Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota Specifications, General Category Effort Controls, and Catch-and-Release Provision, 10896-10900 [05-4378]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 43 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10896-10900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4378]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 041203341-5047-02; I.D. 072304B]
RIN 0648-AR86


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota 
Specifications, General Category Effort Controls, and Catch-and-Release 
Provision

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the final initial 2004 fishing year 
specifications for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery to set BFT 
quotas for each of the established domestic fishing categories, to set 
General category effort controls, and to establish a catch-and-release 
provision for recreational and commercial BFT handgear vessels during a 
respective quota category closure. This action is necessary to 
implement recommendations of the International Commission for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required by the Atlantic 
Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic management 
objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

DATES: The final rule is effective from April 4, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the supporting documents including the 
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/FRFA) and the 1999 Atlantic Tunas, 
Swordfish, and Sharks Fishery Management Plan (1999 FMP) may be 
obtained from Brad McHale, Highly Migratory Species Management 
Division, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. These documents are also available from the 
Highly Migratory Species Division website at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/
hmspg.html or at the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale at (978) 281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. ATCA authorizes the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to promulgate regulations, as may be 
necessary and appropriate, to implement ICCAT recommendations. The 
authority to issue regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA 
has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator 
for Fisheries, NOAA (AA).

Background

    Background information about the need for the final initial BFT 
quota specifications, General category effort controls, and 
establishment of a catch-and-release provision was provided in the 
preamble to the proposed rule (69 FR 71771, December 10, 2004), and is 
not repeated here. Therefore, by this final rule, NMFS announces the 
final

[[Page 10897]]

initial BFT quota specifications, announces the applicable General 
category effort controls, and implements a catch-and-release provision 
for recreational and commercial BFT handgear vessels during a 
respective quota category closure.

Changes From Proposed Rule

Angling Category Landings

    Two corrections to BFT recreational landing estimates contained in 
the proposed rule have been incorporated in this final rule. The first 
correction adjusts the 2002 BFT recreational landings estimate from 
651.1 mt, to 641.6 mt; a difference of minus 9.5 mt. Also, the 2003 BFT 
recreational landings estimate of 411.7 mt has been corrected to 410.7 
mt, a difference of minus 1.0 mt. NMFS made these corrections per a 
review of landings estimates made in the 2002-2003 U.S. Recreational 
Fishery Landings Estimates for White Marlin, Blue Marlin, and Bluefin 
Tuna Report, available at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/.

Restricted Fishing Days

    For the 2004 fishing year, NMFS proposed a series of blocks of 
restricted fishing days (RFDs) to extend the General category for as 
long as possible through the October through January time-period. The 
coastwide General category closed on January 4, 2005 (70 FR 302, 
January 4, 2005) and therefore the proposed RFDs were not needed.
    2004 Final Initial Quota Specifications
    In accordance with the 2002 ICCAT Recommendation, the ICCAT 
Recommendation regarding the dead discard allowance, the 1999 FMP 
percentage shares for each of the domestic categories, and regulations 
regarding annual adjustments at Sec.  635.27(a)(9)(ii), NMFS 
establishes final initial quota specifications for the 2004 fishing 
year as follows: General category -- 659.0 mt; Harpoon category -- 81.4 
mt; Purse Seine category -- 389.4 mt; Angling category -- 76.5 mt; 
Longline category -- 171.2 mt; and Trap category -- 2.3 mt. 
Additionally, 36.6 mt will be allocated to the Reserve category for 
inseason allocations, including providing for a late season General 
category fishery, or to cover scientific research collection and 
potential overharvest in any category except the Purse Seine category. 
The overall final initial BFT quota for the 2004 fishing year equals 
1416.4 mt.
    Based on the above final initial specifications, the Angling 
category quota of 76.5 mt will be further subdivided as follows: School 
BFT -- 24.6 mt, with 9.5 mt to the northern area (north of 39[deg] 18' 
N. latitude), 10.7 mt to the southern area (south of 39[deg] 18' N. 
latitude), plus 4.4 mt held in reserve; large school/small medium BFT 
-- 49.7 mt, with 23.5 mt to the northern area and 26.2 mt to the 
southern area; and large medium/giant BFT -- 2.2 mt, with 0.7 mt to the 
northern area and 1.5 mt to the southern area.
    The 2002 ICCAT Recommendation included an annual 25 mt set-aside 
quota to account for bycatch of BFT related to directed longline 
fisheries in the vicinity of the management area boundary, defined as 
the Northeast Distant statistical area (NED) (68 FR 56783, October 2, 
2003). This set-aside quota is in addition to the overall incidental 
longline quota to be subdivided in accordance to the North/South 
allocation percentages mentioned below. Thus, the Longline category 
quota of 171.2 mt will be subdivided as follows: 58.2 mt to longline 
vessels landing BFT north of 31[deg] N. latitude; 49.2 mt to longline 
vessels land BFT harvested from the NED; and 63.8 mt to longline 
vessels landing BFT south of 31[deg] N. latitude.

