[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 69 (Monday, April 10, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18960-18961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8773]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 000323080-0080-01; I.D. 031500A]
RIN 0648-AN97


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Angling 
Category

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is requesting public comments regarding the geographical 
division of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery 
and whether an adjustment of the north-south division line and an 
associated adjustment of the BFT subquota percentages allocated to each 
area is warranted. Over the last several BFT fishing seasons, fishery 
participants have stated to NMFS that the division line needs to be 
adjusted to increase the extent of recreational fishing opportunities 
and to divide the northern and southern areas in a manner consistent 
with current fishing patterns. NMFS wants to determine if a change to 
the current division line and subsequent reallocation of quota is 
needed to better coordinate domestic conservation and management of the 
fishery consistent with the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan 
for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP).

DATES: Written comments on this ANPR are invited and must be received 
on or before May 22, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Rebecca Lent, Chief, 
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Management Division, Office of 
Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910-3282. Comments also may be sent via facsimile (fax) to 
(301) 713-1917. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail 
or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Scida or Sarah McLaughlin, (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 the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 
(ATCA). The ATCA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to 
implement binding recommendations of the International Commission for 
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The authority to issue 
regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA 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 HMS Management Division of the Office of 
Sustainable Fisheries.
    On May 28, 1999, NMFS published in the Federal Register (64 FR 
29090) final regulations, effective July 1, 1999, implementing the HMS 
FMP. The HMS FMP and its implementing regulations establish percentage 
quota shares for the ICCAT-recommended U.S. BFT landing quota for each 
of the domestic fishing categories, and include measures regarding 
geographic subquotas and set-asides.

Angling Category Geographical Division

    In response to quota reductions in 1992, two management areas were 
created for the BFT Angling category fishery. The north-south division 
line is located at 38 deg.47' N. latitude (Delaware Bay). Generally, 
the recreational fishery begins each season off the southern and mid-
Atlantic states, and so a subdivision was created to ensure a late 
season fishery in the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England 
regions. Thus, the geographic split was designed to enable NMFS to 
manage the early season (June/July off the Virginia to Delaware coasts) 
and late season (August/September off the New Jersey to Massachusetts 
coasts) BFT fisheries under separate quotas, corresponding with the 
summer feeding migration of school, large school, and small medium BFT.
    For the last several BFT fishing seasons, NMFS has received 
comments that an adjustment to the Angling category BFT north-south 
division line is warranted. Specifically, vessels fishing for BFT from 
ports in southern New Jersey, which is in the northern area, tend to 
utilize fishing areas located in the southern area (i.e., offshore of 
Ocean City, Maryland). This pattern of activity raises two concerns 
with respect to the dividing line for the southern and northern areas. 
First, when the southern and northern areas are both open, a 
significant number of fish caught in the southern area are landed in 
the northern area and counted against the applicable northern area 
subquotas. Second, when the southern area is closed, vessels from 
southern New Jersey are effectively excluded from the school BFT 
fishery because the fish are generally distributed too far north to 
accommodate single-day trips. NMFS has received specific suggestions to 
move the north-south division line to the north of the Ocean City, New 
Jersey area or to the south of the Ocean City, Maryland area.
    NMFS is requesting comments on whether the current north-south 
division line is adequate or whether it should be moved to increase the 
geographical extent of recreational fishing opportunities and to define 
the northern and southern areas in a manner consistent with current 
fishing patterns. Any change to the current

[[Page 18961]]

division line and subsequent reallocation of quota, must be consistent 
with the HMS FMP, specifically with the objectives to better coordinate 
domestic conservation and management of the fisheries and to simplify 
and streamline HMS management. For the BFT Angling category, it is 
NMFS' goal to ensure reasonable fishing opportunities in all geographic 
areas without risking overharvest of the Angling category quota.
    Various options include: (1) No adjustment to the division line; 
(2) move the division line to the Ocean City, New Jersey area or to 
39 deg.18' N. latitude, just north of Great Egg Inlet to effectively 
isolate the fisheries as virtually all vessels fishing for BFT from 
these areas fish in the southern, early season fishery (as suggested to 
NMFS in previous public comments); (3) move the division line to 
38 deg. 03' N. latitude (south of Ocean City, Maryland), so that all of 
the fishing activity based out of Maryland, Delaware, and southern New 
Jersey ports takes place in one area, i.e., a newly defined northern 
area (as suggested to NMFS in previous public comments); (4) move the 
division line to another latitude that is also consistent with the HMS 
management objectives mentioned above; and (5) eliminate the line 
altogether and use NMFS' existing authority to close and open the 
fishery based on inseason monitoring through review of daily landing 
trends, availability of BFT on the fishing grounds, and any other 
relevant factors, to provide for maximum utilization of the quota over 
the longest possible period of time. Adjusting the location of the 
north-south division line may reduce confusion and may prevent vessels 
from being excluded from participating in the fishery, especially when 
retention limits are different in the two areas.

Angling Category BFT Subquotas

    Currently, there are separate Angling category BFT quota landings 
allocations for each of the areas north and south of the division line 
(38 deg.47' N. lat). As stated in the HMS FMP, allocations to the 
southern area are as follows: (1) 47.2 percent of the school BFT 
Angling category landings quota, minus the school BFT quota held in 
reserve; (2) 47.2 percent of the large school/small medium BFT Angling 
category quota; and (3) 66.7 percent of the large medium and giant BFT 
Angling category quota. Allocations to the northern area are as 
follows: (1) 52.8 percent of the school BFT Angling category landings 
quota, minus the school BFT quota held in reserve; (2) 52.8 percent of 
the large school/small medium BFT Angling category quota; and (3) 33.3 
percent of the large medium and giant BFT Angling category quota.
    If NMFS adjusts the north-south division line, revision of the 
north and south allocation percentages also may be considered. Various 
options for revising the north and south allocation percentages 
include: (1) Maintain the status quo, i.e., no quota allocation change; 
(2) revise the allocation based on a review of data regarding estimated 
landings of all sizes of BFT north and south of any new division line; 
or (3) switch the north-south allocation percentages of school through 
small medium BFT in conjunction with implementation of an Ocean City, 
New Jersey area division line, i.e., 52.8 percent for the southern area 
and 47.2 for the northern area (as suggested to NMFS in previous public 
comments).

Request for Comments

    NMFS requests comments on whether the location of the north-south 
division line in the Angling category should be adjusted and, if so, to 
where; and whether the subquota allocations for the northern and 
southern areas should be adjusted and, if so, how. Comments received on 
this ANPR will assist NMFS in drafting any future proposed changes to 
the Atlantic HMS regulations. The public will be provided ample 
opportunity for written and verbal comments following publication of 
any proposed regulatory amendments concerning these issues.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.

    Dated: April 4, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-8773 Filed 4-7-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F