[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 60009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24454]



[[Page 60009]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 040205043-4043-01]
RIN 0648-XY47


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Closure of the July-
December 2010 Commercial Sector for Vermilion Snapper 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 closes the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in 
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. NMFS has 
determined that the quota for the commercial sector for vermilion 
snapper will have been reached by October 6, 2010. This closure is 
necessary to protect the vermilion snapper resource.

DATES:  Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6, 2010, 
through 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Catherine Bruger, telephone 727-824-
5305, fax 727-824-5308, e-mail [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). The FMP was 
prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management 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. Those regulations set the commercial quota for 
vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic at 302,523 lb (137,222 kg) for 
the current fishing period, July 1 through December 31, 2010, as 
specified in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(4)(ii).
    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 current statistics, NMFS has determined that the available 
commercial quota of 302,523 lb (137,222 kg) for vermilion snapper will 
be reached on or before October 6, 2010. Accordingly, NMFS is closing 
the commercial sector for vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ 
from 12:01 a.m., local time, on October 6, 2010, through 12:01 a.m., 
local time, on January 1, 2011. The operator of a vessel with a valid 
commercial vessel permit for snapper-grouper having vermilion snapper 
onboard must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such vermilion 
snapper prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6, 2010.
    During the closure, the bag limit and possession limits specified 
in 50 CFR 622.39(d)(1)(v) and (d)(2), respectively, apply to all 
harvest or possession of vermilion snapper in or from the South 
Atlantic EEZ, and the sale or purchase of vermilion snapper taken from 
the EEZ is prohibited. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not 
apply to sale or purchase of vermilion snapper that were harvested, 
landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 6, 
2010, and were 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 vermilion snapper would apply regardless of whether the 
fish are harvested in state or Federal waters, as specified in 50 CFR 
622.43(a)(5)(ii).

Classification

    This action responds to the best available information recently 
obtained from the fishery. 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 vermilion snapper 
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 rule itself already has been subject to notice 
and comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the 
closure.
    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 vermilion snapper stock because 
the capacity of the fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the 
quota. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment 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 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: September 24, 2010.
Carrie Selberg,
Acting Director,Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-24454 Filed 9-24-10; 4:15 am]
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