[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 73 (Thursday, April 16, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20446-20447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08735]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 140117052-4402-02]
RIN 0648-XD874


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.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is 
transferring a portion of its 2015 commercial summer flounder quota to 
the Commonwealth of Virginia. 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 April 15, 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 648.100-648.110. 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 Sec.  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

[[Page 20447]]

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 Sec.  
648.102(c)(2). The Regional Administrator is required to consider the 
criteria in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i) when evaluating requests for quota 
transfers or combinations.
    North Carolina has agreed to transfer 11,108 lb (5,039 kg) of its 
2015 commercial summer flounder quota to Virginia. This transfer was 
prompted by landings of the F/V Captain Ed, a North Carolina vessel 
that was granted safe harbor in Virginia due to mechanical failure, on 
March 3, 2015. As a result of these landings, a quota transfer is 
necessary to account for an increase in Virginia landings that would 
have otherwise accrued against the North Carolina quota.
    The Regional Administrator has determined that the criteria set 
forth in Sec.  648.102(c)(2)(i) have been met. The transfer is 
consistent with the criteria because it will not preclude the overall 
annual quota from being fully harvested, the transfer addresses an 
unforeseen variation or contingency in the fishery, and the transfer is 
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: Virginia, 2,394,228 lb 
(1,086,003 kg); and North Carolina, 2,983,583 lb (1,353,330 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: April 13, 2015.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-08735 Filed 4-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P