Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Revised 2017 Recreational Fishing Season for Red Snapper Private Angling Component in the Gulf of Mexico, 27777-27780 [2017-12735]
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27777
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 116 / Monday, June 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
Sector Boston Waterways Management
Division, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone
617–223–4000, email Mark.E.Cutter@
uscg.mil.
The Coast
Guard will enforce the safety zones
listed in Table 1 from 33 CFR 165.118
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
and in 33 CFR 165.119(a)(2) and (3) on
the specified dates and times specified:
TABLE 1 FROM 33 CFR 165.118
Name
Location
Date
6.5 Hull Youth Football Carnival
Fireworks.
All waters within a 450-foot radius of the fireworks barge located approximately 500 feet of off Nantasket Beach, Hull MA located at
position 42°16.6′ N., 070°51.7′ W. (NAD 83).
All waters of the Atlantic Ocean near Salisbury Beach, MA, within a
350-yard radius of the fireworks barge located at position 42°50.6′
N., 070°48.4′ W. (NAD 83).
All waters of Nahant Bay, within a 350-yard radius of the fireworks
barge located at position 42°27.62′ N., 070°55.58′ W. (NAD 83).
All waters of Weymouth Fore River, within a 350-yard radius of the
fireworks launch site located at position 42°15.5′ N., 070°56.1′ W.
(NAD 83).
All waters of Beverly Harbor within a 350-yard radius of the fireworks
launch barge located at position 42°32.62′ N., 070°52.15′ W. (NAD
83).
All waters of Marblehead Harbor within a 350-yard radius of the fireworks launch site located at position 42°30.34′ N., 070°50.13′ W.
(NAD 83).
All waters of Plymouth Harbor within a 350-yard radius of the fireworks launch site located at position 42°57.3′ N., 070°38.3′ W.
(NAD 83).
All waters of Salem Harbor, within a 350-yard radius of the fireworks
launch site located on Derby Wharf at position 42°31.15′ N.,
070°53.13′ W. (NAD 83).
All waters of Boston Harbor between Rowes Warf and Little Brewster
Island within the following points (NAD 83):
42°21.4′ N., 071°03.0′ W.
42°21.5′ N., 071°02.9′ W.
42°19.8′ N., 070°53.6′ W.
42°19.6′ N., 070°53.4′ W.
June 24, 2017 ......................
10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Every Saturday between
June 24 to September 9.
9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
July 3, 2017 .........................
7 p.m.–10 p.m.
July 3, 2017 .........................
8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
July 4, 2017 .........................
9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
July 4, 2017 .........................
9:30–10:30 p.m.
July 4, 2017 .........................
9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
July 4, 2017 .........................
9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
July 7, 2017 .........................
6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
June 12, 2017 ......................
10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
July 1, 2017 .........................
9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
6.3
Surfside Fireworks ................
7.1 City of Lynn 4th of July Celebration Fireworks.
7.4 Weymouth 4th of July Celebration Fireworks.
7.5 Beverly 4th of July Celebration Fireworks.
7.9 Marblehead 4th of July Fireworks.
7.10 Plymouth 4th of July Fireworks.
7.8
City of Salem Fireworks ........
7.19 Swim Across America Boston.
Time
33 CFR 165.119
Fan Pier Safety Zone ....................
All U.S. navigable waters of Boston Inner Harbor within a 700-foot radius of the fireworks barge in the approximate position 42°21′23.2″
N., 071°02′26″ W. (NAD 1983), located off of the Fan Pier, South
Boston, MA.
Long Wharf Safety Zone ...............
All U.S. navigable waters of Boston Inner Harbor within a 700-foot radius of the fireworks barge in approximate position 42°21′41.2″ N.,
071°02′36.5″ W. (NAD 1983), located off of Long Wharf, Boston
MA.
33 CFR 165.119(a)(2)
This notice of enforcement is issued
under authority of 33 CFR 165.118, 33
CFR 165.119, and 5 U.S.C. 552(a). In
addition to this notice of enforcement in
the Federal Register, the Coast Guard
plans to provide mariners with
advanced notification of this
enforcement period via the Local Notice
to Mariners.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Dated: June 9, 2017.
