29236 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 93 / Friday, May 13, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Title 

State 

effective 

date 

EPA 

effective 

date 

Final rule 

citation/date Comments 

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Maintenance and Attainment Plan Elements 

*******

Denver Metropolitan Area 

*******

Ozone (8-hour, 2015) DMNFR NNSR 

Certification.

7/6/2020 6/13/2022 May 13, 2022, [insert Federal 

Register citation].

* * * * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–10211 Filed 5–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 200124–0029; RTID 0648– 

XB978] 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2022 

Red Snapper Private Angling 

Component Accountability Measure in 

Federal Waters Off Louisiana and 

Florida 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule, accountability 

measure. 

SUMMARY: Through this temporary rule, 

NMFS implements accountability 

measures (AMs) for the red snapper 

recreational sector private angling 

component in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 

off Louisiana and Florida for the 2022 

fishing year. Based on information 

provided by the Louisiana Department 

of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 

Commission (FWC), NMFS has 

determined that the 2021 regional 

management area private angling 

component annual catch limits (ACL) 

for Gulf red snapper were exceeded for 

both Louisiana and Florida. Therefore, 

NMFS reduces the 2022 private angling 

component ACLs of Gulf red snapper for 

both the Louisiana and Florida regional 

management areas. This reduction will 

remain in effect through the remainder 

of the current fishing year on December 

31, 2022, and is necessary to protect the 

Gulf red snapper resource. 

DATES: This temporary rule is effective 

from 12:01 a.m., local time, on May 13, 

2022, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

January 1, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelli O’Donnell, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, email: kelli.odonnell@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 implemented by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622. All red 

snapper weights discussed in this 

temporary rule are in round weight. In 2015, Amendment 40 to the FMP 

established two components within the 

recreational sector fishing for red 

snapper: The private angling 

component, and the Federal charter 

vessel and headboat (for-hire) 

component (80 FR 22422, April 22, 

2015). In 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 

allocate a portion of the private angling 

ACL to each state, and each state is 

required to constrain landings to its 

allocation as part of state management. As described at 50 CFR 622.39(a)(2)(i), 

the Gulf red snapper recreational sector 

quota (ACL) is 7.399 million lb (3.356 

million kg) and the recreational private 

angling component quota (ACL) is 4.269 

million lb (1.936 million kg). The 

Louisiana regional management area 

private angling component ACL is 

816,233 lb (370,237 kg) (50 CFR 

622.23(a)(1)(ii)(C)) and the Florida 

regional management area private 

angling component ACL is 1,913,451 lb 

(867,927 kg) (50 CFR 622.23(a)(1)(ii)(B)). 

Regulations at 50 CFR 622.23(b) require 

that if a state’s red snapper private 

angling component landings exceed the 

applicable state’s component ACL, then 

in the following fishing year, that state’s 

private angling ACL will be reduced by 

the amount of that ACL overage in the 

prior fishing year. 

Based on data provided by the LDFW, 

NMFS has determined that landings of 

red snapper off Louisiana for the private 

angling component, which includes 

landings for state charter vessels, in 

2021 were 823,151 lb (373,375 kg); 

which is 6,918 lb (3,138 kg) greater than 

2021 Louisiana allocation of the private 

angling component ACL. Based on data 

provided by the FWC, NMFS has 

determined that landings of red snapper 

off Florida for the private angling 

component, which includes landings for 

state charter vessels, in 2021 were 

2,169,739 lb (984,177 kg); which is 

256,288 lb (116,250 kg) greater than 

2021 Florida allocation of the private 

angling component ACL. Accordingly, 

for the 2022 fishing year, this temporary 

rule reduces the Louisiana regional 

management area private angling 

component ACL for Gulf red snapper by 

the ACL overage amount of 6,918 lb 

(3,138 kg), which results in a revised 

2022 private angling ACL for Louisiana 

of 809,315 lb (367,099 kg). This 

temporary rule also reduces the Florida 

regional management area private 

angling component ACL for Gulf red 

snapper by the ACL overage amount of 

256,288 lb (116,250 kg), which results in 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 93 / Friday, May 13, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 29237 

a revised 2022 private angling ACL for 

Florida of 1,657,163 lb (751,676 kg). 

Additionally, as a result of the 

adjusted Louisiana and Florida ACLs, 

the total private angling component 

quota and the total recreational quota, 

will also be reduced in the Gulf for 

2022. The private angling component 

quota will reduce from 4,269,000 lb 

(1,936,000 kg) to 4,005,794 lb (1,816,998 

kg) and the total recreational quota will 

reduce from 7,399,000 lb (3,356,000 kg) 

to 7,135,794 lb (3,236,742 kg). The 

recreational private angling component 

ACLs for other Gulf state management 

areas (Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas) 

for 2022 are unaffected by this notice. 

The reduction in the 2022 red snapper 

private angling component ACLs for the 

Louisiana and Florida regional 

management areas are effective at 12:01 

a.m., local time, on May 13, 2022, and 

will remain in effect through the end of 

the fishing year on December 31, 2022. 

The LDWF and FWC are responsible 

for ensuring that 2022 private angling 

component landings in each applicable 

state’s regional management area do not 

exceed the adjusted 2022 Louisiana and 

Florida ACLs. NMFS notes that after the 

LDWF and FWC identified that ACL 

overages had occurred in 2021, they 

adjusted their respective 2022 red 

snapper private angling fishing seasons 

to account for the reduction in the ACLs 

as required by the regulations at 50 CFR 

622.23(b) and implemented through this 

temporary rule. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required under 50 

CFR 622.23(b) which was issued 

pursuant to section 304(b) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is exempt 

from review under Executive Order 

12866. 

These measures are exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act because the temporary rule is issued 

without opportunity for prior notice and 

comment. 

This action is based on the best 

scientific information available. The 

Assistant Administrator for NOAA 

Fisheries (AA) finds that the need to 

implement this action to reduce the 

private angling component ACLs for the 

Louisiana and Florida regional 

management areas constitutes good 

cause to waive the requirements to 

provide prior notice and opportunity for 

public comment on this temporary rule 

pursuant to the authority set forth in 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule 

implementing the post-season ACL 

adjustment authority has already been 

subject to notice and comment, and all 

that remains is to notify the public of 

the ACL overage adjustment. Such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest because a failure to implement 

the ACL overage adjustments 

immediately may result in confusion 

among the public about what ACL is in 

effect for Louisiana and Florida for the 

2022 fishing year. 

For the aforementioned reasons, the 

AA also finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in the effectiveness of the 

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

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

Dated: May 10, 2022. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–10390 Filed 5–12–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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