46510 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 174 / Thursday, September 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

September 18, 2009, 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 

snapper-grouper 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 good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

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 has 

already 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: September 4, 2009. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21823 Filed 9–4–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 001005281–0369–02] 

RIN 0648–XR32 

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. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial 

fishery for king mackerel in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the 

western zone of the Gulf of Mexico. This 

closure is necessary to protect the Gulf 

king mackerel resource. 

DATES: The closure is effective noon, 

local time, September 12, 2009, through 

June 30, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Gerhart, 727–824–5305, fax: 727– 

824–5308, e-mail: 

Susan.Gerhart@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. 

The commercial fishery for the Gulf of 

Mexico migratory group of king 

mackerel in the western zone is 

managed under a commercial quota of 

1.01 million lb (0.46 million kg) (66 FR 

17368, March 30, 2001) for the current 

fishing year, July 1, 2009, through June 

30, 2010. 

Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), 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 the 

commercial quota of 1.01 million lb 

(0.46 million kg) for Gulf group king 

mackerel in the western zone will be 

reached by September 12, 2009. 

Accordingly, the commercial fishery for 

Gulf group king mackerel in the western 

zone is closed effective noon, local time, 

September 12, 2009, through June 30, 

2010, the end of the fishing year. The 

boundary between the eastern and 

western zones is 87°31′06′′ W. long., 

which is a line directly south from the 

Alabama/Florida boundary. 

Except for a person aboard a charter 

vessel or headboat, during the closure, 

no person aboard a vessel for which a 

commercial permit for king mackerel 

has been issued may fish for or retain 

Gulf group king mackerel in the EEZ in 

the closed zones or subzones. A person 

aboard a vessel that has a valid charter 

vessel/headboat permit for coastal 

migratory pelagic fish may continue to 

retain king mackerel in or from the 

closed zones or subzones under the bag 

and possession limits set forth in 50 

CFR 622.39(c)(1)(ii) and (c)(2), provided 

the vessel is operating as a charter 

vessel or headboat. A charter vessel or 

headboat that also has a commercial 

king mackerel permit is considered to be 

operating as a charter vessel or headboat 

when it carries a passenger who pays a 

fee or when there are more than three 

persons aboard, including operator and 

crew. 

During the closure, king mackerel 

from the closed zones or subzones taken 

in the EEZ, including those harvested 

under the bag and possession limits, 

may not be purchased or sold. This 

prohibition does not apply to trade in 

king mackerel from the closed zones or 

subzones that were harvested, landed 

ashore, and sold prior to the closure and 

were held in cold storage by a dealer or 

processor. 

Classification 

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 the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

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 has 

already 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 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 174 / Thursday, September 10, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 46511 

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: September 4, 2009. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–21832 Filed 9–4–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES