[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23227-23230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-11241]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 971015246-7293-02; I.D. 041398A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder and 
Scup Fisheries; Readjustments to 1998 Quotas; Commercial Summer Period 
Scup Quota Harvested for Maryland

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment, notice of commercial quota 
harvest.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this notification announcing adjustments to the 
1998 summer flounder commercial state quotas and the 1998 scup Summer 
period state quotas. This action complies with regulations implementing 
the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 
Sea Bass Fisheries (FMP), which require that landings in excess of a 
state's annual summer flounder commercial quota and Summer period scup 
commercial quota be deducted from a state's respective quota the 
following year. The public is advised that quota adjustments have been 
made, and is informed of the revised quotas for the affected states.

DATES: Effective April 23, 1998, through December 31, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summer Flounder

    Regulations implementing summer flounder management measures are 
found at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and G. The regulations require 
annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among 
the Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The 
process to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to 
each state are described in Sec. 648.100. The final specifications for 
the 1998 summer flounder fishery, adopted to ensure achievement of a 
fishing mortality rate (F) of 0.24 for 1998, set a commercial quota 
equal to 11,105,636 lb (5.0 million kg) (62 FR 66304, December 18, 
1997).
    Section 648.100(d)(2) provides that all landings for sale in a 
state shall be applied against that state's annual commercial quota. 
Any landings in excess of the state's quota must be deducted from that 
state's annual quota for the following year. NMFS published a 
preliminary adjustment to the states' annual quotas on January 23, 1998 
(63 FR 3478), that deducted for state overages in the 1997 fishery. 
When those data were presented, NMFS noted that the data used in making 
the adjustments were preliminary, and if additional data became 
available that altered the figures, an additional adjustment would be 
necessary. Since that time, additional data have been submitted by 
state fisheries agencies and federally permitted dealers who submitted 
late reports. Additional landings were reported as the result of NMFS 
Law Enforcement investigations. Further Law Enforcement investigations 
are ongoing and a resulting quota adjustment from those investigations 
will be published if necessary.
    Based on dealer reports and other available information, NMFS has 
determined that the States of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina exceeded their 
1997 quotas. The remaining States of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New 
Hampshire did not exceed their 1997 quotas. This finding differs from 
that noted in the notice of preliminary quota adjustment, published on 
January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478). At that time, Connecticut and Virginia 
did not appear to have exceeded their 1997 quotas.
    The final 1997 landings and overages for all states and how those 
landings compare with the 1997 landings originally reported in the 
January notice are given in Table 1. This table illustrates that, in 
the following states, the revised 1997 landings resulted in additional 
overage to a state's quota: Massachusetts, New York, Delaware, 
Maryland, and North Carolina. There was no change to the data reported 
in Maine and New Hampshire. In the State of Rhode Island, revised 
landings are fewer than what were originally reported. The State of New 
Jersey showed additional landings, but those data still did not result 
in an overage for that State. Based on the revised data, the State of 
Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Virginia changed from a no-overage 
status to an overage. The revised 1998 commercial summer flounder quota 
for each state is given in Table 2. While this action adjusts the final 
quotas allocated to the states, it does not alter the notification of 
commercial quota harvest in the State of Delaware as indicated in that 
January notice.

                      Table 1.--Summer Flounder Final 1997 Commercial Landings Compared to the Preliminary 1997 Landings, by State                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1997 quota \1\              Preliminary 1997         Final 1997 landings       Final 1997 overage   
                                           --------------------------------       landings \2\       ---------------------------------------------------
                State 1997                                                 --------------------------                                                   
                                                  Lb           (Kg) \3\          Lb          (Kg)          Lb          (Kg)          Lb          (Kg)   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME........................................          2,342           1,062         2,835        1,286        2,835        1,286          493          224
NH........................................             51              23             0            0            0            0            0            0
MA........................................        709,229         321,701       745,105      337,974      745,171      338,004       35,942       16,303
RI........................................      1,596,443         724,134     1,584,641      718,781    1,557,867      706,637            0            0
CT........................................        246,924         120,031       246,924      112,003      247,258      112,154          334          151
NY........................................        754,343         342,164       814,027      369,236      815.741      370,014       61,398       27,850
NJ........................................      1,323,474         600,318     1,316,837      597,307    1,319,446      598,491            0            0
DE........................................     \4\ (5,662)         (2,568)        4,393        1,993        5,187        2,353       10,849        4,921
MD........................................        188,254          85,391       203,961       92,515      214,948       97,499       26,694       12,108
VA........................................      2,294,793       1,040,901     2,253,809    1,022,311    2,305,985    1,045,977       11,192        5,077

[[Page 23228]]

