11918 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 43 / Thursday, March 5, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

Docket No. 140117052–4402–02] 

RIN 0648–XD799 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of North Carolina is transferring a 

portion of its 2015 commercial summer 

flounder quota to the Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts. These quota adjustments 

are necessary to comply with the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Fishery Management Plan quota 

transfer provision. This announcement 

is intended to inform the public of the 

revised commercial quota for each state 

involved. 

DATES: Effective March 2, 2015, through 

December 31, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Reid 

Lichwell, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9112. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are in 50 CFR 648.100– 

110. These regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned among the coastal states 

from North Carolina through Maine. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state are described in § 648.10(c)(1)(i). 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan provided a 

mechanism for summer flounder quota 

to be transferred from one state to 

another (December 17, 1993; 58 FR 

65936). Two or more states, under 

mutual agreement and with the 

concurrence of the NMFS Greater 

Atlantic Regional Administrator, can 

transfer or combine summer flounder 

commercial quota under § 648.102(c)(2). 

The Regional Administrator is required 

to consider the criteria in 

§ 648.102(c)(2)(i) when evaluating 

requests for quota transfers or 

combinations. 

North Carolina has agreed to transfer 

10,860 lb (4,926 kg) of its 2015 

commercial quota to Massachusetts. 

This transfer was prompted by landings 

of the F/V Poseidon, a North Carolina 

vessel that was granted safe harbor in 

Massachusetts due to a medical 

emergency, on February 8, 2015. As a 

result of these landings, a quota transfer 

is necessary to account for an increase 

in Massachusetts landings that would 

have otherwise accrued against the 

North Carolina quota. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the criteria set forth in 

§ 648.102(c)(2)(i) have been met. These 

transfers are consistent with the criteria 

because they will not preclude the 

overall annual quota from being fully 

harvested, the transfers address an 

unforeseen variation or contingency in 

the fishery, and the transfers are 

consistent with the objectives of the 

FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. The 

revised summer flounder commercial 

quotas for calendar year 2015 are: 

Massachusetts, 760,795 lb (345,091 kg); 

and North Carolina, 2,994,691 lb 

(1,358,368 kg). 

Classification 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 2, 2015. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05118 Filed 3–2–15; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 140918791–4999–02] 

RIN 0648–XD800 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Vessels Using Jig Gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by vessels using 

jig gear in the Central Regulatory Area 

of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action 

is necessary to prevent exceeding the A 

season allowance of the 2015 Pacific 

cod total allowable catch apportioned to 

vessels using jig gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), March 2, 2015, 

through 1200 hours, A.l.t., June 10, 

2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

Regulations governing sideboard 

protections for GOA groundfish 

fisheries appear at subpart B of 50 CFR 

part 680. 

The A season allowance of the 2015 

Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) 

apportioned to vessels using jig gear in 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA 

is 276 metric tons (mt), as established by 

the final 2015 and 2016 harvest 

specifications for groundfish of the GOA 

(80 FR 10250, February 25, 2015). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator) has 

determined that the A season allowance 

of the 2015 Pacific cod TAC 

apportioned to vessels using jig gear in 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA 

will soon be reached. Therefore, the 

Regional Administrator is establishing a 

directed fishing allowance of 271 mt 

and is setting aside the remaining 5 mt 

as bycatch to support other anticipated 

groundfish fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for Pacific cod by 

vessels using jig gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. After the 

effective date of this closure the 

maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 43 / Thursday, March 5, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 11919 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the directed fishing closure of 

Pacific cod for vessels using jig gear in 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

NMFS was unable to publish a notice 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of February 27, 

2015. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 2, 2015. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05063 Filed 3–2–15; 04:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 141021887–5172–02] 

RIN 0648–XD587 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands; 2015 and 2016 

Harvest Specifications for Groundfish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; closures. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces final 2015 

and 2016 harvest specifications and 

prohibited species catch allowances for 

the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to 

establish harvest limits for groundfish 

during the 2015 and 2016 fishing years, 

and to accomplish the goals and 

objectives of the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the BSAI (FMP). 

