Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules 33513

with our support of the development of

a next-generation side impact dummy

called WorldSID. That dummy is being

developed by industry representatives

from the U.S., Europe and Japan, and

the European and Japanese

governments. It is anticipated for

prototype completion in the fall of 2000.

WorldSID is expected to be technically

superior to all other predecessor side

impact dummies, including EuroSID–1.

We have been and continue to be highly

interested in the development of

WorldSID. A future upgrade of Standard

214 could involve the adoption of a

technically superior dummy such as

WorldSID.

In accordance with 49 CFR Part 552,

this completes our review of the

petition.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115,

30117 and 30166; delegation of authority at

49 CFR 1.50

Issued on May 18, 2000.

Stephen R. Kratzke,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 00–13051 Filed 5–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 000515139-0139-01; I.D.

041200D]

RIN 0648–AO03

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species

(HMS); Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Specifications and HMS Regulatory

Amendment

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed annual quota

specifications and regulatory

amendment; public hearings; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications

for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT)

fishery to set BFT quota and General

category effort control specifications for

the 2000 fishing year. NMFS also

proposes to amend the regulations

governing the Atlantic HMS fisheries to

adjust the date on which the BFT

General category fishing season ends;

adjust the date on which BFT

allocations become available to Atlantic

tunas Purse Seine category vessel

owners; authorize NMFS to add the

underharvest to, or subtract the

overharvest from, individual Purse

Seine category vessels’ allocations for

the following fishing year on a per

vessel basis; revise text regarding

restricted fishing days (RFDs) in the

General category BFT fishery; and revise

text regarding authorized gear in the

North Atlantic swordfish fishery. The

proposed specifications and regulatory

amendment are necessary to implement

the 1998 recommendation of the

International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

as required by the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act (ATCA) and to achieve

domestic management objectives under

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS will

hold public hearings to receive

comments from fishery participants and

other members of the public regarding

the proposed specifications and

regulatory amendment.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before June 19, 2000.

The public hearings dates are:

1. Tuesday, May 30, 2000, 7–9 p.m.,

Gloucester, MA.

2. Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 9–11

a.m., Silver Spring, MD.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the

proposed specifications and regulatory

amendment should be sent to Rebecca

Lent, Chief, Highly Migratory Species

Management Division, Office of

Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910-3282. Comments also may be

sent via facsimile (fax) to (301) 713–

1917. Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

The public hearing locations are:

1. Silver Spring–NMFS, SSMC III—

Room 4527, 1315 East-West Highway,

Silver Spring, MD 20910.

2. Gloucester–Milton Fuller School, 4

School House Road. Gloucester, MA

01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat

Scida or Sarah McLaughlin, (978) 281–

9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic

tunas are managed under the dual

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

and ATCA. ATCA authorizes the

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to

implement binding recommendations of

ICCAT. The authority to issue

regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act and ATCA has been

delegated from the Secretary to the

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

NOAA (AA).

Background

On May 28, 1999, NMFS published in

the Federal Register (64 FR 29090) final

regulations, effective July 1, 1999,

implementing the Fishery Management

Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and

Sharks (HMS FMP) that was adopted

and made available to the public in

April 1999. The HMS FMP and the

implementing regulations established

percentage quota shares for each of the

domestic fishing categories of the

ICCAT-recommended U.S. BFT landings

quota of 1,387 metric tons (mt). These

percentage shares were based on

allocation procedures that had been

developed by NMFS in recent years.

The HMS FMP also established a new

fishing year for the Atlantic tunas

fisheries, beginning June 1 each

calendar year and continuing until May

31 of the subsequent calendar year.

NMFS specified the 1999 fishing year

BFT quota allocations in June 1999,

reflecting underharvests or overharvests

from the 1998 calendar year, as

appropriate for each fishing category (64

FR 29806, June 3, 1999). Subsequently,

NMFS made inseason quota adjustments

to account for underharvest or

overharvest for the period from January

1, 1999, through May 31, 1999; these

adjustments were required to make the

transition to the new fishing year (64 FR

48111, September 2, 1999).

NMFS then amended the HMS

regulations to remove the 250–mt limit

on allocating BFT landings quota to the

Purse Seine category (64 FR 58793,

November 1, 1999). This rulemaking

also reinstated the transferability of

partial purse seine vessel quota

allocations from one vessel to another,

which was inadvertently omitted from

the consolidated regulations to

implement the HMS FMP.

NMFS proposes the fishing year 2000

BFT quota specifications under the

annual adjustment procedures of the

HMS FMP. Also in accordance with the

HMS FMP, NMFS proposes the General

category effort control schedule,

including time-period subquotas and

RFDs, for the upcoming fishing season.

After consideration of public comment,

NMFS will issue final specifications and

publish them in the Federal Register.

Domestic Quota Allocation

NMFS proposes fishing category

allocations for the 2000 fishing year,

beginning June 1, 2000, consistent with

the HMS FMP and the 1,387 mt U.S.

allocation. The percentage quota shares

established in the HMS FMP for fishing

years beginning June 1, 1999, as

amended by the Purse Seine category

adjustment discussed above, are as

33514 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules

follows (tonnage in parentheses

corresponds to 1,387 mt total quota):

General category -– 47.1 percent (653.3

mt); Harpoon category—3.9 percent

(54.1 mt); Purse Seine category—18.6

percent (258.0 mt); Angling category—

19.7 percent (273.2 mt); Longline

category—8.1 percent (112.3 mt); Trap

category—0.1 percent (1.4 mt); and

Reserve—2.5 percent (34.7 mt).

The current ICCAT BFT quota

recommendation allows, and U.S.

regulations require, the addition or

subtraction, as appropriate, of any

underharvest or overharvest in a fishing

year to the appropriate quota category

for the following year, provided that

such carryover does not result in

overharvest of the total annual quota

and is consistent with all applicable

ICCAT recommendations, including

restrictions on landings of school BFT.

Therefore, NMFS proposes to adjust the

2000 fishing year quota specifications

for the BFT fishery to account for

underharvest and overharvest in the

1999 fishing year.

The General, Harpoon, and Purse

Seine category fisheries for BFT have

been closed for the 1999 fishing year,

but landings figures are still preliminary

and may be updated before the 2000

specifications are finalized. For the 1999

fishing year, NMFS has preliminarily

determined that General category

landings exceeded the adjusted General

category quota by 50.9 mt; Harpoon

category landings exceeded the adjusted

Harpoon category quota by 4.9 mt; and

Purse Seine category landings were 13.8

mt less than the adjusted Purse Seine

category quota. Based on the estimated

amount of Reserve that NMFS is

maintaining for the landing of BFT

taken during ongoing scientific research

projects, NMFS estimates that 44.7 mt of

Reserve remains unharvested from the

1999 fishing year.

Given estimated catch rates and

available quota, the Angling and

Longline category fisheries will remain

open through May 31, 2000. As NMFS

anticipates publication of final BFT

quota specifications for the 2000 fishing

year prior to the availability of final

1999 landings figures for these two

categories, best estimates will be used to

determine carryover amounts, if any. To

date, the Angling category has the

following underharvests for the 1999

fishing year: School BFT—45.8 mt; large

school/small medium BFT—145.0 mt;

and large medium/giant BFT—1.6 mt. In

addition, 17.8 mt remains in the school

reserve. To date, 48.8 mt remain in the

Longline category. Should adjustments

to the final 2000 BFT quota

specifications be required based on the

final 1999 BFT landings figures, NMFS

will publish a Federal Register notice

updating the 2000 fishing year quota

specifications.

NMFS proposes to allocate the

remaining 1999 Reserve to the Harpoon

and General categories to account for

the overharvests in those categories. Of

the estimated 44.7 mt carryover from the

Reserve, NMFS would allocate 4.9 mt to

the Harpoon category and 39.8 mt to the

General category. The balance of the

1999 General category overharvest

would be deducted from the 2000

General category allocation determined

by the percentage share set in the HMS

FMP.

