[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52198-52204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21147]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-BE81


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas

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

ACTION: Final rule; notice of adjusted 2015 Purse Seine and Reserve 
category quotas.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS hereby modifies the baseline annual U.S. quota and 
subquotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT). Specifically for 2015, NMFS 
augments the Reserve category quota with available underharvest of the 
2014 adjusted U.S. BFT quota and also recalculates the Purse Seine and 
Reserve category quotas that were announced earlier this year 
(consistent with the Amendment 7 annual reallocation process) to 
reflect the increased U.S. quota. Furthermore, NMFS makes minor 
modifications to the regulations regarding Atlantic tunas purse seine 
auxiliary vessel activity under the ``transfer at sea'' provisions. 
This action is necessary to implement binding 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).

DATES: Effective September 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Supporting documents such as the Environmental Assessments 
and Fishery Management Plans described below may be downloaded from the 
HMS Web site at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. These documents also are 
available upon request from Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale at the 
telephone number below.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore 
tuna, yellowfin tuna, and skipjack tuna (hereafter referred to as 
``Atlantic tunas'') are managed under the dual authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. As an active member of ICCAT, the United 
States implements binding ICCAT recommendations. ATCA authorizes the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to promulgate regulations, as may be 
necessary and appropriate to carry out ICCAT recommendations. The 
authority to issue regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA 
has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator 
for Fisheries, NMFS.

Background

    Background information about the need to modify the U.S. BFT base 
quota and the subquotas for all domestic fishing categories, as well as 
the regulatory text regarding Atlantic tunas purse seine auxiliary 
vessel activity under the ``transfer at sea'' provisions, were provided 
in the preamble to the proposed rule (80 FR 33467, June 12, 2015) and 
most of that information is not repeated here.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    In this final rule, NMFS is changing text at Sec.  
635.27(a)(4)(ii), to reflect the equal allocation of the baseline Purse 
Seine category quota that is finalized in this action among the five 
individual Purse Seine category participants. NMFS inadvertently 
omitted this calculation in the regulatory text for the proposed rule. 
Specifically, in the proposed rule, NMFS proposed updating the baseline 
Purse Seine quota to 184.3 mt (Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(i)) to reflect the 
increased U.S. quota. However, NMFS did not carry this change through 
to the codified text in Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(ii) to reflect the division 
of that Purse Seine category quota equally among the five individual 
Purse Seine fishery participants. The existing regulatory text 
specifies that annually, NMFS will make equal allocations of the 
baseline Purse Seine category quota described under paragraph (a)(4)(i) 
of the section to individual Purse Seine participants. To reflect the 
increase in the baseline Purse Seine category quota to 184.3 mt for 
each Purse Seine category participant, NMFS is updating the amount in 
the regulatory text at Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(ii) to 36.9 mt (i.e., 184.3 
mt/5 = 36.9 mt each). Because the change in the final rule simply 
reflects a mathematical function of the amount in Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(i) 
and corrects the now-outdated number for the individual Purse Seine 
participants in Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(ii) and does not alter the formula 
used or substance of the proposed rule, NMFS has determined that it is 
appropriate to make this change in this final rule.

2014 ICCAT Recommendation

    At its November 2014 meeting, ICCAT adopted a western Atlantic BFT 
TAC of 2,000 mt annually for 2015 and 2016 after considering the 
results of the 2014 BFT stock assessment and following negotiations 
among Contracting Parties (ICCAT Recommendation 14-05). This TAC, which 
is an increase from the 1,750-mt TAC that has applied annually since 
2011, is consistent with scientific advice from the 2014 stock 
assessment, which indicated that annual catches of less than 2,250 mt 
would have a 50-percent probability of allowing the spawning stock 
biomass to be at or above its 2013 level by 2019 under either 
recruitment scenario, and that annual catches of 2,000 mt or less would 
continue to allow stock growth under both the low and high recruitment 
scenarios for the remainder of the rebuilding program. All TAC, quota, 
and weight information discussed in this notice are whole weight 
amounts.
    For 2015 and 2016, the ICCAT Recommendation also makes the 
following allocations from the western BFT 2,000-mt TAC for bycatch 
related to directed longline fisheries in the Northeast Distant gear 
restricted area (NED): 15 mt for Canada and 25 mt for the United 
States. Following subtraction of these allocations from the TAC, the 
recommendation allocates the remainder to the United States (54.02 
percent), Canada (22.32 percent) Japan (17.64 percent), Mexico (5.56 
percent), UK (0.23 percent), and France (0.23 percent). For the United 
States, 54.02 percent of the remaining 1,960 mt is 1,058.79 mt annually 
for 2015 and 2016. This represents an increase of approximately 135 mt 
(approximately 14 percent) from the U.S. baseline BFT

[[Page 52199]]

quota that applied annually for 2011 through 2014. Thus, the annual 
total U.S. quota, including the 25 mt to account for bycatch related to 
pelagic longline fisheries in the NED, is 1,083.79 mt.
    As a method for limiting fishing mortality on juvenile BFT, ICCAT 
continued to recommend a tolerance limit on the annual harvest of BFT 
measuring less than 115 cm (straight fork length) to no more than 10 
percent by weight of a Contracting Party's total BFT quota over the 
2015 and 2016 fishing periods. The United States implements this 
provision by limiting the harvest of school BFT (measuring 27 to less 
than 47 inches (68.5 to less than 119 cm curved fork length)) as 
appropriate to not exceed the 10-percent limit over the two-year 
period.

Domestic Allocations and Quotas

    The table below shows the final baseline quotas and subquotas that 
result from applying the process established in Amendment 7 to the 2006 
Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan 
(Amendment 7) to the higher U.S. BFT quota that ICCAT recommended in 
2014. These quotas are codified at Sec.  635.27(a) and will remain in 
effect until changed (for instance, if any new ICCAT western BFT TAC 
recommendation is adopted). Because ICCAT adopted TACs for 2015 and 
2016 in Recommendation 14-05, NMFS currently anticipates that these 
annual base quotas would be in effect through 2016, but they will 
remain in place unless and until a new TAC is adopted by ICCAT.

                        Table 1--Final Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (BFT) Annual Baseline Quotas
                                                [In metric tons]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Category                                   Annual baseline quotas and subquotas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Quota                            Subquotas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General...................................        466.7  January-March \1\............         24.7  ...........
                                            ...........  June-August..................        233.3  ...........
                                            ...........  September....................        123.7  ...........
                                            ...........  October-November.............         60.7  ...........
                                            ...........  December.....................         24.3  ...........
Harpoon...................................         38.6  School.......................        108.4  ...........
Longline..................................        148.3     Reserve...................  ...........         20.1
Trap......................................          1.0     North of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........         41.7
Purse Seine...............................    \2\ 184.3     South of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........         46.6
Angling...................................        195.2  Large School/Small Medium....         82.3  ...........
                                            ...........     North of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........         38.9
                                            ...........     South of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........         43.5
                                            ...........  Trophy.......................          4.5  ...........
                                            ...........     North of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........          1.5
                                            ...........     South of 39[deg]18' N. lat  ...........          1.5
                                            ...........     Gulf of Mexico............  ...........          1.5
Reserve...................................     \2\ 24.8  .............................  ...........  ...........
U.S. Baseline BFT Quota...................  \3\ 1,058.9  .............................  ...........  ...........
                                           -------------
    Total U.S. Quota, including 25 mt for   \3\ 1,083.9  .............................  ...........  ...........
     NED (Longline).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ January 1 through the effective date of a closure notice filed by NMFS announcing that the January subquota
  is reached or projected to be reached, or through March 31, whichever comes first.
\2\ Baseline amount shown. Does not reflect the annual adjustment process (for the Purse Seine and Reserve
  category quotas) adopted in Amendment 7, discussed below.
\3\ Totals subject to rounding error.

    The proposed rule described how Amendment 7 also changed the way 
that NMFS adjusts the U.S. annual quota for any previous year's 
underharvest. Rather than publishing proposed and final quota 
specifications annually to adjust the quota for the underharvest as 
NMFS has in the past, NMFS will automatically augment the Reserve 
category quota to the extent that underharvest from the previous year 
is available. Such adjustment will be consistent with ICCAT limits and 
will be calculated when complete BFT catch information for the prior 
year is available and finalized. Consistent with the quota regulations, 
NMFS may allocate any portion of the Reserve category quota for 
inseason or annual adjustments to any fishing category quota pursuant 
to regulatory determination criteria described at 50 CFR 635.27(a)(8), 
or for scientific research.
    In the proposed rule, NMFS stated that the preliminary 2014 
landings and dead discard estimate (i.e., using the 160.6-mt total of 
the 2013 estimated longline dead discards (156.4 mt) and the observed 
2014 purse seine dead discards (4.2 mt) as a proxy for estimated 2014 
dead discards) indicated an underharvest of approximately 218 mt. The 
preliminary 2014 pelagic longline dead discard estimate of 138.8 mt is 
now available from the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Adding 
the 2014 observed dead discards of 4.2 mt for the purse seine fishery, 
the best available annual estimate of U.S. dead discards that could be 
expected in 2015 is now 143 mt. As anticipated and explained to the 
public at the proposed rule stage, NMFS is using the updated total in 
this final rule because it is the best available and most complete 
information NMFS has regarding dead discards. Based on data available 
as of July 7, 2015, BFT landings in 2014 totaled 667.3 mt. Adding the 
143-mt estimate of dead discards results in a preliminary 2014 total 
catch of 810.3 mt, which is 233.3 mt less than the amount of quota 
(inclusive of dead discards) allowed under ICCAT Recommendation 13-09 
(i.e., 948.7 mt plus 94.9 mt of 2013 underharvest carried forward to 
2014, totaling 1,043.6 mt). Thus, the underharvest for 2014 is 233.3 
mt. Per the 2014 ICCAT

[[Page 52200]]

recommendation, only 10 percent of the total 2014 U.S. quota, or 94.9 
mt, of that underharvest is carried forward to the 2015 fishing year. 
NMFS anticipated this amount of available underharvest to carry forward 
to 2015 in the proposed rule.
    Consistent with the process adopted in the Amendment 7 implementing 
regulations, NMFS calculated at the beginning of the year the quota 
available to individual Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category fishery 
participants for 2015 based on BFT catch (landings and dead discards) 
by those fishery participants in 2014. Based on that information, 87.4 
mt of the baseline Purse Seine category quota of 159.1 mt was 
reallocated to the Reserve category for the 2015 fishing year. This 
process resulted in a total of 71.7 mt for Purse Seine fishery 
participants for 2015 and 108.8 mt (i.e., the base Reserve quota of 
21.4 mt + 87.4 mt from the Purse Seine category) for the Reserve 
category (80 FR 7547, February 11, 2015). As discussed in the proposed 
rule, NMFS is first adjusting the 2015 Purse Seine category quota based 
on the ICCAT quota increase in this rule. As a result, the baseline 
Purse Seine category quota would increase by 25.2 mt to 184.3 mt. We 
then recalculate the amounts of quota available to individual Purse 
Seine fishery participants for 2015 applying the final baseline Purse 
Seine category (184.3 mt), and adjust the 2015 Purse Seine and Reserve 
category quotas as appropriate. This process results in a total of 82.9 
mt for Purse Seine fishery participants in 2015, with the remainder 
(i.e., 184.3-82.9 = 101.4 mt) added to the Reserve category. Consistent 
with Sec.  635.27(a)(4)(v)(C), NMFS will notify Atlantic Tunas Purse 
Seine fishery participants of the adjusted amount of quota available 
for their use in 2015 through the Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) 
electronic system and in writing.
    NMFS recently implemented two inseason transfers from the Reserve 
category for 2015 (34 mt to the Longline category and 40 mt to the 
Harpoon category), so the adjusted 2015 Reserve category quota as of 
publication of this action, including the allowable underharvest 
described above, would be 24.8-34-40 + 101.4 + 94.9 = 147.1 mt (80 FR 
45098, July 29, 2015 and 80 FR 46516, August 5, 2015, respectively).

Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine Auxiliary Vessel Activity

    Currently, HMS regulations specify that an owner or operator of a 
vessel for which an Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category permit has been 
issued may transfer large medium and giant BFT at sea from the net of 
the catching vessel to another vessel for which an Atlantic Tunas Purse 
Seine category permit has been issued, provided the amount transferred 
does not cause the receiving vessel to exceed its currently authorized 
vessel allocation, including incidental catch limits. NMFS is making 
minor modifications to this regulatory text to clarify that this text 
was not meant to allow ``transfer at sea,'' which clearly is prohibited 
by ICCAT Recommendation 14-05, but is only meant to allow the routine, 
limited operations of an auxiliary vessel (i.e., a skiff) in assisting 
its associated purse seine vessel in catch operations for BFT. Such 
activities are not the type of activity meant to be prohibited by that 
Recommendation. This clarification is administrative, reflects current 
practice, and would have no environmental impacts or effects on current 
fishing operations.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received two written comments on the proposed rule, as well as 
two verbal comments through the public conference call/webinar. Few of 
the comments NMFS received focused specifically on the proposed rule. 
Below, NMFS summarizes and responds to all comments made specifically 
on the proposed rule during the comment period. The comments that were 
outside the scope of this rule are summarized under ``Other Issues'' 
below.
    Comment 1: One commenter suggested that, for conservation reasons 
and to allow the BFT stock to grow, NMFS should not increase the quota.
    Response: The western Atlantic BFT TAC, which includes the U.S. 
quota, is expected to allow for continued BFT stock growth under the 
both the low and high stock recruitment scenarios considered by ICCAT's 
Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS) and is consistent 
with ICCAT recommendations, ATCA, and domestic and international 
management objectives. Furthermore, NMFS is required under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA to provide U.S. fishing vessels with a 
reasonable opportunity to harvest the ICCAT-recommended quota.
    Comment 2: Two commenters, representing fishing industry 
organizations, supported finalizing the rule as proposed but encouraged 
NMFS to increase BFT daily retention limits to allow more of the 
available quota to be harvested.
    Response: This rulemaking does not address daily retention limits. 
Adjusting daily retention limits occurs through separate inseason 
actions. NMFS has the authority to adjust the daily retention limits 
for the General, Harpoon, and Angling categories inseason, based on 
consideration of applicable regulatory determination criteria at Sec.  
635.27(a)(8). In adjusting Angling category limits, NMFS also considers 
the ICCAT tolerance limit of school BFT, which NMFS manages as 
appropriate to not exceed 10 percent (108.4 mt) of the annual U.S. BFT 
quota over each two-consecutive-year period (starting with 2015-2016). 
To date in 2015, NMFS has taken two inseason actions to increase the 
General and Angling category retention limit from the default levels 
(79 FR 77943, December 29, 2014, and 80 FR 27863, May 15, 2015). These 
actions may result in more of the General and Angling category 
subquotas to be harvested, relative to 2014, depending on the 
availability of BFT to the fisheries. NMFS also may adjust recreational 
effort controls inseason based on the best information available, but 
landings data are not available with the timing and frequency of 
commercial data (submitted within 24 hours to NMFS through required 
landings reports for each fish) such that adjustments in recreational 
fishing effort may need to be made in subsequent fishing years.
    Comment 3: One representative of an environmental non-governmental 
organization commented that the proposed rule is reasonable but 
expressed disappointment in ICCAT's recommendation to increase the TAC, 
given stock assessment uncertainties, and expressed concern that a 
quota increase could jeopardize rebuilding the stock by 2019.
    Response: The TAC recommended by ICCAT in 2014 followed the 
scientific advice of ICCAT's SCRS and considered the results of the 
2014 stock assessment update while also taking into account remaining 
uncertainties. The SCRS indicated that annual catches of less than 
2,250 mt would have a 50 percent probability of allowing the spawning 
stock biomass to be at or above its 2013 level by 2019 under either 
recruitment scenario, and that annual catches of 2,000 mt or less would 
continue to allow stock growth under both the low and high recruitment 
scenarios for the remainder of the rebuilding program. NMFS is 
committed to the sustainable, science-based management of BFT and is 
hopeful that the updated information and new data that will be 
incorporated into the next benchmark/full stock assessment will help to 
reduce some of the scientific uncertainty that the SCRS has identified 
for this stock.

Other Issues

    In addition to the above comments specifically on the content of 
the proposed rule, other commenters raised

[[Page 52201]]

issues that are outside the scope of this rule, particularly regarding 
Amendment 7 implementation. These comments included concern about the 
potential impact of quota transfers to the Longline category on IBQ 
shareholders and interest in how the reporting by commercial handgear 
vessel owners is proceeding during the initial implementation this 
year.
    Although outside the scope of this rulemaking, NMFS is noting here 
that it carefully considers the regulatory determination regarding 
inseason adjustments before making an inseason quota transfer. These 
criteria include the effects of the adjustment on accomplishing the 
objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its amendments. Thus, 
NMFS would consider, among other things, how such a transfer would 
optimize fishing opportunity and contribute to full accounting for 
landings and dead discards, while still supporting the broader 
objectives of the fishery management plan. NMFS considered these and 
other requisite factors in its recently published inseason action 
transferring 34 mt of quota from the Reserve to the Longline category 
(80 FR 45098, July 29, 2015). NMFS will report on the progress of 
Amendment 7 implementation (including the IBQ program and vessel catch 
reporting) at upcoming meetings of the HMS Advisory Panel, and these 
presentations and transcripts will be publically accessible through the 
HMS Web site (see ADDRESSES).

Classification

    The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final 
rule is consistent with the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its 
amendments, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, ATCA, and other applicable law.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    In compliance with section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(RFA), a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) was prepared for 
this rule. The FRFA incorporates the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA), a summary of the significant issues raised by the 
public comments in response to the IRFA, and NMFS responses to those 
comments, and a summary of the analyses completed to support the 
action. The full FRFA and analysis of economic and ecological impacts 
are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary of the FRFA follows.
    In compliance with section 604(a)(1) of the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, the purpose of this rulemaking is, consistent with the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP objectives, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 
applicable law, to analyze the impacts of the alternatives for 
implementing and allocating the ICCAT-recommended U.S. quota for 2015 
and 2016; and to clarify the purse seine transfer at sea regulations 
for Atlantic tunas.
    Section 604(a)(2) of the RFA requires agencies to summarize 
significant issues raised by the public in response to the IRFA, a 
summary of the agency's assessment of such issues, and a statement of 
any changes made as a result of the comments. NMFS received a few 
comments on the proposed rule (80 FR 33467, June 12, 2015) during the 
comment period. A summary of these comments and the Agency's responses 
are included in Section 13 of the EA/RIR/FRFA and are included in this 
final rule. However, NMFS did not receive comment specifically on the 
IRFA.
    Section 604(a)(3) of the RFA requires agencies to provide an 
estimate of the number of small entities to which the rule would apply. 
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established size criteria 
for all major industry sectors in the United States, including fish 
harvesters. This final rule is expected to directly affect commercial 
and for-hire fishing vessels that possess an Atlantic Tunas permit or 
Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat permit. In general, the HMS Charter/
Headboat category permit holders can be regarded as small entities for 
RFA purposes. HMS Angling (recreational) category permit holders are 
typically obtained by individuals who are not considered small entities 
for purposes of the RFA. The SBA has established size criteria for all 
major industry sectors in the United States including fish harvesters 
(79 FR 33647; June 12, 2014). A business involved in fish harvesting is 
classified as a ``small business'' if it is independently owned and 
operated, is not dominant in its field of operation (including its 
affiliates), and has combined annual receipts (revenue) not in excess 
of $20.5 million for all of its affiliated operations worldwide (NAICS 
code 114111, finfish fishing). NAICS is the North American Industry 
Classification System, a standard system used by business and 
government to classify business establishments into industries, 
according to their economic activity. The United States government 
developed NAICS to collect, analyze, and publish data about the 
economy. In addition, the SBA has defined a small charter/party boat 
entity (NAICS code 487210, for-hire) as one with average annual 
receipts (revenue) of less than $7.5 million.
    As described in the final rule to implement Amendment 7 to the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP (79 FR 71510, December 2, 2014), the average 
annual gross revenue per active pelagic longline vessel was estimated 
to be $187,000 based on the 170 active vessels between 2006 and 2012 
that produced an estimated $31.8 million in revenue annually. The 
maximum annual revenue for any pelagic longline vessel during that time 
period was less than $1.4 million, well below the SBA size threshold of 
$20.5 million in combined annual receipts. Therefore, NMFS considers 
all Atlantic Tunas Longline category permit holders to be small 
entities. NMFS is unaware of any other Atlantic Tunas category permit 
holders that potentially could earn more than $20.5 million in revenue 
annually. NMFS is also unaware of any charter/headboat businesses that 
could exceed the $7.5 million thresholds for those small entities. HMS 
Angling category permit holders are typically obtained by individuals 
who are not considered small entities for purposes of the RFA. 
Therefore, NMFS considers all Atlantic Tunas permit holders and HMS 
Charter/Headboat permit holders subject to this action to be small 
entities.
    This action would apply to all participants in the Atlantic BFT 
fishery, i.e., to the over 27,000 vessels that held an Atlantic HMS 
Charter/Headboat, Atlantic HMS Angling, or an Atlantic Tunas permit as 
of October 2014. This final rule is expected to directly affect 
commercial and for-hire fishing vessels that possess an Atlantic Tunas 
permit or Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat permit. It is unknown what 
portion of HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders actively participate in 
the BFT fishery or fishing services for recreational anglers. As 
summarized in the 2014 SAFE Report for Atlantic HMS, there were 6,792 
commercial Atlantic tunas or Atlantic HMS permits in 2014, as follows: 
2,782 in the Atlantic Tunas General category; 14 in the Atlantic Tunas 
Harpoon category; 5 in the Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category; 246 in 
the Atlantic Tunas Longline category; 3 in the Atlantic Tunas Trap 
category; and 3,742 in the HMS Charter/Headboat category. In Amendment 
7, authorized 136 Longline category permits for IBQ shares. This 
constitutes the best available information regarding the universe of 
permits and permit holders recently analyzed. No impacts are expected 
to occur from the clarification of the transfer at sea prohibition 
regulatory text.
    NMFS has determined that this action would not likely directly 
affect any

[[Page 52202]]

small government jurisdictions, as that term is defined under the RFA.
    Under section 604(a)(4) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, agencies 
are required to describe any new reporting, record-keeping, and other 
compliance requirements. There are no new reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements in any of the alternatives considered for this action.
    Under section 604(a)(5) of the RFA, agencies are required to 
describe any alternatives to the rule which accomplish the stated 
objectives and which minimize any significant economic impacts. These 
alternatives and their impacts are discussed below. Additionally, the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603 (c) (1)-(4)) lists four 
general categories of significant alternatives that would assist an 
agency in the development of significant alternatives. These categories 
of alternatives include: (1) Establishment of differing compliance or 
reporting requirements or timetables that take into account the 
resources available to small entities; (2) clarification, 
consolidation, or simplification of compliance and reporting 
requirements under the rule for such small entities; (3) use of 
performance rather than design standards; and, (4) exemptions from 
coverage of the rule for small entities.
    In order to meet the objectives of this rule, consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, ATCA, and the ESA, NMFS cannot exempt small 
entities or change the reporting requirements only for small entities 
because all the entities affected are considered small entities. Thus, 
no alternatives are discussed that fall under the first and fourth 
categories described above. Amendment 7 implemented criteria for 
determining the availability of quota for Purse Seine fishery category 
participants and IBQs for the Longline category. Both of these and the 
eligibility criteria for IBQs and access to the Cape Hatteras GRA for 
the Longline category can be considered individual performance 
standards. NMFS has not yet found a practical means of applying 
individual performance standards to the other quota categories while, 
concurrently, complying with the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Thus, there are 
no alternatives considered under the third category. In this 
rulemaking, NMFS analyzed two quota implementation alternatives: First, 
the status quo U.S. baseline quota and quotas established in 2011, and 
second, the preferred alternative to implement the U.S. quota to 
domestic categories in accordance with the 2014 ICCAT Recommendation, 
Amendment 7, and implementing regulations. NMFS considered a third 
quota alternative, which would use an allocation scheme other than the 
one recently established in Amendment 7 for the purpose of implementing 
BFT fishing category subquotas, but did not analyze this alternative 
further because it would not satisfy the purpose and need of the action 
(i.e., modifications to domestic management of BFT outside the 
limitations of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, as amended, and current 
ICCAT recommendations do not satisfy the purpose and need for the 
action).
    NMFS has estimated the average impact that establishing the 
increased baseline annual U.S. BFT quota for all domestic fishing 
categories would have on each quota category and the vessels within 
those categories. As mentioned above, the 2014 ICCAT recommendation 
increased the annual U.S. baseline BFT quota for each of 2015 and 2016 
to 1,058.79 mt and provides 25 mt annually for incidental catch of BFT 
related to directed longline fisheries in the NED. The baseline annual 
subquotas would be adjusted consistent with the process established in 
Amendment 7 (79 FR 71510, December 2, 2014), and these amounts would be 
codified.
    To calculate the average ex-vessel revenues under this action, NMFS 
first estimated potential category-wide revenues. The most recent ex-
vessel average price per pound information for each commercial quota 
category is used to estimate potential ex-vessel gross revenues under 
each of the subquotas (i.e., 2014 prices for the General, Harpoon, 
Purse Seine, and Longline/Trap categories). For comparison, in 2014, 
gross revenues were approximately $7.8 million, broken out by category 
as follows: General--$5.9 million, Harpoon--$544,778, Purse Seine--
$391,607, Longline--$953,055, and Trap--$0. The baseline subquotas 
could result in estimated gross revenues of $11 million, if finalized 
and fully utilized, broken out by category as follows: General 
category: $6.8 million (466.7 mt * $6.60/lb); Harpoon category: 
$611,851 (38.6 mt * $7.19/lb); Purse Seine category: $1.9 million 
(184.3 mt * $ 4.77/lb); Longline category: $1.7 million (148.3 mt * 
$5.22/lb); and Trap category: $11,508 (1.0 mt * $ 5.22/lb). This rule 
implements the recently adopted ICCAT-recommended U.S. quota and 
applies the allocations for each quota category as recently amended in 
the implementing regulations for Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated 
HMS FMP. This action would be consistent with ATCA, under which the 
