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
44426 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

9,072 mt, whichever is less, be reserved

for the northern fishery. This is not a

special quota, but only a reduction in

the amount allocated to the southern

fishery south of Pt. Buchon (Subarea B).

After the northern fishery has harvested

1,300 mt, any unused portion of the

Subarea B allocation may also be

harvested north of Pt. Buchon.

b. The reduction quota for subarea B

(south of Pt. Buchon) is 11,700 mt.

3. The U.S. harvest quota for nonreduction fishing

(i.e., fishing for anchovy for use as

dead bait or human consumption) is

4,900 mt (as set by § 660.509(b)).

4. There is no U.S. harvest limit for

the live bait

fishery.

5. The domestic annual processing

capacity (DAP) is 13,000 mt.

6. The amount allocated to joint

venture processing

(JVP) is zero, because there is no

history of, nor are there applications for,

joint ventures.

7. Domestic annual harvest capacity

(DAH) is 13,000 mt. DAH is the sum of

DAP and JVP.

8. The TALFF is 48,600 mt.

The fishery will be monitored during

the year and evaluated with respect to

the OY and the estimated needs of the

fishing industry. Adjustments may be

made to comply with the requirements

of the FMP and its implementing

regulations.

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

part 660.509 and is exempt from review

under E.O. 12866.

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds for good

cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that

providing prior notice and an

opportunity for public comment on this

action is unnecessary because

establishing the quota is a ministerial

act, determined by applying a formula

in the FMP. Accordingly, providing

prior notice and an opportunity for

public comment would serve no useful

purpose.

Because this rule merely establishes a

quota and does not require any

participants in the fishery to take action

or to come into compliance, the AA

finds for good cause under 5 U.S.C.

553(d)(3) that delaying the effective date

of this rule for 30 days is unnecessary.

Further, because establishing a quota

allows the opening of the fishery, it

relieves a restriction and under 5 U.S.C.

553(d)(1) is not subject to a delay in

effective date. Accordingly the AA

makes the quota effective upon the date

of filing for public inspection with the

Office of the Federal Register.

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

Dated: August 15, 1997.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–22093 Filed 8–15–97; 3:46 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F