[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12747-12749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04439]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XF259


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 bluefin tuna quota 
transfer and retention limit adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 40 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category 
January 2017 subquota period (which lasts from January 1 through March 
31, 2017, or until the available subquota for this period is reached, 
whichever comes first). This transfer results in an adjusted subquota 
of 81 mt for the January 2017 subquota period and 78 mt for the Reserve 
category quota. NMFS also is adjusting the Atlantic tunas General 
category BFT daily retention limit for the January 2017 subquota period 
to one large medium or giant BFT from the current retention limit of 
three. 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: The quota transfer is effective March 2, 2017 through March 31, 
2017. The General category retention limit adjustment is effective 
March 5, 2017, through March 31, 2017.

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) and as implemented by the United States among the various 
domestic fishing categories, per the allocations established in the 
2006 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). 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 base quota for the General category is 466.7 mt. See Sec.  
635.27(a). 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. Although it 
is called the ``January'' subquota, the regulations allow the General 
category fishery under this quota to continue until the subquota is 
reached or March 31, whichever comes first. Based on the General 
category base quota of 466.7 mt, the subquotas for each time period are 
as follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt for June through August; 
123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt for October through November; and 24.3 
mt for December. Any unused General category quota rolls forward within 
the fishing year, which coincides with the calendar year, from one time 
period to the next, and is available for use in subsequent time 
periods. Effective January 1, 2017, NMFS transferred 16.3 mt of the 
24.3-mt General category quota allocated for the December 2017 period 
to the January 2017 period, resulting in a subquota of 41 mt for the 
January period and a subquota of 8 mt for the December 2017 period (81 
FR 91873, December 19, 2016). Effective February 28, 2017, NMFS 
reallocated 138.2 mt of the 2017 Purse Seine category quota to the 
Reserve and transferred 45 mt from the Reserve category quota to the 
Longline category, resulting in an adjusted 2017 Reserve category quota 
of 118 mt (82 FR 12296, March 2, 2017).

Quota Transfer

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota 
among fishing categories or subcategories, after considering regulatory 
determination criteria at Sec.  635.27(a)(8).
    NMFS has considered all of the relevant determination criteria and 
their applicability to this inseason quota transfer and change in 
retention limit in the General category fishery. The criteria and their 
application are discussed below.

Transfer of 40 mt From the Reserve Category to the General Category

    For the inseason quota transfer, NMFS considered the usefulness of 
information obtained from catches in the particular category for 
biological sampling and monitoring of the status of the stock (Sec.  
635.27(a)(8)(i)). Biological samples collected from BFT landed by 
General category fishermen and provided by tuna dealers provide NMFS 
with valuable parts and data for ongoing scientific studies of BFT age 
and growth, migration, and reproductive status. Additional opportunity 
to land BFT in the General category would support the continued 
collection of a broad range of data for these studies and for stock 
monitoring purposes.
    NMFS also considered the catches of the General category quota to 
date (including during the winter fishery in the last several years), 
and the likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no 
adjustment is made (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(ii)). As of February 27, 2017, 
the General category landed approximately 52 mt of its adjusted January 
subquota of 41 mt. Without a quota transfer, NMFS would have to close 
the January 2017 General category fishery, while unused quota remains 
in the Reserve category and while commercial-sized BFT may remain 
available in the areas where General category permitted vessels operate 
at this time of year. Transferring 40 mt of BFT quota from the Reserve 
category would result in 81 mt being available for the January subquota 
period. This quota transfer would provide additional opportunities to 
harvest the U.S. BFT quota without exceeding it, while preserving the 
opportunity for General category fishermen to participate in the winter 
BFT fishery.
    Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the 
particular category quota (here, the General category) to harvest the 
additional amount of BFT before the end of the fishing year (Sec.  
635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS considered General category landings in the 
last several years. General category landings in the winter BFT fishery 
tend to be highly variable and depend on access to commercial-sized BFT 
and fishing conditions, among other factors. Any unused General 
category quota from the January subperiod that remains as of March 31 
will roll forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., 
the June-August time period). In 2016, NMFS transferred the entire 
24.3-mt December subquota to the January time period, for an adjusted 
January 2016 subquota of 49 mt. Under a three-fish General category 
daily retention

