16318 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

interpretation prospectively only. 

However, we do not want to create 

incentives for a carrier to rush to put 

into place as many rates as possible in 

hybrid ‘‘common carrier’’ agreements 

during the period of unavoidable delay 

associated with seeking public 

comments. Therefore, should we adopt 

this interpretative rule, we intend to 

apply the rule to all agreements entered 

into after the date of publication of this 

decision in the Federal Register. Parties 

are hereby placed on notice that if this 

proposal is adopted, the reasonableness 

of a rate reflected in a bilateral 

agreement entered into after this date 

will be treated as a confidential contract 

governed by section 10709 and outside 

the Board’s jurisdiction. 

Our proposed changes to the Code of 

Federal Regulations are set forth in the 

appendix. Parties are specifically 

invited to comment on the proposed 

rules, particularly concerning 49 CFR 

1313.1(c). Parties are asked to consider 

whether the proposed changes would 

have unforeseen consequences for 

agricultural contracts and whether there 

are differences between agricultural and 

other types of rail transportation 

contracts. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Board 

certifies that this action will not have a 

significant economic effect on a 

substantial number of small entities 

within the meaning of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. 

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721, 49 U.S.C. 10709. 

Decided: March 28, 2007. 

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice 

Chairman Buttrey, and Commissioner 

Mulvey. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Surface Transportation 

Board proposes to amend part 1300 and 

1313 of title 49, chapter x, of the Code 

of Federal Regulations as follows: 

PART 1300—DISCLOSURE, 

PUBLICATION, AND NOTICE OF 

CHANGE OF RATES AND OTHER 

SERVICE TERMS FOR RAIL COMMON 

CARRIAGE 

1. The authority citation for Part 1300 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721(a) and 11101(f). 

2. Amend § 1300.1 by adding 

paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 1300.1 Scope; definitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) The term contract in 49 U.S.C. 

10709 is defined as any bilateral 

agreement between a carrier and a 

shipper for rail transportation in which 

the carrier agrees to a specific rate for 

a specific period of time in exchange for 

consideration from the shipper, such as 

a commitment to tender a specific 

amount of freight during a specific 

period or to make specific investments 

in rail facilities. 

(2) Notwithstanding any 

representation that a rate specified in an 

agreement is a common carrier rate, a 

bilateral agreement as described in 

paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be 

treated by the Board as a rail 

transportation contract authorized 

under 49 U.S.C. 10709 and therefore 

outside the Board’s jurisdiction. 

* * * * * 

PART 1313—RAILROAD CONTRACTS 

FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 

3. The authority citation for Part 1313 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721(a) and 10709. 

4. Amend § 1313.1 by revising the 

first sentence of paragraph (c) to read as 

follows: 

§ 1313.1 Scope; definitions of terms. 

* * * * * 

(c) For purposes of this part, the term 

contract means a contract as defined in 

49 CFR 1300.1(c), including any 

amendment thereto, to provide specified 

transporation of agricultural products 

(including grain, as defined in 7 U.S.C. 

75 and products thereof). * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–6215 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 070330073–7073–01; I.D. 

030507A] 

RIN 0648–AU87 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota 

Specifications and Effort Controls 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments; notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes initial 2007 

fishing year specifications for the 

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery to set 

BFT quotas for each of the established 

domestic fishing categories and to set 

effort controls for the General category 

and Angling category. This action is 

necessary to implement 

recommendations 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). A minor 

administrative change to the permit 

regulations is also proposed. NMFS 

solicits written comments and will hold 

public hearings in April 2007 to receive 

oral comments on these proposed 

actions. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before May 4, 2007. 

The public hearings dates are: 

1. April 24, 2007, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., 

Morehead City, NC. 

2. April 26, 2007, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 

p.m., West Islip, NY. 

3. April 27, 2007, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 

p.m., Gloucester, MA. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted through any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: 07BFTSPECS@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line the following 

identifier: ‘‘Comments on 2007 Atlantic 

bluefin tuna specifications.’’

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: Sarah McLaughlin, Highly 

Migratory Species Management 

Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries 

(F/SF1), NMFS, One Blackburn Dr., 

Gloucester, MA 01930. 

• Fax: (978) 281–9340. 

The hearing locations are: 

1. Morehead City — Carteret 

Community College (Joselyn Hall, H.J. 

McGee, Jr. Building), 3505 Arendell 

Street, Morehead City, NC 28557. 

2. West Islip — West Islip Public 

Library, 3 Higbie Lane, West Islip, NY 

11795. 

3. Gloucester — NMFS, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Supporting documents including the 

Environmental Assessment, Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, and 

Regulatory Impact Review are available 

by sending your request to Sarah 

McLaughlin at the mailing address 

specified above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin, 978–281–9260. 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC61 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 16319 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

tunas are managed under the dual 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and the ATCA. The ATCA authorizes 

the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) 

to promulgate regulations, as may be 

necessary and appropriate, to 

implement ICCAT recommendations. 

The authority to issue regulations under 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 

ATCA has been delegated from the 

Secretary to the Assistant Administrator 

for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). 

Background 

On May 28, 1998, 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 (1999 FMP). On October 2, 2006, 

NMFS published in the Federal Register 

(71 FR 58058) final regulations, effective 

November 1, 2006, implementing the 

Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory 

Species Fishery Management Plan 

(Consolidated HMS FMP), which 

consolidates the management of all 

Atlantic HMS (i.e., sharks, swordfish, 

tunas, and billfish) into one 

comprehensive FMP. 

