Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota Specifications and Effort Controls, 33401-33408 [E7-11630]
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 116 / Monday, June 18, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
B. MCR Guidance
On March 28, 2002, EPA issued a
memorandum entitled ‘‘Mid-Course
Review Guidance for the 1-Hour Ozone
Nonattainment Areas that Rely on
Weight-of-Evidence for Attainment
Demonstration.’’ Attached to that
memorandum is a technical guidance
document dated January 2002 entitled
‘‘Recommended Approach For
Performing Mid-course Review of SIP’s
To Meet the 1-hour NAAQS for Ozone.’’
https://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t1/
memoranda/policymem33d.pdf.
The technical guidance contains three
basic steps: (1) Perform an
administrative test (e.g., demonstrate
whether the appropriate emission limits
were adopted and implemented); (2)
analyze available air quality,
meteorology, emissions and modeling
data and document findings; and (3)
document conclusions regarding
whether progress toward attainment is
being made using a weight of evidence
determination (which may or may not
include new modeling analyses).
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C. Review of MCR Submittals from
Connecticut
EPA reviewed the MCR documents
Connecticut submitted for the two areas
in Connecticut required to submit an
MCR. The review compared the MCRs
with EPA guidance. EPA concluded that
the two MCRs meet EPA guidance and
fulfill the commitment Connecticut
made in their one-hour attainment
demonstrations. Specifically, both of
Connecticut’s MCRs include an
emission reduction regulation review, as
well as a trend analysis and air quality
monitoring data. A TSD with more
detail on Connecticut’s MCRs and EPA’s
review of these MCRs has been prepared
and is available from EPA at the address
provided in the ADDRESSES section
above.
III. Final Action
EPA has reviewed the MCR
documents submitted by Connecticut
and has determined that Connecticut
has adequately met its commitment to
perform a MCR. This action is being
taken for the following one-hour ozone
nonattainment areas: The Connecticut
portion of the New York-Northern New
Jersey-Long Island ozone nonattainment
area; and the Greater Connecticut 1-hour
ozone nonattainment area.
EPA has sent a letter to Connecticut
finding that their MCRs fulfill the
commitment made by Connecticut in
their 1-hour ozone attainment
demonstrations. A copy of this letter is
available from EPA at the address
provided in the ADDRESSES section
above.
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IV. Statutory and Executive Order
Reviews
Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR
51735, October 4, 1993), this action is
not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ and
therefore is not subject to review by the
Office of Management and Budget. For
this reason, this action is also not
subject to Executive Order 13211,
‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use’’ (66 FR 28355, May
22, 2001). This action merely approves
a state commitment as meeting federal
requirements and imposes no additional
requirements beyond those imposed by
state law. Accordingly, the
Administrator certifies that this action
will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this
finding approves pre-existing
requirements under state law and does
not impose any additional enforceable
duty beyond that required by state law,
it does not contain any unfunded
mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4).
This action also does not have tribal
implications because it will not have a
substantial direct effect on one or more
Indian tribes, on the relationship
between the Federal Government and
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes,
as specified by Executive Order 13175
(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This
action also does not have federalism
implications because it does not have
substantial direct effects on the States,
on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the various
levels of government, as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255,
August 10, 1999), because it merely
approves a state commitment as meeting
a federal standard, and does not alter
the relationship or the distribution of
power and responsibilities established
in the Clean Air Act. This action also is
not subject to Executive Order 13045
‘‘Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks’’ (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997),
because it is not economically
significant.
In reviewing SIP submissions, as well
as submission of reports that fulfill a
state commitment, EPA’s role is to
approve state choices, provided that
they meet the criteria of the Clean Air
Act. In this context, in the absence of a
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33401
prior existing requirement for the State
to use voluntary consensus standards
(VCS), EPA has no authority to
disapprove a SIP submission for failure
to use VCS. It would thus be
inconsistent with applicable law for
EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission,
as well as submission of reports that
fulfill a state commitment, to use VCS
in place of a SIP submission that
otherwise satisfies the provisions of the
Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements of
section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not
apply. This action does not impose an
information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air
pollution control, Intergovernmental
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Volatile organic
compounds.
Dated: June 6, 2007.
Robert W. Varney,
Regional Administrator, EPA New England.
[FR Doc. E7–11690 Filed 6–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 070330073–7116–02; I.D.
030507A]
RIN 0648–AU87
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota
Specifications and Effort Controls
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS announces the final
rule to set 2007 fishing year
specifications for the Atlantic bluefin
tuna (BFT) fishery, including quotas for
each of the established domestic fishing
categories and effort controls for the
General category and Angling category.
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
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Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). This action
also makes a minor administrative
change to the permit regulations.
DATES: The rule is effective July 18,
2007, except that the General category
retention limit found within the
preamble of this rule is effective July 18,
2007 through August 31, 2007, and the
Angling category retention limit found
within the preamble of this rule is
effective July 18, 2007 through
December 31, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Supporting documents,
including the Environmental
Assessment (EA), Regulatory Impact
Review (RIR), and Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), are
available from Sarah McLaughlin,
Highly Migratory Species Management
Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries
(F/SF1), NMFS, One Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. These
documents are also available from the
HMS Management Division website at
https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ or
at the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sarah McLaughlin, 978–281–9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic
tunas are managed under the dual
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and the ATCA. The 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 the
ATCA has been delegated from the
Secretary to the Assistant Administrator
for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). The
consolidated FMP regulations are at 50
CFR part 635.
Background
Background information about the
need for the BFT quota specifications
and effort controls for the 2007 fishing
year (June 1 through December 31, 2007)
was provided in the preamble to the
proposed rule (72 FR 16318, April 4,
2007), and is not repeated here. The
proposed rule reflected landings
information through January 15, 2007.
Since that date, additional landings
have occurred, resulting in a slight
modification of the 2006 landings
figures. Revised landings estimates
(calculated as of April 30, 2007, and
therefore preliminary) are as follows:
General category -- 165.0 mt (an increase
of 5.2 mt); Harpoon category -- 22.2 mt;
Longline category -- 57.0 mt [an increase
of 25.6 mt, i.e., 1 mt in the North, 0.7
mt in the Northeast Distant gear
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restricted area (NED), and 23.9 mt in the
South]; Angling category -- 191.0 mt (an
increase of 4.2 mt); Trap category -- 0
mt; and Purse Seine category -- 3.6 mt.
These landings estimates, totaling 438.8
mt, indicate that the preliminary 2006
fishing year underharvest is 2,400.4 mt.
However, as the underharvest from the
2006 fishing year is capped at 595.1 mt,
these adjusted landings do not change
the 2007 fishing year quotas.
2007 Final Quota Specifications
In accordance with the 2006 ICCAT
quota recommendation, the
Consolidated HMS FMP percentage
shares for each of the domestic
categories, and regulations regarding
annual adjustments at § 635.27(a)(10),
NMFS establishes final quota
specifications for the 2007 fishing year
as follows: General category -- 643.6 mt;
Harpoon category -- 53.3 mt; Purse
Seine category -- 254.1 mt; Angling
category -- 269.2 mt; Longline category
-- 200 mt; and Trap category -- 1.4 mt.
Additionally, 207.6 mt are allocated to
the Reserve category for inseason
adjustments, scientific research
collection, potential overharvest in any
category except the Purse Seine
category, and potential quota transfers.
Based on the above specifications and
considerations regarding the school BFT
fishery, the Angling category quota of
269.2 mt is further subdivided as
follows: School BFT -- 119 mt, with 45.8
mt to the northern area (north of 39°18′
N. latitude), 51.2 mt to the southern area
(south of 39°18′ N. latitude), and 22 mt
held in reserve; large school/small
medium BFT -- 144 mt, with 68 mt to
the northern area and 76 mt to the
southern area; and large medium/giant
BFT -- 6.2 mt, with 2.1 mt to the
northern area and 4.1 mt to the southern
area.
The 2006 ICCAT recommendation
includes an annual 25–mt set-aside
quota to account for bycatch of BFT
related to directed longline fisheries in
the NED. This set-aside quota is in
addition to the overall incidental
longline quota to be subdivided in
accordance with the North/South
allocation percentages mentioned
below. Thus, the Longline category
quota of 200 mt is subdivided as
follows: 80 mt to pelagic longline
vessels landing BFT north of 31° N.
latitude and 120 mt to pelagic longline
vessels landing BFT south of 31° N.
latitude, with 25 mt set-aside for
bycatch of BFT related to directed
pelagic longline fisheries in the NED.
General Category Effort Controls
NMFS implements General timeperiod subquotas to increase the
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likelihood that fishing would continue
throughout the entire General category
season. The subquotas are consistent
with the objectives of the Consolidated
HMS FMP and are designed to address
concerns regarding the 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 regulations implementing the
Consolidated HMS FMP divide the
annual General category quota into five
time-period subquotas as follows: 50
percent for June-August, 26.5 percent
for September, 13 percent for OctoberNovember, 5.2 percent for December,
and 5.3 percent for January. Because the
fishing year is changing back to a
calendar year effective January 1, 2008,
NMFS is distributing the 5.3 percent of
the General category quota that would
be assigned to the January time period
to the four time periods that will occur
during the 2007 fishing year.
Accordingly, the available 643.6–mt
coastwide quota is divided as follows:
339.8 mt for the period beginning June
1 and ending August 31, 2007; 180.1 mt
for the period beginning September 1
and ending September 30, 2007; 88.4 mt
for the period beginning October 1 and
ending November 30, 2007; and 35.3 mt
for the period beginning December 1
and ending December 31, 2007. The
January 2008 subquota will be included
in the 2008 specifications, which NMFS
plans to publish prior to the start of the
fishing year on January 1, 2008. As
discussed in the Consolidated HMS
FMP, NMFS plans to work with the
affected constituents through the 2008
specifications process to determine the
most appropriate disposition of any
under- or overharvest that has accrued
in the General category by the end of
December 2007.