In accordance with the regulations

regarding annual adjustments at

§ 635.27(a)(9)(ii), NMFS proposes

specifications for the 2000 fishing year

that include carryover adjustments. The

proposed quotas are: General category—

642.2 mt; Harpoon category—54.1 mt;

Purse Seine category—271.8 mt;

Angling category—483.4 mt; Longline

category—161.1 mt; and Trap category—

2.4 mt. Additionally, 34.7 mt would be

reserved for inseason allocations or to

cover potential overharvest in any

category. These initial specifications

may be adjusted during the 2000 fishing

year, when final Angling category and

Longline category landings for the 1999

fishing year are determined. If

necessary, updates to the 2000 fishing

year specifications for the Angling and

Longline categories, including size class

and geographic subquota specifications,

will be made. As required, adjustments

to the amount held in the Reserve will

also be made.

Based on the proposed specifications,

the Angling category quota of 483.4 mt

would be divided as follows: School

BFT—136.3 mt, with 72.9 mt to the

northern area (north of 38° 47′ N.

latitude), 63.4 mt to the southern area

(south of 38° 47’ N. latitude), and an

additional 38.3 mt held in reserve; large

school/small medium BFT—300.9 mt,

with 163.9 mt to the northern area and

137.0 mt to the southern area; and large

medium/giant BFT—7.9, with 3.4 mt to

the northern area and 4.5 mt to the

southern area. The Longline category

quota of 161.1 mt would be subdivided

as follows: 30.8 mt to longline vessels

landing BFT north of 34° N. latitude and

130.3 mt to longline vessels landing

BFT south of 34° N. latitude.

General Category Effort Controls

For the last several years, NMFS has

implemented General category timeperiod subquotas to increase the

likelihood that fishing would continue

throughout the summer and fall. The

subquotas are consistent with the

objectives of the HMS FMP and are

designed to address concerns regarding

allocation of fishing opportunities, to

assist with distribution and

achievement of optimum yield, to allow

for a late season fishery, and to improve

market conditions and scientific

monitoring.

The HMS FMP divides the annual

General category quota into three timeperiod subquotas as follows: 60 percent

for June-August, 30 percent for

September, and 10 percent for OctoberDecember. Given the overharvest of the

1999 fishing year General category

quota, these percentages would be

applied to the adjusted coastwide quota

for the General category of 632.2 mt,

with the remaining 10.0 mt being

reserved for the New York Bight fishery.

Therefore, coastwide, 379.3 mt would

be available in the period beginning

June 1 and ending August 31; 189.7 mt

would be available in the period

beginning September 1 and ending

September 30; and 63.2 mt would be

available in the period beginning

October 1.

For the last several years, NMFS has

also implemented RFDs in the General

category. In 1997, NMFS amended the

Atlantic tunas regulations to prohibit

persons aboard General category vessels

from fishing for (including tag-andrelease fishing), retaining, possessing, or

landing all sizes of BFT on designated

RFDs. The intent of RFDs is to prolong

fishing activity within each General

category subperiod to increase fishing

opportunities and to improve market

conditions.

For the 2000 fishing year, NMFS

proposes a schedule of RFDs that is

similar to that implemented for the 1999

fishing year, adjusted as necessary to

coordinate with Japanese market

holidays, but that also includes RFDs for

the month of October. NMFS has

received comment from General

category fishermen that NMFS should

implement RFDs during October to help

lengthen this late season fishery. NMFS

proposes RFDs for October intended to

balance the interests of various General

category fishery participants, and

specifically requests comments on these

proposed October RFDs.

Persons aboard vessels permitted in

the General category would be

prohibited from fishing, including tagand-release, for BFT of all sizes on the

following days: July 12, 16, 17, 19, 23,

24, 26, 30, and 31; August 2, 6, 7, 9, 11,

12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 27, 28, and 30;

September 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20,

24, 25, and 27; and October 1, 4, 6, 7,

10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30,

and 31. These proposed RFDs would

improve distribution of fishing

opportunities without increasing BFT

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules 33515

mortality and are consistent with the

objectives of the HMS FMP.

Changes to Regulatory Text

In consolidating the HMS regulations

into one CFR part (64 FR 29090, May 28,

1999), NMFS inadvertently stated

certain provisions incorrectly, and

included regulatory text that, in some

instances, was not consistent with the

HMS FMP or the regulatory text as it

existed prior to consolidation.