Secretary promulgates regulations as necessary and appropriate to carry 
out ICCAT recommendations.
    No affected entities would be expected to experience negative, 
direct economic impacts as a result of the preferred alternative. On 
the contrary, each of the quota categories would increase relative to 
the baseline quotas that applied in 2011 through 2014 and the quotas 
finalized in Amendment 7. To the extent that Purse Seine fishery 
participants and IBQ participants could receive additional quota as a 
result of Amendment 7-implemented allocation formulas being applied to 
increases in available Purse Seine and Longline category quota, those 
participants would receive varying increases, which would result in 
direct benefits from either increased fishing opportunities or quota 
leasing.
    To estimate potential average ex-vessel revenues that could result 
from this action, NMFS divides the potential annual gross revenues for 
the General, Harpoon, Purse Seine, and Trap category by the number of 
permit holders. For the Longline category, NMFS divides the potential 
annual gross revenues by the number of active vessels as defined in 
Amendment 7. This is an appropriate approach for BFT fisheries, in 
particular because available landings data (weight and ex-vessel value 
of the fish in price-per-pound) allow NMFS to calculate the gross 
revenue earned by a fishery participant on a successful trip. The 
available data (particularly from non-Longline participants) do not, 
however, allow NMFS to calculate the effort and cost associated with 
each successful trip (e.g., the cost of gas, bait, ice, etc.), so net 
revenue for each participant cannot be calculated. As a result, NMFS 
analyzes the average impact of the alternatives among all participants 
in each category.
    Success rates vary widely across participants in each category (due 
to extent of vessel effort and availability of commercial-sized BFT to 
participants where they fish) but for the sake of estimating potential 
revenues per vessel, category-wide revenues can be divided by the 
number of permitted vessels in each category. For the Longline fishery, 
the number of permits authorized for IBQ shares is used, and actual 
revenues would depend, in part, on each vessel's IBQ in 2015. Although 
HMS Charter/Headboat vessels may fish commercially under the General 
category quota and retention limits, because it is unknown what portion 
of HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders actively participate in the BFT 
fishery, NMFS is estimating potential General category ex-vessel 
revenue changes using the number of General category vessels only.

[[Page 52203]]

    Estimated potential 2015 revenues on a per vessel basis, 
considering the number of permit holders listed above and the final 
subquotas, could be $2,441 for the General category; $43,703 for the 
Harpoon category; $387,618 for the Purse Seine category; $12,549 for 
the Longline category, using the 136 permits authorized for IBQ shares; 
and $3,836 for the Trap category. Thus, all of the entities affected by 
this rule are considered to be small entities for the purposes of the 
RFA.
    Consistent with Amendment 7 regulations, NMFS calculated the quota 
available to Purse Seine fishery participants for 2015 and then 
reallocated the remaining 87.4 mt of available Purse Seine category 
quota to the Reserve category (80 FR 7547, February 11, 2015). NMFS has 
recalculated those amounts based on the final U.S. baseline BFT quota 
and subquotas in this rule, with an increase of 11.2 mt and 17.4 mt for 
the Purse Seine and Reserve categories, respectively.
    Because the directed commercial categories have underharvested 
their subquotas in recent years, the potential increases in ex-vessel 
revenues above may overestimate the probable economic impacts to those 
categories relative to recent conditions. Additionally, there has been 
substantial interannual variability in ex-vessel revenues per category 
in recent years due to recent changes in BFT availability and other 
factors.
    The modifications to the regulatory text concerning Atlantic tunas 
purse seine transfer at sea are intended to clarify the prohibition on 
transfer at sea. They apply to the five Purse Seine fishery 
participants only and are not expected to have significant economic 
impacts as they are administrative in nature, reflect current practice, 
and would not result in changes to Atlantic tunas purse seine 
operations.
    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for 
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish 
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, 
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance 
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is 
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of 
this rulemaking process, NMFS has prepared a brochure summarizing 
fishery information and regulations for Atlantic tuna fisheries for 
2015. This brochure also serves as the small entity compliance guide. 
Copies of the compliance guide are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635

