Emergency Rule To Revise the Recreational Accountability Measures and Revise the 2014 Recreational Fishing Season for Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico

NMFS issues this emergency rule to revise the recreational accountability measures (AMs) by establishing a recreational annual catch target (ACT), and revise the 2014 recreational fishing season for red snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), as requested by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). At its April 2014 meeting, the Council requested an emergency rule to revise the recreational AMs for red snapper by applying a 20-percent buffer to the recreational quota, which results in a recreational ACT of 4.312 million lb (1.956 million kg), round weight. The Council's decision to request an emergency rule was made following the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Court) in Guindon v. Pritzker, 2014 WL 1274076 (D.D.C. Mar. 26, 2014). After recalculating the season length based on the ACT and using the 2013 Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) landings estimates, NMFS is setting a 9-day fishing season. The purpose of this rulemaking is to better ensure red snapper recreational landings do not exceed the recreational quota established in the rebuilding plan, in accordance with sections 303(a)(15) and 407(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1853(a)(15); 16 U.S.C. 1883(d)) and the Court's ruling.