Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; General Category Fishery, 9232-9235 [2018-04397]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 43 / Monday, March 5, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
paragraph (g) of this section, the
prohibitions against ex parte
communications apply following the
issuance of a notice of proposed
rulemaking. The prohibitions in covered
proceedings continue until the
proceeding is no longer subject to
administrative reconsideration under 49
U.S.C. 1322(c) or judicial review.
(e) Procedure required of Board
Members and Board staff upon receipt
of prohibited ex parte communications.
(1) Any Board Member, hearing officer,
or Board employee who receives an ex
parte communication not permitted by
these regulations must promptly
transmit either the written
communication, or a written summary
of the oral communication with an
outline of the surrounding
circumstances to the Chief, Section of
Administration, Office of Proceedings,
Surface Transportation Board. The
Section Chief shall promptly place the
written material or summary in the
correspondence section of the public
docket of the proceeding with a
designation indicating that it is a
prohibited ex parte communication that
is not part of the decisional record.
(2) Any Board Member, hearing
officer, or Board employee who is the
recipient of such ex parte
communication may request a ruling
from the Board’s Designated Agency
Ethics Official as to whether the
communication is a prohibited ex parte
communication. The Designated Agency
Ethics Official shall promptly reply to
such requests. The Chief, Section of
Administration, Office of Proceedings,
shall promptly notify the Chairman of
the Board of such ex parte
communications sent to the Section
Chief. The Designated Agency Ethics
Official shall promptly notify the
Chairman of all requests for rulings sent
to the Designated Agency Ethics
Official. The Chairman may require that
any communication be placed in the
correspondence section of the docket
when fairness requires that it be made
public, even if it is not a prohibited
communication. The Chairman may
direct the taking of such other action as
may be appropriate under the
circumstances.
(f) * * *
(3) The Board may censure, suspend,
dismiss, or institute proceedings to
suspend or dismiss any Board employee
who knowingly and willfully violates
the rules in this section.
(g) Ex parte communications in
informal rulemaking proceedings;
disclosure requirements. (1)
Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of this
section, ex parte communications with
Board Members in informal rulemaking
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proceedings are permitted after the
issuance of a notice of proposed
rulemaking and until 20 days before the
deadline for reply comments set forth in
the notice of proposed rulemaking,
unless otherwise specified by the Board
in procedural orders governing the
proceeding. The Board may delegate its
participation in such ex parte
communications to Board staff. All such
ex parte communications must be
disclosed in accordance with paragraph
(g)(4) of this section. Any person who
engages in such ex parte
communications must comply with any
schedule and additional instructions
provided by the Board in the
proceeding. Communications that do
not comply with this section or with the
schedule and instructions established in
the proceeding are not permitted and
are subject to the procedures and
sanctions in paragraphs (e) and (f) of
this section.
(2) To schedule ex parte meetings
permitted under paragraph (g)(1) of this
section, parties should contact the
Board’s Office of Public Assistance,
Governmental Affairs, and Compliance
or the Board Member office with whom
the meeting is requested, unless
otherwise specified by the Board.
(3) Parties seeking to present
confidential information during an ex
parte communication must inform the
Board of the confidentiality of the
information at the time of the
presentation and must comply with the
disclosure requirements in paragraph
(g)(4)(iv) of this section.
(4) The following disclosure
requirements apply to ex parte
communications permitted under
paragraph (g)(1) of this section:
(i) Any person who engages in ex
parte communications in an informal
rulemaking proceeding shall submit to
the Board Member office or delegated
Board staff with whom the meeting was
held a memorandum that states the date
and location of the communication; lists
the names and titles of all persons who
attended (including via phone or video)
or otherwise participated in the meeting
during which the ex parte
communication occurred; and
summarizes the data and arguments
presented during the ex parte
communication. Any written or
electronic material shown or given to
Board Members or Board staff during
the meeting must be attached to the
memorandum.
(ii) Memoranda must be sufficiently
detailed to describe the substance of the
presentation. Board Members or Board
staff may ask presenters to resubmit
memoranda that are not sufficiently
detailed.
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(iii) If a single meeting includes
presentations from multiple parties,
counsel, or persons, a single summary
may be submitted so long as all
presenters agree to the form and content
of the summary.
