[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 228 (Monday, December 1, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55046-55047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-21628]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 140819686-5999-02; RTID 0648-XF241]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of America, and South Atlantic;
2025 Commercial 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 for the commercial
harvest of gag in South Atlantic Federal waters. NMFS projects that
commercial landings of gag will reach the commercial annual catch limit
(ACL) for 2025. Therefore, NMFS closes the commercial sector of gag in
South Atlantic Federal waters to protect the gag resource from
overfishing.
DATES: This temporary rule is effective from December 1, 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, approved by the Secretary of Commerce, 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. All weights in this temporary rule are in gutted weight.
The commercial ACL (commercial quota) for gag for the 2025 fishing
year is 171,687 pounds (lb) or 77,876 kilograms (kg) [50 CFR
622.190(a)(7)(iii)]. Regulations at 50 CFR 622.193(c)(1)(i) specify the
commercial in-season accountability measure for gag in the South
Atlantic. NMFS is required to close the commercial sector for the
harvest of gag for the rest of the fishing year when the commercial ACL
has been reached or is projected to be reached. NMFS projects that
commercial landings of gag will reach the commercial ACL for the 2025
fishing year. Therefore, the commercial sector of gag is closed
beginning on December 1, 2025, and will remain closed through December
31, 2025, the end of the current fishing year.
The recreational harvest of gag in the South Atlantic closed on
June 26, 2025, and is closed through December 31, 2025 (90 FR 13425,
March 24, 2025). Therefore, gag may not be harvested or possessed in or
from South Atlantic Federal waters during this commercial closure, and
the sale or purchase of gag from the South Atlantic is prohibited. In
addition, these prohibitions apply to any person on a vessel issued a
Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic
snapper-grouper in South Atlantic Federal waters or state waters. The
prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to gag that were
harvested, landed ashore, and sold before the effective period of this
commercial closure, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or
processor [50 CFR 622.190(c)(1)(i)]. The operator of a vessel with a
valid Federal commercial vessel permit for South Atlantic snapper-
grouper with gag on the vessel must have landed and bartered, traded,
or sold such gag before December 1, 2025.
The 2026 fishing season for the commercial harvest of South
Atlantic gag opens again on May 1, 2026 [50 CFR 622.183(b)(1)]. The
commercial ACL (commercial quota) for gag for the 2026 fishing year is
215,051 lb (97,545 kg).
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)(1)(i), 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 are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such
procedures are unnecessary because the regulations associated with the
commercial closure of gag have already been subject to notice and
public comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the
closure. Prior notice and opportunity for public comment on this action
is contrary to the public interest because of the need to immediately
implement the commercial closure to protect the gag resource in the
South Atlantic. The capacity of the commercial fishing fleet allows for
rapid harvest of the commercial quota, and any delay in the closure
could result in the exceedance
[[Page 55047]]
of the applicable quota. Prior notice and opportunity for public
comment would require time and would potentially result in a harvest
that exceeds the commercial quota.
For the reasons just stated, NMFS also finds good cause to waive
the 30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 25, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-21628 Filed 11-26-25; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P