Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries, 68265-68267 [2015-28070]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 213 / Wednesday, November 4, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
Risks and Safety Risks’’ (62 FR 19885,
April 23, 1997). This final rule does not
contain any information collections
subject to OMB approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), nor does it require
any special considerations under
Executive Order 12898, entitled
‘‘Federal Actions to Address
Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low-Income
Populations’’ (59 FR 7629, February 16,
1994).
Since tolerances and exemptions that
are established on the basis of a petition
under FFDCA section 408(d), such as
the tolerance in this final rule, do not
require the issuance of a proposed rule,
the requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et
seq.), do not apply.
This final rule directly regulates
growers, food processors, food handlers,
and food retailers, not States or tribes,
nor does this action alter the
relationships or distribution of power
and responsibilities established by
Congress in the preemption provisions
of FFDCA section 408(n)(4). As such,
the Agency has determined that this
action will not have a substantial direct
effect on States or tribal governments,
on the relationship between the national
government and the States or tribal
governments, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities among the
various levels of government or between
the Federal Government and Indian
tribes. Thus, the Agency has determined
that Executive Order 13132, entitled
‘‘Federalism’’ (64 FR 43255, August 10,
1999) and Executive Order 13175,
entitled ‘‘Consultation and Coordination
with Indian Tribal Governments’’ (65 FR
67249, November 9, 2000) do not apply
to this final rule. In addition, this final
rule does not impose any enforceable
duty or contain any unfunded mandate
as described under Title II of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(UMRA) (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).
This action does not involve any
technical standards that would require
Agency consideration of voluntary
consensus standards pursuant to section
12(d) of the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(NTTAA) (15 U.S.C. 272 note).
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VII. Congressional Review Act
Pursuant to the Congressional Review
Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), EPA will
submit a report containing this rule and
other required information to the U.S.
Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller
General of the United States prior to
publication of the rule in the Federal
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:40 Nov 03, 2015
Jkt 238001
Register. This action is not a ‘‘major
rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180
Environmental protection,
Administrative practice and procedure,
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides
and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: October 21, 2015.
G. Jeffrey Herndon,
Director, Registration Division, Office of
Pesticide Programs.
Therefore, 40 CFR chapter I is
amended as follows:
PART 180—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 180
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346a and 371.
2. In § 180.454, revise paragraph (a)
introductory text and add alphabetically
the following commodities to the table
and revise paragraph (b) to read as
follows:
■
§ 180.454 Nicosulfuron; tolerances for
residues.
(a) General. Tolerances are
established for residues of the herbicide
nicosulfuron, including its metabolites
and degradates, in or on the
commodities in the following table.
Compliance with the tolerance levels
specified in the following table is to be
determined by measuring only
nicosulfuron, 2-[[[[(4,6-dimethoxy-2pyrimidinyl)amino]carbonyl]amino]
sulfonyl]-N,N-dimethyl-3-pyridine
carboxamide.
68265
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 150121066–5717–02]
RIN 0648–XE242
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota
transfer.
AGENCY:
NMFS is transferring 35
metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna
(BFT) quota from the Harpoon category
and 65 mt from the Reserve category to
the General category for the remainder
of the 2015 fishing year. This transfer
results in adjusted quotas of 566.7 mt,
43.6 mt and 82.1 mt for the General,
Harpoon, and Reserve categories,
respectively. This action is based on
consideration of the regulatory
determination criteria regarding
inseason adjustments and applies to
Atlantic tunas General category
(commercial) permitted vessels and
Highly Migratory Species (HMS)
Charter/Headboat category permitted
vessels when fishing commercially for
BFT.
SUMMARY:
Effective October 30, 2015
through December 31, 2015.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale,
978–281–9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations implemented under the
Parts per
authority of the Atlantic Tunas
Commodity
million
Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et
seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
*
*
*
*
*
Sorghum, grain, forage .............
0.3 (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801
Sorghum, grain, grain ...............
0.8 et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by
Sorghum, grain, stover .............
0.05 persons and vessels subject to U.S.
jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part
635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S.
(b) Section 18 emergency exemptions.
