44424 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

conducted by Angling category

fishermen in the waters off Delaware

and states south. Closure of this fishery

is necessary because the annual quota of

51 metric tons (mt) of school ABT

allocated for this subcategory in waters

off Delaware and states south is

projected to be attained by August 18,

1997. The intent of this action is to

prevent overharvest of the quota

established for this fishery.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m. local time

on August 18, 1997, through December

31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sarah McLaughlin, 301–713–2347, or

Mark Murray-Brown, 508–281–9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations promulgated under the

authority of the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.)

regulating the harvest of ABT by

persons and vessels subject to U.S.

jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part

285.

Section 285.22(d)(1) of the regulations

provides for an annual quota of 51 mt

of school ABT to be harvested from

waters off Delaware and states south by

individuals in the Angling category. The

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA (AA), is authorized under

§ 285.20(b)(1) to monitor the catch and

landing statistics and, on the basis of

those statistics, to project a date when

the catch of ABT will equal any quota

under § 285.22. The AA is further

authorized under § 285.20(b)(1) to

prohibit fishing for, or retention of,

Atlantic bluefin tuna by those fishing in

the category subject to the quota when

the catch of tuna equals the quota

established under § 285.22. The AA has

determined, based on the reported catch

and estimated fishing effort, that the

annual quota of school ABT for those

fishing in waters off Delaware and states

south will be attained by August 18,

1997. Fishing for, catching, possessing,

or landing any school ABT (measuring

27 inches to less than 47 inches (69 cm

to less than 119 cm)) in the closed area

must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on

August 18, 1997.

However, anglers may continue to tag

and release ABT of all sizes under the

NMFS tag-and-release program (50 CFR

285.27). The southern area Angling

category fishery for bluefin tuna in the

large school and small medium size

classes (47 inches to less than 59 inches

(119 cm to less than 150 cm), and 59

inches to less than 73 inches (150 cm to

less than 185 cm) curved fork length,

respectively) was closed effective July

20, 1997 (62 FR 35447, July 1, 1997).

Therefore, the southern area Angling

category fishery for school, large school,

and small medium ABT is now closed

for the season.

The fishery for school, large school,

small medium, and trophy ABT

(measuring greater than 73 inches), for

the waters off New Jersey and states

north is not affected by this closure, and

remains open until further notice at a

catch limit of one fish per vessel per

day.

A small amount of trophy ABT

remains in the southern area; pending

attainment of the annual quota for

trophy fish, large medium or giant ABT

(73 inches (185 cm) total curved fork

length or greater) may still be landed

under the Angling category subject to

the trophy fish limit of one per vessel

per year. Such large medium or giant

ABT must be reported to the nearest

NMFS enforcement office as required

under § 285.24. In North Carolina,

trophy fish must be reported to the

Coast Guard at 919–995–6403. Anglers

should verify that the trophy category

remains open by calling the NMFS 24–

hour Information Line at 301–713–1279

prior to each fishing trip.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

285.20(b) and 50 CFR 285.22 and is

exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

Dated: August 18, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22258 Filed 8–18–97; 2:48 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961210346–7035–02; I.D.

081597C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Summer Flounder Fishery;

Commercial Quota Harvested for

Maryland

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

summer flounder commercial quota

available to the State of Maryland has

been harvested. Vessels issued a

commercial Federal fisheries permit for

the summer flounder fishery may not

land summer flounder in Maryland for

the remainder of calendar year 1997,

unless additional quota becomes

available through a transfer. Regulations

governing the summer flounder fishery

require publication of this notice to

advise the State of Maryland that the

quota has been harvested and to advise

vessel and dealer permit holders that no

commercial quota is available for

landing summer flounder in Maryland.

DATES: Effective August 20, 1997,

through December 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lucille L. Helvenston, Fishery

Management Specialist, 508–281–9347.

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 among the states from

North Carolina through Maine. The

process to set the annual commercial

quota and the percent allocated to each

state are described in § 648.100.

The initial total commercial quota for

summer flounder for the 1997 calendar

year was set equal to 11,111,298 lb

(5,040,000 kg) (March 7, 1997, 62 FR

10473). The percentage allocated to

vessels landing summer flounder in

Maryland is 2.03910 percent, or 226,570

lb (102,770 kg).

Section 648.100(d)(2) stipulates that

any overages of commercial quota

landed in any state be deducted from

that state’s annual quota for the

following year. In the calendar year

1996, a total of 264,886 lb (120,150 kg)

were landed in Maryland. The amount

allocated for Maryland landings in 1996

was 226,570 lb (102,770 kg), creating a

38,316 lb (17,380 kg) overage that was

deducted from the amount allocated for

landings in that state during 1997 (July

15, 1997, 62 FR 37741 and as corrected

on August 12, 1997, 62 FR 43127). The

resulting quota for Maryland is 188,254

lb (85,391 kg).

Section 648.101(b) requires the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), to monitor

commercial quotas and to determine

when a state’s commercial quota is

harvested. The Regional Administrator

is further required to publish a notice in

the Federal Register advising a state and

notifying 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.

Because the available information

indicates that the State of Maryland has

attained its quota for 1997, the Regional

Administrator has determined based on

dealer reports and other available
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 44425

information, that the state’s commercial

quota has been harvested.

