Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 19, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 68805 

The third alternative would set the 

king mackerel trip limit in the Florida 

east coast subzone at 75 fish for the 

entire fishing season. This alternative 

was not adopted because it would likely 

increase the king mackerel harvest prior 

to the Lenten season, reduce landings of 

king mackerel and associated revenues 

when demand is high during the Lenten 

season, and result in earlier closure, 

potentially even before the period of 

heightened demand. 

Finally, this rule also removes 

language in the codified text regarding 

prevention of gear conflicts between 

hook-and-line and gillnet vessels in the 

South Atlantic EEZ. This change 

corrects an inadvertent error in the text, 

as discussed in the preamble. The 

regulation contained in § 622.387 was 

necessary before separate quotas, trip 

limits, and gillnet permits were 

implemented for the harvest of king 

mackerel off Florida. Since 

implementation of those management 

measures, the impact and relevance of 

§ 622.387 have been zero. Consequently, 

its removal would have no impact on 

small businesses. 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as small entity compliance 

guides. As part of the rulemaking 

process, NMFS prepared a fishery 

bulletin, which also serves as a small 

entity compliance guide. The fishery 

bulletin will be sent to all CMP vessel 

permit holders in the Atlantic region. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Fisheries, Fishing, Gillnet, Mackerel, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, South Atlantic, Trip 

limits. 

Dated: November 12, 2014, 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.377, paragraph (b)(2)(iii) is 

revised and paragraph (b)(2)(vi) is added 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.377 Gillnet restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) No more than two gillnets, 

including any net in use, may be 

possessed at any one time, except for a 

vessel with a valid commercial vessel 

permit for Spanish mackerel engaged in 

a transfer as specified in paragraph 

(b)(2)(vi) of this section. If two gillnets, 

including any net in use, are possessed 

at any one time, they must have 

stretched mesh sizes (as allowed under 

the regulations) that differ by at least .25 

inch (.64 cm), except for a vessel with 

a valid commercial vessel permit for 

Spanish mackerel engaged in a transfer 

as specified in paragraph (b)(2)(vi) of 

this section, in which case the vessel 

may possess two gillnets of the same 

mesh size provided that one of the nets 

is transferred to that vessel. 

* * * * * 

(vi) A portion of a gillnet may be 

transferred at sea only in the EEZ and 

only from a vessel with a valid 

commercial vessel permit for Spanish 

mackerel that has exceeded a trip limit 

specified in § 622.385 (b) to another 

vessel with a valid commercial vessel 

permit for Spanish mackerel that has 

not yet reached the trip limit (the 

receiving vessel). Only one such transfer 

is allowed per vessel per day. In 

addition, to complete a legal transfer at 

sea, all of the following must apply: 

(A) All fish exceeding the applicable 

commercial trip limit may not be 

removed from the gillnet until the 

transfer is complete (i.e., the gillnet is 

onboard the receiving vessel). The fish 

transferred to the receiving vessel may 

not exceed the applicable commercial 

trip limit. 

(B) The receiving vessel may possess 

no more than three gillnets on board 

after the transfer is complete. 

(C) Prior to cutting the gillnet and 

prior to any transfer of Spanish 

mackerel from one vessel to another, the 

owner or operator of both vessels must 

contact NMFS Office for Law 

Enforcement, Port Orange, Florida, 

phone: 1–386–492–6686. 

■ 3. In § 622.385, the third sentence in 

the introductory text and paragraph 

(a)(2)(i) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 622.385 Commercial trip limits. 

* * * Except for Atlantic migratory 

group Spanish mackerel harvested by 

gillnet, as specified in 

§ 622.377(b)(2)(vi), a species subject to a 

trip limit specified in this section taken 

in the EEZ may not be transferred at sea, 

regardless of where such transfer takes 

place, and such species may not be 

transferred in the EEZ. * * * 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) Eastern zone—Florida east coast 

subzone. In the Florida east coast 

subzone, king mackerel in or from the 

EEZ may be possessed on board at any 

time or landed in a day from a vessel 

with a commercial permit for king 

mackerel as required under 

§ 622.370(a)(1) as follows: 

(A) From November 1 through the end 

of February—not to exceed 50 fish. 

(B) Beginning on March 1 and 

continuing through March 31— 

(1) If 70 percent or more of the Florida 

east coast subzone quota as specified in 

§ 622.384(b)(1)(i)(A) has been taken— 

not to exceed 50 fish. 