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limit, that adjusted subquota allowed the fishery to continue through 
the end of March 2016. This year, fishing conditions have resulted in 
highly variable landings, with higher landings rates in recent days.
    NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for 
other gear categories of the fishery might be exceeded (Sec.  
635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2017 landings and 
dead discards. In the last several years, total U.S. BFT landings have 
been below the available U.S. quota such that the United States has 
carried forward the maximum amount of underharvest allowed by ICCAT 
from one year to the next. In 2016, the General category exceeded its 
adjusted quota (discussed below) but sufficient quota was available to 
cover the exceedance without affecting the other categories. NMFS will 
need to account for 2017 landings and dead discards within the adjusted 
U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT recommendations, and anticipates 
having sufficient quota to do that. This quota transfer would provide 
additional opportunities to harvest the U.S. BFT quota without 
exceeding it, while preserving the opportunity for General category 
fishermen to participate in the winter BFT fishery.
    This transfer would be consistent with the current quotas, which 
were established and analyzed in the 2015 BFT quota final rule (80 FR 
52198, August 28, 2015), and with objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 
HMS FMP and amendments. (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). Another 
principal consideration is the objective of providing opportunities to 
harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota without exceeding it based on 
the goals of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendment 7, including 
to achieve optimum yield on a continuing basis and to optimize the 
ability of all permit categories to harvest their full BFT quota 
allocations (related to Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(x)).
    NMFS also anticipates that some underharvest of the 2016 adjusted 
U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward to 2017 and placed in the 
Reserve category, in accordance with the regulations. This, in addition 
to the fact that any unused General category quota will roll forward to 
the next subperiod within the calendar year, along with NMFS' plan to 
actively manage the subquotas to avoid any exceedances, makes it likely 
that General category quota will remain available through the end of 
2017. NMFS also may conduct other allowable transfers among categories 
throughout the year after considering the regulatory determination 
criteria for such adjustments. In 2016, NMFS closed the General 
category quota effective November 4 to prevent further overharvest of 
the adjusted General category quota. General category landings were 
relatively high in the fall of 2016, due to a combination of fish 
availability, favorable fishing conditions, and higher daily retention 
limits (described below). NMFS anticipates that General category 
participants in all areas and time periods will have opportunities to 
harvest the General category quota in 2017, through active inseason 
management such as retention limit adjustments and/or the timing of 
quota transfers, as practicable. Thus, this quota transfer would allow 
fishermen to take advantage of the availability of fish on the fishing 
grounds, consider the expected increases in available 2017 quota later 
in the year, and provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the full 
U.S. BFT quota.
    Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 40 mt of 
BFT quota from the Reserve category, resulting in a subquota of 81 mt 
for the January 2017 subquota period and a subquota of 78 mt for the 
Reserve category. NMFS will close the General category fishery when the 
adjusted January period subquota of 81 mt has been reached, or it will 
close automatically on March 31, 2017, whichever comes first, and it 
will remain closed until the General category fishery reopens on June 
1, 2017.

