[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57585-57586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-27922]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 102099B]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Closure of the Commercial Red 
Snapper Component

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

ACTION: Notice of closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial fishery for red snapper in the 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico. NMFS projects that 
the initial portion of the annual commercial quota for red snapper will 
be reached on November 5, 1999. This closure is necessary to protect 
the red snapper resource.

DATES: Effective noon, local time, November 5, 1999, until noon, local 
time, February 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roy E. Crabtree, 727-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 
is managed under the Fishery

[[Page 57586]]

Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 
(FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act by regulations at 50 CFR part 
622. Those regulations set the commercial quota for red snapper in the 
Gulf of Mexico at 4.65 million lb (2.11 million kg) for the current 
fishing year, January 1 through December 31, 1999. Those regulations 
split the red snapper commercial fishing season into two time periods, 
the first commencing at noon on February 1, with two-thirds of the 
annual quota (3.06 million lb (1.39 million kg)) available, and the 
second commencing at noon on September 1, with the remainder of the 
annual quota available. During the fall commercial season, the red 
snapper commercial fishery opens at noon on the first of each month and 
closes at noon on the 10th of each month, until the applicable 
commercial quotas are reached.
    Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is required to close the commercial 
fishery 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 Federal Register. Based on current 
statistics, NMFS projects that the available commercial quota of 4.65 
million lb (2.11 million kg) for red snapper will be reached on 
November 5, 1999. Accordingly, the commercial fishery in the EEZ in the 
Gulf of Mexico for red snapper will remain closed from noon on November 
5, 1999, until noon, local time, on February 1, 2000. The operator of a 
vessel with a valid reef fish permit having red snapper aboard must 
have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such red snapper prior to 
noon, local time, November 5, 1999.
    During the closure, the bag and possession limits specified in 50 
CFR 622.39(b) apply to all harvest or possession of red snapper in or 
from the EEZ in the Gulf of Mexico, and the sale or purchase of red 
snapper taken from the EEZ is prohibited. In addition, the bag and 
possession limits for red snapper apply on board a vessel for which a 
commercial permit for Gulf reef fish has been issued, without regard to 
where such red snapper were harvested. However, the bag and possession 
limits for red snapper apply only when the recreational quota for red 
snapper has not been reached and the bag and possession limit has not 
been reduced to zero. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not 
apply to sale or purchase of red snapper that were harvested, landed 
ashore, and sold prior to noon, local time, November 5, 1999, 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.

    Dated: October 21, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-27922 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F