(2) If less than 70 percent of the 

Florida east coast subzone quota as 

specified in § 622.384(b)(1)(i)(A) has 

been taken—not to exceed 75 fish. 

* * * * * 

§ 622.387 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 4. Remove and reserve § 622.387. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27280 Filed 11–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 130925836–4174–02] 

RIN 0648–XD627 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Inseason Adjustment 

to the 2014 Gulf of Alaska Pollock 

Seasonal Apportionments 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the 2014 

seasonal apportionments of the total 

allowable catch (TAC) in the Gulf of 

Alaska (GOA) by re-apportioning 

unharvested pollock TAC from 

Statistical Areas 610 to Statistical Areas 

620 and 630 of the GOA. This action is 

necessary to provide opportunity for 

harvest of the 2014 pollock TAC, 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
68806 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 223 / Wednesday, November 19, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), November 14, 2014, 

until 2400 hours A.l.t., December 31, 

2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 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 

(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 annual pollock TACs in 

Statistical Areas 610, 620, and 630 of 

the GOA are apportioned among four 

seasons, in accordance with 

§ 679.23(d)(2). Regulations at 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B) allow the 

underharvest of a seasonal 

apportionment to be added to 

subsequent seasonal apportionments, 

provided that any revised seasonal 

apportionment does not exceed 20 

percent of the seasonal apportionment 

for a given statistical area. Therefore, 

NMFS is increasing the D season 

apportionment of pollock in Statistical 

Area 610 of the GOA to reflect the 

underharvest of pollock in that area 

during the A, B, and C seasons. In 

addition, any underharvest remaining 

beyond 20 percent of the originally 

specified seasonal apportionment in a 

particular area may be further 

apportioned to other statistical areas. 

Therefore, NMFS also is increasing the 

D season apportionments of pollock to 

Statistical Areas 620 and 630 based on 

the underharvest of pollock in 

Statistical Area 610 of the GOA. These 

adjustments are described below. 

The D season apportionment of the 

2014 total allowable catch (TAC) of 

pollock in Statistical Area 610 of the 

GOA is 13,235 metric tons (mt) as 

established by the final 2014 and 2015 

harvest specifications for groundfish of 

the GOA (79 FR 12890, March 6, 2014). 

In accordance with § 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B), 

the Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS (Regional Administrator), hereby 

increases the D season apportionment 

for Statistical Area 610 by 2,647 mt to 

account for the underharvest of the TAC 

in Statistical Area 610 in the C season. 

Therefore, the revised D season 

apportionment of the pollock TAC in 

Statistical Area 610 is 15,882 mt (13,235 

mt plus 2,647 mt). 

The pollock D season apportionment 

in Statistical Area 620 of the GOA is 

12,448 mt as established by the final 

2014 and 2015 harvest specifications for 

groundfish of the GOA (79 FR 12890, 

March 6, 2014). In accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B), the Regional 

Administrator hereby increases the D 

season apportionment for Statistical 

Area 620 by 2,490 mt to account for the 

underharvest of the TAC in Statistical 

Area 610. This increase is in proportion 

to the estimated pollock biomass and is 

not greater than 20 percent of the 

seasonal TAC apportionment in 

Statistical Area 620. Therefore, the 

revised D season apportionment of the 

pollock TAC in Statistical Area 620 is 

14,938 mt (12,448 mt plus 2,490 mt). 

The pollock D season apportionment 

in Statistical Area 630 of the GOA is 

13,720 mt as established by the final 

2014 and 2015 harvest specifications for 

groundfish of the GOA (79 FR 12890, 

March 6, 2014). In accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iv)(B), the Regional 

Administrator hereby increases the D 

season apportionment for Statistical 

Area 630 by 2,696 mt to reflect the total 

underharvest of the TAC in Statistical 

Area 610. This increase is in proportion 

to the estimated pollock biomass and is 

not greater than 20 percent of the 

seasonal TAC apportionment in 

Statistical Area 630. Therefore, the 

revised D season apportionment of 

pollock TAC in Statistical Area 630 is 

16,416 mt (13,720 mt plus 2,696 mt). 

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 

provide opportunity to harvest 

increased pollock seasonal 

apportionments. NMFS was unable to 

publish a notice providing time for 

public comment because the most 

recent, relevant data only became 

available as of November 13, 2014. 

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: November 14, 2014. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27408 Filed 11–14–14; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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