Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region; 2020-2021 Commercial Hook-and-Line Closure for King Mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico Southern Zone, 10183-10184 [2021-03351]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
broadband license is in the public
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In addition, the Commission adopted
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must: (1) Provide reliable signal
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and (2) meet either (a) a population
coverage requirement, or (b) a
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The information required in this
collection will be used to ensure that a
grant of a 900 MHz broadband license
is in the public interest and to ensure
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timely manner, and promote the
provision of innovative services and
technologies in unserved areas,
particularly rural markets. The
collection is also necessary for the
Commission to satisfy its oversight
responsibilities and/or agency specific/
government-wide reporting obligations.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–00782 Filed 2–18–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 160426363–7275–02]
RTID 0648–XA879
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources
of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic
Region; 2020–2021 Commercial Hookand-Line Closure for King Mackerel in
the Gulf of Mexico Southern Zone
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS implements an
accountability measure (AM) to close
the hook-and-line component of the
commercial sector for king mackerel in
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) southern zone.
This closure is necessary to protect the
Gulf king mackerel resource.
DATES: This temporary rule is effective
from 12:01 a.m., local time, on February
22, 2021, through June 30, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kelli O’Donnell, NMFS Southeast
Regional Office, telephone: 727–824–
5305, email: kelli.odonnell@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
fishery for coastal migratory pelagic fish
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SUMMARY:
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Jkt 253001
in the Gulf includes king mackerel,
Spanish mackerel, and cobia, and is
managed under the Fishery
Management Plan for the Coastal
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf
of Mexico and Atlantic Region (FMP).
The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery
Management Councils and is
implemented by NMFS under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) through
regulations at 50 CFR part 622. All
weights for Gulf migratory group king
mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) apply as
either round or gutted weight.
The commercial sector for Gulf king
mackerel is divided into western,
northern, and southern zones. The
southern zone encompasses an area of
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off
Collier and Monroe Counties in south
Florida. The southern zone includes the
EEZ south of a line extending due west
from the boundary of Lee and Collier
Counties on the Florida west coast, and
south of a line extending due east from
the boundary of Monroe and MiamiDade Counties on the Florida east coast
(50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(iii)).
The commercial annual catch limit
(ACL) for Gulf king mackerel is divided
into separate ACLs for the hook-and-line
and run-around gillnet components of
the commercial sector. The commercial
hook-and-line quota (equivalent to the
commercial hook-and-line ACL) for Gulf
king mackerel in the southern zone is
575,400 lb (260,997 kg) for the current
fishing year of July 1, 2020, through
June 30, 2021 (50 CFR
622.384(b)(1)(iii)(A)).
Regulations at 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1)
require NMFS to close any component
of the king mackerel commercial sector
when its applicable quota has been
reached or is projected to be reached by
filing a notification with the Office of
the Federal Register. NMFS has
determined the 2020–2021 hook-andline commercial quota for Gulf king
mackerel in the southern zone will be
reached by February 22, 2021.
Accordingly, the hook-and-line
component of the commercial sector for
Gulf king mackerel in the southern zone
is closed from February 22, 2021,
through the end of the fishing year on
June 30, 2021. The commercial hookand-line component for Gulf king
mackerel in the southern zone will
reopen on July 1, 2021.
NMFS has also determined that the
Gulf king mackerel commercial quota
for vessels using run-around gillnet gear
in the southern zone was reached on
January 28, 2021, and therefore on that
date, NMFS closed the southern zone to
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10183
commercial king mackerel fishing using
run-around gillnet gear (86 FR 7815,
February 2, 2021). Accordingly, all
commercial fishing for Gulf king
mackerel in the southern zone is closed
effective at 12:01 a.m. local time on
February 22, 2021. The commercial runaround gillnet component for Gulf king
mackerel in the southern zone will
reopen at 6 a.m. local time on January
18, 2022.
A person aboard a vessel that has a
valid Federal commercial permit for
king mackerel may continue to retain
king mackerel under the recreational
bag and possession limits specified in
50 CFR 622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2), as
long as the recreational sector for Gulf
king mackerel is open (50 CFR
622.384(e)(1)).
During the commercial closure, king
mackerel caught with hook-and-line
gear from the closed zone may not be
purchased or sold, including those
harvested under the recreational bag
and possession limits. This prohibition
does not apply to king mackerel caught
with hook-and-line gear from the closed
zone that were harvested, landed
ashore, and sold prior to the closure and
were held in cold storage by a dealer or
processor (50 CFR 622.384(e)(2)).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to
section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. This action is required by 50 CFR
622.388(a)(1), which was issued
pursuant to section 304(b) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is exempt
from review under Executive Order
12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there
is good cause to waive prior notice and
an opportunity for public comment on
this action, as notice and comment is
unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest. Such procedures are
unnecessary because the regulations
associated with the commercial quota
and associated AM for Gulf king
mackerel have already been subject to
notice and public comment, and all that
remains is to notify the public of the
closure. Prior notice and opportunity for
public comment on this action is
contrary to the public interest because
of time required to provide notice and
an opportunity for public comment.
