Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 81 /Tuesday, April 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 23227

published on May 5, 1997 (62 FR

24345), is corrected as follows:

On page 24345, in the third column,

in the last line of the summary, remove

‘‘U.S.’’ before the words ‘‘Steller sea lion

population.’’

Dated: April 22, 1998.

Rolland A. Schmitten,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 98–11244 Filed 4–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

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.

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

§ 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

State 1997

1997 quota 1 Preliminary 1997 landings 2Final 1997 landings Final 1997 overage

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
23228 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 81 /Tuesday, April 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

TABLE 1.—SUMMER FLOUNDER FINAL 1997 COMMERCIAL LANDINGS COMPARED TO THE PRELIMINARY 1997 LANDINGS,

BY STATE—Continued

State 1997

1997 quota 1 Preliminary 1997 landings 2Final 1997 landings Final 1997 overage

Lb (Kg) 3

Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg)

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

1 1997 quota as published December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).

2 1997 landings data as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).

3Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

4Parentheses indicate a negative number.

TABLE 2.—SUMMER FLOUNDER FINAL 1998 QUOTAS

State

Unadjusted 1998 quota 1 Preliminary adjusted 1998

quota 2

Final readjusted 1998 quota

lb (Kg) 3

lb (Kg) lb (Kg)

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

1As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 6304).

2As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).

3Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

4Parentheses 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

§ 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

Period

1997 quota 1997 landings 1997 overage

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

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
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 81 /Tuesday, April 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 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 § 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

State

1997 quota Preliminary 1997 landings 1Final 1997 landings Final 1997 overage

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

1Original 1997 Summer period landings data, as published January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).

2Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

TABLE 5.—FINAL READJUSTED 1998 SUMMER PERIOD QUOTAS

State

Unadjusted 1998 quota 1 Preliminary adjusted 1998

quotas 2

Final readjusted 1998

quotas

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
23230 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 81 /Tuesday, April 28, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

TABLE 5.—FINAL READJUSTED 1998 SUMMER PERIOD QUOTAS—Continued

State

Unadjusted 1998 quota 1 Preliminary adjusted 1998

quotas 2

Final readjusted 1998

quotas

Lb (Kg) 3

Lb (Kg) Lb (Kg)

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

1As published on December 18, 1997 (62 FR 66304).

2As published on January 23, 1998 (63 FR 3478).

3Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding.

4Parentheses 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