It's heating up with a quickness!!!!!...It is sad to see fisherman vs fisherman
and all the fingerpointing, but I reckon it has come to the point that lines will have to be drawn.....if the reason for the closures is based on flawed logic and science.....then to extend a mistake, only reenforces the fact that it is time to make some personnel changes for those that govern us as a nation..... 
So I reckon the Gulf coast is the next target area!!!!!
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 090508900-91414-02]
RIN 0648-AX75
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Red Snapper Closure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; interim measures extended.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this temporary rule to extend the effective date
of interim measures to reduce overfishing of red snapper in the South
Atlantic implemented by a temporary rule published by NMFS on December
4, 2009 (74 FR 63673). This temporary rule extends the closure of the
commercial and recreational fisheries for red snapper in the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic as requested by the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). The intended effect of
this rule is to reduce overfishing of red snapper in the South
Atlantic.
DATES: The effective date for the interim rule published at 74 FR
63673, December 4, 2009, is extended from June 3, 2010, through
December 5, 2010, unless NMFS publishes a superseding document in the
Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA)
and environmental assessment (EA) may be obtained from Karla Gore,
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg,
FL 33701.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Gore, telephone: 727-551-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery off the southern
Atlantic states is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). The FMP was
prepared by the Council and is implemented under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
On December 4, 2009, NMFS published the final temporary rule (74 FR
63673) to implement measures to establish a closure of the commercial
[[Page 27659]]
and recreational fisheries for red snapper in the South Atlantic. The
purpose of the interim measures and this extension of the rule is to
reduce the overfishing of red snapper while long-term management
measures are developed and implemented through Amendment 17A to the
FMP. Amendment 17A, currently under development by the Council, will
include management measures to end overfishing and rebuild the red
snapper stock. Section 305(c)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act provides
the Council the authority to request interim measures, if necessary, to
reduce overfishing. On March 23, 2009, the Council submitted a letter
to NMFS requesting interim measures to prohibit the harvest and
possession of red snapper in the South Atlantic. Section 305(c)(3)(B)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act allows for interim measures to be extended
for one additional period of 186 days provided that the public has had
an opportunity to comment on the interim measures and that the Council
is actively preparing a plan amendment to address the overfishing on a
permanent basis. A proposed temporary rule, published on July 6, 2009
(74 FR 31906), requested public comments on these same interim
measures. NMFS responded to these comments in the final temporary rule
published on December 4, 2009 (74 FR 63673), and they are not repeated
here.
This rule extends, for an additional 186 days, a closure of the
commercial and recreational fisheries for red snapper in the South
Atlantic EEZ. During this closure, the harvest, possession, or sale of
red snapper in or from the South Atlantic EEZ is prohibited for both
commercial and recreational fishermen. For a person issued a valid
commercial vessel permit or charter vessel/headboat permit for South
Atlantic snapper-grouper, the provisions of this rule apply regardless
of where the red snapper are harvested (i.e., state or Federal waters).
