[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16136-16137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06405]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XF284
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries; General Category Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the coastwide General category fishery for large
medium and giant Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) until the General category
reopens on June 1, 2017. This action is being taken to prevent any
further overharvest of the available adjusted General category January
2017 BFT subquota.
DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, March 29, 2017, through May
31, 2017.
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 subdivides 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.
NMFS is required, under regulations at Sec. 635.28(a)(1), to file
a closure notice for publication with the Office of the Federal
Register when a BFT quota is reached or is projected to be reached. On
and after the effective date and time of such notification, for the
remainder of the fishing year or for a specified period as indicated in
the notification, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT under that
quota category is prohibited until the opening of the subsequent quota
period or until such date as specified in the notice.
The base quota for the General category is 466.7 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 base quota of 466.7 mt, the subquotas for each time period are
as follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt for June through August;
123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt for October through November; and 24.3
mt for December. Any unused General category quota rolls forward within
the fishing year, which coincides with the calendar year, from one time
period to the next, and is available for use in subsequent time
periods. Effective January 1, 2017, NMFS transferred 16.3 mt of the
24.3-mt General category quota allocated for the December 2017 period
to the January 2017 period, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 41 mt
for the January period and a subquota of 8 mt for the December 2017
period (81 FR 91873, December 19, 2016). Effective March 2, 2017, NMFS
transferred 40 mt from the Reserve category to the General category
January 2017 subquota period, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 81
mt for the January period (82 FR 12747, March 7, 2017).
Based on the best available landings information for the General
category BFT fishery, NMFS has determined that the adjusted General
category January 2017 subquota of 81 mt has been reached (i.e., as of
March 27, reported landings total approximately 82.4 mt). Therefore,
retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or giant BFT by persons
aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas General and HMS Charter/
Headboat categories (while fishing commercially) must cease at 11:30
p.m. local time on March 29, 2017. The General category will reopen
automatically on June 1, 2017, for the June through August 2017
subperiod. This action applies to Atlantic tunas General category
(commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS)
Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels 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 any further
overharvest of the available General category January BFT subquota.
Fishermen may catch and release (or 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 www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. General, HMS Charter/Headboat, Harpoon, and Angling category
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 hmspermits.noaa.gov or by using the Android or iPhone app.
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 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. These fisheries are currently
underway and the quota for
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the subcategory has already been exceeded. Delaying this action would
be contrary to the public interest because the subquota has already
been exceeded and any delay could lead to further exceedance, which may
result in the need to reduce quota for the General category later in
the year and thus could affect later fishing opportunities. 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 all of the above reasons,
there also is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day
delay in effectiveness.
This action is being taken under Sec. 635.28(a)(1), and is exempt
from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 28, 2017.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-06405 Filed 3-28-17; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P