[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 245 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 65660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31383]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 001121328-1066-03; I.D. 121401B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for Rhode Island

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Closure; commercial quota harvested for Rhode Island.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the summer flounder commercial quota 
available to the State of Rhode Island has been harvested. Vessels 
issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder 
fishery may not land summer flounder in Rhode Island for the remainder 
of calendar year 2001, unless additional quota becomes available 
through a transfer. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery 
require publication of this notification to advise the State of Rhode 
Island that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit 
holders and dealer permit holders that no commercial quota is available 
for landing summer flounder in Rhode Island.

DATES: Effective from 0001 hours, December 20, 2001 through 2400 hours, 
December 31, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9273.

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 on a percentage 
basis 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 Sec. 648.100.
    The initial total commercial quota for summer flounder for the 2001 
calendar year was set equal to 10,747,535 lb (4,875,000 kg)(66 FR 
16151, March 23, 2001). The percent allocated to vessels landing summer 
flounder in Rhode Island is 15.68298 percent, or 1,685,534 lb (764,545 
kg). This allocation was adjusted due to an underage in 2000, as 
provided in Sec. 648.100 (e)(4), for a final allocation of 1,733,817 lb 
(786,446 kg).
    Section 648.101 (b) requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor state commercial quotas and to 
determine when a state's commercial quota is harvested. NMFS then 
publishes notification in the Federal Register advising a state and 
notifying Federal vessel and dealer permit holders that, effective upon 
a specific date, the state's commercial quota has been harvested and no 
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in that 
state. The Regional Administrator has determined, based upon dealer 
reports and other available information, that the State of Rhode Island 
has attained its quota for 2001.
    The regulations at Sec. 648.4 (b) provide that Federal permit 
holders agree as a condition of the permit not to land summer flounder 
in any state that the Regional Administrator has determined no longer 
has commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, 
December 20, 2001, further landings of summer flounder in Rhode Island 
by vessels holding summer flounder commercial Federal fisheries permits 
are prohibited for the remainder of the 2001 calendar year, unless 
additional quota becomes available through a transfer and is announced 
in the Federal Register. Effective 0001 hours, December 20, 2001, 
federally permitted dealers are also notified that they may not 
purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land in 
Rhode Island for the remainder of the calendar year, or until 
additional quota becomes available through a transfer.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: December 14, 2001.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-31383 Filed 12-17-01; 2:44 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S