[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 152 (Thursday, August 7, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 42417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20771]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 961204340-7087-02; I.D.073097D]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South 
Atlantic; Closure

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial fishery for king mackerel in the 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the western zone of the Gulf of 
Mexico. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel 
resource.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The closure is effective 12:01 a.m., August 2, 1997, 
through June 30, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Godcharles or Fentress Munden, 
813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic 
fish (king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cero, cobia, little tunny, 
dolphin, and, in the Gulf of Mexico only, bluefish) 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 
(Councils) and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by regulations at 50 
CFR part 622.
    Catch limits recommended by the Councils and implemented by NMFS 
for the Gulf of Mexico migratory group of king mackerel set the annual 
commercial quota at 0.77 million lb (0.35 million kg) for the western 
zone.
    Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is required to close any segment of 
the king mackerel commercial fishery when its quota has been reached, 
or is projected to be reached, by filing a notification to that effect 
with the Office of the Federal Register. NMFS has determined that the 
commercial quota of 0.77 million lb (0.35 million kg) for the western 
zone of the Gulf migratory group of king mackerel was reached on August 
1, 1997. Hence, the commercial fishery for Gulf group king mackerel 
from the western zone is closed effective 12:01 a.m., local time, 
August 2, 1997, through June 30, 1998, the end of the fishing year. The 
boundary between the eastern and western zones is 87 deg.31'06'' W. 
long., which is a line directly south from the Alabama/Florida 
boundary.
    During the closure, except for a person aboard a charter vessel or 
headboat, a person aboard a vessel for which a commercial permit for 
king and Spanish mackerel has been issued may not fish for king 
mackerel in the EEZ in the western zone and may not retain king 
mackerel in or from the western zone EEZ. A person aboard a charter 
vessel or headboat may continue to retain king mackerel in or from the 
western zone EEZ under the bag and possession limits set forth in 
Sec. 622.39(c)(1) and (2), provided the vessel is operating as a 
charter vessel or headboat and the vessel has an annual charter vessel/
headboat permit, as specified in Sec. 622.4(a)(1). A charter vessel or 
headboat that also has a commercial 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 from the western zone taken in 
the EEZ, including those harvested under the bag and possession limits, 
may not be purchased, bartered, traded, or sold. This prohibition does 
not apply to trade in king mackerel from the western zone that were 
harvested, landed ashore, and bartered, traded, or sold prior to the 
effective date of the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer 
or processor.

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.43(a) and is exempt from 
review under E.O. 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: August 1, 1997.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 97-20771 Filed 8-1-97; 4:48 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F