[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 204 (Friday, October 20, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63021-63022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27053]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 101300B]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin 
Tuna

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

ACTION: Inseason transfer.

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SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the October-December subquota for the General 
category Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery by transferring 25 metric 
tons (mt) from the Reserve, 15 mt from the Longline North subcategory 
quota, and 60 mt from the Angling category (large school size class for 
the northern area), for a revised coastwide General category subquota 
of approximately 264.4 mt for October-December, including addition of 
underharvest from the previous time periods. These actions are being 
taken to allow for maximum utilization of the U.S. landings quota of 
BFT while maintaining a fair distribution of fishing opportunities, 
preventing overharvest of the adjusted subquotas for the affected 
fishing categories, helping achieve optimum yield in the General 
category fishery, and allowing the collection of a broad range of data 
for stock monitoring purposes, consistent with the objectives of the 
Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS 
FMP).

DATES: Effective October 17, 2000 until December 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Scida, 978-281-9208.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented under the authority 
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by persons and vessels 
subject to U.S. jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part 635. Section 
635.27 subdivides the U.S. BFT quota recommended by the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas among the various 
domestic fishing categories.
    Under the implementing regulations at 50 CFR 635.27 (a)(7), NMFS 
has the authority to allocate any portion of the Reserve to any 
category quota in the fishery, other than the Angling category school 
BFT subquota (for which there is a separate reserve), after considering 
the following factors: (1) The usefulness of information obtained from 
catches in the particular category for biological sampling and 
monitoring of the status of the stock; (2) the catches of the 
particular category quota to date and the likelihood of closure of that 
segment of the fishery if no allocation is made; (3) the projected 
ability of the vessels fishing under the particular category quota to 
harvest the additional amount of BFT before the end of the fishing 
year; (4) the estimated amounts by which quotas established for other 
gear segments of the fishery might be exceeded; (5) effects of the 
transfer on BFT rebuilding and overfishing; and (6) effects of the 
transfer on accomplishing the objectives of the HMS FMP.
    NMFS is also authorized under 50 CFR 635.27(a)(8) to transfer 
quotas among categories, or, as appropriate, subcategories, of the 
fishery. If it is determined, based on the factors listed here and the 
probability of exceeding the total quota, that vessels fishing under 
any category or subcategory quota are not likely to take that quota, 
NMFS may transfer inseason any portion of the remaining quota of that 
fishing category to any other fishing category or to the reserve.

Quota Adjustments

    Annual BFT quota specifications issued under Sec.  635.27 provide 
for a quota of 634.3 mt of large medium and giant BFT to be harvested 
from the regulatory area by vessels fishing under the General category 
quota during the 2000 fishing year. The General category BFT quota is 
further subdivided into time period subquotas to provide for broad 
temporal and geographic distribution of scientific data collection and 
fishing opportunities. The October-December subquota was initially set 
at 62.4 mt for the 2000 fishing year, and is currently 164.4 mt, after 
the addition of approximately 102 mt of unharvested subquota from 
previous periods. As of October 10, 2000, General category landings 
against this adjusted October-December subquota have totaled 
approximately 79 mt, reducing the available quota for the remainder of 
the season to 85.4 mt. An additional 10 mt has been set aside for the 
traditional fall New York Bight fishery.
    After considering the factors for making transfers between 
categories and from the Reserve, NMFS has determined that 25 mt of the 
remaining 34.4 mt of Reserve should be transferred to the General 
category. In addition, NMFS has determined that 15 mt of the remaining 
Longline North subcategory quota of approximately 26 mt should be

[[Page 63022]]

transferred to the General category. Finally, NMFS has determined that 
60 mt of the remaining Angling North large school/small medium 
subcategory quota of approximately 161.1 mt should be transferred to 
the General category. Thus, a total of 100 mt is transferred to the 
General category for an adjusted annual quota of 734.3 mt (including 
the 10 mt New York Bight set-aside). The adjusted subquota for the 
coastwide General category fishery for the October-December period is 
264.4 mt.
    Once the General category subquota for the October-December period 
has been attained, the coastwide fishery will be closed and NMFS will 
take action to reopen the New York Bight fishery. Announcement of the 
closure will be filed with the Office of the Federal Register, stating 
the effective date of closure, and further communicated through the 
Highly Migratory Species 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 at 
(888) USA-TUNA or (978) 281-9305, to check the status of the fishery 
before leaving for a fishing trip.

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR 635.27 and is exempt from review 
under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: October 17, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-27053 Filed 10-17-00; 4:17 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S