60008 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 188 / Wednesday, September 29, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

of T. 148 N., R. 101 W.; thence south to 

the middle of the Little Missouri; thence 

easterly and northerly along the middle 

of that river to the midpoint of its 

confluence with the Missouri River; 

thence southerly and easterly along the 

middle of the Missouri River to the 

midpoint of its confluence with the 

western land boundary of Mercer 

County; thence south along the western 

county line of Mercer County to the 

southwest boundary; thence east and 

south along the southwestern county 

boundary of Morton County to the 

intersection with the boundary with 

Sioux County; thence west and south 

along the northern boundary of Sioux 

County to the center of State Highway 

31; thence south along the center of 

State Highway 31 to the State border 

with South Dakota; thence east along 

the southern boundary of Sioux County 

in the middle of the Missouri River. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–24376 Filed 9–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 040205043–4043–01] 

RIN 0648–XY48 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; 

Closure of the 2010–2011 Commercial 

Sector for Black Sea Bass in the South 

Atlantic 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the commercial 

sector for black sea bass in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) of the South 

Atlantic. NMFS has determined that the 

quota for the commercial sector for 

black sea bass will have been reached by 

October 7, 2010. This closure is 

necessary to protect the black sea bass 

resource. 

DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, October 7, 2010, through 

12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Bruger, telephone 727–824– 

5305, fax 727–824–5308, e-mail 

Catherine.Bruger@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper-grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic 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 under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations 

at 50 CFR part 622. Those regulations 

set the commercial quota for black sea 

bass in the South Atlantic at 309,000 lb 

(140,160 kg) for the current fishing year, 

June 1, 2010, through May 31, 2011, as 

specified in 50 CFR 622.42(e)(5)(iii). 

Black sea bass are managed 

throughout their range. In the South 

Atlantic EEZ, black sea bass are 

managed by the Council from 35° 15.19′ 

N. lat., the latitude of Cape Hatteras 

Light, North Carolina, south. From Cape 

Hatteras Light, North Carolina, through 

Maine, black sea bass are managed 

jointly by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

Therefore, the closure provisions 

contained in this notice are applicable 

to those vessels harvesting or possessing 

black sea bass from Key West, Florida, 

through Cape Hatteras Light, North 

Carolina. 

Under 50 CFR 622.43(a), NMFS is 

required to close the commercial sector 

for a species or species group when the 

quota for that species or species group 

is reached, or is projected to be reached, 

by filing a notification to that effect with 

the Office of the Federal Register. Based 

on current statistics, NMFS has 

determined that the available 

commercial quota of 309,000 lb (140,160 

kg) for black sea bass will be reached on 

or before October 7, 2010. Accordingly, 

NMFS is closing the commercial sector 

for black sea bass in the South Atlantic 

EEZ from 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

October 7, 2010, through 12:01 a.m., 

local time, on June 1, 2011. The operator 

of a vessel with a valid commercial 

vessel permit for snapper-grouper 

having black sea bass onboard must 

have landed and bartered, traded, or 

sold such black sea bass prior to 12:01 

a.m., local time, October 7, 2010. 

During the closure, the bag limit and 

possession limits specified in 50 CFR 

622.39(d)(1)(vii) and (d)(2), respectively, 

apply to all harvest or possession of 

black sea bass in or from the South 

Atlantic EEZ, and the sale or purchase 

of black sea bass taken from the EEZ is 

prohibited. The prohibition on sale or 

purchase does not apply to sale or 

purchase of black sea bass that were 

harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior 

to 12:01 a.m., local time, October 7, 

2010, and were held in cold storage by 

a dealer or processor. For a person on 

board a vessel for which a Federal 

commercial or charter vessel/headboat 

permit for the South Atlantic snappergrouper fishery has been issued, the sale 

and purchase provisions of the 

commercial closure for black sea bass 

would apply regardless of whether the 

fish are harvested in state or Federal 

waters, as specified in 50 CFR 

622.43(a)(5)(ii). 

Classification 

This action responds to the best 

available information recently obtained 

from the fishery. The Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 

(AA), finds that the need to immediately 

implement this action to close the 

commercial sector to the harvest of 

black sea bass constitutes good cause to 

waive the requirements to provide prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment pursuant to the authority set 

forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as such 

procedures would be unnecessary and 

contrary to the public interest. Such 

procedures would be unnecessary 

because the rule itself already has been 

subject to notice and comment, and all 

that remains is to notify the public of 

the closure. 

Allowing prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment is 

contrary to the public interest because 

of the need to immediately implement 

this action to protect the black sea bass 

stock because the capacity of the fishing 

fleet allows for rapid harvest of the 

quota. Prior notice and opportunity for 

public comment would require time and 

would potentially result in a harvest 

well in excess of the established quota. 

For the aforementioned reasons, the 

AA also finds good cause to waive the 

30–day delay in effectiveness of the 

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

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

622.43(a) and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: September 24, 2010. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24450 Filed 9–24–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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