81 FR 89010 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 237 (December 9, 2016)

NMFS announces that the State of New Jersey is transferring a portion of its 2016 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia. These quota adjustments are necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provision. This announcement informs the public of the revised commercial quotas for New Jersey and Virginia.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 237 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 89010]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29574]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 150903814-5999-02]
RIN 0648-XF061


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of New Jersey is transferring a 
portion of its 2016 commercial summer flounder quota to the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. These quota adjustments are necessary to 
comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery 
Management Plan quota transfer provision. This announcement informs the 
public of the revised commercial quotas for New Jersey and Virginia.

DATES: Effective December 8, 2016, through December 31, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Hanson, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978)-281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.110. These regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
among the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The process 
to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each 
state are described in Sec.  648.102, and the initial 2016 allocations 
were published on December 28, 2015 (80 FR 80689).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder 
Fishery Management Plan, as published in the Federal Register on 
December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a mechanism for transferring 
summer flounder commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more 
states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS 
Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, can transfer or combine summer 
flounder commercial quota under Sec.  648.102(c)(2). The Regional 
Administrator is required to consider the criteria in Sec.  
648.102(c)(2)(i)(A) through (C) in the evaluation of requests for quota 
transfers or combinations.
    New Jersey is transferring 226 lb (103 kg) of summer flounder 
commercial quota to Virginia. This transfer was requested by New Jersey 
to repay landings by a New Jersey-permitted vessel that landed in 
Virginia under a safe harbor agreement.
    The revised summer flounder quotas for calendar year 2016 are now: 
New Jersey, 1,381,653 lb (626,707 kg); and Virginia, 1,759,787 lb 
(798,226 kg); based on the initial quotas published in the 2016-2018 
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications.

Classification

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

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

    Dated: December 6, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-29574 Filed 12-8-16; 8:45 am]
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