In addition to time-period subquotas,
NMFS also implements General
category restricted fishing days (RFDs)
to extend the General category fishing
season. The RFDs are designed to
address the same issues addressed by
time-period subquotas and provide
additional inseason management
flexibility. Although the General
category has a relatively large quota for
the 2007 fishing year, this permit
category has the ability to harvest a great
amount of quota in a short period of
time, and the RFDs are necessary as a
way to manage effort in the subperiods
at the end of the fishing year. Therefore,
NMFS establishes a series of RFDs for
the 2007 fishing year to extend the BFT
fishery for the General category for as
long as possible during the October
through December time period. Persons
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aboard vessels permitted in the General
category are prohibited from fishing
(including catch-and-release and tagand-release) for BFT of all sizes on the
following days while the fishery is
open: all Saturdays and Sundays from
November 17, 2007, through December
31, 2007, plus November 22 and
December 25, 2007. NMFS implements
these RFDs to improve fishing
opportunities during the October
through December time period without
increasing BFT mortality. NMFS may
consider waiving the RFDs if the pace
of landings indicates that the November
and/or December General category
subquotas will not be met by the end of
the associated subperiod. NMFS’
intention is to propose RFDs for January
2008 as part of the 2008 quota
specifications and effort controls,
scheduled to be published before
January 1, 2008.
Because of the large quota available
for the General category, NMFS
increases the retention limit of BFT for
the first subperiod of the General
category fishery. Therefore, persons
aboard vessels permitted in the General
category may retain three large medium
or giant BFT (measuring 73 inches
(185.4 cm) or greater) per vessel per
day/trip from the effective date of this
final rule through August 31, 2007. This
BFT retention limit may be extended via
inseason action, if warranted, under
§ 635.23(a)(4).
Angling Category Effort Controls
This final rule establishes an Angling
category retention limit of one school
BFT (27 inches (68.6 cm) to less than 47
inches (119.4 cm)), and two large
school/small medium BFT (i.e., two
BFT measuring 47 inches (119.4 cm) to
less than 73 inches (185.4 cm)) per
vessel. This retention limit is effective
for persons aboard vessels permitted in
the Angling category from the effective
date of this rule through December 31,
2007. This retention limit may be
changed via inseason action, if
warranted, under § 635.23(b)(3).
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Permit Category Changes
Because of the scheduled change to a
calendar year fishing year beginning
January 1, 2008, and because Atlantic
Tunas, HMS Charter/Headboat, and
HMS Angling category permits issued
for the 2007 fishing year are effective
through December 31, 2008, NMFS will
allow permit holders to make a permit
category change for the 2008 fishing
year, i.e., once during the period of
January 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008.
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Comments and Responses
Below, NMFS summarizes and
responds to all comments received on
the proposed quota specifications and
effort controls for the General and
Angling categories. In addition, NMFS
received comments on issues that were
not considered part of this rulemaking.
For example, NMFS received a request
to relax all General category restrictions,
including season duration and
minimum size. Conversely, NMFS
received several comments that, noting
the overfished status of the stock,
requested reduction of the U.S. BFT
quota and commercial and recreational
retention limits in general, an increase
to the recreational minimum size, and
prohibition of purse seine use due to
bycatch concerns. While NMFS
acknowledges that consideration of
these concerns is important, these issues
are not addressed in this action because
they were not considered part of this
rulemaking.
A. BFT Quotas
Comment 1: NMFS received a range of
comments on the quota specifications.
Some commenters supported the quotas
as proposed. Others requested that
NMFS distribute the underharvest
carryover amount (595 mt) according to
FMP percentages rather than as
proposed. One commenter urged NMFS
to set the Reserve at 40.7 mt, i.e., 2.5
percent of the adjusted U.S. quota and
stated that unused Reserve should not
be carried forward to the Reserve for the
following fishing year. One commenter
felt that underharvest should not be
added to the following year’s BFT quota
given stock concerns and potential
underreporting of landings.
Response: The specifications included
in this rule reflect appropriate
distribution of the underharvest allowed
to be carried forward for the 2007
fishing year. Such distribution provides
for several existing and potential
management needs, namely: (1) Setting
aside sufficient quota for a potential
transfer to another ICCAT Contracting
Party, if warranted; (2) providing
sufficient quota for pelagic longline
operations; (3) appropriately accounting
for dead discards; and (4) distributing
the remainder per the Consolidated
HMS FMP allocation percentages.
NMFS allocates 2.5 percent of the
baseline 2007 U.S. quota in the Reserve,
consistent with the Consolidated HMS
FMP. The rollover of quota in the
Reserve from one year to the next (rather
than reallocation of the unused Reserve
to one or more quota categories) allows
NMFS to consider several factors (as
established in § 635.27(a)(8)), within the
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fishing year, prior to making quota
adjustments from the Reserve. The
regulations regarding annual adjustment
of the BFT quota at § 635.27(a)(10)
provide NMFS the flexibility to apply
the underharvest to the overall quota for
the following fishing year, provided that
the total of the adjusted category quotas
and the Reserve is consistent with the
ICCAT recommendation.
Comment 2: One commenter opposed
allocation of 40 percent of the carryover
amount to the Longline category,
indicating such action is inappropriate
given that the longline fishery
incidentally catches BFT.
Response: The application of 236.6 mt
of the 2006 underharvest to the Longline
category quota is conducted for two
reasons: (1) To provide sufficient quota
for the subtraction of past longline dead
discards; and (2) to provide for the
continued operation of the Longline
category vessels during the 2007 fishing
year, including anticipated future dead
discards as well as allowed incidental
landings under current retention limits.
The TAC for each Contracting Party is
now inclusive of dead discards. The
2006 ICCAT recommendation changed
the accounting practices for dead
discards by eliminating an additional
dead discard allowance, and, therefore,
NMFS must deduct the best estimate of
dead discards from the fishing year
quota. As these dead discards are
attributed to the pelagic longline
fishery, the dead discards are
specifically deducted from the Longline
category quota. Furthermore,
distribution of the carryover amount by
the FMP percentages would result in
48.2 mt added to the baseline amount
(94.4 mt), for a total of 142.6 mt for the
Longline category for the 2007 fishing
year. After accounting for an estimated
amount of dead discards (i.e.,
approximately 131 mt, assuming the
amount is similar to the most recent
available estimate), the quota for the
Longline category would be 11.6 mt.
This quota would not provide a
sufficient amount of quota to allow for
the legal landing of BFT taken
incidental to catches of swordfish and
other tunas.
Comment 3: Some commenters
opposed the potential transfer of U.S.
quota to other ICCAT Contracting
Parties. One commenter specifically
objected to the use of the Reserve in
making such a transfer to any ICCAT
Contracting Party with an allocation.
This commenter’s understanding of the
agreement at ICCAT was that the
transfer to a specific Contracting Party
could be undertaken at the request of
industry, using the quota associated
with that industry.
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Response: The 2006 ICCAT
recommendation allows the United
States to transfer up to 15 percent of its
TAC, consistent with domestic
obligations and conservation
considerations. Before considering a
possible quota transfer, the United
States, through NMFS, would evaluate
several factors, including the projected
ability of U.S. vessels to harvest the U.S.
TAC during the fishing year, and
potential impacts to the stock. The
United States would need to explore
and analyze these factors prior to
transferring quota through a separate
action. In this action, NMFS is placing
178.5 mt (15 percent of the U.S. TAC)
in the Reserve so that, if the United
States were to approve a transfer, the
quota could be from the Reserve and not
from category-specific quotas.
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B. General Category Effort Controls
Comment 1: NMFS received
comments on the General category
retention limit that ranged from support
for the proposed three-BFT limit to a
request for a zero-BFT limit.
Response: The regulations allow
NMFS to adjust the General category
retention limit of large medium and
giant BFT over a range of zero (on RFDs)
to three. Given the low early season
harvest rate in recent years, NMFS is
setting the June through August
retention limit at three BFT to allow
General category fishermen the
maximum harvest of BFT possible while
keeping within the quota of the first
General category subperiod.
Comment 2: NMFS received a
comment that the setting of RFDs for the
2007 fishing year may be an
unnecessary administrative effort given
the low harvest rate in recent years.
Response: NMFS sets the RFDs in this
action to ensure that the agency has the
flexibility to manage the pace of the
fishery should the need arise. If NMFS
determines during the fishing season
that the November and December RFDs
are not necessary, NMFS will take the
appropriate inseason action to waive
them.
C. Angling Category Effort Controls
Comment 1: NMFS received
comments on the Angling category effort
controls that were supportive of the
retention limit and season as proposed.
NMFS received comments from a
recreational fishing organization that
supported the retention limits as
proposed, but requested a fishing season
of June 21 through December 31. Some
commenters requested an increased
retention limit for school BFT during
specific time periods, due to the
importance of catching school BFT in
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the charter fishing sector and in fishing
tournaments. One commenter requested
that NMFS shorten the school BFT
fishing season by approximately two
months.
Response: NMFS has considered
adjustment of the retention limits for
certain time periods as implemented for
2006. However, based on the large
number of comments received that
supported the proposed retention limits,
an evaluation of retention limits and
landings estimates over recent years,
and the ICCAT recommendation that
Contracting Parties not exceed the
tolerance of school BFT over the 2007–
2010 period, NMFS is setting the
Angling category retention limit at one
school BFT and two large school/small
medium BFT per vessel per day/trip
from the effective date of the final rule
through the end of the fishing year.
Comment 2: Several commenters
expressed concern about implementing
a higher BFT retention limit,
particularly for school BFT, because of
the overfished nature of the western
Atlantic BFT stock and because ICCAT
recommends a ‘‘tolerance’’ on school
BFT landings rather than a targeted
fishery.
Response: NMFS agrees that the
school BFT retention limit should be no
more than one fish for the 2007 fishing
year to ensure that landings are within
the ICCAT-recommended 10-percent
limit.
Classification
NMFS publishes these final
specifications and effort controls 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, and are
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and its National Standards.
This final rule been determined to be
not significant for purposes of Executive
Order 12866.
In compliance with Section 604 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, a Final
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)
was prepared for this rule. The FRFA
analyzes the anticipated economic
impacts of the preferred actions and any
significant alternatives that could
minimize economic impacts on small
entities. Each of the statutory
requirements of Section 604 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act has been
addressed and a summary of the FRFA
is below. The full FRFA and analysis of
economic and ecological impacts, are
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
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Section 604(a)(1) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires the Agency to
state the objective and need for the rule.
As stated earlier, the objective of this
rule is to set BFT quotas and effort
controls for the General and Angling
categories for the 2007 fishing year
consistent with the Consolidated HMS
FMP. This rule is needed to implement
ICCAT recommendations pursuant to
ATCA and to achieve domestic
management objectives under the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Section 604(a)(2) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires the Agency to
summarize significant issues raised by
the public comment in response to the
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA), a summary of the Agency’s
assessment of such issues, and a
statement of any changes made as a
result of the comments. NMFS received
one comment specifically on the IRFA.
The commenter wrote that the 2006
annual gross revenues ($3.4 million), if
applied to the 8,751 commercially
permitted vessels, would average less
than $400 per vessel. The commenter
felt that this must be an error given the
expenses involved with fishing for BFT.
The gross revenues presented in the
analysis (which was updated for this
final rule) represent the total of recorded
sales of BFT in all commercial
categories. NMFS agrees that the 2006
gross revenues were low and, for the
General and Harpoon categories, were
the lowest in over 10 years. However,
availability of BFT to the commercial
sector has been low in recent years, and
many commercial participants are not
solely dependent on BFT for fishing
revenues. In addition, NMFS received
two comments (one from an individual
angler and one from an organization
representing recreational anglers, the
charter sector, and supporting
industries) requesting an increased
retention limit for BFT during certain
windows of time due to the importance
of school BFT to the charter sector and/
or during tournaments. NMFS has
considered this comment, as well as the
many comments supporting the
retention limits as proposed. NMFS
finalizes the retention limit of one
school BFT and two large school/small
medium BFT per vessel per day/trip to
ensure that the ICCAT-recommended
tolerance of school BFT is not exceeded
over the 2007–2010 period while
allowing continued access to this
fishery.
Section 604(a)(3) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires the Agency to
describe and provide an estimate of the
number of small entities to which the
rule will apply. The final action could
directly affect the 35,075 vessel owners
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permitted in the HMS Angling category,
the HMS Charter/Headboat category
permit holders, or the Atlantic tunas
commercial permit categories (General,
Harpoon, Purse Seine, Longline, and
Trap categories). Of these, 9,001 permit
holders (the combined number of
commercial category permit holders) are
considered small business entities
according to the Small Business
Administration’s standard for defining a
small entity.
Section 604(a)(4) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires the Agency to
describe the projected reporting,
recordkeeping, and other compliance
requirements of the final rule, including
an estimate of the classes of small
entities which would be subject to the
requirements of the report or record.
None of the alternatives considered for
this final rule would result in additional
reporting, recordkeeping, and
compliance requirements.
Section 604(a)(5) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act requires the Agency to
describe the steps taken to minimize the
significant economic impact on small
entities consistent with the stated
objectives of applicable statutes.
Additionally, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 603(c)(1)(4)) lists four
general categories of ‘‘significant’’
alternatives that would assist an agency
in the development of significant
alternatives. These categories of
alternatives are: (1) Establishment of
differing compliance or reporting
requirements or timetables that take into
account the resources available to small
entities; (2) clarification, consolidation,
or simplification of compliance and
reporting requirements under the rule
for such small entities; (3) use of
performance rather than design
standards; and (4) exemptions from
coverage of the rule for small entities.
In order to meet the objectives of this
final rule, consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS cannot
exempt small entities or change the
reporting requirements only for small
entities, because all of the affected
businesses (commercial vessel permit
holders) are considered small entities.
Thus, there are no alternatives
discussed that fall under the first and
fourth categories described above. In
addition, none of the alternatives
considered would result in additional
reporting or compliance requirements
(category two above). NMFS does not
know of any performance or design
standards that would satisfy the
aforementioned objectives of this
rulemaking while, concurrently,
complying with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act.
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As described below, NMFS analyzed
several alternatives in this final
rulemaking and provides justification
for selection of the preferred alternatives
to achieve the desired objective.
NMFS has estimated the average
impact that the alternative to establish
the 2007 BFT quota for all domestic
fishing categories would have on
individual categories and the vessels
within those categories.
As mentioned above, the 2006 ICCAT
recommendation reduced the U.S. BFT
TAC to 1,190.12 mt, which is
distributed to the domestic fishing
categories based on the allocation
percentages established in the
Consolidated HMS FMP. This quota
allocation includes a set-aside quota of
25 mt to account for incidental catch of
BFT related to directed longline
swordfish and non-BFT tuna fisheries in
the NED.
In 2006, the annual gross revenues
from the commercial BFT fishery were
approximately $3.3 million.
Approximately 9,000 vessels are
permitted to land and sell BFT under
four commercial BFT quota categories
(including charter/headboat vessels).
The commercial categories and their
2006 gross revenues are General ($2.4
million), Harpoon ($265,951), Purse
Seine ($33,819), and Longline
($588,828). The FRFA assumes that
vessels within a category will have
similar catch and gross revenues in
order to consider the relative impact of
the final action on vessels. Data on net
revenues of individual fishermen are
lacking, so the economic impact of the
alternatives is averaged across each
category. More specifically, available
landings data (weight and ex-vessel
value of the fish in price/pound) allow
NMFS to calculate the gross revenue
earned by a fishery participant on a
successful trip. The available data do
not, however, allow NMFS to calculate
the effort and cost associated with each
successful trip (e.g., the cost of gas, bait,
ice, etc.) so net revenue for each
participant cannot be calculated. NMFS
cannot determine whether net revenue
varies among individual fishery
participants within each category, and
therefore whether the economic impact
of a regulation would have a varying
impact among individual participants.
As a result, NMFS analyzes the average
impact of the proposed alternatives
among all participants in each category.
For the allocation of BFT quota among
domestic fishing categories, NMFS
analyzed a no action alternative (A1)
and the preferred alternative (A2),
which would implement the 2006
ICCAT recommendation. NMFS
considered a third alternative (A3),
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which would allocate the 2006 ICCATrecommended quota in a manner other
than that designated in the Consolidated
HMS FMP. However, since Alternative
A3 would result in a de facto quota
reallocation among categories, and an
FMP amendment would be necessary
for its implementation, NMFS did not
further analyze it. Per the Consolidated
HMS FMP, NMFS prepares quota
specifications annually for the
upcoming fishing year. Preparation of
an FMP amendment would not be
possible in the brief period of time
between receipt of the ICCAT
recommendation, which occurred in
late November 2006, and the start of the
2007 fishing year on June 1, 2007.
Therefore, analysis of the impacts of
Alternative A3 is not available. But, if
an FMP amendment was feasible,
positive economic impacts would be
expected to result on average for vessels
in permit categories that would receive
a greater share than established in the
FMP, and negative economic impacts
would be expected to result on average
for vessels in permit categories that
would receive a lesser share than
established in the FMP. Impacts per
vessel would depend on the temporal
and spatial availability of BFT to
participants.
As noted above, the preferred
alternative (A2) would implement the
2006 ICCAT recommendation in
accordance with the Consolidated HMS
FMP and consistent with the ATCA,
under which the United States is
obligated to implement ICCATapproved quota recommendations.
Alternative A2 would have slightly
positive impacts for fishermen. The no
action alternative (A1) would keep the
quota at pre–2006 ICCAT
recommendation levels (approximately
300 mt more) and would not be
consistent with the purpose and need
for this action and the Consolidated
HMS FMP. It would maintain economic
impacts to the United States and to local
economies at a distribution and scale
similar to 2006 or recent prior years,
and would provide fishermen additional
fishing opportunities, subject to the
availability of BFT to the fishery. For
these reasons, NMFS selects the
preferred alternative (A1).
The preferred alternative also would
implement the provision of the 2006
ICCAT recommendation that limits
school BFT landings to 10 percent of the
U.S. TAC, calculated on a four-year
average. This is expected to have neutral
impacts on fishermen who fish for
school BFT, particularly those who rely
exclusively on the school size class for
BFT harvest, since the available quota is
the same as the level when the limit was
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8–percent of the U.S. TAC under the
2002 ICCAT recommendation.
Two alternatives were considered for
effort control using RFDs in the General
category. The no action alternative
would not implement any RFDs with
publication of the specifications but
rather would use inseason management
authority established in the
Consolidated HMS FMP to implement
RFDs during the season. This alternative
could be most beneficial during a season
of low catch rates and could have
positive economic consequences if slow
catch rates were to persist during the
late season fishery, as General category
participants would be able to fish every
day while the fishery is open. During a
slow season, fishermen could choose
when to fish or not based on their own
preferences. However, these positive
economic effects may not be realized
because it is impossible for NMFS to
predict in advance whether the BFT
fishing season will have low or high
catch rates.
The preferred alternative would
designate RFDs according to a schedule
published in the BFT specifications.
NMFS has used RFDs to avoid
oversupplying the market with BFT and
extending the fishing season as late as
possible. In addition, establishing RFDs
at the season onset provides better
planning opportunities than
implementing RFDs during the season,
since charter/headboat businesses could
book trips and recreational and
commercial fishermen could make plans
ahead of time rather than waiting until
the last minute to see if an RFD is going
to be implemented. However,
implementing RFDs to extend the late
season may have some negative
economic impacts to fishermen fishing
in northern Atlantic states who choose
to travel to fish off southern states
during the late season fishery. Travel
and lodging costs may be greater if the
season were extended over a greater
period of time under the selected
alternative. Those additional costs could
be mitigated if the ex-vessel price of
BFT stays high, as is intended under
this alternative. Without RFDs, travel
costs may be less because of a shorter
season; however, the market could be
oversupplied and ex-vessel prices could
fall. Overall, extending the season as
late as possible and establishing
formalized RFDs at the season onset
would enhance the likelihood of
increasing participation by fishermen in
southern states, increase access to the
fishery over a greater range of the fish
migration, provide a reliable mechanism
for slowing a fishery that has an ability
to generate extremely high catch rates,
and is expected to provide better than
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average ex-vessel prices with an overall
increase in gross revenues. For these
reasons, NMFS selects the preferred
alternative over the no action
alternative.