(iv) If a memorandum, including any
attachments, contains information that
the presenter asserts is confidential, the
presenter must submit a public version
and a confidential version of the
memorandum. If there is no existing
protective order governing the
proceeding, the presenter must, at the
same time the presenter submits its
public and redacted memoranda, file a
request with the Board seeking such an
order pursuant to § 1104.14 of this
chapter.
(v) Memoranda must be submitted to
the Board in the manner prescribed no
later than two business days after the ex
parte communication.
(vi) Ex parte memoranda submitted
under this section will be posted on the
Board’s website in the docket for the
informal rulemaking proceeding within
five days of submission. If a presenter
has requested confidential treatment for
all or part of a memorandum, only the
public version will appear on the
Board’s website. Persons seeking access
to the confidential version must do so
pursuant to the protective order
governing the proceeding.
[FR Doc. 2018–04411 Filed 3–2–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 150121066–5717–02]
RIN 0648–XG061
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries;
General Category Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; General
category January fishery for 2018;
inseason bluefin tuna quota transfer and
closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS transfers 10 metric
tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT)
quota from the Reserve category to the
January 2018 subquota period (from
January 1 through March 31, 2018, or
until the available subquota for this
period is reached, whichever comes
SUMMARY:
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first) and closes the General category
fishery for large medium and giant BFT
until the General category reopens on
June 1, 2018. The quota transfer 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 with a commercial sale
endorsement when fishing
commercially for BFT. The intent of the
closure is to prevent overharvest of the
available General category January 2018
BFT subquota as adjusted in this action.
DATES: The quota transfer is effective
February 28, 2018, through March 2,
2018. The closure is effective 11:30
p.m., local time, March 2, 2018, through
May 31, 2018.
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 635.
Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. BFT
quota recommended by the
International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
and as implemented by the United
States 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 Amendment 7 to
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP
(Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December
2, 2014). NMFS 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.
NMFS is required, under regulations
at § 635.28(a)(1), to file a closure notice
for publication with the Office of the
Federal Register when a BFT quota is
reached or is projected to be reached.
On and after the effective date and time
of such notification, for the remainder of
the fishing year or for a specified period
as indicated in the notification,
retaining, possessing, or landing BFT
under that quota category is prohibited
until the opening of the subsequent
quota period or until such date as
specified in the notice.
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The base quota for the General
category is 466.7 mt. See § 635.27(a).
Each of the General category time
periods (January, June through August,
September, October through November,
and December) is allocated a
‘‘subquota’’ or 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. The
subquotas for each time period are as
follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt
for June through August; 123.7 mt for
September; 60.7 mt for October through
November; and 24.3 mt for December.
Any unused General category quota
rolls forward within the fishing year,
which coincides with the calendar year,
from one time period to the next, and
is available for use in subsequent time
periods. Effective January 1, 2017,
NMFS transferred 14.3 mt of the 24.3mt General category quota allocated for
the December 2018 period to the
January 2018 period, resulting in an
adjusted subquota of 39 mt for the
January period and a subquota of 10 mt
for the December 2017 period (82 FR
60680, December 22, 2017).
Although the 2017 ICCAT
recommendation regarding western BFT
management would result in an increase
to the baseline U.S. BFT quota (i.e., from
1,058.79 mt to 1,247.86 mt) and
subquotas for 2018 (including an
expected increase in General category
quota from 466.7 mt to 555.7 mt,
consistent with the annual BFT quota
calculation process established in
Amendment 7), domestic
implementation of that recommendation
will take place in a separate rulemaking,
likely to be finalized in mid-2018.
Transfer of 10 mt From the Reserve
Category to the General Category
Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the
authority to transfer quota among
fishing categories or subcategories, after
considering regulatory determination
criteria provided under § 635.27(a)(8).
NMFS has considered all of the relevant
determination criteria and their
applicability to this inseason quota.
These considerations include, but are
not limited to, the following:
Regarding the usefulness of
information obtained from catches in
the particular category for biological
sampling and monitoring of the status of
the stock (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological
samples collected from BFT landed by
General category fishermen and
provided to researchers by tuna dealers
give NMFS valuable parts and data for
ongoing scientific studies of BFT age
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9233
and growth, migration, and reproductive
status.
