Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 10977 

accordance with paragraph (a)(15)’’ in 

its place. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4319 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0907301205–0289–02] 

RIN 0648–XA971 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; SubAnnual Catch Limit (ACL) Harvested 

for Management Area 1B 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that, 

effective 0001 hr, February 24, 2012, 

federally permitted vessels may not fish 

for, catch, possess, transfer, or land 

more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic 

herring in or from Management Area 1B 

per calendar day until January 1, 2013, 

when the 2013 sub-ACL for Area 1B 

becomes available, except when 

transiting as described in this notice. 

This action is based on the 

determination that the revised Atlantic 

herring sub-ACL limit allocated to Area 

1B for 2012 has been exceeded as of 

February 24, 2012. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, 

February 24, 2012, through December 

31, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lindsey Feldman, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 675–2179. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

herring (herring) fishery are found at 50 

CFR part 648. The regulations require 

annual specification of the overfishing 

limit, acceptable biological catch, ACL, 

optimum yield, domestic harvest and 

processing, U.S. at-sea processing, 

border transfer and sub-ACLs for each 

management area. The 2012 Domestic 

Annual Harvest was set as 91,200 metric 

tons (mt); the sub-ACL allocated to Area 

1B for the 2012 fishing year (FY) was 

4,362 mt and 0 mt of the sub-ACL was 

set aside for research in the 2010–2012 

specifications (75 FR 48874, August 12, 

2010). However, due to an over-harvest 

in Area 1B in 2010, the FY 2012 subACL in Area 1B was revised to 2,723 mt 

through a final rule published 

concurrent with this action. 

The regulations at § 648.201 require 

the Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), to 

monitor the herring fishery in each of 

the four management areas designated 

in the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

for the herring fishery and, based upon 

dealer reports, state data, and other 

available information, to determine 

when the harvest of Atlantic herring is 

projected to reach 95-percent of the 

management area sub-ACL. When such 

a determination is made, NMFS is 

required to publish notification in the 

Federal Register and prohibit herring 

vessel permit holders from fishing for, 

catching, possessing, transferring, or 

landing more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

herring per calendar day in or from the 

specified management area for the 

remainder of the closure period. 

Transiting of Area 1B with more than 

2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring on board 

is allowed under the conditions 

specified below. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information that the 

revised herring sub-ACL allocated to 

Area 1B for FY 2012 has been exceeded. 

As of February 15, 2012, herring harvest 

in Area 1B was 74-percent of the FY 

2012 Area 1B sub-ACL. However, due to 

an over-harvest in Area 1B in FY 2010, 

a reduction to the sub-ACL in Area 1B 

from 4,362 mt to 2,723 mt was 

implemented in a final rule to adjust the 

FY 2012 herring ACL published 

elsewhere in this issue. As of February 

15, 2012, herring harvest is Area 1B was 

118-percent of the revised 2012 Area 1B 

sub-ACL. Therefore, this action 

reducing the herring possession limit in 

Area 1B is published concurrently with 

final rule implementing the revised FY 

2012 herring sub-ACLs in Area 1B and 

1A to minimize any further harvest of 

herring from Area 1B. 

Effective 0001 hr local time, February 

24, 2012, federally permitted vessels 

may not fish for, catch, possess, transfer, 

or land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

herring in or from Area 1B per calendar 

day through December 31, 2012. Vessels 

transiting Area 1B with more than 2,000 

lb (907.2 kg) of herring on board may 

land this amount, provided such herring 

was not caught in Area 1B and provided 

all fishing gear aboard is stowed and not 

available for immediate use as required 

by § 648.23(b). Effective February 24, 

2012, federally permitted dealers are 

also advised that they may not purchase 

herring from federally permitted herring 

vessels that harvest more than 2,000 lb 

(907.2 kg) of herring from Area 1B 

through 2400 hr local time, December 

31, 2012. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment because it would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This action closes the Atlantic 

herring fishery for Management Area 1B 

until January 1, 2013, under current 

regulations. The regulations at 

§ 648.201(a) require such action to 

ensure that Atlantic herring vessels do 

not exceed the 2012 sub-ACL allocated 

to Area 1B. The Atlantic herring fishery 

opened for the 2012 fishing year on 

January 1, 2012. However, due to an 

over-harvest in Area 1B in FY 2010, a 

reduction to the sub-ACL in Area 1B 

from 4,362 mt to 2,723 mt was 

implemented in a final rule published 

elsewhere in this issue. As of February 

15, 2012, herring harvest is Area 1B was 

118-percent of the revised 2012 Area 1B 

sub-ACL. Therefore, this action 

reducing the herring possession limit in 

Area 1B will be published concurrent 

with a final rule implementing the 

revised FY 2012 herring sub-ACLs in 

Area 1B and 1A to minimize any further 

harvest of herring from Area 1B. 

Because herring catch in Area 1B has 

already exceeded 95 percent of the 

revised 2012 sub-ACL (2,587 mt), 

triggering the need to implement a 

2,000-lb (907.2-kg) possession limit in 

that area, if implementation is delayed 

to solicit prior public comment, then it 

will likely cause catch to further exceed 

the reduced Area 1B sub-ACL. Due to 

the high volume nature of the herring 

fishery, and the amount of herring 

already caught in Area1B for FY 2012, 

if implementation of this action is 

delayed, the reduced FY 2012 sub-ACL 

for Area 1B could be exceeded by a large 

amount. Any delay in this action’s 

effectiveness would therefore, be 

contrary to the conservation objectives 

of the MSA and the Herring FMP. 

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

Dated: February 21, 2012. 

James P. Burgess, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4356 Filed 2–21–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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