[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56783-56788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24930]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 030613152-3235-02; 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: Final initial 2003 quota specifications, General category 
effort controls, permit revisions, and definition of the management 
boundary area.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces the final 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 (mt) 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 Highly Migratory Species (HMS) fishing 
tournaments and to allow permit applicants a 10-calendar day period to 
make permit category changes to correct potential errors. The final 
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), pursuant to 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 
definition of the management boundary area is to assist management, 
monitoring, and enforcement of the 25 mt allocated to the Longline 
category. The 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:  The final initial quota specifications and General category 
effort controls are effective November 3, 2003 through May 31, 2004. 
The definition of the management boundary area and applicable 
restrictions and the revisions to the permit requirements are effective 
November 3, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the supporting documents including the 
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/FRFA) and the Fishery Management Plan for 
Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP) may be obtained from 
Brad McHale, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
These documents are also available from the Highly Migratory Species 
Division website at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hmspg.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Brad McHale at (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

[[Page 56784]]

regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA has been delegated 
from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA 
(AA).

Background

    Background information about the need for the final initial BFT 
quota specifications, General category effort controls, and revisions 
to the HMS permit regulations was provided in the preamble to the 
proposed rule (68 FR 41103, July 10, 2003), and is not repeated here. 
By this final rule, NMFS announces the final initial BFT quota 
specifications, announces the General category effort controls, 
including time-period subquotas and restricted fishing days (RFDs), 
allocates 25 mt of BFT to account for incidental catch of BFT by 
pelagic longline vessels in the vicinity of the management boundary 
area, defines the management boundary area and applicable restrictions, 
revises permit requirements to allow General category vessels to 
participate in registered recreational HMS fishing tournaments, and 
revises permit requirements to allow permit applicants a 10-calendar 
day period to make permit category changes to correct potential errors.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

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. At the time of publication of the proposed initial 
specifications, 2002 fishing year landings had not yet been fully 
accounted. Therefore, NMFS adjusts these final initial 2003 fishing 
year quota specifications for the BFT fishery to account for 
underharvest and/or overharvest in the 2002 fishing year and recently 
available data on dead discards.
    For the 2002 fishing year, NMFS has determined that General 
category landings were higher than the adjusted General category quota 
by 15.7 mt. The Reserve category contains 10.3 mt of BFT quota, and 
will be used to address partially the General category overharvest. 
Purse Seine category landings were less 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. Harpoon category landings are less than the adjusted 
Harpoon category quota by approximately 20.4 mt. Angling category 
under/over harvests vary by size class for the 2002 fishing year: 
School BFT -- 133.8 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 is addressed by a transfer from the large 
school/small medium size category underharvest. Longline category 
landings are less than the adjusted quota by 5.2 mt. In 2002, no 
landings were recorded in the Trap category, leaving 2.3 mt.
    For all categories with underharvests from the 2002 fishing year, 
these final 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 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 2002 calendar year preliminary estimate of U.S. dead discards, as 
reported in pelagic longline vessel logbooks, totaled 38.0 mt (U.S. 
TASK I data submitted to ICCAT in 2003). As estimates of BFT dead 
discards for the 2002 fishing year are not yet available, the estimate 
for the 2002 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 - 38.0 mt = 30.0 mt, 30.0 mt/2 = 15.0 mt) to its total allowed 
landings for the following fishing year, or to individual fishing 
categories, or to the Reserve. NMFS allocates the 15.0 mt to the 
Reserve category quota.

BFT to Atlantic Tunas in General Category Tournament Exception

    When General category vessels fish in tournaments, it is NMFS' 
intent that HMS Angling category regulations for sharks, swordfish, 
and/or billfish, as well as any specific tournament rules, would apply 
to the General category vessels. However, when fishing for, or landing 
Atlantic tunas in a tournament, the General category regulations would 
apply, including RFDs and General category retention limits. Thus, this 
would not allow General category vessels to fish for or retain BFT less 
than 73 inches (1.85 m). This is intended to provide some relief from 
the current restrictions and allow General category vessels the same 
access to tournaments where they may have participated in the past. It 
is incumbent upon the General category fishermen to verify that a 
tournament is registered.