NMFS also considered the catches of
the General category quota to date
(including during the winter fishery in
the last several years), and the
likelihood of closure of that segment of
the fishery if no adjustment is made
(§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii)). As of February 26,
2018, the General category landed 31.3
mt (80 percent) of its adjusted January
2018 subquota of 39 mt. Although this
Notice also closes the fishery, without a
quota transfer, closure may have been
necessary sooner or the subquota
category could have exceeded its
available quota, while some quota is
available in the Reserve category and
while commercial-sized bluefin tuna
may remain available in the areas where
General category permitted vessels
operate at this time of year. Transferring
10 mt of quota from the Reserve
category would result in 49 mt being
available for the January fishery, thus
providing limited additional
opportunities to harvest the U.S. bluefin
tuna quota while avoiding exceeding it.
Regarding the projected ability of the
vessels fishing under the particular
category quota (here, the General
category) to harvest the additional
amount of BFT before the end of the
fishing year (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS
anticipates that all of the 10 mt of qutoa
will be used by March 2, based on
current figures and the relatively small
amount of quota being transferred. In
the unlikely event that any of this quota
is unused, by March 31, such quota will
roll forward to the next subperiod
within the calendar year (i.e., the June–
August time period), and NMFS
anticipates that it would be used before
the end of the fishing year.
NMFS also considered the estimated
amounts by which quotas for other gear
categories of the fishery might be
exceeded (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the
ability to account for all 2018 landings
and dead discards. In the last several
years, total U.S. BFT landings have been
below the available U.S. quota such that
the United States has carried forward
the maximum amount of underharvest
allowed by ICCAT from one year to the
next. In 2016 and 2017, the General
category exceeded its adjusted quota
(discussed below) but sufficient quota
was available to cover the exceedance
without affecting the other categories.
NMFS will need to account for 2018
landings and dead discards within the
adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with
ICCAT recommendations, and
anticipates having sufficient quota to do
that, even with the 10 mt transfer to the
General category for the January fishery.
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This transfer would be consistent
with the current quotas, which were
established and analyzed in the 2015
BFT quota final rule (80 FR 52198,
August 28, 2015), and with objectives of
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
amendments. (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)).
At this time, there is a relatively small
amount of quota in the Reserve category
available to transfer to other categories
or use for scientific research and for
prudent responsive management. In the
past, we have conducted the annual
reallocation of unused Purse Seine
category quota to the Reserve category
earlier in the year, which resulted in
more Reserve category quota available at
this time of year. Even if more quota
were available, however, we likely
would limit the amount of transferred
quota, given considerations related to
prudent longer-term management for all
categories of the fishery this year.
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 (related to
§ 635.27(a)(8)(x)).
NMFS also anticipates that some
underharvest of the 2017 adjusted U.S.
BFT quota will be carried forward to
2018 and placed in the Reserve
category, in accordance with the
regulations, later this year. This, in
addition to the fact that any unused
General category quota will roll forward
to the next subperiod within the
calendar year, as well as the anticipated
increase in the U.S. quota and subquotas
for 2018 as a result of ICCAT
recommendations and NMFS’ plan to
actively manage the subquotas to avoid
any exceedances, makes it likely that
General category quota will remain
available through the end of 2018 for
December fishery participants, after the
fishery re-opens later this year. NMFS
also may choose to transfer unused
quota from the Reserve or other
categories, inseason, based on
consideration of the determination
criteria, as NMFS did for late 2017 (i.e.,
transferred 156.4 mt from the Reserve
category, effective October 1, 2017 (82
FR 46000, October 3, 2017)), and later
transferred another 25.6 mt from the
Harpoon category, effective December 1
(82 FR 55520, November 22, 2017).
NMFS anticipates that General category
participants in all areas and time
periods will have opportunities to
harvest the General category quota in
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2018, through active inseason
management such as retention limit
adjustments and/or the timing of quota
transfers, as practicable. Thus, this
quota transfer would allow fishermen to
take advantage of the availability of fish
on the fishing grounds to the extent
consistent with the available amount
transferrable quota and other
management objectives, while avoiding
quota exceedance.
Based on the considerations above,
NMFS is transferring 10 mt of the 24.8mt Reserve category quota to the
General category for the January 2018
fishery, resulting in a subquota of 49 mt
for the January 2018 fishery and 14.8 mt
in the Reserve category.
