[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76300-76302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30870]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 100510220-0598-05]
RIN 0648-AY90
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Emergency Fisheries Closure in the Gulf of Mexico Due to the Deepwater
Horizon MC252 Oil Spill; Amendment 4
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary emergency rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this temporary emergency rule to prohibit royal
red shrimp fishing in a specific area of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf)
exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in response to a fishery interaction of
the Gulf shrimp fishery with sub-surface oil byproducts from the
Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill. This temporary emergency rule
supersedes the temporary emergency rule published December 1, 2010 (75
FR 74648) and will remain in effect for 60 days. The intended effect of
this temporary emergency rule is to assure seafood safety and consumer
confidence in Gulf seafood.
DATES: This rule is effective December 3, 2010, through 12:01 a.m.,
local time, February 2, 2011. Comments may be submitted through January
2, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this rule, identified by ``0648-
AY90'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: 727-824-5308; Attention: Anik Clemens.
Mail: Anik Clemens, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until
after the comment period. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2010-0244'' in the keyword
search, then select ``Send a Comment or Submission.'' NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields, if you wish to
remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Copies of the environmental assessment, signed on June 17, 2010,
may be obtained from Susan Gerhart, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS,
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5505; telephone: 727-
824-5305; e-mail: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anik Clemens, telephone: 727-824-5305,
fax: 727-824-5308; e-mail: [email protected].
[[Page 76301]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) provides the legal authority
for the promulgation of emergency regulations under section 305(c).
Background
NMFS responded to the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil
spill by closing a portion of the Gulf EEZ to all fishing through an
emergency rule effective May 2, 2010 (75 FR 24822, May 6, 2010). Oil
continued to leak from the Deepwater Horizon MC252 site and the spatial
and temporal location of the oil in the Gulf EEZ continued to change.
NMFS revised the closed area in a second emergency rule that became
effective May 7, 2010 (75 FR 26679, May 12, 2010). The dynamic
situation regarding the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill required a
method to respond rapidly to changing conditions. Delaying the
announcement of the new fishery closed area could have led to the
possible harvest of adulterated seafood products. Therefore, NMFS
issued a third emergency rule, effective May 11, 2010 (75 FR 27217, May
14, 2010), that allowed NMFS to revise the closed area as needed (on a
daily or weekly basis) and announce the revised closed area via NOAA
Weather Radio, Fishery Bulletin, and NOAA Web site updates, without the
need to announce the new closure boundary coordinates in the Federal
Register.
Closing and Reopening Areas Affected by the Oil Spill
The third emergency rule also identified a procedure for reopening
closed areas. Closed areas may be reopened if NMFS has determined that
oil from the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill has never been in those
areas. Closed areas may also be reopened if NMFS has determined that
fish and other marine species within the closed area meet Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) standards for public health and wholesomeness. The
procedures did not address fishery interactions with sub-surface oil,
tar, or oil byproducts.
The temporary emergency rule published December 1, 2010 (75 FR
74648) revised the NMFS procedure by allowing for timely adjustment of
the closed area of the Gulf as applied to royal red shrimp fishing in
response to interactions of the Gulf shrimp fishery with sub-surface
oil, tar, or oil byproducts. In the same temporary emergency rule, NMFS
closed a specific area of the Gulf to royal red shrimp fishing only,
adjacent to the area currently closed to all fishing in response to an
interaction by the Gulf shrimp fishery, which occurred approximately 22
miles (35 km) from the Deepwater Horizon MC252 well head, where a royal
red shrimp trawl vessel caught a large quantity of tar balls in its
trawl net. The area closed to royal red shrimp fishing only included
the location where the interaction occurred, the area where the
majority of royal red shrimp fishing effort occurred, and the area
where the majority of the in situ burns occurred after the Deepwater
Horizon MC252 incident. The tar balls found in the royal red shrimp
trawl net are believed to be the result of burn residue from the in
situ burns that occurred in close proximity to the well head. The
temporary emergency rule that published on December 1, 2010, became
effective on November 24, 2010 and expires on December 4, 2010.
Need for This Temporary Emergency Rule
This temporary emergency rule supersedes the temporary emergency
rule published December 1, 2010 (75 FR 74648). This rule restores the
regulatory text relating to the procedures for implementing future
fishery closures related to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill,
promulgated through rulemaking, published May 14, 2010 (75 Fr 27217).
Through this temporary emergency rule, NMFS is prohibiting royal red
shrimp fishing in the area of the Gulf EEZ identified in the December
1, 2010 temporary emergency rule (also found in the second table
below), for 60 days. This is a precautionary action to assure seafood
safety and consumer confidence in Gulf seafood while NMFS further
investigates the deepwater area where the royal red shrimp component of
the Gulf shrimp fishery is concentrated. Specifically, NMFS will sample
in and around the area of the Gulf where the interaction occurred to
determine the extent of the tar balls. NMFS is concerned about seafood
interactions with oil, tar, and oil byproducts. The FDA considers
seafood that has interacted with oil, tar, or oil byproducts to be
adulterated. NMFS will continue to analyze the tar balls found in the
area close to the well head in an attempt to determine if they
originated from the Deepwater Horizon MC252 incident.