The initial specifications within this 

proposed rule are published in 

accordance with the Consolidated HMS 

FMP and are necessary to implement 

the 2006 ICCAT quota recommendation, 

as required by the ATCA, and to achieve 

domestic management objectives under 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This 

proposed rule would: (1) Establish 

initial quota specifications consistent 

with the BFT rebuilding program by 

allocating the 2006 ICCATrecommended quota for the 2007 fishing 

year (June 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007, 

pursuant to the change in fishing year 

to a calendar year as of January 2008 per 

the Consolidated HMS FMP); (2) 

establish General category effort 

controls, including time-period 

subquotas, restricted fishing days 

(RFDs), and the initial retention limit; 

and (3) establish Angling category 

retention limits for the 2007 fishing 

season. A minor administrative change 

to the permit regulations is also 

proposed to allow additional flexibility 

during conversion back from a fishing 

year to a calendar year. 

Overall U.S. landings figures for the 

2006 fishing year are still preliminary 

and may be updated before these 2007 

fishing year specifications are finalized. 

The specifications and effort controls 

may subsequently be adjusted during 

the course of the fishing year, consistent 

with the provisions of the Consolidated 

HMS FMP, and, as appropriate, would 

be published in the Federal Register. 

NMFS has prepared a draft 

Environmental Assessment (EA), 

Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and an 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(IRFA) which present and analyze 

anticipated environmental, social, and 

economic impacts of several alternatives 

for each of the major issues contained in 

this proposed rule. The complete list of 

alternatives and their analysis is 

provided in the draft EA/RIR/IRFA, and 

is not repeated here in its entirety. A 

copy of the draft EA/RIR/IRFA prepared 

for this proposed rule is available from 

NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

2006 ICCAT Recommendation, BFT 

Underharvests, and Transfers to Other 

ICCAT Contracting Parties 

At its 2006 meeting, ICCAT 

recommended a western Atlantic BFT 

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 2,100 

mt, to allow for continued rebuilding of 

BFT through 2018. The TAC is inclusive 

of dead discards and will be effective 

annually for 2007 through 2008, and 

thereafter until changed. The following 

deductions are made from the TAC prior 

to applying the U.S. share percentage: 4 

mt for the United Kingdom (in respect 

of Bermuda), 4 mt for France (in respect 

of St. Pierre and Miquelon), 25 mt for 

Mexico (to allow incidental catch in the 

longline fishery in the Gulf of Mexico), 

and 15 mt for Canada and 25 mt for the 

United States (for bycatch related to 

directed longline fisheries in the ‘‘in the 

vicinity of the management boundary 

area,’’ i.e., the Northeast Distant gear 

restricted area (NED), which was 

defined in the 2003 BFT annual 

specification rulemaking process as the 

Northeast Distant statistical area (68 FR 

56783, October 2, 2003). The U.S. share 

of the adjusted TAC is 57.48 percent, or 

1,165.12 mt. Accounting for the 25 mt 

NED set-aside, the total U.S. allocation 

is 1,190.12 mt. The previous (2002) 

ICCAT recommendation for a western 

Atlantic BFT TAC of 2,700 mt included 

a U.S. quota of 1,464.6 mt, which was 

effective from 2003 through the end of 

the 2006 fishing year, i.e., May 31, 2007, 

and also included a 25–mt NED setaside, for a total of 1,489.6 mt. 

The 2006 ICCAT recommendation 

also includes provisions to: (1) limit 

carryover of underharvest to no more 

than 50 percent of a contracting party’s 

initial TAC; (2) limit mortality of school 

BFT to an average of 10 percent of the 

initial TAC, calculated on a four-year 

basis; and (3) allow a contracting party 

with a TAC allocation to make a onetime transfer within a fishing year of up 

to 15 percent of its TAC allocation to 

other contracting parties with TAC 

allocations, consistent with domestic 

obligations and conservation 

considerations. Regarding the third 

provision, the ICCAT recommendation 

stipulates that the quota transfer may 

not be used to cover overharvests, and 

that a contracting party that receives a 

one-time quota transfer may not 

retransfer that quota. For the United 

States, the 15–percent limit on quota 

transfer equates to 178.5 mt. In 

considering whether the United States 

could enter into an arrangement with 

another ICCAT contracting party, 

several factors would need to be taken 

into account, including, but not limited 

to, the amount of quota to be 

transferred, the projected ability of U.S. 

vessels to harvest the U.S. TAC before 

the end of the fishing year, the potential 

benefits of the transfer to U.S. fishing 

participants (such as access to the EEZ 

of the receiving contracting party for the 

harvest of a designated amount of BFT), 

potential ecological impacts, and the 

contracting party’s ICCAT compliance 

status. NMFS intends to undertake any 

transfer of U.S. quota to another ICCAT 

contracting party via a separate action 

proposed in the Federal Register, if the 

situation arises. 

Initial landings estimates (as of 

January 15, 2007) per category are as 

follows: General category — 159.8 mt; 

Harpoon category — 22.2 mt; Longline 

category — 31.4 mt; Angling category —

186.8 mt; Trap category — 0 mt; and 

Purse Seine category — 3.6 mt. These 

preliminary landings estimates, totaling 

403.8 mt, indicate that the total 2006 

underharvest is 2,435.4 mt. 

Underharvests per category are 

preliminarily determined to be as 

follows: General category — 1,003.5 mt; 

Harpoon category — 101.8 mt; Longline 

category — 236.6 mt; Angling category 

— 195.2 mt; Trap category — 5.3 mt; 

and Purse Seine category — 620.5 mt. 

Based on the estimated amount of 

Reserve that NMFS maintains for the 

landing of BFT taken during ongoing 

scientific research projects and/or 

potential overharvests in certain 

categories, NMFS estimates that 282.3 

mt of Reserve remains from the 2006 

fishing year. 