Closure of the January 2018 General
Category Fishery
Based on the best available bluefin
tuna General category landings
information (i.e., 31.3 mt landed as of
February 26, 2018) as well as average
catch rates and anticipated fishing
conditions, NMFS projects that the
General category January subquota of 49
mt, as adjusted in this action, will be
reached by March 2, 2018, and that the
fishery should be closed to avoid
exceedance of the enhanced quota.
Through this action, we are closing the
General category bluefin tuna fishery
effective 11:30 p.m., March 2, 2018,
through May 31, 2018. The fishery will
reopen on June 1, 2018, with a quota of
233.3 mt available for the June through
August time period. Therefore,
retaining, possessing, or landing large
medium or giant BFT by persons aboard
vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas
General and HMS Charter/Headboat
categories must cease at 11:30 p.m. local
time on March 2, 2018. The General
category will reopen automatically on
June 1, 2018, for the June through
August 2018 subquota period. This
action applies to Atlantic tunas General
category (commercial) permitted vessels
and Highly Migratory Species (HMS)
Charter/Headboat category permitted
vessels when fishing commercially for
BFT, and is taken consistent with the
regulations at § 635.28(a)(1). The intent
of this closure is to prevent overharvest
of the available General category
January BFT subquota.
Fishermen may catch and release (or
tag and release) BFT of all sizes, subject
to the requirements of the catch-andrelease and tag-and-release programs at
§ 635.26. All BFT that are released must
be handled in a manner that will
maximize their survival, and without
removing the fish from the water,
consistent with requirements at
§ 635.21(a)(1). For additional
information on safe handling, see the
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‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ brochure
available at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/
hms/.
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. Late
reporting by dealers compromises
NMFS’ ability to timely implement
actions such as quota and retention
limit adjustment, as well as closures,
and may result in enforcement actions.
Additionally, and separate from the
dealer reporting requirement, General
and HMS Charter/Headboat category
vessel owners are required to report the
catch of all BFT retained or discarded
dead within 24 hours of the landing(s)
or end of each trip, by accessing
hmspermits.noaa.gov or by using the
HMS Catch Reporting App.
Depending on the level of fishing
effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS
may determine that additional action
(e.g., quota adjustment, daily retention
limit adjustment, or closure) is
necessary to ensure available subquotas
are 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) 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 quota
transfers and fishery closures to respond
to the unpredictable nature of BFT
availability on the fishing grounds, the
migratory nature of this species, and the
regional variations in the BFT fishery.
These fisheries are currently underway
and the currently available quota for the
subcategory is projected to be reached
shortly. Affording prior notice and
opportunity for public comment to
implement the quota transfer is
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest as such a delay would likely
result in exceedance of the General
category January fishery subquota or
earlier closure of the fishery while fish
are available on the fishing grounds.
Subquota exceedance may result in the
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need to reduce quota for the General
category later in the year and thus could
affect later fishing opportunities.
Therefore, the AA finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior
notice and the opportunity for public
comment. For all of the above reasons,
there also is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
This action is being taken under
§§ 635.27(a)(9) and 635.28(a)(1), and is
exempt from review under Executive
Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801
et seq.
Dated: February 28, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–04397 Filed 2–28–18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 170817779–8161–02]
RIN 0648–XG048
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of
Pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Temporary rule.
NMFS is reallocating the
projected unused amounts of the Aleut
Corporation’s and the Community
Development Quota pollock directed
fishing allowances from the Aleutian
Islands subarea to the Bering Sea
subarea directed fisheries. These actions
are necessary to provide opportunity for
harvest of the 2018 total allowable catch
of pollock, consistent with the goals and
objectives of the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area.
DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local
time (A.l.t.), February 28, 2018, until
2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
manages the groundfish fishery in the
BSAI exclusive economic zone
according to the Fishery Management
Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands Management Area
(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (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 the Aleutian Islands subarea, the
portion of the 2018 pollock total
allowable catch (TAC) allocated to the
Aleut Corporation’s directed fishing
allowance (DFA) is 14,700 metric tons
(mt) and the Community Development
Quota (CDQ) DFA is 1,900 mt as
established by the final 2018 and 2019
harvest specifications for groundfish in
SUMMARY:
9235
the BSAI (83 FR 8369, February 27,
2018) .
As of February 27, 2018, the
Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS,
(Regional Administrator) has
determined that 12,200 mt of Aleut
Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of
pollock CDQ DFA in the Aleutian
Islands subarea will not be harvested.