Therefore, several changes to the

regulatory text are proposed to clarify

the regulations and to achieve

consistency with the FMP objectives.

These changes include specification of

fishing seasons, quota adjustments,

effort controls, and authorized gear.

General Category Season

Prior to implementation of the HMS

FMP in 1999, the Atlantic tunas fishing

year coincided with the calendar year,

with the General category BFT fishing

season ending December 31. The

General category quota was split into

three time-period subquotas: June

through August, the month of

September, and October through

December. These time-period subquotas

were selected as the preferred

alternative and final action in the HMS

FMP. The FMP established the Atlantic

tunas fishing year as June 1 through

May 31 of the following year. As

specified in the HMS FMP, the change

to the new fishing year was not

intended to authorize new fishing

seasons or to change fishing patterns,

but was necessary to accommodate

notice and comment rulemaking after

management recommendations of

ICCAT are received, usually in

November. However, the consolidated

regulations implementing the HMS FMP

erroneously indicated that the third

time-period subquota is October 1

through May 31 of the following

calendar year, rather than ending

December 31 of the same calendar year,

as previously specified.

NMFS has stated its intent clearly in

the HMS FMP and several other NMFS

documents, including the 1999 final

BFT quota and effort control

specifications and the Atlantic tunas

regulations brochure, which indicate an

end date of December 31 for the General

category season. Specifying May 31 as

the end of the third time-period

subquota in the consolidated HMS

regulations was not intended to

establish a new fishing season. NMFS,

therefore, proposes to amend the subject

regulatory text to indicate December 31

as the end date for the General category

BFT fishing season.

Purse Seine Category Season

The HMS regulations state that, from

August 15 through December 31, vessels

issued Purse Seine category allocations

may fish for BFT. The regulations also

state that upon reaching its individual

allocation of BFT, a Purse Seine

category vessel may not participate in a

directed fishery for Atlantic tunas or in

any fishery in which BFT might be

caught for the remainder of the fishing

year. This regulation is necessary

because any incidental catch of BFT

during fishing operations for other

species (e.g., yellowfin or skipjack tunas

or herring) must be deducted from the

vessel’s BFT allocation. In some years,

certain purse seine vessels have

conducted a yellowfin/skipjack fishery

in late spring/early summer prior to

commencement of the directed BFT

fishery on August 15.

When the HMS regulations were

consolidated under 50 CFR part 635, it

was inadvertently stated in

§ 635.27(a)(4)(ii) (Purse Seine category

quota section) that the BFT allocation

‘‘becomes available August 15.’’ NMFS

intended for the August 15 date to refer

specifically to the opening of the

directed fishery for BFT, not to preclude

purse seine fisheries from targeting

other species from the beginning of the

tunas fishing year (June 1) to August 15

due to lack of a BFT allocation from

which to deduct incidental catch. This

proposed amendment corrects the

subject regulatory text to indicate that

the purse seine vessel allocation of BFT

is available starting June 1, and that any

BFT caught incidental to fishing

operations for other species will be

deducted from the vessel’s BFT

allocation for that fishing year. This

proposed amendment also clarifies the

regulatory text to indicate that it is the

directed purse seine fishery for BFT that

commences on August 15 each year.

Purse Seine Quota Carryover

Implementing regulations at

§ 635.27(a)(4)(iii) indicate that, on or

about May 1, NMFS will make equal

allocations of the available size classes

of BFT among Atlantic tunas Purse

Seine category permit holders so

requesting (limited to five authorized

vessels). In situations where a fishing

year quota is exceeded or is not entirely

taken, regulations at § 635.27(a)(9) state

that NMFS shall subtract the

overharvest from, or add the

underharvest to, the appropriate quota

category for the following fishing year.

Therefore, in accordance with the

regulations, any Purse Seine category

underharvest or overharvest would be

divided equally among the authorized

vessels regardless of the individual

vessels’ contribution to the carryover

amount.