General Category Effort Controls

    For the last several years, NMFS has implemented General category 
time-period subquotas to increase the likelihood that fishing would 
continue throughout the entire General category season. The subquotas 
are consistent with the objectives of the 1999 FMP and are designed to 
address concerns regarding allocation of fishing opportunities, to 
assist with distribution and achievement of optimum yield, to allow for 
a late season fishery, and to improve market conditions and scientific 
monitoring.
    The 1999 FMP divides the annual General category quota into three 
time-period subquotas. Each time-period and percentage of General 
category quota allocated to that time- period are as follows: June-
August, 60 percent; September, 30 percent; and for October-January, 10 
percent. These percentages are applied to the final initial 2004 
coastwide General category quota of 659.0 mt, minus 10.0 mt reserved 
for the New York Bight fishery. Therefore, of the available 649.0 mt 
coastwide quota, 389.4 mt are available in the period beginning June 1 
and ending August 31; 194.7 mt are available in the period beginning 
September 1 and ending September 30; and 64.9 mt are available in the 
period beginning October 1 and ending January 31, 2005.

2004 Fishing Year Inseason Adjustment Summary

    During the 2004 fishing year, NMFS conducted two inseason quota 
transfers using the authority under the implementing regulations at 50 
CFR Sec.  635.28(a)(8). For each inseason transfer, NMFS determined it 
was warranted based on the consideration of the criteria governing 
quota transfers between categories, the 2004 proposed BFT 
specifications including carryover adjustments from prior years and an 
assessment of the commercial and recreational landings data to date. 
The first inseason adjustment transferred 223.1 mt of General category 
quota to the Angling category and transferred a combined quota of 161.9 
mt from the General, Harpoon, and Incidental Longline categories to the 
Reserve category (69 FR 71732, December 10, 2004). The second inseason 
adjustment transferred 100 mt from the Purse seine category to the 
Reserve category (70 FR 302, January 4, 2005). The result of these 
inseason transfers is an adjustment of any remaining available quota 
from these final initial specifications.

Catch and Release Provision

    NMFS implements a rule change to allow vessels participating in the 
BFT recreational and commercial handgear fisheries to catch and release 
BFT after their respective quota categories have closed. This provision 
addresses concerns that requiring BFT to be tagged, once a closure has 
taken place, may lead to unnecessary post-release mortality associated 
with anglers who are inexperienced with proper tagging techniques and 
may improperly place the tag on the BFT, unintentionally killing or 
injuring the fish. This provision allows vessels owners/operators to 
tag-and-release BFT after a respective quota category closure has taken 
place, but would not require them to do so as part of a catch-and-
release program.