A retention limit of three BFT
(measuring 73 inches (185.4 cm) or
greater per vessel per day/trip) is the
preferred alternative for the opening
retention limit for the General category,
which would be in effect through
August 31, 2007. This alternative is
expected to result in the most positive
socio-economic impacts by providing
the best opportunity to harvest the quota
while avoiding oversupplying the
market, thus maximizing gross
revenues. Thus, this alternative was
selected over other alternatives
considered, i.e., the no action
alternative (one BFT measuring 73
inches or greater per vessel per day/trip)
and a retention limit of two BFT (73
inches or greater per vessel per day/
trip). Both of the non-selected
alternatives are expected to be too
restrictive given the large amount of
quota available for the General category
during the 2007 fishing year and could
result in the negative economic impact
of lower gross revenues. Although early
season landings seldom occur at a rate
that could oversupply the market,
NMFS will monitor landings closely to
ensure that the increased retention limit
does not contribute to an oversupply.
Six alternatives were considered for
Angling category retention limits for the
2007 fishing year. The selected
alternative (D1b) is a three BFT
retention limit (two fish measuring 47
inches (119.4 cm) to less than 73 inches
(185.4 cm) and one fish measuring 27
inches (68.6 cm) to less than 73 inches)
per vessel per day/trip for all sectors of
the Angling category for the entire 2007
fishing year. The other two alternatives
providing the same daily retention
limits (per vessel) for both private
recreational and charter/headboats were
the no action alternative (D1a, i.e., one
fish measuring 27 inches to less than 73
inches) and Alternative D1c (two fish
measuring 47 inches to less than 73
inches and two fish measuring 27
inches to less than 73 inches).
Alternative D1a was not selected
because it could unnecessarily restrict
the amount of Angling category landings
which could result in an underharvest
of the quota and a negative economic
impact. Alternative D1c was not
selected because it could result in an
overharvest of the quota, with negative
economic consequences.
Three other alternatives were
considered that would provide different
retention limits for the Angling category
sectors. The first (D2a) would allow a
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private vessel daily retention limit of
three fish (two measuring 47 inches to
less than 73 inches and one measuring
27 inches to less than 47 inches) and a
charter/headboat daily retention limit
(per vessel) of five fish (three fish
measuring 47 inches to less than 73
inches and two fish measuring 27
inches to less than 47 inches). The
second alternative (D2b) would allow
three fish (two measuring 47 inches to
less than 73 inches and one measuring
27 inches to less than 47 inches) for
each vessel per day/trip for the season,
with an increase to five fish (three
measuring 47 inches to less than 73
inches and two measuring 27 inches to
less than 47 inches) per vessel for
charter/headboats during June 15, 2007
through July 31, 2007, and the month of
September 2007. The third alternative
(D2c) would allow two fish (measuring
27 inches to less than 73 inches) less
than 47 inches) for each vessel per day/
trip for the season, with an increase to
three fish (measuring 27 inches to less
than 73 inches) per vessel for charter/
headboats during June 15, 2007 through
July 31, 2007, and the month of
September 2007. Alternatives D2a and
D2b were not selected because they
were considered to be potentially too
liberal with a greater potential for
exceeding the Angling category quota
for 2007. Alternative D2c was not
selected because it was considered to be
unnecessarily restrictive, with a greater
potential for negative economic impacts
associated with not harvesting the entire
quota. In addition, the D2
subalternatives were not selected since
they could result in perceived inequities
between the two sectors of the Angling
category fishery, i.e., due to potential
greater fishing opportunities for charter/
headboat anglers than for private vessel
anglers.
Alternative D1b was selected because
it would allow the landing of the
Angling category quota without
overharvesting it, provide sufficient
retention limits to offset costs, reduce
any perceived inequities between the
charter/headboat and private
recreational vessel sectors of the
Angling category fishery, and provide
economic benefits to all regional sectors
of the fishery.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635
Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels,
Foreign relations, Imports, Penalties,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Treaties.
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Dated: June 11, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Operations, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is amended
as follows:
I
PART 635 ATLANTIC HIGHLY
MIGRATORY SPECIES
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.
2. In § 635.4, paragraph (j)(3) is
revised to read as follows:
I
§ 635.4
Permits and fees.
*
*
*
*
*
(j) * * *
(3) A vessel owner issued an Atlantic
tunas permit in the General, Harpoon, or
Trap category or an Atlantic HMS
permit in the Angling or Charter/
Headboat category under paragraph (b),
(c), or (d) of this section may change the
category of the vessel permit once
within 10 calendar days of the date of
issuance of the permit. After 10 calendar
days from the date of issuance of the
permit, the vessel owner may not
change the permit category until the
following fishing season, except during
the period of January 1, 2008, through
May 31, 2008, when one additional
change is authorized.
*
*
*
*
*
I 3. In § 635.27, paragraphs (a)
introductory text, (a)(1) heading,
(a)(1)(i), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4)(i), (a)(5),
(a)(6), (a)(7)(i), (a)(7)(ii), (a)(10)(iii), and
(a)(10)(iv) are revised to read as follows:
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§ 635.27
Quotas.
(a) BFT. Consistent with ICCAT
recommendations, and with paragraph
(a)(10)(iv) of this section, NMFS may
subtract the most recent, complete, and
available estimate of dead discards from
the annual U.S. BFT quota, and make
the remainder available to be retained,
possessed, or landed by persons and
vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The
remaining baseline annual U.S. BFT
quota will be allocated among the
General, Angling, Harpoon, Purse Seine,
Longline, Trap, and Reserve categories.
BFT may be taken by persons aboard
vessels issued Atlantic Tunas permits,
HMS Angling permits, or HMS Charter/
Headboat permits. The baseline annual
U.S. BFT quota is 1,165.1 mt, not
including an additional annual 25 mt
allocation provided in paragraph (a)(3)
of this section. Allocations of the
baseline annual U.S. BFT quota are:
General - 47.1 percent (548.8 mt);
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Angling - 19.7 percent (229.5 mt), which
includes the school BFT held in reserve
as described under paragraph (a)(7)(ii)
of this section; Harpoon - 3.9 percent
(45.4 mt); Purse Seine - 18.6 percent
(216.7 mt); Longline - 8.1 percent (94.4
mt), which does not include the
additional annual 25 mt allocation
provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section; and Trap - 0.1 percent (1.2 mt).
The remaining 2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of
the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota will
be held in reserve for inseason or annual
adjustments based on the criteria in
paragraph (a)(8) of this section. NMFS
may apportion a quota allocated to any
category to specified fishing periods or
to geographic areas and will make
annual adjustments to quotas, as
specified in paragraph (a)(10) of this
section. BFT quotas are specified in
whole weight.
(1) General category quota. * * *
(i) Catches from vessels for which
General category Atlantic Tunas permits
have been issued and certain catches
from vessels for which an HMS Charter/
Headboat permit has been issued are
counted against the General category
quota in accordance with § 635.23(c)(3).
The amount of large medium and giant
BFT that may be caught, retained,
possessed, landed, or sold under the
General category quota is 47.1 percent
(548.8 mt) of the baseline annual U.S.
BFT quota, and is apportioned as
follows:
(A) January 1 through January 31 - 5.3
percent (29.1 mt);
(B) June 1 through August 31 - 50
percent (274.4 mt);
(C) September 1 through September
30 - 26.5 percent (145.4 mt);
(D) October 1 through November 30 13 percent (71.3 mt); and
(E) December 1 through December 31
- 5.2 percent (28.5 mt).
*****
(2) Angling category quota. In
accordance with the framework
procedures of the HMS FMP, prior to
each fishing year or as early as feasible,
NMFS will establish the Angling
category daily retention limits. The total
amount of BFT that may be caught,
retained, possessed, and landed by
anglers aboard vessels for which an
HMS Angling permit or an HMS
Charter/Headboat permit has been
issued is 19.7 percent (229.5 mt) of the
baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. No
more than 2.3 percent (5.3 mt) of the
annual Angling category quota may be
large medium or giant BFT. In addition,
over each 4 consecutive-year period
(starting in 2007, inclusive), no more
than 10 percent of the annual U.S. BFT
quota, inclusive of the allocation
specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this
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section, may be school BFT. The
Angling category quota includes the
amount of school BFT held in reserve
under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section.
The size class subquotas for BFT are
further subdivided as follows:
(i) After adjustment for the school
BFT quota held in reserve (under
paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section), 52.8
percent (51.2 mt) of the school BFT
Angling category quota may be caught,
retained, possessed, or landed south of
39°18′ N. lat. The remaining school BFT
Angling category quota (45.8 mt) may be
caught, retained, possessed or landed
north of 39°18′ N. lat.
(ii) An amount equal to 52.8 percent
(55.6 mt) of the large school/small
medium BFT Angling category quota
may be caught, retained, possessed, or
landed south of 39°18′ N. lat. The
remaining large school/small medium
BFT Angling category quota (49.6 mt)
may be caught, retained, possessed or
landed north of 39°18′ N. lat.
(iii) An amount equal to 66.7 percent
(3.5 mt) of the large medium and giant
BFT Angling category quota may be
caught, retained, possessed, or landed
south of 39°18′ N. lat. The remaining
large medium and giant BFT Angling
category quota (1.8 mt) may be caught,
retained, possessed or landed north of
39°18′ N. lat.
(3) Longline category quota. The total
amount of large medium and giant BFT
that may be caught incidentally and
retained, possessed, or landed by
vessels that possess Longline category
Atlantic Tunas permits is 8.1 percent
(94.4 mt) of the baseline annual U.S.
BFT quota. No more than 60.0 percent
of the Longline category quota may be
allocated for landing in the area south
of 31°00′ N. lat. In addition, 25 mt shall
be allocated for incidental catch by
pelagic longline vessels fishing in the
Northeast Distant gear restricted area as
specified at § 635.23 (f)(3).
(4) * * *
(i) The total amount of large medium
and giant BFT that may be caught,
retained, possessed, or landed by
vessels that possess Purse Seine
category Atlantic Tunas permits is 18.6
percent (216.7 mt) of the baseline
annual U.S. BFT quota. The directed
purse seine fishery for BFT commences
on July 15 of each year unless NMFS
takes action to delay the season start
date. Based on cumulative and projected
landings in other commercial fishing
categories, and the potential for gear
conflicts on the fishing grounds or
market impacts due to oversupply,
NMFS may delay the BFT purse seine
season start date from July 15 to no later
than August 15 by filing an adjustment
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with the Office of the Federal Register
prior to July 1.
