[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 159 (Tuesday, August 18, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44173-44174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22169]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 285

[Docket No. 980320071-8128-02; I.D. 080698A]


Atlantic Tuna Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fishery; Inseason 
Adjustment; Closure

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Adjustment of 1998 Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category 
quotas; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the domestic western Atlantic bluefin tuna 
(BFT) category quotas for the Angling category are being adjusted due 
to revised estimates of landings in 1997 and due to a transfer from the 
Reserve to the Angling category. This adjustment results in a revised 
1998 Angling category quota breakdown as follows: School size BFT--92 
metric tons (mt) and large school/small medium size BFT--151 mt. The 
quota for the trophy size class remains at 8 mt. Furthermore, NMFS 
closes the southern area fishery (Delaware and states south) for school 
size BFT only. Closure of this fishery is necessary because the revised 
southern area subquota has been attained. The intent of these actions 
is to prevent exceeding the quota established for the Angling category 
fishery.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m. local time on August 13, 1998, through 
December 31, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin, 301-713-2347, or Pat 
Scida, 978-281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations promulgated under the authority 
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) regulating 
the harvest of BFT by persons and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction 
are found at 50 CFR part 285.
    If a quota in any category or, as appropriate, subcategory has been 
exceeded or has not been reached, the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), is required under Sec. 285.22(h) to subtract the 
excess from, or add the remainder to, that quota category for the 
following year, provided that the total of the adjusted quotas and the 
Reserve is consistent with a recommendation of the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The AA is 
further required to publish in the Federal Register any amounts to be 
subtracted or added and the basis for the quota reductions or 
increases.
    On May 21, 1998 (63 FR 27862), the final quota specifications were 
published, effective May 15, 1998, notifying the public that 4 mt 
remained unharvested in the Angling category at the end of 1997. New 
information indicates the actual Angling category harvest to be 
different than those reported. The difference is enough to warrant a 
readjustment of the Angling category quota.
    In the final specifications, the adjusted 1998 Angling category 
quota of 269 mt was subdivided as follows: 108 mt of school BFT 
(consistent with the ICCAT limitation on annual catch of school BFT to 
8 percent by weight of the total annual domestic quota, i.e., 1,344 
mt), with 57 mt to the northern area and 51 mt to the southern area; 
153 mt of large school/small medium BFT, with 81 mt to the northern 
area and 72 mt to the southern area; and 8 mt of large medium/giant 
BFT, with 3 mt to the northern area and 5 mt to the southern area. 
Revised 1997 Large Pelagic Survey landings estimates indicate that the 
151 mt quota for large school and small medium size BFT was exceeded by 
19 mt and that the 108 mt quota of school size BFT was exceeded by 16 
mt.
    Given these revised landings in 1997, equivalent reductions for 
school and large school/small medium size BFT are necessary for the 
final Angling category quotas in 1998. In addition, NMFS is 
transferring 19 mt from the Reserve category to the large school/small

[[Page 44174]]

medium size class, in accordance with 50 CFR 285.22(f). The 1997 excess 
landings in the large school/small medium BFT size class are thus 
compensated for by allocating 19 mt from the Reserve. The school size 
BFT quota is limited to eight percent of the overall BFT quota for the 
season, which was allocated at the beginning of the season. Therefore, 
the 1997 excess landings will be compensated for by deducting 16 mt 
from the 1998 subquota for school size BFT. The revised 1998 quota for 
school size BFT is 92 mt and the revised 1998 quota for large school/
small medium size BFT is 151 mt.
    The AA is authorized under Sec. 285.20(b)(1) to monitor the catch 
and landing statistics, including catch and landings statistics from 
previous years and projections based on those statistics. On the basis 
of these statistics, the AA will project a date when the catch of BFT 
will equal any quota under Sec. 285.22. The AA is further authorized 
under Sec. 285.20(b)(1) to prohibit fishing for, or retention of, BFT 
by those fishing in the category subject to the quota when the catch of 
tuna equals the quota established under Sec. 285.22.
    On July 16, 1998 (63 FR 38340), NMFS adjusted the catch limit for 
school size BFT to zero coastwide, pending evaluation of 1998 catch 
data. Implementing regulations for the Atlantic tuna fisheries at 
Sec. 285.24 allow for adjustments to the daily catch limits in order to 
provide for maximum utilization of the quota spread over the longest 
possible period of time. Due to adjustment of the quota and evaluation 
of current catch data, NMFS has determined that the revised southern 
area subquota for school size BFT has been attained. Therefore, NMFS 
closes the southern area fishery (Delaware and states south) for school 
size BFT only (measuring 27 inches to less than 47 inches) effective 
11:30 p.m. local time on August 13, 1998, through December 31, 1998. 
Some school size BFT quota remains for the northern area (New Jersey 
and states north), and NMFS may announce a catch limit adjustment for 
school size BFT in the northern area in the future.
    The catch limit for the large school/small medium size class 
remains at one BFT per vessel per day for all areas and the catch limit 
for the trophy size class remains at one BFT per vessel per year for 
all areas.
    Subsequent inseason adjustments, if any, shall be announced through 
publication in the Federal Register. In addition, anglers may call the 
Atlantic Tunas Information Line at 888-USA-TUNA (888-872-8862), 301-
713-1279, or 978-281-9305 for updates on quota monitoring and catch 
limit adjustments. Anglers aboard Charter/Headboat vessels, when 
engaged in recreational fishing for school, large school, and small 
medium BFT, are subject to the same rules as anglers aboard Angling 
category vessels. All BFT landed under the Angling category quota must 
be reported within 24 hours of landing to the NMFS Automated Catch 
Reporting System by phoning 888-USA-TUNA (888-872-8862), or in North 
Carolina, to a reporting station. For information about the North 
Carolina Harvest Tagging Program, including reporting station 
locations, call 800-338-7804.
    Anglers may continue to tag and release BFT of all sizes under the 
NMFS tag-and-release program (50 CFR 285.27).

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR 285.20(b), 50 CFR 285.22, and 50 
CFR 285.24(d) and is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

    Dated: August 12, 1998.
Gary Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-22169 Filed 8-13-98; 1:09 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F