[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 1 (Thursday, January 2, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17-19]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28271]
[[Page 17]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02: RTID 0648-XT031]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 19.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin
tuna (BFT) quota from the 28.9-mt General category December 2020
subquota to the January 2020 subquota period (from January 1 through
March 31, 2020, 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: Effective January 1, 2020, through March 31, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin, 978-281-9260,
Nicholas Velseboer, 978-675-2168, or Larry Redd, 301-427-8503.
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 555.7 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 ``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 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.
Transfer of 19.5 mt From the December 2020 Subquota to the January 2020
Subquota
Under Sec. 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota
among fishing categories or subcategories, after considering regulatory
determination criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8). NMFS has
considered all of the relevant determination criteria and their
applicability to this inseason quota. 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
tuna dealers provides NMFS with valuable parts and data for ongoing
scientific studies of BFT age and growth, migration, and reproductive
status. Additional opportunity to land BFT, and potentially over a
greater portion of the January time period, 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 in December 2019 and 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)). Without
a quota transfer from December 2020 to January 2020 for the General
category at this time, the quota available for the January period would
be 29.5 mt (5.3 percent of the General category quota), and
participants would have to stop BFT fishing activities once that amount
is met, while commercial-sized BFT may remain available in the areas
where General category permitted vessels operate. Transferring 19.5 mt
of the 28.9-mt quota available for December 2020 (with 28.9 mt
representing 5.2 percent of the General category quota) would result in
49 mt (8.8 percent of the General category quota) being available for
the January 2020 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 at both the
beginning and end of the calendar 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 before the end of the fishing year (Sec.
635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS considered General category landings over the
last several years. General category landings in the winter BFT fishery
tend to straddle the calendar year as BFT may be available in late
November/December and into January of the following year or later.
Landings are 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 late 2018, NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of
quota from the December 2019 subquota to the January 2019 subquota
period, resulting in a subquota of 49 mt for the January 2019 period
and a subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2019 period (83 FR 67140,
December 28, 2018). NMFS also made two transfers in 2019 of 26 mt and
25 mt from the Reserve to the General category effective February 8 and
February 25, respectively, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 100 mt
for the January 2019 period (84 FR 3724, February 13, 2019; 84 FR 6701,
February 28, 2019), and closed the General category fishery for the
January subquota period effective February 28 (84 FR 7302, March 4,
2019). Under a one-fish General category daily retention limit (i.e.,
of large medium or giant BFT, measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork
length or greater) effective January 1 through February 28, a total of
108.9 mt were landed.
NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for
other gear
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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
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 2020 landings and dead discards
within the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT recommendations,
and anticipates having sufficient quota to do that.
NMFS also considered the effects of the adjustment on the BFT stock
and the effects of the transfer on accomplishing the objectives of the
FMP (Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). This transfer would be consistent
with the current quotas, which were established and analyzed in the
2018 BFT quota final rule (83 FR 51391, October 11, 2018), and with
objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and amendments, and is not
expected to negatively impact stock health or to affect the stock in
ways not already analyzed in those documents. 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 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)). Specific to the General category, this
includes providing opportunity equitably across all time periods.
NMFS also anticipates that some underharvest of the 2019 adjusted
U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward to 2020 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, as well as 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
2020 for December fishery participants, even with the quota transfer.
NMFS also may choose to transfer unused quota from the Reserve or other
categories, inseason, based on consideration of the determination
criteria, as NMFS did for late 2019. NMFS anticipates that General
category participants in all areas and time periods will have
opportunities to harvest the General category quota in 2020, through
active inseason management actions such as retention limit adjustments
and/or the timing of quota transfers, as practicable.
Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 19.5 mt of
the 28.9-mt General category quota allocated for the December 2020
period to the January 2020 period, resulting in a subquota of 49 mt for
the January 2020 period and a subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2020
period. NMFS will close the General category fishery when the adjusted
January period subquota of 49 mt has been reached, or it will close
automatically on March 31, 2020, whichever comes first, and it will
remain closed until the General category fishery reopens on June 1,
2020.
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 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.).
Under Sec. 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the daily
retention limit of large medium and giant bluefin tuna 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). However, at this
time, NMFS is maintaining the default daily retention limit of one
large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip (Sec. 635.23(a)(2))
for the January 2020 General category fishery. Regardless of the
duration of a fishing trip, no more than a single day's retention limit
may be possessed, retained, or landed. For example (and specific to the
limit that will apply beginning January 1, 2020), 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 one 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
with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.
Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT
including catches of the General category quota during the winter
fishery, NMFS may determine that additional action (e.g., quota
adjustment, daily retention limit adjustment, or closure) is necessary
to enhance scientific data collection from, and fishing opportunities
in, all geographic areas, and to ensure available subquotas are not
exceeded. 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 for the January 2020 subquota
period at this time is impracticable and contrary to the public
interest as NMFS could not have proposed this action earlier, as it
needed to consider and respond to updated data and information from the
2019 General category fishery, including the recently-available
December 2019 data, in deciding to transfer a portion of the December
2020 subquota to the January 2020 subquota. If NMFS was to offer a
public comment period now, after having appropriately considered that
data, it could preclude fishermen from harvesting BFT that are legally
available consistent with all of the regulatory criteria, and/or could
result in selection of a retention limit inappropriately high for the
amount of quota available for the 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. 635.27(a)(9) (Inseason
adjustments),
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and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 26, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-28271 Filed 12-31-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P