[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
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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]
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