11068 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 040205043–4043–01] 

RIN 0648–XU86 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; 

Closure 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial 

fishery for vermilion snapper in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the 

South Atlantic. This closure is 

necessary to protect the vermilion 

snapper resource. 

DATES: This rule is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, March 19, 2010, through 

June 30, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Bruger, telephone 727–824– 

5305, fax 727–824–5308, e-mail 

Catherine.Bruger@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper-grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic is managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared 

by the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and is 

implemented under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622. 

The commercial quota for vermilion 

snapper in the South Atlantic is 315,523 

lb (143,119 kg) for the current fishing 

period, January 1 through June 30, 2010, 

as specified in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(4)(ii). 

Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is 

required to close the commercial fishery 

for vermilion snapper when its quota 

has been reached, or is projected to be 

reached, by filing a notification to that 

effect with the Office of the Federal 

Register. NMFS has determined that the 

commercial quota for South Atlantic 

vermilion snapper will be reached by 

March 19, 2010. Accordingly, the 

commercial fishery for South Atlantic 

vermilion snapper is closed effective 

12:01 a.m., local time, March 19, 2010, 

through June 30, 2010. 

The operator of a vessel with a valid 

commercial vessel permit for South 

Atlantic snapper-grouper having 

vermilion snapper onboard must have 

landed and bartered, traded, or sold 

such vermilion snapper prior to 12:01 

a.m., local time, March 19, 2010. During 

the closure, the bag limit and possession 

limits specified in 50 CFR 

622.39(d)(1)(v) and (d)(2), respectively, 

apply to all harvest or possession of 

vermilion snapper in or from the South 

Atlantic EEZ, and the sale or purchase 

of vermilion snapper taken from the 

EEZ is prohibited. The prohibition on 

sale or purchase does not apply to sale 

or purchase of vermilion snapper that 

were harvested, landed ashore, and sold 

prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, March 

19, 2010, and were held in cold storage 

by a dealer or processor. For a person 

on board a vessel for which a Federal 

commercial or charter vessel/headboat 

permit for the South Atlantic snappergrouper fishery has been issued, the sale 

and purchase provisions of the 

commercial closure for vermilion 

snapper would apply regardless of 

whether the fish are harvested in state 

or Federal waters, as specified in 50 

CFR 622.43(a)(5)(ii). 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, 

(AA), 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)(B), as such procedures 

would be unnecessary and contrary to 

the public interest. Such procedures 

would be 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 for public comment is 

contrary to the public interest because 

of the need to immediately implement 

this action to protect the fishery since 

the capacity of the fishing fleet allows 

for rapid harvest of the quota. Prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment would 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 the effectiveness of this 

action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

622.43(a) and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: March 5, 2010. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5128 Filed 3–5–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 0912281446–0111–02] 

RIN 0648–XT32 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; 

Annual Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to 

implement the annual harvest guideline 

(HG) and seasonal allocations for Pacific 

sardine in the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the 

fishing season of January 1, 2010, 

through December 31, 2010. These 

specifications have been determined 

according to the Coastal Pelagic Species 

(CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 

This rule is intended to conserve and 

manage Pacific sardine off the West 

Coast. 

DATES: Effective March 10, 2010 through 

December 31, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the report 

‘‘Assessment of Pacific Sardine Stock for 

U.S. Management in 2010’’ may be 

obtained from the Southwest Regional 

Office (see the Mailing address above). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Lindsay, Southwest Region, 

NMFS, (562) 980–4034. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CPS 

FMP, which was implemented by 

publication of the final rule in the 

Federal Register on December 15, 1999 

(64 FR 69888), divides management unit 

species into two categories: actively 

managed and monitored. Harvest 

guidelines for actively managed species 

(Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel) 

are based on formulas applied to current 

biomass estimates. Biomass estimates 

are not calculated for species that are 

only monitored (jack mackerel, northern 

anchovy, and market squid). 

During public meetings each year, the 

biomass for each actively managed 

species within the CPS FMP is 


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