51778 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 215 / Wednesday, November 8, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

and bartered, traded, or sold such gray 

triggerfish prior to 12:01 a.m., local 

time, November 8, 2017. During the 

closure, the bag limit specified in 50 

CFR 622.187(b)(8), and the possession 

limits specified in 50 CFR 622.187(c), 

apply to all harvest or possession of gray 

triggerfish in or from the South Atlantic 

EEZ. Also, during the closure, the sale 

or purchase of gray triggerfish taken 

from the South Atlantic EEZ is 

prohibited. The prohibition on the sale 

or purchase does not apply to gray 

triggerfish that were harvested, landed 

ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., 

local time, November 8, 2017, and were 

held in cold storage by a dealer or 

processor. 

For a person onboard a vessel for 

which a Federal commercial or charter 

vessel/headboat permit for the South 

Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery has 

been issued, the bag and possession 

limits and sale and purchase 

prohibitions applicable after the 

commercial quota closure for gray 

triggerfish apply regardless of whether 

the fish are harvested in state or Federal 

waters, as specified in 50 CFR 

622.193(q)(1)(i). 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator, 

Southeast Region, NMFS, has 

determined this temporary rule is 

necessary for the conservation and 

management of gray triggerfish and the 

South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery 

and is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable laws. 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

622.193(q)(1)(i) 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 

NOAA Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries (AA), finds that the need to 

immediately implement this action to 

close the commercial sector for gray 

triggerfish 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 Amendment 29, 

which established the split commercial 

seasons and quotas for gray triggerfish, 

and the accountability measures have 

already been subject to notice and 

comment, and all that remains is to 

notify the public of the closure. Such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest because of the need to 

immediately implement this action to 

protect gray triggerfish since the 

capacity of the fishing fleet allows for 

rapid harvest of the commercial quota. 

Prior notice and opportunity for public 

comment would require time and could 

potentially result in a harvest well in 

excess of the established commercial 

quota. 

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: November 3, 2017. 

Emily Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24311 Filed 11–3–17; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 161017970–6999–02] 

RIN 0648–XF806 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of Maine is transferring a portion 

of its 2017 commercial summer flounder 

quota to the State of Connecticut. This 

quota adjustment is necessary to comply 

with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan quota transfer provisions. This 

announcement informs the public of the 

revised commercial quotas for Maine 

and Connecticut. 

DATES: Effective November 7, 2017, 

through December 31, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Hanson, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found in 50 CFR 

648.100 through 648.110. These 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned among the coastal states 

from Maine through North Carolina. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.102, and the 

initial 2017 allocations were published 

on December 22, 2016 (81 FR 93842). 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder 

Fishery Management Plan, as published 

in the Federal Register on December 17, 

1993 (58 FR 65936), provided a 

mechanism for transferring summer 

flounder commercial quota from one 

state to another. Two or more states, 

under mutual agreement and with the 

concurrence of the NMFS Greater 

Atlantic Regional Administrator, can 

transfer or combine summer flounder 

commercial quota under § 648.102(c)(2). 

The Regional Administrator is required 

to consider the criteria in 

§ 648.102(c)(2)(i)(A) through (C) in the 

evaluation of requests for quota transfers 

or combinations. 

Maine is transferring 2,500 lb (1,134 

kg) of summer flounder commercial 

quota to Connecticut. This transfer was 

requested by state officials in 

Connecticut to ensure their commercial 

summer flounder quota is not exceeded. 

The revised summer flounder quotas for 

calendar year 2017 are now: Maine, 192 

lb (87 kg); and Connecticut, 130,234 lb 

(59,073 kg); based on the initial quotas 

published in the 2017 Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Specifications and subsequent transfers. 

Classification 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: November 3, 2017. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–24321 Filed 11–7–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 170919911–7911–01] 

RIN 0648–XF710 

Revisions to Framework Adjustment 

56 to the Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 


ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES