Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 2026 Commercial Quota Harvested for the State of Maine

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NMFS announces that the 2026 summer flounder commercial quota allocated to the State of Maine has been harvested. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Maine for the remainder of calendar year 2026, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to advise Maine that the quota has been harvested, and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in Maine.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64790-64791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20861]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 260209-0039; RTID 0648-XG117]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; 2026 Commercial Quota Harvested for the State of Maine

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 2026 summer flounder commercial quota 
allocated to the State of Maine has been harvested. Vessels issued a 
commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may 
not land summer flounder in Maine for the remainder of calendar year 
2026, unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer from 
another state. Regulations governing the summer flounder fishery 
require publication of this notification to advise Maine that the quota 
has been harvested, and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer 
permit holders that no Federal commercial quota is available for 
landing summer flounder in Maine.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours October 13, 2026, through December 31, 
2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Rigdon, (978) 281-9336, or 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9bd6faefeff3feecb5c9f2fcfff4f5dbf5f4fafab5fcf4ed"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="276a4653534f425009754e40434849674948464609404851">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found at 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.111. The regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
on a percentage basis 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.
    The commercial quota for summer flounder for 2026 was set equal to 
12,765,277 lb (5,794,826 kg) (91 FR 7896, February 19, 2026). The 
amount allocated to vessels landing summer flounder in Maine is 15,283 
lb (6,932 kg).
    The NMFS Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region 
monitors the state commercial landings and determines when a state's 
commercial quota has been harvested. NMFS is required to publish 
notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying commercial 
vessels and dealer permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, 
the state's commercial quota has been harvested and no commercial quota 
is available for landing summer flounder in that state. Based on dealer 
reports and other available information, the Regional Administrator has 
determined that the available quota has been harvested. The Maine 
Department of Marine Resources closed the state fishery on October 7, 
2026, and this action promotes consistency between state and Federal 
management measures.
    The regulations at 50 CFR 648.14(n) prohibit federally permitted 
vessels from landing summer flounder for sale in a state, and prohibit 
all persons from purchasing or otherwise receiving summer flounder for 
a commercial purpose after the effective date published in the Federal 
Register notification that commercial quota is no longer available in 
that state. Therefore, effective 0001 hours on October 13, 2026, 
landings of summer flounder in Maine by vessels holding Federal summer 
flounder commercial fishery permits are prohibited for the remainder of 
the 2026 calendar year, unless additional quota becomes available 
through a transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. Effective 
0001 hours on October 13, 2026, federally permitted dealers are also 
notified that they may not purchase summer flounder from federally 
permitted vessels that land in Maine for the remainder of the calendar 
year, or until additional quota becomes available through a transfer 
from another state.

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. This action closes the commercial summer flounder 
fishery for Maine until January 1, 2027, under current regulations. The 
regulations at 50 CFR 648.103(b) require such action to ensure that 
summer flounder vessels do not exceed quotas allocated to the states. 
If implementation of this closure was delayed to solicit prior public 
comment, the quota for this fishing year will be exceeded, thereby 
undermining the conservation objectives of the Summer Flounder, Scup, 
and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Assistant Administrator 
further finds,

[[Page 64791]]

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness period for the reason stated above.

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

    Dated: October 8, 2026.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-20861 Filed 10-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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