*
*
*
*
*
(5) Harpoon category quota. The total
amount of large medium and giant BFT
that may be caught, retained, possessed,
landed, or sold by vessels that possess
Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas
permits is 3.9 percent (45.4 mt) of the
baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. The
Harpoon category fishery closes on
November 15 each year.
(6) Trap category quota. The total
amount of large medium and giant BFT
that may be caught, retained, possessed,
or landed by vessels that possess Trap
category Atlantic Tunas permits is 0.1
percent (1.2 mt) of the baseline annual
U.S. BFT quota.
(7) * * *
(i) The total amount of BFT that is
held in reserve for inseason or annual
adjustments and fishery-independent
research using quotas or subquotas is
2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of the baseline
annual U.S. BFT quota. Consistent with
paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS
may allocate any portion of this reserve
for inseason or annual adjustments to
any category quota in the fishery.
(ii) The total amount of school BFT
that is held in reserve for inseason or
annual adjustments and fisheryindependent research is 18.5 percent (22
mt) of the total school BFT Angling
category quota as described under
paragraph (a)(2) of this section. This is
in addition to the amounts specified in
paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section.
Consistent with paragraph (a)(8) of this
section, NMFS may allocate any portion
of the school BFT Angling category
quota held in reserve for inseason or
annual adjustments to the Angling
category.
*
*
*
*
*
(10) * * *
(iii) Regardless of the estimated
landings in any year, NMFS may adjust
the annual school BFT quota to ensure
that the average take of school BFT over
each 4 consecutive-year period
beginning in the 2007 fishing year does
not exceed 10 percent by weight of the
total annual U.S. BFT quota, inclusive
of the allocation specified in paragraph
(a)(3) of this section, for that period.
(iv) NMFS may subtract the best
available estimate of dead discards from
the amount of BFT that can be landed
in the subsequent fishing year by those
categories accounting for the dead
discards.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. E7–11630 Filed 6–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 070213032–7032–01]
RIN 0648–XA82
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Northern Rockfish,
Pacific Ocean Perch, and Pelagic Shelf
Rockfish for Catcher Vessels
Participating in the Rockfish Limited
Access Fishery in the Central
Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed
fishing for northern rockfish, Pacific
ocean perch, and pelagic shelf rockfish
for catcher vessels participating in the
rockfish limited access fishery in the
Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of
Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary
to prevent exceeding the 2007 total
allowable catch (TAC) of northern
rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and
pelagic shelf rockfish allocated to
catcher vessels participating in the
rockfish limited access fishery in the
Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.
DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local
time (A.l.t.), July 1, 2007, through 2400
hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Hogan, 907–586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
manages the groundfish fishery in the
GOA exclusive economic zone
according to the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of
Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North
Pacific Fishery Management Council
under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Regulations governing
fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance
with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50
CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679.
In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i),
the Administrator, Alaska Region,
NMFS (Regional Administrator), has
determined that the TAC of northern
rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and
pelagic shelf rockfish allocated to
catcher vessels participating in the
rockfish limited access fishery in the
Central GOA will be necessary as
incidental catch to support other
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anticipated groundfish fisheries for the
2007 fishing year. Consequently, the
Regional Administrator is establishing a
directed fishing allowance of 0 mt.
Therefore, in accordance with
§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), NMFS is prohibiting
directed fishing for northern rockfish,
Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf
rockfish for catcher vessels participating
in the rockfish limited access fishery in
the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.
After the effective date of this closure
the maximum retainable amounts at
§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time
during a trip.
Classification
This action responds to the best
available information recently obtained
from the fishery. The Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,
(AA), finds good cause to waive the
requirement to provide prior notice and
opportunity for public comment
pursuant to the authority set forth at 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. This requirement is
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest as it would prevent NMFS from
responding to the most recent fisheries
data in a timely fashion and would
delay the closure of northern rockfish,
Pacific ocean perch, and pelagic shelf
rockfish for catcher vessels participating
in the rockfish limited access fishery in
the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA.
NMFS was unable to publish a notice
providing time for public comment
because the most recent, relevant data
only became available as of June 8,
2007.
The AA also finds good cause to
waive the 30–day delay in the effective
date of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3). This finding is based upon
the reasons provided above for waiver of
prior notice and opportunity for public
comment.
This action is required by § 679.20
and § 679.82 and is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 11, 2007.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7–11634 Filed 6–15–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
E:\FR\FM\18JNR1.SGM
18JNR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 116 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33401-33408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-11630]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 070330073-7116-02; I.D. 030507A]
RIN 0648-AU87
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota
Specifications and Effort Controls
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 rule to set 2007 fishing year
specifications for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery, including
quotas for each of the established domestic fishing categories and
effort controls for the General category and Angling category. 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
[[Page 33402]]
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act). This action also makes a minor administrative change to
the permit regulations.
DATES: The rule is effective July 18, 2007, except that the General
category retention limit found within the preamble of this rule is
effective July 18, 2007 through August 31, 2007, and the Angling
category retention limit found within the preamble of this rule is
effective July 18, 2007 through December 31, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Supporting documents, including the Environmental Assessment
(EA), Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and Final Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (FRFA), are available from Sarah McLaughlin, Highly Migratory
Species Management Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1),
NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. These documents are
also available from the HMS Management Division website at https://
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ or at the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin, 978-281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the ATCA. The 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 the
ATCA has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). The consolidated FMP
regulations are at 50 CFR part 635.
Background
Background information about the need for the BFT quota
specifications and effort controls for the 2007 fishing year (June 1
through December 31, 2007) was provided in the preamble to the proposed
rule (72 FR 16318, April 4, 2007), and is not repeated here. The
proposed rule reflected landings information through January 15, 2007.
Since that date, additional landings have occurred, resulting in a
slight modification of the 2006 landings figures. Revised landings
estimates (calculated as of April 30, 2007, and therefore preliminary)
are as follows: General category -- 165.0 mt (an increase of 5.2 mt);
Harpoon category -- 22.2 mt; Longline category -- 57.0 mt [an increase
of 25.6 mt, i.e., 1 mt in the North, 0.7 mt in the Northeast Distant
gear restricted area (NED), and 23.9 mt in the South]; Angling category
-- 191.0 mt (an increase of 4.2 mt); Trap category -- 0 mt; and Purse
Seine category -- 3.6 mt. These landings estimates, totaling 438.8 mt,
indicate that the preliminary 2006 fishing year underharvest is 2,400.4
mt. However, as the underharvest from the 2006 fishing year is capped
at 595.1 mt, these adjusted landings do not change the 2007 fishing
year quotas.
2007 Final Quota Specifications
In accordance with the 2006 ICCAT quota recommendation, the
Consolidated HMS FMP percentage shares for each of the domestic
categories, and regulations regarding annual adjustments at Sec.
635.27(a)(10), NMFS establishes final quota specifications for the 2007
fishing year as follows: General category -- 643.6 mt; Harpoon category
-- 53.3 mt; Purse Seine category -- 254.1 mt; Angling category -- 269.2
mt; Longline category -- 200 mt; and Trap category -- 1.4 mt.
Additionally, 207.6 mt are allocated to the Reserve category for
inseason adjustments, scientific research collection, potential
overharvest in any category except the Purse Seine category, and
potential quota transfers.
Based on the above specifications and considerations regarding the
school BFT fishery, the Angling category quota of 269.2 mt is further
subdivided as follows: School BFT -- 119 mt, with 45.8 mt to the
northern area (north of 39[deg]18' N. latitude), 51.2 mt to the
southern area (south of 39[deg]18' N. latitude), and 22 mt held in
reserve; large school/small medium BFT -- 144 mt, with 68 mt to the
northern area and 76 mt to the southern area; and large medium/giant
BFT -- 6.2 mt, with 2.1 mt to the northern area and 4.1 mt to the
southern area.
The 2006 ICCAT recommendation includes an annual 25-mt set-aside
quota to account for bycatch of BFT related to directed longline
fisheries in the NED. This set-aside quota is in addition to the
overall incidental longline quota to be subdivided in accordance with
the North/South allocation percentages mentioned below. Thus, the
Longline category quota of 200 mt is subdivided as follows: 80 mt to
pelagic longline vessels landing BFT north of 31[deg] N. latitude and
120 mt to pelagic longline vessels landing BFT south of 31[deg] N.
latitude, with 25 mt set-aside for bycatch of BFT related to directed
pelagic longline fisheries in the NED.
General Category Effort Controls
NMFS implements General 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 Consolidated HMS FMP and are designed to address concerns regarding
the 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 regulations implementing the Consolidated HMS FMP divide the
annual General category quota into five time-period subquotas as
follows: 50 percent for June-August, 26.5 percent for September, 13
percent for October-November, 5.2 percent for December, and 5.3 percent
for January. Because the fishing year is changing back to a calendar
year effective January 1, 2008, NMFS is distributing the 5.3 percent of
the General category quota that would be assigned to the January time
period to the four time periods that will occur during the 2007 fishing
year. Accordingly, the available 643.6-mt coastwide quota is divided as
follows: 339.8 mt for the period beginning June 1 and ending August 31,
2007; 180.1 mt for the period beginning September 1 and ending
September 30, 2007; 88.4 mt for the period beginning October 1 and
ending November 30, 2007; and 35.3 mt for the period beginning December
1 and ending December 31, 2007. The January 2008 subquota will be
included in the 2008 specifications, which NMFS plans to publish prior
to the start of the fishing year on January 1, 2008. As discussed in
the Consolidated HMS FMP, NMFS plans to work with the affected
constituents through the 2008 specifications process to determine the
most appropriate disposition of any under- or overharvest that has
accrued in the General category by the end of December 2007.
