[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 76 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19296-19299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10220]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 630
[Docket No. 970401075-7075-01; I.D. 121296A]
RIN 0648-AJ69
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin
Tuna Quota Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed quota specifications; public hearings; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues proposed specifications to set Atlantic bluefin
tuna (ABT) fishing category quotas for the 1997 fishing year. The
proposed specifications are necessary to implement the 1996
recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) regarding fishing quotas for bluefin tuna, as
required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve
domestic management objectives. NMFS will hold public hearings to
receive comments from fishery participants and other members of the
public regarding these proposed specifications.
DATES: Comments are invited and must be received on or before May 16,
1997. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates and times of public
hearings.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed specifications should be sent to,
and copies of supporting documents, including a Draft Environmental
Assessment-Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR), are available from,
Rebecca Lent, Chief, Highly Migratory Species Management Division,
Office of Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for
locations of public hearings.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Kelly, 301-713-2347, or Mark
Murray-Brown, 508-281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic tuna fisheries are managed
under the authority of ATCA. ATCA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) to issue regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
recommendations of ICCAT. The authority to carry out ICCAT
recommendations has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA).
Based on a revised stock assessment, parties at the 1996 meeting of
ICCAT adopted a recommendation to increase the annual scientific
monitoring quota of ABT in the western Atlantic Ocean from 2,200 metric
tons (mt) to 2,354 mt. The share allocated to the United States was
increased from 1306 mt to 1,344 mt and applies each year for the 1997
and 1998 fishing years. These proposed specifications would implement
that quota recommendation and allocate the total among the several
established fishing categories. While the ICCAT recommendation refers
to adjustments to the 1998 quotas based on underharvest or overharvest
in 1997, there is no provision for such adjustments from the 1996
fishing year. Therefore, these proposed specifications for 1997 which
appear as an attachment to this document do not include any adjustments
relative to landings in 1996.
Relation to Proposed Consolidation
A proposed rule to consolidate all the Atlantic highly migratory
species regulations was published by NMFS on November 6, 1996, in the
Federal Register at 61 FR 57361. That proposed rule would significantly
reorganize and condense regulatory text regarding the Atlantic tuna
fisheries. In particular, regulations governing the Atlantic tuna
fisheries, currently found at 50 CFR part 285, were proposed to be
combined with other regulations governing highly migratory species
under 50 CFR part 630. The quotas contained in these proposed
specifications have been written to be consistent with the previously
proposed consolidation.
Additionally, under the consolidation, regulatory text regarding
annual quotas for ABT was proposed to be eliminated and replaced by
annual quota specifications to be published in the Federal Register.
Under the proposed new procedures, NMFS would issue proposed quota
specifications and applicable supporting analyses (EA/RIR, Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA)), provide for a public comment
period, and issue final quota specifications. These proposed ABT quota
specifications for 1997 are drafted in a format to enable the public to
place these changes in the context of the proposed consolidated
regulations under part 630. Copies of the proposed consolidation rule
may be obtained by writing (see ADDRESSES) or calling the contact
person (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Relation to Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR)
These proposed specifications address in part comments submitted to
NMFS in response to an ANPR (61 FR 48876, September 17, 1996). In the
ANPR, NMFS requested comment on measures necessary to implement quota
modifications and/or any other management recommendations for Atlantic
tunas following the 1996 meeting of ICCAT. As stated in the ANPR, NMFS
is required under ATCA to establish ABT quotas consistent with the
recommendations of ICCAT. Under this legislative requirement,
allocation of the U.S. ABT quota has been designed to collect the
scientific information necessary to monitor the status of the ABT
resource and, consistent with this, to achieve an equitable
distribution of fishing opportunities to all fishing categories and all
geographic areas.
The ANPR established a 30-day comment period during which NMFS
received numerous comments on quota allocations. NMFS received 141
comments that the amount of quota allocated to the handgear categories
should be increased substantially, given recent estimates of bluefin
biomass. Some commenters requested that NMFS substantially reduce, and
ultimately eliminate, the Purse Seine quota. A few individuals
commented that the Charter/Headboat and Angling category quotas should
reflect the economic benefits of those recreational fisheries.
