52104 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 179 / Monday, September 20, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.41(i), which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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 stock complex ACL 

and the associated AM has already been 

subject to notice and public comment, 

and all that remains is to notify the 

public of the closure. Such procedures 

are also contrary to the public interest 

because of the need to immediately 

implement the closure to protect the 

mid-water snapper stock complex. The 

capacity of the fishing fleet allows for 

rapid harvest of the ACL and the ACL 

has already been met. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

require time and could result in 

additional harvest. 

For the aforementioned reasons, there 

is good cause to waive the 30-day delay 

in the effectiveness of this action under 

5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Dated: September 15, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20285 Filed 9–15–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 180720681–8999–02; RTID 

0648–XB426] 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic; 2021 Recreational 

Accountability Measure and Closure 

for South Atlantic Golden Tilefish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements 

accountability measures (AMs) 

applicable to recreational harvest of 

golden tilefish in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) of the South 

Atlantic for the 2021 fishing year 

through this temporary rule. NMFS 

estimates that recreational landings of 

golden tilefish in 2021 have exceeded 

the recreational annual catch limit 

(ACL). Therefore, NMFS closes the 

golden tilefish recreational sector in the 

South Atlantic EEZ on September 20, 

2021. This closure is necessary to 

protect the golden tilefish resource. 

DATES: This rule is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, September 20, 2021, until 

12:01 a.m., local time, January 1, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

mary.vara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper-grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic includes golden tilefish and is 

managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared 

by the South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and is 

implemented by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622. 

On January 4, 2019, NMFS 

implemented management measures for 

golden tilefish through a final rule for 

Amendment 28 to the Snapper-Grouper 

FMP (83 FR 233; December 4, 2018). 

That final rule set a recreational ACL of 

2,316 fish (50 CFR 622.193(a)(2)(i)) and 

revised the recreational AM. The 

inseason recreational AM states that if 

recreational landings reach or are 

projected to reach the recreational ACL, 

then the recreational sector will be 

closed for the remainder of the fishing 

year (50 CFR 622.193(a)(2)(i)). 

Landings data from the NMFS 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

indicate that the golden tilefish 

recreational ACL of 2,316 fish has been 

reached. Therefore, this temporary rule 

implements an AM to close the golden 

tilefish recreational sector of the 

snapper-grouper fishery for the 

remainder of the 2021 fishing year. As 

a result, the recreational sector for 

golden tilefish in the South Atlantic 

EEZ will be closed effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time September 20, 2021. The 

recreational sector for golden tilefish 

will open on January 1, 2022, the 

beginning of the 2022 fishing year and 

the recreational fishing season. During 

the closure, the bag and possession 

limits for golden tilefish in or from the 

South Atlantic EEZ are zero. 

NMFS also closed the commercial 

sector for golden tilefish for the 

remainder of the 2021 fishing year (86 

FR 29209; June 1, 2021). Therefore, as 

of the date of this recreational closure, 

all harvest and possession of golden 

tilefish in the South Atlantic EEZ is 

prohibited. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.193(a)(2)(i), which was issued 

pursuant to section 304(b) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is exempt 

from review under Executive Order 

12866. 

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

NMFS Assistant Administrator (AA) 

finds 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 that 

established the recreational ACL and 

AM for golden tilefish 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 

of the need to immediately implement 

this action to protect the golden tilefish 

stock. The recreational ACL has been 

reached and prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

require time, potentially resulting in a 

harvest well in excess of the established 

ACL. 

For the aforementioned reasons, the 

AA also finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in the effectiveness of this 

action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20287 Filed 9–15–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 210513–0105; RTID 0648– 

XB421] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 

Closure of the Closed Area I Scallop 

Access Area to General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota Scallop 

Vessels 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and