NMFS has received comments from

Purse Seine category participants that,

because the category is managed via

individual vessel quotas (IVQs), any

vessel’s underharvest or overharvest

during a fishing year should be added

to or deducted from that vessel’s IVQ for

the following fishing year, rather than

the Purse Seine category quota as a

whole. Also, commenters noted that a

provision for individual vessel

carryover would enhance the intent of

the IVQ system by providing individual

vessel owners the responsibility and

incentive to remain within their

allocated quotas, since overharvests

would be deducted from that particular

vessel’s IVQ for the following year, and,

conversely, any underharvest would be

added.

NMFS, therefore, proposes to amend

the regulations regarding annual

adjustment of quotas and subquotas to

authorize NMFS to add the

underharvest to, or subtract the

overharvest from, individual Purse

Seine category vessels’ allocations for

the following fishing year if NMFS

determines that a vessel’s individual

quota has been exceeded or has not been

reached.

Restricted Fishing Days

For several years, NMFS has

implemented RFDs in the BFT General

category fishery, along with other

General category effort controls. RFDs

are consistent with the objectives of the

HMS FMP and are designed to address

concerns regarding allocation of fishing

opportunities, to assist with distribution

and achievement of optimum yield, to

ensure a late season fishery, to improve

market conditions, and to improve data

collection for scientific monitoring

purposes.

Prior to publication of the

consolidated regulations implementing

the HMS FMP, the Atlantic tunas

regulations (50 CFR part 285) indicated

that, on RFDs, persons aboard a vessel

permitted in the General category could

not fish for, possess, or retain BFT. In

the final consolidated regulations, the

term ‘‘fish for’’ was inadvertently

omitted. Prohibiting persons on board

General category vessels from fishing for

BFT on an RFD (including fishing under

a tag and release program) is important

to facilitate enforcement of the RFD.

This proposed amendment would

correct the subject regulatory text to

indicate that persons on board a vessel

permitted in the General category

cannot fish for BFT on an RFD.

33516 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules

In addition, this amendment would

remove language included in the final

consolidated regulations indicating that

RFDs apply only when the General

category fishery is open. If a time-period

subquota is filled and if the fishery is

closed before the end of the time period

(e.g., by September 15 for the September

time period), an automatic waiver of the

remaining RFDs for the time period

allows for tag-and-release fishing by

persons aboard General category vessels

until the beginning of the next time

period fishery. Removing the provision

for automatic waiver of RFDs would

allow NMFS the discretion to

implement RFDs during a closure of a

General category time period on days

immediately prior to the beginning of

the following time-period subquota (e.g.,

September 29 and 30).

In issuing a closure notification for

any General category subperiod, NMFS

would indicate the specific RFDs that

would be waived and/or added prior to

reopening the fishery. Because fishing

for BFT, including tag-and-release

fishing, is prohibited on RFDs, retaining

or adding RFDs immediately prior to

reopening a new sub-period would

facilitate enforcement of the closure and

reduce the potential for accumulated

catch to be landed on the day of the

reopening. This proposed amendment is

consistent with the intent of RFDs, as

well as other General category effort

controls and the HMS FMP.

Authorized Gear

Finally, NMFS proposes to correct

text that prohibits the use of bandit gear

in the north Atlantic swordfish fishery.

In the table appearing at 50 CFR

600.725(v), bandit gear is authorized in

the swordfish handgear fishery.

Likewise, 50 CFR 635.21(d)(4)

authorizes the use of bandit gear to fish

for north Atlantic swordfish from

vessels issued limited access permits.

When the final consolidated HMS

regulations were published, the

prohibition at 50 CFR 635.71(e)(8)

inadvertently omitted bandit gear from

the list of authorized gears.

Public Hearings and Special

Accommodations

The public is reminded that NMFS

expects participants at the public

hearings to conduct themselves

appropriately. At the beginning of each

public hearing, a NMFS representative

will explain the ground rules (e.g.,

alcohol is prohibited from the hearing

room; attendees will be called to give

their comments in the order in which

they registered to speak; each attendee

will have an equal amount of time to

speak; and attendees should not

interrupt one another). The NMFS

representative will attempt to structure

the hearing so that all attending

members of the public will be able to

comment, if they so choose, regardless

of the controversial nature of the

subject(s). Attendees are expected to

respect the ground rules, and, if they do

not, they will be asked to leave the

hearing.