                                                                                                                                                        
NC........................................      1,273,605         577,698     1,455,212      660,073    1,673,345      759,017      399,740      181,319
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.................................      8,383,796       3,802,826     8,627,744    3,913,479    8,887,783    4,031,431      546,642      247,953
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\1\ 1997 quota as published December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).                                                                                            
\2\ 1997 landings data as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).                                                                                      
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.                                                                
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.                                                                                                             


                                                       Table 2.--Summer Flounder Final 1998 Quotas                                                      
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                                                             Unadjusted 1998 quota \1\       Preliminary adjusted 1998      Final readjusted 1998 quota 
                                                         --------------------------------            quota \2\           -------------------------------
                          State                                                          --------------------------------                               
                                                                lb           (Kg) \3\           lb             (Kg)             lb             (Kg)     
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ME......................................................          5,284           2,397           4,791           2,173           4,791           2,173 
NH......................................................             51              23              51              23              51              23 
MA......................................................        757,841         343,751         721,965         327,478         721,899         327,448 
RI......................................................      1,742,583         790,422       1,742,583         790,422       1,742,583         790,422 
CT......................................................        250,791         113,757         250,791         113,757         250,457         113,605 
NY......................................................        849,680         385,408         789,996         358,336         788,282         357,559 
NJ......................................................      1,858,363         842,939       1,858,363         842,939       1,858,363         842,939 
DE......................................................     \4\ (3,685)         (1,671)        (13,740)         (6,232)        (14,534)         (6,593)
MD......................................................        226,570         102,770         210,863          95,646         199,876          90,662 
VA......................................................      2,368,569       1,074,365       2,368,569       1,074,365       2,357,377       1,069,288 
NC......................................................      3,049,589       1,383,270       2,867,982       1,300,895       2,649,849       1,201,951 
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................     11,105,636       5,037,432      10,802,214       4,899,802      10,558,994      4,789,479  
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\1\ As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 6304).                                                                                                     
\2\ As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).                                                                                                      
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.                                                                
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.                                                                                                             

Scup

    Regulations implementing scup management measures are found at 50 
CFR part 648, subparts A and H. The regulations require annual 
specification of a commercial quota that is allocated into three 
periods: Winter I, Summer, and Winter II. During Winter I and Winter II 
periods, the commercial quota is distributed to the coastal states from 
Maine through North Carolina on a coastwide basis. During the Summer 
period, the commercial quota is apportioned among the Atlantic coastal 
states from Maine through North Carolina. The process to set the annual 
commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state during the 
Summer period is described in Sec. 648.120. The final specifications 
for the 1998 scup fishery, adopted to ensure achievement in 1998 of a 
target exploitation rate of 47 percent, the rate associated with 
F=0.72, set a commercial quota equal to 4,572,000 lb (2.07 million kg) 
(62 FR 66304, December 18, 1997).
    The 1997 Winter I and Winter II period landings are shown in Table 
3.--Landings did not exceed the allowable quota for either period. 
Therefore, no deductions from those periods are necessary.

                           Table 3. Final 1997 Winter Period Commercial Scup Landings                           
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                                           1997 quota               1997 landings             1997 overage      
              Period               -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Lb          (Kg)          Lb          (Kg)          Lb          (Kg)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I..........................    2,706,000    1,227,693    2,046,701      928,368            0            0
Winter II.........................      956,400      433,816      569,412      258,281            0            0
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    Section 648.120(d)(4) provides that all scup landed for sale in a 
state during the Summer period shall be applied against that state's 
summer commercial quota, regardless of where the scup were harvested. 
Section 648.120(d)(6) provides that any overages of the commercial 
quota landed in any state during the Summer period will be deducted 
from that state's Summer period quota for the following year. When the 
data were presented in the January notice, NMFS noted that the data 
used in making the adjustments were preliminary, and, if additional 
data became available that altered the figures, an additional 
adjustment would be necessary. Since that time, additional data have 
been submitted by state fisheries agencies and federally permitted 
dealers who submitted late reports.
    Based on dealer reports and other available information, NMFS has

[[Page 23229]]