2003 Final Initial Quota Specifications

    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 announces 
final initial quota specifications for the 2003 fishing year as 
follows: General category -- 684.4 mt; Harpoon category -- 77.5 mt; 
Purse Seine category -- 382.4 mt; Angling category -- 497.0 mt; 
Longline category -- 148.8 mt; and Trap category -- 3.8 mt. 
Additionally, 72.1 mt will 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. 
The overall final initial BFT quota for the 2003 fishing year equals 
1,866.0 mt.
    Based on the above final initial specifications, the Angling 
category quota of 497.0 mt will be further subdivided as follows: 
School BFT -- 230.9 mt, with 130 mt to the northern area (north of 
39[deg] 18' N. latitude), 100.9 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.
    The 2002 ICCAT Recommendation includes a 25 mt set-aside quota to 
account for bycatch of BFT related to directed longline fisheries in 
the

[[Page 56785]]

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 Longline category quota of 148.8 mt will be subdivided as 
follows: 49.8 mt to longline vessels landing BFT north of 31[deg] N. 
latitude and 74.0 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 will be allocated to the 
Longline north subcategory for a total of 74.8 mt. Accounting for 
landings under this additional quota will be maintained separately from 
other landings under the Longline north subcategory.

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 will be applied to the adjusted 2003 coastwide quota for 
the General category of 684.4 mt, minus 10.0 mt reserved for the New 
York Bight fishery. Therefore, of the available 674.4 mt coastwide 
quota, 404.6 mt will be available in the period beginning June 1 and 
ending August 31; 202.4 mt will be available in the period beginning 
September 1 and ending September 30; and 67.4 mt will be available in 
the period beginning October 1 and ending December 31, 2003.
    In addition to time-period subquotas, NMFS also implements 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 fine-scale inseason flexibility. For 
the 2003 fishing year, NMFS implements 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 announces that persons aboard vessels permitted in the 
General category are prohibited from fishing for BFT of all sizes on 
the following days: November 15 through November 30 inclusive. These 
RFDs will improve distribution of fishing opportunities without 
increasing BFT mortality.

Comments and Response

    Comment 1: Comments expressed support for the new RFDs of November 
15-30 to assist in extending the General category fishery into the late 
winter season. Comments also stated that implementing this block of 
RFDs should also provide NMFS with adequate time to account for all BFT 
harvests made prior to any winter fishery.
    Response: NMFS' final action maintains the proposed block of RFDs 
in the final initial specifications for the Fall, from November 15 
through November 31, inclusive, where no General category BFT fishing 
would take place. This is due primarily to the experience of the past 
several years when low catch rates have resulted in NMFS having to 
waive all previously announced RFDs mid-season, which can cause 
confusion and disrupt fishermen's activities. This action will allow 
for BFT to migrate off southern Atlantic States, assist the 
availability of quota late in the season, and partially address 
economic and social concerns from south Atlantic area fishermen.
    Comment 2: Comments regarding the General category permit revision 
to allow General category vessels to participate in registered HMS 
recreational fishing tournaments were generally supportive. One 
commentor stated that General category vessels should also be allowed 
to land BFT in the recreational size classes while participating in a 
tournament. One comment received stated that the catching of shark, 
swordfish, and/or billfish recreationally or retaining any bycatch for 
personal consumption, has been a traditional component of the General 
category. The same comment stated that this action sets a precedent 
which could mean that a commercial permit holder for one species may 
not fish recreationally for another species.
    Response: The final action maintains the preferred alternative that 
will allow General category vessels to participate in recreational HMS 
fisheries provided they are participating in a registered recreational 
HMS fishing tournament (according to HMS tournament registration and 
participation regulations), as well as abiding by the regulations of 
the tournament. NMFS' intent is to allow General category vessels to 
land sharks, swordfish, and/or billfish recreationally while actively 
participating in a tournament. However, when fishing for, or landing, 
Atlantic tunas in a tournament the General category regulations would 
apply, including RFDs and General category retention/size limits. This 
action is intended to provide some relief from the current restriction 
and allow General category vessels the same access to tournaments where 
they may have participated in the past. As the tournament must be 
registered, NMFS will also be able to collect data on catch, effort, 
and participants.
    Recent rulemaking established a new recreational permit category 
for all HMS which, among other matters, means General category permit 
holders must choose whether to retain their commercial General category 
permit and forgo recreational HMS fishing opportunities or, switch 
permit categories to the new Atlantic HMS Angling permit and forgo 
their ability to sell tunas. The HMS Angling category permit completes 
a process that NMFS initiated several years ago to separate commercial 
and recreational HMS fishing activities to enhance both monitoring and 
management of all domestic HMS fishing categories.
    Comment 3: Comments regarding the 10-calendar day window of 
opportunity to correct any errors in permit categories were generally 
positive. Some comments stated that the 10 calendar days should be 
business days to provide a more adequate time frame for permit 
applicants to receive and check their permit. One commentor stated that 
permit category changes should be allowed up until NMFS finalizes the 
BFT Quota Specifications for each fishing year.
    Response: The final action establishes a 10-calendar day window of 
opportunity to correct any errors in permit categories (e.g., if a 
permit is issued on July 1, then corrections to the permit category 
must be made by July 10). This action is intended to address the 
situation where permit applicants received a permit in the wrong 
category, due to applicant or administrative error, and are unable to 
change to the intended permit category. Ten calendar days provide 
enough time for permit applicants to obtain their permit, check