Comments and Responses

    Comment 1: One commentor did not specifically address the 
substantive aspects of the proposed rule, but rather indicated general 
support for establishing marine sanctuaries, adopting the Pew 
Foundation reports' findings on overfishing, and concern over the fact 
that NMFS may be relying on biased information for conducting stock 
assessments.
    Response: This final rule is designed to provide for the fair and 
efficient harvest of the BFT quota that is allocated to the United 
States by the

[[Page 10898]]

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 
and is consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act and the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and management Act. The final 
quota specifications divide the proportion of the overall western 
Atlantic bluefin tuna quota allotted to the United States among 
domestic categories. Time-period subquotas are a means of controlling 
fishing effort and are also included in this action. These measures are 
consistent with the BFT rebuilding program established in the 1999 FMP 
and implemented to achieve domestic management objectives. NMFS does 
use commercial logbook data to conduct stock assessments, however, 
fishery-independent data, intercept surveys, and results from 
scientific surveys are also employed to provide a more accurate 
representation of a stocks' population dynamics.
    Comment 2: NMFS received a comment related to both this action and 
an ongoing amendment to the 1999 FMP that is currently in the pre-draft 
stage. The commentor believes that the Agency should allocate 150 
metric tons to the December-January General category time-period 
subquota. This allocation would ensure extended fishing opportunities 
for General category fishermen in the south Atlantic.
    Response: NMFS is considering several alternatives as part of the 
amendment to the 1999 FMP to address BFT management in general and 
specifically sub-quota allocation for BFT in the General category. It 
is a goal for NMFS and the 1999 FMP to ensure that fishing and economic 
opportunities are sustained for participants. The process for amending 
the 1999 FMP includes public comment, analyses of a full range of 
alternatives, and draft and final Environmental Impact Statements.
    Comment 3: A commentor supported the elimination of the tag-and-
release requirement for recreational fishermen after a season has 
closed.
    Response: This action replaces the tag-and-release provision with a 
catch-and-release provision in order to reduce post-release mortality 
due to tagging by inexperienced anglers and increase fishing 
opportunities for recreational fishermen after a season has closed.
    Comment 4: A commentor indicated support for the RFDs as proposed.
    Response: NMFS implements RFDs as an effective means of slowing the 
pace of the winter fishery and extending available quota over a longer 
period of time. The coastwide General category BFT fishery closed on 
January 4, 2005 (70 FR 302, January 4, 2005) and therefore the proposed 
RFDs were not needed.
    Comment 5: A commentor expressed concern at the Agency's inability 
to capture and assess previous years' landings data for BFT in an 
accurate and efficient manner, compromising timely season openings and 
allocations. Specifically, the commentor stated that there are 
discrepancies in the methods used by NMFS' contracted field agents 
under the Large Pelagics Survey (LPS) when converting fish lengths to 
estimated fish weights. The commentor stated that these discrepancies 
resulted in the pre-mature closure of the November 2003 Angling 
category fishery which had significant economic consequences on state 
participants. The commentor suggested initiating a coast-wide tail tag 
monitoring program to address this issue.
    Response: This past year , NMFS reviewed the 2002 estimates of U.S. 
recreational fishery landing of BFT, white marlin, and blue marlin 
reported to ICCAT. NMFS reviewed the data collection and estimation 
methods that were used to verify that the reported estimates were the 
most accurate that could be made with available 2002 data. NMFS also 
considered methods to be used for estimation of 2003 recreational 
fishery landings, as well as using those methods to produce landings 
estimates from the available 2003 recreational fishery data. A report 
summarizing findings of this review was made available on December 9, 
2004. This report can be obtained at the HMS Management Division 
website located at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms. Based on the findings of 
this report, and consultations with the LPS contractor, methods of fish 
measurement and length/weight conversion will be further scrutinized. 
Proposals to implement an Atlantic-wide tail-tag monitoring program 
remain under discussion among coastal states and within NMFS and focus 
on issues regarding specifics of logistics and implementation as well 
as funding sources.