In addition to comments submitted in response to the ANPR, NMFS has
received a petition for rulemaking regarding Atlantic bluefin tuna
quotas. The petitioner requested that NMFS reallocate the domestic
quota in a manner that reduces the Purse Seine category quota to the
proportion established prior to the 1983 reallocation and increases the
combined quotas of the General and Angling categories by the same
amount. NMFS requests comment on the merits and impacts of this
petition for rulemaking. Copies of the petition are available from NMFS
(see ADDRESSES).
Proposed Fishing Category Quotas
In the 1992 final rule (57 FR 32905, July 24, 1992), NMFS
established quotas for the various commercial and recreational
categories in the ABT fishery, based upon the historical share of catch
in each of these categories
[[Page 19297]]
during the period 1983 through 1991 (see table). These base quotas were
modified in 1995 by an increase of 76 mt to the overall U.S. quota at
ICCAT and by reducing the Purse Seine category quota to 250 mt. Both
the overall quota increase and the purse seine transfer were added to
the Reserve, resulting in a total Reserve of 145 mt. The 1995 adjusted
base quotas have been used as a reference point for the 1997 quota
specifications proposed here.
The total 1997 quota allocated by ICCAT to the United States is
1,344 mt, a 33 mt increase over 1996. NMFS proposes to modify quotas by
gear category and the Reserve to achieve a geographic and temporal
distribution of fishing effort and catch that reflects the scientific
monitoring nature of the quota. While NMFS has attempted to allocate
the U.S. quota consistent with maintaining the traditional user groups
and taking into account recent trends in fishing fleet activity, these
socio-economic concerns are secondary to the collection of scientific
data for the purposes of stock assessment.
The proposed specifications would set the Reserve at 33 mt, would
maintain the Purse Seine category quota at 250 mt, would maintain the
Incidental quota at 110 mt, would increase the General category quota
from 531 mt to 633 mt, would maintain the Harpoon category quota at 53
mt, and would increase the Angling category quota from 222 mt to 265
mt.
Reserve Category
The Reserve category was established to ensure that the annual U.S.
quota allocated by ICCAT is not exceeded. Since there is a lag time in
reporting catches and landings of ABT in all commercial and
recreational fishing categories, there is some uncertainty in real-time
harvest estimates. In addition, some reasonable advance notice of
closure is required, and weather conditions can affect the level of
fishing effort prior to the announced closing date. All these factors
lead to uncertainty in forecasting fishery closures, thus allocations
from the Reserve are made to cover potential overharvest or to allow
fishing to continue in a category for the collection of scientific
data.
The 33 mt increase from ICCAT for calendar year 1997 would be
placed in the Reserve. Given the existing measures for quota monitoring
of all categories and the additional measures that will be implemented
in 1997 for Angling category quota monitoring, it is not necessary to
maintain as much tonnage in the Reserve as had been established in 1995
(145 mt). NMFS plans to implement a FAX/OCR system for commercial
dealer reporting and has proposed direct reporting by recreational
anglers (62 FR 9726, March 4, 1997). Additionally, NMFS has proposed
changes to the Atlantic Tunas Permit Program that should improve
information collection through dockside and telephone surveys.
Consequently, NMFS believes that a 33 mt Reserve is adequate to ensure
that the overall quota is not exceeded.
Purse Seine Category
The Purse Seine category has been managed as a limited entry
fishery of five vessels since 1982. Each vessel is annually allocated
an equal share of the category quota, which may be harvested or traded
to another authorized purse seine vessel. In contrast to the handgear
fisheries, the Purse Seine category is the only ABT fishing category
that has not been subject to increased participation and premature
closure in recent years.
NMFS has received numerous comments that the limited entry Purse
Seine category is allocated an inordinate share of the national quota
and that the allocation restricts fishing opportunities for other
fishermen. Many individuals have requested that the purse seine quota
be reduced and redistributed to the handgear fisheries. In recent
years, NMFS has reallocated some of the purse seine quota to try to
collect scientific information, particularly catch-per-unit effort,
over the broadest geographic and temporal range as possible.
