83_FR_51053 83 FR 50857 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

83 FR 50857 - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 196 (October 10, 2018)

Page Range50857-50859
FR Document2018-21991

NMFS transfers 55 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota to the General category October through November 2018 subquota period (40 mt from the Harpoon category and 15 mt from the Reserve category) and closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant BFT until the General category reopens on December 1, 2018. The quota transfer is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. Given that the adjusted quota is projected to be caught quickly, the closure is to prevent overharvest of the adjusted General category October through November 2018 BFT subquota.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 196 (Wednesday, October 10, 2018)
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 10, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50857-50859]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21991]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XG534


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; General category October-November fishery for 
2018; inseason bluefin tuna quota transfer and closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS transfers 55 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna 
(BFT) quota to the General category October through November 2018 
subquota period (40 mt from the Harpoon category and 15 mt from the 
Reserve category) and closes the General category fishery for large 
medium and giant BFT until the General category reopens on December 1, 
2018. The quota transfer is intended to provide additional fishing 
opportunities based on consideration of the regulatory determination 
criteria regarding inseason adjustments and applies to Atlantic tunas 
General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Atlantic Highly 
Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels 
with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT. 
Given that the adjusted quota is projected to be caught quickly, the 
closure is to prevent overharvest of the adjusted General category 
October through November 2018 BFT subquota.

DATES: The quota transfer is effective October 4, 2018, through 
November 30, 2018. The closure is effective 11:30 p.m., local time, 
October 5, 2018, through November 30, 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.
    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 current baseline General and Reserve category quotas are 466.7 
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 ``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. To date for 2018, NMFS has published four actions that have 
adjusted the available 2018 Reserve category quota, leaving 18.5 mt 
currently available (83 FR 9232, March 5, 2018; 83 FR 17110, April 18, 
2018; 83 FR 38664, August 7, 2018; and 83 FR 47843, September 21, 
2018). In the Harpoon category, the base annual subquota was 38.6 mt 
but was adjusted to 68.6 mt with a transfer of 30 mt from the Reserve 
category in August 2018 (83 FR 38664, August 7, 2018). The category has 
had no landings since the August transfer.
    Although NMFS has published a proposed rule (83 FR 31517, July 6, 
2018) that would increase the baseline U.S. bluefin tuna quota from 
1,058.79 mt to 1,247.86 mt and accordingly increase the subquotas for 
2018 (including an expected increase in the General category October 
through November time period subquota from 60.7 mt to 72.2 mt, 
consistent with the annual bluefin tuna quota calculation process 
established in Sec.  635.27(a)), the final rule (the ``quota rule'') 
has not yet filed for public inspection with the Office of the Federal 
Register and is not yet effective.

[[Page 50858]]

