[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7827-7828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03933]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 1710319998630-02]
RIN 0648-XG821


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Resources of the South Atlantic; 2019 Red Snapper 
Commercial and Recreational Fishing Seasons

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; 2019 fishing seasons notification.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the limited opening of commercial and 
recreational red snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the 
South Atlantic for the 2019 fishing year. This notice announces the red 
snapper commercial season opening date and the opening and closing 
dates for the red snapper recreational season, according to the 
accountability measures (AMs). This season announcement for South 
Atlantic red snapper allows fishers to maximize their opportunity to 
harvest the commercial and recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) 
while also managing harvest to protect the red snapper resource.

DATES: The 2019 commercial red snapper season opens at 12:01 a.m., 
local time, July 8, 2019. The 2019 recreational red snapper season 
opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 12, 2019, and closes at 12:01 
a.m., local time, on July 15, 2019; then reopens at 12:01 a.m., local 
time, on July 19, 2019, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 
21, 2019, unless changed by subsequent notification in the Federal 
Register.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery 
includes red snapper and is managed under the Fishery Management Plan 
for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared the FMP, and the FMP 
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 final rule implementing Regulatory Amendment 43 to the FMP (83 
FR 35428; July 26, 2018) describes red snapper management measures 
including the specific timing for red snapper commercial and 
recreational fishing seasons. The final rule also revised the 
commercial and recreational ACLs for red snapper. The commercial AM 
requires the sector to close when commercial landings reach or are 
projected to reach the commercial ACL. The recreational AM is the 
length of the recreational season, with NMFS projecting the season 
length based on catch rate estimates from previous years.
    The commercial ACL is 124,815 lb (56,615 kg), and this ACL was not 
exceeded in 2018. The recreational ACL is 29,656 fish, and preliminary 
landings information show this ACL was exceeded in the 6-day fishing 
season in 2018. For 2019, NMFS has determined that the landings from 
the recreational sector is expected to reach the recreational ACL in 5 
days.
    For South Atlantic red snapper, the commercial season begins each 
year on the second Monday in July and closes

[[Page 7828]]

when the commercial ACL is reached or is projected to be reached. 
Accordingly, the 2019 commercial season opens on July 8, 2019. The 
commercial season will remain open until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 
January 1, 2020, unless the commercial ACL is reached or projected to 
be reached prior to this date. During the commercial fishing season, 
the commercial trip limit is 75 lb (34 kg), gutted weight. NMFS will 
monitor commercial landings during the open season, and if commercial 
landings reach or are projected to reach the commercial ACL, then NMFS 
will file a notification with the Office of the Federal Register to 
close the commercial sector for red snapper for the remainder of the 
fishing year.
    The recreational season begins on the second Friday in July. 
Accordingly, the 2019 recreational red snapper season opens at 12:01 
a.m., local time, on July 12, 2019, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local 
time, on July 15, 2019; then reopens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 
19, 2019, and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 21, 2019. 
During the recreational season, the recreational bag limit is one red 
snapper per person, per day. After the recreational sector closure, the 
bag and possession limits for red snapper are zero.
    Additionally, during both the commercial and recreational open 
seasons, there is not a red snapper minimum or maximum size limit for 
either sector.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined 
this temporary rule is necessary for the conservation and management of 
South Atlantic red snapper and is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act and other applicable laws.
    This action is taken under 50 CFR 622.183(b)(5)(i) and 622.193(y) 
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 
opportunity for prior notice and comment.
    This action responds to the best scientific information available. 
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds that the 
need to implement the notice of the dates for the red snapper fishing 
seasons 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. 
Such procedures are unnecessary, because the rule establishing the red 
snapper ACLs and AMs has already been subject to notice and comment, 
and all that remains is to notify the public of the respective 
commercial and recreational fishing seasons. Additionally, announcing 
the fishing seasons now allows each sector to prepare for the upcoming 
harvest and provides opportunity to for-hire fishing vessels to book 
trips that could increase their revenues and profits.

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

    Dated: February 28, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-03933 Filed 3-4-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P