Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 152 / Thursday, August 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 42417

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implemented under the

authority of the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.)

governing the harvest of ABT by persons

and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction

are found at 50 CFR part 285. Section

285.22 subdivides the U.S. quota

recommended by the International

Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) among the

various domestic fishing categories.

General Category Closure

NMFS is required, under

§ 285.20(b)(1), to monitor the catch and

landing statistics and, on the basis of

these statistics, to project a date when

the catch of ABT will equal the quota

and publish a Federal Register

announcement to close the applicable

fishery.

Implementing regulations for the

Atlantic tuna fisheries at 50 CFR 285.22

provide for a subquota of 374 mt of large

medium and giant ABT to be harvested

from the regulatory area by vessels

permitted in the General category

during the period beginning June 1 and

ending August 31. Based on reported

catch and effort, NMFS projects that this

subquota will be reached by August 3,

1997. Therefore, fishing for, retaining,

possessing, or landing large medium or

giant ABT by vessels in the General

category must cease at 11:30 p.m. local

time August 3, 1997. The General

category will reopen September 1, 1997

with a quota of 187 mt for the

September period. If necessary, the

September subquota will be adjusted

based on actual landings from the

current period.

The intent of this closure is to prevent

overharvest of the June-August period

subquota established for the General

category.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

285.20(b) and 50 CFR 285.22 and is

exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

Dated: August 1, 1997.

Bruce Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–20758 Filed 8–1–97; 4:48 pm]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 961204340–7087–02;

I.D.073097D]

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: 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The closure is effective

12:01 a.m., August 2, 1997, through June

30, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Godcharles or Fentress Munden,

813–570–5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish

(king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cero,

cobia, little tunny, dolphin, and, in the

Gulf of Mexico only, 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 by

regulations at 50 CFR part 622.

Catch limits recommended by the

Councils and implemented by NMFS for

the Gulf of Mexico migratory group of

king mackerel set the annual

commercial quota at 0.77 million lb

(0.35 million kg) for the western zone.

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 to that effect with the Office

of the Federal Register. NMFS has

determined that the commercial quota

of 0.77 million lb (0.35 million kg) for

the western zone of the Gulf migratory

group of king mackerel was reached on

August 1, 1997. Hence, the commercial

fishery for Gulf group king mackerel

from the western zone is closed effective

12:01 a.m., local time, August 2, 1997,

through June 30, 1998, 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.

During the closure, except for a

person aboard a charter vessel or

headboat, a person aboard a vessel for

which a commercial permit for king and

Spanish mackerel has been issued may

not fish for king mackerel in the EEZ in

the western zone and may not retain

king mackerel in or from the western

zone EEZ. A person aboard a charter

vessel or headboat may continue to

retain king mackerel in or from the

western zone EEZ under the bag and

possession limits set forth in

§ 622.39(c)(1) and (2), provided the

vessel is operating as a charter vessel or

headboat and the vessel has an annual

charter vessel/headboat permit, as

specified in § 622.4(a)(1). A charter

vessel or headboat that also has a

commercial 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 western zone taken in the EEZ,

including those harvested under the bag

and possession limits, may not be

purchased, bartered, traded, or sold.

This prohibition does not apply to trade

in king mackerel from the western zone

that were harvested, landed ashore, and

bartered, traded, or sold prior to the

effective date of the closure and were

held in cold storage by a dealer or

processor.

Classification

This action is taken under 50 CFR

622.43(a) and is exempt from review

under E.O. 12866.

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

Dated: August 1, 1997.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 97–20771 Filed 8–1–97; 4:48 pm]

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