[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10993-10994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03871]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02]
RTID 0648-XT035


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the General category January fishery 
for 2020.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category 
fishery for the January subquota period. The intent of this closure is 
to prevent overharvest of the adjusted January subquota.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, February 24, 2020, through May 
31, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Velseboer 978-675-2168, Sarah 
McLaughlin, 978-281-9260, 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) 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) and amendments.
    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 (or subquota) 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 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 from one time period to the next and is 
available for use in subsequent time periods within the fishing year. 
Effective January 1, 2020, NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of the 28.9-mt 
General category quota allocated for the December 2020 period to the 
January 2020 period, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 49 mt for the 
January period and a subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2020 period 
(85 FR 17, January 2, 2020). Effective February 5, 2020, NMFS 
transferred an additional 51 mt from the Reserve category to the 
General category, in the same notice as NMFS made the annual 
reallocation of Purse Seine category quota to the Reserve category, 
resulting in an adjusted subquota of 100 mt for the

[[Page 10994]]

General category 2020 January subquota period and 143 mt for the 
Reserve category (85 FR 6828, February 6, 2020).

Closure of the January 2020 General Category Fishery

    Based on the best available General category BFT Landings 
information (i.e., 88.1 mt landed as of February 21, 2020), as well as 
average catch rates and anticipated fishing conditions, NMFS projects 
that the adjusted General category January 2020 subquota of 100 mt will 
be reached shortly, and that the General category fishery should be 
closed. Therefore, retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or 
giant BFT by persons aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas 
General category and the HMS Charter/Headboat category (while fishing 
commercially) must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on February 24, 2020. 
The General category will reopen automatically on June 1, 2020, for the 
June through August 2020 subquota period. This action 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. For information regarding the HMS 
Charter/Headboat commercial sale endorsement, see 82 FR 57543, December 
6, 2017. The intent of this closure is to prevent overharvest of the 
available January 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 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-and-education/careful-catch-and-release-brochure/.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fisheries 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, using the HMS Catch Reporting app, or calling 
(888) 872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.).

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 delaying this action would be contrary to the public 
interest as it could result in BFT landings exceeding the January 2020 
subquota, which could 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 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) (BFT fishery 
closures), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: February 21, 2020.
Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-03871 Filed 2-21-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P