[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 19, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28388-28389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13132]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 180202111-8353-02]
RIN 0648-XG267


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; Closure of the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area to General 
Category Individual Fishing Quota Scallop Vessels

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area is 
closed to Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota 
scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year. No vessel 
issued a Limited Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota 
permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops from

[[Page 28389]]

the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area. Regulations require this action 
once it is projected that 100 percent of trips allocated to the Limited 
Access General Category Individual Fishing Quota scallop vessels for 
the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area will be taken.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, June 18, 2018, through March 31, 
2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 282-8456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing fishing activity in 
the Sea Scallop Access Areas can be found in 50 CFR 648.59 and 648.60. 
These regulations authorize vessels issued a valid Limited Access 
General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) scallop permit 
to fish in the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area under specific 
conditions, including a total of 571 trips that may be taken during the 
2018 fishing year. Section 648.59(g)(3)(iii) requires the Closed Area I 
Scallop Access Area to be closed to LAGC IFQ permitted vessels for the 
remainder of the fishing year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional 
Administrator determines that the allowed number of trips for fishing 
year 2018 are projected to be taken.
    Based on trip declarations by LAGC IFQ scallop vessels fishing in 
the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area, analysis of fishing effort, and 
other information, NMFS projects that 571 trips will be taken as of 
June 18, 2018. Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  648.59(g)(3)(iii), 
NMFS is closing the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area to all LAGC IFQ 
scallop vessels as of June 18, 2018. No vessel issued an LAGC IFQ 
permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Closed 
Area I Scallop Access Area after 0001 local time, June 18, 2018. Any 
LAGC IFQ vessel that has declared into the Closed Area I Access Area 
scallop fishery, complied with all trip notification and observer 
requirements, and crossed the vessel monitor system (VMS) demarcation 
line on the way to the area before 0001, June 18, 2018, may complete 
its trip without being subject to this closure. This closure is in 
effect for the remainder of the 2018 scallop fishing year, through 
March 31, 2019.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866. NMFS finds good cause pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the opportunity for public 
comment because it would be contrary to the public interest and 
impracticable. The Closed Area I Scallop Access Area opened for the 
2018 fishing year on April 19, 2018. The regulations at Sec.  
648.59(g)(3)(iii) require this closure to ensure that LAGC IFQ scallop 
vessels do not take more than their allocated number of trips in the 
Closed Area I Scallop Access Area. The projected date on which the LAGC 
IFQ fleet will have taken all of its allocated trips in an Access Area 
becomes apparent only as trips into the area occur on a real-time basis 
and as activity trends begin to appear. As a result, NMFS can only make 
an accurate projection very close in time to when the fleet has taken 
all of its trips. In order to propose a closure for purposes of 
receiving prior public comment, NMFS would need to make a projection 
based on very little information, which would result in a closure too 
early or too late. To allow LAGC IFQ scallop vessels to continue to 
take trips in the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area during the period 
necessary to publish and receive comments on a proposed rule would 
likely result in the vessels taking much more than the allowed number 
of trips in the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area. Excessive trips and 
harvest from the Closed Area I Scallop Access Area would result in 
excessive fishing effort in the area, where effort controls are 
critical, thereby undermining conservation objectives of the Atlantic 
Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan and requiring more restrictive 
future management measures. Also, the public had prior notice and full 
opportunity to comment on this closure process when it was enacted For 
these same reasons, NMFS further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C 553(d)(3), 
good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period.

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

    Dated: June 14, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-13132 Filed 6-15-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P