Classification

    These final initial specifications, general category effort 
controls, and the catch-and-release provision are published under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. The Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries (AA) has determined that the regulations 
contained in this final rule are necessary to implement the 
recommendations of ICCAT and to manage the domestic Atlantic HMS 
fisheries.
    NMFS prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) for 
the proposed rule and submitted it to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration. No comments were received on the 
IRFA concerning the economic impact of this final rule. A summary of 
the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) is provided below.
    The analysis for the FRFA assesses the impacts of the various 
alternatives on the vessels that participate in the BFT fisheries, all 
of which are considered small entities. For the quota allocation 
alternatives, NMFS has estimated the average impact of the alternatives 
on individual categories and the vessels within those categories. As 
mentioned above, the 2002 ICCAT recommendation increased the BFT quota 
allocation to 1,489.6 mt. This increase, in comparison to pre-2002 
levels, includes 77.6 mt to be redistributed to the domestic fishing 
categories based on the allocation percentages established in the 1999 
FMP, as well as a set-aside quota of 25 mt to account for incidental 
catch of BFT related to directed pelagic longline fisheries in the NED. 
In 2003, preliminary annual gross revenues from the commercial BFT 
fishery were approximately $11.5 million. There are approximately 
10,914 vessels that are permitted to land and sell BFT under four BFT 
quota categories. The four quota categories and their preliminary 2003 
gross revenues are General ($7,476,461), Harpoon ($772,810), Purse 
seine ($2,546,236), and Incidental Longline ($635,498). Note that all 
dollars have been converted to 1996 dollars using the Consumer Price 
Index Conversion Factors for comparison purposes. The analysis for the 
FRFA assumes that all category vessels have similar catch and gross 
revenues. While this assumption may not be entirely valid, the analyses 
are sufficient to show the relative impact of the various preferred 
alternatives on vessels.
    For the allocation of BFT quota among domestic fishing categories, 
three alternatives were considered: the No Action alternative, the 
final action that will allocate the ICCAT-recommended quota to domestic 
categories in accordance with the 2002 ICCAT recommendation and the 
1999 FMP, and a slight variation of the final action, that also 
included a 25 mt limit on the amount of quota that can accumulate from 
year-to-year within the pelagic longline quota set-aside in the NED.
    The no action alternative was rejected because it was not 
consistent with the purpose and need for this action, ATCA, and the 
1999 FMP. It would maintain U.S. BFT quota levels at a scale and 
distribution similar to the 2002 fishing

[[Page 10899]]