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), and listed above. NMFS has 
considered the relevant criteria and their applicability to the General 
category BFT retention limit for the remainder of the January subquota 
period.
    As described above with regard to the quota transfer, additional 
opportunity to land BFT (i.e., keeping the fishery open at a lower 
daily retention limit) would support the collection of a broad range of 
data for biological studies and for stock monitoring purposes. 
Regarding the effects of the adjustment on bluefin tuna rebuilding and 
overfishing and the effects of the adjustment on accomplishing the 
objectives of the fishery management plan, this action is needed to 
ensure that the fishery operates within the previously implemented 
quotas and retention limits analyzed in the Environmental Assessment 
for the 2011 final rule regarding General and Harpoon category 
management measures (76 FR 74003, November 30, 2011).
    As described above, a principal consideration in reducing the daily 
retention limit is the objective of providing opportunities to harvest 
the available U.S. BFT quota without exceeding that quota, based on the 
goals of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, as amended. The retention limit 
currently is three fish and would continue to be three fish if NMFS 
were to take no action. NMFS is setting the retention limit at one fish 
through this action because, given the expected level of fishing effort 
and catch rates, a continued level of three fish may lead to exceeding 
the adjusted category quota.
    Regarding 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, NMFS notes that in 2012, 2013, and 2014, the 
available January subquota (23.1 mt) was reached on January 22, 
February 15, and March 21, respectively, under a limit of two large 
medium or giant BFT. In each of these years, the General category did 
not reach its available quota by the end of the year. For 2015, the 
adjusted January subquota of 45.7 was not met under a daily retention 
limit of three large medium or giant BFT, whereas for 2016, the 
adjusted subquota of 49 mt was reached, and slightly exceeded, as of 
March 31 under a three-fish limit. For the January 2017 subquota 
period, NMFS allowed a three-fish limit for most of the subquota 
period, and is decreasing it only in the final third of the period, to 
try to best utilize available quota and keep the fishery open for the 
rest of the subquota period, if possible.
    Based on these considerations, NMFS has determined that a General 
category retention limit of one fish is warranted for the remainder of 
the January 2017 subquota period. It would provide a reasonable 
opportunity to harvest the U.S. quota of BFT without exceeding it, help 
optimize the ability of the General category to harvest its available 
quota, allow collection of a broad range of data for stock monitoring 
purposes, and be consistent with the objectives of the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP and amendments. Therefore, NMFS adjusts the 
General category retention limit from three to one large medium or 
giant BFT per vessel per day/trip, effective March 5, 2017, through 
March 31, 2017, or until the 81-mt January subquota is harvested, 
whichever comes first.

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    Regardless of the duration of a fishing trip, the daily retention 
limit applies upon landing. For example, during the remainder of the 
January 2017 subquota period, whether a vessel fishing under the 
General category limit takes a two-day trip or makes two trips in one 
day, the day/trip limit of one fish applies and 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 targeted 
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. Dealers are 
required to submit landing reports within 24 hours of a dealer 
receiving 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 or by using the Android or 
iPhone app. Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of 
BFT, NMFS may determine that additional action (i.e., quota and/or 
daily 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. If 
needed, subsequent adjustments 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 and 
amendments 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. Affording prior notice and opportunity for public 
comment to implement the quota transfer and daily retention limit for 
the remainder of the January 2017 subquota period at this time is 
impracticable. NMFS could not have proposed these actions earlier, as 
it needed to consider and respond information about landings and 
availability of fish and other conditions outside the agency's control 
that then require immediate action to be effective on the fishing 
grounds and thus efficiently manage the fishery. Daily landings rates 
increased substantially the week of February 20, 2017, pushing total 
landings toward the available 41-mt quota. This information became 
available on February 24, 2017. NMFS could not effectively react to 
these landings data if, in implementing the retention limit, it allowed 
a public comment period, which would preclude fishermen from harvesting 
BFT that are legally available consistent with all of the regulatory 
criteria.
    Delays in adjusting the retention limit may result in the available 
quota being exceeded and NMFS needing to close the fishery earlier than 
otherwise would be necessary under a lower limit. This could adversely 
affect those General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessels that 
would otherwise have an opportunity to harvest BFT under retention 
limits set in response to the most recent data available. 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 as soon as possible to extend 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 also 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. Sec.  635.23(a)(4) and 
635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: March 2, 2017.
Emily D. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-04439 Filed 3-2-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P