[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 106 (Thursday, June 3, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29806-29808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14054]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 285 and 635

[Docket No. 990217050-9147-02; I.D. 010799A]
RIN 0648-AM17


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries; Atlantic 
Bluefin Tuna 1999 Quota and Effort Control Specifications

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

ACTION: Final specifications.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces specifications to set the 1999 Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) fishing category quotas and General category effort 
controls. These specifications are necessary to implement the 1998 
recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 
(ATCA) and to achieve domestic management objectives.

DATES: The final specifications are effective June 1, 1999, through May 
31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the Fishery 
Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP), 
are available from the Highly Migratory Species Management Division, 
NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale or Sarah McLaughlin at 
978-281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and ATCA. The authority to issue regulations 
has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator 
for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). Within NMFS, daily responsibility for 
management of Atlantic HMS fisheries rests with the Office of 
Sustainable Fisheries, and is administered by the HMS Management 
Division.
    ICCAT has identified the western stock of Atlantic BFT as 
overexploited and has recommended fishing quotas for the contracting 
parties. Based on the 1998 revised stock assessment, parties at the 
1998 meeting of ICCAT adopted a 20-year west Atlantic BFT rebuilding 
program, beginning in 1999 and continuing through 2018. ICCAT has 
adopted an annual total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,500 metric tons 
whole weight (mt ww) of west Atlantic BFT inclusive of dead discards, 
to be applied annually until such time as the TAC is changed based on 
advice from the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. Given 
the new stock assessment and rebuilding schedule, the annual landing 
quota allocated to the United States was increased by 43 mt ww to 1,387 
mt ww.
    Background information and rationale for these specifications were 
provided in the Bluefin Tuna Addendum to the draft HMS FMP and the 
final HMS FMP, and are not repeated here. The quota specifications 
allocate the landings quota among the several established fishing 
categories. The specifications are issued pursuant to interim 
provisions of Sec. 635.25(c) of the consolidated HMS regulations (64 FR 
29090, May 28, 1999) until June 30, 1999, and thereafter through May 
31, 2000, pursuant to Sec. 635.27(a) of the Atlantic HMS regulations. 
The General category effort controls are issued pursuant to Sec. 285.24 
of the Atlantic tunas regulations until June 30, 1999, and thereafter 
through May 31, 2000, pursuant to Sec. 635.23(a) of the Atlantic HMS 
regulations.

Changes From the Proposed Specifications

    Based on consideration of comments received during the comment 
period, NMFS has added 1 day per week (Mondays) to the proposed 
schedule of restricted fishing days (RFDs) in order to extend the 
General category fishery season.

Fishing Category Quotas

    U.S. domestic quota allocations are based on the same percentages 
as the 1997 allocations, except that the Purse

[[Page 29807]]

Seine category is capped at its 1997/1998 quota of 250 mt ww. Based on 
these percentages, and quota adjustments based on overharvests or 
underharvests in the Angling, General, and Purse Seine categories in 
1998, the adjusted quotas for the 1999 fishing year are as follows: 261 
mt ww for the Angling category, including 99 mt ww for the school BFT 
subquota; 654 mt ww for the General category; 54 mt ww for the Harpoon 
category; 113 mt ww for the Longline category; 1 mt ww for the Trap 
category; 252 mt ww for the Purse Seine category; and 43 mt ww for the 
Reserve.
    The Angling category quota is subdivided as follows: School BFT--99 
mt ww, with 43 mt ww to the northern area, 38 mt ww to the southern 
area, and 18 mt ww held in reserve; large school/small medium BFT -- 
156 mt ww, with 83 mt ww to the northern area and 73 mt ww to the 
southern area; large medium/giant BFT -- 6 mt ww, with 2 mt ww to the 
northern area and 4 mt ww to the southern area.
    The Longline category is subdivided as follows: 89 mt ww to 
longline vessels operating south of 34 deg. N, and 24 mt ww to longline 
vessels operating north of 34 deg. N.
    For 1999, NMFS implements General category quota subdivisions as 
established for 1998, as follows: 60 percent for June-August, 30 
percent for September, and 10 percent for October-December. Given the 
carryover quota for the General category (1 mt ww), adjustments are 
necessary to allocate the carryover across the established subperiods. 
These percentages are applied only to the coastwide baseline quota for 
the General category of 644 mt ww, with the remaining 10 mt ww reserved 
for the New York Bight fishery. Thus, of the 644 mt ww baseline General 
category quota, 387 mt ww will be available in the period beginning 
June 1 and ending August 31, 193 mt ww will be available in the period 
beginning September 1 and ending September 30, and 64 mt ww will be 
available in the period beginning October 1 and ending December 31.
    The New York Bight set-aside area is the area comprising the waters 
south and west of a straight line originating at a point on the 
southern shore of Long Island at 72 deg.27' W (Shinnecock Inlet) and 
running SSE 150 deg. true, and north of 38 deg.47' N. When the 
coastwide General category fishery has been closed in any quota period, 
NMFS may publish notification in the Federal Register to make available 
up to 10 mt ww of the quota set aside for the New York Bight area. The 
daily catch limit for the set-aside area will be one large medium or 
giant BFT per vessel per day. Upon the effective date of the set-aside 
fishery, fishing for, retaining, or landing large medium or giant BFT 
is authorized only within the set-aside area. Any portion of the set-
aside amount not harvested prior to the reopening of the coastwide 
General category fishery in the subsequent quota period may be carried 
over for the purpose of renewing the set-aside fishery at a later date.
    Attainment of the subquota in any quota period will result in a 
closure until the beginning of the following quota period. The subquota 
for the following quota period will be adjusted by any underharvest or 
overharvest in the previous quota period. Announcements of closures 
will be filed for publication with the Office of the Federal Register, 
stating the effective date of closure, and will be disseminated by the 
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fax Network, the Atlantic Tunas 
Information Line, NOAA weather radio, and Coast Guard Notice to 
Mariners. Although notification of closure will be provided as far in 
advance as possible, fishermen are encouraged to call the Atlantic 
Tunas Information Line (978-281-9305 or 888-USA-TUNA) to check the 
status of the fishery before leaving for a fishing trip.

