[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 77943-77946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30341]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 120328229-4949-02]
RIN 0648-XD653
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason General category bluefin tuna quota
transfer and retention limit adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 21 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin
tuna (BFT) quota from the General category December 2015 subquota
period to the January 2015 subquota period (from January 1 through
March 31, 2015, or until the available subquota for this period is
reached, whichever comes first). NMFS also is adjusting the Atlantic
tunas General category BFT daily retention limit for the January 2015
subquota period to three large medium or giant BFT from the default
retention limit of one. This action is based on consideration of the
regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and
applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted
vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category
permitted vessels when fishing commercially for BFT.
DATES: The quota transfer is effective January 1, 2015. The General
category retention limit adjustment is effective January 1, 2015,
through March 31, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 978-
281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented 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.) governing the harvest of BFT by
persons and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction are found 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)
among the various domestic fishing categories, per the allocations
established in the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery
Management Plan (2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2,
2006), as amended by the recently published Amendment 7 to the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December 2, 2014,) and
in accordance with implementing regulations. NMFS is required under
ATCA to provide U.S. fishing vessels with a reasonable opportunity to
harvest the ICCAT-recommended quota.
Inseason Transfer to the General Category
The 2010 ICCAT recommendation regarding western BFT management
resulted in baseline U.S. quotas for 2011 and for 2012 of 923.7 mt (not
including the separate 25 mt that ICCAT allocated to the United States
to account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline fisheries in the
Northeast Distant Gear Restricted Area). The allocation formula applied
in the 2011 BFT quota rule (76 FR 39019, July 5, 2011) resulted in a
codified quota of 435.1 mt for the General category fishery (a
commercial tunas fishery in which handgear is used), which was then
further divided according to the time-period allocations established in
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. The General category quota and time
period subquotas as codified were not modified for 2012, 2013, or 2014.
Although the 2014 ICCAT recommendation regarding western BFT management
would result in an increase to the baseline U.S. BFT quota and
subquotas for 2015, domestic implementation of that recommendation will
take place in a separate rulemaking, likely in mid-2015.
Among other things, Amendment 7 revised the allocations to all
quota categories, effective January 1, 2015. As a result, based on the
currently codified quota of 923.7 mt, the General category quota is 403
mt. See Sec. 635.27(a). Each of the General category time periods
(January, June through August, September, October through November, and
December) is allocated a portion of the annual General category quota.
Although it is called the ``January'' subquota, the regulations allow
the General category fishery under this quota to continue until the
subquota is reached or March 31, whichever comes first. Based on the
General category quota of 403 mt, the subquotas for each time period
are as follows: 21.4 mt for January; 201.5 mt for June through August;
106.8 mt for September; 52.4 mt for October through November; and 21 mt
for December. Any unused General category quota rolls forward within
the fishing year, which coincides with the
[[Page 77944]]
calendar year, from one time period to the next, and is available for
use in subsequent time periods.
During the Amendment 7 rulemaking, NMFS received comment from
General category participants that NMFS should provide more quota to
the January subquota period and should consider shifting subquota from
December to the January period. Some of the comments expressed concern
that, due to the timing of NMFS' implementation of quota rules and/or
quota specifications (which are usually finalized mid-year), General
category participants in the January period do not benefit from any
increased opportunities that may become available to those fishing in
the summer and fall. The final rule implementing Amendment 7 responded
to this concern and allows NMFS to proactively transfer General
category quota from one time period to an earlier time period in the
same calendar year.
Under Sec. 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota
among fishing categories or subcategories, after considering
determination criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8), including the
five new criteria recently added in Amendment 7, which include: The
usefulness of information obtained from catches in the particular
category for biological sampling and monitoring of the status of the
stock; the catches of the particular category quota to date and the
likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no adjustment
is made; the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the
particular category quota to harvest the additional amount of BFT
before the end of the fishing year; the estimated amounts by which
quotas for other gear categories of the fishery might be exceeded;
effects of the adjustment on BFT rebuilding and overfishing; effects of
the adjustment on accomplishing the objectives of the fishery
management plan; variations in seasonal distribution, abundance, or
migration patterns of BFT; effects of catch rates in one area
precluding vessels in another area from having a reasonable opportunity
to harvest a portion of the category's quota; review of dealer reports,
daily landing trends, and the availability of the BFT on the fishing
grounds; optimizing fishing opportunity; accounting for dead discards,
facilitating quota monitoring, supporting other fishing monitoring
programs through quota allocations and/or generation of revenue; and
support of research through quota allocations and/or generation of
revenue.
NMFS has considered the relevant determination criteria regarding
inseason adjustments and their applicability to the General category
fishery for the January 2015 subquota period. A principal consideration
is the objective of providing opportunities to harvest the full annual
U.S. BFT quota without exceeding it based on the goals of the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendment 7, including to achieve optimum
yield on a continuing basis and to optimize the ability of all permit
categories to harvest their full BFT quota allocations.
