Rule2025-00625
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; General Category January Through March 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
January 13, 2025
Effective
January 8, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS is transferring 20.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the General category December 2025 subquota to the January through March 2025 subquota period. The adjusted General category January through March 2025 subquota is 58.2 mt. This action is intended to provide further harvest opportunities for General category fishermen, based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic 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 90 Issue 7 (Monday, January 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 7 (Monday, January 13, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2638-2640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00625]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 220919-0193; RTID 0648-XE544]
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 2025 subquota to
the January through March 2025 subquota period. The adjusted General
category January through March 2025 subquota is 58.2 mt. This action is
intended to provide further harvest opportunities for General category
fishermen, based on consideration of the regulatory determination
criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic Tunas
General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic Highly
Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a
commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.
DATES: The quota transfer is effective January 8, 2025, through March
31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Quintrell
(<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c0d02020d421d190502181e0900002c02030d0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="91f0fffff0bfe0e4f8ffe5e3f4fdfdd1fffef0f0bff6fee7">[email protected]</span></a>) or Larry Redd, Jr. (<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9b5b8ababa0f7abbcbdbd99b7b6b8b8f7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b070a19191245190e0f0f2b05040a0a450c041d">[email protected]</span></a>) by
email or by phone at 301-427-8503.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic BFT fisheries are managed under the
2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and its amendments,
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and consistent with
the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.). ATCA
is the implementing statute for binding recommendations of the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. HMS
implementing regulations are at 50 CFR part 635. Section 635.27(a)
divides the U.S. BFT quota, established by the International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and as implemented by
the United
[[Page 2639]]
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 at 16
U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)(D) 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.
As described in Sec. 635.27(a), the current baseline U.S. BFT
quota is 1,316.14 mt (not including the 25 mt ICCAT allocated to the
United States to account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline
fisheries in the Northeast Distant Gear Restricted Area). The baseline
quota for the General category is 710.7 mt. The General category
baseline quota is suballocated to different time periods. Relevant to
this action, the baseline subquotas for the January through March time
period and for the December time period are 37.7 mt and 37.0 mt,
respectively.
Transfer From the December 2025 Subquota to the January Through March
2025 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)(7). This section focuses on the calculations involved in
transferring quota available from the 2025 General category December
time period subquota to the 2025 General category January through March
time period subquota; the consideration of the determination criteria
can be found below after this section.
As stated above, the baseline subquotas for the January through
March time period and for the December time period are 37.7 mt and 37.0
mt, respectively. Transferring 20.5 mt from the General category
December time period to the General category January through March time
period, results in an adjusted January through March time period
subquota of 58.2 mt (37.7 mt + 20.5 mt = 58.2 mt), and an adjusted
December time period subquota of 16.5 mt (37.0 mt-20.5 mt = 16.5 mt).
The General category quota is available for use by Atlantic Tunas
General category (commercial) permitted vessels and HMS Charter/
Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when
fishing commercially for BFT.
In summary, this transfer results in an adjusted January through
March 2025 time period subquota of 58.2 mt and an adjusted December
2025 subquota of 16.5 mt. The General category fishery will remain open
until March 31, 2025, or until the adjusted January through March 2025
time period subquota is reached, whichever comes first.
Consideration of the Relevant Determination Criteria
NMFS has considered all of the relevant determination criteria and
their applicability to this inseason quota transfer (Sec.
635.27(a)(7)). These criteria 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)(7)(i)), biological samples
collected from BFT landed by General category fishermen and provided by
BFT dealers continue to 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 during the January-March time period 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 catches in
the December and January through March time periods over the last
several years and the likelihood of closure of the January through
March segment of the fishery if no adjustment is made (Sec.
635.27(a)(7)(ii) and (ix)), as well as daily landing trends and the
availability of BFT on fishing grounds (Sec. 635.27(a)(7)(ix)).
Without a quota transfer at this time, based on recent catch rates in
comparison to the current available quota (37.7 mt), NMFS would likely
need to close the General category fishery shortly. Once the fishery is
closed, participants would have to stop BFT fishing activities until
the next time period begins in June, even though commercial-sized BFT
remain available in the areas where General category permitted vessels
operate. A quota transfer at this time provides limited additional
opportunities to harvest the U.S. BFT quota while avoiding exceeding
the current time period's subquota.
Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the
General category to harvest the additional amount of BFT quota
transferred before the end of the fishing year (Sec.
635.27(a)(7)(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. NMFS may adjust each time period's
subquota based on overharvest or underharvest in the prior time period
and may transfer subquota from one time period to another time period.
By allowing for the current quota transfer, NMFS anticipates that the
General category quota would be used before the end of the fishing
year. Thus, this quota transfer would allow General category 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)(7)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2025 landings and
dead discards (Sec. 635.27(a)(7)(xi)). In the last several years, the
total U.S. BFT landings have typically 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 2025 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 transfer on the BFT stock
and on accomplishing the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP
(Sec. 635.27(a)(7)(v) and (vi)). This transfer would be with
established quotas and subquotas, which are implemented consistent with
ICCAT Recommendation 22-10, 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)(7)(x)). Specific to the General category,
this includes
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providing opportunities equitably across all time periods.
Monitoring and Reporting
NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely. Per Sec.
635.5(b)(2)(i)(A), 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 and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel
owners are required per Sec. 635.27(a)(4) to report their own catch of
all BFT retained or discarded dead within 24 hours of the landing(s) or
end of each trip, by accessing <a href="https://hmspermits.noaa.gov">https://hmspermits.noaa.gov</a> by using the
HMS Catch Reporting app, by using other apps approved by NMFS for HMS
reporting, 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 access <a href="https://hmspermits.noaa.gov">https://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 (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)) and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 and
this action 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 and
opportunity to provide comment on this action, as notice and comment
would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest.
Specifically, the regulations implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS
FMP and amendments provide for inseason adjustments and quota transfers
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 is impracticable and contrary to the public interest
as this fishery is currently underway. Based on current landings
information, the available time period subquota is projected to be
reached shortly. Delaying this action could result in BFT landings
exceeding the January through March time period subquota. Additionally,
a delay in implementing this transfer would preclude the fishery from
harvesting BFT that are currently available on the fishing grounds and
that might otherwise become unavailable. This action does not raise
conservation and management concerns and would support effective
management of the BFT fishery. Transferring quota from the General
category December time period to the General category January through
March time period does not affect the overall ICCAT-allocated U.S. BFT
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 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: January 8, 2025.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-00625 Filed 1-8-25; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 13, 2025.
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