In anticipation of a cap on carryover 

for the 2007 fishing year, i.e., 595.1 mt, 

or one half of the initial U.S. TAC of 

1,190.12 mt, and in anticipation of a 

substantial underharvest of the 2006 

fishing year domestic quota, the United 

States agreed at the 2006 ICCAT meeting 

to transfer a total of 275 mt of current 

U.S. underharvest (i.e., underharvest of 

the 2006 fishing year quota) as follows: 

75 mt and 100 mt for 2007 and 2008, 

respectively, to Mexico, and 50 mt for 

each of the years 2007 and 2008 to 

Canada. Based on these transfers, the 

remaining amount of underharvest (as of 


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16320 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

January 15, 2007) is 2,160.4 mt. 

However, the ICCAT-recommended cap 

limits the amount the United States may 

carry over for 2007 to 595.1 mt. 

Domestic Quota Allocation 

The 1999 FMP and its implementing 

regulations established baseline 

percentage quota shares for the domestic 

fishing categories. These percentage 

shares were based on allocation 

procedures that NMFS developed over 

several years. The baseline percentage 

quota shares established in the 1999 

FMP and contained in the Consolidated 

HMS FMP for fishing years beginning 

June 1, 1999, and continuing to the 

present are as follows: General category 

— 47.1 percent; Harpoon category — 3.9 

percent; Purse Seine category — 18.6 

percent; Angling category — 19.7 

percent; Longline category — 8.1 

percent; Trap category — 0.1 percent; 

and Reserve category — 2.5 percent. 

These proposed initial 2007 fishing 

year specifications, consistent with the 

BFT rebuilding program, would allocate 

the 2006 ICCAT-recommended quota for 

the 2007 fishing year among the several 

established domestic fishing categories 

based on the current BFT quota 

allocation percentages per the 

Consolidated HMS FMP, and would 

allocate 25 mt to the longline north NED 

subquota. 

As described further below, these 

specifications also would apply 595.1 

mt of the underharvest of BFT quota 

from the 2006 fishing year, consistent 

with the ICCAT-recommended 50–

percent cap on quota carryover to the 

2007 fishing year quota, and distribute 

that underharvest in such a manner to: 

(1) Allow for potential transfer of a 

portion (up to 15 percent) of the 2007 

U.S. quota to other ICCAT Contracting 

Parties, if warranted; (2) ensure that the 

Longline category has sufficient quota to 

operate during the 2007 fishing year 

while also considering accounting for 

BFT discards; and (3) provide the nonLongline quota categories a share of the 

remainder of the underharvest 

consistent with the allocation scheme 

established in the Consolidated HMS 

FMP. 

Beginning with its 1998 

recommendation, ICCAT has 

historically recommended a deduction 

of 79 mt from the TAC as an allowance 

for dead discards, and the U.S. portion 

of this allowance has been 68 mt. The 

2006 ICCAT recommendation included 

neither a recommended dead discard 

allowance, nor specified dead discard 

reporting methodology for compliance 

purposes. Nevertheless, the United 

States must report dead discard 

estimates annually. Accordingly, NMFS 

must account for BFT dead discards in 

setting the 2007 fishing year quota. 

In the past, for compliance purposes, 

the United States has reported dead 

discards to ICCAT as an estimate based 

on pelagic longline vessel logbook 

tallies, adjusted as warranted by 

observer data. For 2005, the most recent 

year for which complete information is 

available, the estimate is approximately 

46 mt. However, based on revised 

methodology, the SCRS now reports 

dead discard estimates generated via 

extrapolation of logbook tallies by 

pooled observer data; for 2005, the 

estimate is approximately 131 mt. These 

specifications also use this revised 

estimate. Estimates of dead discards 

from other gear types and fishing sectors 

that do not use the pelagic longline 

vessel logbook are unavailable at this 

time and thus are not included in this 

calculation. Per the ICCAT 

recommendation, which specifies a U.S. 

quota that is inclusive of dead discards, 

and consistent with how NMFS has 

handled past incidents of dead discards 

exceeding the allowance, NMFS would 

deduct the 131 mt of estimated dead 

discards from the amount of quota 

available for the Longline category for 

the 2007 fishing year. In addition, 

NMFS proposes to modify the BFT 

quota and annual adjustment 

regulations at § 635.27(a) to indicate that 

NMFS will account for dead discards 

annually as part of the specifications 

process, and to indicate its intent to 

subtract that amount from the quota of 

the category accounting for the dead 

discards. 

As described above, the United States 

may choose, pursuant to the 2006 

ICCAT recommendation, to transfer up 

to 15 percent of the U.S. TAC to another 

ICCAT Contracting Party with a TAC 

allocation, consistent with U.S. 

obligations and conservation 

considerations. NMFS proposes to 

divide the 595.1 mt of quota carryover 

such that 178.5 mt (i.e., 15 percent of 

1,190.12 mt) is placed in the Reserve for 

potential ICCAT transfer purposes. 

NMFS also proposes to assign a 

sufficient amount of the quota carryover 

(236.6 mt) to the Longline category, due 

to the revised dead discard accounting 

methodology, so that after accounting 

for the 131 mt of dead discards, 

sufficient quota is available to cover the 

anticipated landings and dead discards 

of the pelagic longline fishery during 

the 2007 fishing year, i.e., potentially 

200 mt. NMFS seeks to avoid a zero or 

negative quota for the Longline category, 

which could result in increased BFT 

discards, given that NMFS must subtract 

the best available dead discard estimate 

from the TAC on an annual basis. The 

Longline category baseline quota 

allocation (currently 8.1 percent of the 

TAC) may need to be revisited in the 

near future. Any change to the baseline 

allocation would require an amendment 

to the Consolidated HMS FMP. NMFS 

proposes to distribute the remainder of 

the quota carryover (180 mt) to the 

Angling, General, Harpoon, Purse Seine, 

and Trap categories consistent with 

their FMP allocations. 