The intended effect of this action is to 

conserve and manage the groundfish 

resources in the BSAI in accordance 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Effective from 1200 hrs, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), March 5, 2015, 

through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 

2016. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

Alaska Groundfish Harvest 

Specifications Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS), Record of 

Decision (ROD), Supplementary 

Information Report (SIR) to the EIS, and 

the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA) prepared for this action are 

available from http://alaska

fisheries.noaa.gov. The final 2014 Stock 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

(SAFE) report for the groundfish 

resources of the BSAI, dated November 

2014, as well as the SAFE reports for 

previous years, are available from the 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) at 605 West 4th 

Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK, 

99510–2252, (phone) 907–271–2809, or 

from the Council’s Web site at http://

www.npfmc.org/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal 

regulations at 50 CFR part 679 

implement the FMP and govern the 

groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The 

Council prepared the FMP, and NMFS 

approved it under the MagnusonStevens Act. General regulations 

governing U.S. fisheries also appear at 

50 CFR part 600. 

The FMP and its implementing 

regulations require NMFS, after 

consultation with the Council, to 

specify the total allowable catch (TAC) 

for each target species category. The 

sum TAC for all groundfish species 

must be within the optimum yield (OY) 

range of 1.4 million to 2.0 million 

metric tons (mt) (see § 679.20(a)(1)(i)). 

This final rule specifies the TAC at 2.0 

million mt for both 2015 and 2016. 

NMFS also must specify 

apportionments of TAC, prohibited 

species catch (PSC) allowances, and 

prohibited species quota (PSQ) reserves 

established by § 679.21; seasonal 

allowances of pollock, Pacific cod, and 

Atka mackerel TAC; Amendment 80 

allocations; and Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) reserve 

amounts established by 

§ 679.20(b)(1)(ii). The final harvest 

specifications set forth in Tables 1 

through 22 of this action satisfy these 

requirements. 

Section 679.20(c)(3)(i) further requires 

NMFS to consider public comment on 

the proposed annual TACs (and 

apportionments thereof) and PSC 

allowances, and to publish final harvest 

specifications in the Federal Register. 

The proposed 2015 and 2016 harvest 

specifications and PSC allowances for 

the groundfish fishery of the BSAI were 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 8, 2014 (79 FR 72571). 

Comments were invited and accepted 

through January 7, 2015. NMFS received 

five letters with 13 comments on the 

proposed harvest specifications. These 

comments are summarized and 

responded to in the ‘‘Response to 

Comments’’ section of this rule. NMFS 

consulted with the Council on the final 

2015 and 2016 harvest specifications 

during the December 2014 Council 

meeting in Anchorage, AK. After 

considering public comments, as well as 

biological and economic data that were 

available at the Council’s December 

meeting, NMFS is implementing the 

final 2015 and 2016 harvest 

specifications as recommended by the 

Council. 

Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and 

TAC Harvest Specifications 

The final ABC levels for Alaska 

groundfish are based on the best 

available biological and socioeconomic 

information, including projected 

biomass trends, information on assumed 

distribution of stock biomass, and 

revised technical methods used to 

calculate stock biomass. In general, the 

development of ABCs and overfishing 

levels (OFLs) involves sophisticated 

statistical analyses of fish populations. 

The FMP specifies a series of six tiers 

to define OFL and ABC amounts based 

on the level of reliable information 

available to fishery scientists. Tier 1 

represents the highest level of 

information quality available while Tier 

6 represents the lowest. 

In December 2014, the Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC), Advisory 

Panel (AP), and Council reviewed 

current biological and harvest 

information about the condition of the 

BSAI groundfish stocks. The Council’s 

Plan Team compiled and presented this 

information in the final 2014 SAFE 

report for the BSAI groundfish fisheries, 

dated November 2014 (see ADDRESSES). 

The SAFE report contains a review of 

the latest scientific analyses and 

estimates of each species’ biomass and 

other biological parameters, as well as 

summaries of the available information 

on the BSAI ecosystem and the 

economic condition of groundfish 

fisheries off Alaska. NMFS notified the 

public and asked for review of the SAFE 

report in the notice of proposed harvest 

specifications. From these data and 

analyses, the Plan Team recommended 

an OFL and ABC for each species or 

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