[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 18, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50934-50935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20345]



[[Page 50934]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 100510220-0334-03]
RIN 0648-AY90


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Emergency Fisheries Closures in the Southeast Region Due to the 
Deepwater Horizon MC252 Oil Spill; Publication of Coordinates

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

ACTION:  Temporary rule; emergency action.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS has taken emergency action through a series of emergency 
rules to prohibit all fishing and harvesting of marine resources in 
areas of the United States exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that are 
impacted by the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill. The most recent of 
these emergency rules, which became effective on May 11, 2010, and 
continues to remain in effect, allows NMFS to make more timely 
revisions to the area closed to all fishing. The rule established a 
protocol for reopening closed areas and a procedure to inform the 
public of the specific coordinates of the Federal closed area related 
to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill (fishery closed area) via a 
broad range of information transfer tools. NMFS is publishing this 
temporary rule to provide additional notice to the regulated public by 
designating the current boundary coordinates for the area closed to all 
fishing and the area reopened to finfish harvest only in the Gulf of 
Mexico (Gulf), thereby increasing seafood safety and public safety. 
Future changes to the closed area will continue to be made using the 
procedure established by the emergency rule effective May 11, 2010.

DATES:  This rule is effective August 13, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Anik Clemens, telephone: 727-824-
5305, fax: 727-824-5308, e-mail: [email protected].

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.

Reopening Protocol

    The third emergency rule also identified a protocol 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 FDA standards 
for public health and wholesomeness. Finfish and other marine species, 
including invertebrates, are sampled from within the closed area at 
different rates. They also metabolize oil at different rates. 
Therefore, reopening closed areas may occur for finfish and 
invertebrates at different rates as well. In collaboration with the 
FDA, NOAA has developed specific technical guidelines for reopening 
oil-impacted areas closed to seafood harvesting under this protocol. A 
summary of these procedures may be found at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ucm217598.htm.

Need for this Temporary Rule

    Currently, the public may obtain the updated boundary coordinates 
for the fishery closed area by listening to NOAA Weather Radio, 
visiting various NOAA Web sites, reading the e-mailed or posted Fishery 
Bulletins, receiving a text message or 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.
    This rulemaking would provide another means of informing the public 
of the boundary coordinates of the area closed to all fishing as well 
as the area reopened to finfish only. NMFS anticipates that the fishery 
closed area will continue to be reduced in size in the upcoming months, 
and subsequent publication of an expanded area would be unnecessary. 
The area closed to all fishing related to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 
oil spill, as of August 13, 2010, is that part of the Gulf EEZ 
shoreward of rhumb lines connecting, in order, the following points:

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                    Point                      North lat.    West long.
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A                                             FL State/EEZ   87[deg]00'
                                                 boundary
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B                                              29[deg]30'    87[deg]00'
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C                                              29[deg]30'    86[deg]00'
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D                                              28[deg]24'    86[deg]00'
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E                                              28[deg]19'    85[deg]30'
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F                                              27[deg]00'    85[deg]30'
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G                                              27[deg]00'    86[deg]23'
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H                                              27[deg]39'    89[deg]50'
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I                                              27[deg]35'    90[deg]33'
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J                                              28[deg]36'    91[deg]08'
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K                                              28[deg]36'    91[deg]32'
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L                                              28[deg]58'    91[deg]40'
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M                                              29[deg]31'    93[deg]36'
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N                                             LA State/EEZ   93[deg]30'
                                                 boundary
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    The area reopened to finfish harvest only, as of August 13, 2010, 
is that part of the Gulf EEZ shoreward of rhumb lines connecting, in 
order, the following points:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Point                      North lat.    West long.
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A                                             FL State/EEZ   85[deg]29'
                                                 boundary
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B                                              28[deg]23'    85[deg]55'
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C                                              28[deg]24'    86[deg]00'
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[[Page 50935]]

 
D                                              29[deg]30'    86[deg]00'
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E                                              29[deg]30'    87[deg]00'
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F                                             LA State/EEZ   87[deg]00'
                                                 boundary
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    The intent of this temporary rule is to provide additional notice 
only and has no affect on the emergency rule that became effective May 
11, 2010 (75 FR 27217, May 14, 2010) and which continues to remain in 
effect. Future changes to the closed area will continue to be made 
using the procedure established by that emergency rule.

Classification

    This action is issued pursuant to section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
16 U.S.C. 1855(c).
    This temporary rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 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 unnecessary. It is unnecessary because the rule 
is merely publishing the coordinates for a closed area that is already 
in effect. Thus, it creates no new restrictions on persons in the 
closed area. This temporary rule is simply providing additional public 
notice of the current coordinates of the area closed to all fishing and 
the area reopened to finfish harvest.
    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.

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

    Dated: August 12, 2010.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-20345 Filed 8-13-10; 11:15 am]
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