[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9665-9666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03738]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 101206604-1758-02]
RIN 0648-XD731
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic; 2015 Commercial Run-Around Gillnet Closure
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) through this
temporary rule for commercial harvest of king mackerel in the Florida
west coast southern subzone of the eastern zone of the Gulf of Mexico
(Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) using run-around gillnet gear.
NMFS has determined that the commercial annual catch limit (ACL;
commercial quota) for king mackerel using run-around gillnet gear in
the Florida west coast southern subzone of the Gulf EEZ will be reached
on February 20, 2015. Therefore, NMFS closes the Florida west coast
southern subzone to commercial king mackerel fishing using run-around
gillnet gear in the Gulf EEZ. This closure is necessary to protect the
Gulf king mackerel resource.
DATES: The closure is effective 12:01 p.m., eastern standard time,
February 20, 2015, until 6 a.m., eastern standard time, January 19,
2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Gerhart, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic
fish (king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and cobia) is managed under the
Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (FMP). The FMP was prepared by
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils and
is implemented by NMFS under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by
regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
Gulf migratory group king mackerel's Florida west coast subzone of
the Gulf eastern zone is divided into northern and southern subzones,
each with separate commercial quotas. From November 1 through March 31,
the southern subzone encompasses an area of the EEZ south of a line
extending due west of the Lee and Collier County, FL, boundary on the
Florida west coast, and south of a line extending due east of the
Monroe and Miami-Dade County, FL, boundary on the Florida east coast,
which includes the EEZ off Collier and Monroe Counties, FL. From April
1 through October 31, the southern subzone is reduced to the EEZ off
Collier County, and the EEZ off Monroe County becomes part of the
Atlantic migratory group area (50 CFR 622.384(b)(1)(i)(C)).
On January 30, 2012 (76 FR 82058, December 29, 2011), NMFS
implemented a commercial quota for the Gulf migratory group king
mackerel in the Florida west coast southern subzone of 551,448 lb
(250,133 kg) for vessels using run-around gillnet gear (50 CFR
622.384(b)(1)(i)(B)(1)), for the current fishing year, July 1, 2014,
through June 30, 2015.
Regulations at 50 CFR 622.8(b) require NMFS to close any segment of
the king mackerel commercial sector when its quota has been reached, or
is projected to be reached, by filing a notification with the Office of
the Federal Register. NMFS has determined that the commercial quota of
551,448 lb (250,133 kg) for Gulf group king mackerel for vessels using
run-around gillnet gear in the Florida west coast southern subzone will
be reached on February 20, 2015. Accordingly, commercial fishing using
such gear in the Florida west coast southern subzone is closed at 12:01
p.m., eastern standard time, February 20, 2015, until 6 a.m., eastern
standard time, January 19, 2016, the beginning of the next fishing
season, i.e., the day after the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal
holiday. Accordingly, the operator of a vessel that has been issued a
Federal commercial permit to harvest Gulf migratory group king mackerel
using run-around gillnet gear in the Florida west coast southern
subzone must have landed ashore and bartered, traded, or sold such king
mackerel prior to 12:01 p.m., eastern standard time, February 20, 2015.
Persons aboard a vessel for which a commercial permit for king
mackerel has been issued, except persons who also possess a king
mackerel gillnet permit, may fish for or retain Gulf group king
mackerel harvested using hook-and-line gear in the Florida west coast
southern subzone unless the commercial quota for hook-and-line gear has
been met and the hook-and-line
[[Page 9666]]
segment of the commercial sector has been closed. A person aboard a
vessel that has a valid charter vessel/headboat permit for coastal
migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain king mackerel in or from
closed zones or subzones under the bag and possession limits set forth
in 50 CFR 622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2), provided the vessel is
operating as a charter vessel or headboat. A charter vessel or headboat
that also has a commercial king mackerel permit is considered to be
operating as a charter vessel or headboat when it carries a passenger
who pays a fee or when there are more than three persons aboard,
including operator and crew.
During the closure, king mackerel harvested using run-around
gillnet gear in the Florida west coast southern subzone may not be
purchased or sold. This prohibition does not apply to king mackerel
harvested using run-around gillnet gear in the Florida west coast
southern subzone that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to
the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
Classification
The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined
this temporary rule is necessary for the conservation and management of
Gulf migratory group king mackerel and is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.8(b) and 622.388(a)(1) and is
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
These measures are exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act because the temporary rule is issued without
opportunity for prior notice and comment.
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 fishery
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), because prior notice and opportunity for
public comment on this temporary rule is unnecessary and contrary to
the public interest. Such procedures are unnecessary, because the rule
implementing the ACL (quota) and the associated requirement for closure
of the commercial harvest when the ACL (quota) is reached or projected
to be reached has already been subject to notice and comment, and all
that remains is to notify the public of the closure. They are contrary
to the public interest, because any delay in the closure of the
commercial harvest could result in the commercial quota being exceeded.
There is a need to immediately implement this action to protect the
king mackerel resource, because the capacity of the fishing fleet
allows for rapid harvest of the quota. Prior notice and opportunity for
public comment on this action 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 under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 19, 2015.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-03738 Filed 2-19-15; 4:15 pm]
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