Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions: Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery, etc.

Federal Register: April 10, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 70)

Rules and Regulations

Page 19439-19441

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr10ap08-5

Page 19439

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648

Docket No. 071017601-8510-02

RIN 0648-AW17

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern

United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2008 Georges Bank Cod

Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan and Agreement, and Allocation of

Georges Bank Cod Total Allowable Catch

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule implements the Georges Bank (GB) Cod Fixed

Gear Sector (Fixed Gear Sector) Fishing Year (FY) 2008 Operations Plan and Agreement, approved by the Administrator, Northeast (NE) Region,

NMFS (Regional Administrator), and allocates a hard total allowable catch (TAC) of GB cod to the Fixed Gear Sector. Framework 42 (FW 42) to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) authorized allocation of up to 20 percent of the annual GB cod TAC to the Fixed Gear Sector.

Pursuant to that authorization, the Fixed Gear Sector submitted an

Operations Plan and Sector Contract entitled, ``Georges Bank Cod Fixed

Gear Sector Fishing Year 2008-2009 Operations Plan and Agreement''

(together referred to as the Sector Agreement) and an Environmental

Assessment (EA), and requested an allocation of GB cod, consistent with the FMP. This action results in authorization of the Sector Operations

Plan for FY 2008 and allocation of 1,430 mt of GB cod to the Sector.

DATES: Effective May 1, 2008, through April 30, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Sector Agreement, EA, and the Final Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) are available from the Northeast Regional

Office: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine

Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. These documents are also accessible via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Sector Policy Analyst, phone (978) 281-9145, fax (978) 281-9135, e-mail Mark.Grant@NOAA.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule soliciting public comment on the Sector Agreement for the Fixed Gear Sector was published in the

Federal Register on March 11, 2008 (73 FR 12942), with public comment accepted through March 26, 2008. The Regional Administrator approved the FY 2008 Sector Operations Plan, based on public comment, and based on a determination that the Operations Plan and Agreement are consistent with the goals of the FMP and applicable law and is in compliance with the regulations governing the development and operation of a sector as specified under Sec. 648.87. Details pertaining to the principal regulations applying to the Fixed Gear Sector, the process of review and approval of sectors, and facts regarding the Fixed Gear

Sector's submission of the FY 2008 Sector Agreement are contained in the proposed rule. An EA entitled ``Approval of the Georges Bank Cod

Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan Fishing Year 2008,'' which analyzes the impacts of the proposed Fixed Gear Sector operations, was also prepared.

The Fixed Gear Sector was authorized to fish in FY 2006 and FY 2007, and, based upon the GB cod landings history of its members, was allocated