[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 14, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 69672-69673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32321]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 300
RIN 0648-AN04
[Docket No. 991207319-9319-01; I.D. 111099B]
International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Harvest Quotas
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: 1999 quotas for yellowfin and bigeye tuna.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 1999 quotas and associated purse seine and
baitboat fishery conservation measures for the eastern Pacific Ocean,
consistent with recommendations by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission (IATTC) and approved by the Department of State under the
terms of the Tuna Conventions Act. If these quotas are reached,
subsequent documents will be published announcing the dates on which
the fisheries will close and any associated conservation measures to
implement the quotas.
DATES: Effective December 14, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Svein Fougner, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Southwest Region, NMFS,
562-980-4040.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States is a member of the IATTC,
which was established under the Convention for the Establishment of an
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission signed in 1949, and implemented
through the Tuna Conventions Act (16 U.S.C. 955). The IATTC was
established to provide an international arrangement to ensure the
effective international conservation and management of tunas and tuna-
like fishes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). The IATTC has
maintained a scientific research and fishery monitoring program for
many years, and it annually assesses the status of stocks of tuna and
the fisheries to determine appropriate harvest limits or other measures
to prevent overexploitation of the stocks and promote viable fisheries.
The Convention Area includes all waters in the EPO within the area
bounded by the mainland of the Americas, lines extending westward from
the mainland of the Americas along the 40 deg. N. lat. and 40 deg. S.
lat. parallels, and 150 deg. W. long. The IATTC has designated a
Commission Yellowfin Regulatory Area (CYRA) in which the total catch of
yellowfin tuna may be limited. This consists of the waters in the
Convention Area bounded by a line extending westward from the mainland
of North America along the 40 deg. N. lat. parallel, and connecting the
following coordinates: 40 deg. N. lat., 125 deg. W. long.; 20 deg. N.
lat., 125 deg. W. long.; 20 deg. N. lat., 120 deg. W. long.; 5 deg. N.
lat., 120 deg. W. long.; 5 deg. N. lat., 110 deg. W. long.; 10 deg. S.
lat., 110 deg. W. long.; 10 deg. S. lat., 90 deg. W. long.; 30 deg. S.
lat., 90 deg. W. long; and then eastward along the 30 deg. S. lat.
parallel to the coast of South America.
At its annual meeting June 5-11, 1999, the IATTC adopted a
resolution dealing with yellowfin tuna conservation. This resolution
set an initial quota of 225,000 metric tons (mt) for yellowfin tuna
taken by purse seine vessels in the CYRA. This quota could be raised by
up to three successive increments of 15,000 mt each if the Director of
IATTC concludes from examination of available data that such increases
will pose no substantial danger to the stocks. This is consistent with
the practice of the IATTC over many years, and has historically been
supported by the United States.
At a subsequent meeting in October 1999, the IATTC adopted a new
resolution for implementing the 1999 yellowfin tuna quota. Under this
resolution, the quota is 265,000 mt. The directed baitboat and purse
seine fisheries for yellowfin tuna would be closed when the quota is
reached, except that the fisheries would be closed on December 2, 1999,
even if the quota were not reached. This document confirms that this
resolution has been approved by the Department of State as it is
consistent with the resolution adopted in June 1999.
In another resolution in July 1999, the IATTC recommended that
action be taken to limit the catch of bigeye tuna in the purse seine
fisheries to 40,000 mt in 1999, with the limit to be implemented by
prohibiting purse seine sets on all types of floating objects in the
Convention Area when this harvest level is reached. The Department of
State has also approved this recommendation.
The yellowfin quota is based on a 1999 assessment of the condition
of the stock of yellowfin harvested in the CYRA. The assessment
indicates that the yellowfin stock is healthy and is estimated to be
able to sustain a fishery of 270,000 to 290,000 mt per year throughout
EPO. The quota for the CYRA is conservative relative to estimated
maximum sustainable yields. The IATTC noted that the yield per recruit
(and ultimate sustainable harvests) depends on the fishing strategy
employed, with larger fish (and higher yield per recruit) for fishing
associated with dolphin and smaller fish (and lower yield per recruit)
for fishing associated with floating objects.
Classification
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 300 subpart C.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA finds for good
cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that providing prior notice and an
opportunity for public coment on this action is unnecessary. The rule
authorizing this action provides for quotas agreed to by the IATTC and
approved by the Department of State to be effective upon direct
notification of the U.S. tuna fishing industry. Providing prior notice
and an opportunity for public comment would serve no useful purpose.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds, for good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), that a 30-day delay in effectiveness for
these 1999 quotas would be contrary to the public interest. Such a
delay would prevent the quotas from being in place before they are
exceeded and the fisheries closed.
Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601
et seq., are inapplicable.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951-961 and 971 et seq.
[[Page 69673]]
Dated: December 7, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-32321 Filed 12-13-99; 8:45 am]
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