375 kg) (83 FR 4165, January 30, 

2018). The percent allocated to vessels 

landing summer flounder in Rhode 

Island is 15.68 percent, resulting in an 

initial state commercial quota of 

1,009,375 lb (457,845 kg). Rhode 

Island’s initial 2018 commercial quota 

was reduced to 996,373 lb (451,947 kg) 

due to a 2017 quota overage of 13,002 

lb (5,898 kg). Rhode Island has received 

one quota transfer of 5,008 lb (2,272 kg) 

from North Carolina on February 6, 

2018 (83 FR 5735), bringing its 2018 

commercial quota to 1,001,381 lb 

(454,219 kg). 

The NMFS Administrator for the 

Greater Atlantic Region (Regional 

Administrator), monitors the state 

commercial landings and determines 

when a state’s commercial quota has 

been harvested. NMFS is required to 

publish notification in the Federal 

Register advising and notifying 

Federally permitted commercial vessels 

and dealers that, effective upon a 

specific date, the state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested and no 

commercial quota is available for 

landing summer flounder in that state. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information, that the 

2018 Rhode Island commercial summer 

flounder quota will be harvested by 

December 29, 2018. 

Section 648.4(b) provides that Federal 

permit holders agree, as a condition of 

the permit, not to land summer flounder 

in any state that the Regional 

Administrator has determined no longer 

has commercial quota available. 

Therefore, effective 0001 hours, 

December 29, 2018, landings of summer 

flounder are prohibited in Rhode Island 

by vessels holding Federal summer 

flounder commercial fisheries permits 

for the remainder of the 2018 calendar 

year, unless additional quota becomes 

available through a transfer and is 

announced in the Federal Register. 

Effective 0001 hours, December 29, 

2018, federally permitted dealers are 

also notified that they may not purchase 

summer flounder from federally 

permitted vessels that land in Rhode 

Island for the remainder of the calendar 

year. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment because it would be contrary 

to the public interest. This action closes 

the commercial summer flounder 

fishery for Rhode Island until January 1, 

2019. The regulations at § 648.103(b) 

require such action to ensure that 

summer flounder vessels do not exceed 

quotas allocated to the states. If 

implementation of this closure was 

delayed to solicit prior public comment, 

the quota for this fishing year would be 

exceeded, thereby undermining the 

conservation objectives of the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan. The 

Assistant Administrator further finds, 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good 

cause to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reason 

stated above. 

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

Dated: December 21, 2018. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–28215 Filed 12–21–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 170816769–8162–02] 

RIN 0648–XG675 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pacific Cod in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amounts of Pacific cod 

total allowable catch (TAC) from vessels 

using jig gear, catcher/processors using 

hook-and-line gear, and catcher vessels 

using trawl gear to catcher vessels less 

than 50 feet length overall (LOA) using 

hook-and-line gear, catcher vessels 

greater than or equal to 50 feet LOA 

using hook-and-line gear, vessels using 

pot gear, and catcher/processors using 

trawl gear in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This 

action is necessary to allow the 2018 

TAC of Pacific cod in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA to be 

harvested. 

DATES: Effective December 21, 2018 

through 2400 hours, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), December 31, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2018 Pacific cod TAC 

apportioned to vessels using jig gear in 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA 

is 61 metric tons (mt), as established by 

the final 2018 and 2019 harvest 

specifications for groundfish of the GOA 

(83 FR 8768, March 1, 2018). The 

Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS, 

(Regional Administrator) has 

determined that vessels using jig gear 

will not be able to harvest 60 mt of the 

2018 Pacific cod TAC allocated to those 

vessels under § 679.20(a)(12)(i)(B). 

The 2018 Pacific cod TAC 

apportioned to catcher/processors using 

hook-and-line gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA is 308 mt, 

as established by the final 2018 and 

2019 harvest specifications for 

groundfish of the GOA (83 FR 8768, 

March 1, 2018). The Regional 

Administrator has determined that 

catcher/processors using hook-and-line 

gear will not be able to harvest 40 mt of 

the 2018 Pacific cod TAC allocated to 

those vessels under 

§ 679.20(a)(12)(i)(B)(3). 

The 2018 Pacific cod TAC 

apportioned to catcher vessels using 

trawl gear in the Central Regulatory 

Area of the GOA is 2,275 mt, as 

established by the final 2018 and 2019 

harvest specifications for groundfish of 

the GOA (83 FR 8768, March 1, 2018). 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined that catcher vessels using 

trawl gear will not be able to harvest 580 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES