Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; General Category October Through November Quota Transfer and Adjustment

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NMFS is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General category October through November 2026 time period subquota by transferring 70.2 metric tons (mt) of quota from the Reserve category. Simultaneously, NMFS is adding 16.7 mt of subquota remaining from the June through August time period to the General category October through November time period. This action results in a total adjusted General category October through November time period subquota of 192.9 mt and an adjusted Reserve category of 42 mt. 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.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 194 (Thursday, October 8, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 194 (Thursday, October 8, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 64302-64304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20652]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 260813-0186; RTID 0648-XG086]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries; General Category October Through November Quota Transfer and 
Adjustment

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

[[Page 64303]]


ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer and adjustment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General 
category October through November 2026 time period subquota by 
transferring 70.2 metric tons (mt) of quota from the Reserve category. 
Simultaneously, NMFS is adding 16.7 mt of subquota remaining from the 
June through August time period to the General category October through 
November time period. This action results in a total adjusted General 
category October through November time period subquota of 192.9 mt and 
an adjusted Reserve category of 42 mt. 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: The quota transfer and adjustment is effective October 6, 2026, 
through November 30, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Curtis, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#96f4f3f5fdefb8f5e3e4e2ffe5d6f8f9f7f7b8f1f9e0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="87e5e2e4ecfea9e4f2f5f3eef4c7e9e8e6e6a9e0e8f1">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, 
or Larry Redd, Jr., <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7915180b0b00570b1c1d1d3917161818571e160f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d8b4b9aaaaa1f6aabdbcbc98b6b7b9b9f6bfb7ae">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, by email or 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.). 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 States among the various domestic fishing categories, per 
the allocations established in the 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.
    NMFS recently published a final rule to implement the 2025 ICCAT 
Recommendation 25-05 (91 FR 53526, August 19, 2026). As described in 
Sec.  635.27(a), the current baseline U.S. BFT quota is 1,509.98 mt 
(not including the 62.5 mt ICCAT allocated to the United States to 
account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline fisheries in the 
vicinity of the management area boundary and adjacent areas per Sec.  
635.27(a)(3)). The baseline quotas for the General and Reserve 
categories are 815.4 mt and 43.8 mt, respectively. The General category 
baseline quota is suballocated to different time periods. Specific to 
this action, the baseline subquota for the October through November 
time period is 106 mt. To date, NMFS has published several actions that 
have adjusted the Reserve category quota (91 FR 5855, February 10, 
2026; 91 FR 43571, July 16, 2026; 91 FR 53526, August 19, 2026). The 
current adjusted Reserve category quota is 112.2 mt. Based on 
preliminary landings data received to date, NMFS has determined that 
the General category June through August time period subquota was 
underharvested by 16.7 mt. Thus, 16.7 mt remains available from 
previous time periods for use by General category fishermen.

Quota Transfer and Adjustment

    Under Sec.  635.27(a)(1)(ii) NMFS has the authority to adjust each 
period's apportionment based on overharvest or underharvest in the 
prior period, after considering determination criteria provided under 
Sec.  635.27(a)(7). Additionally, under Sec.  635.27(a)(8), NMFS has 
the authority to transfer quota among fishing categories or 
subcategories after considering the determination criteria provided 
under Sec.  635.27(a)(7). This section focuses on the calculations 
involved in transferring quota from the Reserve category to the General 
category and adjusting the quota available for the General category 
October through November subquota time period. The consideration of the 
determination criteria can be found below after this section.
    As stated above, the baseline October through November subquota and 
adjusted Reserve category quotas are 106 mt and 112.2 mt, respectively. 
Transferring 70.2 mt from the Reserve category to the General category 
would result in an adjusted October through November subquota and 
Reserve category quotas of 176.2 mt (106 mt + 70.2 mt = 176.2 mt) and 
42 mt (112.2 mt-70.2 mt = 42 mt), respectively. To date, preliminary 
landings data indicate that the General category June through August 
fishery landed 391 mt of the baseline 407.7 mt subquota by the end of 
the June through August time period, resulting in an underharvest of 
16.7 mt (407.7 mt-391 mt = 16.7 mt). Adding the June through August 
time period subquota underharvest of 16.7 mt to the October through 
November time period results in a total adjusted October through 
November time period subquota of 192.9 mt (176.2 + 16.7 mt = 192.9 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, these actions result in an adjusted General category 
October through November time period subquota of 192.9 mt and an 
adjusted Reserve quota of 42 mt. The General category fishery will 
remain open until November 30, 2026, or until the adjusted General 
category October through November 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 and quota 
adjustment (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 
tuna dealers continue 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.
    NMFS also considered the catches of the General category quota to 
date and the likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no 
adjustment is made (Sec.  635.27(a)(7)(ii) and (ix)). At this time, the 
fishery is open. However, in the past few years, the October through 
November subquota has been harvested quickly. Without taking action at 
this time, the General category October through November time period 
would very likely reach the available quota and NMFS would have to stop 
BFT fishing activities even though commercial-sized BFT remain 
available in the areas where General category permitted vessels 
operate. A quota transfer and adjustment at this time provides 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

