Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 120 / Friday, June 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 34411 

Issued: June 15, 2007. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. E7–11965 Filed 6–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 040112010–4114–02] 

RIN 0648–XA92 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Northeast 

(NE) Multispecies Fishery; Closure of 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a temporary 

closure of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 

to limited access NE multispecies daysat-sea (DAS) vessels. Based upon Vessel 

Monitoring System (VMS) reports and 

other available information, the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator) has projected 

that 100 percent of the total allowable 

catch (TAC) of Georges Bank (GB) cod 

allocated to be harvested from the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area would be 

harvested by July 12, 2007, if current 

catch rates continue. This action is 

being taken to prevent the 2007 TAC for 

GB cod in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 

from being exceeded during the 2007 

fishing year, and to minimize the 

impacts of discards of undersized 

haddock, in accordance with the 

regulations implemented under 

Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

This area will be reopened at a later date 

during the 2007 fishing year to provide 

access to the shared U.S./Canada Stocks 

of cod, haddock, and yellowtail 

flounder, if NMFS determines that the 

area can be reopened without exceeding 

the GB cod TAC for the 2007 fishing 

year. 

DATES: The temporary closure of the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area to all limited 

access NE multispecies DAS vessels is 

effective 0001 hr June 20, 2007, through 

2400 hr local time, April 30, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Grant, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9145, fax (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing fishing activity in 

the U.S./Canada Management Area are 

found at § 648.85. These regulations 

authorize vessels issued a valid limited 

access NE multispecies permit and 

fishing under a NE multispecies DAS to 

fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area 

under specific conditions. The final GB 

cod TAC allocation for the 2007 fishing 

year was specified at 494 mt (May 7, 

2007; 72 FR 25709). The regulations at 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) authorize the 

Regional Administrator to close access 

to the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for all 

limited access NE multispecies DAS 

vessels to prevent over-harvesting the 

TAC allocations for the U.S./Canada 

Management Area. 

Based upon VMS daily catch reports 

and other available information, to date, 

52 percent of the 2007 GB cod TAC of 

494 mt has been harvested. Assuming 

this catch rate continues, it is estimated 

that 100 percent of the 2007 GB cod 

TAC will be caught by July 12, 2007. 

Recent observer data show discards of 

GB cod have exceeded kept GB cod, 

with a discard-to-kept ratio for GB cod 

of approximately 2:1. Additionally, due 

to the recent slow growth rate observed 

for GB haddock, the catch of undersized 

GB haddock has increased discards of 

this species, as well. Data indicate that 

haddock should be fully recruited to 

legal size by late summer 2007. 

Therefore, based on the available 

information described above, to slow 

the catch rate of GB cod in the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area and to ensure that the 

TAC for GB cod will not be exceeded, 

as well as to minimize discards of 

undersized GB haddock, the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area, including the August 

through December Eastern U.S./Canada 

Haddock SAP Pilot Program, should the 

closure extend into the SAP season, is 

temporarily closed to all limited access 

NE multispecies DAS vessels, effective 

0001 hr June 20, 2007, pursuant to 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D). This area will be 

reopened at a later date during the 2007 

fishing year to provide access to the 

shared U.S./Canada cod, haddock, and 

yellowtail flounder stocks, pursuant to 

the regulations at § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D), if 

NMFS determines that the area can be 

reopened without exceeding the GB cod 

TAC for the 2007 fishing year. 

Vessel owners that have made a 

correct VMS declaration indicating their 

intention to fish in the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area, and crossed the 

demarcation line prior to 0001 hr June 

20, 2007 may continue their trip and 

fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. 

Vessels that are currently declared into 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area and have 

already ‘‘flexed out’’ or ‘‘flexed west,’’

may not reenter the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area after 0001 hr June 20, 2007. Any 

vessel that leaves the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area after 0001 hr June 20, 2007 

is prohibited from reentering the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area for the remainder of 

the fishing year, unless otherwise 

notified. 

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)(3)(B) and 

(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator finds 

good cause to waive prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment, as well 

as the delayed effectiveness for this 

action, because prior notice and 

comment, and a delayed effectiveness, 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest. This action will 

temporarily close the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area to NE multispecies DAS 

vessels. This action is necessary to slow 

the catch rate of GB cod in the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Area and prevent the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area GB cod TAC 

from being exceeded during the 2007 

fishing year. Because of the rapidly 

increasing GB cod harvest rate, the 

small GB cod TAC, and the substantial 

increase of fishing activity in the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area beginning 

June 1, 2007, it is projected that 100 

percent of the GB cod TAC will be 

harvested by July 12, 2007. This 

projection was not available until June 

14, 2007. 

This action is authorized by the 

regulations at § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) to 

prevent over-harvesting, or to facilitate 

achieving, the U.S./Canada Management 

Area TACs. The time necessary to 

provide for prior notice, opportunity for 

public comment, and delayed 

effectiveness for this action would 

prevent the agency from taking 

immediate action to slow the catch rate 

of GB cod in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area and prevent the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area GB cod TAC from being 

exceeded prior to the end of the 2007 

fishing year. Such a delay would allow 

the observed high catch rate of GB cod 

to continue and would result in 

excessive discards of GB cod. Similarly, 

the recent high rates of GB haddock 

discard would likely also continue, 

resulting in a high level of GB haddock 

mortality with neither corresponding 

landings, nor value, accruing to 

participating vessels. To allow vessels to 

continue directed fishing effort on GB 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with RULES
34412 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 120 / Friday, June 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

cod and GB haddock during the period 

necessary to publish and receive 

comments on a proposed rule could 

allow the GB cod harvest to exceed the 

GB cod TAC for the 2007 fishing year 

and allow excessive amounts of small 

haddock to continue to be discarded. 

Exceeding the 2007 TAC for GB cod 

would increase mortality of this 

overfished stock beyond that evaluated 

during the development of Amendment 

13, resulting in decreased revenue for 

the NE multispecies fishery, increased 

negative economic impacts to vessels 

operating in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area, a reduced chance of achieving 

optimum yield in the groundfish 

fishery, and unnecessary delays to the 

rebuilding of this overfished stock. 

Exceeding the 2007 GB cod TAC would 

also necessitate that any overages of the 

GB cod TAC during the 2007 fishing 

year be deducted from the GB cod TAC 

for the 2008 fishing year. Reducing the 

2008 TAC due to exceeding the 2007 

TAC caused by delaying this action, 

therefore, would create an unnecessary 

burden on the fishing industry and 

further negative economic and social 

impacts that were not previously 

considered. 

The public is able to obtain 

information on the rate of harvest of the 

GB cod TAC via the Northeast Regional 

Office website (http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov), which provided 

some advanced notice of a potential 

action to prevent the TAC for GB cod 

from being exceeded during the 2007 

fishing year. Further, the potential for 

this action was considered and open to 

public comment during the 

development of Amendment 13 and FW 

42 to the FMP. Therefore, any negative 

effect the waiving of public comment 

and delayed effectiveness may have on 

the public is mitigated by these factors. 

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

Dated: June 18, 2007. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–3068 Filed 6–19–07; 2:08 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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