Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 8717 

Protection of Migratory Birds in the 

United States and Canada.’’ 

Additionally, in its public comments on 

the draft EIS for the MBTA rule, Canada 

stated that it believes the rule ‘‘is 

inconsistent with previous 

understandings between Canada and the 

United States (U.S.), and is inconsistent 

with the long-standing protections that 

have been afforded to non-targeted birds 

under the Convention for the Protection 

of Migratory Birds in the United States 

and Canada . . . as agreed upon by 

Canada and the U.S. through Article I. 

The removal of such protections will 

result in further unmitigated risks to 

vulnerable bird populations protected 

under the Convention.’’ 

Therefore, we invite public comments 

on the MBTA rule to allow interested 

parties to provide comments about 

issues of fact, law, and policy raised by 

that rule, and so that we can consider 

any petitions for reconsideration 

involving the rule. We also invite public 

comments on whether the rule should 

be amended, rescinded, delayed 

pending further review by the agency, or 

allowed to go into effect. In particular, 

the USFWS would appreciate comments 

on the scope of the MBTA as it applies 

to conduct resulting in the injury or 

death of migratory birds protected by 

the MBTA, the impact of the MBTA rule 

on our treaty partners, the impact of the 

MBTA rule on regulated entities, the 

effect of the pending litigation on the 

MBTA rule, and the appropriateness of 

delaying the effective date of the MBTA 

rule beyond March 8, 2021. The USFWS 

will consider these comments in 

reviewing the MBTA rule. See DATES

and ADDRESSES, above, and Public 

Comments, below, for more information 

on submitting comments. 

Public Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials concerning the rule by one of 

the methods listed in ADDRESSES. 

Comments must be submitted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov before 11:59 p.m. 

(Eastern Time) on the date specified 

under Written comments in DATES. We 

will not consider mailed comments that 

are not postmarked by the date specified 

under Written comments in DATES. 

Comments previously submitted need 

not be resubmitted and will be fully 

considered in our review of the rule. 

We will post your entire comment— 

including your personal identifying 

information—on http://

www.regulations.gov. If you provide 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you may request at the top of 

your document that we withhold this 

information from public review. 

However, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. Comments and 

materials we receive will be available 

for public inspection on http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Our implementation of this action 

delaying the effective date of the MBTA 

rule from February 8, 2021, to March 8, 

2021, without opportunity for public 

comment, effective immediately upon 

filing for publication in the Federal 

Register, is based on the good cause 

exceptions provided in the 

Administrative Procedure Act. Pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), we have 

determined that good cause exists to 

forgo the requirement to provide prior 

notice and an opportunity for public 

comment thereon for this rule as such 

procedures are unnecessary where the 

agency lacks discretion to choose an 

alternative course of action. As 

discussed above, the change of the 

effective date to March 8, 2021, is being 

made to comply with the 60-day 

effective date delay for major rules 

provided for in the Congressional 

Review Act. 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(3). For the 

same reasons discussed above, USFWS 

finds that there is good cause to waive 

the effective date delay under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3) and 5 U.S.C. 808(2). 

Authority: The authorities for this action 

are 16 U.S.C. 668a–d, 703–712, 742a–j–l, 

1361–1384, 1401–1407, 1531–1543, 3371– 

3378; 18 U.S.C. 42; and 19 U.S.C. 1202. 

Shannon A. Estenoz, 

Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Exercising 

the Delegated Authority of the Assistant 

Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02667 Filed 2–5–21; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XA795] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; Purse Seine 

category annual quota adjustment; quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the 

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Purse Seine 

and Reserve category quotas for 2021, as 

it has done annually since 2015. NMFS 

also is transferring 26 metric tons (mt) 

of BFT quota from the Reserve category 

to the General category January 2021 

subquota period (from January 1 

through March 31, 2021, or until the 

available subquota for this period is 

reached, whichever comes first). The 

transfer to the General category 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 February 8, 2021, 

through December 31, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin, sarah.mclaughlin@

noaa.gov, 978–281–9260, Nicholas 

Velseboer, nicholas.velseboer@

noaa.gov, 978–675–2168, or Larry Redd, 

Jr., larry.redd@noaa.gov, 301–427–8503. 

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 

Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan 

(2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) (71 FR 

58058, October 2, 2006), and 

amendments. 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. 

