62818 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 221—[AMENDED]

■ 1. The authority citation for part 221 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107; 28 

U.S.C. 2461, note; and 49 CFR 1.49.

Appendix C to Part 221—[Amended]

■ 2. Footnote 1 to appendix C of part 221 

is amended by removing the numerical 

amount ‘‘$20,000’’ and adding in its 

place the numerical amount ‘‘$27,000’’.

PART 235—[AMENDED]

■ 3. The authority citation for part 235 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107; 28 

U.S.C. 2461, note; and 49 CFR 1.49.

Appendix A to Part 235—[Amended]

■ 4. Footnote 1 to appendix A of part 235 

is amended by removing the numerical 

amount ‘‘$20,000’’ and adding in its 

place the numerical amount ‘‘$27,000’’.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 22, 

2004. 

Betty Monro, 

Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad 

Administration.

[FR Doc. 04–24147 Filed 10–27–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 101904A]

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Closure 

of the Recreational Red Snapper 

Component

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Closure of recreational fishery 

for red snapper.

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the recreational 

fishery for red snapper in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of 

Mexico. NMFS has determined that the 

annual recreational quota of 4.47 

million lb (2.03 million kg) will be 

reached on October 31, 2004. This 

closure is necessary to protect the red 

snapper resource.

DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, November 1, 2004, until 

12:01 a.m., local time, on April 21, 

2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil 

Steele, telephone 727-570-5784, fax 727-

570-5583, e-mail Phil.Steele@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef 

fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico is 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). 

The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council 

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. Those regulations 

set the recreational quota for red 

snapper in the Gulf of Mexico at 4.47 

million lb (2.03 million kg) for the 

current fishing year, January 1 through 

December 31, 2004.

Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is 

required to close the recreational fishery 

for a species or species group when the 

quota for that species or species group 

is reached, or is projected to be reached, 

by filing a notification to that effect in 

the Federal Register. Based on current 

statistics, NMFS has determined that the 

recreational quota of 4.47 million lb 

(2.03 million kg) for red snapper will be 

reached by October 31, 2004. 

Accordingly, the recreational fishery in 

the EEZ in the Gulf of Mexico for red 

snapper will remain closed until 12:01 

a.m., local time, on April 21, 2005.

During the closure, the bag and 

possession limits specified in 50 CFR 

622.39(b)(1)(iii) and (b)(2) respectively, 

are zero. Also, in the Gulf of Mexico, on 

board a vessel for which a commercial 

permit for Gulf reef fish has been issued, 

the bag and possession limits for red 

snapper are zero, without regard to 

where such red snapper were harvested.

Classification

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

finds that the need to immediately 

implement this action to close the 

fishery 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)(3)(B), as such procedures 

would be unnecessary and contrary to 

the public interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule itself has 

been subject to notice and comment, 

and all that remains is to notify the 

public of the closure. Allowing prior 

notice and opportunity to comment is 

contrary to the public interest because it 

requires time, thus delaying closure of 

the fishery and increasing the chance of 

exceeding the quota. Similarly, there is 

a need to implement these measures in 

a timely fashion to prevent an overrun 

of the recreational quota of Gulf red 

snapper, given the capacity of the 

fishing fleet to harvest the quota 

quickly. Any delay in implementing this 

action would be impractical and 

contrary to the Magnuson-Steven Act, 

the FMP, and the public interest. 

Therefore, NMFS finds for good cause 

that the implementation of this action 

cannot be delayed for 30 days. 

Accordingly, under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), a 

delay in the effective date is waived.

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

622.43(a) and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: October 21, 2004.

Dean Swanson,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 04–24105 Filed 10–25–04; 4:26 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration

[Docket No. 040804226–4278–02; I.D. 

071904C]

RIN 0648–AR50

50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Framework 

Adjustment 5

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to 

implement measures contained in 

Framework Adjustment 5 (Framework 

5) to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) that would allow for 

specification of annual Total Allowable 

Landings (TAL) for multiple years. The 

intent is to provide flexibility and 

efficiency to the management of the 

species. In addition, this final rule 

includes several administrative 

modifications to the existing regulations 

for clarification purposes.

DATES: This rule is effective November 

29, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Framework 5, the 

Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA),