[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 132 (Thursday, July 10, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41103-41108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-17521]



[[Page 41103]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 030613152-3152-01 ; I.D. 051903B]
RIN 0648-AQ38


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota 
Specification, General Category Effort Controls, and Permit Revisions

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

ACTION: Proposed initial 2003 quota specifications, General category 
effort controls, permit revisions, and definition of the management 
boundary area; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes initial 2003 fishing year specifications for the 
Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery to set BFT quotas for each of the 
established fishing categories, to set General category effort 
controls, to allocate 25 metric tons of BFT to account for incidental 
catch of BFT by pelagic longline vessels in the vicinity of the 
management boundary area, to define the management boundary area and 
applicable restrictions, and to revise permit requirements to allow 
General category vessels to participate in registered recreational HMS 
fishing tournaments and to allow permit applicants a 10-day period to 
make permit category changes to correct errors. The proposed initial 
quota specifications, including the quota allocation to account for 
incidental catch of BFT by pelagic longline vessels in the vicinity of 
the management boundary area and the General category effort controls, 
are necessary to implement recommendations of the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required 
by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic 
management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The proposed definition of 
the management boundary area is to assist management, monitoring, and 
enforcement of the 25 mt allocated to the Longline category. The 
proposed permit revisions to allow General category permitted vessels 
to participate in registered recreational HMS fishing tournaments and 
to allow a time period for permit category changes are intended to 
relieve restrictions and help achieve domestic management objectives.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 8, 2003. 
Public hearings on this proposed rule will be held in July 2003. Times 
and locations for the public hearings will be specified in a separate 
document in the Federal Register to be published at a later date.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed initial quota 
specifications, General category effort controls, definition of 
management boundary area, and permit revisions should be sent to Brad 
McHale, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, Office of 
Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NMFS, One Blackburn Dr. Gloucester, MA 
01930. Comments also may be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9340. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale (978) 281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. ATCA authorizes the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to implement binding recommendations 
of 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).

Background

    On May 28, 1999, NMFS published in the Federal Register (64 FR 
29090) final regulations, effective July 1, 1999, implementing the 
Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS 
FMP) that was adopted and made available to the public in April 1999. 
These proposed initial specifications are published in accordance with 
the HMS FMP and are necessary to implement the 2002 ICCAT 
Recommendation, as required by ATCA, and to achieve domestic management 
objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. In 2002, ICCAT recommended 
increasing the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the western Atlantic 
management area from 2,500 mt to 2,700 mt, consistent with the 1998 
rebuilding plan for western Atlantic bluefin tuna. The 2002 quota 
increase is inclusive of a 25-mt quota to account for bycatch of BFT 
related to directed longline fisheries for other species in the 
vicinity of the management boundary area. The ICCAT recommendation did 
not elaborate further as to how the vicinity of the management boundary 
area was to be defined. These proposed initial quota specifications 
would be consistent with the BFT rebuilding program as set forth in the 
HMS FMP, would allocate the 2002 ICCAT-recommended quota for the 2003 
fishing year (June 1, 2003 - May 31, 2004) among the several 
established domestic fishing categories based on the current BFT quota 
allocation percentages established in the HMS FMP, would allocate 25 
metric tons to the longline north subquota and define ``vicinity of the 
management boundary area'' to the application of the 25 metric tons, 
and would carry over any unharvested 2002 fishing year quota. Also, in 
accordance with the HMS FMP, NMFS proposes the General category effort 
control schedule, including time-period subquotas and restricted 
fishing days (RFDs), for the 2003 fishing season.
    On December 18, 2002, NMFS established the Atlantic HMS Angling 
category permit requirement (67 FR 77434) and required all vessels 
participating in HMS recreational fishing activities, except for HMS 
Charter/Headboats, to obtain an HMS Angling category permit. As vessels 
are not authorized to possess two permits during the same fishing year, 
General category vessels are no longer allowed to fish for and/or to 
retain sharks, swordfish, and/or billfish under the daily recreational 
retention limits, thus precluding General category vessels from 
participating in recreational HMS fishing or in registered recreational 
HMS fishing tournaments. This action proposes to amend the current 
regulations regarding HMS Angling category permits to allow General 
category permit holders to participate in registered recreational HMS 
fishing tournaments.
    On June 12, 2003, NMFS issued a temporary rule (68 FR 35185), 
effective through June 9, 2003, to address comments that the new permit 
category and the change to activities formerly allowed under General 
category rules have caused confusion. Due to this confusion, many 
permit holders obtained Atlantic Tunas General category vessel permits 
in error. Due to the circumstances of the new HMS Angling permit 
requirement, that temporary rule provides a 30-day period for Atlantic 
Tunas General category permit holders to change their permit category 
and obtain Atlantic HMS Angling category permits.
    Since the issuance of the June 12, 2003, temporary rule, NMFS 
received numerous comments on a daily basis that other permits have 
been issued in incorrect categories due to confusion about the new HMS 
Angling permit