NMFS is not aware of interactions of any Gulf fishery, other than
the royal red shrimp component of the Gulf shrimp fishery, with tar
balls or other sub-surface oil byproducts. The penaeid (brown, white,
and pink shrimp) shrimp trawl component of the Gulf shrimp fishery
occurs in shallower waters rather than in the vicinity of the in situ
burn sites. Other deepwater fishing activities occur in the area, but
bottom trawling is not used in those fishing activities. Trawls move
across the bottom, collecting shrimp and other items. For this reason,
tar balls and other potential oil byproducts are likely to be collected
and intermingled with the shrimp catch. Therefore, NMFS will continue
to sample the shrimp and other seafood in and around the area currently
closed to royal red shrimp fishing to ensure the seafood is not
adulterated.
The public may obtain the boundary coordinates for the area closed
to all fishing by listening to NOAA Weather Radio, visiting the
Southeast Regional Office Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/, reading
the e-mailed or posted Fishery Bulletins, reading a tweet that the
closed area has been revised, or by calling the Deepwater Horizon MC252
oil spill hotline number (1-800-627-6622) to listen to a recorded
message of the updated boundary coordinates. To improve public
outreach, the fishery bulletins and the recorded messages are also
available in Spanish and Vietnamese.
The current area closed to all fishing related to the Deepwater
Horizon MC252 oil spill, as of November 15, 2010, is bounded by rhumb
lines connecting, in order, the following coordinates:
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Point North lat. West long.
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A............................... 29[deg]00'........ 88[deg]30'.
B............................... 29[deg]00'........ 88[deg]00'.
C............................... 28[deg]30'........ 88[deg]00'.
D............................... 28[deg]30'........ 88[deg]30'.
A............................... 29[deg]00'........ 88[deg]30'.
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In addition to the area closed to all fishing, the area closed to
royal red shrimp fishing only continues to be bounded by rhumb lines
connecting, in order, the following coordinates:
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Point North lat. West long.
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A............................... 29[deg]30'........ LA State/EEZ
boundary.
B............................... 29[deg]30'........ 87[deg]30'.
[[Page 76302]]
C............................... 29[deg]00'........ 87[deg]30'.
D............................... 29[deg]00'........ 88[deg]30'.
E............................... 28[deg]30'........ 88[deg]30'.
F............................... 28[deg]30'........ 89[deg]00'.
G............................... LA State/EEZ 89[deg]00'.
boundary.
From point G follow the state/
EEZ boundary back to point A.
A............................... 29[deg]30'........ LA State/EEZ
boundary.
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This rule will remain in effect for 60 days.
Classification
This action is issued pursuant to section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c).
This rulemaking is a ``significant regulatory action'' under
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. The Department of Commerce has
notified the Office of Management and Budget Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OMB/OIRA) under section 6(a)(3)(D) of the Executive
Order, and OMB/OIRA agrees, that NOAA is promulgating this action in an
emergency situation and that normal Executive Order review is not
practicable at this time. For this reason, OMB/OIRA has not reviewed
this notice under EO 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good
cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment. Prior notice and the opportunity for
public comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public
interest, as delaying this action is a seafood safety concern and could
result in compromised seafood products reaching the public. This
temporary emergency rule prohibits royal red shrimp fishing in the area
of the Gulf EEZ identified in a temporary emergency rule published
December 1, 2010 (75 FR 74648) and supersedes that temporary emergency
rule. NMFS will continue to investigate the deepwater area where the
majority of the royal red shrimp fishing effort occurs by sampling the
area for tar balls, to determine tar ball distribution across the area
and to determine if the tar balls originated from the Deepwater Horizon
MC252 incident. NMFS is concerned that seafood may have interacted with
the tar balls. The FDA considers such seafood to be adulterated. This
temporary emergency rule is necessary to prevent the harvest of
adulterated seafood products.
For the reasons stated above, the AA also finds good cause to waive
the 30-day delay in effective date of this rule under 5 U.S.C
553(d)(3).
Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
are inapplicable.
List of Subject in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: December 2, 2010.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended as
follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC
0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 622.34, paragraph (w) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 622.34 Gulf EEZ seasonal and/or area closures.
* * * * *
(w) Gulf EEZ area closure related to Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Effective December 3, 2010, all fishing is prohibited in the portion of
the Gulf EEZ identified in the map shown on the NMFS Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/deepwater_horizon_oil_spill.htm.
[FR Doc. 2010-30870 Filed 12-3-10; 4:15 pm]
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