27252 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 9, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 080521698–9067–02] 

RIN 0648–XP50 

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; decrease of 

landing limit. 

SUMMARY: This action decreases the 

Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder 

trip limit to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) for 

Northeast (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 

(FMP) and is intended to decrease the 

likelihood of harvest exceeding the total 

allowable catch (TAC) for GB yellowtail 

flounder during the 2009 fishing year 

(FY). This action is being taken to 

optimize the harvest of transboundary 

stocks of GB yellowtail flounder, 

haddock, and cod under the authority of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

DATES: Effective June 5, 2009, through 

April 30, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9341, fax (978) 281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the GB yellowtail 

flounder landing limit within the U.S./ 

Canada Management Area are found at 

50 CFR 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(C) and (D). The 

regulations authorize vessels issued a 

valid limited access NE multispecies 

permit and fishing under a NE 

multispecies DAS to fish in the U.S./ 

Canada Management Area, as defined at 

§ 648.85(a)(1), under specified 

conditions. The TAC for GB yellowtail 

flounder for the 2009 fishing year (May 

1, 2009 —April 30, 2010) was set at 

1,617 mt (3,564,774 lb) (74 FR 17030; 

April 13, 2009), a 17–percent decrease 

from the TAC for FY 2008. The same 

regulatory action for FY 2009 

implemented a trip limit of 5,000 lb 

(2,268 kg) for GB yellowtail flounder, 

less than the default initial trip limit of 

10,000 lb (4,536 kg). A 5,000 lb (2,268 

kg) trip limit was implemented based on 

data from FY 2008, in order to allow 

harvesting of the TAC, and to minimize 

the likelihood that further restriction of 

catch rate through additional trip limits 

would be necessary. 

The regulations at § 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) 

authorize the Administrator, Northeast 

(NE) Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator) to increase or decrease 

the trip limits in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area to prevent overharvesting or under-harvesting the TAC 

allocation. According to the most recent 

Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 

reports and other available information, 

the cumulative GB yellowtail flounder 

catch is approximately 16 percent of the 

TAC as of May 21, 2009. Of this total, 

approximately half is , I sattributed to 

fish that have been discarded at sea. A 

previous analysis of fishing behaviour 

in fishing year 2007, found that vessels 

that fished in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area were more likely to 

direct effort onto species other than 

yellowtail flounder when the yellowtail 

flounder possession limit dropped 

below 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) per trip. 

Therefore, decreasing the trip limit from 

5,000 lb (2,268 kg) to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) 

is expected to reduce the number of 

trips made to the Western U.S./Canada 

Area to target yellowtail flounder, 

decrease landings of yellowtail flounder 

without increasing discards, and result 

in the achievement of the TAC during 

the fishing year without exceeding it. 

Attainment of the TAC prior to the end 

of the fishing year results in the loss of 

yield of other stocks caught 

concurrently with yellowtail flounder. 

Based on this information, the Regional 

Administrator is decreasing the current 

5,000 lb (2,268 kg) yellowtail flounder 

trip limit in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) 

per trip, through April 30, 2010. 

GB yellowtail flounder landings will 

continue to be closely monitored. 

Further inseason adjustment to increase 

or decrease the trip limit may be 

considered, based on updated catch data 

and projections. Should 100 percent of 

the TAC allocation for GB yellowtail 

flounder by projected to be caught, all 

vessels would be prohibited from 

harvesting, possessing, or landing 

yellowtail flounder from the entire U.S./ 

Canada Management Area, and the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area would be 

closed to limited access NE multispecies 

DAS vessels 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 

comment 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. The regulations under 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) grant the Regional 

Administrator the authority to adjust the 

GB yellowtail flounder trip limit to 

prevent over-harvesting or 

underharvesting the TAC allocation. 

This action will implement a more 

restrictive trip limit for yellowtail 

flounder in order to ensure that the TAC 

is not overharvested, and the biological 

and economic objectives of the FMP are 

met. 

It is important to take this action 

immediately because, based on current 

data and a projection, continuation of 

the status quo trip limit of 5,000 lb 

(2,268 kg) will result reaching the GB 

yellowtail flounder TAC prior to the end 

of the fishing year. Attainment of the 

TAC prior to the end of the fishing year 

on April 30, 2010 (and closure of the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area) would result 

in the loss of yield of other valuable 

species caught in the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area. 

The information that is the basis for 

this action is recent catch data. The time 

necessary to provide for prior notice and 

comment, and delayed effectiveness for 

this action would prevent NMFS from 

implementing a reduced trip limit in a 

timely manner. A resulting delay in the 

curtailment of catch rate of GB 

yellowtail flounder may cause closure of 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area early in 

FY 2009. Such a closure would result in 

less revenue for the fishing industry and 

be counter to the objective of optimal 

yield. 

The Regional Administrator’s 

authority to decrease 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 to the FMP and Framework 

Adjustment 42 to the FMP. 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. 

Dated: June 3, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–13347 Filed 6–3–09; 4:15 pm] 

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