E9-3920. Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Atka Mackerel in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Temporary rule; closures and openings.

SUMMARY:

NMFS is announcing the opening and closing dates of the Atka mackerel directed fisheries within the harvest limit area (HLA) in Statistical Area 542. This action is necessary to fully use the 2009 A season HLA limits of Atka mackerel in Statistical Area 542 of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

DATES:

The effective dates are provided in Table 1 under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this temporary action. Comments must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., March 6, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-XN38, by any one of the following methods:

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal website at http://www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802.
• Fax: [phone].
• Hand delivery to the Federal Building: 709 West 9^th Street, Room 420A, Juneau, AK.

All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.

NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Enter “N/A” in the required fields, if you wish to remain anonymous. Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Josh Keaton, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the BSAI exclusive economic zone according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) prepared by the North Pacific Fishery Management 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.

In accordance with the final 2009 and 2010 harvest specifications for groundfish in the BSAI (74 FR 7359, February 17, 2009), and § 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1), the HLA limits of the A season allowance of the 2009 TAC in area 542 is 5,039 metric tons (mt) for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery and 3,314 mt for Amendment 80 cooperative.

NMFS previously announced the opening and closing dates of the first and second directed fisheries within the HLA in Statistical Areas 542 and 543 (74 FR 5625, January 30, 2009). NMFS has determined that approximately 1,930 mt of Atka mackerel remain in the A season HLA limit in area 542 for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery. NMFS has also determined that approximately 2,367 mt of Atka mackerel remain in the A season HLA limit in area 542 for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 cooperative. Therefore, in accordance with § 679.25(a)(1)(i), (a)(2)(i)(C) and (a)(2)(iii)(D), and to fully utilize the A season HLA limits of Atka mackerel in area 542, NMFS is terminating the previous closures and is opening directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the HLA of area 542 in accordance with the periods listed under Table 1 of this notice.

In accordance with § 679.20(a)(8)(iii)(E), the Regional Administrator has established the closure dates of the Atka mackerel directed fisheries in the HLA for area 542 based on the amount of the harvest limit and the estimated fishing capacity of the vessels assigned to the respective fisheries. Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Atka mackerel in the HLA of area 542 in accordance with the dates and times listed in Table 1 of this notice.

Table 1. Effective dates and times

Action	Area	Effective Date1
		From	To
Opening the directed fishery in the HLA for the Amendment 80 limited access vessels authorized to participate in the second HLA fishery in Area 542	542	1200 hrs, February 18, 2009	1200 hrs, February 27, 2009
Opening the directed fishery in the HLA for the Amendment 80 cooperative vessel authorized to participate in the second HLA fishery in Area 542	542	1200 hrs, February 18, 2009	1200 hrs, February 27, 2009
1 Alaska local time

After the effective dates of these closures, the maximum retainable amounts at § 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time during a trip.

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 a 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 delay the the opening and closing of the fisheries for the HLA limits established for area 542 pursuant to the 2009 Atka mackerel TAC. NMFS was unable to publish a notice providing time for public comment because the most recent, relevant data only became available as of January 14, 2009. 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). Under § 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this action to the above address until March 6, 2009.

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: February 19, 2009.

James P. Burgess,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.