82 FR 60680 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 245 (December 22, 2017)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 245 (December 22, 2017)
| Page Range | 60680-60682 | |
| FR Document | 2017-27648 |
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 60680-60682] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2017-27648] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 635 [Docket No. 150121066-5717-02] RIN 0648-XF890 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 General category bluefin tuna quota transfer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 14.3 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the 24.3-mt General category December 2018 subquota 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 first). 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 with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. DATES: Effective January 1, 2018, through March 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 part 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. 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. 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 14.3 mt From the December Subquota to the January Subquota 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 by tuna dealers provide NMFS with 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 in December 2017 and 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)). Without a quota transfer from December 2018 to January 2018 for the General category at this time, the quota available for the January period would be 24.7 mt (5.3 percent of the General category quota), and participants would have to stop BFT fishing activities once that amount is met, while commercial-sized BFT may remain available in the areas where General category permitted vessels operate. Transferring 14.3 mt of the 24.3-mt quota available for December 2018 (with 24.3 mt representing 5.2 percent of the General category quota) would result in 39 mt (8.4 percent of the General category quota) being available for the January subquota period. This quota transfer would provide additional opportunities to harvest the U.S. BFT quota without exceeding it, while preserving the opportunity for General category fishermen to participate in the winter BFT fishery at both the beginning and end of the calendar year. Regarding the projected ability of the vessels fishing under the particular [[Page 60681]] 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 considered General category landings over the last several years. General category landings in the winter BFT fishery tend to straddle the calendar year as BFT may be available in late November/December and into January of the following year or later. Landings are highly variable and depend on access to commercial-sized BFT and fishing conditions, among other factors. Any unused General category quota from the January subperiod that remains as of March 31 will roll forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., the June-August time period). In 2017, NMFS transferred 16.3 mt of quota from the December 2017 subquota to the January 2017 subquota period, resulting in a subquota of 41 mt for the January 2017 period and a subquota of 8 mt for the December 2017 period (81 FR 91873, December 19, 2016). NMFS also transferred 40 mt from the Reserve to the General category effective March 2, resulting in an adjusted subquota of 81 mt for the January 2017 period (82 FR 12747, March 7, 2017). Under a three-fish General category daily retention limit (i.e., of large medium or giant BFT, measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length (CFL) or greater) effective January 1 through March 4, a total of 68.6 mt were landed. Under a one-fish daily retention limit effective March 5 through March 29, when NMFS closed the General category, an additional 39.1 mt were landed, for a total of 107.7 mt for the January subquota period (82 FR 12747, March 7, 2017; 82 FR 16136, April 3, 2017). 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. 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)). 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. 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, even with the quota transfer. 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). In 2017, NMFS closed the General category fishery several times to prevent further overharvest of the adjusted General category quota, specifically August 16 for the June through August subquota period (82 FR 39047, August 17, 2017); September 17 for the September subquota period (82 FR 43711, September 19, 2017); October 4 for the October through November subquota period (82 FR 46934, October 10, 2017); and December 6 for the December subquota period (82 FR 57885, December 8, 2017). General category landings were relatively high in the summer and fall of 2017, due to a combination of fish availability, favorable fishing conditions, and higher daily retention limits in June through early August (i.e., four fish June 1 through August 4 (82 FR 22616, May 17, 2017), and two fish August 5 through August 16 (82 FR 36689, August 7, 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, consider the expected increases in available 2018 quota later in the year, and provide a reasonable opportunity to harvest the full U.S. BFT quota. Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 14.3 mt of the 24.3-mt General category quota allocated for the December 2018 period to the January 2018 period, resulting in a subquota of 39 mt for the January 2018 period and a subquota of 10 mt for the December 2018 period. NMFS will close the General category fishery when the adjusted January period subquota of 39 mt has been reached, or it will close automatically on March 31, 2018, whichever comes first, and it will remain closed until the General category fishery reopens on June 1, 2018. 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. Under Sec. 