year and would deny fishermen additional fishing opportunities as 
recommended by the ICCAT, an estimated $1,000,000 in potential, 
additional gross revenues. The 2002 ICCAT quota recommendation 
specified a 1,489.6 mt total quota for the United States, a 102.6 mt 
increase from pre-2002 quota levels. Under ATCA, the United States is 
obligated to implement ICCAT-approved recommendations. The final action 
will increase the overall quota by 77.6 mt resulting in an approximate 
increase in gross revenues of $750,000, and will also create a set-
aside quota of 25 mt to account for incidental harvest of BFT in the 
NED by pelagic longline vessels, resulting in a potential increase in 
gross revenues of $250,000. Unharvested quota from this set aside will 
be allowed to roll from one fishing year to the next. The final action 
is expected to have positive economic impacts for fishermen, because of 
the modest increase in quota. Under the slight variation of the final 
action, the annual specification process would limit the NED set-aside 
to 25 mt and would not take into account any unharvested set-aside 
quota from the prior fishing year. Unharvested quota would not be 
rolled over from the previous fishing year, nor would it be transferred 
or allocated to other domestic fishing categories. This alternative was 
rejected because it is not expected to have the same positive economic 
impacts as the final action, however it would allow for overall 
positive economic impacts for fishermen due to the increase in gross 
revenues associate with the 77.6 mt quota increase.
    For the General category effort controls, two alternatives were 
considered: the alternative to designate RFDs according to a schedule 
published in the initial BFT specifications; and the selected no action 
alternative, which does not publish RFDs with the initial 
specifications, but would implement them during the season as needed. 
No other alternatives were considered as they would not have met the 
purpose and need for this issue. The no action alternative was selected 
due to the coastwide General category BFT fishery closing for the 
season on January 4, 2005 (70 FR 302). The economic impacts associated 
with this selected alternative would be considered neutral as the 
General category BFT fishery harvested, almost in entirety, the 
available quota for the 2004 fishing year. The economic impacts 
associated with the rejected alternative would also be considered 
neutral, as the final initial specifications would have published after 
this fishery had closed.
    For the catch-and-release provision, NMFS considered three 
alternatives: no action alternative (maintain the tag-and-release 
requirement once a handgear quota category has been closed), an 
alternative to disallow all fishing for BFT once a handgear quota 
category has been closed, and the final action which will allow vessels 
to catch-and-release BFT once a handgear quota category has been 
closed.
    Although NMFS understands that recreational HMS fisheries have a 
large influence on the economies of coastal communities, even when 
vessels are engaged in tag-and-release or catch-and-release fishing, 
NMFS has little current information on the costs and expenditures of 
anglers or the businesses that rely on them. Based on conversations 
with representatives of the handgear sectors of the BFT fishery, NMFS 
has rejected the no action alternative because it would have slightly 
negative economic impacts. This assessment is attributed to vessel 
owner/operators, who are not comfortable tagging BFT, or those owner/
operators who are unable to obtain a tagging kit in a timely fashion, 
not taking trips to pursue BFT. The second alternative was rejected 
because it would have even greater negative economic impacts by 
prohibiting vessels from taking trips targeting BFT after a quota is 
attained. The final action will have positive economic impacts on those 
associated with the BFT handgear fishery. This final action, will 
positively impact numerous economic aspects of the BFT handgear fishery 
due to the willingness of more vessel owner/operators to actively take 
trips targeting BFT after a closure has taken place. This final action 
will also allow for the tagging of BFT, but would not require owner/
operators to do so.
    None of the final actions in this document would result in 
additional reporting, recordkeeping, compliance, or monitoring 
requirements for the public. This final rule has also been determined 
not to duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.
    NMFS prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for this final rule, 
and the AA has concluded that there would be no significant impact on 
the human environment. The EA presents analyses of the anticipated 
impacts of these final actions and the alternatives considered. A copy 
of the EA and other analytical documents prepared for this final rule, 
are available from NMFS via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal (see 
ADDRESSES).
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    This final rule contains no new collection-of-information 
requirements subject to review and approval by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to, a penalty for 
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number
    On September 7, 2000, NMFS reinitiated formal consultation for all 
HMS commercial fisheries under Section 7 of the ESA. A BiOp, issued 
June 14, 2001, concluded that continued operation of the Atlantic 
pelagic longline fishery is likely to jeopardize the continued 
existence of endangered and threatened sea turtle species under NMFS 
jurisdiction. NMFS has implemented the reasonable and prudent 
alternatives required by this BiOp. This BiOp also concluded that the 
continued operation of the purse seine and handgear fisheries may 
adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued 
existence of any endangered or threatened species under NMFS 
jurisdiction. NMFS has implemented the reasonable and prudent 
alternative (RPA) required by this BiOp.
    Subsequently, based on the management measures in several proposed 
rules, a new BiOp on the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery was issued 
on June 1, 2004. The 2004 BiOp found that the continued operation of 
the fishery was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of 
loggerhead, green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, or olive ridley sea 
turtles, but was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of 
leatherback sea turtles. The 2004 BiOp identified RPAs necessary to 
avoid jeopardizing leatherbacks, and listed the Reasonable and Prudent 
Measures (RPMs) and terms and conditions necessary to authorize 
continued take as part of the revised incidental take statement. On 
July 6, 2004, NMFS published a final rule (69 FR 40734) implementing 
additional sea turtle bycatch and bycatch mortality mitigation measures 
for all Atlantic vessels with pelagic longline gear onboard. NMFS is 
working on implementing the other RPMs and other measures in the 2004 
BiOp. On August 12, 2004, NMFS published an Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (69 FR 49858) to request comments on potential regulatory 
changes to further