C.C. Gelzer,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the
Port Boston.
RIN 0648–XF499
[FR Doc. 2017–12581 Filed 6–16–17; 8:45 am]
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BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 140818679–5356–02]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Revised
2017 Recreational Fishing Season for
Red Snapper Private Angling
Component in the Gulf of Mexico
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; re-opening.
AGENCY:
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NMFS is re-opening the
private angling component for red
snapper in the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf)
through this temporary rule. The
Federal recreational season for red
snapper in the Gulf EEZ re-opens at
12:01 a.m., local time, on June 16, 2017.
For recreational harvest by the private
angling component, from June 16, 2017,
through Labor Day, September 4, 2017,
the season will be closed Monday
through Thursday with the exception of
July 3, July 4, and September 4. After
September 4, 2017, the private angling
component will be closed through the
end of the current fishing year. For
recreational harvest by the Federal forhire component, the season is
unchanged and closes at 12:01 a.m.,
local time, on July 20, 2017. This
temporary rule supersedes the
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 116 / Monday, June 19, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
previously announced Gulf red snapper
2017 private angling component season.
DATES: The reopening is effective each
weekend, from 12:01 a.m., local time,
Fridays, through 12:01 a.m., local time,
Mondays, beginning June 16, 2017, until
12:01 a.m., local time, September 5,
2017. The reopening is also effective
from 12:01 a.m., local time, July 3, 2017,
until 12:01 a.m., local time, July 5, 2017;
and from 12:01 a.m., local time,
September 4, 2017, until 12:01 a.m.,
local time, September 5, 2017. The
recreational fishing season will then be
closed until it reopens on June 1, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Samuel D. Rauch, III, NMFS Office of
the Assistant Administrator, email:
nmfs.redsnappercomments@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf
reef fish fishery, which includes red
snapper, is managed under the Fishery
Management Plan for the Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP).
The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico 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.
The commercial and recreational
sectors are managed by separate quotas.
Amendment 26 to the FMP established
an individual fishing quota program for
commercial red snapper fishermen (71
FR 67447, November 22, 2006).
Amendment 27 to the FMP established
an annual June 1 start date for the
recreational season that currently
applies to both recreational components
of the sector (73 FR 5117, January 29,
2008). The final rule implementing
Amendment 40 to the FMP established
two components within the recreational
sector fishing for Gulf red snapper: the
private angling component and the
Federal for-hire component (80 FR
22422, April 22, 2015).
Currently, the Gulf of Mexico stock of
red snapper is overfished. In 2005
(Amendment 22), NMFS adopted a
rebuilding plan enacted by the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council
(GMFMC) that was designed to rebuild
the stock by 2032. Since
implementation of the rebuilding plan,
red snapper are larger and more
abundant and are also expanding their
range to areas of Florida where they
have not been prevalent for some time.
This has increased economic
opportunity for the commercial red
snapper industry. That industry
contains a limited number of tightly
regulated vessels that are able to closely
monitor their catches and stay within
their allotted quota. As the quotas have
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increased to reflect improved stock
health, the commercial catches have
gone up and the commercial fishery has
been able to reap the economic benefit
of improved stock status. The ex-vessel
value of commercial red snapper
landings has increased from $10 million
dollars in 2007 to nearly $30 million
dollars in 2015.
The same cannot be said of private
recreational fishermen. Red snapper is
harvested recreationally throughout the
Gulf, with proportionally larger
landings in the eastern Gulf. The desire
for recreational fishing generates
economic activity as consumers spend
their income on various goods and
services needed for recreational fishing.
This spurs significant economic activity
in the region where recreational red
snapper fishing from charter vessels and
private anglers generates at least $47
million dollars annually (output/sales in
2014 dollars) from West Florida through
Texas.
A decade ago, recreational fishermen
could fish for red snapper for more than
6 months. As the stock has grown,
anglers are catching more and larger fish
across a broader geographic range. Catch
per day has increased because of
abundance and fish size, but also more
concentrated fishing effort as the season
has become compressed. Further, angler
access in Federal waters has declined as
the Federal recreational season has
shrunk. On the commercial side, more
fish has resulted in higher catch rates
and higher profits. On the private
recreational side, abundance has meant
fewer and fewer days to fish in Federal
waters, which is at the heart of the
recreational fishing experience. While
explicable, this situation is untenable.
