72082 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 230 / Thursday, December 1, 2005 / Rules and Regulations 

fishing activities. NMFS presumes that 

the remaining states that have not yet 

responded concur with the 

determination. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. 

Dated: November 28, 2005. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–23532 Filed 11–30–05; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 050112008–5102–02; I.D. 

112505B] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Total 

Allowable Catch Harvested for 

Management Area 1A 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that 95 

percent of the Atlantic herring total 

allowable catch (TAC) allocated to 

Management Area 1A (Area 1A) for 

2005 is projected to be harvested by 

December 2, 2005. Therefore, effective 

0001 hours, December 2, 2005, federally 

permitted vessels may not fish for, 

catch, possess, transfer or land more 

than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic 

herring in or from Area 1A per trip or 

calendar day until January 1, 2006, 

when the 2006 TAC becomes available, 

except for transiting purposes as 

described in this document. Regulations 

governing the Atlantic herring fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise vessel and dealer permit 

holders that no TAC is available for the 

directed fishery for Atlantic herring 

harvested from Area 1A. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hrs local time, 

December 2, 2005, through 2400 hrs 

local time, December 31, 2005. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don 

Frei, Fisheries Management Specialist, 

at (978) 281–9221. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

herring fishery are found at 50 CFR part 

648. The regulations require annual 

specification of optimum yield, 

domestic and foreign fishing, domestic 

and joint venture processing, and 

management area TACs. The 2005 TAC 

allocated to Area 1A (70 FR 21971, 

April 28, 2005) is 60,000 mt 

(132,277,621 lb). 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.202 

require the Administrator, Northeast 

Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) 

to monitor the Atlantic herring fishery 

in each of the four management areas 

designated in the Fishery Management 

Plan for the Atlantic Herring Fishery 

and, based upon dealer reports, state 

data, and other available information, to 

determine when the harvest of Atlantic 

herring is projected to reach 95 percent 

of the TAC allocated. When such a 

determination is made, NMFS is 

required to publish notification in the 

Federal Register of this determination. 

Effective upon a specific date, NMFS 

must notify vessel and dealer permit 

holders that, vessels are prohibited from 

fishing for, catching, possessing, 

transferring or landing more than 2,000 

lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip or 

calendar day in or from the specified 

management area for the remainder of 

the closure period. Transiting of Area 

1A is allowed under the conditions 

specified below. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information, that 95 

percent of the total Atlantic herring TAC 

allocated to Area 1A for the 2005 fishing 

year is projected to be harvested by 

December 2, 2005. Therefore, effective 

0001 hrs local time, December 2, 2005, 

federally permitted vessels may not fish 

for, catch, possess, transfer or land more 

than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic 

herring in or from Area 1A per trip or 

calendar day through December 31, 

2005; except a vessel may transit, or 

land herring in Area 1A with more than 

2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring on board, 

provided such herring were not caught 

in Area 1A, and provided all fishing 

gear is stowed and not available for 

immediate use as required by 

§ 648.23(b). Effective December 2, 2005, 

federally permitted dealers are also 

advised that they may not purchase 

Atlantic herring from federally 

permitted Atlantic herring vessels that 

harvest more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

Atlantic herring from Area 1A through 

December 31, 2005, 2400 hrs local time. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: November 25, 2005. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–23534 Filed 11–28–05; 1:55 pm] 

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