[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 28, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 77674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28365]


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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.

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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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#94fef5e7fbfabaf6f8f5f7fff6e1e6fad4fafbf5f5baf3fbe2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4d272c3e2223632f212c2e262f383f230d23222c2c632a223b">[email protected]</span></a>.

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 Sec.  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 Sec.  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


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