The decreasing number of days allowed
for the private angler component in
Federal waters has resulted in derby
style fishing that forces anglers to take
increased risks to fish in bad weather
and concentrates fishing effort in a
narrow time window. States have
responded by setting State seasons for
the private angling component that are
far longer than the Federal season,
greatly complicating fishery
management and further reducing the
available days in Federal waters. The
current situation has undermined the
Federal-State partnership on
management of this transboundary stock
and threatens to undermine the very
fabric of Federal fisheries management
in the Gulf and elsewhere.
Red snapper is primarily a deeper
water species, although it does occur
patchily in deeper parts of state waters.
Given that it occurs and is caught
within the jurisdiction of the 5 Gulf
states and in Federal waters, a unified
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approach to management is critical to
preserve the sustainability of the stock
while maximizing the economic and
recreational value of the stock. The
increasingly short Federal recreational
season has undermined that needed
cohesiveness. As the federal seasons
have become shorter, the states have
allowed for longer and longer state
water seasons. Since state catches
‘‘come off the top’’, the long state
seasons have made the Federal season
even shorter, further exacerbating the
problem. So while the amount of red
snapper that can be caught by private
anglers is near an all-time high, more
than 81 percent of those fish will be
caught during state seasons under status
quo management.
This incongruous management has a
number of direct and indirect negative
effects on the fishery. Managing the
private recreational fishery is far more
difficult than managing the commercial
fishery. The commercial fishery is
comprised of relatively few boats that
fill out regular reports and land their
fish in a limited number of places. Their
landings can be cross-checked with
dealer reports at the limited number of
licensed fish dealers and it is feasible to
know where the vessel was when it
caught the fish. In comparison, there are
hundreds of thousands of private
anglers who can decide to put a fishing
line in the water from shore anywhere
on the coast or get in a private boat to
go virtually anywhere off shore from a
public boat ramp or a dock on private
property, making it difficult to reliably
track angler catches and fishing effort.
As a result, understanding what is
happening in the vast recreational
fishery and then appropriately
managing it is not something the
Federal government can do alone. We
rely on the states as integral partners in
the co-management effort. The States
license fishermen and collect significant
amounts of independent science data
that goes into the stock assessment
process. If the states are not partners in
a cohesive management scheme, the
management system will not work for
anyone.
The lack of a unified approach can
also significantly increase the burden on
the taxpayer from duplicative or
overlapping management structures.
Historically, the states and Federal
government have cooperated in a
unified management, survey and data
collection program to estimate fishing
effort and overall stock abundance of
red snapper and other Gulf stocks. The
effect of the non-uniform management
approach existent today is essentially
the creation of six individual
management and science regimes for a
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single species of fish. Each of the five
states is creating or has created a unique
way of collecting data on and managing
red snapper, which is somewhat
independent of the Federal system. This
has not always been the case and the
state and Federal managers are trying to
ensure that the various systems are
compatible. Nevertheless, the disparate
approaches do increase the overall cost
to the taxpayer and create inconsistent
data results, further undermining the
integrity of the system.
Against this backdrop, the agreement
reached today between the Secretary of
Commerce and the five states is
extraordinary. For the first time since
2007, the five States have agreed
amongst themselves on a singular
private recreational summer fishing
season of 39 essentially weekend days.
In addition, Florida and Alabama have
committed to forgoing fall seasons,
eliminating the vast majority of private
angler catch that has occurred in the
fall. Mississippi and Louisiana have also
committed to reviewing their fall
seasons in light of the catch from the
combined summer season, and may
decide not to allow fall fishing for red
snapper. Texas, which accounts for less
than half a percent of private angler
catch of red snapper in its fall season,
expects to remain open. While slightly
disparate, the emergency actions by all
five States to bring their State water
seasons into alignment with the Federal
water season for the rest of the summer,
when the bulk of private recreational
angling occurs, is a significant step
forward in building a new Federal-State
partnership in managing this
transboundary fish stock. The Secretary
believes this increased Federal-State
cooperation will benefit the long term
recovery of the red snapper stock while
maximizing the economic benefits from
recreational fishing in the Gulf region.
