Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 2014 Limited Commercial and Recreational Fishing Seasons for Red Snapper in the Southern Atlantic States

NMFS has determined that limited commercial and recreational fishing seasons can occur in 2014. Therefore, NMFS announces the commercial and recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) for red snapper in the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for the 2014 fishing year, the opening and closing dates of the 2014 recreational fishing season, and the opening date of the 2014 commercial fishing season through this temporary rule. The 2014 commercial ACL is 50,994 lb (23,130 kg), gutted weight, and the 2014 recreational ACL is 22,576 fish. Based on NMFS projections, the recreational fishing season in 2014 will be open for three consecutive weekends, starting July 11, 2014, and consist of 3 days the first two weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and 2 days the third weekend (Friday and Saturday). The commercial fishing season in 2014 will open on July 14, 2014, and NMFS will monitor commercial harvest in-season and close the commercial sector when the commercial ACL is reached or projected to be reached by filing an in-season closure notification with the Office of the Federal Register. This temporary rule is necessary to announce the limited fishing seasons for South Atlantic red snapper to provide socio- economic benefits to snapper-grouper fishermen and communities that utilize the red snapper resource while at the same time allowing red snapper to rebuild to sustainable levels.