[[Page 41104]]

category, human error in selecting the permit due to unfamiliarity with 
the automated permitting system, or to possible administrative error. 
Currently, the existing regulations do not provide any mechanism for 
addressing such errors made by permittees or NOAA Fisheries' permit 
contractor. Persons issued permits in the Atlantic Tunas General and 
Harpoon and Atlantic HMS Angling and Charter/Headboat categories have 
also contacted NOAA Fisheries to seek relief for permits issued in 
incorrect categories. Due to the circumstances of the new HMS Angling 
permit requirements and to the numerous errors in permit category 
issuance, NMFS issued a second temporary rule, effective June 23, 2003, 
through December 31, 2003, to provide a 10-day period for all Atlantic 
Tunas General, Harpoon, and Trap categories and Atlantic HMS Angling 
and Charter/Headboat category permit holders to correct permit category 
errors (68 FR 38233).
    A number of issues regarding the domestic management of BFT were 
discussed at length during the most recent HMS Advisory Panel (AP) 
meeting held in Silver Spring, MD, many of which are beyond the scope 
of this action and will be addressed in future regulatory or FMP 
amendments. These issues may include, but are not limited to, 
adjustment of domestic quota allocation percentages, adjustment of 
General category time-period subquotas, addressing the Petition for 
Rulemaking submitted by the North Carolina Department of Marine 
Fisheries (see Notice of Receipt of Petition, 67 FR 69502, November 18, 
2002), adjustment of quota category opening and closure dates, and 
adjustment of large medium BFT size tolerances in the Harpoon and Purse 
seine categories. Because many of these issues require further analysis 
and public input and because these initial specifications need to be 
issued as soon as possible given that the 2003 fishing year started on 
June 1, NMFS intends to address these issues as separate rulemaking 
activities and publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to 
begin the process of addressing those issues requiring an HMS FMP 
amendment.
    After consideration of public comment, NMFS will issue final 
initial specifications and effort controls and publish them in the 
Federal Register. The final initial quota specifications and effort 
controls may subsequently be adjusted during the course of the fishing 
year, consistent with the provisions of the HMS FMP. Such adjustments 
will be published in the Federal Register.

Domestic Quota Allocation

    The HMS FMP and its implementing regulations established baseline 
percentage quota shares for the domestic fishing categories. These 
percentage shares were based on allocation procedures that had been 
developed by NMFS over several years. The baseline percentage quota 
shares established in the HMS FMP for fishing years beginning June 1, 
1999, to the present are as follows: General category - 47.1 percent; 
Harpoon category -- 3.9 percent; Purse Seine category -- 18.6 percent; 
Angling category -- 19.7 percent; Longline category -- 8.1 percent; 
Trap category -- 0.1 percent; and Reserve -- 2.5 percent. The 2002 
ICCAT-recommended U.S. BFT quota of 1,464.6 mt, not including the 25 mt 
set aside for pelagic longline vessels, would be allocated in 
accordance to these percentages. However, in addition to the 2002 ICCAT 
quota Recommendation, quota allocations are adjusted based on 
overharvest or underharvest from prior fishing year's activity and 
results of U.S. data on dead discards and on the use of the ICCAT dead 
discard allowance. Each of these adjustments is discussed below and 
then applied to the results of the above percentage shares to determine 
the 2003 fishing year proposed initial specifications.

2002 Underharvest/Overharvest

    The current ICCAT BFT quota recommendation allows, and U.S. 
regulations require, the addition or subtraction, as appropriate, of 
any underharvest or overharvest in a fishing year to the following 
fishing year, provided that such carryover does not result in 
overharvest of the total annual BFT quota and is consistent with all 
applicable ICCAT Recommendations, including restrictions on landings of 
school BFT. Therefore, NMFS proposes to adjust the 2003 fishing year 
quota specifications for the BFT fishery to account for underharvest 
and/or overharvest in the 2002 fishing year.
    The General category fishery for BFT was closed, as of December 15, 
2002, for the remainder of the 2002 fishing year (June 1, 2002 - May 
31, 2003; 67 FR 77433, December 18, 2002). Overall U.S. landings 
figures for the fishing year are still preliminary, since other 
categories were open and final data from these categories have not yet 
been analyzed. Thus, the landings figures may be updated before the 
2003 specifications are finalized. For the 2002 fishing year, NMFS has 
preliminarily determined that General category landings were higher 
than the adjusted General category quota by 16.3 mt. Purse Seine 
category landings were fewer than the adjusted Purse Seine category 
quota by 110.0 mt. Regulations at 50 CFR 635.27(a)(9)(i) require that 
Purse Seine category underharvests or overharvests be subtracted from 
or added to each individual vessel's quota allocation, as appropriate. 
Based on the estimated amount of Reserve that NMFS is maintaining for 
the landing of BFT taken during ongoing scientific research projects, 
NMFS estimates that 10.3 metric tons of Reserve remains unharvested 
from the 2002 fishing year. This remaining Reserve quota will be used 
to partially address the General category overharvest in 2002.
    The Angling, Longline, Trap, and Harpoon category fisheries 
remained open through May 31, 2003. As NMFS anticipates publication of 
final BFT quota specifications for the 2003 fishing year prior to the 
availability of final 2002 fishing year landings figures for these four 
categories, best estimates based on current landings patterns will be 
used to determine carryover amounts, if any. Harpoon category landings 
are less than the adjusted Harpoon category quota by approximately 20.7 
mt. Angling category under/over harvests vary by size class for the 
2002 fishing year: School BFT -- 136.0 mt underharvest, large school/
small medium BFT -- 76.1 mt underharvest, large medium/giant BFT -- 1.5 
mt overharvest, and school reserve -- 20.5 mt underharvest. Overharvest 
in the large medium/giant size class will be addressed by transfer from 
the large school/small medium category. Longline category landings are 
less than the adjusted quota by 233 mt. In 2002, no landings were 
recorded in the Trap category leaving 2.3 mt. For the above four 
categories that remain open, the final initial 2003 BFT quota 
specifications will be issued based on updated 2002 landings.
    For all categories with underharvests from the 2002 fishing year, 
these initial specifications include provisions to carry forward 
remaining quota to the same category for the 2003 fishing year. 
However, the unused school reserve (approximately 20.5 mt) is proposed 
to be allocated to the Reserve category.

Dead Discards

    As part of the BFT rebuilding program, ICCAT recommends an 
allowance for dead discards. The U.S. dead discard allowance is 68 mt. 
The 2001 preliminary estimate of U.S. dead discards, as reported in 
pelagic longline vessel logbooks, totaled 25.0 mt (U.S. National Report 
to ICCAT 2002). As estimates of BFT dead discards for the 2002 fishing 
year will not be available

[[Page 41105]]

for some time, the estimate for the 2001 calendar year was used to 
calculate the amount to be added to, or subtracted from, the U.S. BFT 
landings quota for 2003 as a result of dead discards. Estimates of dead 
discards from other gear types and fishing sectors that do not use the 
pelagic longline vessel logbook are unavailable at this time and thus 
are not included in this calculation. As U.S. fishing activity is 
estimated to have resulted in less dead discards than its allowance, 
the ICCAT Recommendation and U.S. regulations state that the United 
States may add one half of the difference between the amount of dead 
discards and the allowance (i.e., 68.0 mt - 25.0 mt = 43.0 mt, 43.0 mt/
2 = 21.5 mt) to its total allowed landings for the following fishing 
year, or to individual fishing categories, or to the Reserve. NMFS 
proposes to allocate the 21.5 mt to the Reserve category quota.

2003 Proposed Initial Quota Specifications

    Therefore, in accordance with the 2002 ICCAT Recommendation, the 
ICCAT Recommendation regarding the dead discard allowance, the HMS FMP 
percentage shares for each of the domestic categories, and regulations 
regarding annual adjustments at Sec.  635.27(a)(9)(ii), NMFS proposes 
initial quota specifications for the 2003 fishing year as follows: 
General category -- 683.8 mt; Harpoon category -- 77.8 mt; Purse Seine 
category -- 382.4 mt; Angling category -- 499.2 mt; Longline category -
- 166.9 mt; and Trap category -- 3.8 mt. Additionally, 78.6 mt would be 
allocated to the Reserve category for inseason allocations, including 
providing for a late season General category fishery, or to cover 
scientific research collection and potential overharvest in any 
category except the Purse Seine category.
    Based on the above proposed initial specifications, the Angling 
category quota of 499.2 mt would be further subdivided as follows: 
School BFT -- 233.1 mt, with 130 mt to the northern area (north of 
39[deg] 18' N. latitude), 103.1 mt to the southern area (south of 
39[deg] 18' N. latitude), plus 22.1 mt held in reserve; large school/
small medium BFT -- 237.4 mt, with 127.6 mt to the northern area and 
109.8 mt to the southern area; and large medium/giant BFT -- 6.6 mt, 
with 2.2 mt to the northern area and 4.4 mt to the southern area. These 
subquotas reflect the adjusted north-south dividing line (39[deg] 18' 
N. latitude) and percentage quota allocations in the northern and 
southern areas for the Angling category, as implemented by NMFS through 
a final rule on August 15, 2001 (66 FR 42801).
    The 2002 ICCAT recommendation includes a 25 mt set-aside quota to 
account for bycatch of BFT related to directed longline fisheries in 
the vicinity of the management area boundary. This set-aside quota is 
in addition to the overall incidental longline quota to be subdivided 
in accordance to the North/South allocation percentages mentioned 
below. NMFS recently adjusted the boundary line between the northern 
and southern areas to 31[deg]00' N. latitude, near Jekyll Island, 
Georgia (an area with little longline fishing activity nearby), and 
adjusted the Longline quota distribution to allocate 40 percent to the 
northern area and 60 percent to the southern area (68 FR 32414, May 30, 
2003). Thus, the proposed Longline category quota of 166.9 mt would be 
subdivided as follows: 49.8 mt to longline vessels landing BFT north of 
31[deg] N. latitude and 92.1 mt to longline vessels landing BFT south 
of 31[deg] N. latitude. The 25 mt allocated by ICCAT for longline 
vessels in the vicinity of the management boundary area would be 
allocated to the Longline north subcategory. Accounting for landings 
under this additional quota would be maintained separately from other 
landings under the Longline north subcategory.
    Should adjustments to the final initial 2003 BFT quota 
specifications be required based on final 2002 BFT landings figures, 
NMFS will publish the adjustments in the Federal Register.

General Category Effort Controls

    For the last several years, NMFS has implemented General category 
time-period subquotas to increase the likelihood that fishing would 
continue throughout the entire General category season. The subquotas 
are consistent with the objectives of the HMS FMP and are designed to 
address concerns regarding allocation of fishing opportunities, to 
assist with distribution and achievement of optimum yield, to allow for 
a late season fishery, and to improve market conditions and scientific 
monitoring.
    The HMS FMP divides the annual General category quota into three 
time-period subquotas as follows: 60 percent for June-August, 30 
percent for September, and 10 percent for October-December. These 
percentages would be applied to the adjusted 2003 coastwide quota for 
the General category of 683.8 mt, minus 10.0 mt reserved for the New 
York Bight fishery. Therefore, of the available 673.8 mt coastwide 
quota, 404.3 mt would be available in the period beginning June 1 and 
ending August 31; 202.1 mt would be available in the period beginning 
September 1 and ending September 30; and 67.4 mt would be available in 
the period beginning October 1 and ending December 31, 2003.
    In addition to time-period subquotas, NMFS also has implemented 
General category RFDs to extend the General category fishing season. 
The RFDs are designed to address the same issues addressed by time-
period subquotas and provide additional finer-scale inseason 
flexibility. For the 2003 fishing year, NMFS proposes a schedule of 
RFDs that would assist in extending the General category BFT fishery 
into the late season to provide southern Atlantic General category 
participants commercial fishing opportunities on large medium and giant 
BFT.
    Therefore, NMFS proposes that persons aboard vessels permitted in 
the General category would be prohibited from fishing, including tag-
and-release, for BFT of all sizes on the following days: November 15 
through November 30 inclusive. These proposed RFDs would improve 
distribution of fishing opportunities without increasing BFT mortality.

General Category Permit Revision

    Since the HMS FMP, changes have been made to the Atlantic HMS and 
Atlantic tunas permit categories regarding allowed activities as well 
as clarification of definitions of permitted operations for certain 
permit categories in order to further meet domestic management 
objectives. Recent rulemaking established a new recreational permit 
category for all HMS and replaced the previous Atlantic tunas Angling 
permit category (67 FR 77434, December 18, 2002). The owner/operator of 
each vessel used to fish recreationally for Atlantic HMS, except for 
HMS Charter/Headboats, or on which Atlantic HMS are retained or 
possessed recreationally, must obtain an HMS Angling permit. HMS FMP 
implementing regulations allow only one type of permit to be issued to 
a particular vessel. Until recently, General category permit holders 
were allowed to fish recreationally for swordfish, sharks, and billfish 
(i.e. marlins) under the recreational size and retention limits. Now, 
because the new HMS Angling permit is required for these recreational 
fishing activities, General category permit holders must choose whether 
to retain their commercial General category permit and forgo 
recreational HMS fishing opportunities or to switch permit categories 
to an Atlantic HMS Angling permit. Since the new permit

[[Page 41106]]

regulations have become effective, NMFS has received comment from 
vessel owners/operators and tournament directors that many vessels that 
had historically participated in tournaments would no longer be able to 
do so. In order to provide some flexibility and allow General category 
fishermen access to recreational HMS fisheries, NMFS proposes to allow 
General category vessels to participate in recreational HMS fisheries 
provided they register and participate in a recreational HMS fishing 
tournament that is registered according to HMS tournament registration 
and participation regulations at Sec.  635.5(d), and according to the 
regulations of the tournament. It is incumbent upon the General 
category fishermen to verify that a tournament is registered.
    When General category vessels participate in registered 
tournaments, HMS Angling category regulations, as well as any specific 
tournament rules, would apply to General category vessels when fishing 
for tuna (other than BFT), sharks, swordfish, and billfish. For BFT, 
General category vessels participating in tournaments must comply with 
all General category regulations. Thus, they would still not be allowed 
to fish for BFT less than 73'' and would be subject to restricted 
fishing days. As HMS tournaments must be registered, NMFS would also be 
able to collect data on catch and effort for management purposes and 
make further revisions should they be necessary.

Time Period for Permit Category Changes

    NMFS also proposes to allow permit applicants to make permit 
category changes within 10 days of the date of issuance of the permit 
(e.g., if a permit is issued on July 1, then corrections to the permit 
category must be made by July 10). Partly as a result of the 
establishment on HMS Angling permit and of the potential confusion 
during the permit application process, applicants have found themselves 
with a permit other than the one intended. As permit holders cannot 
make more than one change a year or change categories after they have 
renewed a permit, permit holders are finding they are unable to obtain 
the correct category and may be unable to engage in their intended 
fishing activity for the current year if they do not meet a particular 
permit requirement (e.g., cannot sell fish in the Angling category, or 
do not hold a Captain or Master's license with a Charter/Headboat 
permit, etc). NMFS proposes to authorize a permit holder to make a 
permit category change within 10 days of the date of issuance of the 
permit. Ten days should provide enough time for a permit applicant to 
obtain his or her permit, check that it is the correct permit, and 
contact the NMFS permit contractor to correct an error.

Definition of Management Boundary Area

    NMFS proposes to define ``vicinity of the management boundary 
area'' as the Northeast Distant (NED) area to facilitate management, 
monitoring, and enforcement of the 25 mt allocated to the longline 
north category, per the ICCAT recommendation. This definition matches 
exactly the definition of NED closed area in which the experimental 
fishery is occurring. NMFS is in the third year of the 3-year sea 
turtle bycatch reduction experiment in the NED area, and pelagic 
longline vessels are prohibited from fishing in that area unless they 
are actively participating in, and complying with, the terms and 
conditions of the NED experiment. Such vessels participate in the NED 
experiment pursuant to an Endangered Species Act Section 10 permit and 
exempted fishing permits with 100 percent observer coverage. As the NED 
area straddles the management boundary area from 60[deg] to 20[deg] W. 
Longitude and 35[deg] to 55[deg] N. Latitude and given the strict 
controls of the terms of the experimental fishery, NMFS should be able 
to monitor, manage, and enforce the 25 mt incidental BFT allocation to 
the longline north category. NMFS further proposes to allow retention 
of 25 mt of BFT caught incidentally to fishing under the NED 
experimental fishery with no target catch requirements because the 
strict controls of the experiment may prevent fishermen from meeting 
the target catch requirements such that all BFT would be discarded. 
Once the 25 mt limit is reached, retention limits and target catch 
requirements would apply to all incidentally caught BFT in the NED 
area.

Classification

    This proposed rule is published under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. The Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries (AA) has preliminarily determined that the regulations 
contained in this proposed rule are necessary to implement the 
recommendations of ICCAT and to manage the domestic Atlantic HMS 
fisheries.
    NMFS has prepared a regulatory impact review and an Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) that examine the impacts of the 
selected alternatives discussed previously in this rulemaking. The 
purpose of this proposed action is to implement the 2002 ICCAT 
Recommendation regarding the BFT quota, propose 2003 specifications for 
the BFT fishery that allocates the quota among domestic fishing 
categories, including 25 mt of BFT quota to the Longline category, 
implement General category effort controls, and revise permit 
regulations.
    The analysis for the IRFA assesses the impacts of the various 
alternatives on the vessels that participate in the BFT fisheries, all 
of which are considered small entities. In order to do this NOAA 
Fisheries has estimated the average impact that the alternative to 
establish the 2003 BFT quota for all domestic fishing categories would 
have on individual categories and the vessels within those categories. 
As mentioned above, the 2002 ICCAT Recommendation increased the BFT 
quota allocation to 1,489.6 mt. This increase includes 77.6 mt to be 
redistributed to the domestic fishing categories based on the 
allocation percentages established in the HMS FMP as well as a set-
aside quota of 25 mt to account for incidental catch of BFT related to 
directed longline swordfish and BAYS fisheries in the vicinity of the 
management area boundary. In 2002, the annual gross revenues from the 
commercial BFT fishery were approximately $18 million (Table 9). There 
are approximately 11,091 vessels that are permitted to land and sell 
BFT under four BFT quota categories. The four quota categories and 
their 2002 gross revenues are General ($13,948,190), Harpoon 
($588,884), Purse Seine ($3,066,034), and Incidental Longline 
($588,352). The analysis for the IRFA assumes that all category vessels 
have similar catch and gross revenues. While this may not be true, the 
analyses are sufficient to show the relative impact of the various 
preferred alternatives on vessels.
    For the allocation of BFT quota among domestic fishing categories, 
two alternatives were considered: no action and a preferred alternative 
that would allocate the ICCAT-recommended quota to domestic categories 
in accordance with the 2002 ICCAT recommendation and HMS FMP. The 2002 
ICCAT recommendation specified a 1489.6 mt total quota for the United 
States. Under ATCA, the United States is obligated to implement ICCAT-
approved recommendations. The preferred alternative would increase the 
quota by 77.6 mt and would have positive impacts for fishermen. The no 
action alternative would not be consistent with the purpose and need 
for this action and the HMS FMP. It would maintain

[[Page 41107]]

economic impacts to the United States and to local economies at a 
distribution and scale similar to 2002 but would deny fishermen 
additional fishing opportunities as recommended by the 2002 ICCAT 
Recommendation and as mandated by ATCA.
    For the General category effort controls, three alternatives were 
considered: designate RFDs according to a published schedule, no action 
(no initial RFDs and publish a schedule during the season), and a 
preferred alternative to establish RFDs late in the season to provide a 
late Fall, southern Atlantic fishery. The impacts of designating RFDs 
according to a published schedule vary according to the pace of the 
fishery. When catch rates have been high, a published schedule has had 
positive economic consequences by avoiding market gluts and providing 
access to higher quality fish later in the season. Positive social 
impacts have also occurred as fishermen have commented that knowing the 
exact schedule of RFDs prior to the season facilitates planning and 
scheduling of trips. However, if catch rates are slow as in recent 
years, RFDs have been waived and caused confusion and disrupted 
fishermen's activity, with some negative impacts. The no action 
alternative would have positive economic consequences if another season 
of low catch rates occurs. However, even with low catch rates and no 
RFDs, it is unlikely that there will be enough quota in the General 
category to sustain a late season commercial handgear fishery off south 
Atlantic states. Thus, if the 2003 season should be similar to the 2002 
fishery, there may be negative economic impacts to fishermen in 
southern states unless inseason management actions (similar to those in 
2002, i.e. inseason transfers) are taken to directly address these 
concerns and potential impacts. The preferred alternative could have 
potentially negative economic impacts to those northern area fishermen 
who would have otherwise caught and sold fish earlier in the season, 
but would have positive economic impacts to those south Atlantic 
fishermen. Impacts would be slightly mitigated if northern area 
fishermen are willing to travel south late in the season. Overall, 
however, extending the season as late as possible would enhance the 
likelihood of increasing participation by southern area fishermen and 
access to the fishery over a greater range of the fish migration.
    For permit categories, four alternatives were considered: no action 
(General category vessels cannot participate in recreational HMS 
fisheries and no permit changes are allowed once a permit has been 
issued), a preferred alternative to allow General category vessels to 
participate in recreational HMS registered fishing tournaments, allow 
dual permits and require declarations by General category vessels prior 
to every trip regarding which permit is to be used, and a preferred 
alternative to allow 10 days from the date of issuance of the permit to 
change categories. The no action alternative would maintain perceived 
negative impacts because General category vessels would remain excluded 
from all HMS recreational fishing opportunities. The no action 
alternative would also not allow permit category changes to correct 
errors and would have negative economic impacts for those vessels who 
intended to engage in commercial activity but could not due to an 
incorrect permit. The preferred alternative to allow General category 
vessels to participate in recreational HMS registered tournaments have 
positive economic impacts by relieving a restriction on General 
category vessels. The alternative to allow dual permits would further 
liberalize the restriction and alleviate any negative economic impacts 
by allowing General category vessels to choose on any given day whether 
they wish to fish commercially or recreationally. However, there would 
be some administrative impacts to vessel owners/operators wishing as 
they would have to declare with NOAA Fisheries their intent before 
making the trip, and difficulties in monitoring and enforcing the 
declarations in real-time and providing multiple permits for the same 
vessel and may end up causing more confusion within the fishery than 
alleviating any perceived negative economic impacts. The preferred 
alternative to provide a time period for permit holders to change their 
permit category if they found an error would ease an administrative 
issue with positive economic impacts.
    For the definition of the management boundary area, four 
alternatives were considered: no action (no definition of the area and 
operational procedures would account for quota allocated to the area), 
a preferred alternative to define the area as the Northeast Distant 
area and allow retention of the 25 mt quota of BFT with no target catch 
requirements, defining the area as 5 degrees on both sides of the 
management boundary line, and defining the area as east of the 
management boundary line. All but the no action alternative would also 
restrict the quota to vessels participating in the NED experimental 
fishery. Under the no action alternative and the two non-preferred 
alternatives, more BFT would likely be discarded than under the 
preferred alternative and negative economic impacts may occur due to 
lost revenues from discarded BFT. However, any negative impacts are 
expected to be minor because BFT are caught incidentally to fishing for 
other species, thus there are no costs. The preferred alternative would 
provide slight positive economic impacts by allowing more retention of 
incidentally caught BFT relative to the other alternatives because no 
target requirements would apply.
    None of the proposed alternatives in this document would result in 
additional reporting, record keeping, compliance, or monitoring 
requirements for the public.
    NMFS prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for this 
proposed rule, and the AA has preliminarily concluded that there would 
be no significant impact on the human environment if this proposed rule 
were implemented. The EA presents analyses of the anticipated impacts 
of these proposed regulations and the alternatives considered. A copy 
of the EA and other analytical documents prepared for this proposed 
rule, are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    On September 7, 2000, NMFS reinitiated formal consultation for all 
HMS commercial fisheries under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act 
(ESA). A Biological Opinion (BiOp) issued June 14, 2001, concluded that 
continued operation of the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery is likely 
to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered and threatened sea 
turtle species under NMFS jurisdiction. NMFS is currently implementing 
the reasonable and prudent alternative required by the BiOp. These 
proposed quota specifications and effort controls would not have any 
additional impact on sea turtles as these actions would not likely 
increase or decrease pelagic longline effort, nor are they expected to 
shift effort into other fishing areas. No irreversible or irretrievable 
commitments of resources are expected from this proposed action that 
would have the effect of foreclosing the implementation of the 
requirements of the BiOp.
    The area in which this proposed action is planned has been 
identified as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for species managed by the 
New England Fishery Management Council, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council,

[[Page 41108]]

the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the Caribbean Fishery 
Management Council, and the HMS Management Division of the Office of 
Sustainable Fisheries at NMFS. It is not anticipated that this action 
will have any adverse impacts to EFH and, therefore, no consultation is 
required.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635

    Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Foreign relations, 
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Statistics, Treaties.

    Dated: July 3, 2003.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 635--ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES

    1. The authority citation for part 635 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
    2. In Sec.  635.4, revise paragraph (c) and add new paragraph 
(j)(4) to read as follows:


Sec.  635.4  Permits and fees.

* * * * *
    (c) HMS Angling permits. (1) The owner of any vessel used to fish 
recreationally for Atlantic HMS or on which Atlantic HMS are retained 
or possessed recreationally, must obtain an HMS Angling permit, except 
as provided in Sec.  635.4(c)(2). Atlantic HMS caught, retained, 
possessed, or landed by persons on board vessels with an HMS Angling 
permit may not be sold or transferred to any person for a commercial 
purpose. A vessel issued an HMS Angling permit for a fishing year shall 
not be issued an HMS Charter/Headboat permit or an Atlantic Tunas 
permit in any category for that same fishing year, regardless of a 
change in the vessel's ownership.
    (2) A vessel issued an Atlantic Tunas General category permit under 
paragraph (d) of this section may fish in a recreational HMS fishing 
tournament if the vessel has registered for, paid an entry fee to, and 
is fishing under the rules of a tournament that has notified NMFS as 
required under Sec.  635.5(d). When a vessel issued an Atlantic Tunas 
General category permit is fishing in such a tournament, such vessel 
must comply with HMS Angling category regulations, except as provided 
in Sec.  635.4(c)(3).
    (3) A vessel issued an Atlantic Tunas General category permit 
fishing in a tournament, as permitted in Sec.  635.4(c)(2), shall 
comply with Atlantic Tunas General category regulations when fishing 
for, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT.
* * * * *
    (j) * * *
    (4) Except for Atlantic Tunas Longline and Purse Seine category 
permits, a vessel owner issued a permit under paragraphs (b), (c) or 
(d) of this section may change the category of the vessel's permit 
within 10 days of the date of issuance of the permit. Beyond 10 days 
after the date of issuance of the permit, no permit category changes 
may be made.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec.  635.23, paragraph (f)(3) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  635.23  Retention limits for BFT.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (3) For pelagic longline vessels participating in an experimental 
fishery in the Northeast distant area, as defined under Sec.  635.2, 
under exempted fishing permits issued under Sec.  635.32, all BFT taken 
incidental to fishing for other species while in the Northeast distant 
area may be retained up to a maximum of 25 mt for all vessels so 
authorized, notwithstanding the retention limits and target catch 
requirements specified in paragraph (f)(1) of this section. Once the 25 
mt limit is attained, the retention limits and target catch 
requirements specified in paragraph (f)(1) of this section or as 
adjusted pursuant to paragraph (f)(2) of this section will apply to 
such vessels.
* * * * *
    4. In Sec.  635.27, paragraph (a)(3) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  635.27  Quotas.

    (a) * * *
    (3) Longline category quota. The total amount of large medium and 
giant BFT that may be caught incidentally and retained, possessed, or 
landed by vessels for which Longline category Atlantic tunas permits 
have been issued is 8.1 percent of the overall U.S. BFT quota. In the 
initial quota specifications issued under paragraph (a) of this 
section, no more than 60.0 percent of the Longline category quota may 
be allocated for landing in the area south of 31[deg] 00'; N. lat. In 
addition, 25 mt shall be allocated for incidental catch by pelagic 
longline vessels participating in an experimental fishery in the 
Northeast distant area, as defined under Sec.  635.2, under exempted 
fishing permits issued under Sec.  635.32.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec.  635.71, add new paragraph (b)(29) to read as follows:


Sec.  635.71  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (29) Participate in any HMS recreational fishing activity aboard a 
vessel issued an Atlantic Tunas General category permit unless, as 
specified at Sec.  635.4(c)(2) and (3), the vessel has registered and 
paid an entry fee to, and is fishing under the rules of, a recreational 
HMS fishing tournament registered as required under Sec.  635.5(d).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-17521 Filed 7-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S