The States have now recommitted
themselves to cohesive and unified
management. If Federal waters will stay
open for the same amount of time, they
will modify their various individual
seasons and adopt a singular uniform
season Gulf-wide through September 4.
There will no longer be any incentive to
fish in closed Federal waters when State
waters are open. State and Federal
managers and data collectors can once
again work as partners trying to achieve
the same management objective.
This is extraordinary and the States
are sacrificing substantial near shore
fishing opportunities to allow this to
happen. Many States will forgo weeks or
months of fishing in State waters in
exchange for better fishing opportunities
and larger fish in Federal waters. This
represents a significant commitment
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from the States to restore a shared vision
of uniform management.
Both the States and the Federal
government understand what is at risk
with this approach. The stock is still
overfished. While the stock is ahead of
its rebuilding target, if employed for a
short period of time, this approach may
delay the ultimate rebuilding of the
stock by as many as 6 years. This
approach likely could not be continued
through time without significantly
delaying the rebuilding timeline.
Similarly, the approach will necessarily
mean that the private recreational sector
will substantially exceed its annual
catch limit, which was designed to
prevent overfishing the stock.
Nevertheless, NMFS calculates that the
stock will continue to grow, although at
substantially more modest pace if this
approach is adopted for one year. Given
the precipitous drop in Federal red
snapper fishing days for private anglers
notwithstanding the growth of the stock,
the increasing harm to the coastal
economies of Gulf States, and that the
current disparate approaches to
management are undermining the very
integrity of the management structure,
creating ever-increasing uncertainty in
the future of the system, the Secretary
of Commerce has determined that a
more modest rebuilding pace for the
stock is a risk worth taking.
As such, in coordination with the five
Gulf States, the Secretary of Commerce
has determined to re-open the Federal
private recreational season. The 2017
Federal recreational season was
previously closed at 12:01 a.m., local
time, on June 4, 2017, for the private
angling component. The Federal for-hire
component will close at 12:01 a.m. local
time, on July 20, 2017 (86 FR 21140,
May 5, 2017). All five Gulf States have
indicated they will adopt State
recreational fishing seasons through
September 4, 2017, compatible with the
Federal season announced through this
temporary rule. The 2017 Federal
recreational season for the private
angling component is revised through
this temporary rule and will be open an
additional 39 days for a total of 42 days.
In 2017, the private angling component
will be open from June 1 through 4, June
16 through 18, June 23 through 25, June
30 through July 4, July 7 through 9, July
14 through 16, July 21 through 23, July
28 through 30, August 4 through 6,
August 11 through 13, August 18
through 20, August 25 through 27, and
September 1 through 4. The Federal
season for the Federal for-hire
component will remain the same and
close at 12:01 a.m., local time, July 20,
2017. The commercial individual
fishing quota program and the 2017
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27779
commercial quota remain unchanged
through this temporary rule. The 2018
Federal recreational fishing seasons for
the respective components will begin on
June 1, 2018.
When the recreational component is
closed, the bag and possession limits for
red snapper in the respective
component are zero. Additionally, when
the Federal charter vessel/headboat
component or entire recreational sector
is closed, these bag and possession
limits apply in the Gulf on board a
vessel for which a valid Federal charter
vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish
has been issued, without regard to
where such species were harvested, i.e.,
in State or Federal waters.
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR
part 622 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.
The Assistant Administrator for
NOAA Fisheries (AA), finds that the
need to immediately implement this
action to provide additional recreational
private angling fishing season days
constitutes good cause to waive the
requirements to provide prior notice
and opportunity for public comment on
this temporary rule pursuant to the
authority set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B),
because such procedures are
unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest. Such procedures are
unnecessary because the rule
implementing the requirement to close
the recreational components have
already been subject to notice and
comment, and all that remains is to
notify the public of the closures.
Providing prior notice and opportunity
for public comment are contrary to the
public interest because of the need for
timely re-opening of the Federal private
angling component season. In addition,
prior notice and opportunity for public
comment would require time and many
of those affected by the length of the
recreational fishing season, particularly
vacationing private anglers and
associated businesses that are
dependent on private anglers, need as
much advance notice as NMFS is able
to provide to adjust their personal and
business plans to account for the
recreational fishing season.