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the daily retention limit of large medium and giant bluefin tuna over a range of zero to a maximum of five per vessel based on consideration of the relevant criteria provided under Sec. 635.27(a)(8). However, at this time, NMFS is maintaining the default daily retention limit of one large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip (Sec. 635.23(a)(2)) for the January 2018 General category fishery. Regardless of the duration of a fishing trip, no more than a single day's retention limit may be possessed, retained, or landed. For example (and specific to the limit that will apply beginning January 1, 2018), whether a vessel fishing under the General category limit takes a two-day trip or makes two trips in one day, the daily limit of one fish may not be [[Page 60682]] exceeded upon landing. This General category retention limit is effective in all areas, except for the Gulf of Mexico, where NMFS prohibits targeting fishing for BFT, and applies to those vessels permitted in the General category, as well as to those HMS Charter/ Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT fishing commercially for BFT. For information regarding the CHB commercial sale endorsement, see 82 FR 57543, December 6, 2017. 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 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 January 2018 subquota period at this time is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as NMFS could not have proposed this action earlier, as it needed to consider and respond to updated data and information from the 2017 General category fishery, including the recently-available December 2017 data, in deciding to transfer a portion of the December 2018 quota to the January 2018 subquota. If NMFS was to offer a public comment period now, after having appropriately considered that data, it could preclude fishermen from harvesting BFT that are legally available consistent with all of the regulatory criteria, and/or could result in selection of a retention limit inappropriately high for the amount of quota available for the period. 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 these reasons, there also is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness. This action is being taken under Sec. 635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq. Dated: December 19, 2017. Emily H. Menashes, Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2017-27648 Filed 12-20-17; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
![60680 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 245 / Friday, December 22, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
Inquiries, and Requests for Dispute (commercial) permitted vessels and 1,058.79 mt to 1,247.86 mt) and
Assistance.’’ As required by the Privacy Highly Migratory Species (HMS) subquotas for 2018 (including an
Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Commission also Charter/Headboat category permitted expected increase in General category
published a SORN, FCC/CGB–1 vessels with a commercial sale quota from 466.7 mt to 555.7 mt,
‘‘Informal Complaints, Inquiries, and endorsement when fishing consistent with the annual BFT quota
Requests for Dispute Assistance’’ in the commercially for BFT. calculation process established in
Federal Register on August 15, 2014, DATES: Effective January 1, 2018, Amendment 7), domestic
published at 79 FR 48152, which through March 31, 2018. implementation of that recommendation
became effective on September 24, 2014. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: will take place in a separate rulemaking,
Privacy Impact Assessment: Yes. Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, likely to be finalized in mid-2018.
Needs and Uses: On February 19, 978–281–9260. Transfer of 14.3 mt From the December
2016, the Commission adopted the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Subquota to the January Subquota
Second Report and Order, amending its Regulations implemented under the
rules to allocate the responsibilities of Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the
authority of the Atlantic Tunas authority to transfer quota among
VPDs and video programmers with Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et
respect to the provision and quality of fishing categories or subcategories, after
seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery considering regulatory determination
closed captioning. The Commission Conservation and Management Act
took the following actions, among criteria provided under § 635.27(a)(8).
(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 NMFS has considered all of the relevant
others: et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by
(a) Revised the procedures for determination criteria and their
persons and vessels subject to U.S. applicability to this inseason quota.
receiving, serving, and addressing jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part
television closed captioning complaints These considerations include, but are
635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. not limited to, the following:
in accordance with a burden-shifting BFT quota recommended by the Regarding the usefulness of
compliance model; and International Commission for the information obtained from catches in
(b) Established a compliance ladder Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) the particular category for biological
for the Commission’s television closed and as implemented by the United sampling and monitoring of the status of
captioning quality requirements. States among the various domestic the stock (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological
Federal Communications Commission. fishing categories, per the allocations samples collected from BFT landed by
Marlene H. Dortch, established in the 2006 Consolidated General category fishermen and
Secretary, Office of the Secretary. Highly Migratory Species Fishery provided by tuna dealers provide NMFS
[FR Doc. 2017–27556 Filed 12–21–17; 8:45 am] Management Plan (2006 Consolidated with valuable parts and data for ongoing
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2, scientific studies of BFT age and
2006), as amended by Amendment 7 to growth, migration, and reproductive
the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP status.
(Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December NMFS also considered the catches of
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 2, 2014). NMFS is required under ATCA the General category quota to date
National Oceanic and Atmospheric and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to (including in December 2017 and during
Administration provide U.S. fishing vessels with a the winter fishery in the last several
reasonable opportunity to harvest the years), and the likelihood of closure of
50 CFR Part 635 ICCAT-recommended quota. that segment of the fishery if no
The base quota for the General adjustment is made (§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii)).
[Docket No. 150121066–5717–02] category is 466.7 mt. See § 635.27(a). Without a quota transfer from December
Each of the General category time 2018 to January 2018 for the General
RIN 0648–XF890
periods (January, June through August, category at this time, the quota available
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; September, October through November, for the January period would be 24.7 mt
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries and December) is allocated a (5.3 percent of the General category
‘‘subquota’’ or portion of the annual quota), and participants would have to
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries General category quota. Although it is stop BFT fishing activities once that
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and called the ‘‘January’’ subquota, the amount is met, while commercial-sized
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), regulations allow the General category BFT may remain available in the areas
Commerce. fishery under this quota to continue where General category permitted
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason until the subquota is reached or March vessels operate. Transferring 14.3 mt of
General category bluefin tuna quota 31, whichever comes first. The the 24.3-mt quota available for
transfer. subquotas for each time period are as December 2018 (with 24.3 mt
follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt representing 5.2 percent of the General
SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 14.3 for June through August; 123.7 mt for category quota) would result in 39 mt
metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna September; 60.7 mt for October through (8.4 percent of the General category
(BFT) quota from the 24.3-mt General November; and 24.3 mt for December. quota) being available for the January
category December 2018 subquota to the Any unused General category quota subquota period. This quota transfer
January 2018 subquota period (from rolls forward within the fishing year, would provide additional opportunities
January 1 through March 31, 2018, or which coincides with the calendar year, to harvest the U.S. BFT quota without
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
until the available subquota for this from one time period to the next, and exceeding it, while preserving the
period is reached, whichever comes is available for use in subsequent time opportunity for General category
first). This action is based on periods. fishermen to participate in the winter
consideration of the regulatory Although the 2017 ICCAT BFT fishery at both the beginning and
determination criteria regarding recommendation regarding western BFT end of the calendar year.
inseason adjustments and applies to management would result in an increase Regarding the projected ability of the
Atlantic tunas General category to the baseline U.S. BFT quota (i.e., from vessels fishing under the particular
VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:04 Dec 21, 2017 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\22DER1.SGM 22DER1](https://thefederalregister.org/doc/82_FR_60925/page/1.svg)
![60682 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 245 / Friday, December 22, 2017 / Rules and Regulations
exceeded upon landing. This General consistent with all of the regulatory catch limits to account for previous
category retention limit is effective in all criteria, and/or could result in selection overages, finalize the 2018 black sea
areas, except for the Gulf of Mexico, of a retention limit inappropriately high bass specifications, and inform the
where NMFS prohibits targeting fishing for the amount of quota available for the public of projected scup specifications
for BFT, and applies to those vessels period. Therefore, the AA finds good for the 2019 fishing year.
permitted in the General category, as cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive DATES: Effective December 22, 2017,
well as to those HMS Charter/Headboat prior notice and the opportunity for through December 31, 2018.
permitted vessels with a commercial public comment. For these reasons,
sale endorsement when fishing there also is good cause under 5 U.S.C. ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications
commercially for BFT fishing 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in document, including the Environmental
commercially for BFT. For information effectiveness. Assessment (EA), are available on
regarding the CHB commercial sale This action is being taken under request from Dr. Christopher M. Moore,
endorsement, see 82 FR 57543, § 635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
December 6, 2017. review under Executive Order 12866. Fishery Management Council, Suite 201,
Depending on the level of fishing 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801
effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS et seq. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
may determine that additional action Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(e.g., quota adjustment, daily retention Dated: December 19, 2017.
