Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 168 / Tuesday, September 1, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 45131 

broadcast station or another FM 

translator. 

[FR Doc. E9–21049 Filed 8–31–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0809251266–81485–02] 

RIN 0648–XR11 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Commercial Quota Harvested for the 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

2009 summer flounder commercial 

quota allocated to the Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts has been harvested. 

Vessels issued a commercial Federal 

fisheries permit for the summer 

flounder fishery may not land summer 

flounder in Massachusetts for the 

remainder of calendar year 2009, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer from another state. 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery require publication of 

this notification to advise Massachusetts 

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 Massachusetts. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, September 

1, 2009, through 2400 hours, December 

31, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Bland, Fishery Management 

Specialist,(978) 281–9257. 

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 2009 calendar 

year was set equal to 11,070,001 lb 

(5,021 mt) (74 FR 29, January 2, 2009). 

The percent allocated to vessels landing 

summer flounder in Massachusetts is 

6.82046 percent, resulting in a 

commercial quota of 755,025 lb (342 

mt). The 2009 allocation was reduced to 

702,614 lb (319 mt) when research setaside and 2008 quota overages were 

deducted. 

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 Massachusetts has 

harvested its quota for 2009. 

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 0001 

hours, September 1, 2009, further 

landings of summer flounder in 

Massachusetts by vessels holding 

summer flounder commercial Federal 

fisheries permits are prohibited for the 

remainder of the 2009 calendar year, 

unless additional quota becomes 

available through a transfer and is 

announced in the Federal Register. 

Effective 0001 hours, September 1, 

2009, federally permitted dealers are 

also notified that they may not purchase 

summer flounder from federally 

permitted vessels that land in 

Massachusetts for the remainder of the 

calendar year, or until additional quota 

becomes available through a transfer 

from another state. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: August 27, 2009. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21052 Filed 8–27–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

RIN 0648–XL60 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Loan Program for 

Crab Quota Share; Amendment 33 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule: agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

approval of Amendment 33 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for Bering 

Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner 

Crabs (FMP). Amendment 33 amends 

the FMP to allow NMFS to reduce the 

amount of fees collected under the Crab 

Rationalization Program to the amount 

needed to finance the Federal loan 

program for quota share purchase. The 

amendment provides NMFS with the 

flexibility to reserve only the amount of 

fees necessary to support the loan 

program, including no fees if none are 

needed. This FMP amendment does not 

require modifications to Federal 

regulations. 

DATES: This agency decision is effective 

on August 24, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Amendment 33 and the Categorical 

Exclusion for this action may be 

obtained from the NMFS Alaska Region 

website at http:// 

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Hartman, 907–586–7442. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit any fishery management 

plan amendment it prepares to NMFS 

for review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

a fisheries management plan 

amendment, immediately publish a 

notice in the Federal Register 

announcing that the amendment is 

available for public review and 

comment. 

In April 2008, the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

unanimously recommended 

Amendment 33, and on May 19, 2009, 

submitted Amendment 33 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Bering Sea/ 

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