[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60945-60946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24651]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 0907271173-0629-03]
RIN 0648-XC152
2012-2013 Accountability Measure and Closure for Commercial 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 implements an accountability measure (AM) for the
commercial sector of black sea bass in the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) of the South Atlantic through this temporary final rule. NMFS has
determined that the annual catch limit (ACL) (equal to the commercial
quota) for black sea bass will have been reached by October 8, 2012.
Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector for black sea bass in the
EEZ of the South Atlantic. This closure is necessary to protect the
black sea bass resource.
DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, October 8, 2012,
through 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Hayslip, telephone 727-824-
5305, email [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), and black sea bass
is a species contained in that FMP. The FMP was prepared by the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (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. NMFS published a temporary rule to delay the start of the 2012-
2013 fishing season for the commercial sector of black sea bass from
June 1, 2012 to July 1, 2012 (77 FR 28305, May 14, 2012). The
commercial ACL (commercial quota) for black sea bass in the South
Atlantic is 309,000 lb (140,160 kg), gutted weight, for the current
fishing year (July 1, 2012, through May 31, 2013) as specified in 50
CFR 622.42(e)(5).
Background
Black sea bass are managed throughout their range. In the South
Atlantic EEZ, black sea bass are managed under the FMP by the Council
from 35[deg]15.19' N. lat., the latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, North
Carolina, south to the boundary between the South Atlantic and Gulf of
Mexico (Gulf) Councils, off of Key West, Florida. The boundary between
the South Atlantic and Gulf Councils coincides with the line of
demarcation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf, which begins at
the intersection of the outer boundary of the EEZ, as specified in the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 83[deg]00' W. long., proceeds northward along
that meridian to 24[deg]35' N. lat., (near the Dry Tortugas Islands),
thence eastward along that parallel, through Rebecca Shoal and the
Quicksand Shoal, to the Marquesas Keys, and then through the Florida
Keys to the mainland at the eastern end of Florida Bay, the line so
running that the narrow waters within the Dry Tortugas Islands, the
Marquesas Keys and the Florida Keys, and between the Florida Keys and
the mainland, are within the Gulf. 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 Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina, through to the
boundary between the South Atlantic and Gulf Councils (off of Key West,
Florida), as described above.
The AM at 50 CFR 622.49(b)(5)(i) requires NMFS to close the
commercial sector for black sea bass when the ACL (quota) is reached,
or is projected to be reached, by filing a notification to that effect
with the Office of the Federal Register. Also, 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 the best
scientific information available, NMFS has determined that the
available commercial ACL (commercial quota) of 309,000 lb (140,160 kg),
gutted weight, for black sea bass will be reached on or before October
8, 2012. Accordingly, NMFS is implementing an AM to close the
commercial sector for black sea bass in the South Atlantic EEZ at 12:01
a.m., local time, on October 8, 2012 from 35[deg]15.19' N. lat., the
latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina, south to the boundary
between the South Atlantic and Gulf Councils, as previously described
in this temporary rule. The commercial sector for black sea bass will
remain closed until 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2013. 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 8, 2012.
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
[[Page 60946]]
purchase of black sea bass that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold
prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 8, 2012, and 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 were harvested in state or Federal
waters, as specified in 50 CFR 622.43(a)(5)(ii).
Classification
This action responds to the best scientific information available.
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 regulations
have already been subject to notice and comment, and all that remains
is to notify the public of the closure.
Additionally, 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 it is subject to overfishing and the capacity of the fishing
fleet allows for rapid harvest of the commercial ACL (commercial
quota). Prior notice and opportunity for public comment would require
time and would potentially result in a harvest well in excess of the
established commercial ACL (commercial quota), which would impede the
rebuilding of the stock by the end of the rebuilding period set at
2016.
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: October 2, 2012.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-24651 Filed 10-2-12; 4:15 pm]
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