[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 13, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3724-3726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02190]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02]
RIN 0648-XG787
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; inseason quota transfer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS transfers 26 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna
(BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category January
2019 period (from January 1 through March 31, 2019, or until the
available subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes first).
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 with a
commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.
DATES: The quota transfer is effective February 8, 2019, through March
31, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Uriah Forest-Bulley, 978-675-2154, or
Sarah McLaughlin, 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.
NMFS published a final rule (i.e., the ``quota rule'' (83 FR 51391,
October 11, 2018)) that increased the baseline U.S. BFT quota from
1,058.79 mt to 1,247.86 mt consistent with a 2017 ICCAT recommendation
and accordingly increased the domestic category quotas for 2018, until
changed via a subsequent ICCAT recommendation. Within the General
category quota, each time period (January, June through August,
September, October through November, and December) is further allocated
a subquota or 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. The baseline subquotas for
each time period are as follows: 29.5 mt for January; 277.9 mt for June
through August; 147.3 mt for September; 72.2 mt for October through
November; and 28.9 mt for December. Any unused General category quota
rolls forward from one time period to
[[Page 3725]]
the next and is available for use in subsequent time periods within the
fishing year, which coincides with the calendar year. Effective January
1, 2019, NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of the 28.9-mt General category quota
allocated for the December 2019 period to the January 2019 period,
resulting in an adjusted subquota of 49 mt for the January period and a
subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2018 period (83 FR 67140, December
28, 2018).
Transfer of 26 mt From the Reserve Category to the General Category
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 the
General category fishery. These considerations include, but are not
limited to, the following:
Regarding 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
BFT dealers continue to provide NMFS with valuable data for ongoing
scientific studies of BFT age and growth, migration, and reproductive
status. Additional opportunity to land BFT over the longest time-period
allowable would support the collection of a broad range of data for
these studies and for stock monitoring purposes.
NMFS 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) and (ix)). As of February 5,
2019, the General category landed 37 mt (76 percent) of its adjusted
January 2019 subquota of 49 mt. Without a quota transfer, NMFS would
have to close the January 2019 General category fishery, while unused
quota remains in the Reserve category and while commercial-sized BFT
remain available in the areas where General category permitted vessels
operate at this time of year.
Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the
particular category quota (here, the General category) to harvest the
additional amount of BFT quota transferred before the end of the
fishing year (Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS considered General
category landings over the last several years and landings to date this
year. Landings are highly variable and depend on access to commercial-
sized BFT and fishing conditions, among other factors. NMFS anticipates
that all 26 mt of quota will be used by March 31. In the unlikely event
that any of this quota is unused by March 31, the unused quota will
roll forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., the
June through August time period), and NMFS anticipates that it would be
used by the subquota category before the end of the fishing year.
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 2019 landings and
dead discards. In the last several years, total U.S. BFT landings have
been below the total 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. NMFS will need to account for 2019 landings
and dead discards within the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT
recommendations, and NMFS anticipates having sufficient quota to do
that, even with this 26-mt transfer to the General category.
This transfer would be consistent with the current U.S. quota,
which was established and analyzed in the 2018 BFT quota final rule,
and with objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and amendments
(Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). At this time, there is a relatively
small amount of quota in the Reserve category available to transfer to
other categories or use for scientific research and for prudent
responsive management. In the past, NMFS has conducted the annual
reallocation of unused Purse Seine category quota to the Reserve
category early in the calendar year, which resulted in more Reserve
category quota available at this time of year. However, a government
shutdown occurred due to a lack of appropriations during December 2018-
January 2019, which resulted in an administrative backlog that will
delay that action for 2019. Given that consideration, current catch
rates, and the availability of fish on the fishing grounds, NMFS is
moving forward with this inseason transfer based on the immediate needs
of the General category fishery. Another principal consideration is the
objective of providing opportunities to harvest the full annual U.S.
BFT quota equitably without exceeding it based on the goals of the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and amendments, 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 2018 adjusted
U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward to 2019 and placed in the
Reserve category, in accordance with the regulations, later this year.
This, in addition to the fact that any unused General category quota
will roll forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year and
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 2019 for December fishery participants. NMFS also
may transfer unused quota from the Reserve or other categories,
inseason, based on consideration of the determination criteria, as it
did in 2018 (i.e., transferred 60 mt from the Reserve category
effective September 18, 2018 (83 FR 47843, September 21, 2018); 40 mt
form the Harpoon category and 15 mt from the Reserve category effective
October 4, 2018 (83 FR 50857, October 10, 2018); and 9.9 mt from the
Harpoon category and 129.2 mt from the General category effective
November 29, 2018 (83 FR 62512, December 4, 2018). NMFS anticipates
that General category participants in all areas and time periods will
have opportunities to harvest the General category quota in 2019,
through active inseason management measures, 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 to the extent consistent
with the available amount of transferrable quota and other management
objectives, while avoiding quota exceedance.
Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 26 mt from
the Reserve category to the General category for the January 2019
fishery, resulting in a subquota of 75 mt for the January 2019 fishery
and 3.5 mt in the Reserve category.
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. Late reporting by dealers compromises NMFS' ability to
timely implement actions such as quota and retention limit adjustment,
as well as closures, and may result in enforcement actions.
Additionally, and separate from the dealer reporting requirement,
General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel owners are required to
report the catch of all BFT retained or discarded
[[Page 3726]]
dead within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each trip, by
accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov or by using the HMS Catch Reporting app,
or calling (888) 872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30
p.m.).
Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT,
NMFS may determine that additional action (e.g., quota adjustment or
closure) is necessary to ensure available subquotas are 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 quota transfers 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 currently
available quota for the subcategory is projected to be reached shortly.
Affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment to implement
the quota transfer is impracticable and contrary to the public interest
as such a delay would result in would likely result in exceedance of
the General category January fishery subquota or earlier closure of the
fishery while fish are available on the fishing grounds. 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. 635.27(a)(9) (Inseason
adjustments) and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 8, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-02190 Filed 2-8-19; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P