[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 3, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12291-12292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04400]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02; RTID 0648-XA714]


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 2021.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 27, 2021, through May 
31, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin, 
[email protected], 978-281-9260, Nicholas Velseboer, 
[email protected], 978-675-2168, or Larry Redd, Jr., 
[email protected], 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 Atlantic Highly 
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) 
(71 FR 58058, October 2, 2006) and amendments, and in accordance with 
implementing regulations.
    Under Sec.  635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a closure notice with the 
Office of the Federal Register for publication when a BFT quota (or 
subquota) is reached or is projected to be reached. Retaining, 
possessing, or landing BFT under that quota category is prohibited on 
and after the effective date and time of a closure notice for that 
category, for the remainder of the fishing year, until the opening of 
the subsequent quota period or until such date as specified.
    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, 2021, NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of the 28.9-mt 
General category quota allocated for the December 2021 period to the 
January 2021 period, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 49 mt for the 
January period and a subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2021 period 
(85 FR 83832, December 23, 2020). Effective February 8, 2021, NMFS 
transferred an additional 26 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 75 mt for the General category 
2021 January subquota period and 168 mt for the Reserve category (86 FR 
8717, February 9, 2021).

Closure of the January 2021 General Category Fishery

    Based on the best available General category BFT Landings 
information (i.e., 57.7 mt landed as of February 25, 2021), as well as 
average catch rates and anticipated fishing conditions, NMFS projects 
that the adjusted General category January 2021 subquota of 75 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 Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat category (while 
fishing commercially) must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on February 
27, 2021. The General category will reopen automatically on June 1, 
2021, for the June through August 2021 subquota period. This action 
applies to those vessels permitted in the General category, as well as 
to those HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels

[[Page 12292]]

with a commercial sale endorsement 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 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 landings 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.).
    Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, 
NMFS may determine that additional adjustments are 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

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is consistent with regulations at 50 CFR part 
635, which were issued pursuant to section 304(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for NMFS finds that pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior notice of, and an 
opportunity for public comment on, 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. This fishery is currently underway and 
delaying this action would be contrary to the public interest as it 
could result in BFT landings exceeding the January 2021 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. 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.

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

    Dated: February 26, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-04400 Filed 2-26-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P