[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 166 (Thursday, August 27, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51959-51961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21251]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 120328229-4949-02]
RIN 0648-XE095


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 General category retention limit 
adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General 
category daily retention limit from the default limit of one large 
medium or giant BFT to four large medium or giant BFT for the 
September, October through November, and December subquota time periods 
of the 2015 fishing year. This action is based on consideration of the 
regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments, and 
applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted 
vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category 
permitted vessels when fishing commercially for BFT.

DATES: Effective September 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 978-
281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented under the authority 
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 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. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. BFT quota recommended by 
the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 
(ICCAT) among the various domestic fishing categories, per the 
allocations established in the 2006 Atlantic Consolidated Highly 
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) 
(71 FR 58058, October 2, 2006), as amended by Amendment 7 to the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December 2, 2014), and 
in accordance with implementing regulations. NMFS is required under 
ATCA and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to provide U.S. fishing vessels with 
a reasonable opportunity to harvest the ICCAT-recommended quota.
    The currently codified baseline U.S. quota is 923.7 mt (not 
including the 25 mt ICCAT allocated to the United States to account for 
bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline fisheries in the Northeast Distant 
Gear Restricted Area). Among other things, Amendment 7 revised the 
allocations to all quota categories, effective January 1, 2015. See 
Sec.  635.27(a). The currently codified General category quota is 403 
mt. Each of the General category time periods (``January,'' June 
through August, September, October through November, and December) is 
allocated a portion of the annual General category quota. The codified 
baseline General category subquotas include 106.8 mt for September, 
52.4 mt for October through November, and 21 mt for December. NMFS 
transferred 21 mt of BFT quota from the December 2015 subquota to the 
January 2015 subquota period (79 FR 77943, December 29, 2014).
    Unless changed, the General category daily retention limit starting 
on September 1 would be the default retention limit of one large medium 
or giant BFT (measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length (CFL) or 
greater) per vessel per day/trip (Sec.  635.23(a)(2)). This default 
retention limit would apply to General category permitted vessels and 
to HMS Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing 
commercially for BFT.
    For the 2014 fishing year, NMFS adjusted the General category limit 
from the default level of one large medium or giant BFT as follows: Two 
large medium or giant BFT for January (78 FR 77362, December 23, 2013), 
four large medium or giant BFT for June through August (79 FR 30745, 
May 29, 2014), and four large medium or giant BFT for September through 
December (79 FR 50854, August 26, 2014). NMFS adjusted the daily 
retention limit for the 2015 January subquota period from the default 
level of one large medium or giant BFT to three large medium or giant 
BFT in the same action as the 21-mt transfer from the December 2015 
subquota period to the January 2015 subquota period described above (79 
FR 77943, December 29, 2014). For the June through August 2015 subquota 
period, NMFS adjusted the daily retention limit to four large medium or 
giant BFT (80 FR 27863, May 15, 2015).

[[Page 51960]]

Adjustment of General Category Daily Retention Limit

    Under Sec.  635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the daily 
retention limit of large medium and giant BFT over a range of zero to a 
maximum of five per vessel based on consideration of the relevant 
criteria provided under Sec.  635.27(a)(8), which are: The usefulness 
of information obtained from catches in the particular category for 
biological sampling and monitoring of the status of the stock; the 
catches of the particular category quota to date and the likelihood of 
closure of that segment of the fishery if no adjustment is made; 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; the estimated amounts by which quotas for other gear 
categories of the fishery might be exceeded; effects of the adjustment 
on BFT rebuilding and overfishing; effects of the adjustment on 
accomplishing the objectives of the fishery management plan; variations 
in seasonal distribution, abundance, or migration patterns of BFT; 
effects of catch rates in one area precluding vessels in another area 
from having a reasonable opportunity to harvest a portion of the 
category's quota; review of dealer reports, daily landing trends, and 
the availability of the BFT on the fishing grounds; optimizing fishing 
opportunity; accounting for dead discards, facilitating quota 
monitoring, supporting other fishing monitoring programs through quota 
allocations and/or generation of revenue; and support of research 
through quota allocations and/or generation of revenue.
    NMFS has considered these criteria and their applicability to the 
General category BFT retention limit for September through December 
2015. These include, but are not limited to, the following 
considerations: Biological samples collected from BFT landed by General 
category fishermen and provided by BFT dealers continue to provide NMFS 
with valuable data for ongoing scientific studies of BFT age and 
growth, migration, and reproductive status. Continued BFT landings 
would support the collection of a broad range of data for these studies 
and for stock monitoring purposes.
    As this action would be taken consistent with the quotas previously 
established and analyzed in Amendment 7 (79 FR 71510, December 2, 
2014), and consistent with objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, 
it is not expected to negatively impact stock health. A principal 
consideration is the objective of providing opportunities to harvest 
the full 2015 General category quota without exceeding it based upon 
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP goal: ``Consistent with other objectives 
of this FMP, to manage Atlantic HMS fisheries for continuing optimum 
yield so as to provide the greatest overall benefit to the Nation, 
particularly with respect to food production, providing recreational 
opportunities, preserving traditional fisheries, and taking into 
account the protection of marine ecosystems.'' It is also important 
that NMFS constrain landings to BFT subquotas both to adhere to the FMP 
quota allocations and to ensure that landings are as consistent as 
possible with the pattern of fishing mortality (e.g., fish caught at 
each age) that was assumed in the projections of stock rebuilding.
    NMFS also considered the fact that it has prepared a final quota 
rule that would implement and give domestic effect to the 2014 ICCAT 
recommendation on western Atlantic BFT management, which increased the 
U.S. BFT quota for 2015 and 2016 by 14 percent from the 2014 level 
(proposed rule: 80 FR 33467, June 12, 2015; final rule expected to file 
with the Office of the Federal Register in late August and be effective 
in late September 2015). The domestic subquotas in that action would 
result from application of the allocation process established in 
Amendment 7 to the increased U.S. quota, and would include an increase 
in the General category quota from the currently codified 403 mt to 
466.7 mt. As explained below, however, the retention limits being set 
in this action are not dependent on those quota increases.
    Commercial-sized BFT migrated to the fishing grounds off New 
England by early June and are actively being landed. As of August 14, 
2015, 141.5 mt of the 2015 General category quota of 403 mt have been 
landed, and landings rates remain at approximately 1 mt per day. Given 
the rollover of unused quota from one time period to the next, current 
catch rates, and the fact that the daily retention limit will 
automatically revert to one large medium or giant BFT per vessel per 
day on September 1, 2015, absent agency action, NMFS anticipates the 
full 2015 General category quota may not be harvested. In September 
through December 2014, under a four-fish limit, BFT landings were 
approximately 268.4 mt. For the entire 2014 fishing year, 94.6 percent 
of the available General category quota was filled.
    A limit lower than four fish could result in unused quota being 
added to the later portion of the General category season (i.e., 
rolling forward to the subsequent subquota time period). Increasing the 
daily retention limit from the default may mitigate rolling an 
excessive amount of unused quota from one subquota time period to the 
next. However, increasing the daily limit to five fish may risk 
exceeding the available General category quota. Increasing the daily 
retention limit to four fish will increase the likelihood that the 
General category BFT landings will approach, but not exceed, the annual 
quota, as well as increase the opportunity for catching BFT harvest 
during September through December. Increasing (and sometimes 
maximizing) opportunity within each subquota period is also important 
because of the migratory nature and seasonal distribution of BFT. In a 
particular geographic region, or waters accessible from a particular 
port, the amount of fishing opportunity for BFT may be constrained by 
the short amount of time the BFT are present.
    Based on these considerations, NMFS has determined that a four-fish 
General category retention limit is warranted. It would provide a 
reasonable opportunity to harvest the U.S. BFT quota, without exceeding 
it, while maintaining an equitable distribution of fishing 
opportunities; help achieve optimum yield in the BFT fishery; allow the 
collection of a broad range of data for stock monitoring purposes; and 
be consistent with the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, as 
amended. Therefore, NMFS increases the General category retention limit 
from the default limit (one) to four large medium or giant BFT per 
vessel per day/trip, effective September 1, 2015, through December 31, 
2015.
    Regardless of the duration of a fishing trip, the daily retention 
limit applies upon landing. For example (and specific to the September 
through December 2015 limit), whether a vessel fishing under the 
General category limit takes a two-day trip or makes two trips in one 
day, the daily limit of four fish may not be exceeded upon landing. 
This General category retention limit is effective in all areas, except 
for the Gulf of Mexico, where NMFS prohibits targeting fishing for BFT, 
and applies to those vessels permitted in the General category, as well 
as to those HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels fishing commercially 
for BFT.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely through the 
landings and catch reports. Dealers are required to submit landing 
reports within 24 hours of a dealer receiving

[[Page 51961]]

BFT. General, HMS Charter/Headboat, Harpoon, and Angling category 
vessel owners are required to report the catch of all BFT retained or 
discarded dead, within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each trip, 
by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov. Depending on the level of fishing 
effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS may determine that additional 
retention limit adjustment or closure is 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 (978) 281-
9260, or access hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on quota monitoring 
and inseason 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.
    The regulations implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, as 
amended, 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. Based on available BFT quotas, fishery performance in 
recent years, the availability of BFT on the fishing grounds, among 
other considerations, adjustment to the General category BFT daily 
retention limit from the default level is warranted. Analysis of 
available data shows that adjustment to the BFT daily retention limit 
from the default level would result in minimal risks of exceeding the 
ICCAT-allocated quota. NMFS provides notification of retention limit 
adjustments by publishing the notice in the Federal Register, emailing 
individuals who have subscribed to the Atlantic HMS News electronic 
newsletter, and updating the information posted on the Atlantic Tunas 
Information Line and on hmspermits.noaa.gov.
    Delays in increasing these retention limits would adversely affect 
those General and Charter/Headboat category vessels that would 
otherwise have an opportunity to harvest more than the default 
retention limit of one BFT per day/trip and may exacerbate the problem 
of low catch rates and quota rollovers. Limited opportunities to 
harvest the respective quotas may have negative social and economic 
impacts for U.S. fishermen that depend upon catching the available 
quota within the time periods designated in the 2006 Consolidated HMS 
FMP, as amended. Adjustment of the retention limit needs to be 
effective September 1, 2015, or as soon as possible thereafter, to 
minimize any unnecessary disruption in fishing patterns, to allow the 
impacted sectors to benefit from the adjustment, and to not preclude 
fishing opportunities for fishermen in geographic areas with access to 
the fishery only during this time period. 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 these reasons, there is good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.
    This action is being taken under Sec.  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, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-21251 Filed 8-24-15; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P