Therefore, in accordance with
§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(4), NMFS
reallocates 12,200 mt of Aleut
Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of
pollock CDQ DFA from the Aleutian
Islands subarea to the 2018 Bering Sea
subarea allocations. The 1,900 mt of
pollock CDQ DFA is added to the 2018
Bering Sea CDQ DFA. The remaining
12,200 mt of pollock is apportioned to
the AFA Inshore sector (50 percent),
AFA catcher/processor sector (40
percent), and the AFA mothership
sector (10 percent). The 2018 Bering Sea
subarea pollock incidental catch
allowance remains at 47,888 mt. As a
result, the 2018 harvest specifications
for pollock in the Aleutian Islands
subarea included in the final 2018 and
2019 harvest specifications for
groundfish in the BSAI (83 FR 8369,
February 27, 2018) are revised as
follows: 2,500 mt to Aleut Corporation’s
DFA and 0 mt to CDQ DFA.
Furthermore, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5),
Table 4 of the final 2018 and 2019
harvest specifications for groundfish in
the BSAI (83 FR 8369, February 27,
2018) is revised to make 2018 pollock
allocations consistent with this
reallocation. This reallocation results in
adjustments to the 2018 Aleut
Corporation and CDQ pollock
allocations established at § 679.20(a)(5).
TABLE 4—FINAL 2018 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ
DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1
[Amounts are in metric tons]
2018 A season 1
Area and sector
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A season DFA
Bering Sea subarea TAC 1 ......................................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................
ICA 1 .........................................................................................
Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA .............................................
AFA Inshore .............................................................................
AFA Catcher/Processors 3 .......................................................
Catch by C/Ps ..................................................................
Catch by CVs 3 .................................................................
Unlisted C/P Limit 4 ...........................................................
AFA Motherships .....................................................................
Excessive Harvesting Limit 5 ....................................................
Excessive Processing Limit 6 ...................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea ABC .................................................
Aleutian Islands subarea TAC 1 ...............................................
CDQ DFA .................................................................................
ICA ...........................................................................................
Aleut Corporation .....................................................................
Area harvest limit 7 ...................................................................
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Jkt 244001
2018 B season 1
2018 Allocations
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1,378,441
138,334
47,888
1,192,219
596,109
476,888
436,352
40,535
2,384
119,222
208,638
357,666
40,788
4,900
0
2,400
2,500
n/a
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
SCA harvest limit 2
n/a
62,250
n/a
536,499
268,249
214,599
196,358
18,241
1,073
53,650
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
1,200
2,500
n/a
E:\FR\FM\05MRR1.SGM
n/a
38,734
n/a
333,821
166,911
133,529
n/a
n/a
n/a
33,382
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
05MRR1
B season DFA
n/a
76,084
n/a
655,720
327,860
262,288
239,994
22,294
1,311
65,572
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0
1,200
0
n/a
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9232-9235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04397]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XG061
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
Fisheries; General Category Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; General category January fishery for 2018;
inseason bluefin tuna quota transfer and closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS transfers 10 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna
(BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the January 2018 subquota
period (from January 1 through March 31, 2018, or until the available
subquota for this period is reached, whichever comes
[[Page 9233]]
first) and closes the General category fishery for large medium and
giant BFT until the General category reopens on June 1, 2018. The quota
transfer 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 with a
commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. The
intent of the closure is to prevent overharvest of the available
General category January 2018 BFT subquota as adjusted in this action.
DATES: The quota transfer is effective February 28, 2018, through March
2, 2018. The closure is effective 11:30 p.m., local time, March 2,
2018, through May 31, 2018.
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
635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. BFT quota recommended by the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
and as implemented by the United States 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
Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (Amendment 7) (79 FR
71510, December 2, 2014). NMFS 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.
NMFS is required, under regulations at Sec. 635.28(a)(1), to file
a closure notice for publication with the Office of the Federal
Register when a BFT quota is reached or is projected to be reached. On
and after the effective date and time of such notification, for the
remainder of the fishing year or for a specified period as indicated in
the notification, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT under that
quota category is prohibited until the opening of the subsequent quota
period or until such date as specified in the notice.
The base quota for the General category is 466.7 mt. See Sec.