Consistent with the 2006 ICCAT 

recommendation, the proposed rule also 

would increase the limit on the take of 

school BFT (measuring 27 inches (68.6 

cm) to less than 47 inches (119.4 cm)) 

over each 4–consecutive-year period 

from 8 percent of the total U.S. TAC (per 

the 2002 ICCAT recommendation) to 10 

percent. Because the total U.S. quota is 

reduced by 22 percent, there will be 

only a minor effective increase in the 

base school BFT quota, in weight. 

2007 Proposed Initial Quota 

Specifications 

In accordance with the 2006 ICCAT 

quota recommendation, the 

Consolidated HMS FMP percentage 

shares for each of the domestic 

categories, and regulations regarding 

annual adjustments at 

§ 635.27(a)(10)(ii), NMFS proposes 

initial quota specifications for the 2007 

fishing year as follows: General category 

— 643.6 mt; Harpoon category — 53.3 

mt; Purse Seine category — 254.1 mt; 

Angling category — 269.2 mt; Longline 

category — 200 mt; and Trap category 

— 1.4 mt. Additionally, 207.6 mt would 

be allocated to the Reserve category for 

inseason adjustments, scientific 

research collection, potential 

overharvest in any category except the 

Purse Seine category, and potential 

quota transfers. 

Based on the above proposed initial 

specifications and considerations 

regarding the school BFT fishery, the 

Angling category quota of 269.2 mt 

would be further subdivided as follows: 

School BFT — 119 mt, with 45.8 mt to 

the northern area (north of 39°18′ N. 

latitude), 51.2 mt to the southern area 

(south of 39°18′ N. latitude), plus 22 mt 

held in reserve; large school/small 

medium BFT — 144 mt, with 68 mt to 

the northern area and 76 mt to the 

southern area; and large medium/giant 

BFT — 6.2 mt, with 2.1 mt to the 

northern area and 4.2 mt to the southern 

area. 

The 25–mt NED set-aside quota is in 

addition to the overall incidental 

longline quota to be subdivided in 

accordance with the North/South 

allocation percentages (i.e., no more 

than 60 percent to the south of 31° N. 

latitude). Thus, the proposed Longline 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 16321 

category quota of 200 mt would be 

subdivided as follows: 80 mt to pelagic 

longline vessels landing BFT north of 

31° N. latitude and 120 mt to pelagic 

longline vessels landing BFT south of 

31° N. latitude, with 25 mt set-aside for 

bycatch of BFT related to directed 

pelagic longline fisheries in the NED. 

NMFS would account for landings 

under this additional quota separately 

from other landings under the Longline 

north subcategory. 

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 entire General category 

season. The subquotas are consistent 

with the objectives of the Consolidated 

HMS FMP and are designed to address 

concerns regarding the 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 regulations implementing the 

Consolidated HMS FMP divide the 

annual General category quota into five 

time-period subquotas as follows: 50 

percent for June-August, 26.5 percent 

for September, 13 percent for OctoberNovember, 5.2 percent for December, 

and 5.3 percent for January. Because the 

fishing year is changing back to a 

calendar year effective January 1, 2008, 

NMFS proposes, for the 2007 fishing 

year only, to distribute the 5.3 percent 

of the General category quota that would 

be assigned to the January time period 

to the four time periods that will occur 

during the 2007 fishing year. Therefore, 

of the available 643.6–mt coastwide 

quota, 339.8 mt would be available in 

the period beginning June 1 and ending 

August 31, 2007; 180.1 mt would be 

available in the period beginning 

September 1 and ending September 30, 

2007; 88.4 mt would be available in the 

period beginning October 1 and ending 

November 30, 2007; and 35.3 mt would 

be available in the period beginning 

December 1 and ending December 31, 

2007. The January 2007 BFT fishery was 

prosecuted using 2006 fishing year 

quota. The January 2008 subquota will 

be included in the 2008 specifications, 

which NMFS plans to publish prior to 

the start of the fishery on January 1, 

2008. As discussed in the Consolidated 

HMS FMP, NMFS plans to work with 

the affected constituents through the 

2008 specifications process to determine 

the most appropriate disposition of any 

under- or overharvest that has accrued 

in the General category by the end of 

December 2007. 

In addition to time-period subquotas, 

NMFS also implements General 

category RFDs to extend the General 

category fishing season. The RFDs are 

designed to address the same issues 

addressed by time-period subquotas and 

provide additional fine scale inseason 

flexibility. For the 2007 fishing year, 

NMFS proposes a series of solid blocks 

of RFDs to extend the General category 

for as long as possible through the end 

of the 2007 fishing year. 

Therefore, NMFS proposes that 

persons aboard vessels permitted in the 

General category would be prohibited 

from fishing, including catch-andrelease and tag-and-release, for BFT of 

all sizes on the following days: all 

Saturdays and Sundays from November 

17, 2007, through December 31, 2007, 

plus November 22 and December 25, 

2007, while the fishery is open. These 

proposed RFDs would distribute fishing 

opportunities during the late season 

without increasing BFT mortality. 

NMFS’ intention is to propose RFDs for 

January 2008 as part of the 2008 quota 

specifications and effort controls, 

scheduled to be published before 

January 1, 2008. 