There is a need to immediately
implement the closure to protect the
Gulf king mackerel resource, because
the capacity of the fishing fleet allows
for rapid harvest of the commercial
quota, and any delay in the closure
could result in the commercial quota
being exceeded.
For the aforementioned reasons, there
is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)
E:\FR\FM\19FER1.SGM
19FER1
10184
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 32 / Friday, February 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness of this action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 12, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–03351 Filed 2–16–21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 210210–0018]
RTID 0648–XY115
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Gulf of Alaska; Final
2021 and 2022 Harvest Specifications
for Groundfish
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; harvest specifications
and closures.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces final 2021
and 2022 harvest specifications,
apportionments, and Pacific halibut
prohibited species catch limits for the
groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska
(GOA). This action is necessary to
establish harvest limits for groundfish
during the remainder of the 2021 and
the start of the 2022 fishing years and
to accomplish the goals and objectives
of the Fishery Management Plan for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP).
The 2021 harvest specifications
supersede those previously set in the
final 2020 and 2021 harvest
specifications, and the 2022 harvest
specifications will be superseded in
early 2022 when the final 2022 and
2023 harvest specifications are
published. The intended effect of this
action is to conserve and manage the
groundfish resources in the GOA in
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Harvest specifications and
closures are effective at 1200 hours,
Alaska local time (A.l.t.), February 19,
2021, through 2400 hours, A.l.t.,
December 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
Final Alaska Groundfish Harvest
Specifications Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS), Record of Decision
(ROD), and the annual Supplementary
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SUMMARY:
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16:57 Feb 18, 2021
Jkt 253001
Information Reports (SIRs) to the EIS
prepared for this action are available
from https://www.regulations.gov. The
2020 Stock Assessment and Fishery
Evaluation (SAFE) report for the
groundfish resources of the GOA, dated
November 2020, and SAFE reports for
previous years are available from the
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) at 1007 West 3rd
Avenue, Suite 400, Anchorage, AK
99501, phone 907–271–2809, or from
the Council’s website at https://
www.npfmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Obren Davis, 907–586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
manages the GOA groundfish fisheries
in the exclusive economic zone of the
GOA under the FMP. The Council
prepared the FMP under the authority of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq. Regulations governing U.S.
fisheries and implementing the FMP
appear at 50 CFR parts 600, 679, and
680.
The FMP and its implementing
regulations require that NMFS, after
consultation with the Council, specify
the total allowable catch (TAC) for each
target species, the sum of which must be
within the optimum yield (OY) range of
116,000 to 800,000 metric tons (mt) (50
CFR 679.20(a)(1)(i)(B)). Section
679.20(c)(1) further requires that NMFS
publish and solicit public comment on
proposed annual TACs and
apportionments thereof, Pacific halibut
prohibited species catch (PSC) limits,
and seasonal allowances of pollock and
Pacific cod. Upon consideration of
public comment received under
§ 679.20(c)(1), NMFS must publish
notice of final harvest specifications for
up to two fishing years as annual TACs
and apportionments, Pacific halibut PSC
limits, and seasonal allowances of
pollock and Pacific cod, per
§ 679.20(c)(3)(ii). The final harvest
specifications set forth in Tables 1
through 29 of this rule reflect the
outcome of this process, as required at
§ 679.20(c).
The proposed 2021 and 2022 harvest
specifications for groundfish of the GOA
and Pacific halibut PSC limits were
published in the Federal Register on
December 3, 2020 (85 FR 78076).
Comments were invited and accepted
through January 4, 2021. NMFS did not
receive any comments on the proposed
harvest specifications. In December
2020, NMFS consulted with the Council
regarding the 2021 and 2022 harvest
specifications. After an opportunity for
public comment, and after considering
more recent biological and
socioeconomic data that were available
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at the Council’s December 2020
meeting, NMFS is implementing the
final 2021 and 2022 harvest
specifications, as recommended by the
Council. Differences between the
proposed specifications and the final
specifications are discussed below. For
2021, the sum of the TAC amounts is
407,975 mt. For 2022, the sum of the
TAC amounts is 409,039 mt.
Other Actions Affecting the 2021 and
2022 Harvest Specifications
Amendment 109 to the FMP: Revisions
to the GOA Pollock Seasons and Pacific
Cod Seasonal Allocations
On June 25, 2020, NMFS published a
final rule to implement Amendment 109
to the FMP (85 FR 38093), effective
January 1, 2021 (see also correction 85
FR 79139, December 9, 2020). The final
rule revised the pollock seasons and
allocations, along with Pacific cod
season allocations, in the Western and
Central Regulatory Areas of the GOA.
Amendment 109 modified the existing
annual pollock TAC allocation to two
equal seasonal allocations (50 percent of
TAC), rather than four equal seasonal
allocations (25 percent of TAC). The
pollock A and B seasons were combined
into a January 20 through May 31 A
season, and the pollock C and D seasons
were combined into a September 1
through November 1 B season.