Annual Adjustment of the BFT Purse 

Seine and Reserve Category Quotas 

The current baseline Purse Seine, 

General, and Reserve category quotas 

are codified as 219.5 mt, 555.7 mt, and 

29.5 mt, respectively. See § 635.27(a). 

Pursuant to § 635.27(a)(4), NMFS has 

determined the amount of quota 

available to the Atlantic Tunas Purse 

Seine category participants in 2021, 

based on their BFT catch (landings and 

dead discards) in 2020. In accordance 

with the regulations, NMFS makes 

available to each Purse Seine category 


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8718 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

participant either 100 percent, 75 

percent, 50 percent, or 25 percent of the 

individual baseline quota allocations 

based on the previous year’s catch, as 

described in § 635.27(a)(4)(ii), and 

reallocates the remainder to the Reserve 

category. NMFS has calculated the 

amounts of quota available to the Purse 

Seine category participants for 2021 

based on their individual catch levels in 

2020 and the codified process adopted 

in Amendment 7. NMFS did not open 

the Purse Seine fishery in 2020 because 

there were no purse seine vessels 

permitted to fish for BFT and thus no 

catch in 2020. As a result, each Purse 

Seine category participant will receive 

25 percent of the individual baseline 

quota amount, which is the required 

distribution even with no fishing 

activity under the current regulations. 

The individual baseline amount is 43.9 

mt (219.5 mt divided by five Purse 

Seine category participants), 25 percent 

of which is 11 mt. Consistent with 

§ 635.27(a)(4)(v)(C), NMFS notifies 

Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine category 

participants of the amount of quota 

available for their use this year through 

the Individual Bluefin Quota electronic 

system established under § 635.15 and 

in writing. 

By summing the individual available 

allocations, NMFS has determined that 

55 mt are available to the Purse Seine 

category for 2021. Thus, the amount of 

Purse Seine category quota to be 

reallocated to the Reserve category is 

164.5 mt (219.5 mt¥55 mt). This 

reallocation results in an adjusted 2021 

Reserve category quota of 194 mt (29.5 

mt + 164.5 mt), before any further 

transfers to other categories. 

Transfer of 26 mt From the Reserve 

Category to the General Category 

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. 

Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the 

authority to transfer quota among 

fishing categories or subcategories after 

considering regulatory determination 

criteria at § 635.27(a)(8). For 2021 to 

date, NMFS has transferred 19.5 mt 

from the General category December 

2021 subquota period to the January 

2021 subquota period (85 FR 83832, 

December 23, 2020), resulting in an 

adjusted General category January 

period subquota of 49 mt. 

NMFS has considered all of the 

relevant determination criteria and their 

applicability to the 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 (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological 

samples collected from BFT landed by 

General category fishermen and 

provided by BFT dealers provide NMFS 

with valuable data for ongoing scientific 

studies of BFT age and growth, 

migration, and reproductive status. 

Additional opportunity to land BFT 

over the longest time-period allowable 

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 

(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) and (ix)). As of 

February 2, 2021, the General category 

has landed 17.6 mt of its adjusted 

January 2021 subquota of 49 mt. 

Commercial-size BFT are currently 

readily available to vessels fishing 

under the General category quota. 

Without a quota transfer at this time, 

General category participants would 

have to stop BFT fishing activities with 

very short notice, while commercialsized BFT remain available in the areas 

General category permitted vessels 

operate. Transferring 26 mt of BFT 

quota from the Reserve category would 

result in a total of 75 mt being available 

for the General category for the January 

2021 subquota period. 

Regarding the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the particular 

category quota (here, the General 

category) to harvest the additional 

amount of BFT quota transferred before 

the end of the fishing year 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS considered 

General category landings over the last 

several years and landings to date this 

year. Landings are highly variable and 

depend on access to commercial-sized 

BFT and fishing conditions, among 

other factors. NMFS anticipates that all 

26 mt of transferred quota will be used 

by March 31. In the unlikely event that 

any of this quota is unused by March 31, 

the unused quota will roll forward to 

the next subperiod within the calendar 

year (i.e., the June through August time 

period), and NMFS anticipates that it 

would be used by the subquota category 

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 2021 landings 

and dead discards. In the last several 

years, total U.S. BFT landings have been 

below the total 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. NMFS will need 

to account for 2021 landings and dead 

discards within the adjusted U.S. quota, 

consistent with ICCAT 

recommendations, and NMFS 

anticipates having sufficient quota to do 

that, even with this 26-mt transfer to the 

General category. 