NMFS is specifically seeking comment on the issue of reallocation
of the purse seine quota. Further, NMFS has decided that reallocation
issues warrant further consideration by the Atlantic Tunas Advisory
Panel (AP) to be created as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act. The AP, required by law to be of
balanced representation, would consider comments submitted under these
proposed specifications and will discuss reallocation schemes and
provide additional opportunities for public comment. For this reason,
NMFS proposes to utilize the AP for further discussion and
recommendations to the agency, and proposes no immediate change to the
Purse Seine category quota.
General and Angling Categories
Participation in the General and Angling categories has increased
markedly in recent years and has resulted in early closures for these
categories. Because of the reliance on the large fish and small fish
catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) indices for stock assessment, the General
and Angling category fisheries should be kept open as long as possible
to achieve high survey sampling rates over the widest possible
geographic area and temporal range.
Also, in response to recommendations from the National Research
Council, NMFS has increased scientific sampling of ABT, working with
outside organizations in conducting genetic studies, microconstituent
analysis, sexual maturity determination, tagging studies, and age and
growth studies.
Given the need to improve data collection, NMFS proposes to
reallocate the 145 mt that had been in the 1995 Reserve to the Angling
and General categories in proportion to the 1995 base quotas
established for the two categories. In 1995, a total of 753 mt was
allocated to the two categories: 222 mt (29.5 percent) for Angling and
531 mt (70.5 percent) for General. Allocating the 145 mt on the basis
of these proportions would increase the Angling category by 43 mt and
the General category by 102 mt.
The proposed increase in allocation to the Angling category would
be used partially to cover harvest that has occurred during the
collection of additional scientific information on the winter fishery
in North Carolina. Approximately 150 archival tags have been surgically
implanted in bluefin tuna in order to gather data to address movement
as part of the exchange rate between the east and west Atlantic
populations. ICCAT has stated in the 1996 session of the Commission
that large numbers of archival tagged fish would be necessary to
resolve the mixing question relative to the Mediterranean and Gulf of
Mexico spawning stocks.
Additional Angling category quota is also needed to account for
collection of data relating to the use of circle hooks and discard
mortality and the use of conventional tags to assess maturation rates
for ABT of all sizes throughout their geographic range. The
concentration of bluefin tuna in the Cape Hatteras area and the high
catch rate makes this an ideal location for these scientific programs.
The winter ABT fishery, while predominantly a catch-and-release
fishery for giant fish, also resulted in considerable harvest of small
medium fish in 1996 and 1997. While NMFS recognizes the value of
scientific data collection from this uniquely high catch rate fishery,
restrictive management measures are needed to ensure that scientific
data collection and fishing opportunities in northern areas are not
[[Page 19298]]
adversely impacted. For these reasons, NMFS lowered the landing
allowance for the winter fishery to one per vessel per day and issued a
final rule (62 FR 8634, February 26, 1997) to allow for interim
closures of the Angling category while the ABT migrate to other areas.
Apart from these measures, however, additional allocation is needed
because the summer and fall ABT fisheries have traditionally harvested
the full amount allocated.
Under the ABT stock recovery program, ICCAT has recommended that
the United States limit catch of school bluefin tuna to 8 percent of
the national quota. NMFS proposes the maximum permissible tonnage under
the 8 percent ICCAT limit (108 mt) to allow for increased biological
sampling of school bluefin. A large number of muscle, heart, otolith,
and vertebrae samples are needed to continue with genetic and
microconstituent analyses. These biological materials are to be
obtained through dockside sampling of angler catches during the
summertime recreational fishery. Broad-based sampling of young fish
will help resolve important issues relative to stock structure and
spawning site fidelity.
NMFS also proposes to increase the Angling category trophy class
(large medium and giant ABT) from 3 mt to 6 mt. Most of the fish
implanted with archival tags are in these size classes. Increasing
fishing opportunities in the trophy class and establishing northern and
southern area subquotas should improve chances for archival tag
recovery.
