[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 41141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17639]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 040205043-4043-01]
RIN 0648-XA552


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Closure of the 2011-2012 
Commercial Sector for Black Sea Bass in the South Atlantic

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial sector for black sea bass in the 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. NMFS has 
determined that the quota for the commercial sector for black sea bass 
will have been reached by July 15, 2011. This closure is necessary to 
protect the black sea bass resource.

DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, July 15, 2011, 
through 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2012.

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 
black sea bass in the South Atlantic at 309,000 lb (140,160 kg) for the 
current fishing year, June 1, 2011, through May 31, 2012, as specified 
in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(5)(iii).
    Black sea bass are managed throughout their range. In the South 
Atlantic EEZ, black sea bass are managed by the Council from 
35[deg]15.19' N. lat., the latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, North 
Carolina, south. From Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina, through 
Maine, black sea bass are managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 
Therefore, the closure provisions contained in this notice are 
applicable to those vessels harvesting or possessing black sea bass 
from Key West, Florida, through Cape Hatteras Light, North Carolina.
    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 309,000 lb (140,160 kg) for black sea bass will be 
reached on or before July 15, 2011. Accordingly, NMFS is closing the 
commercial sector for black sea bass in the South Atlantic EEZ from 
12:01 a.m., local time, on July 15, 2011, through 12:01 a.m., local 
time, on June 1, 2012. The operator of a vessel with a valid commercial 
vessel permit for snapper-grouper having black sea bass onboard must 
have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such black sea bass prior to 
12:01 a.m., local time, July 15, 2011.
    During the closure, the bag limit and possession limits specified 
in 50 CFR 622.39(d)(1)(vii) and (d)(2), respectively, apply to all 
harvest or possession of black sea bass in or from the South Atlantic 
EEZ, and the sale or purchase of black sea bass taken from the EEZ is 
prohibited. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale 
or purchase of black sea bass that were harvested, landed ashore, and 
sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, July 15, 2011, 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 black sea bass 
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 black sea bass 
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 black sea bass 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: July 8, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-17639 Filed 7-8-11; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P