Finally, NMFS proposes to adjust the 

General category retention limit to three 

BFT (73 inches (185.4 cm) or greater per 

vessel per day/trip). This action is 

intended to allow increased 

opportunities to harvest the General 

category quota during the period when 

catch rates have historically been slow, 

and to avoid accumulation of unused 

quota. This retention limit would be 

effective from June 1, 2007, until August 

31, 2007, unless adjusted with an 

inseason action, if necessary. NMFS 

may consider further retention limit 

adjustments after August 31, 2007, 

depending on several factors, including 

but not limited to catch rates and 

availablility of quota. 

Angling Category Effort Controls 

NMFS proposes to adjust the Angling 

category retention limit to one school 

BFT (27 inches (68.6 cm) to less than 47 

inches (119.4 cm)), and two large 

school/small medium BFT (i.e., two 

BFT measuring 47 inches (119.4 cm) to 

less than 73 inches (185.4 cm)) per 

vessel per day/trip. This limit is 

expected to maximize use of the 

Angling category quota while avoiding 

overharvest of each of the Angling 

catgeory subquotas. The alternative also 

would provide the same retention limit 

for both private and charter/headboat 

vessels. 

Permit Category Changes 

Because of the scheduled change to a 

calendar year fishery beginning January 

1, 2008, and because NMFS plans to 

administer the permit program such that 

Atlantic Tunas, HMS Charter/Headboat, 

and HMS Angling category permits 

issued for the 2007 fishing year will be 

effective through December 31, 2008, 

NMFS also proposes to extend the 

window of opportunity to change 

permit categories for the 2008 fishing 

year, i.e., once during the period of 

January 1, 2008, through May 31, 2008. 

Classification 

This proposed rule is published under 

the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and the ATCA. The AA has 

preliminarily determined that the 

regulations contained in this proposed 

rule are necessary to implement the 

recommendations of ICCAT and to 

manage the domestic Atlantic HMS 

fisheries. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act. The IRFA describes the economic 

impact this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would have on small entities. A 

description of the action, why it is being 

considered, and the legal basis for this 

action are contained in the preamble to 

this proposed rule. A summary of the 

analysis follows. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

NMFS has prepared this IRFA to 

analyze the impacts on small entities of 

the alternatives for establishing 2007 

fishing year BFT quotas for all domestic 

fishing categories and General and 

Angling category effort controls. The 

analysis for the IRFA assesses the 

impacts of the various alternatives on 

the vessels that participate in the BFT 

fisheries, all of which are considered 

small entities. In order to do this, NMFS 

has estimated the average impact that 

the alternatives to establish the 2007 

BFT quota for all domestic fishing 

categories would have on individual 

categories and the vessels within those 

categories. As mentioned above, the 

2006 ICCAT recommendation reduced 

the U.S. BFT TAC to 1,190.12 mt. This 

quota allocation includes a set-aside 

quota of 25 mt to account for incidental 

catch of BFT related to directed longline 

swordfish and non-BFT tuna fisheries in 

the NED. This action would distribute 

the adjusted (baseline) TAC of 1,165.1 

mt to the domestic fishing categories 

based on the allocation percentages 

established in the Consolidated HMS 

FMP. 

In 2006, the annual gross revenues 

from the commercial BFT fishery were 

approximately $3.4 million. 


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16322 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

Approximately 8,751 vessels are 

permitted to land and sell BFT under 

four commercial BFT quota categories 

(including charter/headboat vessels). 

The commercial categories and their 

2006 gross revenues are General ($2.5 

million), Harpoon ($265,951), Purse 

Seine ($33,819), and Longline 

($558,022). The IRFA assumes that 

vessels within a category will have 

similar catch and gross revenues in 

order to consider the relative impact of 

the various preferred alternatives on 

vessels. Data on net revenues of 

individual fishermen are lacking, so the 

economic impact of the alternatives is 

averaged across each category. NMFS 

considers this a reasonable approach for 

BFT fisheries. More specifically, 

available landings data (weight and exvessel value of the fish in price/pound) 

allow NMFS to calculate the gross 

revenue earned by a fishery participant 

on a successful trip. The available data 

do not, however, allow NMFS to 

calculate the effort and cost associated 

with each successful trip (e.g., the cost 

of gas, bait, ice, etc.) so net revenue for 

each participant cannot be calculated. 

NMFS cannot determine whether net 

revenue varies among individual fishery 

participants within each category, and 

therefore whether the economic impact 

of a regulation would have a varying 

impact among individual participants. 

As a result, NMFS analyzes the average 

impact of the proposed alternatives 

among all participants in each category. 

For the allocation of BFT quota among 

domestic fishing categories, NMFS 

considered three alternatives: A no 

action alternative (A1); Alternative A2 

(the preferred alternative), which would 

implement the 2006 ICCAT 

recommendation; and Alternative A3, 

which would allocate the 2006 ICCAT 

recommendation in a manner other than 

that designated in the Consolidated 

HMS FMP and which could address 

issues regarding the changing nature of 

the BFT fisheries (e.g., allocate 

additional quota to certain categories 

and/or certain geographic regions). 

Alternative A3 would result in a de 

facto quota reallocation among 

categories, and an FMP amendment 

would be necessary for its 

implementation. Per the Consolidated 

HMS FMP, NMFS prepares quota 

specifications annually for the 

upcoming fishing year. Preparation of 

an FMP amendment would not be 

possible in the brief period of time 

between receipt of the ICCAT 

recommendation, which occurred in 

late November 2006, and the start of the 

2007 fishing year on June 1, 2007. 

