Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 186 / Monday, September 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 59157 

prosecution of the live bait portion of 

the Pacific sardine fishery. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR 

660.509 and is exempt from Office of 

Management and Budget review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) for the closure of the 

directed harvest of Pacific sardine. For 

the reasons set forth below, notice and 

comment procedures are impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest. For 

the same reasons, NMFS also finds good 

cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive 

the 30–day delay in effectiveness for 

this action. This measure responds to 

the best available information and is 

necessary for the conservation and 

management of the Pacific sardine 

resource. A delay in effectiveness would 

cause the fishery to exceed the in-season 

harvest level. These seasonal harvest 

levels are important mechanisms in 

preventing overfishing and managing 

the fishery at optimum yield. The 

established directed and incidental 

harvest allocations are designed to allow 

fair and equitable opportunity to the 

resource by all sectors of the Pacific 

sardine fishery and to allow access to 

other profitable CPS fisheries, such as 

squid and Pacific mackerel. Many of the 

same fishermen who harvest Pacific 

sardine rely on these other fisheries for 

a significant portion of their income. 

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

Dated: September 22, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24190 Filed 9–22–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 0910131363–0087–02] 

RIN 0648–XZ27 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Catcher/Processors Using Pot Gear in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

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 pot catcher/ 

processors in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the 2010 Pacific cod 

total allowable catch (TAC) specified for 

pot catcher/processors in the BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), September 23, 2010, 

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

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The 2010 Pacific cod TAC allocated as 

a directed fishing allowance to pot 

catcher/processors in the BSAI is 2,248 

metric tons as established by the final 

2010 and 2011 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (75 FR 11778, 

March 12, 2010). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(iii), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, has determined that the 2010 

Pacific cod TAC allocated as a directed 

fishing allowance to pot catcher/ 

processors in the BSAI has been 

reached. Consequently, NMFS is 

prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific 

cod by pot catcher/processors in the 

BSAI. 

After the effective date of this closure 

the maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds good cause to waive the 

requirement to provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This requirement is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as it would prevent NMFS from 

responding to the most recent fisheries 

data in a timely fashion and would 

delay the closure of Pacific cod by pot 

catcher/processors in the BSAI. NMFS 

was unable to publish a notice 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of September 

21, 2010. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30–day delay in the effective 

date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). This finding is based upon 

the reasons provided above for waiver of 

prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment. 

This action is required by § 679.20 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: September 22, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24191 Filed 9–22–10; 4:15 am] 

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