635.27(a). Each of the General category time periods (January, June
through August, September, October through November, and December) is
allocated a ``subquota'' or 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. The
subquotas for each time period are as follows: 24.7 mt for January;
233.3 mt for June through August; 123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt for
October through November; and 24.3 mt for December. Any unused General
category quota rolls forward within the fishing year, which coincides
with the calendar year, from one time period to the next, and is
available for use in subsequent time periods. Effective January 1,
2017, NMFS transferred 14.3 mt of the 24.3-mt General category quota
allocated for the December 2018 period to the January 2018 period,
resulting in an adjusted subquota of 39 mt for the January period and a
subquota of 10 mt for the December 2017 period (82 FR 60680, December
22, 2017).
Although the 2017 ICCAT recommendation regarding western BFT
management would result in an increase to the baseline U.S. BFT quota
(i.e., from 1,058.79 mt to 1,247.86 mt) and subquotas for 2018
(including an expected increase in General category quota from 466.7 mt
to 555.7 mt, consistent with the annual BFT quota calculation process
established in Amendment 7), domestic implementation of that
recommendation will take place in a separate rulemaking, likely to be
finalized in mid-2018.
Transfer of 10 mt From the Reserve Category to the General Category
Under Sec. 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the authority to transfer quota
among fishing categories or subcategories, after considering regulatory
determination criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8). NMFS has
considered all of the relevant determination criteria and their
applicability to this inseason quota. These considerations include, but
are not limited to, the following:
Regarding the usefulness of information obtained from catches in
the particular category for biological sampling and monitoring of the
status of the stock (Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological samples
collected from BFT landed by General category fishermen and provided to
researchers by tuna dealers give NMFS valuable parts and data for
ongoing scientific studies of BFT age and growth, migration, and
reproductive status.
NMFS also considered the catches of the General category quota to
date (including during the winter fishery in the last several years),
and the likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no
adjustment is made (Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(ii)). As of February 26, 2018,
the General category landed 31.3 mt (80 percent) of its adjusted
January 2018 subquota of 39 mt. Although this Notice also closes the
fishery, without a quota transfer, closure may have been necessary
sooner or the subquota category could have exceeded its available
quota, while some quota is available in the Reserve category and while
commercial-sized bluefin tuna may remain available in the areas where
General category permitted vessels operate at this time of year.
Transferring 10 mt of quota from the Reserve category would result in
49 mt being available for the January fishery, thus providing limited
additional opportunities to harvest the U.S. bluefin tuna quota while
avoiding exceeding it.
Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the
particular category quota (here, the General category) to harvest the
additional amount of BFT before the end of the fishing year (Sec.
635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS anticipates that all of the 10 mt of qutoa
will be used by March 2, based on current figures and the relatively
small amount of quota being transferred. In the unlikely event that any
of this quota is unused, by March 31, such quota will roll forward to
the next subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., the June-August time
period), and NMFS anticipates that it would be used before the end of
the fishing year.
NMFS also considered the estimated amounts by which quotas for
other gear categories of the fishery might be exceeded (Sec.
635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the ability to account for all 2018 landings and
dead discards. In the last several years, total U.S. BFT landings have
been below the available U.S. quota such that the United States has
carried forward the maximum amount of underharvest allowed by ICCAT
from one year to the next. In 2016 and 2017, the General category
exceeded its adjusted quota (discussed below) but sufficient quota was
available to cover the exceedance without affecting the other
categories. NMFS will need to account for 2018 landings and dead
discards within the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with ICCAT
recommendations, and anticipates having sufficient quota to do that,
even with the 10 mt transfer to the General category for the January
fishery.
[[Page 9234]]
This transfer would be consistent with the current quotas, which
were established and analyzed in the 2015 BFT quota final rule (80 FR
52198, August 28, 2015), and with objectives of the 2006 Consolidated
HMS FMP and amendments. (Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). At this time,
there is a relatively small amount of quota in the Reserve category
available to transfer to other categories or use for scientific
research and for prudent responsive management. In the past, we have
conducted the annual reallocation of unused Purse Seine category quota
to the Reserve category earlier in the year, which resulted in more
Reserve category quota available at this time of year. Even if more
quota were available, however, we likely would limit the amount of
transferred quota, given considerations related to prudent longer-term
management for all categories of the fishery this year. 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 (related to Sec. 635.27(a)(8)(x)).
NMFS also anticipates that some underharvest of the 2017 adjusted
U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward to 2018 and placed in the
Reserve category, in accordance with the regulations, later this year.