Therefore, analysis of the impacts of 

Alternative A3 is not available. But, if 

an FMP amendment was feasible, 

positive economic impacts would be 

expected to result on average for vessels 

in permit categories that would receive 

a greater share than established in the 

FMP, and negative economic impacts 

would be expected to result on average 

for vessels in permit categories that 

would receive a lesser share than 

established in the FMP. Impacts per 

vessel would depend on the temporal 

and spatial availability of BFT to 

participants. 

As noted above, the preferred 

alternative (Alternative A2) would 

implement the 2006 ICCAT 

recommendation in accordance with the 

Consolidated HMS FMP and consistent 

with the ATCA, under which the United 

States is obligated to implement ICCATapproved quota recommendations. 

Alternative A2 would have slightly 

positive impacts for fishermen. The no 

action alternative would keep the quota 

at pre–2006 ICCAT recommendation 

levels (approximately 300 mt more) and 

would not be consistent with the 

purpose and need for this action and the 

Consolidated HMS FMP. It would 

maintain economic impacts to the 

United States and to local economies at 

a distribution and scale similar to 2006 

or recent prior years, and would provide 

fishermen additional fishing 

opportunities, subject to the availability 

of BFT to the fishery, in the short term. 

The preferred alternative also would 

implement the provision of the 2006 

ICCAT recommendation that limits 

tolerance for school BFT landings to 10 

percent of the U.S. TAC, calculated on 

a four-year average. This is expected to 

have neutral impacts on fishermen who 

fish for school BFT, particularly those 

who rely exclusively on the school size 

class for BFT harvest, since the available 

quota is the same as the level when the 

limit was 8–percent of the U.S. TAC 

under the 2002 ICCAT recommendation. 

Two alternatives were considered for 

effort control using RFDs in the General 

category. The no action alternative 

would not implement any RFDs with 

publication of the initial specifications 

but rather would use inseason 

management authority established in 

the Consolidated HMS FMP to 

implement RFDs during the season, 

should catch rates warrant taking this 

approach. This alternative could be 

most beneficial during a season of low 

catch rates and could have positive 

economic consequences if slow catch 

rates were to persist during the late 

season fishery. During a slow season, 

the season could regulate itself and 

fishermen could choose when to fish or 

not based on their own preferences. 

However, it is impossible to predict in 

advance whether the season will have 

low or high catch rates. 

The preferred alternative would 

designate RFDs according to a schedule 

published in the initial BFT 

specifications. In the past, when catch 

rates have been high, the use of RFDs 

(preferred alternative) has had positive 

economic consequences by avoiding 

oversupplying the market and extending 

the season as late as possible. In 

addition, establishing RFDs at the 

season onset provides better planning 

opportunities than implementing RFDs 

during the season, since charter/ 

headboat businesses could book trips 

and recreational and commercial 

fishermen could make plans ahead of 

time rather than waiting until the last 

minute to see if an RFD is going to be 

implemented. However, implementing 

RFDs to extend the late season may have 

some negative economic impacts to 

northern area fishermen who choose to 

travel to the southern area during the 

late season fishery. Travel and lodging 

costs may be greater if the season were 

extended over a greater period of time 

as proposed under the preferred 

alternative. Those additional costs could 

be mitigated if the ex-vessel price of 

BFT stays high, as is intended under 

this alternative. Without RFDs, travel 

costs may be less because of a shorter 

season; however, the market could be 

oversupplied and ex-vessel prices could 

fall. Overall, extending the season as 

late as possible and establishing 

formalized RFDs at the season onset 

would enhance the likelihood of 

increasing participation by southern 

area fishermen, increase access to the 

fishery over a greater range of the fish 

migration, provide a reliable mechanism 

for slowing a fishery that has an ability 

to generate extremely high catch rates, 

and is expected to provide better than 

average ex-vessel prices with an overall 

increase in gross revenues. 

A retention limit of three BFT 

(measuring 73 inches (185.4 cm) or 

greater per vessel per day/trip) is the 

preferred alternative for the opening 

retention limit for the General category, 

which would be in effect through 

August 31, 2007. This alternative is 

expected to result in the most positive 

socio-economic impacts by providing 

the best opportunity to harvest the quota 

while avoiding oversupplying the 

market, thus maximizing gross 

revenues. Other considered alternatives 

were the no action alternative (one BFT 

measuring 73 inches or greater per 

vessel per day/trip) and a retention limit 

of two BFT (73 inches or greater per 

vessel per day/trip). Both of these 

alternatives are expected to be too 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 16323 

restrictive given the large amount of 

quota available for the General category 

during the 2007 fishing year and could 

result in the negative economic impact 

of lower gross revenues. Although early 

season landings seldom occur at a rate 

that could oversupply the market, 

NMFS will monitor landings closely to 

ensure that the increased retention limit 

does not contribute to an oversupply. 

Six alternatives were considered for 

Angling category retention limits for the 

2007 fishing year. The preferred 

alternative (D1b) is a three BFT 

retention limit (two fish measuring 47 

inches (119.4 cm) to less than 73 inches 

(185.4 cm) and one fish measuring 27 

inches (68.6 cm) to less than 73 inches) 

per vessel per day/trip for all sectors of 

the Angling category for the entire 2007 

fishing year. The other two alternatives 

providing the same daily retention 

limits (per vessel) for both private 

recreational and charter/headboats were 

the no action alternative (D1a, i.e., one 

fish measuring 27 inches to less than 73 

inches) and Alternative D1c (two fish 

measuring 47 inches to less than 73 

inches and two fish measuring 27 

inches to less than 73 inches). 

Alternative D1a was not preferred 

because it could unnecessarily restrict 

the amount of Angling category landings 

which could result in an underharvest 

of the quota and a negative economic 

impact. Alternative D1c was not 

preferred because it could result in an 

overharvest of the quota, with negative 

economic consequences. 

