Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 3 / Thursday, January 4, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 291

this document in the Federal Register.

The Assistant Administrator will

consider all comments made during the

public comment period and may

propose modifications as appropriate.

Because prior notice and opportunity

for public comment is not required

under 5 U.S.C. 553, or under any other

public law, preparation of a Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis under 5 U.S.C.

603(a) and 604(a) is not required and

none has been prepared.

The Administrative Procedure Act

requires that publication of an action be

made not less than 30 days before its

effective date unless the Assistant

Administrator finds and publishes with

the rule good cause for an earlier

effective date (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)). These

specifications announce the harvest

goals and the management measures

designed to achieve those harvest goals

in 1996. A delay in implementation

could compromise the management

strategies that are based on the projected

landings from these trip limits.

Therefore, a delay in effectiveness is

contrary to the public interest and these

actions are effective on January 1, 1996.

Dated: December 28, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–31580 Filed 12–29–95; 11:57

am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

50 CFR Part 625

[Docket No. 951116270–5308–02; I.D.

110195B]

Summer Flounder Fishery; Final

Specifications for 1996; Technical

Amendment

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Final specifications for the 1996

summer flounder fishery; final rule,

technical amendment.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final

specifications for the 1996 summer

flounder fishery, which include

commercial catch quotas and mesh size

requirements, and revises the applicable

regulations to accurately reflect the

intent of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council regarding the

‘‘cap’’ on the harvest limit. The intent of

this document is to comply with

implementing regulations for the fishery

that require NMFS to publish measures

for the upcoming fishing year that will

prevent overfishing of the summer

flounder resource, and to modify the

language specifying the ‘‘cap’’ on the

annual harvest limit.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 29, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the

Environmental Assessment and

supporting documents used by the

Monitoring Committee are available

from: Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, Federal Building, 300 S. New

Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina Spallone, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 508–281–9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Fishery Management Plan for the

Summer Flounder Fishery (FMP) was

developed jointly by the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)

and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council (Council) in

consultation with the New England and

South Atlantic Fishery Management

Councils. The management unit for the

FMP is summer flounder (Paralichthys

dentatus) in U.S. waters of the Atlantic

Ocean from the southern border of

North Carolina northward to the

Canadian border. Implementing

regulations for the fishery are found at

50 CFR part 625.

Section 625.20 of Title 50, Code of

Federal Regulations implementing the

Fishery Management Plan for the

Summer Flounder Fishery (FMP)

specifies the process for setting annual

management measures in order to

achieve the fishing mortality (F) rates

specified in the FMP. Under

Amendment 7 to the FMP, the schedule

of F rates established sets a target

fishing mortality rate of 0.41 in 1996,

0.3 in 1997, and 0.23 (Fmax) in 1998 and

thereafter, provided the allowable levels

of fishing in 1996 and 1997 may not

exceed a ‘‘cap’’ of 18.51 million lb (8.4

million kg), unless such fishing levels

had an associated F of 0.23. This ‘‘cap’’

reflected a rounding of the actual

poundage. The Council felt that such a

rounding, while convenient for the

reader, did not accurately reflect the

true intent, which was 18,518,830 lb

(8,400 mt). Therefore, this action

modifies the ‘‘cap’’ to reflect the

Council’s intent that the maximum

allowable harvest level associated with

this ‘‘cap’’ is 18,518,830 lb (8,400 mt).

This clarification is outlined in the

section below, which specifies changes

from the proposed specifications.

Pursuant to § 625.20, the Director,

Northeast Region, NMFS, implements

certain measures for the fishing year to

ensure achievement of the appropriate

fishing mortality rate. The measures

include those that are changed, and

those that are not changed, from the

proposed 1996 specifications that were

published in the Federal Register on

November 28, 1995 (60 FR 58593). The

unchanged measures include: (1) A

minimum commercial fish size of 13

inches (33 cm); and (2) a minimum

mesh size restriction of 5.5-inch (14.0-

cm) diamond or 6-inch (15.2-cm)

square. The changed measures include:

(1) A coastwide harvest limit of

18,518,830 lb (8.40 million kg); (2) a

coastwide commercial quota of

11,111,298 lb (5.04 million kg); and (3)

a coastwide recreational harvest limit of

7,407,532 lb (3.36 million kg).

Commercial Quota

The coastwide commercial quota is

allocated among the states based on

historic catch shares specified in the

regulations. Table 1 presents the 1996

commercial quota (11,111,298 lb;

5,040,000 kg) apportioned among the

states according to the percentage shares

specified in § 625.20(d)(1). These state

allocations do not reflect the

adjustments required under § 625.20, if

1995 landings exceed the 1995 quota for

any state. A notification of allocation

adjustment will be published in the

Federal Register if such an adjustment

is necessary.