BFT quota recommended by the
[Reserved]
International Commission for the
*
*
*
*
*
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
[FR Doc. 2015–27887 Filed 11–3–15; 8:45 am]
among the various domestic fishing
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
categories, per the allocations
established in the 2006 Consolidated
Highly Migratory Species Fishery
Management Plan (2006 Consolidated
HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2,
2006), as amended by the recently
published Amendment 7 to the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7)
(79 FR 71510, December 2, 2014). NMFS
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 213 / Wednesday, November 4, 2015 / Rules and Regulations
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is required under ATCA and the
Magnuson-Stevens Act to provide U.S.
fishing vessels with a reasonable
opportunity to harvest the ICCATrecommended quota.
This paragraph describes the current
General, Harpoon, and Reserve category
quotas, prior to the adjustments taken in
this inseason action. NMFS recently
implemented a final rule that increased
the U.S. BFT quota and subquotas per
ICCAT Recommendation 14–05 (80 FR
52198, August 28, 2015). The base
quotas for the General category, the
Harpoon category, and the Reserve
category are 466.7 mt, 38.6 mt, and 24.8
mt, respectively. See § 635.27(a). Each of
the General category time periods
(January, June through August,
September, October through November,
and December) is allocated a portion of
the annual General category quota.
Although it is called the ‘‘January’’
subquota, the regulations allow the
General category fishery under this
quota to continue until the subquota is
reached or March 31, whichever comes
first. Based on the General category
quota of 466.7 mt, the subquotas for
each time period are as follows: 24.7 mt
for January; 233.3 mt for June through
August; 123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt
for October through November; and 24.3
mt for December. Any unused General
category quota rolls forward within the
fishing year, which coincides with the
calendar year, from one time period to
the next, and is available for use in
subsequent time periods. To date,
NMFS has published three inseason
quota transfers that have adjusted the
available 2015 Reserve category quota,
which currently is 147.1 mt (80 FR
7547, February 22, 2015; 80 FR 45098,
July 29, 2015; and 80 FR 46516, August
5, 2015). The adjusted Harpoon category
quota, following transfer of 40 mt from
the Reserve category in the third of the
above three inseason transfers as well as
implementation of the final BFT quota
rule, is 78.6 mt.
Inseason Transfer
The 2015 General category fishery
was open January 1, 2015, through
March 31, 2015, reopened June 1, 2015,
and remains open until December 31,
2015, or until the General category
quota is reached, whichever comes first.
Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the
authority to transfer quota among
fishing categories or subcategories, after
considering determination criteria
provided under § 635.27(a)(8), including
the five new criteria recently added in
Amendment 7, which include: The
usefulness of information obtained from
catches in the particular category for
biological sampling and monitoring of
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Jkt 238001
the status of the stock; the catches of the
particular category quota to date and the
likelihood of closure of that segment of
the fishery if no adjustment is made; the
projected ability of the vessels fishing
under the particular category quota to
harvest the additional amount of BFT
before the end of the fishing year; the
estimated amounts by which quotas for
other gear categories of the fishery might
be exceeded; effects of the adjustment
on BFT rebuilding and overfishing;
effects of the adjustment on
accomplishing the objectives of the
fishery management plan; variations in
seasonal distribution, abundance, or
migration patterns of BFT; effects of
catch rates in one area precluding
vessels in another area from having a
reasonable opportunity to harvest a
portion of the category’s quota; review
of dealer reports, daily landing trends,
and the availability of the BFT on the
fishing grounds; optimizing fishing
opportunity; accounting for dead
discards, facilitating quota monitoring,
supporting other fishing monitoring
programs through quota allocations and/
or generation of revenue; and support of
research through quota allocations and/
or generation of revenue.
NMFS has considered the
determination criteria regarding
inseason adjustments and their
applicability to the General category
fishery for the end of 2015. These
considerations include, but are not
limited to, the following: Biological
samples collected from BFT landed by
General category fishermen and
provided by tuna dealers continue to
provide NMFS with valuable parts and
data for ongoing scientific studies of
BFT age and growth, migration, and
reproductive status. Additional
opportunity to land BFT would support
the collection of a broad range of data
for these studies and for stock
monitoring purposes. Another principal
consideration is the objective of
providing opportunities to harvest the
full annual U.S. BFT quota without
exceeding it based on the goals of the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
Amendment 7, including to achieve
optimum yield on a continuing basis
and to optimize the ability of all permit
categories to harvest their full BFT
quota allocations. General category
landings in the winter BFT fishery,
which typically begins in December or
January each year, are highly variable
and depend on availability of
commercial-sized BFT to participants.