[[Page 64304]]

category quota to harvest the additional amount of BFT quota 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 and adjustment, NMFS anticipates that the General 
category quota would be used before the end of the fishing year. 
Additionally this quota transfer and adjustment would allow fishermen 
to take advantage of the availability of BFT on the fishing grounds and 
provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest available U.S. BFT quota.
    NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for 
other gear categories of the BFT fishery might be exceeded (Sec.  
635.27(a)(7)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2026 landings and 
dead discards (Sec.  635.27(a)(7)(xii) and (a)(7)(xi)). In most of the 
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. When 
total U.S. BFT landings are above the available U.S. quota, the United 
States reduces the next year's quota by the overharvest amount 
(including reducing the various fishing category quotas and subquotas 
by their respective overharvest amounts), as was necessary in 2025 to 
account for the 2024 adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT 
recommendations. NMFS will need to account for 2026 landings and dead 
discards within the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT 
recommendations, and anticipates having sufficient quota to do so.
    NMFS also considered the effects of the transfer and quota 
adjustment on the BFT stock and on accomplishing the objectives of the 
HMS FMP (Sec.  635.27(a)(7)(v) and (vi)). This action would be 
consistent with ICCAT Recommendations, ATCA, and the objectives of the 
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 action 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. This consideration is based on the 
objectives of the HMS FMP and its amendments, and it includes achieving 
optimum yield on a continuing basis and optimizing the ability of all 
permit categories to harvest available BFT quota allocations (related 
to Sec.  635.27(a)(7)(x)). Specific to the General category, this 
includes providing opportunities equitably across all time periods. 
Finally, we note that the amount remaining in the Reserve category is 
sufficient for anticipated needs.
    In summary, this action adjusts the General category October 
through November subquota and Reserve category quota to 192.9 mt and 42 
mt, respectively. This action provides additional fishing opportunities 
to harvest the General category quota and subquotas, without exceeding 
them, while maintaining equitable fishing opportunities for General 
category fishermen. If needed and appropriate, NMFS could take an 
additional action(s) later in the year to increase or decrease the 
retention limit, transfer quota, or close the applicable General 
category time period.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fisheries closely. Per Sec.  
635.5(b)(2)(i)(A), dealers are required to submit landing reports 
within 24 hours of 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.  635.5(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>, using the HMS 
Catch Reporting app, or calling 888-872-8862 (Monday through Friday 
from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. E.T.).
    Depending on catch rates of BFT and any updated landings 
information at that time, and after consideration of all the criteria 
specified at Sec.  635.27(a)(7), 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, including quota transfers, 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. 533(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior notice of, and 
opportunity for public comment on, this action because it is 
impracticable and contrary to the public interest for the following 
reasons. Specifically, the regulations implementing the 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 an opportunity for public 
comment is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as this 
fishery is currently underway and, based on the most recent landings 
information and historical landings trends, the 2026 General category 
October through November subquota is projected to be reached shortly. 
Delaying this action could result in BFT landings that exceed the 
General category October through November subquota. Additionally, a 
delay in implementing this action 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. This action 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)(3), 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: October 6, 2026.
Shannon Bettridge,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-20652 Filed 10-6-26; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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