General category landings in the winter BFT fishery, which
typically occurs in the mid-Atlantic beginning in December or January
each year, are highly variable and depend on availability of
commercial-sized BFT to participants. As of early December, commercial-
sized BFT are actively being landed. For the last three years, under a
daily retention limit of two large medium or giant BFT, the available
January subquota (23.1 mt) was reached on January 22, 2012, February
15, 2013, and March 21, 2014. For these same three years, the General
category did not reach its available quota by the end of the year.
A quota transfer from the December 2015 to January 2015 period
would provide additional opportunities to harvest the available U.S.
BFT quota without exceeding it, while preserving the opportunity for
General category fishermen to participate in the winter BFT fishery.
NMFS also anticipates that up to 94.9 mt of underharvest of the 2014
adjusted U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward to 2015 to the Reserve,
in accordance with the regulations implementing Amendment 7. This, in
addition to the fact that any unused General category quota will roll
forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year, and the
anticipated increase in the U.S. quota and subquotas for 2015 as a
result of ICCAT recommendations, make it very likely that General
category quota will remain available through the end of 2015 for
December fishery participants, even with the quota transfer. NMFS also
may choose to transfer unused quota from the Reserve or other
categories, inseason, based on consideration of the determination
criteria. Therefore, NMFS anticipates that General category
participants in all areas and time periods will have opportunities to
harvest the General category quota. Thus, the quota transfer would
allow fishermen to take advantage of the availability of fish on the
fishing grounds now, consider the expected increases in available quota
later in the year, and provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the
full U.S. BFT quota.
Other considerations consistent with the regulatory criteria
include, but are not limited to, the following:
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. Continued BFT landings
would support the collection of a broad range of data for these studies
and for stock monitoring purposes. Without a quota transfer at this
time, the quota available for the January through March 2015 period
would be 21.4 mt (5.3 percent of the General category quota), and
participants would have to stop BFT fishing activities once that amount
is met, while commercial-sized BFT may remain available in the areas
General category permitted vessels operate. Transferring the 21-mt
quota available for December 2015 (5.2 percent of the General category
quota) would result in 42.4 mt (10.5 percent of the General category
quota) being available for the January subquota period.
This action will be taken consistent with the quotas previously
implemented and analyzed in the 2011 BFT quota final rule, as adjusted
by the final rule to implement Amendment 7, and consistent with the
objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendments, and is not
expected to negatively impact stock health. It is also supported by the
Supplemental Environmental Assessment prepared for the 2013 quota
specifications and the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Regulatory
Impact Review/Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis prepared for
Amendment 7.
Based on the considerations above, NMFS has decided to transfer 21
mt of General category quota allocated for the December period to the
January period. The transfer will provide a reasonable opportunity to
harvest the U.S. quota of BFT, without exceeding it, while maintaining
an equitable distribution of fishing opportunities; allow the
collection of a broad range of data for stock monitoring purposes; and
be consistent with the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
Amendments. Therefore, NMFS transfers the 21 mt to the General category
January 2015 period, resulting in a subquota of 42.4 mt for that period
and a December period subquota of 0 mt for the 2015 fishing year. NMFS
will close the General category fishery when the adjusted General
category January period subquota has been reached, or it will close
automatically on March 31, 2015, and it will remain closed until the
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General category fishery reopens on June 1, 2015.
Adjustment of General Category Daily Retention Limit
Unless changed, the General category daily retention limit starting
on January 1 would be the default retention limit of one large medium
or giant BFT (measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length (CFL) or
greater) per vessel per day/trip (Sec. 635.23(a)(2)). This default
retention limit would apply to General category permitted vessels and
to HMS Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing
commercially for BFT. For the 2014 fishing year, NMFS adjusted the
daily retention limit from the default level of one large medium or
giant BFT to two large medium or giant BFT for the January subquota
period (78 FR 77362, December 23, 2013), which closed March 21, 2014,
when the subquota was met (79 FR 15924, March 24, 2014); and four large
medium or giant BFT for the June through August period (79 FR 30745,
May 29, 2014) as well as the September, October through November, and
December periods (79 FR 50854, August 26, 2014).
Under Sec. 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the daily
retention limit of large medium and giant BFT over a range of zero to a
maximum of five per vessel based on consideration of the relevant
criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8), and listed above. NMFS has
considered the relevant criteria and their applicability to the General
category BFT retention limit for the January 2015 subquota period.
These considerations include, but are not limited to, the following:
As described above with regard to the quota transfer, additional
opportunity to land BFT would support the collection of a broad range
of data for the biological studies and for stock monitoring purposes.
In 2012, 2013, and 2014, under a two-fish limit, the available January
subquota (23.1 mt) was reached on January 22, February 15, and March
21, respectively, and in each of these years the General category did
not reach its available quota by the end of the year. For the remainder
of the 2014 General category fishery (i.e., June through December),
NMFS adjusted the daily retention limit to four fish, and preliminary
landings information indicate that the General category will be close
to but likely not fill its quota. As this action would be taken
consistent with the previously implemented and analyzed quotas, it is
not expected to negatively impact stock health. It is also supported by
the Environmental Analysis for the 2011 final rule regarding General
and Harpoon category management measures, which increased the General
category maximum daily retention limit from three to five fish (76 FR
74003, November 30, 2011).
As above, the winter BFT fishery is variable, but as of early
December 2014, commercial-sized BFT are actively being landed.
Considering this information and the transfer of the December 2015
subquota to the quota for the January 2015 time period (for an adjusted
total of 42.4 mt), the default one-fish limit likely would be overly
restrictive. Increasing the daily retention limit from the default may
mitigate rolling an excessive amount of unused quota from one time-
period subquota to the next and thus help maintain an equitable
distribution of fishing opportunities. Although NMFS has the authority
to set the daily retention limit to up to five fish, the rate of
harvest of the January subquota could be accelerated under a high limit
(and higher fish availability), and result in a relatively short
fishing season. A short fishing season may preclude or reduce fishing
opportunities for some individuals or geographic areas because of the
migratory nature and seasonal distribution of BFT.
Based on these considerations, NMFS has determined that a three-
fish General category retention limit is warranted for the January 2015
subquota. It would provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the U.S.
quota of BFT without exceeding it, while maintaining an equitable
distribution of fishing opportunities, help optimize the ability of the
General category to harvest its full quota, allow collection of a broad
range of data for stock monitoring purposes, and be consistent with the
objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendments. Therefore,
NMFS increases the General category retention limit from the default
limit (one) to three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip,
effective January 1, 2015, through March 31, 2015, or until the 42.4-mt
January subquota is harvested, whichever comes first.
Regardless of the duration of a fishing trip, the daily retention
limit applies upon landing. For example, during the January 2015
subquota period, whether a vessel fishing under the General category
limit takes a two-day trip or makes two trips in one day, the day/trip
limit of three fish applies and may not be exceeded upon landing. This
General category retention limit is effective in all areas, except for
the Gulf of Mexico, where NMFS prohibits targeted fishing for BFT, and
applies to those vessels permitted in the General category, as well as
to those HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels fishing commercially
for BFT.
Monitoring and Reporting
NMFS will continue to monitor the General category BFT fishery
closely through the mandatory landings and catch reports. Dealers are
required to submit landing reports within 24 hours of a dealer
receiving BFT. Consistent with the regulations implementing Amendment
7, General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel operators are
required to report the number and length of all BFT catch (i.e.,
retained or discarded dead) through an online catch reporting system
within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each trip, by accessing
hmspermits.noaa.gov. Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch
rates of BFT, NMFS may determine that additional retention limit
adjustments or closures are necessary to ensure available quota is not
exceeded or to enhance scientific data collection from, and fishing
opportunities in, all geographic areas. Subsequent actions, if any,
will be published in the Federal Register. In addition, fishermen may
call the Atlantic Tunas Information Line at (888) 872-8862 or (978)
281-9260, or access hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on quota
monitoring and inseason adjustments.
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for NMFS (AA) finds that 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:
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. Affording prior notice and opportunity for public
comment to implement the quota transfer and daily retention limit for
the January subquota time period is impracticable as NMFS needs to wait
until it has necessary data and information about the fishery before it
can select the appropriate retention limit for a time period prescribed
by regulation. By the time NMFS has the necessary data, implementing
the retention limit following a public comment period would preclude
fishermen from harvesting BFT that are legally available consistent
with all of the regulatory criteria. Analysis of available data shows
that the General category BFT retention limits may be increased with
minimal risks of
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exceeding the ICCAT-allocated U.S. BFT quota.
Delays in increasing these retention limits would adversely affect
those General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessels that would
otherwise have an opportunity to harvest more than the default
retention limit of one BFT per day/trip and may exacerbate the problem
of low catch rates and quota rollovers. Limited opportunities to
harvest the respective quotas may have negative social and economic
impacts for U.S. fishermen that depend upon catching the available
quota within the designated time periods. Adjustment of the retention
limit needs to be effective January 1, 2015, or as soon as possible
thereafter, to minimize any unnecessary disruption in fishing patterns,
to allow the impacted sectors to benefit from the adjustment, and to
provide fishing opportunities for fishermen in geographic areas with
access to the fishery only during this time period. Therefore, the AA
finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment. For these reasons, there is good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.
This action is being taken under 50 CFR 635.23(a)(4) and
635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2014.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-30341 Filed 12-22-14; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P