[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51529-51531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14486]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 081006A]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason retention limit adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that the daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) 
retention limits for the Atlantic tunas General category should be 
adjusted to allow for a reasonable opportunity to harvest the General 
category September time-period subquota. Therefore, NMFS increases the 
daily BFT retention limits to provide enhanced commercial General 
category fishing opportunities in all areas while minimizing the risk 
of an overharvest of the General category BFT quota.

DATES: The effective dates for the BFT daily retention limits are 
provided in Table 1 under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Murray-Brown, 978-281-9260.

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 (Magnuson-
Stevens 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. The 2006 BFT fishing year began on June 1, 2006, and ends May 
31, 2007. The final initial 2006 BFT specifications and General 
category effort controls were published on May 30, 2006 (71 FR 30619). 
These final specifications divided the General category quota among 
three subperiods (June through August, September, and October through 
January) in accordance with the Highly Migratory Species Fishery 
Management Plan (1999 FMP) published in 1999 (May 29,1999; 64 FR 
29090), and implementing regulations at Sec.  635.27. A three-fish 
general category retention limit was set for the first subperiod (June 
through August) due to the large amount of available quota and the low 
catch rate at the opening of the season.

Daily Retention Limits

    Pursuant to this action and the final initial 2006 BFT 
specifications, noted above, the daily BFT retention limits for 
Atlantic tunas General category are as follows:

        Table 1. Effective dates for retention limit adjustments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        BFT Size Class
   Permit Category      Effective Dates      Areas          Limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General               June 1, 2006,        All       *COM041*Three BFT
                       through August 31,             per vessel per day/
                       2006, inclusive                trip, measuring 73
                                                      inches (185 cm)
                                                      curved fork length
                                                      (CFL) or larger
                     ---------------------------------------------------
                      September 1, 2006,   All       Three BFT per
                       through September              vessel per day/
                       30, 2006,                      trip, measuring 73
                       inclusive                      inches (185 cm)
                                                      curved fork length
                                                      (CFL) or larger
                     ---------------------------------------------------
                      October 1, 2006,     All       One BFT per vessel
                       through January                per day/trip,
                       31, 2007,                      measuring 73
                       inclusive                      inches (185 cm)
                                                      CFL or larger
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adjustment of General Category Daily Retention Limits

    Under 50 CFR 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the 
General category daily retention limit of large medium and giant BFT 
over a range from zero (on Restricted Fishing Days) to a maximum of 
three per vessel to allow for a reasonable opportunity to harvest the 
quota for BFT. As part of the final specifications on May 30, 2006 (71 
FR 30619), NMFS adjusted the

[[Page 51530]]

