[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19461-19462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09377]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 180110025-8285-02]
RIN 0648-XG202
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery; 2018 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management
Area
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine
Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year for
Limited Access General Category vessels. Vessels subject to this
closure may not fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the
Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area through March 31, 2019.
Regulations require this action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of
the Limited Access General Category 2018 total allowable catch for the
Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area will be harvested.
DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, May 2, 2018, through March 31,
2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 282-8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reader can find regulations governing
fishing activity in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop
Management Area in 50 CFR 648.54 and 648.62. These regulations
authorize vessels issued a valid federal scallop permit to fish in the
NGOM Scallop Management Area under specific conditions, including a
total allowable catch (TAC) of 135,000 lb (61,235 kg) for the Limited
Access General Category (LAGC) fleet for the 2018 fishing year, and a
State Waters Exemption Program for the State of Maine and Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM Scallop
Management Area to be closed to scallop vessels issued federal LAGC
scallop permits, except as provided below, for the remainder of the
fishing year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator
determines that the LAGC TAC for the fishing year is projected to be
harvested. Any vessel that holds a federal NGOM (category LAGC B) or
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) (LAGC A) permit may continue to fish in
the Maine or Massachusetts state waters portion of the NGOM Scallop
Management Area under the State Waters Exemption Program found in Sec.
648.54 provided it has a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop
permit and fishes in that states respective waters only.
Based on trip declarations by federally permitted LAGC scallop
vessels fishing in the NGOM Scallop Management Area and analysis of
fishing effort, we project that the 2018 LAGC TAC will be harvested as
of May 2, 2018. Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 648.62(b)(2), the
NGOM Scallop Management Area is closed to all federally permitted LAGC
scallop vessels as of May 2, 2018. As of this date, no vessel issued a
federal LAGC scallop permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops in
or from the NGOM Scallop Management Area after 0001 local time, May 2,
2018, unless the vessel is fishing exclusively in state waters and is
participating in an approved state waters exemption program as
specified in Sec. 648.54. Any federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel
that has declared into the NGOM Scallop Management Area, complied with
all trip notification and observer requirements, and crossed the VMS
demarcation line on the way to the area before 0001, May 2, 2018, may
complete its trip and land scallops. This closure is in effect until
the end of the 2018 scallop fishing year, through March 31, 2019. This
closure does not apply to the Limited Access (LA) scallop fleet, which
was allocated a separate TAC of 65,000 lb (29, 484 kg) for the 2018
fishing year under Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery Management Plan. Vessels that are participating in the 2018
scallop Research Set-Aside Program and have been issued letters of
authorization to conduct compensation fishing activities will harvest
the 2018 LA TAC.
[[Page 19462]]
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for fisheries, NOAA, 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 and impracticable. The NGOM Scallop Management Area
opened for the 2018 fishing year on April 1, 2018. The regulations at
Sec. 648.60(b)(2) require this closure to ensure that federally
permitted scallop vessels do not harvest more than the allocated LAGC
TAC for the NGOM Scallop Management Area. NMFS can only make
projections for the NGOM closure date as trips into the area occur on a
real-time basis and as activity trends appear. As a result, NMFS can
typically make an accurate projection only shortly before the TAC is
harvested. A rapid harvest rate, that has occurred in the last two
weeks, makes it more difficult to project a closure well in advance. To
allow federally permitted LAGC scallop vessels to continue to take
trips in the NGOM Scallop Management Area during the period necessary
to publish and receive comments on a proposed rule would result in
vessels harvesting more than the 2018 LAGC TAC for the NGOM Scallop
Management Area. This would result in excessive fishing effort in the
area thereby undermining conservation objectives of the Atlantic Sea
Scallop Fishery Management Plan and requiring more restrictive future
management measures to make up for the excessive harvest. Also, the
public had prior notice and full opportunity to comment on this closure
process when we put the NGOM management provisions in place on April 1,
2018 (83 FR 12857). NMFS also finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3),
good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period for the
reasons stated above.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 30, 2018.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09377 Filed 4-30-18; 4:15 pm]
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