[[Page 56786]]

that it is the correct permit, and contact the NMFS permit contractor 
to affect a change. Extending the time period may begin to undermine 
the original intent of the regulation (i.e., restricting multiple 
permit category changes) if permit applicants are motivated to actively 
participate in more than one category per season.
    Comment 4: Some comments stated that based on the system NMFS has 
in place for rapid curtailment of effort in the BFT fisheries, and due 
to the large amounts of inseason transfers made in the past, a large 
portion of the Reserve category quota for this season should be 
earmarked for the late season fishery off the south Atlantic states. 
The comments also stated this could be accomplished by changing the 
description of the Reserve category for this season to assure that a 
portion of the Reserve category quota is transferred to the General 
category in the late fall-early winter months.
    Response: The final action will maintain the Reserve category 
description as stated in Sec.  635.27 (a)(8). NMFS maintains the 
authority to transfer quota among categories or, as appropriate, 
subcategories throughout the fishing year. Prior to making any such 
transfers, NMFS has established a set of criteria that must be 
considered before performing an inseason transfer. The criteria are 
listed at Sec.  635.27 (a)(7)(iii)(A)-(F).

Classification

    These final initial BFT quota specifications, General category 
effort controls, and revisions to the HMS regulations are published 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. The Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries (AA) has determined that the regulations 
contained in this final rule are necessary to implement the 
recommendations of ICCAT and to manage the domestic Atlantic HMS 
fisheries.
    NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) for 
the proposed rule and submitted it to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration. No comments were received on the 
IRFA concerning the economic impact of this final rule. A summary of 
the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) is provided below.
    The analysis for the FRFA 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, NMFS 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 (bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, skipjack) fisheries in 
the vicinity of the management area boundary. In 2002, the annual gross 
revenues from the commercial BFT fishery were approximately $18 
million. 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 FRFA 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 
final actions on vessels.
    For the allocation of BFT quota among domestic fishing categories, 
two alternatives were considered: The final action that will allocate 
the ICCAT-recommended quota to domestic categories in accordance with 
the 2002 ICCAT Recommendation and HMS FMP and the No Action 
alternative. Under ATCA, the United States is authorized to promulgate 
regulations as necessary and appropriate to implement ICCAT-approved 
recommendations, except that no regulations may have the effect of 
increasing or decreasing any allocation or quota agreed to pursuant to 
an ICCAT Recommendation. The final action will increase the quota by 
77.6 mt and will have positive impacts for fishermen. The No Action 
alternative was rejected because it was not consistent with the purpose 
and need for this action and the HMS FMP. The No Action alternative 
would maintain 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, inconsistent with ATCA. No other alternatives 
would meet the purpose and need for this action.
    For the General category effort controls, three alternatives were 
considered: The final action to establish RFDs late in the season to 
provide a late Fall, southern Atlantic fishery, designate RFDs 
according to a published schedule, and the No Action (no initial RFDs 
and publish a schedule during the season). The final action would have 
positive economic impacts to those south Atlantic fishermen, but could 
have potentially negative economic impacts to those northern area 
fishermen who would have otherwise caught and sold fish earlier in the 
season. These negative impacts will be slightly mitigated if northern 
area fishermen are willing to travel south late in the season. NMFS has 
selected this final action because extending the season as late as 
possible enhances the likelihood of increasing participation by 
southern area fishermen and increasing overall access to the fishery 
over a greater range of the fish migration. The impacts of designating 
RFDs according to a published schedule may vary according to the pace 
of the fishery. If catch rates are slow as in recent years, as is 
expected, scheduled RFDs may need to be waived which causes confusion 
and disrupts fishermen's activities, thus having negative economic 
impacts. Therefore, this alternative is rejected. The No Action 
alternative could 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 negatively impacting south Atlantic fishermen. 
Therefore, this alternative is rejected.
    For the permit revision issue, four alternatives were considered: 
The final action which allows General category vessels to participate 
in registered recreational HMS fishing tournaments, a final action 
which allows 10 calendar days from the date of issuance of the permit 
to change categories, No Action (General category vessels cannot 
participate in recreational HMS fisheries and no permit changes are 
allowed once a permit has been issued), and allow dual permits and 
require declarations by General category vessels prior to every trip 
regarding which permit is to be used. The final action, which allows 
General category vessels to participate in registered recreational HMS 
tournaments, will have positive economic and social impacts by 
relieving a restriction on General category vessels. The final action 
also provides a 10-calendar day time period for permit changes due to 
errors which would have positive social and economic impacts. The No 
Action

