[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 786-788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28635]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 220919-0193; RTID 0648-XC610]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; General Category January Through March 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 20.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin 
tuna (BFT) quota from the General category December 2023 subquota to 
the January through March 2023 subquota period. The adjusted General 
category January through March 2023 subquota is 58.2 mt. This action is 
provides further opportunities for General category fishermen to 
participate in the January through March 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 January 3, 2023, through March 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Redd, Jr., [email protected], 
301-427-8503, Ann Williamson, [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 category quota is 710.7 mt. The General 
category baseline subquotas for the January through March time-period 
and for the December time-period are 37.7 mt and 37.0 mt, respectively. 
In this action, NMFS is transferring 20.5 mt from the December 2023 
subquota period to the January through March subquota period. This 
transfer results in 58.2 mt (37.7 mt + 20.5 mt = 58.2 mt) being 
available for the January through March 2023 subquota period and 16.5 
mt (37.0-20.5 = 16.5 mt) being available for the December 2023 subquota 
period.

Transfer From the December 2023 Subquota to the January Through March 
2023 Subquota

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(1)(ii), NMFS has the authority to transfer 
subquota from one time period to another time period through inseason 
action 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 continue to 
provide NMFS with valuable parts and data for ongoing scientific 
studies of

[[Page 787]]

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 recent catches of the General category quota 
(including in December 2022 and during the January through March 
fishery 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)). Without a quota transfer from the December 
2023 subquota period, the quota available for the 2023 January through 
March period would be 37.7 mt and participants would have to stop BFT 
fishing activities once that amount is met, while commercial-sized BFT 
remain available in the areas where General category permitted vessels 
operate. A quota transfer of 20.5 mt would provide 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. Landings are highly variable and depend on access 
to commercial-sized BFT and fishing conditions, among other factors. 
NMFS may adjust each 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. For 2022, NMFS 
transferred 19.5 mt of quota from the December 2022 subquota period to 
the January through March 2022 subquota period, resulting in an 
adjusted subquota of 49 mt for the January through March 2022 period 
and an adjusted subquota of 9.4 mt for the December 2022 period (86 FR 
72857, December 23, 2021). NMFS also made a transfer of 26 mt from the 
Reserve to the General category effective January 28, 2022, resulting 
in an adjusted subquota of 75 mt for the January through March 2022 
period (87 FR 5737, February 2, 2022), and closed the General category 
fishery for the January through March subquota period effective 
February 11, 2022 (87 FR 8432, February 15, 2022).
    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 2023 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 will need to account for 2023 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 
2006 Consolidated 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 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 20.5 mt from the 
December 2023 period to the January through March 2023 period, 
resulting in an adjusted January through March 2023 subquota of 58.2 mt 
and an adjusted December 2023 subquota of 16.5 mt. The General category 
fishery will remain open until March 31, 2023, 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 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 pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), 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. Specifically, 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. Providing prior notice and opportunity for public comment 
on this quota transfer for the January through March 2023 time period 
is impracticable. NMFS could not have proposed this action earlier, as 
it needed to consider and respond to updated landings data, including 
the recently available December 2022 data, in deciding to transfer a 
portion of the December 2023 subquota to the January through March 2023 
subquota. Delaying this action is contrary to 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

[[Page 788]]

delay would preclude the fishery from harvesting BFT that are available 
on the fishing grounds that might otherwise become unavailable during a 
delay. This action does not raise conservation and management concerns. 
Transferring quota within 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.
    For all of the above reasons, the AA finds that pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 553(d), there also is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effective date.

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

    Dated: December 30, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-28635 Filed 1-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P