56016 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 15, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 0907301205–0289–02] 

RIN 0648–XZ00 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Total 

Allowable Catch Harvested for 

Management Area 1B 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that, 

effective 0001 hours, September 14, 

2010, federally permitted vessels may 

not fish for, catch, possess, transfer, or 

land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

Atlantic herring in or from Management 

Area 1B (Area 1B) per trip or calendar 

day until January 1, 2011, when the 

2011 total allowable catch (TAC) 

becomes available, except for transiting 

purposes as described in this notice. 

This action is based on the 

determination that 95 percent of the 

Atlantic herring TAC allocated to Area 

1B for 2010 is projected to be harvested 

by September 14, 2010. Regulations 

governing the Atlantic herring fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise vessel permit holders that no 

TAC is available for the directed fishery 

for Atlantic herring harvested from Area 

1B. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hrs local time, 

September 14, 2010, through December 

31, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lindsey Feldman, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 675–2179. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

herring fishery are found at 50 CFR part 

648. The regulations require annual 

specification of optimum yield, 

domestic and foreign fishing, domestic 

and joint venture processing, and 

management area TACs. The 2010 

Domestic Annual Harvest is 91,200 mt; 

the 2010 TAC allocated to Area 1B (75 

FR 48874, August 12, 2010) is 4,362 mt; 

0 mt of the TAC is set aside for research, 

which leaves a TAC of 86,838 mt for the 

commercial fishery. 

The regulations at § 648.201 require 

the Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), to 

monitor the Atlantic herring fishery in 

each of the four management areas 

designated in the Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) for the Atlantic herring 

fishery and, based upon dealer reports, 

state data, and other available 

information, to determine when the 

harvest of Atlantic herring is projected 

to reach 95 percent of the TAC 

allocated. When such a determination is 

made, NMFS is required to publish 

notification in the Federal Register of 

this determination and prohibit Atlantic 

herring vessel permit holders from 

fishing for, catching, possessing, 

transferring, or landing more than 2,000 

lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip or 

calendar day in or from the specified 

management area for the remainder of 

the closure period. Transiting of Area 

1B with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) 

of herring on board is allowed under the 

conditions specified below. 

The Regional Administrator has 

determined, based upon dealer reports 

and other available information that 95 

percent of the total Atlantic herring TAC 

allocated to Area 1B for the 2010 fishing 

year is projected to be harvested. 

Therefore, effective 0001 hrs local time, 

September 14, 2010, federally permitted 

vessels may not fish for, catch, possess, 

transfer, or land more than 2,000 lb 

(907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring in or from 

Area 1B per trip or calendar day through 

December 31, 2010. Vessels transiting 

Area 1B with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 

kg) of herring on board may land this 

amount provided such herring was not 

caught in Area 1B and provided all 

fishing gear is stowed and not available 

for immediate use as required by 

§ 648.23(b). Effective September 14, 

2010, federally permitted dealers are 

also advised that they may not purchase 

Atlantic herring from federally 

permitted Atlantic herring vessels that 

harvest more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 

Atlantic herring from Area 1B through 

2400 hrs local time, December 31, 2010. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment because it would be 

contrary to the public interest. This 

action closes the Atlantic herring fishery 

for Management Area 1B until January 

1, 2011, under current regulations. The 

regulations at § 648.201(a) require such 

action to ensure that Atlantic herring 

vessels do not exceed the 2010 TAC. 

The Atlantic herring fishery opened for 

the 2010 fishing year at 0001 hours on 

January 1, 2010. Data indicating the 

Atlantic herring fleet will have landed 

at least 95 percent of the 2010 TAC have 

only recently become available. If 

implementation of this closure is 

delayed to solicit prior public comment, 

the quota for this fishing year will be 

exceeded, thereby undermining the 

conservation objectives of the FMP. The 

AA further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C 

553(d)(3), good cause to waive the thirty 

(30) day delayed effectiveness period for 

the reasons stated above. 

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

Dated: September 10, 2010 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23018 Filed 9–10–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910131362–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XZ05 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Vessels Catching Pacific Cod for 

Processing by the Inshore Component 

in the Central Regulatory Area of the 

Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by vessels 

catching Pacific cod for processing by 

the inshore component in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

(GOA). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the 2010 Pacific total 

allowable catch (TAC) apportioned to 

vessels catching Pacific cod for 

processing by the inshore component of 

the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), September 13, 2010, 

through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh 

Keaton, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

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