Rule2022-21975
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; General Category October Through November Quota Transfer
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
October 7, 2022
Effective
October 5, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS is transferring 125 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category. With this transfer, the adjusted General category October through November 2022 subquota is 177.9 mt. This action is intended to account for an accrued overharvest of 23.5 mt from previous time period subquotas and to provide further opportunities for General category fishermen to participate in the October through November 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60938-60940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21975]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 220523-0119; RTID 0648-XC420]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries; General Category October Through November 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 125 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin
tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category.
With this transfer, the adjusted General category October through
November 2022 subquota is 177.9 mt. This action is intended to account
for an accrued overharvest of 23.5 mt from previous time period
subquotas and to provide further opportunities for General category
fishermen to participate in the October through November 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 October 5, 2022, through November 30, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Redd, Jr., <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9df1fcefefe4b3eff8f9f9ddf3f2fcfcb3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0864697a7a71267a6d6c6c4866676969266f677e">[email protected]</span></a>,
301-472-8503, Ann Williamson, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f4959a9ada839d98989d9599879b9ab49a9b9595da939b82"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5637383878213f3a3a3f373b253938163839373778313920">[email protected]</span></a>, 301-427-8503, or
Nicholas Velseboer, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#600e0903080f0c01134e16050c1305020f0512200e0f01014e070f16"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cea0a7ada6a1a2afbde0b8aba2bdabaca1abbc8ea0a1afafe0a9a1b8">[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 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 October through November time period is
76.4 mt. To date for 2022, NMFS has published several 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; 87 FR 54910, September 8, 2022). The current adjusted Reserve
category quota is 186.2 mt.
Transfer of 125 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
[[Page 60939]]
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
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). While the General category
October through November time period subquota has not yet been
exceeded, without a quota transfer at this time, based on catch rates
in the last three years in comparison to the available quota, NMFS
anticipates it would likely need to close the General category fishery
in October. 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 125 mt of BFT quota from the Reserve
category would account for the 23.5 mt (640.4 mt - 616.9 mt = 23.5 mt)
of accrued overharvest from the prior time periods and result in an
additional 101.5 mt (125 mt - 23.5 mt = 101.5 mt) being available for
the October through November 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 23.5 mt overharvest in the category to date, and NMFS
anticipates that General category participants will be able to harvest
the additional 101.5 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 carry
over the allowable 127.3 mt of underharvest from 2021 to 2022 (87 FR
33049). 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 125 mt of the
available 186.2 mt of Reserve category quota to the General category.
Of this amount, 23.5 mt accounts for preliminary overharvest of the
June through August and September time period subquotas, and 101.5 mt
is added to the October through November subquota to provide further
opportunities for General category fishermen to participate in the
October through November General category fishery. Therefore, NMFS
adjusts the General category October through November 2022 subquota to
177.9 mt (76.4 mt + 101.5 mt = 177.9 mt) after accounting for the 23.5
mt of overharvest for the prior 2022 time periods and adjusts the
Reserve category quota to 61.2 mt (186.2 mt-125 mt = 61.2 mt). The
General category fishery will remain open until November 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
<a href="http://hmspermits.noaa.gov">hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, 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 <a href="http://hmspermits.noaa.gov">hmspermits.noaa.gov</a>, for
updates on
[[Page 60940]]
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 the quota transfer for the October through November 2022 time period
is impracticable. The General category fishery is underway, there was
an exceedance of the September subquota, and while the October through
November subquota has not yet been exceeded, NMFS anticipates that it
will likely need to close the General category soon. 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.
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: October 4, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-21975 Filed 10-5-22; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 7, 2022.
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