In addition to time-period subquotas, NMFS also implements General
category restricted fishing days (RFDs) to extend the General category
fishing season. The RFDs are designed to address the same issues
addressed by time-period subquotas and provide additional inseason
management flexibility. Although the General category has a relatively
large quota for the 2007 fishing year, this permit category has the
ability to harvest a great amount of quota in a short period of time,
and the RFDs are necessary as a way to manage effort in the subperiods
at the end of the fishing year. Therefore, NMFS establishes a series of
RFDs for the 2007 fishing year to extend the BFT fishery for the
General category for as long as possible during the October through
December time period. Persons
[[Page 33403]]
aboard vessels permitted in the General category are prohibited from
fishing (including catch-and-release and tag-and-release) for BFT of
all sizes on the following days while the fishery is open: all
Saturdays and Sundays from November 17, 2007, through December 31,
2007, plus November 22 and December 25, 2007. NMFS implements these
RFDs to improve fishing opportunities during the October through
December time period without increasing BFT mortality. NMFS may
consider waiving the RFDs if the pace of landings indicates that the
November and/or December General category subquotas will not be met by
the end of the associated subperiod. NMFS' intention is to propose RFDs
for January 2008 as part of the 2008 quota specifications and effort
controls, scheduled to be published before January 1, 2008.
Because of the large quota available for the General category, NMFS
increases the retention limit of BFT for the first subperiod of the
General category fishery. Therefore, persons aboard vessels permitted
in the General category may retain three large medium or giant BFT
(measuring 73 inches (185.4 cm) or greater) per vessel per day/trip
from the effective date of this final rule through August 31, 2007.
This BFT retention limit may be extended via inseason action, if
warranted, under Sec. 635.23(a)(4).
Angling Category Effort Controls
This final rule establishes an Angling category retention limit of
one school BFT (27 inches (68.6 cm) to less than 47 inches (119.4 cm)),
and two large school/small medium BFT (i.e., two BFT measuring 47
inches (119.4 cm) to less than 73 inches (185.4 cm)) per vessel. This
retention limit is effective for persons aboard vessels permitted in
the Angling category from the effective date of this rule through
December 31, 2007. This retention limit may be changed via inseason
action, if warranted, under Sec. 635.23(b)(3).
Permit Category Changes
Because of the scheduled change to a calendar year fishing year
beginning January 1, 2008, and because Atlantic Tunas, HMS Charter/
Headboat, and HMS Angling category permits issued for the 2007 fishing
year are effective through December 31, 2008, NMFS will allow permit
holders to make a permit category change for the 2008 fishing year,
i.e., once during the period of January 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008.
Comments and Responses
Below, NMFS summarizes and responds to all comments received on the
proposed quota specifications and effort controls for the General and
Angling categories. In addition, NMFS received comments on issues that
were not considered part of this rulemaking. For example, NMFS received
a request to relax all General category restrictions, including season
duration and minimum size. Conversely, NMFS received several comments
that, noting the overfished status of the stock, requested reduction of
the U.S. BFT quota and commercial and recreational retention limits in
general, an increase to the recreational minimum size, and prohibition
of purse seine use due to bycatch concerns. While NMFS acknowledges
that consideration of these concerns is important, these issues are not
addressed in this action because they were not considered part of this
rulemaking.
A. BFT Quotas
Comment 1: NMFS received a range of comments on the quota
specifications. Some commenters supported the quotas as proposed.
Others requested that NMFS distribute the underharvest carryover amount
(595 mt) according to FMP percentages rather than as proposed. One
commenter urged NMFS to set the Reserve at 40.7 mt, i.e., 2.5 percent
of the adjusted U.S. quota and stated that unused Reserve should not be
carried forward to the Reserve for the following fishing year. One
commenter felt that underharvest should not be added to the following
year's BFT quota given stock concerns and potential underreporting of
landings.
Response: The specifications included in this rule reflect
appropriate distribution of the underharvest allowed to be carried
forward for the 2007 fishing year. Such distribution provides for
several existing and potential management needs, namely: (1) Setting
aside sufficient quota for a potential transfer to another ICCAT
Contracting Party, if warranted; (2) providing sufficient quota for
pelagic longline operations; (3) appropriately accounting for dead
discards; and (4) distributing the remainder per the Consolidated HMS
FMP allocation percentages. NMFS allocates 2.5 percent of the baseline
2007 U.S. quota in the Reserve, consistent with the Consolidated HMS
FMP. The rollover of quota in the Reserve from one year to the next
(rather than reallocation of the unused Reserve to one or more quota
categories) allows NMFS to consider several factors (as established in
Sec. 635.27(a)(8)), within the fishing year, prior to making quota
adjustments from the Reserve. The regulations regarding annual
adjustment of the BFT quota at Sec. 635.27(a)(10) provide NMFS the
flexibility to apply the underharvest to the overall quota for the
following fishing year, provided that the total of the adjusted
category quotas and the Reserve is consistent with the ICCAT
recommendation.
Comment 2: One commenter opposed allocation of 40 percent of the
carryover amount to the Longline category, indicating such action is
inappropriate given that the longline fishery incidentally catches BFT.
Response: The application of 236.6 mt of the 2006 underharvest to
the Longline category quota is conducted for two reasons: (1) To
provide sufficient quota for the subtraction of past longline dead
discards; and (2) to provide for the continued operation of the
Longline category vessels during the 2007 fishing year, including
anticipated future dead discards as well as allowed incidental landings
under current retention limits. The TAC for each Contracting Party is
now inclusive of dead discards. The 2006 ICCAT recommendation changed
the accounting practices for dead discards by eliminating an additional
dead discard allowance, and, therefore, NMFS must deduct the best
estimate of dead discards from the fishing year quota. As these dead
discards are attributed to the pelagic longline fishery, the dead
discards are specifically deducted from the Longline category quota.
Furthermore, distribution of the carryover amount by the FMP
percentages would result in 48.2 mt added to the baseline amount (94.4
mt), for a total of 142.6 mt for the Longline category for the 2007
fishing year. After accounting for an estimated amount of dead discards
(i.e., approximately 131 mt, assuming the amount is similar to the most
recent available estimate), the quota for the Longline category would
be 11.6 mt. This quota would not provide a sufficient amount of quota
to allow for the legal landing of BFT taken incidental to catches of
swordfish and other tunas.
Comment 3: Some commenters opposed the potential transfer of U.S.
quota to other ICCAT Contracting Parties. One commenter specifically
objected to the use of the Reserve in making such a transfer to any
ICCAT Contracting Party with an allocation. This commenter's
understanding of the agreement at ICCAT was that the transfer to a
specific Contracting Party could be undertaken at the request of
industry, using the quota associated with that industry.
[[Page 33404]]
Response: The 2006 ICCAT recommendation allows the United States to
transfer up to 15 percent of its TAC, consistent with domestic
obligations and conservation considerations. Before considering a
possible quota transfer, the United States, through NMFS, would
evaluate several factors, including the projected ability of U.S.
vessels to harvest the U.S. TAC during the fishing year, and potential
impacts to the stock. The United States would need to explore and
analyze these factors prior to transferring quota through a separate
action. In this action, NMFS is placing 178.5 mt (15 percent of the
U.S. TAC) in the Reserve so that, if the United States were to approve
a transfer, the quota could be from the Reserve and not from category-
specific quotas.
B. General Category Effort Controls
Comment 1: NMFS received comments on the General category retention
limit that ranged from support for the proposed three-BFT limit to a
request for a zero-BFT limit.
Response: The regulations allow NMFS to adjust the General category
retention limit of large medium and giant BFT over a range of zero (on
RFDs) to three. Given the low early season harvest rate in recent
years, NMFS is setting the June through August retention limit at three
BFT to allow General category fishermen the maximum harvest of BFT
possible while keeping within the quota of the first General category
subperiod.
Comment 2: NMFS received a comment that the setting of RFDs for the
2007 fishing year may be an unnecessary administrative effort given the
low harvest rate in recent years.
Response: NMFS sets the RFDs in this action to ensure that the
agency has the flexibility to manage the pace of the fishery should the
need arise. If NMFS determines during the fishing season that the
November and December RFDs are not necessary, NMFS will take the
appropriate inseason action to waive them.
C. Angling Category Effort Controls
Comment 1: NMFS received comments on the Angling category effort
controls that were supportive of the retention limit and season as
proposed. NMFS received comments from a recreational fishing
organization that supported the retention limits as proposed, but
requested a fishing season of June 21 through December 31. Some
commenters requested an increased retention limit for school BFT during
specific time periods, due to the importance of catching school BFT in
the charter fishing sector and in fishing tournaments. One commenter
requested that NMFS shorten the school BFT fishing season by
approximately two months.
Response: NMFS has considered adjustment of the retention limits
for certain time periods as implemented for 2006. However, based on the
large number of comments received that supported the proposed retention
limits, an evaluation of retention limits and landings estimates over
recent years, and the ICCAT recommendation that Contracting Parties not
exceed the tolerance of school BFT over the 2007-2010 period, NMFS is
setting the Angling category retention limit at one school BFT and two
large school/small medium BFT per vessel per day/trip from the
effective date of the final rule through the end of the fishing year.
Comment 2: Several commenters expressed concern about implementing
a higher BFT retention limit, particularly for school BFT, because of
the overfished nature of the western Atlantic BFT stock and because
ICCAT recommends a ``tolerance'' on school BFT landings rather than a
targeted fishery.
Response: NMFS agrees that the school BFT retention limit should be
no more than one fish for the 2007 fishing year to ensure that landings
are within the ICCAT-recommended 10-percent limit.
Classification
NMFS publishes these final specifications and effort controls 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, and are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its
National Standards.
This final rule been determined to be not significant for purposes
of Executive Order 12866.
In compliance with Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) was prepared for this
rule. The FRFA analyzes the anticipated economic impacts of the
preferred actions and any significant alternatives that could minimize
economic impacts on small entities. Each of the statutory requirements
of Section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act has been addressed and
a summary of the FRFA is below. The full FRFA and analysis of economic
and ecological impacts, are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Section 604(a)(1) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the
Agency to state the objective and need for the rule. As stated earlier,
the objective of this rule is to set BFT quotas and effort controls for
the General and Angling categories for the 2007 fishing year consistent
with the Consolidated HMS FMP. This rule is needed to implement ICCAT
recommendations pursuant to ATCA and to achieve domestic management
objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Section 604(a)(2) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the
Agency to summarize significant issues raised by the public comment in
response to the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), a
summary of the Agency's assessment of such issues, and a statement of
any changes made as a result of the comments. NMFS received one comment
specifically on the IRFA. The commenter wrote that the 2006 annual
gross revenues ($3.4 million), if applied to the 8,751 commercially
permitted vessels, would average less than $400 per vessel. The
commenter felt that this must be an error given the expenses involved
with fishing for BFT. The gross revenues presented in the analysis
(which was updated for this final rule) represent the total of recorded
sales of BFT in all commercial categories. NMFS agrees that the 2006
gross revenues were low and, for the General and Harpoon categories,
were the lowest in over 10 years. However, availability of BFT to the
commercial sector has been low in recent years, and many commercial
participants are not solely dependent on BFT for fishing revenues. In
addition, NMFS received two comments (one from an individual angler and
one from an organization representing recreational anglers, the charter
sector, and supporting industries) requesting an increased retention
limit for BFT during certain windows of time due to the importance of
school BFT to the charter sector and/or during tournaments. NMFS has
considered this comment, as well as the many comments supporting the
retention limits as proposed. NMFS finalizes the retention limit of one
school BFT and two large school/small medium BFT per vessel per day/
trip to ensure that the ICCAT-recommended tolerance of school BFT is
not exceeded over the 2007-2010 period while allowing continued access
to this fishery.
