[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 60008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24450]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 040205043-4043-01]
RIN 0648-XY48
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Closure of the 2010-2011
Commercial Sector for Black Sea Bass in the South Atlantic
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial sector for black sea bass in the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. NMFS has
determined that the quota for the commercial sector for black sea bass
will have been reached by October 7, 2010. This closure is necessary to
protect the black sea bass resource.
DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, October 7, 2010,
through 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Bruger, telephone 727-824-
5305, fax 727-824-5308, e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South
Atlantic is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-
Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The FMP was
prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and is
implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations
at 50 CFR part 622. Those regulations set the commercial quota for
black sea bass in the South Atlantic at 309,000 lb (140,160 kg) for the
current fishing year, June 1, 2010, through May 31, 2011, as specified
in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(5)(iii).
Black sea bass are managed throughout their range. In the South
Atlantic EEZ, black sea bass are managed by the Council from 35[deg]
15.19' N. lat., the latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina,
south. From Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina, through Maine, black
sea bass are managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Therefore,
the closure provisions contained in this notice are applicable to those
vessels harvesting or possessing black sea bass from Key West, Florida,
through Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina.
Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is required to close the commercial
sector for a species or species group when the quota for that species
or species group is reached, or is projected to be reached, by filing a
notification to that effect with the Office of the Federal Register.
Based on current statistics, NMFS has determined that the available
commercial quota of 309,000 lb (140,160 kg) for black sea bass will be
reached on or before October 7, 2010. Accordingly, NMFS is closing the
commercial sector for black sea bass in the South Atlantic EEZ from
12:01 a.m., local time, on October 7, 2010, through 12:01 a.m., local
time, on June 1, 2011. The operator of a vessel with a valid commercial
vessel permit for snapper-grouper having black sea bass onboard must
have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such black sea bass prior to
12:01 a.m., local time, October 7, 2010.
During the closure, the bag limit and possession limits specified
in 50 CFR 622.39(d)(1)(vii) and (d)(2), respectively, apply to all
harvest or possession of black sea bass in or from the South Atlantic
EEZ, and the sale or purchase of black sea bass taken from the EEZ is
prohibited. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale
or purchase of black sea bass that were harvested, landed ashore, and
sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 7, 2010, and were held in
cold storage by a dealer or processor. For a person on board a vessel
for which a Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for
the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery has been issued, the sale
and purchase provisions of the commercial closure for black sea bass
would apply regardless of whether the fish are harvested in state or
Federal waters, as specified in 50 CFR 622.43(a)(5)(ii).
Classification
This action responds to the best available information recently
obtained from the fishery. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NOAA (AA), finds that the need to immediately implement this action to
close the commercial sector to the harvest of black sea bass
constitutes good cause to waive the requirements to provide prior
notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set
forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as such procedures would be unnecessary
and contrary to the public interest. Such procedures would be
unnecessary because the rule itself already has been subject to notice
and comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the
closure.
Allowing prior notice and opportunity for public comment is
contrary to the public interest because of the need to immediately
implement this action to protect the black sea bass stock because the
capacity of the fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the quota.
Prior notice and opportunity for public comment would require time and
would potentially result in a harvest well in excess of the established
quota.
For the aforementioned reasons, the AA also finds good cause to
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness of the action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.43(a) and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 24, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-24450 Filed 9-24-10; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S