Three other alternatives were 

considered that would provide different 

retention limits for the Angling category 

sectors. The first (D2a) would allow a 

private vessel daily retention limit of 

three fish (two measuring 47 inches to 

less than 73 inches and one measuring 

27 inches to less than 47 inches) and a 

charter/headboat daily retention limit 

(per vessel) of five fish (three fish 

measuring 47 inches to less than 73 

inches and two fish measuring 27 

inches to less than 47 inches). The 

second alternative (D2b) would allow 

three fish (two measuring 47 inches to 

less than 73 inches and one measuring 

27 inches to less than 47 inches) for 

each vessel per day/trip for the season, 

with an increase to five fish (three 

measuring 47 inches to less than 73 

inches and two measuring 27 inches to 

less than 47 inches) per vessel for 

charter/headboats during June 15, 2007 

through July 31, 2007, and the month of 

September 2007. The third alternative 

(D2c) would allow two fish (measuring 

27 inches to less than 73 inches) less 

than 47 inches) for each vessel per day/ 

trip for the season, with an increase to 

three fish (measuring 27 inches to less 

than 73 inches) per vessel for charter/ 

headboats during June 15, 2007 through 

July 31, 2007, and the month of 

September 2007. Alternatives D2a and 

D2b were considered to be potentially 

too liberal with a greater potential for 

exceeding the Angling category quota 

for 2007. Alternative D2c was 

considered to be unnecessarily 

restrictive with a greater potential for 

negative economic impacts associated 

with not harvesting the entire quota. In 

addition, the D2 subalternatives were 

not preferred since they could result in 

perceived inequities between the two 

sectors of the Angling category fishery. 

The preferred alternative (D1b) was 

selected to balance the intent of landing 

the Angling category quota without 

overharvesting, providing sufficient 

retention limits to offset costs, reducing 

any perceived inequities between the 

charter/headboat and private 

recreational vessel sectors of the 

Angling category fishery, and providing 

economic benefits to all regional sectors 

of the fishery. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. This proposed rule has also 

been determined not to duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with any other 

Federal rules. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635 

Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, 

Foreign relations, Management, 

Treaties. 

Dated: March 30, 2007. 

Samuel D. Rauch III 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, 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.; 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. 

2. In § 635.4, paragraph (j)(3) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 635.4 Permits and fees. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(3) A vessel owner issued an Atlantic 

tunas permit in the General, Harpoon, or 

Trap category or an Atlantic HMS 

permit in the Angling or Charter/ 

Headboat category under paragraph (b), 

(c), or (d) of this section may change the 

category of the vessel permit once 

within 10 calendar days of the date of 

issuance of the permit. After 10 calendar 

days from the date of issuance of the 

permit, the vessel owner may not 

change the permit category until the 

following fishing season, except during 

the period of January 1, 2008, through 

May 31, 2008, when one additional 

change is authorized. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 635.27, paragraphs (a) 

introductory text, (a)(1)(i), (a)(2), (a)(3), 

(a)(4)(i), (a)(5), (a)(6), (a)(7)(i), (a)(7)(ii), 

(a)(10)(iii), and (a)(10)(iv) are revised to 

read as follows: 

§ 635.27 Quotas. 

(a) BFT. Consistent with ICCAT 

recommendations, and with paragraph 

(a)(10)(iv) of this section, NMFS may 

subtract the most recent, complete, and 

available estimate of dead discards from 

the annual U.S. BFT quota, and make 

the remainder available to be retained, 

possessed, or landed by persons and 

vessels subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The 

remaining baseline annual U.S. BFT 

quota will be allocated among the 

General, Angling, Harpoon, Purse Seine, 

Longline, Trap, and Reserve categories. 

BFT may be taken by persons aboard 

vessels issued Atlantic Tunas permits, 

HMS Angling permits, or HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permits. The baseline annual 

U.S. BFT quota is 1,165.1 mt, not 

including an additional annual 25 mt 

allocation provided in paragraph (a)(3) 

of this section. Allocations of the 

baseline annual U.S. BFT quota are: 

General - 47.1 percent (548.8 mt); 

Angling - 19.7 percent (229.5 mt), which 

includes the school BFT held in reserve 

as described under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) 

of this section; Harpoon - 3.9 percent 

(45.4 mt); Purse Seine - 18.6 percent 

(216.7 mt); Longline - 8.1 percent (94.4 

mt), which does not include the 

additional annual 25 mt allocation 

provided in paragraph (a)(3) of this 

section; and Trap - 0.1 percent (1.2 mt). 

The remaining 2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of 

the baseline annual U.S. BFT quota will 

be held in reserve for inseason or annual 

adjustments based on the criteria in 

paragraph (a)(8) of this section. NMFS 

may apportion a quota allocated to any 

category to specified fishing periods or 

to geographic areas and will make 

annual adjustments to quotas, as 

specified in paragraph (a)(10) of this 

section. BFT quotas are specified in 

whole weight. 

(1) General category quota. * * * 

(i) Catches from vessels for which 

General category Atlantic Tunas permits 

have been issued and certain catches 

from vessels for which an HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit has been issued are 

counted against the General category 

quota in accordance with § 635.23(c)(3). 


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16324 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

The amount of large medium and giant 

BFT that may be caught, retained, 

possessed, landed, or sold under the 

General category quota is 47.1 percent 

(548.8 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. 

