[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66975-66977]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25557]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02; RTID 0648-XB554]


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 9.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category and 20.2 mt from the Harpoon 
category to the General category for the remainder of the 2021 fishing 
year. The adjusted General category December subquota, Reserve category 
quota, and Harpoon category quota will be 39.1 mt, 2 mt, and 0 mt 
respectively. This action is intended to provide further opportunities 
for General category fishermen to participate in the December General 
category fishery, based on consideration of the regulatory 
determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments. This action 
would affect Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted 
vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted 
vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially 
for BFT.

DATES: Effective December 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Redd, Jr., [email protected], 
301-427-8503, or Nicholas Velseboer, [email protected], 978-
281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic HMS fisheries, including BFT 
fisheries, are managed 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.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) and its amendments are implemented by regulations 
at 50 CFR part 635. Section 635.27 divides 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 HMS FMP and its amendments. NMFS 
is required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to provide U.S. fishing 
vessels with a reasonable opportunity to harvest quotas under relevant 
international fishery agreements such as the ICCAT Convention, which is 
implemented domestically pursuant to ATCA.
    The baseline General, Reserve, and Harpoon category quotas are 
555.7 mt, 29.5 mt, and 46 mt respectively. The General category 
baseline subquota for the December time-period is 28.9 mt. On December 
23, 2020, NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of BFT quota from the December 2021 
subquota time-period to the January through March 2021 subquota time-
period resulting in an adjusted subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 
2021 time period (85 FR 83832, December 23, 2020).
    To date for 2021, NMFS has published several actions that adjusted 
the Reserve and Harpoon category quotas (86 FR 8717, February 9, 2021; 
86 FR 43420, August 9, 2021; 86 FR 51016, September 14, 2021; 86 FR 
54659, October 4, 2021; 86 FR 54873, October 5, 2021). The current 
adjusted Reserve and Harpoon category quotas are 11.5 mt and 76 mt, 
respectively. Per Sec.  635.27(a)(5), the Harpoon category fishery 
automatically closed for the year on November 15, 2021. At that time, 
20.2 mt of the Harpoon category quota remained unharvested.

Quota Transfer

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota 
among fishing categories or subcategories after considering 
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 transfer. 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 provide NMFS with valuable parts and data for ongoing 
scientific studies of BFT age and growth, migration, and reproductive 
status. Additional opportunity to land BFT in the General category 
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 during the summer/fall and winter fisheries 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)). To 
date, preliminary landings data indicate that the Harpoon category 
landed 55.8 mt of the 76 mt adjusted Harpoon category quota before 
closing. Transferring 20.2 mt from the Harpoon category to the December 
2021 subquota time-period would result in 29.6 mt (9.4 mt + 20.2 mt = 
29.6 mt) being available to the General category in December, restoring 
the December subquota to roughly its base amount prior to the December 
23, 2020 transfer (85 FR 83832). Without a quota transfer at this time, 
NMFS would likely need to close the General category fishery shortly 
after opening, and participants would have to stop BFT fishing 
activities while commercial-sized BFT remain available in the areas 
where

[[Page 66976]]

General category permitted vessels operate at this time of year. 
Transferring 9.5 mt of quota from the Reserve category in this same 
action would provide limited additional opportunities to harvest the 
U.S. BFT quota while avoiding exceeding it, leave 2 mt (11.5 mt-9.5 mt 
= 2 mt) in the Reserve category to account for any BFT mortalities 
associated with research and/or any overharvests that may occur in 
December, and result in a total of 39.1 mt (29.6 mt + 9.5 mt = 39.1 mt) 
being available for the General category December 2021 subquota time 
period.
    Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the 
General category quota 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, such as the restrictions that some 
dealers placed on their purchases of BFT from General category 
participants this year. Thus, this quota transfer would allow fishermen 
to take advantage of the availability of BFT on the fishing grounds and 
provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest available U.S. BFT quota.
    NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for 
other gear categories of the BFT fishery might be exceeded (Sec.  
635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2021 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 recently took such an action to 
carryover the allowable 127.3 mt of underharvest from 2020 to 2021 (86 
FR 54659). NMFS will need to account for 2021 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 established quotas and subquotas, which are implemented consistent 
with ICCAT recommendations (established in Recommendation 17-06 and 
maintained in Recommendation 20-06), ATCA, and the objectives of the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and amendments. In establishing these quotas 
and subquotas and associated management measures, ICCAT and NMFS 
considered the best scientific information available, objectives for 
stock management and status, and effects on the stock. This quota 
transfer is in line with the established management measures and stock 
status determinations. Another principal consideration is the objective 
of providing opportunities to harvest the available General category 
quota without exceeding the annual quota, based on the objectives of 
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its amendments, including to achieve 
optimum yield on a continuing basis and to allow all permit categories 
a reasonable opportunity to harvest available BFT quota allocations 
(related to Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(x)). Specific to the General category, 
this includes providing opportunities equitably across all time-
periods.
    Given these considerations, NMFS is transferring 9.5 mt of the 
available 11.5 mt of Reserve category quota, and 20.2 mt from the 
Harpoon category quota to the General category. Therefore, NMFS adjusts 
the General category December 2021 subquota to 39.1 mt, adjusts the 
Reserve category quota to 2 mt to account for any BFT mortalities 
associated with research, and adjusts the Harpoon category quota to 0 
mt. The General category fishery will remain open until December 31, 
2021, or until the adjusted General category quota is reached, 
whichever comes first.

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 adjustments, 
as well as closures, and may result in enforcement actions. 
Additionally, and separate from the dealer reporting requirement, 
General category and HMS Charter/Headboat vessel owners are required to 
report the catch of all BFT retained or discarded dead within 24 hours 
of the landing(s) or the 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 adjustments (e.g., quota adjustment, 
daily retention limit adjustment, or closure) are necessary to ensure 
available quota is 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 and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    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 its 
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 December 2021 time-
period is contrary to the public interest as such a delay would likely 
fail to prevent the closure of the General category fishery when the 
baseline subquota for the December time-period is met and the need to 
re-open the fishery, with attendant costs to the fishery, including 
administrative costs and lost fishing opportunities. The delay would 
preclude the fishery from harvesting BFT that are available on the 
fishing grounds and that might otherwise become unavailable during a 
delay. This action does not raise conservation and management concerns. 
Transferring quota from the Reserve and Harpoon categories to the 
General category does not affect the overall U.S. BFT quota, and the 
adjustment would have a minimal risk of exceeding the ICCAT-allocated 
quota. NMFS notes that the public had an opportunity to comment on the 
underlying rulemakings that established the U.S. BFT quota and the 
inseason adjustment criteria. 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 effective date.

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


[[Page 66977]]


    Dated: November 18, 2021.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-25557 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P