[[Page 10900]]

reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality of sea turtles, as well as 
comments on the feasibility of framework mechanisms to address 
unanticipated increases in sea turtle interactions and mortalities, 
should they occur. NMFS will undertake additional rulemaking and non-
regulatory actions, as necessary, to implement any management measures 
that are required under the 2004 BiOp. The majority of the measures 
that will be implemented by this current rule are not expected to have 
adverse impacts. However, the 2002 ICCAT recommendation increased the 
BFT quota which may result in a slight increase in effort which could 
potentially increase the number of protected species interactions. Due 
to current restrictions on the BFT fishery and more specifically the 
pelagic longline fishery, NMFS does not expect this slight increase in 
effort to alter current fishing patterns.
    The area in which this final action is planned has been identified 
as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for species managed by the New England 
Fishery Management Council, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council, the Caribbean Fishery Management 
Council, and the HMS Management Division of the Office of Sustainable 
Fisheries at NMFS. It is not anticipated that this final action will 
have any adverse impacts to EFH and, therefore, no consultation is 
required.
    NMFS has determined that the list of actions in this final rule are 
consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the enforceable 
policies of the coastal states in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and 
Caribbean that have Federally approved coastal zone management programs 
under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). On December 10, 2004, the 
proposed regulations were submitted to the responsible state agencies 
for their review under Section 307 of the Coastal Zone Management Act. 
As of February 11, 2005, NMFS has received six responses, all 
concurring with NMFS' consistency determination. Because no responses 
were received from other states, their concurrence is presumed.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635

    Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Foreign relations, 
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Statistics, Treaties.

    Dated: March 1, 2005.
Rebecca J. Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

0
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is amended as 
follows:

PART 635--ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES

0
1. The authority citation for part 635 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  635.23, paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(4) are revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  635.23  Retention limits for BFT.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) On an RFD, no person aboard a vessel that has been issued a 
General category Atlantic Tunas permit may fish for, possess, retain, 
land, or sell a BFT of any size class, and catch-and-release or tag-
and-release fishing for BFT under Sec.  635.26 is not authorized from 
such vessel. On days other than RFDs, and when the General category is 
open, one large medium or giant BFT may be caught and landed from such 
vessel per day. NMFS will annually publish a schedule of RFDs in the 
Federal Register.
* * * * *
    (4) To provide for maximum utilization of the quota for BFT, NMFS 
may increase or decrease the daily retention limit of large medium and 
giant BFT over a range from zero (on RFDs) to a maximum of three per 
vessel. Such increase or decrease will be based on a review of dealer 
reports, daily landing trends, availability of the species on the 
fishing grounds, and any other relevant factors. NMFS will adjust the 
daily retention limit specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section by 
filing with the Office of the Federal Register for publication 
notification of the adjustment. Such adjustment will not be effective 
until at least 3 calendar days after notification is filed with the 
Office of the Federal Register for publication, except that previously 
designated RFDs may be waived effective upon closure of the General 
category fishery so that persons aboard vessels permitted in the 
General category may conduct catch-and-release or tag-and-release 
fishing for BFT under Sec.  635.26.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  635.26, paragraph (a)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  635.26  Catch and release.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this part, a person 
aboard a vessel issued a permit under this part, other than a person 
aboard a vessel permitted in the General category on a designated RFD, 
may fish with rod and reel or handline gear for BFT under a catch-and-
release or tag-and-release program. When fishing under a tag-and-
release program, vessel owner/operators should use tags issued or 
approved by NMFS. If a BFT is tagged, the tag information, including 
information on any previously applied tag remaining on the fish, must 
be reported to NMFS. All BFT caught under the catch-and-release or tag-
and-release programs must be returned to the sea immediately with a 
minimum of injury.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 05-4378 Filed 3-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S