Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 30739 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

prior to July 1. The Purse Seine category 

fishery closes on December 31 of each 

year. 

* * * * * 

(5) Harpoon category quota. The total 

amount of large medium and giant BFT 

that may be caught, retained, possessed, 

landed, or sold by vessels that possess 

Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas 

permits is 3.9 percent (37.1 mt) of the 

baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. The 

Harpoon category fishery commences on 

June 1 of each year, and closes on 

November 15 of each year. 

* * * * * 

(7) * * * 

(i) The total amount of BFT that is 

held in reserve for inseason or annual 

adjustments and fishery-independent 

research using quotas or subquotas is 

2.5 percent (23.8 mt) of the baseline 

annual U.S. BFT quota. Consistent with 

paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS 

may allocate any portion of this reserve 

for inseason or annual adjustments to 

any category quota in the fishery. 

(ii) The total amount of school BFT 

that is held in reserve for inseason or 

annual adjustments and fisheryindependent research is 18.5 percent 

(18.1 mt) of the total school BFT 

Angling category quota as described 

under paragraph (a)(2) of this section. 

This amount is in addition to the 

amounts specified in paragraph (a)(7)(i) 

of this section. Consistent with 

paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS 

may allocate any portion of the school 

BFT Angling category quota held in 

reserve for inseason or annual 

adjustments to the Angling category. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–13207 Filed 5–27–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0908191244–91427–02] 

RIN 0648–XW47 

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; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of North Carolina is transferring a 

portion of its 2010 commercial summer 

flounder quota to the Commonwealth of 

Virginia. By this action, NMFS adjusts 

the quotas and announces the revised 

commercial quota for each state 

involved. 

DATES: Effective May 27, 2010 through 

December 31, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Heil, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9257. 

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 § 648.100. 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan, which was published 

on 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 § 648.100(d). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

the criteria set forth in § 648.100(d)(3) in 

the evaluation of requests for quota 

transfers or combinations. 

North Carolina has agreed to transfer 

10,975 lb (4,978 kg) of its 2010 

commercial quota to Virginia. This 

transfer was prompted by summer 

flounder landings of a North Carolina 

vessel that was granted safe harbor in 

Virginia due to mechanical problems on 

April 9, 2010. The Regional 

Administrator has determined that the 

criteria set forth in § 648.100(d)(3) have 

been met. The revised quotas for 

calendar year 2010 are: North Carolina, 

3,371,527 lb (1,529,299 kg); and 

Virginia, 2,908,930 lb (1,319,468 kg). 

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: May 27, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13205 Filed 5–27–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

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