[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 230 (Friday, November 30, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67672-67673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-5887]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040112010-4114-02]
RIN 0648-XE06


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Modification of the Yellowtail Flounder Landing 
Limit for the U.S./Canada Management Area

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; trip limit change.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast (NE) Region, 
NMFS (Regional Administrator), is increasing the Georges Bank (GB) 
yellowtail flounder trip limit to 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) for NE 
multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) vessels fishing in the U.S./Canada 
Management Area. This action is authorized by the regulations 
implementing Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management 
Plan and is intended to prevent under-harvesting of the Total Allowable 
Catch (TAC) for GB yellowtail flounder while ensuring that the TAC will 
not be exceeded during the 2007 fishing year. This action is being 
taken to provide additional opportunities for vessels to fully harvest 
the GB yellowtail flounder TAC under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

DATES: Effective November 27, 2007, through April 30, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9145, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the GB yellowtail 
flounder landing limit within the U.S./Canada Management Area are found 
at Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(C) and (D). The regulations authorize vessels 
issued a valid Federal limited access NE multispecies permit and 
fishing under a NE multispecies DAS to fish in the U.S./Canada 
Management Area, as defined at Sec.  648.85(a)(1), under specific 
conditions. The TAC for GB yellowtail flounder for the 2007 fishing 
year (May 1, 2007 - April 30, 2008) is 900 mt. The regulations at Sec.  
648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) authorize the Regional Administrator to increase or 
decrease the trip limits in the U.S./Canada Management Area to prevent 
over-harvesting or under-harvesting the TAC allocation.
    On April 24, 2007 (72 FR 20287), based upon the reduced 2007 TAC 
for GB yellowtail flounder (a 43 reduction from 2006) and projections 
of harvest rates in the fishery, the trip limit for GB yellowtail 
flounder was set at 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) for the 2007 fishing year, to 
prevent the over-harvest of the 2007 GB yellowtail flounder TAC, to 
prevent a premature closure of the Eastern U.S./Canada Management Area 
and, therefore, reduced opportunities to fish for Eastern GB cod and 
haddock in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area.
    According to the most recent Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) reports 
and other available information, only 45 percent of the TAC had been 
harvested as of November 21, 2007. Of this total, discards account for 
over 36 percent of the GB yellowtail harvest to date. Based on this 
information, the Regional Administrator has determined that the current 
rate of harvest will result in the under-harvest of the GB yellowtail 
flounder TAC during the 2007 fishing year. Increasing the GB yellowtail 
flounder trip limit from 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) to 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) is 
expected to increase landings of GB yellowtail flounder, reduce 
discards, and result in the achievement of the TAC during the fishing 
year without exceeding it. Based on this information, the Regional 
Administrator is increasing the current 3,000-lb (1,361-kg) trip limit 
in the U.S./Canada Area to 7,500 lb (3,402 kg), effective November 27, 
2007, through April 30, 2008. GB yellowtail flounder landings will 
continue to be closely monitored. Should 100 percent of the TAC 
allocation for GB yellowtail flounder be projected to be harvested, the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Management Area will close to all groundfish DAS 
vessels, and all vessels will be prohibited from harvesting, 
possessing, or landing yellowtail flounder from the U.S./Canada 
Management Area for the remainder of the fishing year.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and (d)(3), there is good cause 
to waive prior notice and opportunity for public comment, as well as 
the delayed effectiveness for this action, because prior notice and 
comment and a delayed effectiveness would be impracticable and contrary 
to the public interest. This action would relieve a restriction by 
increasing the trip limit for GB yellowtail flounder for all NE 
multispecies DAS vessels through April 30, 2008, to facilitate the 
harvest of the TAC for GB yellowtail flounder while ensuring that the 
TAC will not be exceeded during the 2007 fishing year. This will result 
in decreased regulatory discards of GB yellowtail flounder, increased 
revenue for the NE multispecies fishery, and an increased chance of 
achieving optimum yield in the groundfish fishery.
    This action is authorized by the regulations at Sec.  
648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) to facilitate achieving the U.S./Canada Management 
Area TACs. It is important to take this action immediately because the 
current restrictive GB yellowtail flounder trip limit (3,000 lb, 1,361 
kg) has resulted in a high discard rate of GB yellowtail flounder (36 
percent) and has prevented the NE multispecies fishery from harvesting 
the TAC at a rate that will result in complete harvest by the end of 
the 2007 fishing year. Delay in the implementation of this action could 
result in further wasteful discards of GB yellowtail flounder and 
decrease the opportunity available for vessels to fully harvest the 
2007 GB yellowtail flounder TAC.
    The time necessary to provide for prior notice, opportunity for 
public comment, and delayed effectiveness for this action would prevent 
NE multispecies DAS vessels from efficiently targeting GB yellowtail 
flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area. The Regional 
Administrator's authority to increase trip limits for GB yellowtail 
flounder in the U.S./Canada Management Area to help ensure that the 
shared U.S./Canada stocks of fish are harvested, but not exceeded, was 
considered and open to public comment during the development of 
Amendment 13 and Framework Adjustment 42. Further, the potential of 
increasing the GB yellowtail flounder trip limit was announced to the 
public when the 3,000-lb (1,361-kg) trip limit was announced prior to 
the start of the 2007 fishing year. Therefore, any negative effect the 
waiving of public comment and delayed effectiveness may have on the 
public is mitigated by these factors.

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


[[Page 67673]]


    Dated: November 27, 2007.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 07-5887 Filed 11-27-07; 2:08 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S