13028 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Because no response was received from

Maine, New Hampshire, New York,

Maryland, and Florida, state

concurrence in consistency is inferred.

New Jersey disagreed with this

determination and advocated that the

specification of Atlantic mackerel

TALFF is inconsistent with the

economic protection provisions of its

coastal management program relative to

employment and financial opportunities

for commercial, charter, and party

vessels. NMFS and the Council disagree

with New Jersey’s determination.

Allowing a very small level (<1 percent

of the ABC) of foreign fishing to take

place, primarily to move incrementally

toward achieving OY and to provide

opportunity to utilize U.S. harvesting

capacity by stimulating JV activity, will

have a positive impact on the

development of the U.S. Atlantic

mackerel fishery and will not compete

with mackerel harvested by U.S. vessels.

The President has directed Federal

agencies to use plain language in their

communications with the public

including regulations. To comply with

this directive, we seek public comment

on any ambiguity or unnecessary

complexity arising from the language

used in this final rule. Such comments

should be sent to the Northeast Regional

Administrator (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 26, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended

as follows:

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

1. The authority citation for part 648

continues to read as follows:

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

2. In § 648.21, paragraph (e) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 648.21 Procedures for determining initial

annual amounts.

(e) Distribution of annual Loligo squid

commercial quota. (1) Beginning

January 1, 2001, a commercial quota

will be allocated annually for Loligo

squid into quarterly periods, based on

the following percentages:

Quarter Percent

I–January–March ............................ 33.23

II–April–June ................................... 17.61

III–July–September ......................... 17.30

IV–October–December ................... 31.86

(2) Beginning January 1, 2001, any

overages of commercial quota landed

from Quarter I will be subtracted from

Quarter III and any overages of

commercial quota landed from Quarter

II will be subtracted from Quarter IV.

3. In § 648.22, paragraph (a) is revised

to read as follows:

§ 648.22 Closure of the fishery.

(a) General. NMFS shall close the

directed mackerel fishery in the EEZ

when U.S. fishermen have harvested 80

percent of the DAH of that fishery if

such closure is necessary to prevent the

DAH from being exceeded. The closure

shall remain in effect for the remainder

of the fishing year, with incidental

catches allowed as specified in

paragraph (c) of this section, until the

entire DAH is attained. When the

Regional Administrator projects that

DAH will be attained for mackerel,

NMFS will close the mackerel fishery in

the EEZ, and the incidental catches

specified for mackerel in paragraph (c)

of this section will be prohibited. NMFS

will close the directed fishery in the

EEZ for Loligo when 80 percent is

harvested in Quarters I, II and III, and

when 95 percent of the total annual

DAH has been harvested. The closure of

the directed fishery will be in effect for

the remainder of the fishing year, with

incidental catches allowed as specified

in paragraph (c) of this section. NMFS

will close the directed fishery in the

EEZ for Illex or butterfish when 95

percent of the DAH has been harvested.

The closure of the directed fishery will

be in effect for the remainder of the

fishing year, with incidental catches

allowed as specified in paragraph (c) of

this section.

[FR Doc. 01–5133 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[Docket No. 010112013-1013-01; I.D.

022701B]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by

Vessels Catching Pacific Cod for

Processing by the Inshore Component

in the Western Regulatory Area of the

Gulf of Alaska

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure.

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed

fishing for Pacific cod by vessels

catching Pacific cod for processing by

the inshore component in the Western

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska

(GOA). This action is necessary to

prevent exceeding the A season amount

of the Pacific cod total allowable catch

(TAC) apportioned to vessels catching

Pacific cod for processing by the inshore

component of the Western Regulatory

Area of the GOA.

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local

time (A.l.t.), February 27, 2001, until

1200 hrs, A.l.t., June 10, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andrew Smoker, 907–586–7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS

manages the groundfish fishery in the

GOA exclusive economic zone

according to the Fishery Management

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North

Pacific Fishery Management Council

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act. Regulations governing

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679.

The 2001 A season Pacific cod TAC

apportioned to vessels catching Pacific

cod for processing by the inshore

component in the Western Regulatory

Area of the GOA is 9,882 metric tons

(mt) as established by the Final 2001

Harvest Specifications and Associated

Management Measures for the

Groundfish Fisheries Off Alaska (66 FR

7276, January 22, 2001).

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i),

the Administrator, Alaska Region,

NMFS (Regional Administrator), has

determined that the A season amount of

the Pacific cod TAC apportioned to

vessels catching Pacific cod for

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 13029

processing by the inshore component of

the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA

will be reached. Therefore, the Regional

Administrator is establishing a directed

fishing allowance of 9,632 mt, and is

setting aside the remaining 250 as

bycatch to support other anticipated

groundfish fisheries. In accordance with

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional

Administrator finds that this directed

fishing allowance will soon be reached.

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting

directed fishing for Pacific cod by

vessels catching Pacific cod for

processing by the inshore component in

the Western Regulatory Area of the

GOA.

Maximum retainable bycatch amounts

may be found in the regulations at §

679.20(e) and (f).

Classification

This action responds to the best

available information recently obtained

from the fishery. The Assistant

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,

finds that the need to immediately

implement this action to prevent

exceeding the amount of the 2001 A

season Pacific cod TAC specified for the

inshore component constitutes good

cause to waive the requirement to

provide prior notice and opportunity for

public comment pursuant to the

authority set forth at 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(3)(B) and 50 CFR

679.20(b)(3)(iii)(A), as such procedures

would be unnecessary and contrary to

the public interest. Similarly the need to

implement these measures in a timely

fashion to prevent exceeding the 2001 A

season Pacific cod TAC specified for the

inshore component constitutes good

cause to find that the effective date of

this action cannot be delayed for 30

days. Accordingly, under 5 U.S.C.

553(d), a delay in the effective date is

hereby waived.

This action is required by § 679.20

and is exempt from review under

Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: February 27, 2001

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–5109 Filed 2–27–01; 2:35 pm]

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