Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 155 / Tuesday, August 12, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 43127

The IPHC closed all Area 2A non-Indian

commercial halibut fisheries, including

the incidental catch of halibut during

the salmon troll fisheries that opened on

August 1. Notice of the closure has been

provided on the NMFS hotline at 206–

526–6667.

Accordingly, NMFS announces that

Pacific halibut caught during the salmon

troll fisheries may not be retained,

possessed or sold for the remainder of

1997.

Classification

This action is authorized by Section

10 of the annual management measures

for Pacific halibut fisheries published

on March 18, 1997 (62 FR 12759) and

Paragraph C.9. of Table 1 of the annual

management measures for the ocean

salmon fisheries published in the

Federal Register on May 5, 1997 (62 FR

24355). This action has been determined

to be not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

Because of the need to implement the

IPHC closure and prevent the

commercial catch of halibut in excess of

the quota, NMFS has determined that

good cause exists for this action to be

issued without affording a prior

opportunity for public comment.

Dated: August 6, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–21283 Filed 8–11–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961210346–7035–02; I.D.

070397G]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Summer Flounder Fishery;

Adjustments to the 1997 State Quotas;

Commercial Quota Harvested for North

Carolina; Correction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Correction to commercial quota

adjustments for the State of Maryland.

SUMMARY: NMFS corrects the

rulemaking announcing adjustments to

the commercial state quotas for the 1997

summer flounder fishery published July

15, 1997.

DATES: The 1997 commercial state

quotas are effective July 9, 1997,

through December 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 508–281–9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Regulations implementing summer

flounder management measures (50 CFR

part 648, subparts A and G) require

annual specification of a commercial

quota that is apportioned among the

Atlantic coastal states from Maine

through North Carolina. Section

648.100(d)(2) of the regulations provides

that all landings for sale in a state shall

be applied against that state’s annual

commercial quota. Any landings in

excess of a state’s quota must be

deducted from that state’s annual quota

for the following year.

On March 7, 1997 (62 FR 10473),

NMFS published the final specifications

for the summer flounder 1997

commercial fishery and deductions for

overages in the 1996 quota year. At that

time, Maryland’s initial landings data

for 1996 indicated that the state had

underharvested its quota by 1,519 lb

(689 kg). Revised data were

subsequently provided that altered the

landings figures for several states. These

data were used as a basis for readjusting

the states’ commercial quotas (July 15,

1997, 62 FR 37741). In the case of

Maryland, revised data indicated an

additional 39,835 lb (18,069 kg) of

summer flounder were landed in 1996.

The underharvest of 1,519 lb (689 kg)

should have been subtracted from the

additional landings of 39,835 lb (18,069

kg) to derive an actual overharvest for

Maryland in 1996 of 38,316 lb (17,380

kg). Instead, the additional landings for

Maryland in 1996 were incorrectly

subtracted in their entirety from that

state’s 1997 quota in the July 15, 1997,

rulemaking. This notice announces

that the total overage for Maryland in

1996 was actually 38,316 lb (17,380 kg),

and corrects the state’s 1997 commercial

quota accordingly, by adding 1,519 lb

(689 kg) to the published quota of

186,735 lb (84,702 kg).

Since Maryland is the only state that

moved from an underharvest to an

overharvest based on the revised

landings data, it was the only state to

have an erroneous quota result. All

other state-readjusted 1997 quotas as

published July 15, 1997, are correct for

the landings data received.

Correction of Publication

Accordingly, the publication on July

15, 1997 (62 FR 37741), of the

commercial quota adjustments [I.D.

070397G], which were the subject of

rule document 97–18462, is corrected as

follows:

On page 37743, in Table 2, under the

State of Maryland, in the fourth column

under ‘‘Readjusted 1997 Quota’’, under

the subheading ‘‘lb’’, ‘‘186,735’’ should

read ‘‘188,254’’ and in the fifth column,

under the subheading ‘‘(Kg)’’, ‘‘84,702’’

should read ‘‘85,391’’.

In the same table, under ‘‘Total’’, in

the fourth column, under the

subheading ‘‘lb’’, ‘‘8,382,277’’ should

read ‘‘8,383,796’’ and in the fifth

column, under the subheading ‘‘(Kg)’’,

‘‘3,802,137’’ should read ‘‘3,802,826’’.

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

Dated: August 5, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–21185 Filed 8–11–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F