Additionally, Amendment 109 revised
the Pacific cod TAC seasonal
apportionments to the trawl catcher
vessel (CV) sector by increasing the A
season allocation and decreasing the B
season allocation. The December 9,
2020, correction clarified existing
seasonal apportionments of Pacific cod
for the jig sector. The revisions
implemented by Amendment 109 are
incorporated into these final 2021 and
2022 harvest specifications.
Amendment 110 to the FMP: Reclassify
Sculpins as an Ecosystem Component
Species
On July 10, 2020, NMFS published
the final rule to implement Amendment
110 to the FMP (85 FR 41427). The final
rule reclassified sculpins in the FMP as
an ‘‘Ecosystem Component’’ species,
which is a category of non-target species
that are not in need of conservation and
management. Accordingly, NMFS will
no longer set an Overfishing Level
(OFL), acceptable biological catch
(ABC), and TAC for sculpins in the GOA
groundfish harvest specifications.
ABC and TAC Specifications
In December 2020, the Council’s
Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC), its Advisory Panel (AP), and the
E:\FR\FM\19FER1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 32 (Friday, February 19, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10183-10184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03351]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 160426363-7275-02]
RTID 0648-XA879
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and
Atlantic Region; 2020-2021 Commercial Hook-and-Line Closure for King
Mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico Southern Zone
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) to close the
hook-and-line component of the commercial sector for king mackerel in
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) southern zone. This closure is necessary to
protect the Gulf king mackerel resource.
DATES: This temporary rule is effective from 12:01 a.m., local time, on
February 22, 2021, through June 30, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelli O'Donnell, NMFS Southeast
Regional Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fishery for coastal migratory pelagic
fish in the Gulf includes king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and cobia,
and is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region
(FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
Fishery Management Councils and is implemented by NMFS under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) through regulations at 50 CFR part 622. All
weights for Gulf migratory group king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel)
apply as either round or gutted weight.
The commercial sector for Gulf king mackerel is divided into
western, northern, and southern zones. The southern zone encompasses an
area of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Collier and Monroe
Counties in south Florida. The southern zone includes the EEZ south of
a line extending due west from the boundary of Lee and Collier Counties
on the Florida west coast, and south of a line extending due east from
the boundary of Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties on the Florida east
coast (50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(iii)).
The commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for Gulf king mackerel is
divided into separate ACLs for the hook-and-line and run-around gillnet
components of the commercial sector. The commercial hook-and-line quota
(equivalent to the commercial hook-and-line ACL) for Gulf king mackerel
in the southern zone is 575,400 lb (260,997 kg) for the current fishing
year of July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021 (50 CFR
622.384(b)(1)(iii)(A)).
Regulations at 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1) require NMFS to close any
component of the king mackerel commercial sector when its applicable
quota has been reached or is projected to be reached by filing a
notification with the Office of the Federal Register. NMFS has
determined the 2020-2021 hook-and-line commercial quota for Gulf king
mackerel in the southern zone will be reached by February 22, 2021.
Accordingly, the hook-and-line component of the commercial sector for
Gulf king mackerel in the southern zone is closed from February 22,
2021, through the end of the fishing year on June 30, 2021. The
commercial hook-and-line component for Gulf king mackerel in the
southern zone will reopen on July 1, 2021.
NMFS has also determined that the Gulf king mackerel commercial
quota for vessels using run-around gillnet gear in the southern zone
was reached on January 28, 2021, and therefore on that date, NMFS
closed the southern zone to commercial king mackerel fishing using run-
around gillnet gear (86 FR 7815, February 2, 2021). Accordingly, all
commercial fishing for Gulf king mackerel in the southern zone is
closed effective at 12:01 a.m. local time on February 22, 2021. The
commercial run-around gillnet component for Gulf king mackerel in the
southern zone will reopen at 6 a.m. local time on January 18, 2022.
A person aboard a vessel that has a valid Federal commercial permit
for king mackerel may continue to retain king mackerel under the
recreational bag and possession limits specified in 50 CFR
622.382(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2), as long as the recreational sector for
Gulf king mackerel is open (50 CFR 622.384(e)(1)).
During the commercial closure, king mackerel caught with hook-and-
line gear from the closed zone may not be purchased or sold, including
those harvested under the recreational bag and possession limits. This
prohibition does not apply to king mackerel caught with hook-and-line
gear from the closed zone that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold
prior to the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer or
processor (50 CFR 622.384(e)(2)).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 622.388(a)(1), which was
issued pursuant to section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice
and comment is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Such
procedures are unnecessary because the regulations associated with the
commercial quota and associated AM for Gulf king mackerel have already
been subject to notice and public comment, and all that remains is to
notify the public of the closure. Prior notice and opportunity for
public comment on this action is contrary to the public interest
because of time required to provide notice and an opportunity for
public comment. There is a need to immediately implement the closure to
protect the Gulf king mackerel resource, because the capacity of the
fishing fleet allows for rapid harvest of the commercial quota, and any
delay in the closure could result in the commercial quota being
exceeded.
For the aforementioned reasons, there is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3)
[[Page 10184]]
to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness of this action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 12, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-03351 Filed 2-16-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