BFT quota, and is apportioned as 

follows: 

(A) January 1 through January 31 - 5.3 

percent (29.1 mt); 

(B) June 1 through August 31 - 50 

percent (274.4 mt); 

(C) September 1 through September 

30 - 26.5 percent (145.4 mt); 

(D) October 1 through November 30 - 

13 percent (71.3 mt); and 

(E) December 1 through December 31 

- 5.2 percent (28.5 mt). 

* * * * * 

(2) Angling category quota. In 

accordance with the framework 

procedures of the HMS FMP, prior to 

each fishing year or as early as feasible, 

NMFS will establish the Angling 

category daily retention limits. The total 

amount of BFT that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, and landed by 

anglers aboard vessels for which an 

HMS Angling permit or an HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit has been 

issued is 19.7 percent (229.5 mt) of the 

baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. No 

more than 2.3 percent (5.3 mt) of the 

annual Angling category quota may be 

large medium or giant BFT. In addition, 

over each 4 consecutive-year period 

(starting in 2007, inclusive), no more 

than 10 percent of the annual U.S. BFT 

quota, inclusive of the allocation 

specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this 

section, may be school BFT. The 

Angling category quota includes the 

amount of school BFT held in reserve 

under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section. 

The size class subquotas for BFT are 

further subdivided as follows: 

(i) After adjustment for the school 

BFT quota held in reserve (under 

paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section), 52.8 

percent (51.2 mt) of the school BFT 

Angling category quota may be caught, 

retained, possessed, or landed south of 

39°18′ N. lat. The remaining school BFT 

Angling category quota (45.8 mt) may be 

caught, retained, possessed or landed 

north of 39°18′ N. lat. 

(ii) An amount equal to 52.8 percent 

(55.6 mt) of the large school/small 

medium BFT Angling category quota 

may be caught, retained, possessed, or 

landed south of 39°18′ N. lat. The 

remaining large school/small medium 

BFT Angling category quota (49.6 mt) 

may be caught, retained, possessed or 

landed north of 39°18′ N. lat. 

(iii) An amount equal to 66.7 percent 

(3.5 mt) of the large medium and giant 

BFT Angling category quota may be 

caught, retained, possessed, or landed 

south of 39°18′ N. lat. The remaining 

large medium and giant BFT Angling 

category quota (1.8 mt) may be caught, 

retained, possessed or landed north of 

39°18′ N. lat. 

(3) Longline category quota. The total 

amount of large medium and giant BFT 

that may be caught incidentally and 

retained, possessed, or landed by 

vessels that possess Longline category 

Atlantic Tunas permits is 8.1 percent 

(94.4 mt) of the baseline annual U.S. 

BFT quota. No more than 60.0 percent 

of the Longline category quota may be 

allocated for landing in the area south 

of 31°00′ N. lat. In addition, 25 mt shall 

be allocated for incidental catch by 

pelagic longline vessels fishing in the 

Northeast Distant gear restricted area as 

specified at § 635.23(f)(3). 

(4) * * * 

(i) The total amount of large medium 

and giant BFT that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, or landed by 

vessels that possess Purse Seine 

category Atlantic Tunas permits is 18.6 

percent (216.7 mt) of the baseline 

annual U.S. BFT quota. The directed 

purse seine fishery for BFT commences 

on July 15 of each year unless NMFS 

takes action to delay the season start 

date. Based on cumulative and projected 

landings in other commercial fishing 

categories, and the potential for gear 

conflicts on the fishing grounds or 

market impacts due to oversupply, 

NMFS may delay the BFT purse seine 

season start date from July 15 to no later 

than August 15 by filing an adjustment 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

prior to July 1. 

* * * * * 

(5) Harpoon category quota. The total 

amount of large medium and giant BFT 

that may be caught, retained, possessed, 

landed, or sold by vessels that possess 

Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas 

permits is 3.9 percent (45.4 mt) of the 

baseline annual U.S. BFT quota. The 

Harpoon category fishery closes on 

November 15 each year. 

(6) Trap category quota. The total 

amount of large medium and giant BFT 

that may be caught, retained, possessed, 

or landed by vessels that possess Trap 

category Atlantic Tunas permits is 0.1 

percent (1.2 mt) of the baseline annual 

U.S. BFT quota. 

(7) * * * 

(i) The total amount of BFT that is 

held in reserve for inseason or annual 

adjustments and fishery-independent 

research using quotas or subquotas is 

2.5 percent (29.1 mt) of the baseline 

annual U.S. BFT quota. Consistent with 

paragraph (a)(8) of this section, NMFS 

may allocate any portion of this reserve 

for inseason or annual adjustments to 

any category quota in the fishery. 

(ii) The total amount of school BFT 

that is held in reserve for inseason or 

annual adjustments and fisheryindependent research is 18.5 percent (22 

mt) of the total school BFT Angling 

category quota as described under 

paragraph (a)(2) of this section. This is 

in addition to the amounts specified in 

paragraph (a)(7)(i) of this section. 

Consistent with paragraph (a)(8) of this 

section, NMFS may allocate any portion 

of the school BFT Angling category 

quota held in reserve for inseason or 

annual adjustments to the Angling 

category. 

* * * * * 

(10) * * * 

(iii) Regardless of the estimated 

landings in any year, NMFS may adjust 

the annual school BFT quota to ensure 

that the average take of school BFT over 

each 4 consecutive-year period 

beginning in the 2007 fishing year does 

not exceed 10 percent by weight of the 

total annual U.S. BFT quota, inclusive 

of the allocation specified in paragraph 

(a)(3) of this section, for that period. 

(iv) NMFS may subtract the best 

available estimate of dead discards from 

the amount of BFT that can be landed 

in the subsequent fishing year by those 

categories accounting for the dead 

discards. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E7–6259 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC61 with PROPOSALS