Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 170 / Thursday, September 2, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 53871 

in the Federal Register, the Coast Guard 

will provide the maritime community 

with advance notification of this 

enforcement period via a Local 

Broadcast Notice to Mariners. If the 

COTP determines that the regulated area 

need not be enforced for the full 

duration stated in this notice, he may 

use a Broadcast Notice to Mariners to 

grant general permission to enter the 

regulated area. 

Dated: August 24, 2010. 

J.C. McGuiness, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port, Sault Sainte Marie. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21896 Filed 9–1–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 0906221072–91425–02] 

RIN 0648–XY56 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Inseason Action To Close the 

Commercial Porbeagle Shark Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; fishery closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is closing the 

commercial fishery for porbeagle sharks. 

This action is necessary because 

landings for the 2010 fishing season has 

reached at least 80 percent of the 

available quota. 

DATES: The commercial porbeagle shark 

fishery is closed effective 11:30 p.m. 

local time September 4, 2010 until, and 

if, NMFS announces, via a notice in the 

Federal Register that additional quota is 

available and the season is reopened. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Guy DuBeck, 

301–713–2347; fax 301–713–1917. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 

under the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic 

Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP), its 

amendments, and its implementing 

regulations found at 50 CFR part 635 

issued under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

Under § 635.5(b)(1), shark dealers are 

required to report to NMFS all sharks 

landed every two weeks. Dealer reports 

for fish received between the 1st and 

15th of any month must be received by 

NMFS by the 25th of that month. Dealer 

reports for fish received between the 

16th and the end of any month must be 

received by NMFS by the 10th of the 

following month. Under § 635.28(b)(2), 

when NMFS projects that fishing season 

landings for a species group have 

reached or are about to reach 80 percent 

of the available quota, NMFS will file 

for publication with the Office of the 

Federal Register a notice of closure for 

that shark species group that will be 

effective no fewer than 5 days from the 

date of filing. From the effective date 

and time of the closure until NMFS 

announces, via a notice in the Federal 

Register, that additional quota is 

available and the season is reopened, 

the fishery for that species group is 

closed, even across fishing years. 

On January 5, 2010 (75 FR 250), 

NMFS announced that the porbeagle 

shark fishery for the 2010 fishing year 

was open and the available porbeagle 

shark quota was 1.5 metric tons (mt) 

dressed weight (dw) (3,307 lb dw). 

Dealer reports through the July 31, 2010, 

reporting period indicate that 1.3 mt dw 

or 85 percent of the available quota for 

porbeagle sharks has been landed. 

Dealer reports received to date indicate 

that 14 percent of the quota was landed 

from the opening of the fishery on 

January 5, 2010, through January 31, 

2010; 3 percent of the quota was landed 

in March; 12 percent was landed in 

April; 5 percent was landed in May; and 

13 percent of the quota was landed in 

June. Preliminary numbers indicate that 

38 percent of the quota was landed in 

July. The fishery has reached 85 percent 

of the quota, which exceeds the 80 

percent limit specified in the 

regulations. Accordingly, NMFS is 

closing the commercial porbeagle shark 

fishery as of 11:30 p.m. local time 

September 7, 2010. This closure does 

not affect any other shark fishery. 

During the closure, retention of 

porbeagle sharks is prohibited for 

persons fishing aboard vessels issued a 

commercial shark limited access permit 

under 50 CFR 635.4, unless the vessel 

is properly permitted to operate as a 

charter vessel or headboat for HMS and 

is engaged in a for-hire trip, in which 

case the recreational retention limits for 

sharks and ‘‘no sale’’ provisions apply 

(50 CFR 635.22(a) and (c)). A shark 

dealer issued a permit pursuant to 

§ 635.4 may not purchase or receive 

porbeagle sharks from a vessel issued an 

Atlantic shark limited access permit 

(LAP), except that a permitted shark 

dealer or processor may possess 

porbeagle sharks that were harvested, 

off-loaded, and sold, traded, or bartered, 

prior to the effective date of the closure 

and were held in storage. Under this 

closure, a shark dealer issued a permit 

pursuant to § 635.4 may, in accordance 

with state regulations, purchase or 

receive a porbeagle sharks if the sharks 

were harvested, off-loaded, and sold, 

traded, or bartered from a vessel that 

fishes only in state waters and that has 

not been issued an Atlantic Shark LAP, 

HMS Angling permit, or HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit pursuant to § 635.4. 

Classification 

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

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NOAA (AA), finds that providing for 

prior notice and public comment for 

this action is impracticable and contrary 

to the public interest because the fishery 

is currently underway, and any delay in 

this action would cause overharvest of 

the quota and be inconsistent with 

management requirements and 

objectives. If the quota is exceeded, the 

affected public is likely to experience 

reductions in the available quota and a 

lack of fishing opportunities in future 

seasons. For these reasons, the AA also 

finds good cause to waive the 30–day 

delay in effective date pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553 (d)(3). This action is required 

under § 635.28(b)(2) and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: August 30, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–21961 Filed 8–30–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0910051338–0151–02] 

RIN 0648–XY20 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; Modification of the Common 

Pool Day-at-Sea Accounting and 

Possession Prohibition for Witch 

Flounder 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This action implements a 

differential Days-at-Sea (DAS) counting 


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