Special Accommodations

The public hearing sites are

physically accessible to people with

disabilities. Requests for sign language

interpretation or other auxiliary aids

should be directed to Sarah McLaughlin

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT)

at least 7 days prior to the hearing.

Classification

These proposed specifications and

regulatory amendment are published

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., and

the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, 16

U.S.C. 971 et seq. Preliminarily, the AA

has determined that the specifications

and the regulations contained in the

proposed regulatory amendment are

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and the 1998 ICCAT

recommendation (ICCAT Rebuilding

Program).

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of

the Department of Commerce has

certified to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration that the proposed

regulatory amendment, if implemented,

would not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities as follows:

The proposed specifications would set

Atlantic BFT tuna quota allocations and

General category effort controls for the 2000

fishing year; these proposed specifications

are similar to those set for the 1999 fishing

year and are in accordance with the Fishery

Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas,

Swordfish, and Sharks (Highly Migratory

Species (HMS) FMP). The proposed

regulatory amendments would allow Purse

Seine vessel owners to carry over

unharvested BFT quota between fishing years

on a per vessel basis, change the date on

which BFT allocations become available to

Atlantic tunas Purse Seine category vessel

owners, change the end date of the BFT

General category season, and modify

language regarding restricted fishing days in

the General category BFT fishery and

authorized gear in the Atlantic swordfish

fishery. Because the overall U.S. BFT

landings quota and fishing patterns would

remain the same, there is no anticipated

change in revenues that would accrue to

small businesses in the fishery overall.

Specifically regarding the Purse Seine

category fishery, the ability to carry over

unharvested BFT quota between fishing years

on a per vessel basis could result in

additional revenues accruing to small

businesses associated with the purse seine

fishery without directly affecting any other

fishing category. The other proposed

regulatory amendments would serve to

correct or clarify the regulatory text and

would not alter current fishing practices in

any significant way.

Because of this certification, an Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not

prepared.

This proposed regulatory amendment

has been determined to be not

significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

The proposed specifications would

set 2000 fishing year BFT fishing

category quotas and General category

effort controls. The specifications are

similar to those set for the 1999 fishing

year as established by the HMS FMP.

The proposed regulatory amendments

would not significantly change the

operations of any HMS fishery. Taken

together, the quota and effort control

specifications and the proposed

regulatory amendments are not expected

to increase endangered species or

marine mammal interaction rates.

NMFS reinitiated formal consultation

for all Atlantic HMS commercial

fisheries on November 19, 1999, under

section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

Pending the issuance of a Biological

Opinion and the determination of

reasonable and prudent measures to

avoid jeopardizing the continued

existence of any protected species, these

proposed measures, if implemented,

would not result in any irreversible and

irretrievable commitment of resources

that would have the effect of foreclosing

the formulation or implementation of

any reasonable and prudent alternative

measures to reduce adverse impacts on

protected resources.

The area in which this proposed

action is planned has been identified as

essential fish habitat (EFH) for species

managed by the New England Fishery

Management Council, the Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, and the

Highly Migratory Species Division of

NMFS. It is not anticipated that this

action will have any adverse impacts to

EFH and, therefore, no consultation is

required.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Treaties.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules 33517

Dated: May 18, 2000.

Penelope D. Dalton,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY

MIGRATORY SPECIES

1. The authority citation for part 635

continues to read as follows:

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

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

2. In § 635.23, paragraphs (a)(2) and

(a)(4) are revised to read as follows:

§ 635.23 Retention limits for BFT.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(2) On an RFD, no person aboard a

vessel that has been issued a General

category Atlantic Tunas permit may fish

for, possess, retain, land, or sell a BFT

of any size class, and tag-and-release

fishing for BFT under § 635.26 is not

authorized from such vessel. On days

other than RFDs, and when the General

category is open, one large medium or

giant BFT may be caught and landed

from such vessel per day. NMFS will

annually publish a schedule of RFDs in

the Federal Register.

* * * * *

(4) To provide for maximum

utilization of the quota for BFT, NMFS

may increase or decrease the daily

retention limit of large medium and

giant BFT over a range from zero (on

RFDs) to a maximum of three per vessel.