determined that the States of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland 
have exceeded their 1997 Summer period quota for scup. The remaining 
States of Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 
Virginia, and North Carolina did not exceed their 1997 Summer period 
quotas. This finding differs from that noted in the notice of 
preliminary quota adjustment. At that time, Delaware and Maryland did 
not appear to have exceeded their 1997 Summer period quotas. But 
Massachusetts and North Carolina appeared to have exceeded theirs.
    The revised 1997 Summer period landings for all states and how 
those landings compare with the 1997 landings originally reported in 
the January notice are given in Table 4. This table illustrates that, 
in the States of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland, the revised 
1997 landings resulted in overage or additional overage to a state's 
quota. There was no change to the data reported in Maine and New 
Hampshire. In the States of Rhode Island and North Carolina, the 
revised landings are less than what was originally reported. The States 
of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia showed additional 
landings, but those data did not result in overages for those States.
    The revised 1998 commercial Summer period scup quota for each state 
is given in Table 5. While this action adjusts the final Summer period 
quotas allocated to the states, it does not alter the notification of 
commercial quota harvest in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as 
indicated in that January notice or in the State of Delaware as 
indicated in the final specifications. However, this notice does 
eliminate the overage and subsequent reduction of Summer period quota 
in the State of North Carolina.
    Section 648.121(b) requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor the Summer period state 
commercial quotas and to determine the date when a state's commercial 
quota is harvested. NMFS is required to publish notification in the 
Federal Register advising a state and notifying vessel and dealer 
permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, a state's Summer 
period commercial scup quota has been harvested and that no Summer 
period commercial quota is available for landing scup for the remainder 
of the period.
    Since this adjustment reduces the 1998 Maryland Summer period 
commercial quota allocation from 229 lb (104 kg) to -635 lb (-288 kg), 
this document also announces that the Summer period quota available to 
Maryland has been harvested and that no commercial quota is available 
for landings during the 1998 Summer period.
    The regulations at Sec. 648.4(b) provide that Federal scup 
commercial permit holders agree as a condition of the permit not to 
land scup in any state that the Regional Administrator has determined 
no longer has commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 
hours May 1, 1998, until 2400 hours, October 31, 1998, landings of scup 
in Maryland by vessels holding Federal commercial scup fisheries 
permits are prohibited, unless additional quota becomes available 
through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. Federally 
permitted dealers are also advised that they may not purchase scup from 
federally permitted scup vessels that land in Maryland for the Summer 
period or until additional quota becomes available through a transfer.

                     Table 4.--Scup Final 1997 Summer Period Commercial Landings Compared to the Preliminary 1997 Landings, by State                    
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                                                                1997 quota           Preliminary 1997       Final 1997 landings     Final 1997 overage  
                                                         ------------------------      landings \1\      -----------------------------------------------
                          State                                                  ------------------------                                               
                                                              Lb       (Kg) \2\       lb         (Kg)         lb         (Kg)         lb         (Kg)   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME......................................................       3,048       1,383           0           0           0           0           0           0
NH......................................................           1           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
MA......................................................     362,029     164,214   1,428,183     647,813   1,486,630     674,324   1,124,601     510,110
RI......................................................   1,415,425     642,026     398,880     180,929     353,735     160,451           0           0
CT......................................................      79,431      36,029      40,858      18,533      65,642      29,775           0           0
NY......................................................     398,527     180,769     221,320     100,389     307,159     139,325           0           0
NJ......................................................      73,453      33,318       2,056         933       2,181         989           0           0
DE......................................................           0           0           0           0          51          23          51          23
MD......................................................         301         137         162          73       1,165         528         864         392
VA......................................................       4,157       1,886         148          67         354         161           0           0
NC......................................................         628         285         888         403         575         261           0           0
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................   2,337,000   1,060,045   2,092,495     949,140   2,217,492   1,005,837   1,125,516     510,525
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\1\ Original 1997 Summer period landings data, as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).                                                              
\2\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.                                                                


                              Table 5.--Final Readjusted 1998 Summer Period Quotas                              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Unadjusted 1998 quota    Preliminary adjusted 1998      Final readjusted 1998   
                             ------------\1\-----------          quotas \2\                     quotas          
            State                                      ---------------------------------------------------------
                                   Lb        (Kg) \3\         Lb            (Kg)           Lb            (Kg)   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME..........................        2,322        1,053          2,322        1,053           2,322        1,053 
NH..........................            1            0              1            0               1            0 
MA..........................      275,866      125,131   \4\ (790,288)    (358,469)       (848,735)    (384,980)
RI..........................    1,078,554      489,224      1,078,554      489,224       1,078,554      489,224 
CT..........................       60,526       27,454         60,526       27,454          60,526       27,454 
NY..........................      303,678      137,746        303,678      137,746         303,678      137,746 
NJ..........................       55,972       25,388         55,972       25,388          55,972       25,388 

[[Page 23230]]

                                                                                                                
DE..........................            0            0              0            0             (51)         (23)
MD..........................          229          104            229          104            (635)        (288)
VA..........................        3,167        1,437          3,167        1,437           3,167        1,437 
NC..........................          479          217            219           99             479          217 
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...................    1,780,794      807,755        714,380      324,037         655,278      297,252 
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\1\ As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).                                                            
\2\ As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).                                                              
\3\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.                        
\4\ Parentheses indicate a negative number.                                                                     

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: April 23, 1998.
George H. Darcy,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-11241 Filed 4-23-98; 2:23 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P