Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 83041 

and the public is aware that the Council 

has submitted Amendment 56 to end 

overfishing of gag beginning in the 2024 

fishing year. Therefore, all that remains 

is to notify the public that a portion of 

the commercial gag allocation in 2024 

will be withheld to allow for the 

implementation of the Amendment 56 

in 2024, if approved. Such procedures 

are contrary to the public interest 

because notice and comment would not 

allow NMFS to implement the 

Amendment 56 measures to end 

overfishing during the 2024 fishing year. 

If NMFS does not withhold the 

necessary commercial gag allocation, 

shareholders can begin transferring or 

landing allocation on January 1, 2024, 

and NMFS would not be able to 

retroactively withdraw allocation from 

shareholder accounts. 

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

Dated: November 22, 2023. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26211 Filed 11–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 200124–0029; RTID 0648– 

XD535] 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2024 

Red Snapper Private Angling 

Component Closure in Federal Waters 

Off Texas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a closure 

for the 2024 fishing season for the red 

snapper recreational private angling 

component in the exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off Texas in the Gulf of 

Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary 

rule. The red snapper recreational 

private angling component in the Gulf 

EEZ off Texas will close on January 1, 

2024, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

June 1, 2024. This closure is necessary 

to prevent the private angling 

component from exceeding the Texas 

regional management area annual catch 

limit (ACL) and to prevent overfishing 

of the Gulf red snapper resource. 

DATES: This closure is effective at 12:01 

a.m., local time, on January 1, 2024, 

until 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 

telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

Daniel.Luers@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

reef fish fishery, which includes red 

snapper, is managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). 

The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council 

and is approved by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and 

implemented through regulations at 50 

CFR part 622. 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 40 to the FMP established 

two components within the recreational 

sector fishing for Gulf red snapper: the 

private angling component, and the 

Federal for-hire component (80 FR 

22422, April 22, 2015). Amendment 40 

also allocated the red snapper 

recreational ACL (recreational quota) 

between the components and 

established separate seasonal closures 

for the two components. On February 6, 

2020, NMFS implemented Amendments 

50 A–F to the FMP, which delegated 

authority to the Gulf states (Louisiana, 

Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and 

Texas) to establish specific management 

measures for the harvest of red snapper 

in Federal waters of the Gulf by the 

private angling component of the 

recreational sector (85 FR 6819, 

February 6, 2020). These amendments 

allocated a portion of the private angling 

ACL to each state, and each state is 

required to constrain landings to its 

allocation. 

As described at 50 CFR 622.23(c), a 

Gulf state with an active delegation may 

request that NMFS close all, or an area 

of, Federal waters off that state to the 

harvest and possession of red snapper 

by private anglers. The state is required 

to request the closure by letter to NMFS, 

providing dates and geographic 

coordinates for the closure. If the 

request is within the scope of the 

analysis in Amendment 50A, NMFS 

publishes a notification in the Federal 

Register implementing the closure for 

the fishing year. Based on the analysis 

in Amendment 50A, Texas may request 

a closure of all Federal waters off the 

State to allow a year-round fishing 

season in state waters. As described at 

50 CFR 622.2, ‘‘off Texas’’ is defined as 

the waters in the Gulf west of a rhumb 

line from 29°32.1′ N lat., 93°47.7′ W 

long. to 26°11.4′ N lat., 92°53′ W long., 

which line is an extension of the 

boundary between Louisiana and Texas. 

On November 8, 2023, NMFS received 

a request from the Texas Parks and 

Wildlife Department (TPWD) to close 

the EEZ off Texas to the red snapper 

recreational private angling component 

during the 2024 fishing year. Texas 

requested that the closure be effective 

from January 1 through May 31, 2024. 

NMFS has determined that this request 

is within the scope of the analysis 

contained within Amendment 50A, 

which analyzed the potential impacts of 

a closure of all Federal waters off Texas, 

consistent with Texas’s intent to 

maintain a year-round fishing season in 

State waters during which a part of 

Texas’ ACL could be caught. 

Therefore, the red snapper 

recreational private angling component 

in the Gulf EEZ off Texas will close at 

12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 

2024, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

June 1, 2024. This closure applies to all 

private-anglers (those on board vessels 

that have not been issued a valid charter 

vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef 

fish) regardless of which state they are 

from or where they intend to land. Once 

the EEZ off Texas opens on June 1, 

2023, TPWD will continue to monitor 

private recreational landings, and if 

necessary, will request that NMFS again 

close the EEZ in 2024 to ensure the 

Texas regional management area ACL is 

not exceeded. 

On and after the effective dates of this 

closure in the EEZ off Texas, the harvest 

and possession of red snapper in the 

EEZ off Texas by the private angling 

component is prohibited and the bag 

and possession limits for the red 

snapper private angling component in 

the closed area is zero. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.23(c), which was issued pursuant to 

304(b), and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866, and other 

applicable laws. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment are 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule 

implementing the area closure authority 


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83042 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 227 / Tuesday, November 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

and the state-specific private angling 

ACLs has already been subject to notice 

and comment, and all that remains is to 

notify the public of the closure. Such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest because a failure to implement 

the closure immediately would be 

inconsistent with Texas’s State 

management plan and may result in less 

access to red snapper in State waters. 

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

Dated: November 22, 2023. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26187 Filed 11–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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