49142 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FOR OTHER THAN THE CANADIAN MARKET—Continued 

Make Model type(s) Body/chassis Model 

years(s) VSP VCP 

Yamaha (MC) ............ Virago ........................................................... ................................... 1993–1998 301 ........................

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30141(b); 49 CFR 

593.9; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 

and 501.8. 

Jack Danielson, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22692 Filed 10–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 140501394–5279–02] 

RIN 0648–XF758 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

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

Re-Opening of the Commercial Sector 

for Blueline Tilefish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; re-opening. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the reopening of the commercial sector for 

blueline tilefish in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) of the South 

Atlantic through this temporary rule. 

The most recent commercial landings 

data for blueline tilefish indicate the 

commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for 

the 2017 fishing year has not yet been 

reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the 

commercial sector for blueline tilefish 

in the South Atlantic EEZ for 8 days to 

allow the commercial ACL to be caught, 

while minimizing the risk of the 

commercial ACL being exceeded. 

DATES: This rule is effective 12:01 a.m., 

local time, October 24, 2017 until 12:01 

a.m., local time, November 1, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

mary.vara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

snapper-grouper fishery of the South 

Atlantic includes blueline tilefish and 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 by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622. 

As specified at 50 CFR 

622.193(z)(1)(i), the blueline tilefish 

commercial ACL is 87,521 lb (39,699 

kg), round weight. 

NMFS is required to close the 

commercial sector for blueline tilefish 

when the commercial ACL specified at 

50 CFR 622.193(z)(1)(i) is reached, or is 

projected to be reached, by filing a 

notification to that effect with the Office 

of the Federal Register. NMFS 

previously projected that the 

commercial ACL for South Atlantic 

blueline tilefish for the 2017 fishing 

year would be reached by July 18, 2017. 

Therefore, NMFS published a temporary 

rule to close the commercial sector for 

South Atlantic blueline tilefish effective 

on July 18, 2017, through the end of the 

2017 fishing year (82 FR 31924; July 11, 

2017). However, a recent landings 

update indicates that the commercial 

ACL for blueline tilefish was not met as 

of July 18, 2017. 

In accordance with 50 CFR 622.8(c), 

NMFS temporarily re-opens the 

commercial sector for blueline tilefish 

on October 24, 2017. The commercial 

sector will remain open for 8 days to 

allow for the commercial ACL to be 

reached. The commercial sector will 

close 8 days later, at 12:01 a.m., local 

time, November 1, 2017, and remain 

closed until January 1, 2018, the start of 

the next fishing year. NMFS has 

determined that this re-opening will 

allow for an additional opportunity to 

commercially harvest blueline tilefish 

while minimizing the risk of exceeding 

the commercial ACL. 

The operator of a vessel with a valid 

Federal commercial vessel permit for 

South Atlantic snapper-grouper having 

blueline tilefish onboard must have 

landed and bartered, traded, or sold 

such blueline tilefish prior to 12:01 

a.m., local time, November 1, 2017. 

During the subsequent commercial 

closure, all sale or purchase of blueline 

tilefish is prohibited. The recreational 

sector for blueline tilefish in South 

Atlantic Federal waters is closed from 

January 1 through April 30, and from 

September 1 through December 31, each 

year, and the bag and possession limits 

for blueline tilefish in or from South 

Atlantic Federal waters are zero through 

December 31, 2017. Additionally, these 

bag and possession limits apply to the 

harvest of blueline tilefish in both state 

and Federal waters in the South Atlantic 

on board a vessel with a valid Federal 

commercial or charter vessel/headboat 

permit for South Atlantic snappergrouper. 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator, NMFS 

Southeast Region, has determined this 

temporary rule is necessary for the 

conservation and management of 

blueline tilefish and the South Atlantic 

snapper-grouper fishery and is 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and other applicable laws. 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

622.8(c) and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

These measures are exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act because the temporary rule is issued 

without opportunity for prior notice and 

comment. 

This action responds to the best 

scientific information available. The 

Assistant Administrator for NOAA 

Fisheries (AA) finds that the need to 

immediately implement this action to 

temporarily re-open the commercial 

sector for blueline tilefish 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 are unnecessary and 

contrary to the public interest. Such 

procedures are unnecessary because the 

rule implementing the commercial ACL 

and AMs has been subject to notice and 

comment, and all that remains is to 

notify the public of the re-opening. Such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest because of the need to 

immediately implement this action to 

allow commercial fishers to harvest the 

commercial ACL of blueline tilefish 

from the EEZ, while minimizing the risk 

of exceeding the commercial ACL. Prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment would be contrary to the 

public interest because it would not 

allow for the re-opening of the 

commercial sector before the end of the 

fishing season. 


pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 49143 

For the aforementioned reasons, the 

AA also finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in the effectiveness of this 

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

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

Dated: October 19, 2017. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23026 Filed 10–19–17; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

RIN 0648–XF156 

Pacific Island Pelagic Fisheries; 2017 

U.S. Territorial Longline Bigeye Tuna 

Catch Limits for the Commonwealth of 

the Northern Mariana Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of a valid 

specified fishing agreement. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a valid 

specified fishing agreement that 

allocates up to 1,000 metric tons (t) of 

the 2017 bigeye tuna limit for the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands (CNMI) to identified U.S. 

longline fishing vessels. The agreement 

supports the long-term sustainability of 

fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific 

Islands, and fisheries development in 

the CNMI. 

DATES: October 23, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: NMFS prepared 

environmental analyses that describe 

the potential impacts on the human 

environment that would result from the 

action. Copies of those analyses, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2017–0004, 

are available from www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0004, or from Michael D. Tosatto, 

Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific 

Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp Blvd., 

Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Copies of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan 

for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western 

Pacific Region (Pelagic FEP) are 

available from the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, fax 808– 

522–8226, or www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jarad Makaiau, NMFS PIRO Sustainable 

Fisheries, 808–725–5176. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final 

rule published on October 13, 2017, 

NMFS specified a 2017 limit of 2,000 t 

of longline-caught bigeye tuna for the 

U.S. Pacific Island territories of 

American Samoa, Guam and the CNMI 

(82 FR 47642). Of the 2,000 t limit, 

NMFS allows each territory to allocate 

up to 1,000 t to U.S. longline fishing 

vessels identified in a valid specified 

fishing agreement. 

On October 6, 2017, NMFS received 

from the Council a specified fishing 

agreement between the CNMI and Quota 

Management, Inc. (QMI). In the 

transmittal memorandum, the Council’s 

Executive Director advised that the 

specified fishing agreement was 

consistent with the criteria set forth in 

50 CFR 665.819(c)(1). On October 10, 

2017, NMFS reviewed the agreement 

and determined that it is consistent with 

the Pelagic FEP, the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, implementing regulations, and 

other applicable laws. 

In accordance with 50 CFR 300.224(d) 

and 50 CFR 665.819(c)(9), vessels 

identified in the agreement may retain 

and land bigeye tuna in the western and 

central Pacific Ocean under the CNMI 

limit. NMFS began attributing bigeye 

tuna caught by vessels identified in the 

agreement to the CNMI starting on 

October 10, 2017. If NMFS determines 

that the fishery will reach the 

attribution limit of 1,000 t, we will 

restrict the retention of bigeye tuna 

caught by vessels identified in the 

agreement, unless the vessels are 

included in a subsequent specified 

fishing agreement with another U.S. 

territory. 

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

Dated: October 19, 2017. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23028 Filed 10–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES