33870 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 138 / Wednesday, July 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

20° N latitude and 20° S latitude in a 

calendar year. 

(1) For the high seas there is a limit 

of 1,370 fishing days in 2018. 

(2) For the U.S. EEZ there is a limit 

of 458 fishing days for 2018. If NMFS 

expects that this limit will be reached 

by October 1, 2018, NMFS will publish 

a document in the Federal Register 

increasing the limit for that calendar 

year to 558 fishing days no later than 

seven days prior to October 1, 2018. 

(3) NMFS will determine the number 

of fishing days spent on the high seas 

and in the U.S. EEZ in each calendar 

year using data submitted in logbooks 

and other available information. After 

NMFS determines that a limit in a 

calendar year is expected to be reached 

by a specific future date, and at least 

seven calendar days in advance of the 

closure date, NMFS will publish a 

document in the Federal Register 

announcing that the purse seine fishery 

in the area where the limit is expected 

to be reached will be closed starting on 

that specific future date and will remain 

closed until the end of the calendar 

year. 

(4) Once a fishery closure is 

announced pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) 

of this section, fishing vessels of the 

United States equipped with purse seine 

gear may not be used to fish in the 

closed area during the period specified 

in the Federal Register document, 

except that such vessels are not 

prohibited from bunkering during a 

fishery closure. 

(b) Use of fish aggregating devices. (1) 

During the periods and in the areas 

specified in paragraph (b)(2) of this 

section, owners, operators, and crew of 

fishing vessels of the United States 

equipped with purse seine gear shall not 

do any of the activities described below 

in the Convention Area in the area 

between 20° N latitude and 20° S 

latitude: 

(i) Set a purse seine around a FAD or 

within one nautical mile of a FAD. 

(ii) Set a purse seine in a manner 

intended to capture fish that have 

aggregated in association with a FAD or 

a vessel, such as by setting the purse 

seine in an area from which a FAD or 

a vessel has been moved or removed 

within the previous eight hours, or 

setting the purse seine in an area in 

which a FAD has been inspected or 

handled within the previous eight 

hours, or setting the purse seine in an 

area into which fish were drawn by a 

vessel from the vicinity of a FAD or a 

vessel. 

(iii) Deploy a FAD into the water. 

(iv) Repair, clean, maintain, or 

otherwise service a FAD, including any 

electronic equipment used in 

association with a FAD, in the water or 

on a vessel while at sea, except that: 

(A) A FAD may be inspected and 

handled as needed to identify the FAD, 

identify and release incidentally 

captured animals, un-foul fishing gear, 

or prevent damage to property or risk to 

human safety; and 

(B) A FAD may be removed from the 

water and if removed may be repaired, 

cleaned, maintained, or otherwise 

serviced, provided that it is not returned 

to the water. 

(v) From a purse seine vessel or any 

associated skiffs, other watercraft or 

equipment, do any of the following, 

except in emergencies as needed to 

prevent human injury or the loss of 

human life, the loss of the purse seine 

vessel, skiffs, watercraft or aircraft, or 

environmental damage: 

(A) Submerge lights under water; 

(B) Suspend or hang lights over the 

side of the purse seine vessel, skiff, 

watercraft or equipment, or; 

(C) Direct or use lights in a manner 

other than as needed to illuminate the 

deck of the purse seine vessel or 

associated skiffs, watercraft or 

equipment, to comply with navigational 

requirements, and to ensure the health 

and safety of the crew. 

(2) The requirements of paragraph 

(b)(1) of this section shall apply: 

(i) From July 1 through September 30, 

in each calendar year; 

(ii) In any area of high seas, from 

November 1 through December 31, in 

each calendar year. 

(3)(i) Activating FADs for purse seine 

vessels. A vessel owner, operator, or 

crew of a fishing vessel of the United 

States equipped with purse seine gear 

shall turn on the tracking equipment of 

an active FAD while the FAD is onboard 

the vessel and before it is deployed in 

the water. 

(ii) Restrictions on Active FADs for 

purse seine vessels. U.S. vessel owners 

and operators of a fishing vessel of the 

United States equipped with purse seine 

gear shall not have more than 350 

drifting active FADs per vessel in the 

Convention Area at any one time. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 300.224, revise paragraph (a)(1) 

and remove and reserve paragraph 

(a)(2). 

The revision reads as follows: 

§ 300.224 Longline fishing restrictions. 

(a) * * * 

(1) There is a limit of 3,554 metric 

tons of bigeye tuna per calendar year 

that may be captured in the Convention 

Area by longline gear and retained on 

board by fishing vessels of the United 

States. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Revise § 300.225 to read as follows: 

§ 300.225 Eastern High Seas Special 

Management Area. 