Such increase or decrease will be based

on a review of dealer reports, daily

landing trends, availability of the

species on the fishing grounds, and any

other relevant factors. NMFS will adjust

the daily retention limit specified in

paragraph (a)(2) of this section by filing

with the Office of the Federal Register

for publication notification of the

adjustment. Such adjustment will not be

effective until at least 3 calendar days

after notification is filed with the Office

of the Federal Register for publication,

except that previously designated RFDs

may be waived effective upon closure of

the General category fishery so that

persons aboard vessels permitted in the

General category may conduct tag-andrelease fishing for BFT under § 635.26.

* * * * *

3. In § 635.26, paragraph (a)(1) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 635.26 Catch and release.

(a) BFT. (1) Notwithstanding the other

provisions of this part, a person aboard

a vessel issued a permit under this part,

other than a person aboard a vessel

permitted in the General category on a

designated restricted fishing day, may

fish with rod and reel or handline gear

for BFT under a tag and release

program, provided the person tags all

BFT so caught, regardless of whether

previously tagged, with conventional

tags issued or approved by NMFS,

returns such fish to the sea immediately

after tagging with a minimum of injury,

and reports the tagging and, if the BFT

was previously tagged, the information

on the previous tag. If NMFS-issued or

NMFS-approved conventional tags are

not on board a vessel, all persons aboard

that vessel are ineligible to fish under

the tag-and-release program.

* * * * *

4. In § 635.27, paragraph (a)(1)(i)(C),

the second sentence of (a)(4)(i), the

second sentence of (a)(4)(ii), the first

sentence of paragraph (a)(4)(iii), and

paragraph (a)(9)(i) are revised to read as

follows:

§ 635.27 Quotas.

(a) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) * * *

(C) October 1 through December 31—

10 percent.

* * * * *

(4) * * *

(i) * * * The directed purse seine

fishery for BFT commences on August

15 each year.

(ii) * * * The application must be

postmarked no later than April 15 for an

allocation of the quota that becomes

available on June 1.

(iii) On or about May 1, NMFS will

make equal allocations of the available

size classes of BFT among purse seine

vessel permit holders so requesting,

adjusted as necessary to account for

underharvest or overharvest by each

participating vessel or the vessel it

replaces from the previous fishing year,

consistent with paragraph (a)(9)(i) of

this section. * * *

* * * * *

(9) Annual adjustments. (i) If NMFS

determines, based on landings statistics

and other available information, that a

BFT quota in any category or, as

appropriate, subcategory has been

exceeded or has not been reached, with

the exception of the Purse Seine

category, NMFS shall subtract the

overharvest from, or add the

underharvest to, that quota category for

the following fishing year, provided that

the total of the adjusted category quotas

and the reserve is consistent with a

recommendation of ICCAT regarding

country quotas, the take of school BFT,

and the allowance for dead discards. For

the Purse Seine category, if NMFS

determines, based on landings statistics

and other available information, that a

purse seine vessel’s allocation, as

adjusted, has been exceeded or has not

been reached, NMFS shall subtract the

overharvest from, or add the

underharvest to, that vessel’s allocation

for the following fishing year.

* * * * *

5. In § 635.71, paragraph (e)(8) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 635.71 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(8) Fish for North Atlantic swordfish

from, possess North Atlantic swordfish

on board, or land North Atlantic

swordfish from a vessel using or having

on board gear other than pelagic

longline or handgear.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–13056 Filed 5–19–00; 4:21 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 000511133–0146–02; I.D.

051600B]

RIN 0648–AN52

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;

Trade Restrictions for Bluefin Tuna

and Swordfish

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; public hearings;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend the

regulations governing the Atlantic

highly migratory species (HMS)

fisheries to remove a prohibition on the

importation of Atlantic bluefin tuna

(BFT) from Panama; to prohibit the

importation of BFT and its products

from Equatorial Guinea; and to prohibit

the importation of Atlantic swordfish

and its products from Belize and

Honduras. These restrictions would

implement recommendations of the

International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The intent of these actions is to improve

conservation and management of the

Atlantic swordfish and bluefin tuna

resources, while allowing harvests

consistent with recommendations of the

International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).