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

    Dated: August 20, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    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.  635.27, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(1)(i), 
(a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4) introductory text, (a)(4)(i), (a)(4)(ii), 
(a)(5), (a)(6), (a)(7)(i), and (a)(7)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  635.27  Quotas.

    (a) Bluefin tuna. Consistent with ICCAT recommendations, and with 
paragraph (a)(10)(iv) of this section, NMFS may subtract the most 
recent, complete, and available estimate of dead discards from the 
annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota, and make the remainder available to be 
retained, possessed, or landed by persons and vessels subject to U.S. 
jurisdiction. The remaining baseline annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota 
will be allocated among the General, Angling, Harpoon, Purse Seine, 
Longline, Trap, and Reserve categories, as described in this section. 
Bluefin tuna quotas are specified in whole weight. The baseline annual 
U.S. bluefin tuna quota is 1,058.79 mt, not including an additional 
annual 25-mt allocation provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. 
The bluefin quota for the quota categories is calculated through the 
following process. First, 68 mt is subtracted from the baseline annual 
U.S. bluefin tuna quota and allocated to the Longline category quota. 
Second, the remaining quota is divided among the categories according 
to the following percentages: General--47.1 percent (466.7 mt); 
Angling--19.7 percent (195.2 mt), which includes the school bluefin 
tuna held in reserve as described under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this 
section; Harpoon--3.9 percent (38.6 mt); Purse Seine--18.6 percent 
(184.3 mt); Longline--8.1 percent (80.3 mt) plus the 68-mt allocation 
(i.e., 148.3 mt total not including the 25-mt allocation from paragraph 
(a)(3)); Trap--0.1 percent (1.0 mt); and Reserve--2.5 percent (24.8 
mt). NMFS may make inseason and annual adjustments to quotas as 
specified in paragraphs (a)(9) and (10) of this section, including 
quota adjustments as a result of the annual reallocation of Purse Seine 
quota described under paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section.
    (1) * * *
    (i) Catches from vessels for which General category Atlantic Tunas 
permits have been issued and certain catches from vessels for which an 
HMS Charter/Headboat permit has been issued are counted against the 
General category quota in accordance with Sec.  635.23(c)(3). Pursuant 
to paragraph (a) of this section, the amount of large medium and giant 
bluefin tuna that may be caught, retained, possessed, landed, or sold 
under the General category quota is 466.7 mt, and is apportioned as 
follows, unless modified as described under paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of 
this section:
    (A) January 1 through the effective date of a closure notice filed 
by NMFS announcing that the January subquota is reached, or projected 
to be reached under Sec.  635.28(a)(1), or through March 31, whichever 
comes first--5.3 percent (24.7 mt);
    (B) June 1 through August 31--50 percent (233.3 mt);
    (C) September 1 through September 30--26.5 percent (123.7 mt);
    (D) October 1 through November 30--13 percent (60.7 mt); and
    (E) December 1 through December 31--5.2 percent (24.3 mt).
* * * * *
    (2) Angling category quota. In accordance with the framework 
procedures of the Consolidated HMS FMP, prior to each fishing year, or 
as early as feasible, NMFS will establish the Angling category daily 
retention limits. In accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the 
total amount of bluefin tuna that may be caught, retained, possessed, 
and landed by anglers aboard vessels for which an HMS Angling permit or 
an HMS Charter/Headboat permit has been issued is 195.2 mt. No more 
than 2.3 percent (4.5 mt) of the annual Angling category quota may be 
large medium or giant bluefin tuna. In addition, over each two-
consecutive-year period (starting with 2015-2016), no more than 10 
percent of the annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota, inclusive of the 
allocation specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, may be school 
bluefin tuna (i.e., 108.4 mt). The Angling category quota includes the 
amount of school bluefin tuna held in reserve under paragraph

[[Page 52204]]