Commercial-sized BFT continue to be
landed by General category vessels.
As of October 27, 2015, the General
category has landed 458.8 mt, or 98
percent of its 2015 quota of 466.7 mt.
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Without a quota transfer at this time,
NMFS would have to close the 2015
General category fishery as the currently
available General category quota would
be reached shortly. Overall,
approximately 68 percent of the
commercial BFT subquotas of 836.5 mt
has been harvested. Approximately 90
mt of the Purse Seine and Harpoon
categories may remain unused and
activity in those categories has stopped
for the year. NMFS will need to account
for 2015 landings and dead discards
within the adjusted U.S. quota,
consistent with ICCAT
recommendations, and anticipates
having sufficient quota to do that even
with this transfer.
This quota transfer would provide
additional opportunities to harvest the
U.S. bluefin quota without exceeding it,
while preserving the opportunity for
General category fishermen to
participate in the winter BFT fishery.
This action is consistent with the quotas
recently established and analyzed in the
BFT tuna quota final rule (80 FR 52198,
August 28, 2015), and consistent with
objectives of the 2006 Consolidated
HMS FMP and Amendments, and is not
expected to negatively impact stock
health.
Based on the considerations above,
NMFS is transferring 35 mt of Harpoon
category quota and 65 mt of Reserve
category quota to the General category
for the remainder of 2015, resulting in
adjusted quotas of 566.7 mt, 43.6 mt and
82.1 mt for the General, Harpoon, and
Reserve categories, respectively. NMFS
will close the 2015 General category
fishery when the adjusted General
category quota of 566.7 mt has been
reached, or it will close automatically
on December 31, 2015.
Monitoring and Reporting
NMFS will continue to monitor the
BFT fishery closely. Dealers are required
to submit landing reports within 24
hours of a dealer receiving BFT.
General, HMS Charter/Headboat,
Harpoon, and Angling category vessel
owners are required to report the catch
of all BFT retained or discarded dead,
within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end
of each trip, by accessing
hmspermits.noaa.gov. Depending on the
level of fishing effort and catch rates of
BFT, NMFS may determine that
additional adjustment or closure is
necessary to ensure available quota is
not exceeded or to enhance scientific
data collection from, and fishing
opportunities in, all geographic areas. If
needed, subsequent adjustments will be
published in the Federal Register. In
addition, fishermen may call the
Atlantic Tunas Information Line at (978)
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281–9260, or access
hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on
quota monitoring and inseason
adjustments.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Classification
50 CFR Part 679
The Assistant Administrator for
NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable
and contrary to the public interest to
provide prior notice of, and an
opportunity for public comment on, this
action for the following reasons:
The regulations implementing the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
Amendments provide for inseason
retention limit adjustments to respond
to the unpredictable nature of BFT
availability on the fishing grounds, the
migratory nature of this species, and the
regional variations in the BFT fishery.
Affording prior notice and
opportunity for public comment to
implement the quota transfer for the
remainder of 2015 is impracticable as it
would preclude NMFS from acting
promptly to allow continued harvest of
BFT that are available on the fishing
grounds via a quota transfer from the
Harpoon and Reserve categories to the
General category. The delay would
preclude the fishery from harvesting
BFT that are available on the fishing
grounds and that might otherwise
become unavailable during a delay.
Therefore, the AA finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior
notice and the opportunity for public
comment. For all of the above reasons,
there is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
This action is being taken under
§ 635.27(a)(9) and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
[Docket No. 140918791–4999–02]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801
et seq.
Dated: October 30, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–28070 Filed 10–30–15; 4:15 pm]
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BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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Jkt 238001
RIN 0648–XE296
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Sablefish in the West
Yakutat District of the Gulf of Alaska
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS is prohibiting retention
of sablefish by vessels using trawl gear
in the West Yakutat District of the Gulf
of Alaska (GOA). This action is
necessary because the 2015 total
allowable catch of sablefish allocated to
vessels using trawl gear in the West
Yakutat District of the GOA will be
reached.
DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska
local time (A.l.t.), October 30, 2015,
through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31,
2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Josh
Keaton, 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.
