77674 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 28, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

Once the allocation has been awarded 

for use in a chartering operation, NMFS 

will immediately take appropriate steps 

to notify NAFO and transfer the U.S. 3L 

shrimp quota allocation and/or the 3M 

shrimp effort allocation to the 

appropriate Contracting Party.

After reviewing all requests for 

allocations submitted, NMFS may 

decide not to grant any allocations if it 

is determined that no requests meet the 

criteria described in this notice. All 

individuals/companies submitting 

expressions of interest to NMFS will be 

contacted if an allocation has been 

awarded. Please note that if the U.S. 

portion of the 2005 NAFO 3L shrimp 

quota allocation and/or 3M shrimp 

effort allocation is awarded to a U.S. 

vessel or a specified chartering 

operation, it may not be transferred 

without the express, written consent of 

NMFS.

Dated: December 22, 2004.

John H. Dunnigan,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28366 Filed 12–27–04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 031119283–4001–02; I.D. 

122204F]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Commercial Quota Harvested for North 

Carolina

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure of commercial fishery.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

summer flounder commercial quota 

available to North Carolina has been 

harvested. Vessels issued a commercial 

Federal fisheries permit for the summer 

flounder fishery may not land summer 

flounder in North Carolina for the 

remainder of calendar year 2004, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer. Regulations 

governing the summer flounder fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise North Carolina that the quota 

has been harvested and to advise vessel 

permit holders and dealer permit 

holders that no commercial quota is 

available for landing summer flounder 

in North Carolina.

DATES: Effective 1800 hours, December 

26, 2004, through 2400 hours, December 

31, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jason Blackburn, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9326, e-mail 

jason.blackburn@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

part 648. The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned on a percentage basis 

among the 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 § 648.100.

The initial total commercial quota for 

summer flounder for the 2004 calendar 

year was set equal to 16,920,000 lb 

(7,674,862 kg) (69 FR 2074, January 14, 

2004). The percent allocated to vessels 

landing summer flounder in North 

Carolina is 27.44584 percent, resulting 

in a commercial quota of 4,643,836 lb 

(2,106,430 kg). The adjusted 2004 

allocation was reduced to 4,163,464 lb 

(1,888,535 kg) due to research set-aside 

and quota overages from 2003. However, 

on March 9, 2004 (69 FR 10937), NMFS 

published notification of a commercial 

quota restoration of 451,595 lb (204,842 

kg) to North Carolina increasing the 

commercial quota to 4,615,059 lb 

(2,093,377 kg).

Section 648.101(b) requires the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) to monitor 

state commercial quotas and to 

determine when a state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested. NMFS then 

publishes a notification in the Federal 

Register to advise the state and to notify 

Federal vessel and dealer permit holders 

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 North Carolina has 

harvested its quota for 2004.

The regulations at § 648.4(b) provide 

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 1800 

hours, December 26, 2004, through 2400 

hours, December 31, 2004, further 

landings of summer flounder in North 

Carolina by vessels holding summer 

flounder commercial Federal fisheries 

permits are prohibited for the remainder 

of the 2004 calendar year, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer and is announced in 

the Federal Register. Effective 1800 

hours, December 26, 2004, through 2400 

hours, December 31, 2004, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in North Carolina for the remainder 

of the calendar year, or until additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer.

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: December 22, 2004.

Alan D. Risenhoover,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–28365 Filed 12–22–04; 1:48 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S