CFR

CFR

648.22—Closure of the fishery.

(a) Closing procedures. (1) NMFS shall close the directed mackerel fishery in the EEZ when the Regional Administrator projects that 90 percent of the mackerel DAH is harvested, if such a closure is necessary to prevent the DAH from being exceeded. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.25. When the Regional Administrator projects that the DAH for mackerel shall be landed, NMFS shall close the mackerel fishery in the EEZ and the incidental catches specified for mackerel at § 648.25 will be prohibited.

(2) NMFS shall close the directed fishery in the EEZ for Loligo when the Regional Administrator projects that 90 percent of the Loligo quota is harvested in Trimesters I and II, and when 95 percent of the Loligo DAH has been harvested in Trimester III. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.25.

(i) If the Regional Administrator determines that the Trimester I closure threshold has been underharvested by 25 percent or more, then the amount of the underharvest shall be reallocated to Trimester II and Trimester III in equal amounts, through notice in the Federal Register.

(ii) [Reserved]

(3) NMFS shall close the directed Illex fishery in the EEZ when the Regional Administrator projects that 95 percent of the Illex DAH is harvested. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.25.

(4) NMFS shall close the directed butterfish fishery in the EEZ when the Regional Administrator projects that 80 percent of the butterfish DAH is harvested. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.25.

(b) Notification. Upon determining that a closure is necessary, the Assistant Administrator will notify, in advance of the closure, the Executive Directors of the MAFMC, NEFMC, and SAFMC; mail notification of the closure to all holders of mackerel, squid, and butterfish fishery permits at least 72 hours before the effective date of the closure; provide adequate notice of the closure to recreational participants in the fishery; and publish notification of closure in the Federal Register.

[61 FR 34968, July 3, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 8637, Feb. 26, 1997; 65 FR 16345, Mar. 28, 2000; 65 FR 81765, Dec. 27, 2000; 66 FR 13028, Mar. 2, 2001; 69 FR 4864, Feb. 2, 2004; 72 FR 4217, Jan. 30, 2007; 72 FR 8632, Feb. 27, 2007; 73 FR 18449, Apr. 4, 2008; 75 FR 5540, Feb. 3, 2010]

Code of Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations 506

Editorial Note: At 72 FR 4217, Jan. 30, 2007, § 648.22(d) _was added; however, the amendment could not be incorporated because the text was not provided.

Code of Federal Regulations

Effective Date Note: At 75 FR 11450, Mar. 11, 2010, § 648.22 was amended by adding paragraph (a)(5), effective Jan. 1, 2011. For the convenience of the user, the added text is set forth as follows: § 648.22 Closure of the fishery. (a) * * * (5) NMFS shall close the directed fishery in the EEZ for Loligo when the Regional Administrator projects that 80 percent of the butterfish mortality cap is harvested in Trimester I and/or 90 percent of the butterfish mortality cap is harvested in Trimester III.