[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16136-16137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06405]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XF284


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; General Category Fishery

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the coastwide General category fishery for large 
medium and giant Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) until the General category 
reopens on June 1, 2017. This action is being taken to prevent any 
further overharvest of the available adjusted General category January 
2017 BFT subquota.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, March 29, 2017, through May 
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) 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.
    NMFS is required, under regulations at Sec.  635.28(a)(1), to file 
a closure notice for publication with the Office of the Federal 
Register when a BFT quota is reached or is projected to be reached. On 
and after the effective date and time of such notification, for the 
remainder of the fishing year or for a specified period as indicated in 
the notification, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT under that 
quota category is prohibited until the opening of the subsequent quota 
period or until such date as specified in the notice.
    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 an adjusted 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 March 2, 2017, NMFS 
transferred 40 mt from the Reserve category to the General category 
January 2017 subquota period, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 81 
mt for the January period (82 FR 12747, March 7, 2017).
    Based on the best available landings information for the General 
category BFT fishery, NMFS has determined that the adjusted General 
category January 2017 subquota of 81 mt has been reached (i.e., as of 
March 27, reported landings total approximately 82.4 mt). Therefore, 
retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or giant BFT by persons 
aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas General and HMS Charter/
Headboat categories (while fishing commercially) must cease at 11:30 
p.m. local time on March 29, 2017. The General category will reopen 
automatically on June 1, 2017, for the June through August 2017 
subperiod. This action applies to Atlantic tunas General category 
(commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) 
Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing commercially 
for BFT, and is taken consistent with the regulations at Sec.  
635.28(a)(1). The intent of this closure is to prevent any further 
overharvest of the available General category January BFT subquota.
    Fishermen may catch and release (or tag and release) BFT of all 
sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-
and-release programs at Sec.  635.26. All BFT that are released must be 
handled in a manner that will maximize their survival, and without 
removing the fish from the water, consistent with requirements at Sec.  
635.21(a)(1). For additional information on safe handling, see the 
``Careful Catch and Release'' brochure available at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. 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.

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 and fishery 
closures 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. These fisheries are currently 
underway and the quota for

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the subcategory has already been exceeded. Delaying this action would 
be contrary to the public interest because the subquota has already 
been exceeded and any delay could lead to further exceedance, which may 
result in the need to reduce quota for the General category later in 
the year and thus could affect later fishing opportunities. 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, 
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.  635.28(a)(1), and is exempt 
from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: March 28, 2017.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-06405 Filed 3-28-17; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P