[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51939-51942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21227]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 120709225-2365-01]
RIN 0648-BC32


Temporary Rule To Establish Management Measures for the Limited 
Harvest and Possession of South Atlantic Red Snapper in 2012

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency action.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final temporary rule to establish management 
measures to allow for the limited harvest and possession of red snapper 
in or from the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 2012, as 
requested by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). 
This rule also announces the opening and closing dates of the 2012 
commercial and recreational fishing seasons for red snapper. The 
intended effect of this temporary rule is to preserve a significant 
economic opportunity in the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery that 
otherwise might be foregone. Furthermore, limited commercial and 
recreational harvest of red snapper in 2012 will provide an opportunity 
to collect fishery-dependent data that could be useful for the 2014 red 
snapper stock assessment.

DATES: This temporary rule is effective August 28, 2012 through 
December 31, 2012. The recreational red snapper season opens at 12:01 
a.m., local time, on September 14, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., 
local time, on September 17, 2012; then reopens at 12:01 a.m., local 
time, on September 21, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on 
September 24, 2012. The commercial red snapper season opens at 12:01 
a.m., local time, on September 17, 2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., 
local time, on September 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the documents in support of this 
temporary rule, which include an environmental assessment, may be 
obtained from the Southeast Regional Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/SASnapperGrouperHomepage.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick DeVictor, Southeast Regional 
Office, NMFS, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage South Atlantic 
snapper-grouper including red snapper under the Fishery Management Plan 
for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The 
Council prepared the FMP and NMFS implements the FMP through 
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the legal authority for the 
promulgation of emergency regulations under section 305(c) (16 U.S.C. 
1855(c)).

Background

    Red snapper are overfished and undergoing overfishing. The harvest 
and possession of red snapper has been prohibited since January 4, 
2010, initially through temporary rules (74 FR 63673, December 4, 2009 
and 75 FR 27658, May 18, 2010), and then through the final rule to 
implement Amendment 17A to the FMP (75 FR 76874, December 9, 2010). 
Amendment 17A continued the prohibition on a permanent basis by 
implementing an annual catch limit (ACL) for red snapper of zero 
(landings only). Amendment 17A also implemented a rebuilding plan for 
red snapper, which specifies that red snapper biomass must increase to 
the target rebuilt level in 35 years, starting from 2010. The final 
rule implementing Amendment 17A also included a large area closure for 
most snapper-grouper species, however, this area closure did not become 
effective because it was determined not to be necessary to end the 
overfishing of red snapper (76 FR 23728, April 28, 2011). At its June 
2012 meeting, the Council received new information regarding discard 
estimates for red snapper. Using this data, the Council and NMFS 
determined that a limited season for red snapper would be possible in 
2012. Therefore, the Council voted, and NMFS is implementing, emergency 
rulemaking to allow for the limited harvest and possession of red 
snapper in or from the South Atlantic EEZ in 2012.

Status of the Stock

    The most recent Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 
benchmark stock assessment for red snapper, SEDAR 24, was completed in 
October 2010. Much like the stock assessment completed in 2008, this 
assessment showed red snapper to be overfished and undergoing 
overfishing, but also showed that red snapper were undergoing 
overfishing at a lower rate than found in the 2008 stock assessment. 
The next benchmark stock

[[Page 51940]]

assessment for red snapper was scheduled for 2013. However, this 
assessment has been delayed until 2014 in order to gather more data.