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.
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Dated: June 14, 2017.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Acting Assistant Administrator, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–12735 Filed 6–14–17; 4:15 pm]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 116 (Monday, June 19, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27777-27780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-12735]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 140818679-5356-02]
RIN 0648-XF499
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Revised 2017 Recreational
Fishing Season for Red Snapper Private Angling Component in the Gulf of
Mexico
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; re-opening.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is re-opening the private angling component for red
snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico
(Gulf) through this temporary rule. The Federal recreational season for
red snapper in the Gulf EEZ re-opens at 12:01 a.m., local time, on June
16, 2017. For recreational harvest by the private angling component,
from June 16, 2017, through Labor Day, September 4, 2017, the season
will be closed Monday through Thursday with the exception of July 3,
July 4, and September 4. After September 4, 2017, the private angling
component will be closed through the end of the current fishing year.
For recreational harvest by the Federal for-hire component, the season
is unchanged and closes at 12:01 a.m., local time, on July 20, 2017.
This temporary rule supersedes the
[[Page 27778]]
previously announced Gulf red snapper 2017 private angling component
season.
DATES: The reopening is effective each weekend, from 12:01 a.m., local
time, Fridays, through 12:01 a.m., local time, Mondays, beginning June
16, 2017, until 12:01 a.m., local time, September 5, 2017. The
reopening is also effective from 12:01 a.m., local time, July 3, 2017,
until 12:01 a.m., local time, July 5, 2017; and from 12:01 a.m., local
time, September 4, 2017, until 12:01 a.m., local time, September 5,
2017. The recreational fishing season will then be closed until it
reopens on June 1, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel D. Rauch, III, NMFS Office of
the Assistant Administrator, email: nmfs.redsnappercomments@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf reef fish fishery, which includes
red snapper, is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef
Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the
Gulf of Mexico 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.
The commercial and recreational sectors are managed by separate
quotas. Amendment 26 to the FMP established an individual fishing quota
program for commercial red snapper fishermen (71 FR 67447, November 22,
2006). Amendment 27 to the FMP established an annual June 1 start date
for the recreational season that currently applies to both recreational
components of the sector (73 FR 5117, January 29, 2008). The final rule
implementing Amendment 40 to the FMP established two components within
the recreational sector fishing for Gulf red snapper: the private
angling component and the Federal for-hire component (80 FR 22422,
April 22, 2015).
Currently, the Gulf of Mexico stock of red snapper is overfished.
In 2005 (Amendment 22), NMFS adopted a rebuilding plan enacted by the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) that was designed to
rebuild the stock by 2032. Since implementation of the rebuilding plan,
red snapper are larger and more abundant and are also expanding their
range to areas of Florida where they have not been prevalent for some
time.
This has increased economic opportunity for the commercial red
snapper industry. That industry contains a limited number of tightly
regulated vessels that are able to closely monitor their catches and
stay within their allotted quota. As the quotas have increased to
reflect improved stock health, the commercial catches have gone up and
the commercial fishery has been able to reap the economic benefit of
improved stock status. The ex-vessel value of commercial red snapper
landings has increased from $10 million dollars in 2007 to nearly $30
million dollars in 2015.
The same cannot be said of private recreational fishermen. Red
snapper is harvested recreationally throughout the Gulf, with
proportionally larger landings in the eastern Gulf. The desire for
recreational fishing generates economic activity as consumers spend
their income on various goods and services needed for recreational
fishing. This spurs significant economic activity in the region where
recreational red snapper fishing from charter vessels and private
anglers generates at least $47 million dollars annually (output/sales
in 2014 dollars) from West Florida through Texas.
A decade ago, recreational fishermen could fish for red snapper for
more than 6 months. As the stock has grown, anglers are catching more
and larger fish across a broader geographic range. Catch per day has
increased because of abundance and fish size, but also more
concentrated fishing effort as the season has become compressed.
