Fishery conservation and management: Northeastern United States fisheries— Black sea bass,

[Federal Register: September 20, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 181)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 50772-50773]

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

[DOCID:fr20se99-16]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 622 and 648

[Docket No. 981014259-8312-02; I.D. 091499B]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Black Sea Bass Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for Quarter 3 Period; Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf and South Atlantic

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

ACTION: Commercial quota harvest for Quarter 3 period.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the black sea bass commercial quota available in the Quarter 3 period to the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina will have been harvested as of September 25, 1999. Commercial vessels may not land black sea bass in the Northeast Region for the remainder of the 1999 Quarter 3 quota period (through September 30, 1999). Regulations governing the black sea bass fishery require publication of this notification to advise the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina that the quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no commercial

[[Page 50773]]

quota is available for landing black sea bass in these states north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, September 25, 1999, through 2400 hrs September 30, 1999 (local time).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter J. Gardiner, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281-9326.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the black sea bass fishery north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. are found at 50 CFR part 648. Regulations governing the black sea bass fishery south of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. as part of the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery (also known as the NMFS Southeast Region snapper-grouper fisheries) are found at 50 CFR part 622. The regulations for black sea bass at 50 CFR part 648 require annual specification of a commercial quota that is allocated into four quota periods, based upon percentages of the annual quota. The Quarter 3 commercial quota (July through September) is distributed to the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The process to set the total annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state is described in Sec. 648.140.

The initial total commercial quota for black sea bass for the 1999 calendar year was set equal to 3,025,000 lb (1,372,117 kg) (63 FR 72203, December 31, 1998). The Quarter 3 period quota, which is equal to 12.33 percent of the annual commercial quota, was set at 372,983 lb (169,182 kg).

Section 648.141 requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor the commercial black sea bass quota for each quota period and, based upon dealer reports, state data, and other available information, to determine when the commercial quota has been harvested. The Regional Administrator is further required to publish notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying commercial vessels and dealer permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, the black sea bass commercial quota has been harvested and no commercial quota is available for landing black sea bass for the remainder of the Quarter 3 period north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. The Regional Administrator has determined, based upon dealer reports and other available information, that the black sea bass commercial quota for the 1999 Quarter 3 period will have been harvested as of September 25, 1999.

The regulations at Sec. 648.4(b) provide that, if the commercial black sea bass quota for a period is harvested and the coastal states are closed to the landing of black sea bass north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat., any vessel owner that holds valid commercial permits for both the black sea bass and the NMFS Southeast Region Snapper-Grouper fisheries may surrender their moratorium black sea bass permit by certified mail addressed to the Regional Administrator (See Table 1 to Sec. 600.502) and fish pursuant to their Snapper-Grouper permit, as long as fishing is conducted exclusively in waters, and landings are made, south of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. A moratorium permit for the black sea bass fishery that is voluntarily relinquished or surrendered will be reissued upon the receipt of the vessel owner's written request after a minimum period of 6 months from the date of cancellation.

Classification

This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: September 14, 1999. Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 99-24315Filed9-17-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F