Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 10, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 57501 

summer flounder Federal permit 

holders until it is determined that the 

quota has been fully harvested. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, October 10, 

2007, through December 31, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Bryant, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9244. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are at 50 CFR part 648. 

The regulations require annual 

specification of a commercial quota that 

is apportioned on a percentage basis 

among the coastal states from North 

Carolina through Maine. The process to 

set the annual commercial quota and the 

percent allocated to each state is 

described in § 648.100. 

NMFS, in compliance with 

regulations found at 50 CFR part 648, 

closed the Federal commercial summer 

flounder fishery for the State of 

Connecticut after determining through 

quota monitoring that Connecticut had 

harvested its allocated summer flounder 

quota. This closure published at 72 FR 

48945, August 27, 2007, was effective 

August 27, 2007, and was intended to 

last through December 31, 2007. 

Later analyses comparing electronic 

dealer reports to commercial fishermen 

logbooks and Federal fishing vessel trip 

reports have revealed instances of 

summer flounder landings being 

attributed to Connecticut that were 

actually landed in other states. Due to 

this new information, Connecticut has 

reinstated a possession limit for the 

commercial harvest of summer flounder 

of 75 lb (34 kg). This notification 

announces NMFS’s decision to allow 

Federally permitted vessels to land 

summer flounder in Connecticut until 

the quota is determined to be fully 

harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 

hours October 10, 2007, through 

December 31, 2007, further landings of 

summer flounder in Connecticut by 

vessels holding summer flounder 

commercial Federal fisheries permits 

are allowed until the remaining quota 

has been harvested. Effective 0001 

hours, October 10, 2007, through 

December 31, 2007, federally permitted 

dealers are also notified that they may 

purchase summer flounder from 

federally permitted vessels that land in 

Connecticut for the remainder of the 

quota harvest. 

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: October 3, 2007. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Services. 

[FR Doc. E7–19928 Filed 10–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 070213033–7033–01] 

RIN 0648–XD21 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Atka Mackerel in the 

Western Aleutian District of the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands Management 

Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Atka mackerel in the Western 

Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the 2007 Atka 

mackerel total allowable catch (TAC) in 

the Western Aleutian District of the 

BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), October 4, 2007, through 

2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Hogan, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI according to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP) prepared by 

the North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

Regulations governing fishing by U.S. 

vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2007 Atka mackerel TAC in the 

Western Aleutian District of the BSAI is 

8,880 metric tons (mt) as established by 

the 2007 and 2008 final harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (72 FR 9451, March 2, 2007). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), has 

determined that the 2007 Atka mackerel 

TAC in the Western Aleutian District of 

the BSAI will soon be reached. 

Therefore, the Regional Administrator is 

establishing a directed fishing 

allowance of 8,870 mt, and is setting 

aside the remaining 10 mt as bycatch to 

support other anticipated groundfish 

fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the 

Western Aleutian District of the BSAI. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the closure of Atka mackerel in 

the Western Aleutian District of the 

BSAI. NMFS was unable to publish a 

notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of October 3, 2007. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: October 3, 2007. 

Emily H. Menashes 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–4992 Filed 10–4–07; 1:57 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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