[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 10, 1996)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 64999-65000] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-31352] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 [Docket No. 951116270-5308-02; I.D. 100296I] Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Adjustments to the 1996 North Carolina State Quota AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Commercial quota adjustment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: NMFS announces an adjustment to the commercial quota for the North Carolina 1996 summer flounder fishery. This action complies with regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder Fishery (FMP), which require that annual quota overages landed in any state be deducted from that state's quota for the following year. The public is advised that a quota adjustment has been made and is informed of the revised quota for the State of North Carolina. EFFECTIVE DATE: December 5, 1996, through December 31, 1996. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lucy Helvenston, 508-281-9347. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing Amendment 2 to the FMP are found at 50 CFR part 648 subparts A and G. The regulations require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among the Atlantic coastal states from North Carolina through Maine. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the percentage allocated to each state are described in Sec. 648.100. The commercial summer flounder quota for the 1996 calendar year, adopted to ensure achievement of the appropriate fishing mortality rate of 0.41 for 1996, was set to equal 11,111,298 lb (5.0 million kg) (January 4, 1996, 61 FR 291). The notification of a commercial quota [[Page 65000]] transfer from North Carolina to Virginia was published on March 13, 1996 (61 FR 10286). This quota transfer is reflected in Table 1. Section 648.100(d)(2) provides that all landings for sale in a state shall be applied against that state's annual commercial quota. Any landings in excess of the state's quota will be deducted from that state's annual quota for the following year. Based on dealer reports and other available information, NMFS published final landings for 1995 and associated quota adjustments on April 5, 1996 (61 FR 15199). At that time, available data indicated that North Carolina had landings for 1995 that were actually 6,727 lb (3,051 kg) less than its 1995 quota. Since that notification was published, additional landings of 599,475 lb (271,917 kg) have been reported for 1995 for North Carolina, meaning that North Carolina now has an overage for 1995 of 592,748 lb (268,866 kg) (equals 599.475 lb less 6,727 lb). These landings data for North Carolina which were just recently obtained by NMFS, necessitate publication of an adjustment. This adjustment reduces the 1996 North Carolina quota allocation from 3,043,816 lb (1,380,652 kg) to 2,451,068 lb (1,111,786 kg). Therefore, any overage in North Carolina's 1996 commercial fishery will be calculated by deducting the total landings in 1996 from the adjusted quota of 2,451,068 lb (1,111,786 kg). This action does not affect a notification concerning the commercial quota harvest that prohibited further landing of summer flounder by federally permitted vessels in North Carolina made effective March 15, 1996 (61 FR 11344). Table 1.--Adjusted 1996 Commercial Quota for the Summer Flounder Fishery -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted 1996 quota 1995 Quota (lb) 1995 Landings 1995 Overage Initial 1996 ----------------------------------- (lb) (lb) quota (lb) (lb) (kg) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ME.......................................... 6,987 5,318 0 5,284 5,284 2,397 NH.......................................... 67 0 0 51 51 23 MA.......................................... 1,122,246 1,127,995 5,749 757,841 752,092 341,143 RI.......................................... 2,243,224 2,365,465 122,241 1,742,583 1,620,342 734,975 CT.......................................... 331,574 306,404 0 250,791 250,791 113,757 NY.......................................... 1,243,374 1,248,078 4,704 849,680 844,976 383,275 NJ.......................................... 2,306,198 2,298,303 0 1,858,363 1,858,363 842,939 DE.......................................... 2,614 3,072 458 1,977 1,519 689 MD.......................................... 199,551 136,167 0 226,570 226,570 102,770 VA.......................................... 3,182,177 3,355,838 173,661 2,374,342 2,200,681 998,212 NC.......................................... 3,974,018 4,566,766 592,748 3,043,816 2,451,068 1,111,786 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classification This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from review under E.O. 12866. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: December 5, 1996. Gary C. Matlock, Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 96-31352 Filed 12-5-96; 3:05 pm] BILLING CODE 3510-22-W