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 August 20, 1997, further landings

of summer flounder in Maryland by

vessels holding commercial Federal

fisheries permits are prohibited for the

remainder of the 1997 calendar year,

unless additional quota becomes

available through a transfer and is

announced in the Federal Register.

Effective the date above, federally

permitted dealers are also advised that

they may not purchase summer flounder

from Federally permitted vessels that

land in Maryland for the remainder of

the calendar year, or until additional

quota becomes available through a

transfer.

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part

648 and is exempt from review under

E.O. 12286.

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

Dated: August 18, 1997.

Gary C. Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22259 Filed 8–18–97; 2:48 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 970813196–7196–01; ID.

073197A]

Fisheries Off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Northern Anchovy

Fishery; Quotas for the 1997–98

Fishing Year

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Interim final quotas.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the

estimated spawning biomass and

interim final harvest quotas for the

northern anchovy fishery in the

exclusive economic zone south of Point

Reyes, CA, the 1997–98 fishing year.

These quotas may only be adjusted if

inaccurate data were used or if errors

were made in the calculations.

Comments on these two points are

invited. If no changes are necessary,

these interim final quotas will become

final quotas without further notice. The

intended effect of this action is to

establish allowable harvest levels for the

central subpopulation of Pacific

anchovy.

DATES: Effective on August 15, 1997.

Comments will be accepted until

September 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments on the

interim final quotas to Dr. William T.

Hogarth, Acting Regional Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802–4213. Administrative Reports

LJ–95–11 and LJ–97–08 are available

from this same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

James J. Morgan, Southwest Region,

NMFS, (562) 980–4036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

consultation with the California

Department of Fish and Game and the

NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science

Center, the Acting Administrator,

Southwest Region, NMFS, (Regional

Administrator) has decided to use the

1995 estimate of 388,000 mt spawning

biomass for the central subpopulation of

northern anchovy, Engraulis mordax, to

set harvest limits for the 1997–98

fishing year. This is the same biomass

estimate that was used for the 1995–96

and the 1996–97 fishing years and is

being used because no new assessment

has been made. Recently examined

indices of relative abundance of

anchovy schools from airplane fishspotter logs and egg production from

research cruises indicate that the

biomass remains at or above that

estimated in 1995.

The biomass estimate was derived

from a stock assessment model using

spawning biomass estimated by five

indices of abundance. Documentation of

the spawning biomass is contained in

Administrative Report LJ–95–11,

published by the Southwest Fisheries

Science Center, NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Administrative Report LJ–97–08

examining indices of relative abundance

was provided at a public meeting of the

Pacific Fishery Management Council’s

(Council) Coastal Pelagics Planning

Team and Advisory Subpanel in Long

Beach, CA, on June 18, 1997. At that

time, a review of the status of the

anchovy resource was presented by the

Planning Team, and NMFS requested

estimates of domestic processing needs

from the fishing industry so that a basis

could be established for setting annual

quotas. As was the case in 1996,

representatives of the industry felt that

13,000 mt would meet the needs of the

reduction industry.

Reports of the Planning Team and the

Advisory Subpanel were then presented

to the Council at its June 23–25 meeting

in Seattle, WA. Although no additional

information was provided to the

Council regarding anticipated domestic

use of anchovy, the Council

recommended that the entire 61,600 mt

available for reduction fishing be

allocated to the domestic fishery (70

percent of the biomass above 300,000

mt). There is some uncertainty with

regard to what the domestic fishery will

harvest, and there is always great

uncertainty with regard to what Mexico

will harvest. Nevertheless, the U.S.

harvest has remained low. The Mexican

harvest increased significantly in 1995

but dropped to a moderate level in 1996.

With the information available, the best

estimate of domestic use for reduction

fishing is 13,000 mt.

According to the formula in the FMP,

the U.S. optimum yield (OY) is 61,600

mt (70 percent of the biomass above

300,000), which is allocated to

reduction fisheries, plus 4,900 mt for

non-reduction fisheries. Since there is

no agreement with Mexico on the

management of northern anchovy, a

portion of the biomass (30 percent)

above 300,000 mt is designated as the

amount to account for this unregulated

harvest. Any portion of the U.S. OY not

used by U.S. fishermen is identified as

total allowable level of foreign fishing

(TALFF) and is available to foreign

fishing.

The amount of the TALFF is based on

the portion of the U.S. OY that will not

be used by U.S. fishermen, minus the

amount of harvest by Mexican vessels

that is in excess of that allocated to

Mexico according to the formula in the

FMP. The estimate of Mexican excess

harvest is based on the largest harvest in

the last 3 years; however, the biomass

has been so low during this time that

there was no significant fishery off

Mexico until 1995, and there has been

no excess Mexican harvest as defined in

the FMP.

After considering the above, the

Regional Administrator has made the

following determinations for the 1997–

98 fishing year by applying the formulas

in the FMP and in 50 CFR Part

660.509(b):

1. The total U.S. OY for northern

anchovy is 66,500 mt, plus an

unspecified amount for use as live bait.

2. The total U.S. harvest quota for

reduction purposes

is 13,000 mt.

a. Of the total reduction harvest quota,

1,300 mt is reserved for the reduction

fishery in Subarea A (north of Pt.

Buchon). The FMP requires that 10

percent of the U.S. reduction quota or