For the reasons indicated, the Angling category quota would be
increased from 222 mt to 265 mt. In addition to the total quota change,
NMFS has previously proposed to increase the geographical and seasonal
scope of data collection by subdividing the Angling category quota (62
FR 9726, March 4, 1997). Consistent with that proposal, and the ICCAT
limitation on catch of school bluefin tuna, the 265 mt would be
subdivided as follows: School bluefin--108 mt, with 57 mt to the
northern area (New Jersey and north) and 51 mt to the southern area
(Delaware and south); large school/small medium bluefin--151 mt, with
80 mt to the northern area and 71 mt to the southern area; large
medium/giant bluefin--6 mt, with 2 mt to the northern area and 4 mt to
the southern area.
NMFS has previously implemented measures to address broadening the
fishing opportunities and scientific data collection for the General
category. These measures have included monthly quotas and restricted-
fishing days. Despite these measures, and new measures previously
proposed for 1997 (62 FR 9726, March 4, 1997), NMFS recognizes that
additional quota is needed to balance the increased participation in
this fishery with the need for broad-based data collection. NMFS
therefore proposes to increase the General category to 633 mt. NMFS
will consider subdivision of this total General category quota on a
seasonal or geographic basis, and possible effort controls, in a
separate action.
Harpoon Category
Although comments have been received indicating that catch rates
and effort have increased in the Harpoon category, the data obtained
from this fishery have not been as useful as other data in performing
stock assessments. Due to the nature of the fishery, it is difficult to
standardize CPUE. Thus far, harpoon catch data have not been
incorporated into any useful index of abundance. Therefore, NMFS
proposes that the 1997 quota remain at 53 mt for the Harpoon category.
Incidental Category
The Incidental category was established to reduce waste in
recognized situations of ABT bycatch. At the time that the ABT
scientific monitoring quota was established by ICCAT, there was no
directed longline fishery for bluefin tuna by U.S. vessels. However,
incidental catch of bluefin tuna by vessels in the swordfish, shark,
bigeye tuna, and yellowfin tuna fisheries was well documented. In
addition, limited bycatch was known to occur in pound nets, traps,
gillnets and non-tuna purse seine fisheries. Failure to include these
catches in the U.S. quota would have led to wasteful discards and ABT
fishing mortality over and above that which would occur in the directed
handgear and purse seine fisheries.
NMFS has previously established target catch requirements for the
Incidental category to reduce incentives for targeting bluefin tuna
with these types of fishing gear. As prices for ABT increased in the
mid-1980s, it became necessary to implement trips limits and revise the
target catch requirements to ensure that catch of ABT remained as an
incidental occurrence in the traditional directed fisheries. In recent
years, these landings restrictions have led to situations in which the
incidental catch quota has not been met, yet substantial discards are
being recorded and reported to ICCAT. The United States reported to
ICCAT that longline discards averaged 125 mt a year from 1991 to 1995.
Because of the high level of reported discards, and the increased
ABT mortality that results when quota not landed against the Incidental
category is reallocated to other directed fishing categories, ICCAT
recommended that the U.S. take measures in 1997 to decrease discards of
ABT. NMFS is currently analyzing observer reports, vessel logs, and
dealer reports to more fully assess ABT interaction rates, patterns of
fishing activity, and economic factors in all ABT fishing categories.
Once all available data are analyzed, NMFS plans to propose measures to
reduce ABT discards in a separate rulemaking.
For these reasons, NMFS proposes that the Incidental category quota
remain at the 1995 base level. The total quota of 110 mt would be
allocated as follows: 86 mt to longline vessels operating south of 34
degrees N. Lat.; 23 mt to longline vessels operating north of 34
degrees N. Lat.; and 1 mt to fishermen using traps, fixed gear, and
purse seines in the non-tuna fisheries. Pending the results of the
analysis on discards, these quotas could be adjusted by allocations
from the Reserve, if necessary, to conform to future management
measures designed to reduce ABT discards in this fishing category.
Dates, Times, and Locations of Public Hearings
The public hearing schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, April 22, 1997, Silver Spring, MD, 2-5 p.m.
NOAA/NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 4527, Silver Spring, MD
20910
Tuesday, April 29, 1997, Gloucester, MA, 7-10 p.m.
