Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery: 2009 Georges Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector Operations Plan and Agreement, and Allocation of Georges Bank Cod Total Allowable Catch

Federal Register: April 14, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 70)

Rules and Regulations

Page 17107-17111

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

DOCID:fr14ap09-15

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648

Docket No. 090123054-9591-02

RIN 0648-XM12

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern

United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2009 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) 2009 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 Adjustment 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 2009-2010 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 2009 and allocation of 503.8 mt of GB cod to the Fixed Gear Sector.

DATES: Effective May 1, 2009, through April 30, 2010.

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, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. These documents are also accessible via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Vasquez, Fishery Management

Specialist, phone (978) 281-9166, fax

Page 17108

(978) 281-9135, e-mail Melissa.Vasquez@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 February 12, 2009, (74 FR 7029) with public comment accepted through February 27, 2009. The Regional Administrator approved the FY 2009 Sector Operations Plan, after review of the public comments, and based on a determination that the Operations Plan and

Agreement are consistent with the goals of the FMP and applicable law and are 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 2009 Sector

Agreement are contained in the proposed rule. An EA entitled ``Georges

Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector: An Environmental Assessment,'' which analyzes the impacts of the proposed Fixed Gear Sector operations, was also prepared and is available to the public (see ADDRESSES).

On January 16, 2009, NMFS published a proposed interim action (74

FR 2959) that proposed measures intended to reduce overfishing on certain groundfish stocks. The proposed rule soliciting public comment on the Sector Agreement for the Fixed Gear Sector referenced three proposed interim measures that would impact operations of the Fixed

Gear Sector: A 3,506-mt overall U.S. GB cod TAC; an expanded Gulf of

Maine (GOM) differential Day-at-Sea (DAS) counting area that overlaps the GB Cod Hook Sector Area (Hook Sector Area); and elimination of the current prohibition on leasing DAS between sector vessels and non- sector vessels. On April 13, 2009, NMFS published a temporary final rule that differs from the proposed interim rule. This final rule approving the Fixed Gear Sector's FY 2009 Sector Operations Plan incorporates the changes implemented by the temporary final rule.

The Fixed Gear Sector was authorized to fish in FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008, and, based upon the GB cod landings history of its members, was allocated