NMFS also considered the effects of 

the adjustment on the BFT stock and the 

effects of the transfer on accomplishing 

the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). 

This transfer would be consistent with 

the current U.S. quota, which was 

established and analyzed in the 2018 

BFT quota final rule, and with 

objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments, which 

include measures to meet obligations 

related to ending overfishing and 

rebuilding stocks (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and 

(vi)). Another consideration is the 

objective of providing opportunities to 

harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota 

without exceeding it based on the 

objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments, 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)). Specific to the 

General category, this includes the goal 

of providing opportunity equitably 

across all time periods. 

NMFS also anticipates that some 

underharvest of the 2020 adjusted U.S. 

BFT quota will be carried forward to 

2021 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 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 2021 for 

December fishery participants. NMFS 

also may transfer unused quota from the 

Reserve or other categories, inseason, 

based on consideration of the 

determination criteria, as it did in 2020 

(i.e., transferred 111.6 mt from the 

Reserve category effective September 17, 

2020 (85 FR 59445, September 22, 

2020); 40 mt from the Reserve category 

effective October 9, 2020 (85 FR 64411, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 8719 

October 13, 2020); 68.7 mt from the 

Reserve category effective October 26, 

2020 (85 FR 68798, October 30, 2020); 

and 19.5 mt from the Reserve category 

effective December 1, 2020 (85 FR 

75918, November 27, 2020). 

NMFS anticipates that General 

category participants in all areas and 

time periods will have opportunities to 

harvest the General category quota in 

2021, through active inseason 

management measures, such as 

retention limit adjustments and/or the 

timing of quota transfers 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(viii)). Thus, this quota 

transfer would allow fishermen to take 

advantage of the availability of fish on 

the fishing grounds, taking into 

consideration the expected increases in 

available 2021 quota from carryforward 

later in the year, and provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

full U.S. BFT quota, without precluding 

vessels in another area from having a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest a 

portion of the category’s quota. 

Based on the considerations above, 

NMFS is transferring 26 mt from the 

adjusted Reserve category to the General 

category for the January 2021 fishery, 

resulting in a subquota of 75 mt for the 

January 2021 fishery and 168 mt in the 

Reserve category. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fishery closely. Dealers are required 

to submit landings 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, 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 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. As needed, NMFS will 

close the General category fishery when 

the adjusted January 2021 period 

subquota has been reached. Even if the 

adjusted subquota is not reached, the 

General category fishery will close 

automatically on March 31, 2021, and 

will remain closed until it reopens on 

June 1, 2021. 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 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is consistent with 

regulations at 50 CFR part 635, which 

were issued pursuant to section 304(c) 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 

Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, and is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

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, the 

transfer from the Reserve category to the 

General category for the following 

reasons: 

The regulations implementing the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments provide for inseason quota 

transfers 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 fishery 

would be closed absent the additional 

quota. 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 result in 

exceedance of the General category 

January 2021 subquota or earlier closure 

of the fishery while fish are available on 

the fishing grounds. This action does 

not raise conservation and management 

concerns. Transferring quota from the 

Reserve category to the General category 

does not affect the overall U.S. BFT 

quota, and available data shows the 

adjustment would have a minimal risk 

of exceeding the ICCAT-allocated quota. 

NMFS notes that the public had an 

opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings that established 

the U.S. BFT quota, measures to 

reallocate quota, and the inseason 

adjustment criteria. For all of the above 

reasons, there is good cause under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay 

in effectiveness. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: February 3, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02513 Filed 2–8–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 200221–0062; RTID 0648– 

XA782] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Catcher Vessels Less Than 50 Feet 

(15.2 Meters) Length Overall Using 

Hook-and-Line Gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for catcher vessels less than 50 

feet (15.2 meters (m)) length overall 

using hook-and-line (HAL) gear in the 

Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of 

Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary 

to prevent exceeding the A season 

allowance of the 2021 total allowable 

catch (TAC) of catcher vessels less than 

50 feet (15.2 m) length overall using 

HAL gear in the Central Regulatory Area 

of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), February 5, 2021, 

through 1200 hours, A.l.t., June 10, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

The A season allowance of the 2021 

Pacific cod TAC apportioned to catcher 

vessels less than 50 feet (15.2 m) length 

overall using HAL gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA is 945 

metric tons (mt) as established by the 

final 2020 and 2021 harvest 


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