58498 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

the LAGC fishery are found at §§ 648.59 

and 648.60. Regulations specifically 

governing IFQ scallop vessel operations 

in the LAGC fishery are specified at 

§ 648.53(a)(8)(iii). These regulations 

authorize vessels issued a valid IFQ 

scallop permit to fish in the LAGC 

fishery under specific conditions, 

including a TAC. The TACs were 

established by the final rule that 

implemented Framework 19 to the FMP 

(73 FR 30790 May 29, 2008) and 

included a TAC of 623,747 lb (282,927 

kg) that may be landed by IFQ vessels 

during the third quarter of the 2008 

fishing year. The regulations at 

§ 648.53(a)(8)(iii) require the LAGC 

fishery to be closed to IFQ vessels once 

the Northeast Regional Administrator 

has determined that the TAC is 

projected to be landed. 

Based on dealer reporting and vessel 

pre-landing reports through Vessel 

Monitoring Systems (VMS), a projection 

concluded that, given current activity 

levels by IFQ scallop vessels in the area, 

623,747 lb (282,927 kg) will have been 

landed on October 4, 2008. Therefore, in 

accordance with the regulations at 

§ 648.53(a)(8)(iii), the LAGC scallop 

fishery is closed to all general IFQ 

vessels as of 0001 hr local time, October 

5, 2008. IFQ scallop vessels are not 

allowed to fish for, possess, or retain 

scallops, or declare, or initiate, a scallop 

trip following this closure for the 

remainder of the 2008 third quarter, 

ending on November 30, 2008. This 

closure is in effect for the remainder of 

the third quarter of the 2008 scallop 

fishing year under current regulations. 

The LAGC scallop fishery is scheduled 

to re-open to IFQ scallop vessels on 

December 1, 2008. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

This action closes the LAGC scallop 

fishery to all IFQ scallop vessels until 

December 1, 2008, under current 

regulations. The regulations at 

§ 648.53(a)(8)(iii) require such action to 

ensure that IFQ scallop vessels do not 

exceed the 2008 third quarter TAC. The 

LAGC scallop fishery opened for the 

third quarter of the 2008 fishing year at 

0001 hours on September 1, 2008. Data 

indicating the IFQ scallop fleet has 

landed all of the 2008 third quarter TAC 

have only recently become available. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment because it would be 

contrary to the public interest. If 

implementation of this closure is 

delayed to solicit prior public comment, 

the quota for this quarter will be 

exceeded, thereby undermining the 

conservation objectives of the FMP. 

Also, if the magnitude of any overage is 

significant, it would warrant a decrease 

in the fourth quarter quota. This would 

have a negative economic impact on 

vessels that fish seasonally in that 

period. The AA further finds, pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C 553(d)(3), good cause to 

waive the thirty (30) day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reasons 

stated above. 

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

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23708 Filed 10–2–08; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 010319075–1217–02] 

RIN 0648–XK42 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Tilefish 

Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule, tilefish 

commercial quota adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator), has 

determined that the quota for the tilefish 

Full-time Tier 2 permit category has 

been exceeded for fishing year (FY) 

2008, requiring an adjustment of the 

Full-time Tier 2 permit category quota 

for FY 2009. This action complies with 

the Fishery Management Plan for the 

Tilefish Fishery (FMP) and is intended 

to continue the rebuilding program in 

the FMP by taking into account previous 

overages of the tilefish quota. 

DATES: Effective November 1, 2008, 

through October 31, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy A. Cardiasmenos, Fishery 

Policy Analyst, (978) 281–9204. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.290(c) 

state that any overages of the quota for 

any tilefish limited access category that 

occur in a given fishing year will be 

subtracted from the quota for that 

category in the following fishing year. 

This same section also states that, if the 

tilefish harvest attributed to the open 

access Incidental permit category 

exceeds 5 percent of the total allowable 

landings (TAL) for a given fishing year, 

the trip limit for the Incidental category 

may be reduced the following year. In 

both of these instances, § 648.290(c) 

specifies that, if an adjustment is 

required, a notification of adjustment of 

the quota will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

The tilefish TAL for FY 2009 remains 

unchanged from previous years at 1.995 

million lb (905 mt). The FMP dictates 

that the TAL be divided between the 

three limited access tilefish permit 

categories after the TAL is reduced by 

5 percent to account for incidental 

tilefish landings (open-access Incidental 

permit category) as follows: Sixty-six 

percent (1,250,865 lb (567,383 kg)) to 

Full-time Tier 1; 15 percent (284,288 lb 

(128,951 kg)) to Full-time Tier 2; and 19 

percent (360,098 lb (163,338 kg)) to Parttime vessels. 

