Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 52275

CAPE COD BAY CRITICAL HABITAT

CLOSURE AREA

Point N. latitude W. longitude

CCB1 ..................... 42°12′ N 70°30′ W

CCB2 ..................... 42°12′ N 70°15′ W

CCB3 ..................... 42°08′ N 70°12.4′ W

Then westerly along the 3 NM state

boundary to

CCB4 ..................... 42°08′ N 70°30′ W

Then due north to CCB1

(2) Great South Channel Critical

Habitat Closure Area. From April 1

through June 30 of each year, the

restrictions and requirements specified

in paragraph (b) of this section apply to

the Great South Channel Critical Habitat

Closure Area (copies of a chart depicting

this area are available from the Regional

Administrator upon request), which is

the area bounded by straight lines

connecting the following points in the

order stated.

GREAT SOUTH CHANNEL CRITICAL

HABITAT CLOSURE AREA

Point N. latitude W. longitude

GSC1 ............. 41°02.2′ N 69°02′ W

GSC2 ............. 41°43.5′ N 69°36.3′ W

GSC3 ............. 42°10′ N 68°31′ W

GSC4 ............. 41°38′ N 68°13′ W

* * * * *

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

Dated: October 1, 1997.

David L. Evans,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–26469 Filed 10–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961210346-7035-02; I.D.

100197A]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Summer Flounder Fishery;

Commercial Quota Available for New

Jersey

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Commercial quota availability.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that

summer flounder commercial quota is

available to the State of New Jersey to

allow a reopening of the State to

landings of summer flounder. Vessels

issued a commercial Federal fisheries

permit for the summer flounder fishery

may resume landings of summer

flounder in New Jersey for the

remainder of calendar year 1997, or

until the remaining quota allocation is

harvested.

DATES: Effective October 3, 1997

through December 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy

Analyst, (978) 281-9221.

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) (62 FR 10473, March 7,

1997). The percent allocated to vessels

landing summer flounder in New Jersey

is 16.72499 percent, or 1,858,363 lb

(842,939 kg) in 1997. After deducting a

510,771 lb (231,682 kg) overage landed

in 1996, as specified in section

648.100(d)(2), New Jersey was left with

an adjusted 1997 commercial quota of

1,347,592 lb (611,257 kg) (62 FR 37741,

July 15, 1997). Section 648.101(b)

requires the Administrator, Northeast

Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator),

to monitor state commercial quotas and

to determine when a state’s commercial

quota is harvested. Based on dealer

reports and other available information,

the Regional Administrator determined

that the commercial quota available to

New Jersey had been harvested, and no

quota was available for that State for the

remainder of 1997. Thus, effective

September 24, 1997 (62 FR 50525,

September 26, 1997), summer flounder

landings in the State of New Jersey by

federally permitted vessels, and

purchases by federally permitted

dealers, were prohibited for the

remainder of 1997. The closure of the

State to landings was based on

projections of landings from dealer

reports. However, due to State action to

control landings through trip limits,

actual landings have fallen short of

projections. Specifically, prior to the

NMFS closure, New Jersey closed its

directed fishery and landings dropped

off significantly. The State now has a

bycatch trip limit in place for the

remainder of the year (10 percent of

total fish on board, up to a maximum of

100 lb/trip (45 kg/trip) until November

1st; 200 lb/trip (91 kg/trip) after that

date). Thus, available data indicate that

approximately 50,000 lb (22,680 kg)

remain in New Jersey’s annual

commercial quota of 1,347,592 lb

(611,257 kg). Since summer flounder

commercial quota is available to New

Jersey to be harvested, and in order to

allow the State to receive the full benefit

of its annual allocation of quota, the

closure, published on September 26,

1997, is rescinded.

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: October 2, 1997.

Gary Matlock,

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–26577 Filed 10–3–97; 10:48 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 961107312–7021–02; I.D.

100197D]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in the

Offshore Component in the Bering Sea

Subarea

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Inseason adjustment; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues an inseason

adjustment closing the season for

pollock by vessels catching pollock for

processing by the offshore component in

the Bering Sea subarea (BS) of the

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

management area (BSAI) at midnight

rather than noon. This adjustment is

necessary to prevent the underharvest of

pollock by vessels catching pollock for

processing by the offshore component in

the BS of the BSAI.

DATES: Effective 2400 hrs, Alaska local

time (A.l.t.), October 2, 1997, until 2400

hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 1997.

Comments must be received at the

following address no later than 4:30

p.m., A.l.t., October 22, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to

Chief, Fisheries Management Division,