Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 176 / Thursday, September 11, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 47767

part 658, were consolidated with ten

other parts into one part, part 622,

covering fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf

of Mexico, and South Atlantic (61 FR

34930, July 3, 1996).

Classification

This final rule has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of E.O.

12866.

The Assistant Administrator for

Fisheries (AA), NOAA, under 5 U.S.C.

553 (b)(B), for good cause, finds that

providing prior notice and an

opportunity for public comment on this

rule is unnecessary. Since this rule

merely corrects long established

boundary coordinates that were

incorrectly listed in a recent regulatory

consolidation, providing prior notice

and opportunity for public comment

would serve no useful purpose.

Similarly, the AA, under 5 U.S.C. 553

(d)(3), for good cause, finds that

delaying the effective date of this

correction for 30 days is unnecessary.

The boundaries of the sanctuary have

been long established and respected by

the fishery participants.

Because prior notice and opportunity

for public comment is not required for

this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other

law, the analytical requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601

et seq., are inapplicable..

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Virgin Islands.

Dated: September 5, 1997.

David L. Evans,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended

as follows:

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE

CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH

ATLANTIC

1. The authority citation for part 622

continues to read as follows:

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

§ 622.34 [Amended]

2. In § 622.34(i), in paragraph (1), in

the list of coordinates, the North Lat. for

Point F is revised to read ‘‘24°50.7’’’ and

the West Long. for Point P is revised to

read ‘‘82°08.0’’’; and paragraph (i)(3) is

redesignated as paragraph (i)(2)(iii).

[FR Doc. 97–24164 Filed 9–10–97; 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.

090897B]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Summer Flounder Fishery;

Commercial Quota Harvested for

Connecticut

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 Connecticut has

been harvested. Vessels issued a

commercial Federal fisheries permit for

the summer flounder fishery may not

land summer flounder in Connecticut

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 Connecticut 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

Connecticut.

DATES: Effective September 9, 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 percentage 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

Connecticut is 2.25708 percent, or

250,791 lb (113,767 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 278,776 lb (126,451 kg)

were landed in Connecticut. The

amount allocated for Connecticut

landings in 1996 was 250,791 lb

(113,757 kg), creating a 27,985 lb

(12,694 kg) overage that was deducted

from the amount allocated for landings

in that state during 1997 (March 7, 1997,

62 FR 10474). The resulting 1997 quota

for Connecticut is 222,806 lb (101,063

kg).

Section 648.101(b) requires the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), to monitor

state commercial quotas and to

determine when a state 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 Connecticut

has attained its quota for 1997, the

Regional Administrator has determined

based on dealer reports and other

available 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, September 9, 1997,

further landings of summer flounder in

Connecticut 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

Connecticut 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: September 9, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

[FR Doc. 97–24161 Filed 9–8–97; 4:34 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F