[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 60009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24454]
[[Page 60009]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 040205043-4043-01]
RIN 0648-XY47
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Closure of the July-
December 2010 Commercial Sector for Vermilion Snapper in the South
Atlantic
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. NMFS has
determined that the quota for the commercial sector for vermilion
snapper will have been reached by October 6, 2010. This closure is
necessary to protect the vermilion snapper resource.
DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6, 2010,
through 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 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
vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic at 302,523 lb (137,222 kg) for
the current fishing period, July 1 through December 31, 2010, as
specified in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(4)(ii).
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 302,523 lb (137,222 kg) for vermilion snapper will
be reached on or before October 6, 2010. Accordingly, NMFS is closing
the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ
from 12:01 a.m., local time, on October 6, 2010, through 12:01 a.m.,
local time, on January 1, 2011. The operator of a vessel with a valid
commercial vessel permit for snapper-grouper having vermilion snapper
onboard must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such vermilion
snapper prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6, 2010.
During the closure, the bag limit and possession limits specified
in 50 CFR 622.39(d)(1)(v) and (d)(2), respectively, apply to all
harvest or possession of vermilion snapper in or from the South
Atlantic EEZ, and the sale or purchase of vermilion snapper taken from
the EEZ is prohibited. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not
apply to sale or purchase of vermilion snapper that were harvested,
landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6,
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 vermilion snapper 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 vermilion snapper
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 vermilion snapper 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. 2010-24454 Filed 9-24-10; 4:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S