Need for This Temporary Rule

    The Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) has new discard data 
collected since the last benchmark assessment. The new data includes 
2010 and 2011 discard estimates from commercial logbooks, the Marine 
Recreational Fisheries Statistical Survey (MRFSS) and the Southeast 
Headboat Survey. These data were used to evaluate red snapper discards 
in relation to the acceptable biological catch (ABC) adopted by the 
Council (using SEDAR 24 rebuilding projections) to determine if a 
limited harvest of red snapper can be allowed for snapper-grouper 
fishermen in 2012. Using the average of 2010 and 2011 estimated discard 
mortalities and the 2012 ABC, NMFS has determined that the estimated 
discard mortality level for 2012 is below the 2012 ABC. Therefore, a 
limited harvest and possession of red snapper is possible in 2012 while 
staying within the rebuilding plan. Based on the new discard estimates 
reviewed at its June 2012 meeting, the Council requested that NMFS 
promulgate emergency regulations to allow for the limited harvest and 
possession of red snapper in 2012. The Council voted to implement 
commercial and recreational management measures to ensure that only a 
limited amount of red snapper would be harvested and possessed and that 
this allowance would not prevent the stock from rebuilding to target 
levels within the specified timeframe.
    NMFS' Policy Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules (62 FR 
44421, August 21, 1997) list three criteria for determining whether an 
emergency exists and this temporary rule is promulgated under these 
criteria. Specifically, NMFS' policy guidelines require that an 
emergency:
    (1) Result from recent, unforeseen events or recently discovered 
circumstances; and
    (2) Present serious conservation or management problems in the 
fishery; and
    (3) Can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the 
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public 
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants 
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking 
process.
    The Council requested dead discard estimates from the SEFSC for 
2010 and 2011, in anticipation of holding discussions during the June 
2012 Council meeting to consider a limited reopening of red snapper. In 
a letter dated April 7, 2012, the Council asked for red snapper discard 
mortality estimates to compare to the previously projected mortality 
levels from the latest stock assessment. The discard estimates provided 
by the SEFSC from commercial logbooks, MRFSS, and the Southeast 
Headboat Survey constitute recently discovered circumstances. The ABC 
adopted by the Council from SEDAR 24 for 2012 is 86,000 fish. Red 
snapper harvest can only be allowed if projected mortalities from the 
harvest and release of fish are less than the ABC for that year. Using 
the average of 2010 and 2011 estimated mortalities and the 2012 ABC, 
NMFS estimates there will be 72,933 red snapper killed in 2012. Since 
the ABC for 2012 is 86,000 fish, the ABC is higher than the estimated 
discard mortalities for 2012. As a result, the Council and NMFS 
determined 13,067 red snapper may be harvested in or from the South 
Atlantic in 2012.
    Input from the public and from a number of fishing communities 
indicates the harvest prohibition for red snapper has caused socio-
economic harm to individuals and associated communities. Unnecessarily 
prolonging the harvest prohibition presents serious conservation and 
management problems in the snapper-grouper fishery. Therefore, 
implementing a limited commercial and recreational season will likely 
increase socioeconomic benefits for South Atlantic snapper-grouper 
fishermen. Increased fishing opportunities should provide direct 
benefits to fishermen in the form of additional income and recreational 
opportunities, in addition to indirect benefits to businesses that 
provide supplies for fishing trips. NMFS expects the 2012 fishing 
season revenues to commercial vessels will increase by about $86,000 
(in total; 694 snapper-grouper permitted vessels may potentially 
participate in this harvest) and that benefits to the recreational 
anglers will increase by about $232,000 to $724,000 (in total; assuming 
that each of the 9,399 recreational fish is harvested by an individual 
angler). It is also likely that revenues and profits to for-hire 
vessels and support businesses will increase, but their magnitude 
cannot be estimated with the current information. Implementing the 
limited harvest of red snapper should also improve compliance and 
conservation as fishermen view management as being responsive to their 
needs and support this and other regulations. Additionally, a new stock 
assessment for red snapper has been delayed in order to gather more 
data. A limited commercial and recreational season for red snapper in 
2012 will provide an opportunity to collect fishery-dependent data, 
including age composition and catch-per-unit-effort data that could be 
useful for and enhance the 2014 red snapper stock assessment.
    The immediate benefits of implementing a limited commercial and 
recreational fishing season for red snapper in 2012 provide good cause 
to waive advance notice and public comment. A limited red snapper 
season should be implemented as soon as possible in 2012 so as not to 
open the season too late in the fishing year when poor weather can lead 
to unsafe fishing conditions. Comments on this action at the June 2012 
Council meeting indicated that many fishermen favored a fall season. 
The U.S. Coast Guard advised that a red snapper opening in late 2012 
could lead to unnecessary accidents from unsafe fishing conditions. The 
Council took all of this information into consideration when they 
requested a temporary rule for emergency action.

