[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 55 (Monday, March 24, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13425-13426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04903]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 230914-0219; RTID 0648-XE741]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
2025 Recreational Accountability Measure and Closure for Gag in the
South Atlantic
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) for the
recreational harvest of gag in South Atlantic Federal waters. NMFS
reduces the length of the 2025 recreational fishing season for gag to
prevent landings from exceeding the recreational annual catch limit
(ACL) as occurred in 2024. Accordingly, NMFS announces the adjusted
closure date for the recreational harvest of gag in South Atlantic
Federal waters to protect the gag resource.
DATES: This temporary rule is effective from 12:01 a.m. on June 26,
2025, through December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South
Atlantic includes gag and 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
NMFS, was approved by the Secretary of Commerce, and is implemented by
NMFS through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act). All weights in this temporary rule are in gutted weight.
Regulations at 50 CFR 622.193(c)(2) specify the 2025 recreational
ACL for gag of 176,665 pounds (80,134 kilograms) and the recreational
AMs. The recreational AM at 50 CFR 622.193(b)(2)(ii) states that if
recreational landings of gag exceed its ACL, then NMFS will reduce the
recreational fishing season during the following fishing year to
prevent recreational landings from again exceeding the recreational
ACL. NMFS is reducing the length of the 2025 recreational season to
prevent landings from exceeding the recreational ACL, because this
condition was met in 2024.
The recreational season for gag will start on May 1, 2025. Data
from the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center have informed NMFS'
projection that recreational landings will reach the recreational ACL
for 2025 by June 26. Therefore, NMFS announces that the 2025
recreational season for gag in South Atlantic Federal waters will be
closed beginning on June 26 and will continue to be closed through
December 31, 2025. During the recreational closure, the bag and
possession limits for gag in or from South Atlantic Federal waters are
zero. The next recreational fishing season for gag begins on May 1,
2026.
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 622.193(c)(2)(ii), which
was issued pursuant to section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and
is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice
and comment is unnecessary. Such procedure is unnecessary because the
rule that established the recreational AMs for gag has already been
subject to public notice and comment, and all that remains is to notify
the public of the adjusted end date of the recreational season.
Additionally, providing as much
[[Page 13426]]
advance notice to the public of this shortened fishing season and
closure allows recreational fishermen, including businesses that
operate charter vessels and headboats, to prepare for the change to the
recreational season for gag and to schedule or reschedule their trips.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 18, 2025.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-04903 Filed 3-21-25; 8:45 am]
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