Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 127 / Monday, July 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 30887 

of three swordfish per vessel per trip in 

the Northwest Atlantic and Gulf of 

Mexico regions, and two swordfish per 

vessel per trip in the U.S. Caribbean 

region. Limiting opportunities to harvest 

available directed swordfish quota may 

have negative social and economic 

impacts for U.S. fishermen. Adjustment 

of the retention limits needs to be 

effective on July 1, 2018, to allow SWO 

General Commercial permit holders and 

HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders 

with a commercial endorsement to 

benefit from the adjustment during the 

relevant time period, which could pass 

by for some fishermen, particularly in 

the Northwest Atlantic region who have 

access to the fishery during a short time 

period because of seasonal fish 

migration, if the action is delayed for 

notice and public comment. 

Furthermore, the public was given an 

opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings, including the 

adoption of the North Atlantic 

swordfish U.S. quota, and the retention 

limit adjustments in this action would 

not have any additional effects or 

impacts since the retention limit does 

not affect the overall quota. Thus, there 

would be little opportunity for 

meaningful input and review with 

public comment on this action. 

Therefore, the AA finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment. For all of the above reasons, 

there is also good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness. 

This action is being taken under 50 

CFR 635.24(b)(4) and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: June 26, 2018. 

Margo B. Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14116 Filed 6–27–18; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 151211999–6343–02] 

RIN 0648–XG318 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; Gulf of Maine Haddock 

Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area 

Closure for the Common Pool Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; area closure. 

SUMMARY: This action closes the Gulf of 

Maine Haddock Trimester Total 

Allowable Catch Area to Northeast 

multispecies common pool vessels 

fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, 

and longline/hook gear. The closure is 

required because the common pool 

fishery is projected to have caught over 

90 percent of its Trimester 1 quota for 

Gulf of Maine haddock. This closure is 

intended to prevent an overage of the 

common pool’s quota for this stock. 

DATES: This action is effective June 29, 

2018, through August 31, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal 

regulations at § 648.82(n)(2)(ii) require 

the Regional Administrator to close a 

common pool Trimester Total 

Allowable Catch (TAC) Area for a stock 

when 90 percent of the Trimester TAC 

is projected to be caught. The closure 

applies to all common pool vessels 

fishing with gear capable of catching 

that stock, and remains in effect for the 

remainder of the trimester. During the 

closure, common pool vessels fishing 

with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and 

longline/hook gear may not fish for, 

harvest, possess, or land regulated 

multispecies or ocean pout in or from 

the Trimester TAC Area for the stock. 

The Trimester 1 TAC for Gulf of 

Maine (GOM) haddock is 26.3 mt 

(57,982 lb). Based on catch data through 

June 17, 2018, the common pool fishery 

is projected to have caught 29.4 mt 

(64,792 lb) of GOM haddock, or 112 

percent of the Trimester 1 TAC. 

Effective June 29, 2018, the GOM 

Haddock Trimester TAC Area is closed 

for the remainder of Trimester 1, 

through August 31, 2018. The GOM 

Haddock Trimester TAC Area consists 

of statistical areas 513, 514, and 515. 

During the closure, common pool 

vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink 

gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear may 

not fish for, harvest, possess, or land 

regulated multispecies or ocean pout in 

or from this area. The area reopens at 

the beginning of Trimester 2 on 

September 1, 2018. 

If a vessel declared its trip through the 

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) or the 

interactive voice response system, and 

crossed the VMS demarcation line prior 

to June 29, 2018, it may complete its trip 

within the GOM Haddock Trimester 

TAC Area. A vessel that has set its sink 

gillnet gear prior to June 29, 2018, may 

complete its trip by hauling such gear. 

If the common pool fishery exceeds 

its total quota for a stock in the 2018 

fishing year, the overage must be 

deducted from the common pool’s quota 

for that stock for fishing year 2019. 

Weekly quota monitoring reports for the 

common pool fishery are on our website 

at: http://www.greateratlantic.

fisheries.noaa.gov/ro/fso/ 

MultiMonReports.htm. We will continue 

to monitor common pool catch through 

vessel trip reports, dealer-reported 

landings, VMS catch reports, and other 

available information and, if necessary, 

will make additional adjustments to 

common pool management measures. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B) and 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to 

waive prior notice and the opportunity 

for public comment and the 30-day 

delayed effectiveness period because it 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest. 

The regulations require the Regional 

Administrator to close a trimester TAC 

area to the common pool fishery when 

90 percent of the Trimester TAC for a 

stock has been caught. Updated catch 

information through June 17, 2018, only 

recently became available indicating 

that the common pool fishery is 

projected to have caught 112 percent of 

its Trimester 1 TAC for GOM haddock. 

The time necessary to provide for prior 

notice and comment, and a 30-day delay 

in effectiveness, would prevent the 

immediate closure of the GOM Haddock 

Trimester TAC Area. This would be 

contrary to the regulatory requirement 

and would increase the magnitude of 

the Trimester 1 closure and the 

likelihood that the common pool fishery 

would exceed its annual quota of GOM 

haddock. Any overage of the Trimester 

1 or Trimester 2 TACs are deducted 

from the Trimester 3 TAC, and any 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
30888 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 127 / Monday, July 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

overage of the annual quota would be 

deducted from common pool’s quota for 

the next fishing year, to the detriment of 

this stock. This could undermine 

conservation and management 

objectives of the Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery Management Plan. Fishermen 

expect these closures to occur in a 

timely way to prevent overages and 

their payback requirements. Overages of 

the trimester or annual common pool 

quota could cause negative economic 

impacts to the common pool fishery as 

a result of overage paybacks deducted 

from a future trimester or fishing year. 

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

Dated: June 27, 2018. 

Margo B. Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14185 Filed 6–29–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES