18594 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 71 / Friday, April 13, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

sale or purchase does not apply to sale 

or purchase of tilefishes that were 

harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior 

to 12:01 a.m., local time, April 18, 2007, 

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, 

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 

would be unnecessary because the rule 

implementing the quota already has 

been subject to notice and comment, 

and all that remains is to notify the 

public of the closure. Similarly, there is 

a need to implement these measures in 

a timely fashion to prevent an overrun 

of the commercial quota of Gulf of 

Mexico tilefishes, 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-Stevens Act, 

the FMP, and the public interest. For 

these same reasons, NMFS finds good 

cause that the implementation of this 

action cannot be delayed for 30 days. 

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

delay in the effective date is waived. 

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: April 9, 2007. 

James P. Burgess 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6965 Filed 4–12–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 061124307–7013–02; I.D. 

112106A] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fisheries; Closure of the 

Trimester I Fishery for Loligo Squid 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

directed fishery for Loligo squid in the 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be 

closed effective 0001 hours, April 13, 

2007. Vessels issued a Federal permit to 

harvest Loligo squid may not retain or 

land more than 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of 

Loligo squid per trip for the remainder 

of the trimester (through April 30, 

2007). This action is necessary to 

prevent the fishery from exceeding its 

Trimester I quota and to allow for 

effective management of this stock. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours, April 13, 

2007, through 2400 hours, April 30, 

2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don 

Frei, Fishery Management Specialist, 

978–281–9221, Fax 978–281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Loligo squid 

fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648. 

The regulations require specifications 

for maximum sustainable yield, initial 

optimum yield, allowable biological 

catch, domestic annual harvest (DAH), 

domestic annual processing, joint 

venture processing, and total allowable 

levels of foreign fishing for the species 

managed under the Atlantic Mackerel, 

Squid, and Butterfish Fishery 

Management Plan. The procedures for 

setting the annual initial specifications 

are described in § 648.21. 

The 2007 specification of DAH for 

Loligo squid was set at 16,872.4 mt (72 

FR 4211, January 30, 2007). This 

amount is allocated by trimester, as 

shown below. 

TABLE. 1 Loligo SQUID TRIMESTER ALLOCATIONS. 

Quarter Percent Metric Tons 1

Research 

Set-aside 

(mt) 

I (Jan-Apr) 43.00 7,090.70 N/A 

II (May-Aug) 17.00 2,803.30 N/A 

III (Sep-Dec) 40.00 6,596.00 N/A 

Total 100 16,490.00 510 

1Trimester allocations after 510–mt research set-aside deduction. 

Section 648.22 requires NMFS to 

close the directed Loligo squid fishery in 

the EEZ when 90 percent of the 

trimester allocation is harvested in 

Trimester I, II, and when 95 percent of 

the total annual DAH has been 

harvested in Trimester III. NMFS is 

further required to notify, in advance of 

the closure, the Executive Directors of 

the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Councils; mail notification of the 

closure to all holders of Loligo squid 

permits at least 72 hr before the effective 

date of the closure; provide adequate 

notice of the closure to recreational 

participants in the fishery; and publish 

notification of the closure in the Federal 

Register. The Administrator, Northeast 

Region, NMFS, based on dealer reports 

and other available information, has 

determined that 90 percent of the DAH 

for Loligo squid in Trimester I will be 

harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 

hours, April 13, 2007, the directed 

fishery for Loligo squid is closed and 

vessels issued Federal permits for Loligo 

squid may not retain or land more than 

2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of Loligo during a 

calendar day. The directed fishery will 

reopen effective 0001 hours, May 1, 

2007, when the Trimester II quota 

becomes available. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: April 09, 2007. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office Of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–1824 Filed 4–9–07; 3:14 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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