Measures Contained in This Temporary Rule

    This temporary rule implements several management measures to 
authorize the limited harvest and possession of red snapper in or from 
the South Atlantic EEZ in the 2012 fishing year. The commercial annual 
catch limit (ACL) is set at 20,181 lb (9,443 kg), gutted weight, which 
is equal to the commercial quota, and the recreational ACL is set at 
9,399 fish. These ACLs are based on the total ACL selected by the 
Council (13,097 fish), and the current allocation ratio for red snapper 
(28.07 percent commercial and 71.93 percent recreational). 
Accountability measures (AMs) are implemented to prevent these ACLs 
from being exceeded. NMFS and the Council are establishing several 
management measures that act as AMs, in order to constrain red snapper 
harvest to these ACLs. Limited commercial and recreational red snapper 
seasons are established for 2012. The recreational season will open for 
two consecutive weekends made up of Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and 
the commercial season will be open for 7 days, starting on the Monday 
following the first recreational weekend opening. The recreational 
season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 14, 2012, and 
closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 17, 2012; then reopens 
at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 21, 2012, and closes at 12:01 
a.m., local time, on September 24, 2012.

[[Page 51941]]

The commercial season opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 17, 
2012, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 24, 2012. The 
SEFSC will monitor commercial landings in-season to determine whether 
the commercial ACL has been harvested. If the commercial ACL has not 
been harvested during the 7-day season, the Council has given the RA 
the authority to reopen the commercial sector for another limited time 
period. If severe weather conditions exist, the Council has given the 
RA the authority to modify these opening and closing dates. The RA will 
determine when severe weather conditions exist, the duration of the 
severe weather conditions, and which geographic areas are deemed 
affected by severe weather conditions. If severe weather conditions 
exist or if the SEFSC determines the commercial ACL was not harvested 
and a reopening of the commercial sector is possible, the RA will file 
a notification to that effect with the Office of the Federal Register, 
and announce via NOAA Weather Radio and in a Fishery Bulletin any 
change in or reopening of the red snapper fishing seasons. During these 
limited seasons, the recreational sector is allowed a 1-fish per person 
daily bag limit and the commercial sector a 50-lb (22.7-kg) daily trip 
limit. The 1-fish recreational bag limit is included in the 10-fish 
aggregate snapper bag limit. No size limits are implemented for either 
sector, to decrease regulatory discards (fish returned to the water 
because they are below the minimum size limit).

Classification

    This action is issued pursuant to section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c). The Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), has determined that this temporary rule is 
necessary to preserve a significant economic opportunity for South 
Atlantic snapper-grouper fishermen that otherwise would be foregone and 
is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    This temporary rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 
notice and the opportunity for public comment because they are contrary 
to the public interest. This temporary rule preserves a significant 
economic opportunity for South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishermen that 
would otherwise be forgone. Limited harvest and possession of red 
snapper in 2012 will likely result in revenue increases to commercial 
vessels and benefit increases to recreational anglers, in addition to 
providing opportunity to for-hire vessels in booking more trips that 
could increase their revenues and profits. At the June 2012 Council 
meeting, South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishermen discussed the merits 
of opening red snapper in the South Atlantic for a limited time in 
2012. Fishermen will be able to keep the red snapper that they are 
currently required to discard. Commercial fishermen should be able to 
increase their incomes in 2012 by about $86,000 (in total) by being 
able to sell a highly marketable fish for a limited time. Additionally, 
limited red snapper seasons will provide an opportunity to collect 
fishery-dependent data that will likely be useful for the 2014 red 
snapper stock assessment. Currently, the lack of available red snapper 
data hinders the ability to assess the status of the stock. Delaying 
the implementation of this rulemaking to provide prior notice and the 
opportunity for public comment would reduce the likelihood of opening 
the red snapper component of the snapper-grouper fishery in the early 
fall months when weather conditions are more favorable and fishing 
conditions are safer.
    For these same reasons, the AA also finds good cause to waive the 
30-day delay in effectiveness of the actions 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. Accordingly, no regulatory flexibility analysis is 
required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Virgin Islands.