[[Page 56787]]

alternative would have negative social and economic impacts because 
General category vessels would not be able to participate fully in 
recreational fishing tournaments, and because it would not allow permit 
category changes to correct errors. Therefore, this alternative is 
rejected. 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 as they would 
have to declare with NMFS their intent before making a trip, and 
difficulties in monitoring and enforcing the declarations in real-time 
and providing multiple permits for the same vessel may end up causing 
more confusion within the fishery than alleviating any perceived 
negative economic impacts, thus this alternative is rejected. The final 
action that provides a 10-calendar day time period for permit changes 
due to errors would have positive economic impacts by allowing permit 
holders to fish in the manner intended.
    For the definition of the management boundary area, four 
alternatives were considered: the final action which defines the area 
as the Northeast Distant (NED) area and will allow retention of the 25 
mt quota of BFT with no target catch requirements, the No Action (no 
definition of the area and operational procedures would account for 
quota allocated to the area), 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 
restrict the quota to vessels participating in the NED experimental 
fishery. The final action will provide slight positive economic impacts 
by allowing more retention of incidentally caught BFT relative to the 
other alternatives because no target requirements will apply. Under the 
No Action alternative and the other two rejected alternatives, more BFT 
would likely be discarded than under the final action and negative 
economic impacts may occur due to lost revenues from discarded BFT.
    None of the final actions in this document will result in 
additional reporting, record keeping, compliance, or monitoring 
requirements for the public.
    NMFS prepared an EA for this final rule, and the AA has concluded 
that there would be no significant impact on the human environment. The 
EA presents analyses of the anticipated impacts of these final actions 
and the alternatives considered. A copy of the EA and other analytical 
documents prepared for this rule, are available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
     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. On July 9, 2002 (67 FR 45393), 
NMFS implemented the reasonable and prudent alternative required by the 
BiOp. None of the actions in this final rule would 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. A memo concluding that no adverse effect 
would result from this action if implemented was submitted to the 
Office of Protected Resources on July 18, 2003. No comments were 
received that would alter that conclusion. No impacts are expected from 
this final action that would adversely affect the implementation of the 
requirements of the BiOp.
    NMFS has determined that the final regulations would be implemented 
in a manner consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the 
enforceable policies of those Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean 
coastal states that have approved coastal zone management programs. On 
July 15, 2003, the proposed regulations were submitted to the 
responsible state agencies for their review under Section 307 of the 
Coastal Zone Management Act. As of September 25, 2003, NOAA Fisheries 
has received six responses, all concurring with NOAA Fisheries' 
consistency determination. Because no responses were received from 
other states, their concurrence is presumed.
    The area in which this final 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, 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: September 25, 2003.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is amended as 
follows:

PART 635--ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES

0
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.

0
2. In Sec.  635.4, paragraphs (c) and (j)(3) are revised 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 635.4(c)(3).
    (3) A vessel issued an Atlantic Tunas General category permit 
fishing in a tournament, as authorized under Sec.  635.4(c)(2), shall 
comply with Atlantic Tunas General category regulations when fishing 
for, retaining, possessing, or landing Atlantic tunas.
* * * * *
    (j) * * *

[[Page 56788]]

    (3) 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-calendar days of the date of issuance of the permit. Beyond 
10 calendar days after the date of issuance of the permit, no permit 
category changes may be made.
* * * * *

0
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 of 
this part, under exempted fishing permits issued under Sec.  635.32 of 
this part, 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.
* * * * *

0
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 of this part, 
under exempted fishing permits issued under Sec.  635.32.
* * * * *

0
5. In Sec.  635.71, new paragraph (b)(29) is added 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. 03-24930 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S