(a)(7)(ii) of this section. The size class subquotas for bluefin tuna 
are further subdivided as follows:
    (i) After adjustment for the school bluefin tuna quota held in 
reserve (under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section), 52.8 percent 
(46.6 mt) of the school bluefin tuna Angling category quota may be 
caught, retained, possessed, or landed south of 39[deg]18' N. lat. The 
remaining school bluefin tuna Angling category quota (41.7 mt) may be 
caught, retained, possessed or landed north of 39[deg]18' N. lat.
    (ii) An amount equal to 52.8 percent (43.5 mt) of the large school/
small medium bluefin tuna Angling category quota may be caught, 
retained, possessed, or landed south of 39[deg]18' N. lat. The 
remaining large school/small medium bluefin tuna Angling category quota 
(38.9 mt) may be caught, retained, possessed or landed north of 
39[deg]18' N. lat.
    (iii) One third (1.5 mt) of the large medium and giant bluefin tuna 
Angling category quota may be caught retained, possessed, or landed, in 
each of the three following geographic areas: North of 39[deg]18' N. 
lat.; south of 39[deg]18' N. lat., and outside of the Gulf of Mexico; 
and in the Gulf of Mexico. For the purposes of this section, the Gulf 
of Mexico region includes all waters of the U.S. EEZ west and north of 
the boundary stipulated at 50 CFR 600.105(c).
    (3) Longline category quota. Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this 
section, the total amount of large medium and giant bluefin tuna that 
may be caught, discarded dead, or retained, possessed, or landed by 
vessels that possess Atlantic Tunas Longline category permits is 148.3 
mt. In addition, 25 mt shall be allocated for incidental catch by 
pelagic longline vessels fishing in the Northeast Distant gear 
restricted area, and subject to the restrictions under Sec.  
635.15(b)(8).
    (4) Purse Seine category quota--(i) Baseline Purse Seine quota. 
Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the baseline amount of large 
medium and giant bluefin tuna that may be caught, retained, possessed, 
or landed by vessels that possess Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category 
permits is 184.3 mt, unless adjusted as a result of inseason and/or 
annual adjustments to quotas as specified in paragraphs (a)(9) and (10) 
of this section; or adjusted (prior to allocation to individual 
participants) based on the previous year's catch as described under 
paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. Annually, NMFS will make a 
determination when the Purse Seine fishery will start, based on 
variations in seasonal distribution, abundance or migration patterns of 
bluefin tuna, cumulative and projected landings in other commercial 
fishing categories, the potential for gear conflicts on the fishing 
grounds, or market impacts due to oversupply. NMFS will start the 
bluefin tuna purse seine season between June 1 and August 15, by filing 
an action with the Office of the Federal Register, and notifying the 
public. The Purse Seine category fishery closes on December 31 of each 
year.
    (ii) Allocation of bluefin quota to Purse Seine category 
participants. Annually, NMFS will make equal allocations of the 
baseline Purse Seine category quota described under paragraph (a)(4)(i) 
of this section to individual Purse Seine participants (i.e., 36.9 mt 
each), then make further determinations regarding the allocations per 
paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. Allocations of individual bluefin 
quota to individual Purse Seine participants may only be transferred 
through leasing in accordance with procedures and requirements at Sec.  
635.15(c) and other requirements under this paragraph (a)(4).
* * * * *
    (5) Harpoon category quota. The total amount of large medium and 
giant bluefin tuna that may be caught, retained, possessed, landed, or 
sold by vessels that possess Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas permits is 
38.6 mt. The Harpoon category fishery commences on June 1 of each year, 
and closes on November 15 of each year.
    (6) Trap category quota. The total amount of large medium and giant 
bluefin tuna that may be caught, retained, possessed, or landed by 
vessels that possess Trap category Atlantic Tunas permits is 1.0 mt.
    (7) * * *
    (i) The total amount of bluefin tuna that is held in reserve for 
inseason or annual adjustments and research using quota or subquotas is 
24.8 mt, which may be augmented by allowable underharvest from the 
previous year, or annual reallocation of Purse Seine category quota as 
described under paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. Consistent with 
paragraphs (a)(8) through (10) of this section, NMFS may allocate any 
portion of the Reserve category quota for inseason or annual 
adjustments to any fishing category quota.
    (ii) The total amount of school bluefin tuna that is held in 
reserve for inseason or annual adjustments and fishery-independent 
research is 18.5 percent (20.1 mt) of the total school bluefin tuna 
Angling category quota as described under paragraph (a)(2) of this 
section. This amount is in addition to the amounts specified in 
paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section. Consistent with paragraph (a)(8) 
of this section, NMFS may allocate any portion of the school bluefin 
tuna Angling category quota held in reserve for inseason or annual 
adjustments to the Angling category.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  635.29, revise paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  635.29  Transfer at sea and transshipment.

* * * * *
    (c) An owner or operator of a vessel for which an Atlantic Tunas 
Purse Seine category permit has been issued under Sec.  635.4 may use 
an auxiliary vessel (i.e., a skiff) associated with the permitted 
vessel to assist in routine purse seine fishery operations, provided 
that the auxiliary vessel has not been issued an Atlantic Tunas or HMS 
vessel permit and functions only in an auxiliary capacity during 
routine purse seine operations (i.e., it conducts limited assistance 
activities such as assistance with purse seine deployment and removal 
of BFT from the purse seine). The auxiliary vessel may transfer large 
medium and giant Atlantic BFT to its associated purse seine vessel 
during routine purse seine operations, provided that the amount 
transferred does not cause the receiving vessel to exceed its currently 
authorized vessel allocation, including incidental catch limits.

[FR Doc. 2015-21147 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P