Section 604(a)(3) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the
Agency to describe and provide an estimate of the number of small
entities to which the rule will apply. The final action could directly
affect the 35,075 vessel owners
[[Page 33405]]
permitted in the HMS Angling category, the HMS Charter/Headboat
category permit holders, or the Atlantic tunas commercial permit
categories (General, Harpoon, Purse Seine, Longline, and Trap
categories). Of these, 9,001 permit holders (the combined number of
commercial category permit holders) are considered small business
entities according to the Small Business Administration's standard for
defining a small entity.
Section 604(a)(4) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the
Agency to describe the projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other
compliance requirements of the final rule, including an estimate of the
classes of small entities which would be subject to the requirements of
the report or record. None of the alternatives considered for this
final rule would result in additional reporting, recordkeeping, and
compliance requirements.
Section 604(a)(5) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the
Agency to describe the steps taken to minimize the significant economic
impact on small entities consistent with the stated objectives of
applicable statutes. Additionally, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 603(c)(1)(4)) lists four general categories of ``significant''
alternatives that would assist an agency in the development of
significant alternatives. These categories of alternatives are: (1)
Establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or
timetables that take into account the resources available to small
entities; (2) clarification, consolidation, or simplification of
compliance and reporting requirements under the rule for such small
entities; (3) use of performance rather than design standards; and (4)
exemptions from coverage of the rule for small entities.
In order to meet the objectives of this final rule, consistent with
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS cannot exempt small entities or change
the reporting requirements only for small entities, because all of the
affected businesses (commercial vessel permit holders) are considered
small entities. Thus, there are no alternatives discussed that fall
under the first and fourth categories described above. In addition,
none of the alternatives considered would result in additional
reporting or compliance requirements (category two above). NMFS does
not know of any performance or design standards that would satisfy the
aforementioned objectives of this rulemaking while, concurrently,
complying with the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
As described below, NMFS analyzed several alternatives in this
final rulemaking and provides justification for selection of the
preferred alternatives to achieve the desired objective.
NMFS has estimated the average impact that the alternative to
establish the 2007 BFT quota for all domestic fishing categories would
have on individual categories and the vessels within those categories.
As mentioned above, the 2006 ICCAT recommendation reduced the U.S.
BFT TAC to 1,190.12 mt, which is distributed to the domestic fishing
categories based on the allocation percentages established in the
Consolidated HMS FMP. This quota allocation includes a set-aside quota
of 25 mt to account for incidental catch of BFT related to directed
longline swordfish and non-BFT tuna fisheries in the NED.
In 2006, the annual gross revenues from the commercial BFT fishery
were approximately $3.3 million. Approximately 9,000 vessels are
permitted to land and sell BFT under four commercial BFT quota
categories (including charter/headboat vessels). The commercial
categories and their 2006 gross revenues are General ($2.4 million),
Harpoon ($265,951), Purse Seine ($33,819), and Longline ($588,828). The
FRFA assumes that vessels within a category will have similar catch and
gross revenues in order to consider the relative impact of the final
action on vessels. Data on net revenues of individual fishermen are
lacking, so the economic impact of the alternatives is averaged across
each category. More specifically, available landings data (weight and
ex-vessel value of the fish in price/pound) allow NMFS to calculate the
gross revenue earned by a fishery participant on a successful trip. The
available data do not, however, allow NMFS to calculate the effort and
cost associated with each successful trip (e.g., the cost of gas, bait,
ice, etc.) so net revenue for each participant cannot be calculated.
NMFS cannot determine whether net revenue varies among individual
fishery participants within each category, and therefore whether the
economic impact of a regulation would have a varying impact among
individual participants. As a result, NMFS analyzes the average impact
of the proposed alternatives among all participants in each category.
For the allocation of BFT quota among domestic fishing categories,
NMFS analyzed a no action alternative (A1) and the preferred
alternative (A2), which would implement the 2006 ICCAT recommendation.
NMFS considered a third alternative (A3), which would allocate the 2006
ICCAT-recommended quota in a manner other than that designated in the
Consolidated HMS FMP. However, since Alternative A3 would result in a
de facto quota reallocation among categories, and an FMP amendment
would be necessary for its implementation, NMFS did not further analyze
it. Per the Consolidated HMS FMP, NMFS prepares quota specifications
annually for the upcoming fishing year. Preparation of an FMP amendment
would not be possible in the brief period of time between receipt of
the ICCAT recommendation, which occurred in late November 2006, and the
start of the 2007 fishing year on June 1, 2007. Therefore, analysis of
the impacts of Alternative A3 is not available. But, if an FMP
amendment was feasible, positive economic impacts would be expected to
result on average for vessels in permit categories that would receive a
greater share than established in the FMP, and negative economic
impacts would be expected to result on average for vessels in permit
categories that would receive a lesser share than established in the
FMP. Impacts per vessel would depend on the temporal and spatial
availability of BFT to participants.
As noted above, the preferred alternative (A2) would implement the
2006 ICCAT recommendation in accordance with the Consolidated HMS FMP
and consistent with the ATCA, under which the United States is
obligated to implement ICCAT-approved quota recommendations.
Alternative A2 would have slightly positive impacts for fishermen. The
no action alternative (A1) would keep the quota at pre-2006 ICCAT
recommendation levels (approximately 300 mt more) and would not be
consistent with the purpose and need for this action and the
Consolidated HMS FMP. It would maintain economic impacts to the United
States and to local economies at a distribution and scale similar to
2006 or recent prior years, and would provide fishermen additional
fishing opportunities, subject to the availability of BFT to the
fishery. For these reasons, NMFS selects the preferred alternative
(A1).
The preferred alternative also would implement the provision of the
2006 ICCAT recommendation that limits school BFT landings to 10 percent
of the U.S. TAC, calculated on a four-year average. This is expected to
have neutral impacts on fishermen who fish for school BFT, particularly
those who rely exclusively on the school size class for BFT harvest,
since the available quota is the same as the level when the limit was
[[Page 33406]]
8-percent of the U.S. TAC under the 2002 ICCAT recommendation.
Two alternatives were considered for effort control using RFDs in
the General category. The no action alternative would not implement any
RFDs with publication of the specifications but rather would use
inseason management authority established in the Consolidated HMS FMP
to implement RFDs during the season. This alternative could be most
beneficial during a season of low catch rates and could have positive
economic consequences if slow catch rates were to persist during the
late season fishery, as General category participants would be able to
fish every day while the fishery is open. During a slow season,
fishermen could choose when to fish or not based on their own
preferences. However, these positive economic effects may not be
realized because it is impossible for NMFS to predict in advance
whether the BFT fishing season will have low or high catch rates.
The preferred alternative would designate RFDs according to a
schedule published in the BFT specifications. NMFS has used RFDs to
avoid oversupplying the market with BFT and extending the fishing
season as late as possible. In addition, establishing RFDs at the
season onset provides better planning opportunities than implementing
RFDs during the season, since charter/headboat businesses could book
trips and recreational and commercial fishermen could make plans ahead
of time rather than waiting until the last minute to see if an RFD is
going to be implemented. However, implementing RFDs to extend the late
season may have some negative economic impacts to fishermen fishing in
northern Atlantic states who choose to travel to fish off southern
states during the late season fishery. Travel and lodging costs may be
greater if the season were extended over a greater period of time under
the selected alternative. Those additional costs could be mitigated if
the ex-vessel price of BFT stays high, as is intended under this
alternative. Without RFDs, travel costs may be less because of a
shorter season; however, the market could be oversupplied and ex-vessel
prices could fall. Overall, extending the season as late as possible
and establishing formalized RFDs at the season onset would enhance the
likelihood of increasing participation by fishermen in southern states,
increase access to the fishery over a greater range of the fish
migration, provide a reliable mechanism for slowing a fishery that has
an ability to generate extremely high catch rates, and is expected to
provide better than average ex-vessel prices with an overall increase
in gross revenues. For these reasons, NMFS selects the preferred
alternative over the no action alternative.
A retention limit of three BFT (measuring 73 inches (185.4 cm) or
greater per vessel per day/trip) is the preferred alternative for the
opening retention limit for the General category, which would be in
effect through August 31, 2007. This alternative is expected to result
in the most positive socio-economic impacts by providing the best
opportunity to harvest the quota while avoiding oversupplying the
market, thus maximizing gross revenues. Thus, this alternative was
selected over other alternatives considered, i.e., the no action
alternative (one BFT measuring 73 inches or greater per vessel per day/
trip) and a retention limit of two BFT (73 inches or greater per vessel
per day/trip). Both of the non-selected alternatives are expected to be
too restrictive given the large amount of quota available for the
General category during the 2007 fishing year and could result in the
negative economic impact of lower gross revenues. Although early season
landings seldom occur at a rate that could oversupply the market, NMFS
will monitor landings closely to ensure that the increased retention
limit does not contribute to an oversupply.
Six alternatives were considered for Angling category retention
limits for the 2007 fishing year. The selected alternative (D1b) is a
three BFT retention limit (two fish measuring 47 inches (119.4 cm) to
less than 73 inches (185.4 cm) and one fish measuring 27 inches (68.6
cm) to less than 73 inches) per vessel per day/trip for all sectors of
the Angling category for the entire 2007 fishing year. The other two
alternatives providing the same daily retention limits (per vessel) for
both private recreational and charter/headboats were the no action
alternative (D1a, i.e., one fish measuring 27 inches to less than 73
inches) and Alternative D1c (two fish measuring 47 inches to less than
73 inches and two fish measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches).