Further, angler access in Federal waters has declined as the Federal
recreational season has shrunk. On the commercial side, more fish has
resulted in higher catch rates and higher profits. On the private
recreational side, abundance has meant fewer and fewer days to fish in
Federal waters, which is at the heart of the recreational fishing
experience. While explicable, this situation is untenable. The
decreasing number of days allowed for the private angler component in
Federal waters has resulted in derby style fishing that forces anglers
to take increased risks to fish in bad weather and concentrates fishing
effort in a narrow time window. States have responded by setting State
seasons for the private angling component that are far longer than the
Federal season, greatly complicating fishery management and further
reducing the available days in Federal waters. The current situation
has undermined the Federal-State partnership on management of this
transboundary stock and threatens to undermine the very fabric of
Federal fisheries management in the Gulf and elsewhere.
Red snapper is primarily a deeper water species, although it does
occur patchily in deeper parts of state waters. Given that it occurs
and is caught within the jurisdiction of the 5 Gulf states and in
Federal waters, a unified approach to management is critical to
preserve the sustainability of the stock while maximizing the economic
and recreational value of the stock. The increasingly short Federal
recreational season has undermined that needed cohesiveness. As the
federal seasons have become shorter, the states have allowed for longer
and longer state water seasons. Since state catches ``come off the
top'', the long state seasons have made the Federal season even
shorter, further exacerbating the problem. So while the amount of red
snapper that can be caught by private anglers is near an all-time high,
more than 81 percent of those fish will be caught during state seasons
under status quo management.
This incongruous management has a number of direct and indirect
negative effects on the fishery. Managing the private recreational
fishery is far more difficult than managing the commercial fishery. The
commercial fishery is comprised of relatively few boats that fill out
regular reports and land their fish in a limited number of places.
Their landings can be cross-checked with dealer reports at the limited
number of licensed fish dealers and it is feasible to know where the
vessel was when it caught the fish. In comparison, there are hundreds
of thousands of private anglers who can decide to put a fishing line in
the water from shore anywhere on the coast or get in a private boat to
go virtually anywhere off shore from a public boat ramp or a dock on
private property, making it difficult to reliably track angler catches
and fishing effort.
As a result, understanding what is happening in the vast
recreational fishery and then appropriately managing it is not
something the Federal government can do alone. We rely on the states as
integral partners in the co-management effort. The States license
fishermen and collect significant amounts of independent science data
that goes into the stock assessment process. If the states are not
partners in a cohesive management scheme, the management system will
not work for anyone.
The lack of a unified approach can also significantly increase the
burden on the taxpayer from duplicative or overlapping management
structures. Historically, the states and Federal government have
cooperated in a unified management, survey and data collection program
to estimate fishing effort and overall stock abundance of red snapper
and other Gulf stocks. The effect of the non-uniform management
approach existent today is essentially the creation of six individual
management and science regimes for a
[[Page 27779]]
single species of fish. Each of the five states is creating or has
created a unique way of collecting data on and managing red snapper,
which is somewhat independent of the Federal system. This has not
always been the case and the state and Federal managers are trying to
ensure that the various systems are compatible. Nevertheless, the
disparate approaches do increase the overall cost to the taxpayer and
create inconsistent data results, further undermining the integrity of
the system.
Against this backdrop, the agreement reached today between the
Secretary of Commerce and the five states is extraordinary. For the
first time since 2007, the five States have agreed amongst themselves
on a singular private recreational summer fishing season of 39
essentially weekend days. In addition, Florida and Alabama have
committed to forgoing fall seasons, eliminating the vast majority of
private angler catch that has occurred in the fall. Mississippi and
Louisiana have also committed to reviewing their fall seasons in light
of the catch from the combined summer season, and may decide not to
allow fall fishing for red snapper. Texas, which accounts for less than
half a percent of private angler catch of red snapper in its fall
season, expects to remain open. While slightly disparate, the emergency
actions by all five States to bring their State water seasons into
alignment with the Federal water season for the rest of the summer,
when the bulk of private recreational angling occurs, is a significant
step forward in building a new Federal-State partnership in managing
this transboundary fish stock. The Secretary believes this increased
Federal-State cooperation will benefit the long term recovery of the
red snapper stock while maximizing the economic benefits from
recreational fishing in the Gulf region.
