36646 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 112 / Friday, June 9, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

on any ambiguity or unnecessary

complexity arising from the language

used in this interim rule. Such

comments should be directed to NMFS

Southeast Regional Office (see

ADDRESSES).

Dated: June 2, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14529 Filed 6–8–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000119014–0137–02; I.D.

060200A]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Black Sea Bass Fishery;

Commercial Quota Harvested for

Quarter 2 Period

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest for

Quarter 2 period.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

black sea bass commercial quota

available in the Quarter 2 period to the

coastal states from Maine through North

Carolina has been harvested.

Commercial vessels may not land black

sea bass in the Northeast Region for the

remainder of the 2000 Quarter 2 quota

period (through June 30, 2000).

Regulations governing the black sea bass

fishery require publication of this

notification to advise the coastal states

from Maine through 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 black sea

bass in these states north of 35°15.3′

N.lat.

DATES: Effective June 9, 2000, 0001 hrs,

local time through June 30, 2000, 2400

hrs, local time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer L. Anderson, Fishery

Management Specialist, at (978) 281–

9226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the black sea bass

fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648.

The regulations require annual

specification of a commercial quota that

is allocated into four quota periods

based upon percentages of the annual

quota. The Quarter 2 commercial quota

(April through June) is distributed to the

coastal states from Maine through North

Carolina. The process to set the annual

commercial quota is described in

§ 648.140.

The initial total commercial quota for

black sea bass for the 2000 calendar year

was set equal to 3,024,742 lb (1,372,000

kg) (65 FR 33486, May 24, 2000). The

Quarter 2 period quota, which is equal

to 29.26 percent of the annual

commercial quota, was set at 885,040 lb

(401,447 kg).

Section 648.141 requires the Regional

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), to monitor the

commercial black sea bass quota for

each quota period that is based upon

dealer reports, state data, and other

available information to determine

when the commercial quota has been

harvested. NMFS is required to publish

a notification in the Federal Register

advising and notifying commercial

vessels and dealer permit holders that,

effective upon a specific date, the black

sea bass commercial quota has been

harvested and no commercial quota is

available for landing black sea bass for

the remainder of the Quarter 2 period,

north of 35°15.3′ N. lat. The Regional

Administrator has determined, based

upon dealer reports and other available

information, that the black sea bass

commercial quota for the 2000 Quarter

2 period has been harvested.

The regulations at § 648.4(b) provide

that Federal black sea bass moratorium

permit holders agree as a condition of

the permit not to land black sea bass in

any state after NMFS has published a

notification in the Federal Register

stating that the commercial quota for the

period has been harvested and that no

commercial quota for the black sea bass

is available. The Regional Administrator

has determined that the Quarter 2

period for black sea bass no longer has

commercial quota available. Therefore,

effective 0001 hrs local time, June 9,

2000, further landings of black sea bass

in coastal states from Maine through

North Carolina, north of 35°15.3′ N. lat.

by vessels holding commercial Federal

fisheries permits are prohibited through

June 30, 2000, 2400 hrs local time. The

Quarter 3 period for commercial black

sea bass harvest will open on July 1,

2000. Effective June 9, 2000, federally

permitted dealers are also advised that

they may not purchase black sea bass

from federally permitted black sea bass

moratorium permit holders that land in

coastal states from Maine through North

Carolina for the remainder of the

Quarter 2 period (through June 30,

2000).

The regulations at § 648.4(b) also

provide that, if the commercial black sea

bass quota for a period is harvested and

the coast is closed to the possession of

black sea bass north of 35°15.3′ N. lat.,

any vessel owners who hold valid

commercial permits for both the black

sea bass and the NMFS Southeast

Region Snapper-Grouper fisheries may

surrender their Black Sea Bass

moratorium permit by certified mail

addressed to the Regional Administrator

(see Table to § 600.502) and fish

pursuant to their Snapper-Grouper

permit, as long as fishing is conducted

exclusively in waters, and landings are

made, south of 35°15.3′ N. lat. A

moratorium permit for the black sea

bass fishery that is voluntarily

relinquished or surrendered will be

reissued upon the receipt of the vessel

owner’s written request after a

minimum period of 6 months from the

date of cancellation.

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: June 5, 2000.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14518 Filed 6–5–00; 4:17 pm]

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