The 2015 total allowable catch (TAC)
of sablefish allocated to vessels using
trawl gear in the West Yakutat District
of the GOA is 220 metric tons (mt) as
established by the final 2015 and 2016
harvest specifications for groundfish of
the GOA (80 FR 10250, February 25,
2015).
SUMMARY:
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68267
In accordance with § 679.20(d)(2), the
Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS
(Regional Administrator), has
determined that the 2015 TAC of
sablefish allocated to vessels using trawl
gear in the West Yakutat District of the
GOA will be reached. Therefore, NMFS
is requiring that sablefish caught by
vessels using trawl gear in the West
Yakutat District of the GOA be treated
as prohibited species in accordance
with § 679.21(b).
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 prohibiting the retention of
sablefish by vessels using trawl gear in
the West Yakutat District 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 October 28,
2015.
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 § 679.21 and is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 30, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–28071 Filed 10–30–15; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 213 (Wednesday, November 4, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68265-68267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28070]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XE242
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota transfer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 35 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin
tuna (BFT) quota from the Harpoon category and 65 mt from the Reserve
category to the General category for the remainder of the 2015 fishing
year. This transfer results in adjusted quotas of 566.7 mt, 43.6 mt and
82.1 mt for the General, Harpoon, and Reserve categories, respectively.
This action is based on consideration of the regulatory determination
criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas
General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory
Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing
commercially for BFT.
DATES: Effective October 30, 2015 through December 31, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 978-
281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented under the authority
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by
persons and vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR
part 635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. BFT quota recommended by
the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT) among the various domestic fishing categories, per the
allocations established in the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory
Species Fishery Management Plan (2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) (71 FR
58058, October 2, 2006), as amended by the recently published Amendment
7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December
2, 2014). NMFS
[[Page 68266]]
is required under ATCA and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to provide U.S.
fishing vessels with a reasonable opportunity to harvest the ICCAT-
recommended quota.
This paragraph describes the current General, Harpoon, and Reserve
category quotas, prior to the adjustments taken in this inseason
action. NMFS recently implemented a final rule that increased the U.S.
BFT quota and subquotas per ICCAT Recommendation 14-05 (80 FR 52198,
August 28, 2015). The base quotas for the General category, the Harpoon
category, and the Reserve category are 466.7 mt, 38.6 mt, and 24.8 mt,
respectively. See Sec. 635.27(a). Each of the General category time
periods (January, June through August, September, October through
November, and December) is allocated a portion of the annual General
category quota. Although it is called the ``January'' subquota, the
regulations allow the General category fishery under this quota to
continue until the subquota is reached or March 31, whichever comes
first. Based on the General category quota of 466.7 mt, the subquotas
for each time period are as follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt for
June through August; 123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt for October
through November; and 24.3 mt for December. Any unused General category
quota rolls forward within the fishing year, which coincides with the
calendar year, from one time period to the next, and is available for
use in subsequent time periods. To date, NMFS has published three
inseason quota transfers that have adjusted the available 2015 Reserve
category quota, which currently is 147.1 mt (80 FR 7547, February 22,
2015; 80 FR 45098, July 29, 2015; and 80 FR 46516, August 5, 2015). The
adjusted Harpoon category quota, following transfer of 40 mt from the
Reserve category in the third of the above three inseason transfers as
well as implementation of the final BFT quota rule, is 78.6 mt.
Inseason Transfer
The 2015 General category fishery was open January 1, 2015, through
March 31, 2015, reopened June 1, 2015, and remains open until December
31, 2015, or until the General category quota is reached, whichever
comes first.
Under Sec. 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota
among fishing categories or subcategories, after considering
determination criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8), including the
five new criteria recently added in Amendment 7, which include: The
usefulness of information obtained from catches in the particular
category for biological sampling and monitoring of the status of the
stock; the catches of the particular category quota to date and the
likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no adjustment
is made; the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the
particular category quota to harvest the additional amount of BFT
before the end of the fishing year; the estimated amounts by which
quotas for other gear categories of the fishery might be exceeded;
effects of the adjustment on BFT rebuilding and overfishing; effects of
the adjustment on accomplishing the objectives of the fishery
management plan; variations in seasonal distribution, abundance, or
migration patterns of BFT; effects of catch rates in one area
precluding vessels in another area from having a reasonable opportunity
to harvest a portion of the category's quota; review of dealer reports,
daily landing trends, and the availability of the BFT on the fishing
grounds; optimizing fishing opportunity; accounting for dead discards,
facilitating quota monitoring, supporting other fishing monitoring
programs through quota allocations and/or generation of revenue; and
support of research through quota allocations and/or generation of
revenue.