Alternative D1a was not selected because it could unnecessarily
restrict the amount of Angling category landings which could result in
an underharvest of the quota and a negative economic impact.
Alternative D1c was not selected because it could result in an
overharvest of the quota, with negative economic consequences.
Three other alternatives were considered that would provide
different retention limits for the Angling category sectors. The first
(D2a) would allow a private vessel daily retention limit of three fish
(two measuring 47 inches to less than 73 inches and one measuring 27
inches to less than 47 inches) and a charter/headboat daily retention
limit (per vessel) of five fish (three fish measuring 47 inches to less
than 73 inches and two fish measuring 27 inches to less than 47
inches). The second alternative (D2b) would allow three fish (two
measuring 47 inches to less than 73 inches and one measuring 27 inches
to less than 47 inches) for each vessel per day/trip for the season,
with an increase to five fish (three measuring 47 inches to less than
73 inches and two measuring 27 inches to less than 47 inches) per
vessel for charter/headboats during June 15, 2007 through July 31,
2007, and the month of September 2007. The third alternative (D2c)
would allow two fish (measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches) less
than 47 inches) for each vessel per day/trip for the season, with an
increase to three fish (measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches) per
vessel for charter/headboats during June 15, 2007 through July 31,
2007, and the month of September 2007. Alternatives D2a and D2b were
not selected because they were considered to be potentially too liberal
with a greater potential for exceeding the Angling category quota for
2007. Alternative D2c was not selected because it was considered to be
unnecessarily restrictive, with a greater potential for negative
economic impacts associated with not harvesting the entire quota. In
addition, the D2 subalternatives were not selected since they could
result in perceived inequities between the two sectors of the Angling
category fishery, i.e., due to potential greater fishing opportunities
for charter/headboat anglers than for private vessel anglers.
Alternative D1b was selected because it would allow the landing of
the Angling category quota without overharvesting it, provide
sufficient retention limits to offset costs, reduce any perceived
inequities between the charter/headboat and private recreational vessel
sectors of the Angling category fishery, and provide economic benefits
to all regional sectors of the fishery.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635
Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Foreign relations, Imports,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Treaties.
[[Page 33407]]
Dated: June 11, 2007.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, 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
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. 635.4, paragraph (j)(3) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 635.4 Permits and fees.
* * * * *
(j) * * *
(3) A vessel owner issued an Atlantic tunas permit in the General,
Harpoon, or Trap category or an Atlantic HMS permit in the Angling or
Charter/Headboat category under paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this
section may change the category of the vessel permit once within 10
calendar days of the date of issuance of the permit. After 10 calendar
days from the date of issuance of the permit, the vessel owner may not
change the permit category until the following fishing season, except
during the period of January 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008, when one
additional change is authorized.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 635.27, paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(1) heading,
(a)(1)(i), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4)(i), (a)(5), (a)(6), (a)(7)(i),
(a)(7)(ii), (a)(10)(iii), and (a)(10)(iv) are revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 635.27 Quotas.
(a) BFT. Consistent with ICCAT recommendations, and with paragraph
(a)(10)(iv) of this section, NMFS may subtract the most recent,
complete, and available estimate of dead discards from the annual U.S.
BFT quota, and make the remainder available to be retained, possessed,
or landed by persons and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The
remaining baseline annual U.S. BFT quota will be allocated among the
General, Angling, Harpoon, Purse Seine, Longline, Trap, and Reserve
categories. BFT may be taken by persons aboard vessels issued Atlantic
Tunas permits, HMS Angling permits, or HMS Charter/Headboat permits.
The baseline annual U.S. BFT quota is 1,165.1 mt, not including an
additional annual 25 mt allocation provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section. Allocations of the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota are: General
- 47.1 percent (548.8 mt); Angling - 19.7 percent (229.5 mt), which
includes the school BFT held in reserve as described under paragraph
(a)(7)(ii) of this section; Harpoon - 3.9 percent (45.4 mt); Purse
Seine - 18.6 percent (216.7 mt); Longline - 8.1 percent (94.4 mt),
which does not include the additional annual 25 mt allocation provided
in paragraph (a)(3) of this section; and Trap - 0.1 percent (1.2 mt).
The remaining 2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT
quota will be held in reserve for inseason or annual adjustments based
on the criteria in paragraph (a)(8) of this section. NMFS may apportion
a quota allocated to any category to specified fishing periods or to
geographic areas and will make annual adjustments to quotas, as
specified in paragraph (a)(10) of this section. BFT quotas are
specified in whole weight.
(1) General category quota. * * *
(i) Catches from vessels for which General category Atlantic Tunas
permits have been issued and certain catches from vessels for which an
HMS Charter/Headboat permit has been issued are counted against the
General category quota in accordance with Sec. 635.23(c)(3). The
amount of large medium and giant BFT that may be caught, retained,
possessed, landed, or sold under the General category quota is 47.1
percent (548.8 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota, and is
apportioned as follows:
(A) January 1 through January 31 - 5.3 percent (29.1 mt);
(B) June 1 through August 31 - 50 percent (274.4 mt);
(C) September 1 through September 30 - 26.5 percent (145.4 mt);
(D) October 1 through November 30 - 13 percent (71.3 mt); and
(E) December 1 through December 31 - 5.2 percent (28.5 mt).
* * * * *
(2) Angling category quota. In accordance with the framework
procedures of the HMS FMP, prior to each fishing year or as early as
feasible, NMFS will establish the Angling category daily retention
limits. The total amount of BFT that may be caught, retained,
possessed, and landed by anglers aboard vessels for which an HMS
Angling permit or an HMS Charter/Headboat permit has been issued is
19.7 percent (229.5 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. No more
than 2.3 percent (5.3 mt) of the annual Angling category quota may be
large medium or giant BFT. In addition, over each 4 consecutive-year
period (starting in 2007, inclusive), no more than 10 percent of the
annual U.S. BFT quota, inclusive of the allocation specified in
paragraph (a)(3) of this section, may be school BFT. The Angling
category quota includes the amount of school BFT held in reserve under
paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section. The size class subquotas for BFT
are further subdivided as follows:
(i) After adjustment for the school BFT quota held in reserve
(under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section), 52.8 percent (51.2 mt) of
the school BFT Angling category quota may be caught, retained,
possessed, or landed south of 39[deg]18' N. lat. The remaining school
BFT Angling category quota (45.8 mt) may be caught, retained, possessed
or landed north of 39[deg]18' N. lat.
(ii) An amount equal to 52.8 percent (55.6 mt) of the large school/
small medium BFT Angling category quota may be caught, retained,
possessed, or landed south of 39[deg]18' N. lat. The remaining large
school/small medium BFT Angling category quota (49.6 mt) may be caught,
retained, possessed or landed north of 39[deg]18' N. lat.
(iii) An amount equal to 66.7 percent (3.5 mt) of the large medium
and giant BFT Angling category quota may be caught, retained,
possessed, or landed south of 39[deg]18' N. lat. The remaining large
medium and giant BFT Angling category quota (1.8 mt) may be caught,
retained, possessed or landed north of 39[deg]18' N. lat.
(3) Longline category quota. The total amount of large medium and
giant BFT that may be caught incidentally and retained, possessed, or
landed by vessels that possess Longline category Atlantic Tunas permits
is 8.1 percent (94.4 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. No more
than 60.0 percent of the Longline category quota may be allocated for
landing in the area south of 31[deg]00' N. lat. In addition, 25 mt
shall be allocated for incidental catch by pelagic longline vessels
fishing in the Northeast Distant gear restricted area as specified at
Sec. 635.23 (f)(3).
(4) * * *
(i) The total amount of large medium and giant BFT that may be
caught, retained, possessed, or landed by vessels that possess Purse
Seine category Atlantic Tunas permits is 18.6 percent (216.7 mt) of the
baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. The directed purse seine fishery for
BFT commences on July 15 of each year unless NMFS takes action to delay
the season start date. Based on cumulative and projected landings in
other commercial fishing categories, and the potential for gear
conflicts on the fishing grounds or market impacts due to oversupply,
NMFS may delay the BFT purse seine season start date from July 15 to no
later than August 15 by filing an adjustment
[[Page 33408]]
with the Office of the Federal Register prior to July 1.
* * * * *
(5) Harpoon category quota. The total amount of large medium and
giant BFT that may be caught, retained, possessed, landed, or sold by
vessels that possess Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas permits is 3.9
percent (45.4 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. The Harpoon
category fishery closes on November 15 each year.
(6) Trap category quota. The total amount of large medium and giant
BFT that may be caught, retained, possessed, or landed by vessels that
possess Trap category Atlantic Tunas permits is 0.1 percent (1.2 mt) of
the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota.
(7) * * *
(i) The total amount of BFT that is held in reserve for inseason or
annual adjustments and fishery-independent research using quotas or
subquotas is 2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. BFT
quota. Consistent with paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS may
allocate any portion of this reserve for inseason or annual adjustments
to any category quota in the fishery.
(ii) The total amount of school BFT that is held in reserve for
inseason or annual adjustments and fishery-independent research is 18.5
percent (22 mt) of the total school BFT Angling category quota as
described under paragraph (a)(2) of this section. This is in addition
to the amounts specified in paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section.
Consistent with paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS may allocate any
portion of the school BFT Angling category quota held in reserve for
inseason or annual adjustments to the Angling category.
* * * * *
(10) * * *
(iii) Regardless of the estimated landings in any year, NMFS may
adjust the annual school BFT quota to ensure that the average take of
school BFT over each 4 consecutive-year period beginning in the 2007
fishing year does not exceed 10 percent by weight of the total annual
U.S. BFT quota, inclusive of the allocation specified in paragraph
(a)(3) of this section, for that period.
(iv) NMFS may subtract the best available estimate of dead discards
from the amount of BFT that can be landed in the subsequent fishing
year by those categories accounting for the dead discards.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E7-11630 Filed 6-15-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