Transfer of 55 mt 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 transfer. 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 
bluefin tuna dealers continue to provide valuable data for ongoing 
scientific studies of bluefin tuna age and growth, migration, and 
reproductive status. Additional opportunity to land bluefin tuna in the 
General category would support the continued collection of a broad 
range of data for these studies and for stock monitoring purposes.
    NMFS also considered the catches of the General category quota to 
date and the likelihood of closure of that segment of the fishery if no 
adjustment is made (Sec.  635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)). NMFS anticipates 
that the current October through November subquota of 60.7 mt (72.2 mt 
if the ICCAT quota rule is finalized as proposed) could be reached in a 
few days given the high daily landings rates during the end of the 
September fishery and that commercial-sized bluefin tuna remain 
available in the areas where General category permitted vessels operate 
at this time of year. Without a quota transfer, NMFS would have to 
close the General category fishery for the remainder of the October 
through November subquota period even earlier, while unused quota 
remains in the Harpoon and Reserve categories. Given the lag time 
between initiation of an inseason action and its implementation, 
however, this notification also closes the fishery, as NMFS anticipates 
the transferred quota will be caught quickly. Transferring 55 mt of 
quota (40 mt from the Harpoon category and 15 mt from the Reserve 
category) would result in 115.7 mt being available for the October 
through November 2018 subquota period (127.2 mt if the ICCAT quota rule 
is finalized as proposed), thus effectively 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 additional 55 mt 
of quota will be used by October 5, based on landings rates in the 
September 2018 fishery (as well as in the October through November 
fisheries in recent years), but this is also subject to weather 
conditions and bluefin tuna availability. In the unlikely event that 
any of this quota is unused by November 30, such quota will roll 
forward to the next subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., the 
October through November 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. There have been no landings in the Harpoon 
category since July 31, 2018, and in 2017, only 2.8 mt were landed in 
the Harpoon category after August 31 until the Harpoon category season 
ended November 15. Transferring 40 mt at this time to the Reserve 
category, leaves 2.5 mt (9.9 mt if the quota rule is finalized as 
proposed) a reasonable amount of quota for the small amount of activity 
we anticipate continuing for the remainder of the Harpoon category 
season, based on historic Harpoon category landings.
    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 this 
transfer from the Harpoon and Reserve categories. Given the upcoming 
expected increases in available 2018 quota from the carryover of 2017 
underharvest, the ICCAT quota rule increase, and the resulting 
recalculation of 2018 available Purse Seine category quota and transfer 
to the Reserve category, NMFS anticipates that General category 
participants in all areas and time periods will have opportunities to 
harvest the General category quota in 2018, including the December time 
period.
    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)). Specific to the General 
category, this includes providing opportunity equitably across all time 
periods.
    Based on the considerations above, NMFS is transferring 40 mt of 
Harpoon category quota and 15 mt of Reserve category quota to the 
General category for the October through November subquota period, 
resulting in a subquota of 115.7 mt for the General category October 
through November 2018 subquota period, 28.6 mt for the 2018 Harpoon 
category, and 3.5 mt for the Reserve category. (These amounts would be 
127.2 mt for the General category October through November 2018 
subquota period, 36 mt for the Harpoon category, and 142.9 mt for the 
Reserve category if the ICCAT quota rule is finalized as proposed.)

Closure of the October Through November 2018 General Category Fishery

    Based on landings rates in the September 2018 fishery and the 
October through November fisheries in recent years and anticipated 
fishing conditions, NMFS projects that the General category October 
through November subquota of 115.7 mt, as adjusted in this action, will 
be reached by October 5, 2018, and that the fishery should be closed to 
avoid exceedance of the adjusted quota. Through this action, NMFS is 
closing the General category bluefin tuna fishery effective 11:30 p.m., 
October 5, 2018, through November 30, 2018. Therefore, retaining, 
possessing, or landing large medium or giant BFT by persons aboard 
vessels permitted in the General and HMS Charter/Headboat categories 
must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on October 5, 2018. This action 
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. For information 
regarding the HMS Charter/Headboat commercial sale endorsement, see the 
final rule that created a separate permit endorsement provision for the 
commercial sale of Atlantic HMS by HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders 
(82 FR 57543, December 6, 2017). The

[[Page 50859]]

intent of this closure is to prevent overharvest of the available 
General category October through November BFT subquota.
    The General category will reopen automatically on December 1, 2018, 
for the December 2018 subquota period at the default retention limit 
level of one fish. Currently, the adjusted General category subquota 
for the December 2018 period is 10 mt (see 82 FR 60680, December 22, 
2017), and this amount would be 14.6 mt if the quota rule is finalized 
as proposed.
    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, using the HMS Catch Reporting app, or calling 
(888) 872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.).
    Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, 
NMFS may determine that additional adjustments are 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 adjusted subquota for the General category 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 October through November fishery 
subquota or earlier closure of the fishery while fish are available on 
the fishing grounds. Subquota exceedance may result in the 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: October 4, 2018.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-21991 Filed 10-4-18; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P



                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 10, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                                     50857

                                                                                        EPA-APPROVED ILLINOIS REGULATIONS AND STATUTES—Continued
                                                                                                                               State effective
                                              Illinois citation                         Title/subject                                                             EPA approval date                 Comments
                                                                                                                                    date

                                                        *                           *                          *                     *                            *                      *              *
                                                                                                                           Subpart B: Definitions


                                                     *                           *                          *                          *                         *                  *                   *
                                             211.4720 ........      Pipeline Natural Gas ...................................       3/24/2017         10/10/2018, [Insert Federal Register cita-
                                                                                                                                                       tion].