(978) 281–9244.
limit adjustment, or closure) is Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
necessary to ensure available subquotas
are not exceeded or to enhance Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. General Background
scientific data collection from, and [FR Doc. 2017–27648 Filed 12–20–17; 4:15 pm]
fishing opportunities in, all geographic BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
Scup, summer flounder, and black sea
areas. If needed, subsequent bass are jointly managed by the Mid-
adjustments will be published in the Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Federal Register. In addition, fishermen DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
may call the Atlantic Tunas Information Commission as part of the Summer
Line at (978) 281–9260, or access National Oceanic and Atmospheric Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on Administration Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This
quota monitoring and inseason action implements revised scup
adjustments. 50 CFR Part 648 specifications for the 2018 fishing year
and announces projected 2019 scup
Classification [Docket No. 170828822–70999–02]
specifications. This rule also revises the
The Assistant Administrator for RIN 0648–XF669 2018 summer flounder commercial
NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable annual catch limit (ACL) and
and contrary to the public interest to Fisheries of the Northeastern United subsequent state commercial quotas to
provide prior notice of, and an States; Summer Flounder, Scup, Black account for an ACL overage in 2016,
opportunity for public comment on, this Sea Bass Fisheries; 2018 and consistent with the FMP and
action for the following reasons: Projected 2019 Scup Specifications regulations. The previously projected
The regulations implementing the and Announcement of Final 2018 2018 black sea bass specifications (82
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass FR 24078; May 25 2017) are announced
amendments provide for inseason Specifications as final in this action.
retention limit adjustments to respond AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Final Scup Specifications
to the unpredictable nature of BFT Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
availability on the fishing grounds, the Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Background on how the Council
migratory nature of this species, and the Commerce. derived the 2018 and 2019 scup
regional variations in the BFT fishery. ACTION: Final rule.
specifications was outlined in the
Affording prior notice and opportunity proposed rule (82 FR 51594; November
for public comment to implement the SUMMARY: NMFS issues revised scup 7, 2017) and is not repeated here. We
quota transfer for the January 2018 specifications for the 2018 fishing year are implementing the 2018 final and
subquota period at this time is and projected specifications for 2019. 2019 projected scup specifications as
impracticable and contrary to the public Additionally, this action implements a proposed.
interest as NMFS could not have summer flounder accountability The 2018 and 2019 annual catch
proposed this action earlier, as it needed measure for 2018. These actions are targets (ACTs) implemented by this final
to consider and respond to updated data necessary to comply with regulations rule are based on the 2019 acceptable
and information from the 2017 General implementing the Summer Flounder, biological catch (ABC) and setting the
category fishery, including the recently- Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery ACLs for 2019 equal to the ACTs. The
available December 2017 data, in Management Plan, and to ensure resulting 2018 commercial quota is 38
deciding to transfer a portion of the compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens percent higher than what is currently in
December 2018 quota to the January Fishery Conservation and Management place for 2018. Similarly, the resulting
2018 subquota. If NMFS was to offer a Act. This rule is intended to revise the 2018 recreational harvest limit is 41
public comment period now, after 2018 scup catch limits based on percent higher. This rule makes no
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
having appropriately considered that updated scientific information to afford changes to the commercial scup
data, it could preclude fishermen from more opportunity to obtain optimum management measures (e.g., mesh
harvesting BFT that are legally available yield, update the summer flounder requirements, fishery seasons, etc.).
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Document Created: 2017-12-22 00:34:09
Document Modified: 2017-12-22 00:34:09
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Rules and Regulations | |
| Action | Temporary rule; inseason General category bluefin tuna quota transfer. | |
| Dates | Effective January 1, 2018, through March 31, 2018. | |
| Contact | Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 978- 281-9260. | |
| FR Citation | 82 FR 60680 | |
| RIN Number | 0648-XF89 |
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