[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32711-32712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16170]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 625
[Docket No. 960412110-6166-02; I.D. 030596E]
RIN 0648-AI93
Summer Flounder Fishery; 1996 Recreational Fishery Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final specifications for the 1996 summer
flounder recreational fishery, including no closed season, a possession
limit of eight fish per person and a minimum fish size of 14 inches
(35.6 cm). The intent of this document is to comply with implementing
regulations for the fishery that require NMFS to publish measures for
the upcoming fishing year that will prevent overfishing of the
resource.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 20, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment and supporting
documents used by the Monitoring Committee are available from:
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115,
Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (508) 281-9221.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for the Summer
Flounder Fishery (FMP) was developed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), in consultation with the New England and
South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. The management unit for the
FMP is summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. waters of the
Atlantic Ocean from the southern border of North Carolina northward to
the Canadian border. Implementing regulations for the fishery are found
at 50 CFR part 625.
Section 625.20 outlines the process for determining annual
commercial and recreational catch quotas and other restrictions for the
summer flounder fishery. Pursuant to Sec. 625.20, the Director,
Northeast Region, NMFS, implements measures for the fishing year to
ensure achievement of the fishing mortality rate specified in the FMP.
This document announces the following measures pertaining to the
recreational fishery, which are unchanged from the proposed measures
that were published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1996 (61 FR
17682): (1) The continued elimination of the closed season, (2) an
individual possession limit of 8 fish per person, and (3) a minimum
fish size of 14 inches (35.6 cm).
Comments and Responses
No comments were received during the comment period concerning the
proposed measures.
Classification
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 625.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
When this rule was proposed, the Assistant General Counsel for
Legislation and Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration
that this action would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The reasons were published in the
proposed rule and are not repeated here. As such, a Regulatory
Flexibility Act analysis has not been prepared.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds that there
is good cause to waive the delayed effectiveness of this rule under 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3). As was noted in the proposed rule, these measures
should become effective immediately as the season has
[[Page 32712]]
already started and the increase in possession limit eases a
restriction. Also, the final specifications for the 1996 summer
flounder recreational fishery could not be established when the final
1996 specifications were implemented because recreational catch data
for 1995 were not available for the Summer Flounder Monitoring
Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the management measures in
attaining the 1995 harvest limit.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 625
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 19, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 625 is amended
to read as follows:
PART 625--SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY
1. The authority citation for part 625 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.
2. In Sec. 625.25, in paragraph (a) the first sentence is revised
to read as follows:
Sec. 625.25 Possession limit.
(a) No person shall possess more than eight summer flounder in, or
harvested from, the EEZ unless that person is the owner or operator of
a fishing vessel issued a moratorium permit under Sec. 625.4. * * *
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[FR Doc. 96-16170 Filed 6-20-96; 2:13pm]
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