[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 173 (Thursday, September 8, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54910-54912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 220523-0119; RTID 0648-XC282]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; General Category September Quota Transfer

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 90.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category. 
With this transfer, the adjusted General category September 2022 
subquota is 225.5 mt. This action is intended to account for an accrued 
overharvest of 20.5 mt from previous time period subquotas and to 
provide further opportunities for General category fishermen to 
participate in the September General category fishery, based on 
consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding 
inseason adjustments. This action applies to 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 September 7, 2022, through September 30, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Williamson, 
[email protected], 301-427-8583; 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 Atlantic 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 and Reserve category quotas are 587.9 mt and 
31.2 mt, respectively. The General category baseline subquota is 
further suballocated to different time periods. Relevant to this 
action, the subquota for the September time period is 155.8 mt. To date 
for 2022, NMFS has published three actions that have resulted in 
adjustments to the General and Reserve category quotas, including the 
allowable carryover of underharvest from 2021 to 2022 (87 FR 5737, 
February 2, 2022; 87 FR 33049, June 1, 2022; 87 FR 43447, July 21, 
2022). The current adjusted Reserve category quota is 276.7 mt.

Transfer of 90.5 mt From the Reserve Category to the General Category

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota 
among fishing categories or subcategories after considering the 
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

[[Page 54911]]

the stock (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological samples collected from 
BFT landed by General category fishermen and provided by BFT 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.
    Regarding the likelihood of closure of the General category fishery 
if no adjustment is made (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)), NMFS 
considered the catches and catch rates of the General category quota to 
date (including during the summer/fall and winter fisheries in the last 
several years). NMFS also took into consideration the final rule that 
set restricted-fishing days for the General Category through November 
30, 2022 (87 FR 33056, June 1, 2022). To date, preliminary landings 
data indicate that the General category landed a cumulative total of 
391.1 mt through August 31, which exceeds the cumulative adjusted quota 
available through August 31 (370.6 mt) by 20.5 mt. While the General 
category September time period subquota has not yet been exceeded, 
without a quota transfer at this time, based on catch rates in recent 
years in comparison to the available quota, NMFS anticipates it would 
likely need to close the General category fishery shortly. Once the 
fishery is closed, participants would have to stop BFT fishing 
activities even though commercial-sized BFT remain available in the 
areas where General category permitted vessels operate at this time of 
year. Transferring 90.5 mt of BFT quota from the Reserve category would 
account for the 20.5 mt (391.1 mt-370.6 mt = 20.5 mt) of accrued 
overharvest from the prior time periods and result in an additional 70 
mt (90.5 mt-20.5 mt = 70 mt) being available for the September 2022 
subquota time period, thus effectively providing limited additional 
opportunities to harvest the U.S. BFT quota while avoiding exceeding 
it.
    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. A portion of the transferred quota 
covers the 20.5 mt overharvest in the category to date, and NMFS 
anticipates that General category participants will be able to harvest 
the remaining 70 mt of transferred BFT quota by the end of the subquota 
time period. NMFS may adjust each time period's subquota based on 
overharvest or underharvest in the prior period and may transfer 
subquota from one time period to another time period. By allowing for 
such quota adjustments and transfers, NMFS anticipates that the General 
category quota would be used before the end of the fishing 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 the available U.S. BFT quota.
    NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for 
other gear categories of the fishery might be exceeded (Sec.  
635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2022 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 2021 to 2022 (87 
FR 33049, June 1, 2022). NMFS will need to account for 2022 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 21-07), 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 
amendments, including to achieve optimum yield on a continuing basis 
and to optimize the ability of all permit categories 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 90.5 mt of the 
available 276.7 mt of Reserve category quota to the General category. 
Of this amount, 20.5 mt accounts for preliminary overharvest of the 
January through March and June through August time period subquotas, 
and 70 mt is added to the September subquota to provide further 
opportunities for General category fishermen to participate in the 
September General category fishery. Therefore, NMFS adjusts the General 
category September 2022 subquota to 225.5 mt after accounting for the 
20.5 mt of overharvest for the prior 2022 time periods and adjusts the 
Reserve category quota to 186.2 mt (276.7 mt-90.5 mt = 186.2 mt). The 
General category fishery will remain open until September 30, 2022, 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 permitted 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, 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 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.

[[Page 54912]]

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 
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 on the quota transfer for the September 2022 time period is 
impracticable. The General category fishery is underway, there was an 
exceedance of the August subquota, and while the September subquota has 
not yet been exceeded, NMFS anticipates that it will likely need to 
close the General category soon. Thus, NMFS needs to take this quota 
transfer action quickly. Delaying the action is contrary to the public 
interest, not only because it would likely result in a General category 
closure and associated costs to the fishery, but also administrative 
costs due to further agency action needed to re-open the fishery after 
quota is transferred. 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 category to the General category does not affect the overall 
U.S. BFT quota, and available data show 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. 533(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. 5523(d) to 
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.

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


    Dated: September 2, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-19437 Filed 9-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P