[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 31, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63703-63704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-8981]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 010319075-1217-02; I.D. 101306A]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Tilefish 
Fishery

AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:  Temporary rule, tilefish commercial quota adjustment.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator), has determined that the quota for the 
tilefish Part-time permit category has been exceeded for fishing year 
(FY) 2006, requiring an adjustment of the Part-time permit category 
quota for FY 2007. This

[[Page 63704]]

action complies with the Fishery Management Plan for the Tilefish 
Fishery (FMP) and is intended to continue the rebuilding program in the 
FMP by taking into account previous overages of the tilefish quota.

DATES:  Effective November 1, 2006, through October 31, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Brian R. Hooker, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations at 50 CFR 648.290(c) state that any overages of the 
quota for any tilefish limited access category that occur in a given 
fishing year will be subtracted from the quota for that category in the 
following fishing year. This same section also states that, if the 
tilefish harvest attributed to the open access Incidental permit 
category exceeds 5 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) for a 
given fishing year, the trip limit for the Incidental category may be 
reduced the following year. In both of these instances, Sec.  
648.290(c) specifies that, if an adjustment is required, a notification 
of adjustment of the quota will be published in the Federal Register.
    The tilefish TAL for FY 2007 remains unchanged from FY 2006 at 
1.995 million lb (905 mt). The FMP requires that the TAL be divided 
between the three limited access tilefish permit categories after the 
TAL is reduced by 5 percent to account for incidental tilefish landings 
(open-access Incidental permit category) as follows: Sixty-six percent 
(1,250,865 lb (466,875 kg)) to Full-time Tier 1; 15 percent (284,288 lb 
(106,108 kg)) to Full-time Tier 2; and 19 percent (360,098 lb (163,338 
kg)) to Part-time vessels.
    Based upon vessel reports and other information available as of 
October 20, 2006, FY 2006 tilefish landings for limited access Part-
time permit category were 453,033 lb (205,492 kg), resulting in an 
overage of 92,935 lb (42,155 kg). This overage amount is being deducted 
from the FY 2007 Part-time permit category quota through this action, 
which results in an adjusted quota of 267,163 lb (121,183 kg) for this 
category in FY 2007. Adjustments to the remaining permit categories are 
not needed, and the FY 2007 quotas for these categories, therefore, 
remain status quo, including the Incidental trip limit for tilefish for 
FY 2007, which will remain at its default value of 300 lb (136 kg).
    The FY 2006 tilefish Part-time permit category quota, the FY 2006 
tilefish Part-time permit category landings, and the resulting overage 
of the FY 2006 tilefish Part-time permit category quota are presented 
in Table 1. The resulting adjusted FY 2007 tilefish Part-time permit 
category commercial quota is presented in Table 2.

                          Table 1.Tilefish Part-time Category 2006 Landings and Overage
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                                                     2006 Quota           2006 Landings         2006 Overage
                Permit Category                -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Lb       kg\1\        Lb       Kg\1\        Lb       Kg\1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Part-time                      360,098    163,338    453,033    205,492     92,935     42,155
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.


       Table 2. Tilefish Part-time Category Adjusted FY 2007 Quota
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                               2007 Initial Quota    2007 Adjusted Quota
       Permit Category       -------------------------------------------
                                  Lb       Kg\1\        Lb       Kg\1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Part-time             360,098    163,338    267,163    121,183
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add
  due to rounding.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the 
Assistant Administrator finds good cause to waive prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment, as notice and comment would be 
impracticable and unnecessary. The regulations under Sec.  648.290(c) 
requires the Regional Administrator to subtract any overage of the 
quota for any tilefish limited access category from the quota for that 
category in the following fishing year. Accordingly, the action being 
taken by this temporary rule is nondiscretionary. The procedure being 
followed by this action was subject to public comment, but there is no 
discretion to modify this action based on public comment at this time. 
The rate of harvest of tilefish by the Part-time permit category is 
updated weekly on the internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. 
Accordingly, the public is able to obtain information that would 
provide some advanced notice of a potential action as a result of a 
tilefish quota being exceeded during FY 2006. Further, the potential 
for this action was considered and open to public comment during the 
development of the tilefish FMP. Therefore, any negative effect the 
waiving of public comment may have on the public is mitigated by these 
factors.

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

    Dated: October 24, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-8981 Filed 10-26-06; 2:50 pm]
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