Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 213 / Thursday, November 2, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 65787

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33

CFR Part 165 as follows:

PART 165—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 165

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231: 50 U.S.C. 191;

33 CFR 1.05–1(g), 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5;

49 CFR 1.46.

2. A new temporary § 165.T17–SEAK–

016 is added to read as follows:

§ 165.T17–SEAK–016 Wrangell Narrows

Channel, Petersburg , Alaska-Safety Zone.

(a) Location. The following area is a

temporary safety zone: The waters

within a 500 yard radius of the barge

SWINIMOSH while engaged in blasting/

dredging operations to include periodic

complete channel closures in Wrangell

Narrows Shipping Channel, Petersburg

AK from Point Lockwood Rock, Lighted

Marker #1 (LL #22845), 56°34.0’ N,

132°58.1’ W to Rock Point, Lighted

Marker #40 (LL #23070), 56°40.3’ N,

132°56.1’ W.

(b) Effective dates. This regulation

becomes effective at 12:01 a.m.

November 2, 2000 and terminates at

12:01 a.m. December 16, 2000.

(c) Regulations. In accordance with

the general regulations in § 165.23 of

this part, entry into, transit through, or

anchoring within this safety zone is

prohibited except as authorized by the

Captain of the Port-Southeast Alaska.

The attending tug WALDO will be

standing by on channel 16 and 13 for

traffic advisory. All approaching vessel

traffic must contact the tug WALDO

prior to transiting the channel.

Dated: 17 October 2000.

R.C. Lorigan,

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the

Port, Southeast Alaska.

[FR Doc. 00–28056 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000426114-0114-01; I.D.

101700E]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Spiny Dogfish Fishery;

Commercial Quota Harvested for

Period 2

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure; commercial quota for

period 2.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

spiny dogfish commercial quota

available in Period 2 to the coastal states

from Maine through Florida has been

harvested. Therefore, the spiny dogfish

fishery will remain closed and

commercial vessels may not land spiny

dogfish from Maine through Florida

through April 24, 2001. Regulations

governing the spiny dogfish fishery

require publication of this notification

to advise the coastal states from Maine

through Florida that the quota has been

harvested and to advise vessel permit

holders and dealer permit holders that

no commercial quota is available for

landing spiny dogfish in these states.

DATES: Effective November 1, 2000,

0001 hrs, local time, through April 24,

2001, 2400 hrs, local time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David M. Gouveia, Fishery Policy

Analyst, at (978) 281-9280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the spiny dogfish

fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648.

The regulations require annual

specification of a commercial quota,

which is allocated into two quota

periods based upon percentages of the

annual quota. The period 1 commercial

quota (May through October) is

distributed to the coastal states from

Maine through Florida as described in

§ 648.230.

The initial total commercial quota for

spiny dogfish for the 2000 fishing year

was set equal to 4,000,000 lb (1,814 mt)

(65 FR 25887, May 4, 2000). The

commercial quota is allocated into two

periods (May 1 through October 31, and

November 1 through April 30), with trip

limits intended to preclude directed

fishing. Quota period 1 was allocated

2,316,000 lb (1,050 mt) and quota period

2 was allocated 1,684,000 lb (764 mt) of

the commercial quota, respectively.

Section 648.231 requires the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator) to monitor the

commercial spiny dogfish quota for each

quota period and, based upon dealer

reports, state data, and other available

information, to determine when the

commercial quota has been harvested.

NMFS is required to publish a

notification in the Federal Register

advising and notifying commercial

vessels and dealer permit holders that,

effective upon a specific date, the spiny

dogfish commercial quota has been

harvested and no commercial quota is

available for landing spiny dogfish for

the remainder of a given quota period.

Based on dealer reports and other

available information, the Regional

Administrator closed quota period 1 on

August 1, 2000 (65 FR 46877, August 1,

2000). However, due to state

management actions that were

inconsistent with the Federal quota,

spiny dogfish landings have already

exceeded the annual quota for the entire

2000 fishing year. Therefore, the

Regional Administrator is announcing

that the 2000 commercial period 2 quota

for spiny dogfish has been harvested

and the commercial spiny dogfish

fishery will remain closed for the

remainder of the fishing year.

Section 648.4(b) provides that Federal

spiny dogfish permit holders agree, as a

condition of the permit, not to land

spiny dogfish in any state after NMFS

has published notification in the

Federal Register that the commercial

quota for the period has been harvested

and that no commercial quota for the

spiny dogfish fishery is available. The

Regional Administrator has determined

that period 2 for spiny dogfish no longer

has commercial quota available.

Therefore, effective 0001 hrs local time,

November 1, 2000, landings of spiny

dogfish in coastal states from Maine

through Florida by vessels holding

commercial Federal fisheries permits

are prohibited through April 24, 2001,

2400 hrs local time. The fishing year

2001 quota period 1 for commercial

spiny dogfish harvest will open on May

1, 2001. Effective November 1, 2000,

federally permitted dealers are also

advised that they may not purchase

spiny dogfish from federally permitted

spiny dogfish permit holders that land

in coastal states from Maine through

Florida for quota period 2 (through

April 24, 2001).

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part

648 and is exempt from review under

Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: October 26, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–28054 Filed 11–1–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S