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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8720 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 9, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

specifications for groundfish in the GOA 

(85 FR 13802, March 10, 2020) and 

inseason adjustment (85 FR 83834, 

December 23, 2020). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that 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 will soon be reached. 

Therefore, the Regional Administrator is 

establishing a directed fishing 

allowance of 900 mt and is setting aside 

the remaining 45 mt as bycatch to 

support other anticipated groundfish 

fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for catcher vessels less 

than 50 feet (15.2 m) length overall 

using HAL gear in the Central 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

While this closure is effective the 

maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 679, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest, as it would prevent 

NMFS from responding to the most 

recent fisheries data in a timely fashion 

and would delay the closure of Pacific 

cod by catcher vessels less than 50 feet 

(15.2 m) length overall using HAL gear 

in the Central Regulatory Area of the 

GOA. NMFS was unable to publish a 

notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of February 3, 2021. 

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

Dated: February 4, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02639 Filed 2–4–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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