31770 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 108 / Wednesday, June 4, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 080428607–8689–02] 

RIN 0648–AW69 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Northeast 

Multispecies Fishery; Allocation of 

Trips to Closed Area II Yellowtail 

Flounder Special Access Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; allocation of trips. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator), has allocated 

zero trips to the Closed Area (CA) II 

Yellowtail Flounder Special Access 

Program (SAP) during the 2008 fishing 

year (FY) (i.e., May 1, 2008, through 

April 30, 2009). The Regional 

Administrator has determined that the 

available catch of Georges Bank (GB) 

yellowtail flounder is insufficient to 

support a minimum level of fishing 

activity within the CA II Yellowtail 

Flounder SAP for FY 2008. The intent 

of this action is to help achieve 

optimum yield (OY) in the fishery by 

maximizing the utility of available GB 

yellowtail flounder TAC throughout FY 

2008. 

DATES: Effective June 30, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final rule 

implementing the FY 2008 TAC for GB 

yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area are available upon 

request from the NE Regional Office at 

the following mailing address: George 

H. Darcy, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Copies may also be requested by calling 

(978) 281–9315. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9341, FAX (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Framework Adjustment (FW) 40B (70 

FR 31323; June 1, 2005) requires that the 

Regional Administrator annually 

allocate the total number of trips into 

the CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP. A 

formula was developed in FW 40B to 

assist the Regional Administrator in 

determining the appropriate number of 

trips for this SAP on a yearly basis. The 

FY 2008 calculations for this equation 

were detailed in the proposed rule for 

this action (73 FR 24936; May 6, 2008) 

and are not repeated here. 

FW 40B authorized the Regional 

Administrator to allocate zero trips to 

this SAP if the available GB yellowtail 

flounder catch is not sufficient to 

support 150 trips with a 15,000–lb 

(6,804–kg) trip limit (i.e., if the available 

GB yellowtail catch is less than 1,021 

mt). Using the formula developed in FW 

40B, and based on the 1,950–mt U.S./ 

Canada GB yellowtail flounder TAC for 

2008 (73 FR 16571; March 28, 2008), the 

Regional Administrator has determined 

that there will be insufficient GB 

yellowtail flounder TAC to support the 

CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP for FY 

2008. Therefore, zero trips are allocated 

to the SAP for FY 2008. 

Comments and Responses 

One comment was received on this 

action. 

Comment 1: One commenter did not 

specifically address the proposed 

allocation of trips, but asserted that the 

CA II Yellowtail Flounder SAP should 

be closed for the next 10 years and very 

severe penalties adopted for violators. 

Response: The current regulatory 

restrictions in place, including the CA II 

Yellowtail Flounder SAP, are designed 

to protect and rebuild fish stocks in 

accordance with applicable laws. 

Depending on the amount of GB 

yellowtail flounder TAC available, the 

regulations allow the Regional 

Administrator, in consultation with the 

Council, to consider keeping the SAP 

closed on an annual basis or to allow an 

allocation of trips. NMFS does not 

believe that a closure on a more 

prolonged basis is necessary at this 

time. 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined that this action is necessary 

for the conservation and management of 

the NE multispecies fishery and that it 

is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act and other applicable 

laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

This final rule does not contain any 

new, nor does it revise existing 

reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

compliance requirements. 

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

Dated: May 30, 2008. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator For 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 08–1316 Filed 5–30–08; 2:50 pm] 

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