48608 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 31, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Area Extended falconry dates 

Ducks, mergansers, and coots ......................................................... Sept. 18–Sept. 19 

(1) In Montana, the limits are 2 daily and 6 in possession. 

(2) In New Mexico, the limits for sandhill cranes are 3 daily and 6 in possession. 

(3) In California, in the Imperial County Special Management Area, there is no extended falconry season. 

(4) In Oregon, no more than 1 pigeon daily in bag or possession. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18429 Filed 8–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–XB238 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Skate Complex; 

Rescission of Control Dates 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of rescinded control 

dates. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

rescission of the July 30, 2009, and 

March 31, 2014, skate wing and bait 

fishery control dates. The New England 

Fishery Management Council has 

decided to discontinue development of 

limited access alternatives for both the 

skate wing and skate bait fisheries as 

part of Amendment 5 to the Northeast 

Skate Complex Fishery Management 

Plan. The Council also stated that the 

existing control dates for each sector of 

the fishery are too outdated to be used 

should the Council reconsider limited 

access for the skate fisheries in the 

future and has requested that NMFS 

rescind both control dates. This 

notification informs stakeholders and 

the public of this decision, and that July 

30, 2009, and March 31, 2014, are no 

longer considered dates for entry into 

the bait and skate wing fisheries, 

respectively. 

DATES: The rescission of skate wing and 

bait fishery control dates is effective 

August 31, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The New 

England Fishery Management Council 

manages a complex of seven skate 

species (barndoor, clearnose, little, 

rosette, smooth, thorny, and winter 

skate) through the Northeast Skate 

Complex Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). Under this FMP, skates are 

harvested and managed within two 

targeted fishery sectors, one for use as 

food (the wing fishery) and one for use 

as bait in other fisheries (the bait 

fishery). Currently, all skate permits are 

open access and may be obtained 

anyone with a valid commercial 

operator’s permit. 

NMFS announced a control date of 

July 30, 2009, for the bait sector of the 

fishery (74 FR 37977; July 30, 2009) 

during the initial development of 

Amendment 3 to the Skate FMP. At that 

time, the Council was concerned about 

the possibility of increased effort by 

new entrants into the skate bait fishery, 

and therefore, considered developing a 

limited access program for that sector 

only. The notification announcing the 

control date intended to promote public 

awareness of potential eligibility criteria 

for access to the fishery and possible 

implementation of a limited-entry 

management plan. Although 

Amendment 3 (75 FR 34049; June 16, 

2010) did not end up establishing 

limited entry for the bait fishery, the 

July 30, 2009 control date remained on 

record for future use. 

On March 31, 2014, NMFS announced 

a separate control date for the wing 

fishery at the Council’s request (79 FR 

18002; March 31, 2014). This 

notification was not tied to a specific 

regulatory action or amendment at the 

time, but was intended as a preliminary 

step toward preparing for a limited 

entry program for the overall skate 

fishery and announcing these 

possibilities to the public. 

In 2016, the Council began developing 

Amendment 5 to the Skate FMP, which 

included consideration of limited access 

for both the bait and wing sectors of the 

fishery. However, at its meeting in April 

2021, the Council decided to 

discontinue development of all limited 

access alternatives in this amendment in 

favor of other management strategies to 

address latent effort. In conjunction 

with that decision, the Council also 

determined that both control dates for 

the wing and bait skate fisheries are 

outdated should a limited access 

program be reconsidered in the future. 

As a result, at its following meeting in 

June 2021, the Council voted to request 

NMFS rescind the existing control dates 

for the skate FMP. Therefore, NMFS 

announces the rescission of the July 30, 

2009, control date with respect to the 

skate bait fishery; and the March 31, 

2014, control date with respect to the 

skate wing fishery. 

The Council decided to not develop a 

limited entry management system for 

the Skate FMP in Amendment 5. 

However, if the Council chooses to 

pursue limited access in the future, it 

will consider new control dates for 

these fisheries. 

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

Dated: August 25, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18679 Filed 8–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 210716–0148; RTID 0648– 

XB188] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fishery; 2021 Illex Squid 

Quota Harvested 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reduction of 

possession limit. 

SUMMARY: Federal Illex squid vessel 

permit holders are prohibited from 

fishing for, catching, possessing, 

transferring or landing more than 10,000 

lb (4,535 kg) of Illex squid per trip, and 

from landing Illex squid more than once 

per calendar day. This prohibition is 

required when NMFS projects that 94 

percent of the 2021 annual catch limit 

has been caught. This action is intended 

to prevent over-harvest of Illex squid for 

the fishing year. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, 

August 30, 2021, through December 31, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alyson Pitts, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9352. 


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