Restricted-Fishing Days

    Persons aboard vessels permitted in the General category are 
prohibited from fishing (including tag and release fishing) for BFT of 
all sizes on the following days in 1999: July 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 
21, 25, 26, and 28; August 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 22, 
23, 25, 29, and 30; September 1, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22, 26, 
27 and 29; and October 1. Persons aboard vessels permitted in the 
Atlantic Tunas Charter/Headboat category are prohibited from fishing 
for large medium and giant BFT under the General category quota on the 
indicated RFDs. These RFDs will improve distribution of fishing 
opportunities without increasing BFT mortality.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received numerous comments regarding BFT quota allocation and 
General category effort controls. NMFS addressed quota allocation 
comments in the final rule to implement the HMS FMP.

General Category Quota Subdivision

     Comment: NMFS received some comments in support of the status quo 
General category time-period subquotas (three periods), and some 
suggesting alternate schedules, including: NMFS should implement two 
General category time-period subquotas (e.g., for June through 
September and October through December) since prices are higher in 
August than September, and in order to avoid derby conditions in 
October.
     Response: NMFS has considered these comments and believes that a 
General category season divided into three time-period subquotas, as 
proposed, best meets the concerns of the fishing industry, as well as 
the fishery management objective of maximizing fishing opportunities. A 
season divided into two time-period subquotas as some suggested (June 
through September and October through December) could result in the 
General category fishery being closed for the entire month of 
September. This would reduce fishing opportunities, as the fishery 
would be closed during a time when bluefin tuna are available 
throughout New England. In addition, catch per unit effort (CPUE) 
information has traditionally been collected from the General category 
fishery during September, and if the fishery were to be closed during 
this time period, the continuous time-series of CPUE data could be 
lost.

Restricted-fishing days

     Comment: NMFS received numerous comments regarding RFDs, some of 
which support the status quo, some of which oppose RFDs altogether, and 
some suggesting alternate schedules, including: in order to extend the 
General category season, NMFS should implement more RFDs than proposed, 
e.g., 3 days or more per week (Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or 
Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays) in addition to the days that 
correspond to Japanese market closures, and should begin the schedule 
of RFDs for 1999 in early July.
     Response: NMFS has considered these comments and agrees additional 
General category RFDs may increase the likelihood that fishing would 
continue throughout the summer and fall, and would further distribute 
fishing opportunities without increasing bluefin mortality. NMFS has 
added Mondays to the schedule of RFDs.

Classification

    These final specifications are published under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., and the Atlantic Tunas 
Convention Act, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. The AA has determined that these 
specifications are necessary to implement the recommendations of ICCAT 
and are necessary for the management of the Atlantic tuna fisheries.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified

[[Page 29808]]

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
that the proposed specifications would not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. No comments were 
received that would alter the basis for this determination. Given the 
certification, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis was not 
prepared for the proposed specifications. However, irrespective of the 
certification, a final regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared for 
the HMS FMP, which also contains an analysis of General category effort 
controls. A summary of that analysis may be found in the HMS FMP 
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    These quota and effort control specifications impose no 
requirements with which fishermen will have to come into compliance, 
and are necessary to help ensure that the U.S. actions are consistent 
with its international obligations at ICCAT. Therefore, NMFS has 
determined that there is good cause to waive partially the 30-day delay 
in the effective date normally required by 5 U.S.C. 553(d). NMFS will 
rapidly communicate these final specifications through the FAX network.
    These final specifications have been determined to be not 
significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

    Dated: May 28, 1999.
William W. Fox,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-14054 Filed 5-28-99; 4:31 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F