                                                        *                           *                          *                          *                       *                      *              *



                                             *      *       *         *       *                             DATES:  The quota transfer is effective                    and 24.8 mt, respectively. See
                                             [FR Doc. 2018–21876 Filed 10–9–18; 8:45 am]                    October 4, 2018, through November 30,                      § 635.27(a). Each of the General category
                                             BILLING CODE 6560–50–P                                         2018. The closure is effective 11:30                       time periods (January, June through
                                                                                                            p.m., local time, October 5, 2018,                         August, September, October through
                                                                                                            through November 30, 2018.                                 November, and December) is allocated a
                                             DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                         FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                           ‘‘subquota’’ or portion of the annual
                                                                                                            Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale,                           General category quota. Although it is
                                             National Oceanic and Atmospheric                               978–281–9260.                                              called the ‘‘January’’ subquota, the
                                             Administration                                                 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                                 regulations allow the General category
                                                                                                            Regulations implemented under the                          fishery under this quota to continue
                                             50 CFR Part 635                                                authority of the Atlantic Tunas                            until the subquota is reached or March
                                             [Docket No. 150121066–5717–02]                                 Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et                     31, whichever comes first. The
                                                                                                            seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery                     subquotas for each time period are as
                                             RIN 0648–XG534
                                                                                                            Conservation and Management Act                            follows: 24.7 mt for January; 233.3 mt
                                                                                                            (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801                      for June through August; 123.7 mt for
                                             Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;                                                                                        September; 60.7 mt for October through
                                             Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries                                et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by
                                                                                                            persons and vessels subject to U.S.                        November; and 24.3 mt for December.
                                             AGENCY:   National Marine Fisheries                            jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part                      Any unused General category quota
                                             Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and                           635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S.                    rolls forward within the fishing year,
                                             Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),                             BFT quota recommended by the                               which coincides with the calendar year,
                                             Commerce.                                                      International Commission for the                           from one time period to the next, and
                                                                                                            Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)                     is available for use in subsequent time
                                             ACTION: Temporary rule; General
                                                                                                            and as implemented by the United                           periods. To date for 2018, NMFS has
                                             category October–November fishery for
                                                                                                            States among the various domestic                          published four actions that have
                                             2018; inseason bluefin tuna quota
                                                                                                            fishing categories, per the allocations                    adjusted the available 2018 Reserve
                                             transfer and closure.
                                                                                                            established in the 2006 Consolidated                       category quota, leaving 18.5 mt
                                             SUMMARY:    NMFS transfers 55 metric                           Highly Migratory Species Fishery                           currently available (83 FR 9232, March
                                             tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT)                       Management Plan (2006 Consolidated                         5, 2018; 83 FR 17110, April 18, 2018; 83
                                             quota to the General category October                          HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2,                          FR 38664, August 7, 2018; and 83 FR
                                             through November 2018 subquota                                 2006), as amended by Amendment 7 to                        47843, September 21, 2018). In the
                                             period (40 mt from the Harpoon                                 the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP                              Harpoon category, the base annual
                                             category and 15 mt from the Reserve                            (Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December                       subquota was 38.6 mt but was adjusted
                                             category) and closes the General                               2, 2014). NMFS is required under ATCA                      to 68.6 mt with a transfer of 30 mt from
                                             category fishery for large medium and                          and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to                            the Reserve category in August 2018 (83
                                             giant BFT until the General category                           provide U.S. fishing vessels with a                        FR 38664, August 7, 2018). The category
                                             reopens on December 1, 2018. The quota                         reasonable opportunity to harvest the                      has had no landings since the August
                                             transfer is intended to provide                                ICCAT-recommended quota.                                   transfer.
                                             additional fishing opportunities based                            NMFS is required, under regulations                        Although NMFS has published a
                                             on consideration of the regulatory                             at § 635.28(a)(1), to file a closure notice                proposed rule (83 FR 31517, July 6,
                                             determination criteria regarding                               for publication with the Office of the                     2018) that would increase the baseline
                                             inseason adjustments and applies to                            Federal Register when a BFT quota is                       U.S. bluefin tuna quota from 1,058.79
                                             Atlantic tunas General category                                reached or is projected to be reached.                     mt to 1,247.86 mt and accordingly
                                             (commercial) permitted vessels and                             On and after the effective date and time                   increase the subquotas for 2018
                                             Atlantic Highly Migratory Species                              of such notification, for the remainder of                 (including an expected increase in the
                                             (HMS) Charter/Headboat category                                the fishing year or for a specified period                 General category October through
                                             permitted vessels with a commercial                            as indicated in the notification,                          November time period subquota from
                                             sale endorsement when fishing                                                                                             60.7 mt to 72.2 mt, consistent with the
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES




                                                                                                            retaining, possessing, or landing BFT
                                             commercially for BFT. Given that the                           under that quota category is prohibited                    annual bluefin tuna quota calculation
                                             adjusted quota is projected to be caught                       until the opening of the subsequent                        process established in § 635.27(a)), the
                                             quickly, the closure is to prevent                             quota period or until such date as                         final rule (the ‘‘quota rule’’) has not yet
                                             overharvest of the adjusted General                            specified in the notice.                                   filed for public inspection with the
                                             category October through November                                 The current baseline General and                        Office of the Federal Register and is not
                                             2018 BFT subquota.                                             Reserve category quotas are 466.7 mt                       yet effective.


                                        VerDate Sep<11>2014       16:31 Oct 09, 2018    Jkt 247001   PO 00000      Frm 00053   Fmt 4700       Sfmt 4700   E:\FR\FM\10OCR1.SGM   10OCR1


                                             50858            Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 10, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

                                             Transfer of 55 mt to the General                         category quota (here, the General                     amendments. (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)).
                                             Category                                                 category) to harvest the additional                   Another principal consideration is the
                                                Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the                    amount of BFT before the end of the                   objective of providing opportunities to
                                             authority to transfer quota among                        fishing year (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS              harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota
                                             fishing categories or subcategories, after               anticipates that all of the additional 55             without exceeding it based on the goals
                                             considering regulatory determination                     mt of quota will be used by October 5,                of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and
                                             criteria provided under § 635.27(a)(8).                  based on landings rates in the                        Amendment 7, including to achieve
                                             NMFS has considered all of the relevant                  September 2018 fishery (as well as in                 optimum yield on a continuing basis
                                             determination criteria and their                         the October through November fisheries                and to optimize the ability of all permit
                                             applicability to this inseason quota                     in recent years), but this is also subject            categories to harvest their full BFT
                                                                                                      to weather conditions and bluefin tuna                quota allocations (related to
                                             transfer. These considerations include,
                                                                                                      availability. In the unlikely event that              § 635.27(a)(8)(x)). Specific to the
                                             but are not limited to, the following:
                                                Regarding the usefulness of                           any of this quota is unused by                        General category, this includes
                                             information obtained from catches in                     November 30, such quota will roll                     providing opportunity equitably across
                                             the particular category for biological                   forward to the next subperiod within                  all time periods.
                                                                                                      the calendar year (i.e., the October                     Based on the considerations above,
                                             sampling and monitoring of the status of
                                                                                                      through November period), and NMFS                    NMFS is transferring 40 mt of Harpoon
                                             the stock (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological
                                                                                                      anticipates that it would be used before              category quota and 15 mt of Reserve
                                             samples collected from BFT landed by                                                                           category quota to the General category
                                                                                                      the end of the fishing year.
                                             General category fishermen and                              NMFS also considered the estimated                 for the October through November
                                             provided by bluefin tuna dealers                         amounts by which quotas for other gear                subquota period, resulting in a subquota
                                             continue to provide valuable data for                    categories of the fishery might be                    of 115.7 mt for the General category
                                             ongoing scientific studies of bluefin                    exceeded (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the                 October through November 2018
                                             tuna age and growth, migration, and                      ability to account for all 2018 landings              subquota period, 28.6 mt for the 2018
                                             reproductive status. Additional                          and dead discards. In the last several                Harpoon category, and 3.5 mt for the
                                             opportunity to land bluefin tuna in the                  years, total U.S. BFT landings have been              Reserve category. (These amounts
                                             General category would support the                       below the available U.S. quota such that              would be 127.2 mt for the General
                                             continued collection of a broad range of                 the United States has carried forward                 category October through November
                                             data for these studies and for stock                     the maximum amount of underharvest                    2018 subquota period, 36 mt for the
                                             monitoring purposes.                                     allowed by ICCAT from one year to the                 Harpoon category, and 142.9 mt for the