commercial daily BFT retention limit, in all areas, for those vessels 
fishing under the General category quota, to three large medium or 
giant BFT, measuring 73 inches (185 cm) or greater curved fork length 
(CFL), per vessel per day/trip. This retention limit was to remain in 
effect through August 31, 2006, inclusive. From September 1, 2006, 
through January 31, 2007, inclusive, the General category daily BFT 
retention limit was scheduled to revert to one large medium or giant 
BFT per vessel per day/trip.
    The June through August time-period subquota allocation for the 
2006 fishing year totaled approximately 692 metric tons (mt). As of 
August 17, 2006, 34.6 mt have been landed in the General category and 
catch rates are less than 1.0 mt per day. If catch rates remain at 
current levels, approximately 14 mt would be landed during the 
remainder of August. This projection would bring the June though August 
time-period subquota landings to approximately 49 mt, resulting in an 
underharvest of approximately 643 mt. This carryover combined with the 
September time-period subquota allocation of 346 mt would allow for 989 
mt to be harvested in the month of September. In combination with an 
expected subquota rollover from the June through August time-period, 
the September time-period subquota allocation, current catch rates, and 
the daily retention limit reverting to one large medium or giant BFT 
per vessel per day on September 1, 2006, NMFS anticipates the full 
September time-period subquota will not be harvested. This could result 
in a potential excessive rollover into the October through January 
time-period. Adding an excessive amount of unused quota from one time-
period subquota to the subsequent time period subquota is undesirable 
because it effectively changes the time-period subquota allocation 
percentages established in the 1999 FMP.
    Therefore, based on a review of dealer reports, daily landing 
trends, available quota, and the availability of BFT on the fishing 
grounds, NMFS has determined that an increase in the General category 
daily BFT retention limit effective from September 1, 2006, through 
September 30, 2006, inclusive, is warranted. Thus, the General category 
daily retention limit of three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per 
day/trip (see Table 1) is extended through September 30, 2006. From 
October 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007, inclusive, the General 
category default daily BFT retention limit will be one large medium or 
giant BFT per vessel per day/trip. It is highly likely that with a 
combination of the default retention limit starting on October 1, 2006, 
and the large amount of General category quota available, there will be 
sufficient quota for the coastwide General category season to extend 
into the winter months and allow for a southern Atlantic fishery to 
take place on an order of magnitude of prior years with minimal risk of 
landings exceeding available quota. In addition, one of the preferred 
alternatives in the proposed Consolidated Highly Migratory Species FMP 
(August 19, 2005; 70 FR 48804) would formally allocate General category 
sub-quota to the December and January individual time-frames to provide 
for a late-season south Atlantic fishery.
    The intent of this adjustment is to allow for a reasonable 
opportunity to harvest the U.S. landings quota of BFT while maintaining 
an equitable distribution of fishing opportunities, to help achieve 
optimum yield in the General category BFT fishery, to collect a broad 
range of data for stock monitoring purposes, and to be consistent with 
the objectives of the 1999 FMP.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS selected the daily retention limits and their duration after 
examining current and previous fishing year catch and effort rates, 
taking into consideration public comment on the annual specifications 
and inseason management measures for the General category received 
during the 2006 BFT quota specifications rulemaking process, and 
analyzing the available quota for the 2006 fishing year. NMFS will 
continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely through dealer landing 
reports, the Automated Landings Reporting System, state harvest tagging 
programs in North Carolina and Maryland, and the Large Pelagics Survey. 
Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 
may determine that additional retention limit adjustments are necessary 
to ensure available quota is not exceeded or, to enhance scientific 
data collection from, and fishing opportunities in, all geographic 
areas.
    Closures or subsequent adjustments to the daily retention limits, 
if any, will be published in the Federal Register. In addition, 
fishermen may call the Atlantic Tunas Information Line at (888) 872-
8862 or (978) 281-9260, or access the internet at www.hmspermits.gov, 
for updates on quota monitoring and retention limit adjustments.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for NMFS (AA), finds that it is 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest to provide prior 
notice of, and an opportunity for public comment on, this action for 
the following reasons:
    NMFS has recently become aware of increased availability of large 
medium and giant BFT on the New England fishing grounds from fishing 
reports and conversations with fishermen. This increase in abundance 
provides the potential to increase General category landings rates for 
the New England fishery if participants are authorized to harvest three 
large medium or giant BFT per day. Also, since the end of the 2006 BFT 
specification comment period, NMFS has continued to receive more 
information refining its understanding of the commercial and charter/
headboat sectors' specific needs regarding BFT retention limits. The 
regulations implementing the 1999 FMP provide for inseason retention 
limit adjustments to respond to the unpredictable nature of BFT 
availability on the fishing grounds, the migratory nature of this 
species, and the regional variations in the BFT fishery. Adjustment of 
retention limits is also necessary to avoid excessive quota rollovers 
to subsequent General category time-period subquotas. NMFS needs to act 
promptly to enhance fishing opportunities for northern area fishermen 
while the BFT are still available on northern New England fishing 
grounds. Analysis of available data shows that the General category BFT 
retention limit may be increased for the Atlantic tuna General and HMS 
Charter/Headboat permit holders with minimal risks of exceeding the 
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna 
allocated quota.
    Delays in increasing the retention limits would be contrary to the 
public interest. Such delays would adversely affect those General and 
HMS Charter/Headboat category vessels that could otherwise harvest more 
than one BFT per day and would further exacerbate the problem of quota 
rollovers, and/or lack of booked charters. Limited opportunities to 
harvest the respective quotas may have negative social and economic 
impacts to U.S. fishermen that either depend on catching the available 
quota within the time-periods designated in the 1999 FMP, or depend on 
multiple BFT retention limits to attract individuals to book charters. 
For both the General and the HMS Charter/Headboat sectors, the 
retention limits must be adjusted as expeditiously as possible so the 
impacted sectors can benefit from the adjustment.
    Therefore, the AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to 
waive prior notice and the opportunity for public comment. For all of 
the above reasons,

[[Page 51531]]

and because this action relieves a restriction (i.e., current default 
retention limit is one fish per vessel/trip but this action increases 
that limit and allows retention of more fish), there is also good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.
    This action is being taken under 50 CFR 635.23(a)(4) and is exempt 
from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: August 24, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-14486 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S