Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 214 / Monday, November 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 64903 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 051104293–5344–02; I.D. 

102706A] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Commercial Quota Harvested for New 

York 

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 New York has been 

harvested. Vessels issued a commercial 

Federal fisheries permit for the summer 

flounder fishery may not land summer 

flounder in New York for the remainder 

of calendar year 2006, unless additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer from another state. Regulations 

governing the summer flounder fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise New York 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 New York. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, November 

4, 2006, through 2400 hours, December 

31, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9341. 

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 2006 calendar 

year was set equal to 14,154,000 lb 

(6,420 mt) (70 FR 77061, December 29, 

2005). The percent allocated to vessels 

landing summer flounder in New York 

is 7.64699 percent, resulting in a 

commercial quota of 1,082,355 lb 

(490,948 kg). The 2006 allocation was 

reduced to 935,943 lb (424,537 kg) due 

to research set-aside and quota overage 

from 2005. 

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 New York has 

harvested its quota for 2006. 

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, November 4, 2006, further 

landings of summer flounder in New 

York by vessels holding summer 

flounder commercial Federal fisheries 

permits are prohibited for the remainder 

of the 2006 calendar year, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer and is announced in 

the Federal Register. Effective 0001 

hours, November 4, 2006, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in New York 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: October 31, 2006. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office Of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–9081 Filed 11–1–06; 1:59 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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