[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 14, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10553-10554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02969]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 101206604-1758-02]
RIN 0648-XF151


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
Region; 2017 Commercial Run-Around Gillnet Closure

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) through this 
temporary rule for commercial harvest of king mackerel in the Florida 
west coast southern subzone of the eastern zone of the Gulf of Mexico 
(Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) using run-around gillnet gear. 
NMFS has determined that the commercial annual catch limit (ACL, 
equivalent to the commercial quota) for king mackerel using run-around 
gillnet gear in the Florida west coast southern subzone of the Gulf EEZ 
will be reached by February 10, 2017. Therefore, NMFS closes the 
Florida west coast southern subzone to commercial king mackerel fishing 
using run-around gillnet gear in the Gulf EEZ. This closure is 
necessary to protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.

DATES: The closure is effective from 12:01 p.m., eastern standard time, 
February 10, 2017, until 6 a.m., eastern standard time, January 16, 
2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelli O'Donnell, NMFS Southeast 
Regional Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic 
fish includes king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and cobia, and is 
managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory 
Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (FMP). The 
FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Councils and is implemented by NMFS under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
    The Florida west coast subzone of the Gulf eastern zone for Gulf 
migratory group king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) is divided into 
northern and southern subzones, each with separate commercial quotas. 
From November 1 through March 31, the southern subzone encompasses an 
area of the EEZ south of a line extending due west of the Lee and 
Collier County, Florida, boundary on the Florida west coast, and south 
of a line extending due east of the Monroe and Miami-Dade County, 
Florida, boundary on the Florida east coast, which includes the EEZ off 
Collier and Monroe Counties, Florida. From April 1 through October 31, 
the southern subzone is reduced to the EEZ off Collier County, and the 
EEZ off Monroe County becomes part of the Atlantic migratory group area 
(50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(ii)(A)(2)).
    The commercial quota for Gulf king mackerel in the Florida west 
coast southern subzone is 551,448 lb (250,133 kg) for vessels using 
run-around gillnet gear (50 CFR 622.384(b)(1)(i)(B)(1)), for the 
current fishing year, July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017.
    Regulations at 50 CFR 622.8(b) and 622.388(a)(1) require NMFS to 
close any segment of the king mackerel commercial sector when its quota 
has been reached, or is projected to be reached, by filing a 
notification with the Office of the Federal Register. NMFS has 
determined that the Gulf king mackerel commercial quota of 551,448 lb 
(250,133 kg) for vessels using run-around gillnet gear in the Florida 
west coast southern subzone will be reached by February 10, 2017. 
Accordingly, commercial fishing using such gear in the Florida west 
coast southern subzone is closed at 12:01 p.m., eastern standard time, 
February 10, 2017, until 6 a.m., eastern standard time, January 16, 
2018, the beginning of the next fishing season, i.e., the day after the 
2018 Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal holiday. Accordingly, the vessel 
operator that has been issued a Federal commercial permit to harvest 
Gulf king mackerel using run-around gillnet gear in the Florida west 
coast southern subzone must have landed ashore and bartered, traded, or 
sold such king mackerel prior to 12:01 p.m., eastern standard time, 
February 10, 2017.
    Persons aboard a vessel for which a commercial permit for king 
mackerel has been issued, except persons who also possess a king 
mackerel gillnet permit, may fish for or retain Gulf king mackerel 
harvested using hook-and-line gear in the Florida west coast southern 
subzone unless the commercial quota for hook-and-line gear has been met 
and the hook-and-line segment of the commercial sector has been closed. 
A person aboard a vessel that has a valid charter vessel/headboat 
permit for coastal migratory pelagic fish may continue to retain king 
mackerel in or from closed zones or subzones under the bag and 
possession limits set forth in 50 CFR 622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2), 
provided the vessel is operating as a charter vessel or headboat. A 
charter vessel or headboat that also has a commercial king mackerel 
permit is considered to be operating as a charter vessel or headboat 
when it carries a passenger who pays a fee or when there are more than 
three persons aboard, including operator and crew.
    During the closure, king mackerel harvested using run-around 
gillnet gear in the Florida west coast southern subzone may not be 
purchased or sold. This prohibition does not apply to king mackerel 
harvested using run-around gillnet gear in the Florida west coast 
southern subzone that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 
the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

[[Page 10554]]

Classification

    The Regional Administrator for the NMFS Southeast Region has 
determined this temporary rule is necessary for the conservation and 
management of Gulf king mackerel and is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.8(b) and 622.388(a)(1) and is 
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    These measures are exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act because the temporary rule is issued without prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment.
    This action responds to the best scientific information available. 
The NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) finds that the need 
to immediately implement this action to close the fishery segment that 
uses run-around gillnet gear 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), because 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment on this temporary rule 
is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such procedures are 
unnecessary because the rule implementing the commercial quota and the 
associated AM has already been subject to notice and comment, and all 
that remains is to notify the public of the closure. Prior notice and 
opportunity for public comment is contrary to the public interest, 
because any delay in the closure of the commercial harvest could result 
in the commercial quota being exceeded. There is a need to immediately 
implement this action to protect the king mackerel resource, because 
the capacity of the fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the 
quota. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on this action 
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 under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).

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

    Dated: February 9, 2017.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-02969 Filed 2-9-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P