Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 54 / Thursday, March 20, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 13301

be deemed to be whole Atlantic bluefish

using a ratio of 1:2 (two fillets to one

whole fish). If Atlantic bluefish are

filleted into single (butterfly) fillets,

such fillets shall be deemed to be whole

Atlantic bluefish.

(4) Atlantic bluefish harvested from

party and charter boats or other vessels

carrying more than one person may be

commingled. Compliance with the daily

possession limit will be determined by

dividing the number of Atlantic bluefish

on board by the number of persons

aboard, provided, however, that if a

person or persons aboard are fishing

under a permit meeting the

requirements of § 648.4(a)(8), his/her

catch shall not be counted for

determining compliance with the

possession limit, if it is maintained in

the possession of such person(s). If there

is a violation of the possession limit on

board a vessel carrying more than one

person, the violation shall be deemed to

have been committed by the owner and/

or operator.

(b) Adjustment of the possession limit.

After notice and 15 days opportunity for

public comment, NMFS may adjust the

possession limit within a range of 0 to

15 Atlantic bluefish based on a

recommendation of the MAFMC and

Commission. NMFS will publish a

notice of any proposed adjustment,

together with the basis for such

adjustment, in the Federal Register.

After consideration of any public

comments, NMFS may adjust the

possession limit by publishing a notice

of adjustment in the Federal Register.

§ 648.162 Catch monitoring, commercial

controls, and gear restrictions.

(a) The Bluefish Committee will

review bluefish catch statistics, a

projection of the commercial share for

the next fishing year, and the most

recent stock assessment prior to August

15th of each year. The Bluefish

Committee will report to the MAFMC

and the Commission.

(b) The MAFMC and the Commission

will review the report of the Bluefish

Committee. If the report indicates that

the commercial catch for the next

fishing year will equal or exceed 20

percent of the total catch (recreational

catch plus commercial landings) of

Atlantic bluefish, the MAFMC and

Commission will propose the

commercial controls to be implemented

at the start of the upcoming year. If the

report indicates that the commercial

catch will be greater than 17 percent but

less than 20 percent of the total catch of

Atlantic bluefish, or that the commercial

share for the last full year is 50 percent

greater than the previous year’s

commercial share, the MAFMC and

Commission will determine whether

commercial controls are necessary. In

making such a determination the

MAFMC and Commission will consider:

(1) The most recent catch data.

(2) Trends in the fishery.

(3) Any other relevant factors.

(c) If the catch in the commercial

fishery is projected to equal or exceed

the 20 percent limit during the

upcoming year, then a state allocation

system will be implemented. This will

entail the use of landings data from the

most recent 10-year period for each

state, to determine the average

percentage of each state’s coastwide

commercial landings. These percentages

will be used to determine the amount of

the coastwide quota allocated to each

state. Quotas will apply to landings in

each state, regardless of where the

bluefish were caught. (d) If whole Atlantic bluefish are

processed into fillets at sea, then fillet

weight will be converted to whole

weight at the state of landing by

multiplying fillet weight by 2.5. If whole

Atlantic bluefish are headed and gutted

at sea, then the conversion is

accomplished by multiplying headed/

gutted weight by 1.5. (e) If the MAFMC concludes that the

increase in the commercial catch is

attributable to the use of purse seines,

pair trawls, or encircling (runaround)

gillnets, then it will propose restrictions

applicable to that gear type. In

determining what restrictions are

necessary to control the catch of

Atlantic bluefish by commercial

fishermen using these gear types, the

MAFMC may consider: (1) Trip limits;

(2) Area closures;

(3) Banning the use of these gear

types; or (4) Any other measures it deems

appropriate. (f) The Regional Administrator will

review any gear restrictions proposed by

the MAFMC. If the Regional

Administrator concurs that the

proposed gear restrictions are consistent

with the goals and objectives of the

FMP, the national standards, and other

applicable law, the Regional

Administrator will recommend that

NMFS publish a notice of the proposed

restrictions in the Federal Register with

a 30-day public comment period. After

publication of such notice and after

consideration of any public comments,

NMFS may impose such restrictions by

publishing a notice of gear restrictions

in the Federal Register. (g) NMFS may rescind any gear

restriction if it finds, based on the

advice of the MAFMC through the

process set forth in paragraphs (a) and

(b) of this section, that the restriction is

no longer necessary.

§ 648.163 Closure of the fishery.

The Regional Administrator shall

close the commercial fishery for

Atlantic bluefish in the EEZ if the

commercial fisheries for Atlantic

bluefish have been closed in all Atlantic

coastal states.

PART 628–[REMOVED]

9. Part 628 is removed.

[FR Doc. 97–6956 Filed 3–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING

COMMISSION

17 CFR Parts 15, 18 and 19

Reports by Large Traders; Cash

Position Reports in Grains (Including

Soybeans) and Cotton

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading

Commission.

ACTION: Final rulemaking; correction.

SUMMARY: CFTC is correcting an error in

reports by large traders previously

published in the Federal Register on

February 11, 1997, (62 FR 6112). The

original document contained an

erroneous word and inconsistent

wording.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 14, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lamont Reese, Commodity Futures

Trading Commission, Division of

Economic Analysis, Three Lafayette

Centre, 1155 21st St., N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20581.

Correction

In the final rule FR Doc. 97–3395,

beginning on page 6112 in the Federal

Register issue of February 11, 1997,

make the following correction:

§ 15.01 [Corrected]

On page 6113, in the third column, in

paragraph (d)(1) of § 15.01, the reference

to ‘‘futures and option and positions’’ is

corrected to read ‘‘futures and option

positions.’’

§ 18.04 [Corrected]

On 6114, in the first column, in

§ 18.04, in the second line, the reference

to ‘‘options or futures position’’ is

corrected to read ‘‘futures and option

position.’’

§ 19.00 [Corrected]

On page 6114, in the second column,

in § 19.00, in paragraph (a)(1), the

reference to ‘‘options or futures

positions’’ is corrected to read ‘‘futures

and option positions.’’

Jean A. Webb,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 97–6972 Filed 3–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6351–01–M