Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 12291 

USEPA. 2020b. Drinking Water Treatability 

Database. https://iaspub.epa.gov/tdb/ 

pages/general/home.do. Last updated 

March 2020. 

USEPA. 2020c. Final Risk Evaluations for 

1,4-Dioxane. EPA Document # EPA–740– 

R1–8007. December 2020. https://

www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managingchemicals-under-tsca/final-riskevaluation-14-dioxane#riskevaluation. 

USEPA. 2021a. Final Regulatory 

Determination 4 Support Document. 

EPA 815–R–21–001. 

USEPA. 2021b. Responses to Public 

Comments on Preliminary Regulatory 

Determinations for Contaminants on the 

Fourth Drinking Water Contaminant 

Candidate List. EPA 815–R–21–002. 

Virgo, D.M. and A. Broadmeadow. 1988. SC– 

5676: Combined Oncogenicity and 

Toxicity Study in Dietary Administration 

to CD Rats for 104 Weeks. Life Science 

Research Ltd., Suffolk, England. Study 

No. 88/SUC017/0348. March 18, 1988. 

Unpublished report (as cited in USEPA, 

2006b). 

Vogel, E.W. and M.J.M. Nivard. 1994. The 

subtlety of alkylating agents in reactions 

with biological macromolecules. Mutat. 

Res. 305: 13–32 (as cited in USEPA, 

2007a). 

Wester, P.W. and R. Kroes, 1988. 

Forestomach carcinogens: pathology and 

relevance to man. Toxicologic Pathology 

16(2): 165–71 (as cited in ATSDR, 1992). 

Signing Statement 

This document of the Environmental 

Protection Agency was signed on 

January 15, 2021, by Andrew Wheeler, 

Administrator, pursuant to the statutory 

requirements of the Safe Drinking Water 

Act, Section 1412(b). That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by EPA. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned EPA Official 

re-signs the document for publication, 

as an official document of the 

Environmental Protection Agency. This 

administrative process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Jane Nishida, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04184 Filed 3–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XA714] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the 

General category January fishery for 

2021. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the Atlantic 

bluefin tuna (BFT) General category 

fishery for the January subquota period. 

The intent of this closure is to prevent 

overharvest of the adjusted January 

subquota. 

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, 

February 27, 2021, through May 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) 

among the various domestic fishing 

categories, per the allocations 

established in the 2006 Consolidated 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 

Fishery Management Plan (2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, 

October 2, 2006) and amendments, and 

in accordance with implementing 

regulations. 

Under § 635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a 

closure notice with the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication when a 

BFT quota (or subquota) is reached or is 

projected to be reached. Retaining, 

possessing, or landing BFT under that 

quota category is prohibited on and after 

the effective date and time of a closure 

notice for that category, for the 

remainder of the fishing year, until the 

opening of the subsequent quota period 

or until such date as specified. 

The base quota for the General 

category is 555.7 mt. See § 635.27(a). 

Each of the General category time 

periods (January, June through August, 

September, October through November, 

and December) is allocated a subquota 

or portion of the annual General 

category quota. Although it is called the 

‘‘January’’ subquota, the regulations 

allow the General category fishery under 

this quota to continue until the 

subquota is reached or March 31, 

whichever comes first. The baseline 

subquotas for each time period are as 

follows: 29.5 mt for January; 277.9 mt 

for June through August; 147.3 mt for 

September; 72.2 mt for October through 

November; and 28.9 mt for December. 

Any unused General category quota 

rolls forward from one time period to 

the next and is available for use in 

subsequent time periods within the 

fishing year. Effective January 1, 2021, 

NMFS transferred 19.5 mt of the 28.9- 

mt General category quota allocated for 

the December 2021 period to the 

January 2021 period, resulting in an 

adjusted subquota of 49 mt for the 

January period and a subquota of 9.4 mt 

for the December 2021 period (85 FR 

83832, December 23, 2020). Effective 

February 8, 2021, NMFS transferred an 

additional 26 mt from the Reserve 

category to the General category, in the 

same notice as NMFS made the annual 

reallocation of Purse Seine category 

quota to the Reserve category, resulting 

in an adjusted subquota of 75 mt for the 

General category 2021 January subquota 

period and 168 mt for the Reserve 

category (86 FR 8717, February 9, 2021). 

Closure of the January 2021 General 

Category Fishery 

Based on the best available General 

category BFT Landings information (i.e., 

57.7 mt landed as of February 25, 2021), 

as well as average catch rates and 

anticipated fishing conditions, NMFS 

projects that the adjusted General 

category January 2021 subquota of 75 mt 

will be reached shortly, and that the 

General category fishery should be 

closed. Therefore, retaining, possessing, 

or landing large medium or giant BFT 

by persons aboard vessels permitted in 

the Atlantic Tunas General category and 

the Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat 

category (while fishing commercially) 

must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on 

February 27, 2021. The General category 

will reopen automatically on June 1, 

2021, for the June through August 2021 

subquota period. This action applies to 

those vessels permitted in the General 

category, as well as to those HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 


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12292 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 40 / Wednesday, March 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

with a commercial sale endorsement 

when fishing commercially for BFT, and 

is taken consistent with the regulations 

at § 635.28(a)(1). The intent of this 

closure is to prevent overharvest of the 

available January subquota. 

Fishermen may catch and release (or 

tag and release) BFT of all sizes, subject 

to the requirements of the catch-andrelease and tag-and-release programs at 

§ 635.26. All BFT that are released must 

be handled in a manner that will 

maximize their survival, and without 

removing the fish from the water, 

consistent with requirements at 

§ 635.21(a)(1). For additional 

information on safe handling, see the 

‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ brochure 

available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/ 

outreach-and-education/careful-catchand-release-brochure/. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fisheries 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, 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 

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 finds that pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive 

prior notice of, and an opportunity for 

public comment on, for the following 

reasons: The regulations implementing 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments provide for inseason 

retention limit adjustments 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. This fishery is 

currently underway and delaying this 

action would be contrary to the public 

interest as it could result in BFT 

landings exceeding the January 2021 

subquota, which could result in the 

need to reduce quota for the General 

category later in the year and thus could 

affect later fishing opportunities. 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 26, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–04400 Filed 2–26–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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