Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 77 / Friday, April 20, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 23635 

devalue recreational trips. Removing 

these restrictions in a timely way will 

avoid these unnecessary adverse 

economic impacts. The recreational 

fishing season, particularly for charter/ 

party vessels, begins in April of each 

year. NE multispecies charter/party 

operations advertise and try to book 

fishing trips prior to the start of their 

fishing season as part of their yearly 

business plans. Delaying the removal of 

the AMs by 30 days would complicate 

business plans currently being 

developed by charter/party operations, 

and prohibit them from effectively 

planning, advertising, and booking trips 

for the upcoming fishing season. 

Further, delays in removing the AMs for 

GOM haddock could result in business 

changes midway into the spring 

recreational fishing season, which could 

result in unanticipated negative 

economic impacts to charter/party 

vessel operators and associated 

supporting businesses due to confusion 

in applicable regulations, changes to 

advertisements, and potentially 

cancelled trips. Therefore, it is contrary 

to the public interest to unnecessarily 

delay the removal of the AMs, and good 

cause exists to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness requirement. 

Finally, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(1), this rule is exempt from the 

30-day delayed effectiveness 

requirement because it relieves 

restrictions. By removing the AMs 

originally implemented in the interim 

final rule, this rule will ease the burdens 

of the regulated community, and no 

legitimate reason exists to delay its 

effectiveness. 

This final rule does not contain 

policies with federalism or ‘‘takings’’ 

implications as those terms are defined 

in E.O. 13132 and E.O. 12630, 

respectively. 

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

Dated: April 17, 2012. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9596 Filed 4–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 110707371–2136–02] 

RIN 0648–BB28 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fisheries; Specifications 

and Management Measures; 

Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: This action corrects an 

omission in the regulatory text in the 

final rule for 2012 Specifications for the 

Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 

fisheries. 

DATES: Effective April 20, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aja 

Szumylo, Fishery Policy Analyst, 978– 

281–9195. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The final rule to implement 2012 

specifications and management 

measures for the Atlantic mackerel and 

squid fisheries, and the interim final 

rule to implement 2012 butterfish 

fishery specifications was published in 

the Federal Register on March 21, 2011 

(77 FR 16472). This action established 

catch levels for the 2012 fishing year for 

mackerel and butterfish, established 

catch levels for the 2012–2014 fishing 

years for longfin squid and Illex squid, 

and includes minor adjustments to 

management measures for the mackerel 

and longfin squid fisheries. Details 

regarding the measures in the 2012 

specifications are in the final rule and 

are not repeated here. 

Need for Correction 

One of the management measure 

adjustments for mackerel provides that 

the commercial mackerel fishery be 

closed when 95 percent of the 

commercial quota (domestic annual 

harvest or DAH) has been caught. While 

the final rule revised the regulatory text 

regarding closures of the commercial 

fishery at 50 CFR 648.24(b)(1) to reflect 

this adjustment, regulatory text at 

§ 648.26 also includes references to the 

former closure threshold (90 percent) 

and was inadvertently not updated to 

reflect the change. This correction 

adjusts the regulatory text at § 648.26(a) 

to reflect the new 95-percent closure. If 

left uncorrected, the regulations at 

§ 648.26(a) would not match the 

adjustment to the closure threshold 

implemented in the final rule at 

§ 648.24(b)(1), and may be confusing to 

the public. This correction does not 

change the intent or application of the 

measures described in the proposed and 

final rule. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), to waive the 

requirement for prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment for this 

action because notice and comment 

would be unnecessary, impracticable, 

and contrary to the public interest. 

Notice and comment are unnecessary, 

impracticable, and contrary to the 

public interest because this action 

simply makes the text of the codified 

regulations consistent with the text in 

the final rule, and makes corrections to 

accurately reflect the intent of the final 

rule. This correction eliminates 

inconsistencies between the regulatory 

text contained in the final rule and the 

codified regulations, and therefore 

eliminates any confusion that the 

inconsistency might create for the 

public. No aspect of this action is 

controversial and no change in 

operating practices in the fishery is 

required from those intended in the 

final rule. 

For the same reasons, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d), the AA finds good cause 

to waive the 30-day delay in effective 

date. If this rule is not implemented by 

April 20, 2012, the public will have 

conflicting information regarding the 

closure threshold used to close the 

mackerel fishery once the quota has 

been attained, which will cause 

confusion and would be inconsistent 

with the final rule. 

Because prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment are not required for 

this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other 

law, the analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq. are inapplicable. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
23636 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 77 / Friday, April 20, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: April 17, 2012. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

For reasons set out in the preamble, 

50 CFR part 648 is corrected by making 

the following correcting amendments: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.26, paragraphs (a)(1)(i) 

through (iii) are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.26 Mackerel, squid, and butterfish 

possession restrictions. 

(a) Atlantic mackerel. (1) A vessel 

must be issued a valid limited access 

mackerel permit to fish for, possess, or 

land more than 20,000 lb (9.08 mt) of 

Atlantic mackerel from or in the EEZ 

per trip, provided that the fishery has 

not been closed because 95 percent of 

the DAH has been harvested, as 

specified in § 648.24(b)(1)(i). 

(i) A vessel issued a Tier 1 Limited 

Access Mackerel Permit is authorized to 

fish for, possess, or land Atlantic 

mackerel with no possession restriction 

in the EEZ per trip, and may only land 

Atlantic mackerel once on any calendar 

day, which is defined as the 24-hr 

period beginning at 0001 hours and 

ending at 2400 hours, provided that the 

fishery has not been closed because 95 

percent of the DAH has been harvested, 

as specified in § 648.24(b)(1)(i). 

(ii) A vessel issued a Tier 2 Limited 

Access Mackerel Permit is authorized to 

fish for, possess, or land up to 135,000 

lb (61.23 mt) of Atlantic mackerel in the 

EEZ per trip, and may only land 

Atlantic mackerel once on any calendar 

day, which is defined as the 24-hr 

period beginning at 0001 hours and 

ending at 2400 hours, provided that the 

fishery has not been closed because 95 

percent of the DAH has been harvested, 

as specified in § 648.24(b)(1)(i). 

(iii) A vessel issued a Tier 3 Limited 

Access Mackerel Permit is authorized to 

fish for, possess, or land up to 100,000 

lb (45.36 mt) of Atlantic mackerel in the 

EEZ per trip, and may only land 

Atlantic mackerel once on any calendar 

day, which is defined as the 24-hr 

period beginning at 0001 hours and 

ending at 2400 hours, provided that the 

fishery has not been closed because 90 

percent of the Tier 3 allocation has been 

harvested, or 95 percent of the DAH has 

been harvested, as specified in 

§ 648.22(b)(1)(i) and (ii). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–9601 Filed 4–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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