The States have now recommitted themselves to cohesive and unified
management. If Federal waters will stay open for the same amount of
time, they will modify their various individual seasons and adopt a
singular uniform season Gulf-wide through September 4. There will no
longer be any incentive to fish in closed Federal waters when State
waters are open. State and Federal managers and data collectors can
once again work as partners trying to achieve the same management
objective.
This is extraordinary and the States are sacrificing substantial
near shore fishing opportunities to allow this to happen. Many States
will forgo weeks or months of fishing in State waters in exchange for
better fishing opportunities and larger fish in Federal waters. This
represents a significant commitment from the States to restore a shared
vision of uniform management.
Both the States and the Federal government understand what is at
risk with this approach. The stock is still overfished. While the stock
is ahead of its rebuilding target, if employed for a short period of
time, this approach may delay the ultimate rebuilding of the stock by
as many as 6 years. This approach likely could not be continued through
time without significantly delaying the rebuilding timeline. Similarly,
the approach will necessarily mean that the private recreational sector
will substantially exceed its annual catch limit, which was designed to
prevent overfishing the stock. Nevertheless, NMFS calculates that the
stock will continue to grow, although at substantially more modest pace
if this approach is adopted for one year. Given the precipitous drop in
Federal red snapper fishing days for private anglers notwithstanding
the growth of the stock, the increasing harm to the coastal economies
of Gulf States, and that the current disparate approaches to management
are undermining the very integrity of the management structure,
creating ever-increasing uncertainty in the future of the system, the
Secretary of Commerce has determined that a more modest rebuilding pace
for the stock is a risk worth taking.
As such, in coordination with the five Gulf States, the Secretary
of Commerce has determined to re-open the Federal private recreational
season. The 2017 Federal recreational season was previously closed at
12:01 a.m., local time, on June 4, 2017, for the private angling
component. The Federal for-hire component will close at 12:01 a.m.
local time, on July 20, 2017 (86 FR 21140, May 5, 2017). All five Gulf
States have indicated they will adopt State recreational fishing
seasons through September 4, 2017, compatible with the Federal season
announced through this temporary rule. The 2017 Federal recreational
season for the private angling component is revised through this
temporary rule and will be open an additional 39 days for a total of 42
days. In 2017, the private angling component will be open from June 1
through 4, June 16 through 18, June 23 through 25, June 30 through July
4, July 7 through 9, July 14 through 16, July 21 through 23, July 28
through 30, August 4 through 6, August 11 through 13, August 18 through
20, August 25 through 27, and September 1 through 4. The Federal season
for the Federal for-hire component will remain the same and close at
12:01 a.m., local time, July 20, 2017. The commercial individual
fishing quota program and the 2017 commercial quota remain unchanged
through this temporary rule. The 2018 Federal recreational fishing
seasons for the respective components will begin on June 1, 2018.
When the recreational component is closed, the bag and possession
limits for red snapper in the respective component are zero.
Additionally, when the Federal charter vessel/headboat component or
entire recreational sector is closed, these bag and possession limits
apply in the Gulf on board a vessel for which a valid Federal charter
vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish has been issued, without
regard to where such species were harvested, i.e., in State or Federal
waters.
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR part 622 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.
The Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries (AA), finds that the
need to immediately implement this action to provide additional
recreational private angling fishing season days constitutes good cause
to waive the requirements to provide prior notice and opportunity for
public comment on this temporary rule pursuant to the authority set
forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because such procedures are unnecessary
and contrary to the public interest. Such procedures are unnecessary
because the rule implementing the requirement to close the recreational
components have already been subject to notice and comment, and all
that remains is to notify the public of the closures. Providing prior
notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to the public
interest because of the need for timely re-opening of the Federal
private angling component season. In addition, prior notice and
opportunity for public comment would require time and many of those
affected by the length of the recreational fishing season, particularly
vacationing private anglers and associated businesses that are
dependent on private anglers, need as much advance notice as NMFS is
able to provide to adjust their personal and business plans to account
for the recreational fishing season.
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.
[[Page 27780]]
Dated: June 14, 2017.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Acting Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-12735 Filed 6-14-17; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