                                                NMFS also considered the catches of                   next. There have been no landings in                  Reserve category if the ICCAT quota rule
                                             the General category quota to date and                   the Harpoon category since July 31,                   is finalized as proposed.)
                                             the likelihood of closure of that segment                2018, and in 2017, only 2.8 mt were
                                             of the fishery if no adjustment is made                                                                        Closure of the October Through
                                                                                                      landed in the Harpoon category after
                                             (§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)). NMFS                                                                            November 2018 General Category
                                                                                                      August 31 until the Harpoon category
                                             anticipates that the current October                                                                           Fishery
                                                                                                      season ended November 15.
                                             through November subquota of 60.7 mt                     Transferring 40 mt at this time to the                   Based on landings rates in the
                                             (72.2 mt if the ICCAT quota rule is                      Reserve category, leaves 2.5 mt (9.9 mt               September 2018 fishery and the October
                                             finalized as proposed) could be reached                  if the quota rule is finalized as                     through November fisheries in recent
                                             in a few days given the high daily                       proposed) a reasonable amount of quota                years and anticipated fishing
                                             landings rates during the end of the                     for the small amount of activity we                   conditions, NMFS projects that the
                                             September fishery and that commercial-                   anticipate continuing for the remainder               General category October through
                                             sized bluefin tuna remain available in                   of the Harpoon category season, based                 November subquota of 115.7 mt, as
                                             the areas where General category                         on historic Harpoon category landings.                adjusted in this action, will be reached
                                             permitted vessels operate at this time of                   NMFS will need to account for 2018                 by October 5, 2018, and that the fishery
                                             year. Without a quota transfer, NMFS                     landings and dead discards within the                 should be closed to avoid exceedance of
                                             would have to close the General                          adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with                  the adjusted quota. Through this action,
                                             category fishery for the remainder of the                ICCAT recommendations, and                            NMFS is closing the General category
                                             October through November subquota                        anticipates having sufficient quota to do             bluefin tuna fishery effective 11:30 p.m.,
                                             period even earlier, while unused quota                  that, even with this transfer from the                October 5, 2018, through November 30,
                                             remains in the Harpoon and Reserve                       Harpoon and Reserve categories. Given                 2018. Therefore, retaining, possessing,
                                             categories. Given the lag time between                   the upcoming expected increases in                    or landing large medium or giant BFT
                                             initiation of an inseason action and its                 available 2018 quota from the carryover               by persons aboard vessels permitted in
                                             implementation, however, this                            of 2017 underharvest, the ICCAT quota                 the General and HMS Charter/Headboat
                                             notification also closes the fishery, as                 rule increase, and the resulting                      categories must cease at 11:30 p.m. local
                                             NMFS anticipates the transferred quota                   recalculation of 2018 available Purse                 time on October 5, 2018. This action
                                             will be caught quickly. Transferring 55                  Seine category quota and transfer to the              applies to those vessels permitted in the
                                             mt of quota (40 mt from the Harpoon                      Reserve category, NMFS anticipates that               General category, as well as to those
                                             category and 15 mt from the Reserve                      General category participants in all                  HMS Charter/Headboat permitted
                                             category) would result in 115.7 mt being                 areas and time periods will have                      vessels with a commercial sale
                                             available for the October through                        opportunities to harvest the General                  endorsement when fishing
                                             November 2018 subquota period (127.2                     category quota in 2018, including the                 commercially for BFT. For information
                                                                                                                                                            regarding the HMS Charter/Headboat
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                                             mt if the ICCAT quota rule is finalized                  December time period.
                                             as proposed), thus effectively providing                    This transfer would be consistent                  commercial sale endorsement, see the
                                             limited additional opportunities to                      with the current quotas, which were                   final rule that created a separate permit
                                             harvest the U.S. bluefin tuna quota                      established and analyzed in the 2015                  endorsement provision for the
                                             while avoiding exceeding it.                             BFT quota final rule (80 FR 52198,                    commercial sale of Atlantic HMS by
                                                Regarding the projected ability of the                August 28, 2015), and with objectives of              HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders
                                             vessels fishing under the particular                     the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and                     (82 FR 57543, December 6, 2017). The


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                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 10, 2018 / Rules and Regulations                                            50859