Milton Fuller School, 4 School House Road, Gloucester, MA 01930
Wednesday, April 30, 1997, Brunswick, ME, 7-10 p.m.
Atrium Inn and Conference Center, Cooks Corner, Brunswick, ME 23502
Wednesday, April 30, 1997, Islip, NY, 7-10 p.m.
Holiday Inn, 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
Thursday, May 1, 1997, Manteo, NC, 7-10 p.m.
North Carolina Aquarium, Airport Road, Manteo, NC 27954
Friday, May 2, 1997, Ocean City, MD, 7-10 p.m.
City Hall, 3rd Street & Baltimore Avenue, Ocean City, MD 21842
Wednesday, May 7, 1997, Toms River, NJ, 7-10 p.m.
Holiday Inn, 290 State Highway 37 East, Toms River, NJ 08753
[[Page 19299]]
Wednesday, May 7, 1997, St. Petersburg, FL, 7-9 p.m.
NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 9721 Executive Center Drive, North,
St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Thursday, May 8, 1997, Plymouth, MA, 7-10 p.m.
Plymouth North High School, Obery Street, Plymouth, MA 02360
Classification
These proposed quota specifications are published under the
authority of the ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. Preliminarily, the AA has
determined that the regulations contained in these proposed
specifications are necessary to implement the recommendations of ICCAT
and are necessary for management of the Atlantic tuna fisheries.
NMFS prepared a draft EA for these proposed specifications with a
preliminary finding of no significant impact on the human environment.
In addition, a draft RIR was prepared with a preliminary finding of no
significant impact. The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and
Regulation of the Department of Commerce has certified to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that the
proposed specifications, if implemented, would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as follows:
The proposed specifications would allocate the Total Allowable
Catch (TAC) for the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery in accordance with
the recommendations of the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and domestic fishery
management objectives. For all fishing categories, quotas are
proposed at levels similar to or slightly higher than prior years.
Because the overall bluefin tuna quota has increased, additional
revenues will accrue to many small businesses.
Because of this certification, an IRFA was not prepared.
These proposed specifications have been determined to be not
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
NMFS reinitiated consultation on the Atlantic tuna fishery under
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act on September 25, 1996. This
consultation will consider new information concerning the status of the
northern right whale. NMFS has determined that proceeding with this
rule, pending completion of that consultation, will not result in any
irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources that would have
the effect of foreclosing the formulation or implementation of any
reasonable and prudent alternative measures. This proposed rule would
implement quotas similar to prior years, making minor allocation
changes. Therefore, the proposed rule is not expected to increase
endangered species or marine mammal interaction rates.
Dated: April 15, 1997.
Nancy Foster,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
Attachment--Proposed ABT Quotas by Fishing Category
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1992 Base 1995 Base Proposed 1997
quota quota d quota
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General......................................................... 531 531 633
Harpoon......................................................... 53 53 53
Incidental...................................................... 113 110 110
Other....................................................... 4 1 1
Longline.................................................... 109 109 109
North................................................... 23 23 23
South................................................... 86 86 86
Purse Seine..................................................... a 301 250 250
Angling......................................................... 219 222 265
School b.................................................... 100 100 108
North................................................... 53 53 57
South................................................... 47 47 51
Large School/Small Medium................................... 119 119 151
North................................................... .............. .............. 80
South................................................... .............. .............. 71
Trophy c.................................................... .............. 3 6
North................................................... .............. .............. 2
South................................................... .............. .............. 4
Reserve......................................................... 31 145 33
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Total..................................................... 1248 1311 1344
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a The 1992 base quota of 301 mt was reduced to 250 mt in 1995.
b ICCAT recommendation limits school size class subquota to 8% of U.S. allocation.
c Trophy quota category first established in 1995. In prior years, large medium and giant ABT landed by Angling
and Charter/Headboat vessels were counted against Incidental-Other gear category.
d Actual 1995 quotas included adjustments to base due to overharvest/underharvest from 1994.
[FR Doc. 97-10220 Filed 4-16-97; 2:44 pm]
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