Based upon vessel reports and other 

information available, FY 2008 tilefish 

landings for limited access Full-time 

Tier 2 permit category were 291,620 lb 

(132,277 kg), resulting in an overage of 

7,332 lb (3,326 kg). This overage amount 

is being deducted from the FY 2009 

Full-time Tier 2 permit category quota 

through this action, which results in an 

adjusted quota of 276,956 lb (125,625 

kg) for this category in FY 2009. 

Adjustments to the remaining permit 

categories are not needed at this time, 

and the FY 2009 quotas for these 

categories therefore, remain status quo, 

including the Incidental trip limit for 

tilefish for FY 2009, which will remain 

at its default value of 300 lb (136 kg). 

If final landings data for 2008 indicate 

that an adjustment of the quota for any 

of the other permit categories is 

necessary, a notification of the 

adjustment will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

The FY 2009 tilefish Full-time Tier 2 

permit category quota, the FY 2008 

tilefish Full-time Tier 2 permit category 

landings, and the resulting overage of 

the FY 2008 tilefish Full-time Tier 2 

permit category quota are presented in 

Table 1. The resulting adjusted FY 2009 

tilefish Full-time Tier 2 permit category 

commercial quota is presented in Table 

2. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 58499 

TABLE 1. TILEFISH FULL-TIME TIER 2 CATEGORY 2008 LANDINGS AND OVERAGE

Permit Category 

2008 Quota 2008 Landings 2008 Overage 

Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1

Full-time Tier 2 284,288 128,951 291,620 132,277 7,332 3,326 

1Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding. 

TABLE 2. TILEFISH FULL-TIME TIER 2 CATEGORY ADJUSTED FY 2009 QUOTA

Permit Category 

2009 Initial Quota 2009 Adjusted Quota 

Lb Kg1 Lb Kg1

Full-time Tier 2 284,288 128,951 276,956 125,625 

1Kilograms are as converted from pounds, and may not necessarily add due to rounding. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant 

Administrator finds good cause to waive 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment as notice and comment would 

be impracticable and unnecessary. The 

regulations under § 648.290(c) requires 

the Regional Administrator to subtract 

any overage of the quota for any tilefish 

limited access category from the quota 

for that category in the following fishing 

year. Accordingly, the action being 

taken by this temporary rule is 

nondiscretionary. There is no discretion 

to modify this action based on public 

comment at this time. The rate of 

harvest of tilefish by the Full-time 

permit category is updated weekly on 

the internet at http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. Accordingly, the 

public is able to obtain information that 

would provide at least some advanced 

notice of a potential action as a result of 

a tilefish quota being exceeded during 

FY 2008. Further, the potential for this 

action was considered and open to 

public comment during the 

development of the tilefish FMP. 

Therefore, any negative effect the 

waiving of public comment may have 

on the public is mitigated by these 

factors. 

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

Dated: October 1, 2008. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–23720 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 0809231252–81272–01] 

RIN 0648–AX28 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 

Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to biennial groundfish management 

measures; correcting amendment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces correction 

to Federal regulations for the West Coast 

groundfish fishery. This action corrects 

trip limits for vessels using multiple 

bottom trawl gears, which were 

published in a final rule. That final rule 

announced inseason changes to 

management measures in the 

commercial Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries. This correction is intended to 

eliminate any confusion for the public 

that may have occurred as a result of 

prior incorrect NMFS publications. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

October 7, 2008. Comments on this final 

rule must be received no later than 5 

p.m., local time on November 6, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–AX28 by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: 206–526–6736, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

• Mail: D. Robert Lohn, 

Administrator, Northwest Region, 

NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070, Attn: Gretchen 

Arentzen. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Arentzen (Northwest Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6147, fax: 206– 

526–6736 and e-mail 

gretchen.arentzen@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Website at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background information and documents 

are available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s website at http:// 

www.pcouncil.org/. 

Background 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP 

and its implementing regulations at title 

50 in the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), part 660, subpart G, regulate 

fishing for over 90 species of groundfish 

off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, 

and California. Groundfish 

specifications and management 

measures are developed by the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

and are implemented by NMFS. A 


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