[Federal Register: March 9, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 46)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 12148-12149]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09mr06-15]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 001005281-0369-02; I.D. 011106A]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic; Closure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial run-around gillnet fishery for king
mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the southern Florida
west coast subzone. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf king
mackerel resource.
DATES: The closure is effective 6 a.m., local time, March 7, 2006,
through 6 a.m., January 16, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, telephone: 727-824-
5305, fax: 727-824-5308, e-mail: Steve.Branstetter@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic
fish (king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cero, cobia, little tunny, and,
in the Gulf of Mexico only, dolphin and bluefish) is managed under the
Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (FMP). The FMP was prepared by
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils
(Councils) and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
Based on the Councils' recommended total allowable catch and the
allocation ratios in the FMP, on April 30, 2001 (66 FR 17368, March 30,
2001), NMFS implemented a commercial quota of 2.25 million lb (1.02
million kg) for the eastern zone (Florida) of the Gulf migratory group
of king mackerel. That quota is further divided into separate quotas
for the Florida east coast subzone and the northern and southern
Florida west coast subzones. On April 27, 2000, NMFS implemented the
final rule (65 FR 16336, March 28, 2000) that divided the Florida west
coast subzone of the eastern zone into northern and southern
[[Page 12149]]
subzones, and established their separate quotas. The quota implemented
for the southern Florida west coast subzone is 1,040,625 lb (472,020
kg). That quota is further divided into two equal quotas of 520,312 lb
(236,010 kg) for vessels in each of two groups fishing with run-around
gillnets and hook-and-line gear (50 CFR 622.42(c)(1)(i)(A)(2)(i)).
Under 50 CFR 622.43(a)(3), NMFS is required to close any segment of
the king mackerel commercial fishery when its quota has been reached,
or is projected to be reached, by filing a notification at the Office
of the Federal Register. NMFS has determined that the commercial quota
of 520,312 lb (236,010 kg) for Gulf group king mackerel for vessels
using run-around gillnet gear in the southern Florida west coast
subzone has been reached. Accordingly, the commercial fishery for king
mackerel for such vessels in the southern Florida west coast subzone is
closed at 6 a.m., local time, March 7, 2006, through 6 a.m., January
16, 2007, the beginning of the next fishing season, i.e., the day after
the 2007 Martin Luther King Jr. Federal holiday.
The Florida west coast subzone is that part of the eastern zone
south and west of 25[deg]20.4' N. lat. (a line directly east from the
Miami-Dade County, FL, boundary). The Florida west coast subzone is
further divided into northern and southern subzones. The southern
subzone is that part of the Florida west coast subzone that from
November 1 through March 31 extends south and west from 25[deg]20.4' N.
lat. to 26[deg]19.8' N. lat.(a line directly west from the Lee/Collier
County, FL, boundary), i.e., the area off Collier and Monroe Counties.
From April 1 through October 31, the southern subzone is that part of
the Florida west coast subzone that is between 26[deg]19.8' N. lat. and
25[deg]48' N. lat.(a line directly west from the Monroe/Collier County,
FL, boundary), i.e., the area off Collier County.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR 622.43(a) and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
This action responds to the best available information recently
obtained from the fishery. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NOAA, (AA), finds good cause to waive prior notice and an opportunity
for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B), as such prior notice and opportunity for public comment is
unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such procedures would
be unnecessary because the rule itself already has been subject to
notice and comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the
closure. Allowing prior notice and opportunity for public comment is
contrary to the public interest because of the need to immediately
implement this action in order to protect the fishery, because the
capacity of the fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the quota.
Prior notice and opportunity for public comment will 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 of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 6, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 06-2254 Filed 3-6-06; 3:18 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S