[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60449-60450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20829]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 041110317-4364-02; I.D. 053105F]


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; inseason adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it has approved the request of the State 
of New Jersey to transfer 36,333 lb (16,481 kg) of commercial summer 
flounder quota to the states of Maine, Connecticut, and New York, and 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in accordance with the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Addendum XV to the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). By 
this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised 
commercial quota for each state involved.

DATES: Effective October 13, 2005 through December 31, 2005, unless 
NMFS publishes a superseding document in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Ruccio, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9104, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. The 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.  648.100.
    The ASMFC adopted Addendum XV to the FMP in November 2004. The 
Addendum is being implemented under the adaptive management and 
framework procedures that are part of the FMP. Addendum XV establishes 
a program, for 2005 and 2006, that allocates the increase in commercial 
summer flounder quota (from the 2004 amount) differently than the 
existing allocation scheme, in order to reduce the amount of fish that 
must be discarded as bycatch in the commercial fishery in states with 
relatively low summer flounder quotas. The transfer of quota from donor 
states will allow recipient states to marginally increase trip limits, 
thereby decreasing the amount of summer flounder discarded at sea.
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the FMP (December 17, 
1993; 58 FR 65936) provided a mechanism for summer flounder quota to be 
transferred from one state to another. Two or more states, under mutual 
agreement and with the concurrence of the Administrator, Northeast 
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), can transfer or combine summer 
flounder commercial quota under Sec.  648.100(d). The Regional 
Administrator is required to consider the criteria set forth in Sec.  
648.100(d)(3) in the evaluation of requests for quota transfers or 
combinations. The Regional Administrator has reviewed those criteria 
and approved the quota transfer requests submitted by the State of New 
Jersey.
    Consistent with Addendum XV, New Jersey, a designated ``donor 
state,'' has voluntarily employed the quota transfer provisions of the 
FMP to transfer a total of 36,333 lb (16,481 kg) to be allocated as 
follows: Maine 999 lb (453 kg); Massachusetts 10,957 lb (4,970 kg); 
Connecticut 13,965 lb (6,335 kg); and New York 10,412 lb (4,723 kg)(see 
Table 1).

[[Page 60450]]



           Table 1. Summer Flounder Commercial Quota Transfers
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Amount         2005      2005 Revised
                                Transferred     Quota\1\        Quota
            State             ------------------------------------------
                                 lb      kg     lb     kg     lb     kg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey                     -36,33  -16,4  3,005  1,363  2,969  1,346
                                3       81     ,481   ,286   ,148   ,806
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine                          +999    +453   12,39  5,623  13,39  6,076
                                               6             5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Massachusetts                  +10,95  +4,97  1,219  553,2  1,230  558,2
                                7       0      ,773   89     ,730   59
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connecticut                    +13,96  +6,33  459,4  208,3  473,3  214,7
                                5       5      08     87     73     22
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York                       +10,41  +4,72  1,414  641,5  1,424  646,2
                                2       3      ,282   18     ,694   41
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Reflects quotas as published on June 21, 2005 (70 FR 35557),
  inclusive of previous Addendum XV and ``safe harbor'' transfers.

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: October 12, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-20829 Filed 10-13-05; 3:01 pm]
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