TABLE 1.—1996 STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS

State Share

(%)

1996 quota

(lb)

1996 quota

(kg)

ME ............................................................................................................................................................ 0.04756 5,284 2,397

NH ............................................................................................................................................................ 0.00046 51 23

MA ............................................................................................................................................................ 6.82046 757,841 343,751

RI .............................................................................................................................................................. 15.68298 1,742,583 790,422

CT ............................................................................................................................................................ 2.25708 250,791 113,757

NY ............................................................................................................................................................ 7.64699 849,680 385,408

NJ ............................................................................................................................................................. 16.72499 1,858,363 842,939
292 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 3 / Thursday, January 4, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

TABLE 1.—1996 STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS—Continued

State Share

(%)

1996 quota

(lb)

1996 quota

(kg)

DE ............................................................................................................................................................ 0.01779 1,977 897

MD ............................................................................................................................................................ 2.03910 226,570 102,770

VA ............................................................................................................................................................ 21.31676 2,368,569 1,074,365

NC ............................................................................................................................................................ 27.44584 3,049,589 1,383,270

Recreational catch data for 1995 are

not yet available. The Council and

ASMFC will consider modifications to

the recreational possession limit and

recreational season after a review of that

information.

Final Rule, Technical Amendment and

Changes From Proposed Specifications

to Final Specifications

This document modifies the language

specified in § 625.20(a) established by

the final rule for Amendment 7 to the

FMP that set the harvest limit ‘‘cap’’ at

18.51 million lb (8,396 mt). The final

rule, technical amendment contained in

this action changes the harvest limit

‘‘cap’’ to be 18,518,830 lb (8,400 mt),

making the ‘‘cap’’ consistent with

Council intent as stated in the comment

submitted by the Council and addressed

below. The value of 8,400 mt is

contained in Amendment 7 and that

value is equivalent to 18,518,830 lb,

which is 8,830 lb greater than the

rounded off value of 18.51 million lb.

As a result, the state allocations of

commercial quota have been altered

slightly relative to the proposed

specifications.

Comments and Responses

One comment was received regarding

the 1996 summer flounder

specifications from the Council.

Comment: The Council checked the

administrative record and

acknowledged an error in the

publication of the harvest limit ‘‘cap’’,

as published in Amendment 7 to the

FMP. The Council wishes to correct the

specifications to reflect accurately their

intent regarding the total harvest limit

and subsequent specifications for the

commercial and recreational fisheries.

Specifically, the Council intended the

total harvest limit to equal 18,518,830 lb

(8,400 mt), rather than 18.51 million lb

which actually equals 8,396 mt. The

value of 18,518,830 lb would result in

an allocation of 11,111,298 lb (5,040,000

kg) to the commercial sector, and

7,407,532 lb (3,360,000 kg) to the

recreational sector.

Response: NMFS agrees. The

administrative record shows that, for the

purpose of reading ease, the numbers for

pounds were rounded during

publication. However, this rounding

resulted in a loss of the original intent

of the Council. To modify the

regulations to reflect more accurately

the record, a technical amendment to

the final rule for Amendment 7 is

necessary. That action accompanies the

publication of these final specifications.

Classification

This action is authorized by 50 CFR

part 625 and complies with the National

Environmental Policy Act.

These final specifications are exempt

from review under E.O. 12866.

For the technical regulatory change,

NMFS finds good cause to waive prior

notice and opportunity for public

comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). The

technical change corrects the

regulation’s codification of the quota

cap in Amendment 7 to reflect

accurately the language adopted by the

Council. As such, NMFS finds that prior

notice and comment are unnecessary.

Further, there is no requirement to delay

the effective date of this technical

change as it is not a substantive rule.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 625

Fisheries, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: December 28, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 625 is amended

as follows:

PART 625—SUMMER FLOUNDER

FISHERY

1. The authority citation for part 625

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 625.20, paragraph (a)

introductory text is revised to read as

follows:

§ 625.20 Catch quotas and other

restrictions.

(a) Annual review. The Summer

Flounder Monitoring Committee will

review the following data on or before

August 15 of each year to determine the

allowable levels of fishing and other

restrictions necessary to achieve a

fishing mortality rate (F) of 0.53 in 1993

through 1995, 0.41 in 1996, 0.30 in

1997, and 0.23 in 1998 and thereafter,

provided the allowable levels of fishing

in 1996 and 1997 may not exceed

18,518,830 lb (8,400 mt), unless such

fishing levels have an associated F of

0.23:

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 95–31584 Filed 12–29–95; 12:22

pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

50 CFR Part 625

[I.D. 122895A]

Summer Flounder Fishery;

Commercial Quota Transfer

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of commercial

quota transfer.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

State of New Jersey is transferring

138,000 lb (62,596 kg) of commercial

summer flounder quota to the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

NMFS adjusted the quotas and

announces the revised commercial

quota for each state involved.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 31, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy

Analyst, (508) 281–9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing Amendment

2 to the Fishery Management Plan for

the Summer Flounder Fishery are found

at 50 CFR part 625. 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 is

described in § 625.20.

The commercial quota for summer

flounder for the 1995 calendar year was

set equal to 14,690,407 lb (6,663,569 kg),

and the allocations to each state were

published February 16, 1995 (60 FR

8958). At that time, New Jersey was