[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71393-71395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27273]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 180117042-8884-02; RTID 0648-XB635]


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 adjustment and closure of the Atlantic 
bluefin tuna General category December fishery for 2021.

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SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category 
December 2021 subquota by adding 15.5 metric tons (mt) of quota 
remaining from the September and October through November subquotas 
resulting in a total adjusted December subquota of 54.6 mt and 
simultaneously closes the General category fishery for large medium and 
giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters)) curved fork length 
or greater) BFT for the December subquota time period, and thus for the 
remainder of 2021. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General 
category (commercial) permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat 
permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing 
commercially for BFT.

DATES: The quota adjustment is effective December 13, 2021, through 
December 31, 2021. The closure is effective 11:30 p.m., local time, 
December 14, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Redd, Jr., [email protected], 
301-427-8503, Nicholas Velseboer, [email protected], 978-281-
9260, or Thomas Warren, [email protected], 978-281-9347.

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.
    Under Sec.  635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a closure action 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 
or after the effective date and time of a closure notice for that 
category until the opening of the relevant subsequent quota period or 
until such date as specified.
    The 2021 baseline quota for the General category is 555.7 mt. The 
General category baseline subquota for the December time period is 28.9 
mt. Effective January 1, 2021, 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). NMFS recently transferred 9.5 mt of Reserve category and 20.2 mt 
from the Harpoon category to the General category resulting in an 
adjusted December subquota of 39.1 mt (86 FR 66975, November 24, 2021). 
Based on landings data received to date, NMFS has determined that the 
adjusted September and October through November time period subquotas 
were underharvested by 10.7 mt and 4.8 mt, respectively. Thus, 15.5 mt 
remains available from previous time periods.

Quota Adjustment

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(1)(ii), NMFS has the authority to adjust each 
period's apportionment based on overharvest or underharvest in the 
prior period, 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 
adjustment. 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 General category 
September fishery landed 196.6 mt of the adjusted 207.3 mt subquota (86 
FR 51016, September 14, 2021) before closing, resulting in an 
underharvest of 10.7 mt (207.3 mt--196.6 mt = 10.7 mt) and the October 
through November fishery landed 207.4 mt of the adjusted 212.2 mt 
subquota (86 FR 54873, October 5, 2021) by the end of the October 
through November time period, resulting in an underharvest of 4.8 mt 
(212.2 mt--207.4 mt = 4.8 mt). Adjusting the December 2021 subquota by 
adding the September

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and October through November subquotas underharvest of 15.5 mt (10.7 mt 
+ 4.8 mt = 15.5 mt) would result in a total of 54.6 mt (39.1 mt + 15.5 
mt = 54.6 mt) being available to the General category in December. 
Without a quota adjustment at this time, NMFS would likely need to 
close the General category fishery immediately, and participants would 
have to stop BFT fishing activities 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 
General category quota to harvest the additional amount of BFT quota 
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 adjustment 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. Earlier this year, NMFS took such an action 
to carryover the allowable 127.3 mt of underharvest from 2020 to 2021 
(86 FR 54659, October 4, 2021). 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 based on anticipated underharvest due to landings of some quota 
categories being substantially less than the available quotas for those 
categories.
    NMFS also considered the effects of the adjustment on the BFT stock 
and the effects of the adjustment on accomplishing the objectives of 
the FMP (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). This adjustment 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 
adjustment 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 adjusting the General category 
December 2021 subquota by adding 15.5 mt of quota remaining from the 
September and October through November subquotas. Therefore, NMFS 
adjusts the General category December 2021 subquota to 54.6 mt.

Closure of the December 2021 General Category Fishery

    As of December 13, 2021, reported landings for the General category 
December subquota time period total approximately 44 mt. Based on these 
landings data, as well as average catch rates and anticipated fishing 
conditions, NMFS projects the adjusted December 2021 subquota of 54.6 
mt will be reached shortly. Therefore, retaining, possessing, or 
landing large medium or giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) 
curved fork length or greater) BFT by persons aboard vessels permitted 
in the Atlantic Tunas General category and HMS Charter/Headboat 
permitted vessels (while fishing commercially) must cease at 11:30 p.m. 
local time on December 14, 2021. The General category will 
automatically reopen January 1, 2022, for the January through March 
2022 subquota time period. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas 
General category (commercial) permitted vessels and HMS Charter/
Headboat permitted vessels 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 December subquota.
    Fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS 
Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may catch-and-release and 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

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is taken pursuant to regulations at 50 CFR 
part 635, which were issued pursuant to section 304(c), and is exempt 
from review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for NMFS (AA) 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, this action for the following 
reasons:
    The regulations implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 
amendments provide for inseason 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. 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 adjusted December 2021 General category 
quota. Affording prior notice and opportunity

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for public comment to implement the quota transfer is impracticable and 
contrary to the public interest as such a delay would likely result in 
an earlier closure of the fishery while fish are available on the 
fishing grounds. 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: December 13, 2021.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-27273 Filed 12-13-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P