    Dated: August 22, 2012.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and 
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended 
as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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


Sec.  622.32  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  622.32, paragraph (b)(3)(vi) is suspended.

0
3. In Sec.  622.35, paragraph (l) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  622.35  Atlantic EEZ seasonal and/or area closures.

* * * * *
    (l) Closures of the commercial and recreational sectors for red 
snapper. The commercial and recreational sectors for red snapper are 
closed, except for a limited commercial season (7-day or less openings) 
and a limited recreational season (weekends consisting of Fridays, 
Saturdays, and Sundays only) determined by the RA. The Southeast 
Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) will monitor commercial landings in-
season to determine if the ACL has been harvested. If the SEFSC 
determined the ACL has not been harvested in the first 7-day opening, 
the RA may reopen the commercial sector for an additional limited time. 
If severe weather conditions exist, the RA may modify the opening and 
closing dates. The RA will determine when severe weather conditions 
exist, the duration of the severe weather conditions, and which 
geographic areas are deemed affected by severe weather conditions. If 
severe weather conditions exist or if NMFS determines a reopening of 
the commercial sector is possible, the RA will file a notification to 
that effect with the Office of the Federal Register, and announce via 
NOAA Weather Radio and Fishery Bulletin any change in the red snapper 
fishing seasons.
* * * * *


Sec.  622.37  [Amended]

0
4. In Sec.  622.37, paragraph (e)(1)(v) is suspended.

0
5. In Sec.  622.39, paragraphs (d)(1)(iv), (d)(1)(viii) and (d)(1)(ix) 
are suspended, and paragraphs (d)(1)(xi) and (d)(1)(xii) are added to 
read as follows:


Sec.  622.39  Bag and possession limits.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (xi) Snappers, combined--10, of which no more than 1 may be red 
snapper. The 1-fish red snapper bag limit applies during the 
recreational red snapper season, specified in Sec.  622.35(l). However, 
excluded from this 10-fish bag limit are cubera snapper, measuring 30 
inches (76.2 cm), TL, or larger, in the South Atlantic off Florida, and 
vermilion snapper. (See Sec.  622.32(c)(2) for limitations on cubera 
snapper measuring 30 inches (76.2 cm), TL, or larger, in or from the 
South Atlantic EEZ off Florida.)

[[Page 51942]]

    (xii) South Atlantic snapper-grouper, combined--20. However, 
excluded from this 20-fish bag limit are tomtate, blue runner, and 
those specified in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) through (vii) and paragraphs 
(d)(1)(x) and (xi) of this section.
* * * * *

0
6. In Sec.  622.44, paragraph (c)(9) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  622.44  Commercial trip limits.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (9) Red snapper. For the duration of the commercial red snapper 
season, specified in Sec.  622.35(l), the commercial trip limit is 50 
lb (22.7 kg), gutted weight.
* * * * *


Sec.  622.45  [Amended]

0
7. In Sec.  622.45, paragraph (d)(10) is suspended.

0
8. In Sec.  622.49, paragraph (b)(25) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  622.49  Annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures 
(AMs).

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (25) Red snapper--(i) Commercial sector. The commercial season for 
red snapper specified in Sec.  622.35(l) and the commercial trip limit 
specified in Sec.  622.44(c)(9) serve as the commercial AMs for red 
snapper. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) will monitor 
commercial landings in-season to determine if the ACL has been 
harvested. If the SEFSC determines the ACL has not been harvested in 
the first 7-day opening, the RA may reopen the commercial sector for an 
additional limited time. The commercial ACL for red snapper is 20,818 
lb (9,443 kg), gutted weight.
    (ii) Recreational sector. The recreational season specified in 
Sec.  622.35(l) and the recreational bag limit specified in Sec.  
622.39(d)(1)(xi) serve as the recreational AMs for red snapper. The 
recreational ACL for red snapper is 9,399 fish.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2012-21227 Filed 8-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P