[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 63814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25053]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RTID 0648-XX025


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; Quota Transfer From MD to NJ

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

ACTION: Announcement of quota transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of Maryland is transferring a 
portion of its 2019 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of 
New Jersey. This quota adjustment 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 2019 commercial quotas for Maryland and New Jersey.

DATES: Effective November 18, 2019, through December 31, 2019.

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 2019 allocations were 
published on May 17, 2019 (84 FR 22392).
    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 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 Act.
    Maryland is transferring 15,220 lb (6,904 kg) of summer flounder 
commercial quota to New Jersey. This transfer was requested to repay 
landings made by a Maryland-permitted vessel in New Jersey under a safe 
harbor agreement. Based on the revised Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 
Sea Bass Specifications, the summer flounder quotas for fishing year 
2019 are now: Maryland, 208,734 lb (94,680 kg); and, New Jersey, 
1,855,396 lb (841,593 kg).

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

    Dated: November 14, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-25053 Filed 11-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P