                                             intent of this closure is to prevent                     Additionally, and separate from the                   availability on the fishing grounds, the
                                             overharvest of the available General                     dealer reporting requirement, General                 migratory nature of this species, and the
                                             category October through November                        and HMS Charter/Headboat category                     regional variations in the BFT fishery.
                                             BFT subquota.                                            vessel owners are required to report the              These fisheries are currently underway
                                                The General category will reopen                      catch of all BFT retained or discarded                and the adjusted subquota for the
                                             automatically on December 1, 2018, for                   dead within 24 hours of the landing(s)                General category is projected to be
                                             the December 2018 subquota period at                     or end of each trip, by accessing                     reached shortly. Affording prior notice
                                             the default retention limit level of one                 hmspermits.noaa.gov, using the HMS                    and opportunity for public comment to
                                             fish. Currently, the adjusted General                    Catch Reporting app, or calling (888)                 implement the quota transfer is
                                             category subquota for the December                       872–8862 (Monday through Friday from                  impracticable and contrary to the public
                                             2018 period is 10 mt (see 82 FR 60680,                   8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.).                              interest as such a delay would likely
                                             December 22, 2017), and this amount                         Depending on the level of fishing                  result in exceedance of the General
                                             would be 14.6 mt if the quota rule is                    effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS                   category October through November
                                             finalized as proposed.                                   may determine that additional                         fishery subquota or earlier closure of the
                                                Fishermen may catch and release (or                   adjustments are necessary to ensure                   fishery while fish are available on the
                                             tag and release) BFT of all sizes, subject               available subquotas are not exceeded or               fishing grounds. Subquota exceedance
                                             to the requirements of the catch-and-                    to enhance scientific data collection                 may result in the need to reduce quota
                                             release and tag-and-release programs at                  from, and fishing opportunities in, all               for the General category later in the year
                                             § 635.26. All BFT that are released must                 geographic areas. If needed, subsequent               and thus could affect later fishing
                                             be handled in a manner that will                         adjustments will be published in the                  opportunities. Therefore, the AA finds
                                             maximize their survival, and without                     Federal Register. In addition, fishermen              good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to
                                             removing the fish from the water,                        may call the Atlantic Tunas Information               waive prior notice and the opportunity
                                             consistent with requirements at                          Line at (978) 281–9260, or access                     for public comment. For all of the above
                                             § 635.21(a)(1). For additional                           hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on                   reasons, there also is good cause under
                                             information on safe handling, see the                    quota monitoring and inseason                         5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day
                                             ‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ brochure                   adjustments.                                          delay in effectiveness.
                                             available at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/                                                                               This action is being taken under
                                                                                                      Classification
                                             hms/.                                                                                                          §§ 635.27(a)(9) and 635.28(a)(1), and is
                                                                                                         The Assistant Administrator for                    exempt from review under Executive
                                             Monitoring and Reporting                                 NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable              Order 12866.
                                               NMFS will continue to monitor the                      and contrary to the public interest to
                                                                                                                                                               Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801
                                             BFT fishery closely. Dealers are required                provide prior notice of, and an                       et seq.
                                             to submit landing reports within 24                      opportunity for public comment on, this
                                             hours of a dealer receiving BFT. Late                    action for the following reasons:                       Dated: October 4, 2018.
                                             reporting by dealers compromises                            The regulations implementing the                   Margo Schulze-Haugen,
                                             NMFS’ ability to timely implement                        2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and                         Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
                                             actions such as quota and retention                      amendments provide for inseason quota                 Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
                                             limit adjustment, as well as closures,                   transfers and fishery closures to respond             [FR Doc. 2018–21991 Filed 10–4–18; 4:15 pm]
                                             and may result in enforcement actions.                   to the unpredictable nature of BFT                    BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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Document Created: 2018-10-10 17:36:49
Document Modified: 2018-10-10 17:36:49
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionRules and Regulations
ActionTemporary rule; General category October-November fishery for 2018; inseason bluefin tuna quota transfer and closure.
DatesThe quota transfer is effective October 4, 2018, through November 30, 2018. The closure is effective 11:30 p.m., local time, October 5, 2018, through November 30, 2018.
ContactSarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 978- 281-9260.
FR Citation83 FR 50857 
RIN Number0648-XG53

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