NMFS has considered the determination criteria regarding inseason
adjustments and their applicability to the General category fishery for
the end of 2015. These considerations include, but are not limited to,
the following: Biological samples collected from BFT landed by General
category fishermen and provided by tuna dealers continue to provide
NMFS with valuable parts and data for ongoing scientific studies of BFT
age and growth, migration, and reproductive status. Additional
opportunity to land BFT would support the collection of a broad range
of data for these studies and for stock monitoring purposes. Another
principal consideration is the objective of providing opportunities to
harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota without exceeding it based on
the goals of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendment 7, including
to achieve optimum yield on a continuing basis and to optimize the
ability of all permit categories to harvest their full BFT quota
allocations. General category landings in the winter BFT fishery, which
typically begins in December or January each year, are highly variable
and depend on availability of commercial-sized BFT to participants.
Commercial-sized BFT continue to be landed by General category vessels.
As of October 27, 2015, the General category has landed 458.8 mt,
or 98 percent of its 2015 quota of 466.7 mt. Without a quota transfer
at this time, NMFS would have to close the 2015 General category
fishery as the currently available General category quota would be
reached shortly. Overall, approximately 68 percent of the commercial
BFT subquotas of 836.5 mt has been harvested. Approximately 90 mt of
the Purse Seine and Harpoon categories may remain unused and activity
in those categories has stopped for the year. NMFS will need to account
for 2015 landings and dead discards within the adjusted U.S. quota,
consistent with ICCAT recommendations, and anticipates having
sufficient quota to do that even with this transfer.
This quota transfer would provide additional opportunities to
harvest the U.S. bluefin quota without exceeding it, while preserving
the opportunity for General category fishermen to participate in the
winter BFT fishery. This action is consistent with the quotas recently
established and analyzed in the BFT tuna quota final rule (80 FR 52198,
August 28, 2015), and consistent with objectives of the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and Amendments, and is not expected to negatively
impact stock health.
Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 35 mt of
Harpoon category quota and 65 mt of Reserve category quota to the
General category for the remainder of 2015, resulting in adjusted
quotas of 566.7 mt, 43.6 mt and 82.1 mt for the General, Harpoon, and
Reserve categories, respectively. NMFS will close the 2015 General
category fishery when the adjusted General category quota of 566.7 mt
has been reached, or it will close automatically on December 31, 2015.
Monitoring and Reporting
NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely. Dealers are
required to submit landing reports within 24 hours of a dealer
receiving BFT. General, HMS Charter/Headboat, Harpoon, and Angling
category vessel owners are required to report the catch of all BFT
retained or discarded dead, within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end of
each trip, by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov. Depending on the level of
fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS may determine that
additional adjustment or closure is necessary to ensure available quota
is not exceeded or to enhance scientific data collection from, and
fishing opportunities in, all geographic areas. If needed, subsequent
adjustments will be published in the Federal Register. In addition,
fishermen may call the Atlantic Tunas Information Line at (978)
[[Page 68267]]
281-9260, or access hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on quota
monitoring and inseason adjustments.
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for NMFS (AA) finds that it is
impracticable and contrary to the public interest to provide prior
notice of, and an opportunity for public comment on, this action for
the following reasons:
The regulations implementing the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
Amendments provide for inseason retention limit adjustments to respond
to the unpredictable nature of BFT availability on the fishing grounds,
the migratory nature of this species, and the regional variations in
the BFT fishery.
Affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment to
implement the quota transfer for the remainder of 2015 is impracticable
as it would preclude NMFS from acting promptly to allow continued
harvest of BFT that are available on the fishing grounds via a quota
transfer from the Harpoon and Reserve categories to the General
category. The delay would preclude the fishery from harvesting BFT that
are available on the fishing grounds and that might otherwise become
unavailable during a delay. Therefore, the AA finds good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the opportunity for public
comment. For all of the above reasons, there is good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.
This action is being taken under Sec. 635.27(a)(9) and is exempt
from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 30, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-28070 Filed 10-30-15; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
