Rule2022-20386
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; Closure of the General Category September Fishery for 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 21, 2022
Effective
September 19, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the September 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. This action also waives the previously-scheduled restricted fishing days (RFDs) for the remainder of the September subquota time period. With the RFDs waived during the closure, fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may tag and release BFT of all sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. On October 1, 2022, the fishery will reopen automatically and previously scheduled RFDs for the October through November subquota time period will resume.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57648-57649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20386]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 220523-0119; RTID 0648-XC331]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries; Closure of the General Category September Fishery for 2022
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and
giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or
greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the September 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. This action also waives the previously-scheduled restricted
fishing days (RFDs) for the remainder of the September subquota time
period. With the RFDs waived during the closure, fishermen aboard
General category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted
vessels may tag and release BFT of all sizes, subject to the
requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. On
October 1, 2022, the fishery will reopen automatically and previously
scheduled RFDs for the October through November subquota time period
will resume.
DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, September 19, 2022, through
September 30, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erianna Hammond,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#187d6a7179767679367079757577767c5876777979367f776e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="adc8dfc4ccc3c3cc83c5ccc0c0c2c3c9edc3c2cccc83cac2db">[email protected]</span></a>, 301-427-8503, Larry Redd, Jr.,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1cdc0d3d3d88fd3c4c5c5e1cfcec0c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ddb1bcafafa4f3afb8b9b99db3b2bcbcf3bab2ab">[email protected]</span></a>, 301-427-8503, or Nicholas Velseboer,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#117f7872797e7d70623f67747d6274737e7463517f7e70703f767e67"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e60676d6661626f7d20786b627d6b6c616b7c4e60616f6f20696178">[email protected]</span></a>, 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
[[Page 57649]]
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 baseline U.S. BFT quota is 1,316.14 metric tons (mt) (Sec.
635.27(a)). The current baseline quota for the General category is
587.9 mt and the baseline subquota for the September time period is
155.8 mt. Effective September 7, 2022, NMFS increased the September
subquota to 225.5 mt through an inseason quota transfer (87 FR 54910,
September 8, 2022). Within that transfer notice, NMFS made an
inadvertent error in calculating the adjusted September subquota.
Through this action, NMFS corrects the adjusted September subquota to
225.8 mt (155.8 mt baseline subquota + 70 mt transferred). This
transfer provided additional quota for the September time period and
also addressed a 20.5 mt overharvest from previous time period
subquotas.
Closure of the September 2022 General Category Fishery
As of September 15, 2022, reported landings for the General
category September subquota time-period total approximately 181.6 mt.
Based on these landings data, as well as average catch rates and
anticipated fishing conditions, NMFS projects the adjusted September
2022 subquota of 225.8 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 September 19, 2022. 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 September
subquota. The General category will automatically reopen October 1,
2022, for the October through November 2022 subquota time-period.
Adjustment of the Daily Retention Limit for Selected Dates
On June 1, 2022 (87 FR 33056), NMFS published a final rule
implementing RFDs every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday through November
30, 2022. Because the fishery will be closed for the remainder of the
September subquota time period, NMFS has decided to waive the
previously-scheduled RFDs for the remainder of that period. Previously
scheduled RFDs will resume on October 1, 2022.
With the RFDs waived during the closure, consistent with Sec.
635.23(a)(4), fishermen aboard General category permitted vessels and
HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels may 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 <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-and-education/careful-catch-and-release-brochure/">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-and-education/careful-catch-and-release-brochure/</a>.
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 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
<a href="http://www.hmspermits.noaa.gov">www.hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, using the HMS Catch Reporting app, or calling
(888) 872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.).
After the fishery reopens on October 1, 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 <a href="http://www.hmspermits.noaa.gov">www.hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, 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), there is good cause to waive 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 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.
Providing for prior notice and an opportunity to comment is
impracticable and contrary to the public interest. This fishery is
currently underway and, based on landings information, delaying this
action could result in BFT landings exceeding the adjusted September
2022 General category subquota. Taking this action does not raise
conservation and management concerns. 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 also finds that pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d), there is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 15, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-20386 Filed 9-16-22; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 21, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.