Rule2021-25839
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfers From VA to CT and NC to RI
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 26, 2021
Effective
November 22, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of North Carolina are transferring a portion of their 2021 commercial summer flounder quota to the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. This adjustment to the 2021 fishing year quota is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2021 commercial quotas for Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67360-67361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25839]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[RTID 0648-XB608]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; Quota Transfers From VA to CT and NC to RI
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of quota transfer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State
of North Carolina are transferring a portion of their 2021 commercial
summer flounder quota to the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island,
respectively. This adjustment to the 2021 fishing year quota is
necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement
informs the public of the revised 2021 commercial quotas for Virginia,
North Carolina, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
DATES: Effective November 22, 2021 through December 31, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9225.
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 is described in Sec. 648.102 and final 2021 allocations were
published on December 21, 2020 (85 FR 82946).
The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), 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 three criteria in the evaluation
of requests for quota transfers or combinations: The transfer or
combinations would not preclude the overall annual quota from being
fully harvested; the transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or
contingency in the fishery; and the transfer is consistent with the
objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. The Regional Administrator has determined these three
criteria have been met for the transfers approved in this notification.
Virginia is transferring 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) of summer flounder
to Connecticut through mutual agreement of the states. This transfer
was requested so that Connecticut would not exceed its 2021 commercial
quota. North Carolina is transferring 22,158 lb (10,051 kg) to Rhode
Island to repay landings made by a North Carolina-permitted vessel
under a safe harbor agreement. The revised summer flounder quotas for
2021 are: Virginia, 2,359,776 lb (1,070,376 kg); Connecticut, 629,376
lb (285,480 kg); North Carolina, 2,952,765 lb (1,339,352 kg); and Rhode
Island, 1,883,708 lb (854,436 kg).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.162(e)(1)(i) through
(iii), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is
[[Page 67361]]
exempted from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 22, 2021.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-25839 Filed 11-22-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 26, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.