This, in addition to the fact that any unused General category quota
will roll forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year, as
well as the anticipated increase in the U.S. quota and subquotas for
2018 as a result of ICCAT recommendations and NMFS' plan to actively
manage the subquotas to avoid any exceedances, makes it likely that
General category quota will remain available through the end of 2018
for December fishery participants, after the fishery re-opens later
this year. NMFS also may choose to transfer unused quota from the
Reserve or other categories, inseason, based on consideration of the
determination criteria, as NMFS did for late 2017 (i.e., transferred
156.4 mt from the Reserve category, effective October 1, 2017 (82 FR
46000, October 3, 2017)), and later transferred another 25.6 mt from
the Harpoon category, effective December 1 (82 FR 55520, November 22,
2017). NMFS anticipates that General category participants in all areas
and time periods will have opportunities to harvest the General
category quota in 2018, through active inseason management such as
retention limit adjustments and/or the timing of quota transfers, as
practicable. Thus, this quota transfer would allow fishermen to take
advantage of the availability of fish on the fishing grounds to the
extent consistent with the available amount transferrable quota and
other management objectives, while avoiding quota exceedance.
Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 10 mt of
the 24.8-mt Reserve category quota to the General category for the
January 2018 fishery, resulting in a subquota of 49 mt for the January
2018 fishery and 14.8 mt in the Reserve category.
Closure of the January 2018 General Category Fishery
Based on the best available bluefin tuna General category landings
information (i.e., 31.3 mt landed as of February 26, 2018) as well as
average catch rates and anticipated fishing conditions, NMFS projects
that the General category January subquota of 49 mt, as adjusted in
this action, will be reached by March 2, 2018, and that the fishery
should be closed to avoid exceedance of the enhanced quota. Through
this action, we are closing the General category bluefin tuna fishery
effective 11:30 p.m., March 2, 2018, through May 31, 2018. The fishery
will reopen on June 1, 2018, with a quota of 233.3 mt available for the
June through August time period. Therefore, retaining, possessing, or
landing large medium or giant BFT by persons aboard vessels permitted
in the Atlantic tunas General and HMS Charter/Headboat categories must
cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on March 2, 2018. The General category
will reopen automatically on June 1, 2018, for the June through August
2018 subquota period. This action applies to Atlantic tunas General
category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species
(HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels when fishing
commercially for BFT, and is taken consistent with the regulations at
Sec. 635.28(a)(1). The intent of this closure is to prevent
overharvest of the available General category January BFT subquota.
Fishermen may catch and release (or tag and release) BFT of all
sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-
and-release programs at Sec. 635.26. All BFT that are released must be
handled in a manner that will maximize their survival, and without
removing the fish from the water, consistent with requirements at Sec.
635.21(a)(1). For additional information on safe handling, see the
``Careful Catch and Release'' brochure available at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/.
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. Late reporting by dealers compromises NMFS' ability to
timely implement actions such as quota and retention limit adjustment,
as well as closures, and may result in enforcement actions.
Additionally, and separate from the dealer reporting requirement,
General and HMS Charter/Headboat category vessel owners are required to
report the catch of all BFT retained or discarded dead within 24 hours
of the landing(s) or end of each trip, by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov
or by using the HMS Catch Reporting App.
Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT,
NMFS may determine that additional action (e.g., quota adjustment,
daily retention limit adjustment, or closure) is necessary to ensure
available subquotas are 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) 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 quota transfers and fishery closures to
respond to the unpredictable nature of BFT availability on the fishing
grounds, the migratory nature of this species, and the regional
variations in the BFT fishery. These fisheries are currently underway
and the currently available quota for the subcategory is projected to
be reached shortly. Affording prior notice and opportunity for public
comment to implement the quota transfer is impracticable and contrary
to the public interest as such a delay would likely result in
exceedance of the General category January fishery subquota or earlier
closure of the fishery while fish are available on the fishing grounds.
Subquota exceedance may result in the
[[Page 9235]]
need to reduce quota for the General category later in the year and
thus could affect later fishing opportunities. Therefore, the AA finds
good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment. For all of the above reasons, there
also is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
This action is being taken under Sec. Sec. 635.27(a)(9) and
635.28(a)(1), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 28, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-04397 Filed 2-28-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