The owner and operator of a fishing 

vessel of the United States used for 

commercial fishing for HMS is 

prohibited from engaging in 

transshipment in the Eastern High Seas 

Special Management Area. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15341 Filed 7–17–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 150413357–5999–02] 

RIN 0648–XG325 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Commercial Aggregated Large Coastal 

Shark and Hammerhead Shark 

Management Group Retention Limit 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

retention limit adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the 

commercial aggregated large coastal 

shark (LCS) and hammerhead shark 

management group retention limit for 

directed shark limited access permit 

holders in the Atlantic region from 3 

LCS other than sandbar sharks per 

vessel per trip to 36 LCS other than 

sandbar sharks per vessel per trip. This 

action is based on consideration of the 

regulatory determination criteria 

regarding inseason adjustments. The 

retention limit will remain at 36 LCS 

other than sandbar sharks per vessel per 

trip in the Atlantic region through the 

rest of the 2018 fishing season or until 

NMFS announces via a notification in 

the Federal Register another adjustment 

to the retention limit or a fishery 

closure. This retention limit adjustment 

affects anyone with a directed shark 

limited access permit fishing for LCS in 

the Atlantic region. 

DATES: This retention limit adjustment 

is effective on July 18, 2018, through 

December 31, 2018, or until NMFS 

announces via a notification in the 

Federal Register another adjustment to 

the retention limit or a fishery closure, 

if warranted. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lauren Latchford, Guy ́ DuBeck, or Karyl 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 138 / Wednesday, July 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 33871 

Brewster-Geisz 301–427–8503; fax 301– 

713–1917. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

shark fisheries are managed under the 

2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory 

Species (HMS) Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP), its amendments, and 

implementing regulations (50 CFR part 

635) issued under authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

Atlantic shark fisheries have separate 

regional (Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic) 

quotas for all management groups 

except those for blue shark, porbeagle 

shark, pelagic sharks (other than 

porbeagle or blue sharks), and the shark 

research fishery for LCS and sandbar 

sharks. The boundary between the Gulf 

of Mexico region and the Atlantic region 

is defined at § 635.27(b)(1) as a line 

beginning on the East Coast of Florida 

at the mainland at 25°20.4′ N. lat, 

proceeding due east. Any water and 

land to the north and east of that 

boundary is considered, for the 

purposes of setting and monitoring 

quotas, to be within the Atlantic region. 

This inseason action only affects the 

aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark 

management groups in the Atlantic 

region. 

Under § 635.24(a)(8), NMFS may 

adjust the commercial retention limits 

in the shark fisheries during the fishing 

season. Before making any adjustment, 

NMFS must consider specified 

regulatory criteria (see § 635.24(a)(8)(i) 

through (vi)). After considering these 

criteria as discussed below, NMFS has 

concluded that increasing the retention 

limit of the Atlantic aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead management groups for 

directed shark limited access permit 

holders in the Atlantic region will allow 

use of available aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark management group 

quotas and will provide fishermen 

throughout the region equitable fishing 

opportunities for the rest of the year. 

Therefore, NMFS is increasing the 

commercial Atlantic aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark retention limit in the 

Atlantic region from 3 to 36 LCS other 

than sandbar shark per vessel per trip. 

NMFS considered the inseason 

retention limit adjustment criteria listed 

at § 635.24(a)(8)(i) through (vi), which 

includes: 

• The amount of remaining shark 

quota in the relevant area, region, or 

sub-region to date, based on dealer 

reports. 

Based on dealer reports through June 

18, 2018, 52.6 metric tons (mt) dressed 

weight (dw) (116,048 lb dw), or 25 

percent, of the 168.9 mt dw shark quota 

for aggregated LCS and 4.9 mt dw 

(10,836 lb dw), or 18 percent, of the 27.1 

mt dw shark quota for the hammerhead 

management groups have been 

harvested in the Atlantic region. This 

means that approximately 75 percent of 

the aggregated LCS quota remains 

available and approximately 82 percent 

of the hammerhead shark quota remains 

available. NMFS took action previously 

this year to reduce retention rates after 

considering the relevant inseason 

adjustment criteria, particularly the 

need for all regions to have an equitable 

opportunity to utilize the quota. Given 

the geographic distribution of the sharks 

at this time of year (i.e., they are heading 

north before moving south again later in 

the year), the retention limit needs to be 

adjusted upwards to ensure that 

fishermen in the Atlantic region have an 

opportunity to fully utilize the quotas in 

the region throughout the remainder of 

the year. 

• The catch rates of the relevant shark 

species/complexes in the region or subregion, to date, based on dealer reports. 

Based on the current commercial 

retention limit and average catch rate of 

landings data from dealer reports, the 

amount of aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark quota available is 

high, while harvest in the Atlantic 

region on a daily basis is low. Using 

current catch rates, projections indicate 

that landings would not reach 80 

percent of the quota before the end of 

the 2018 fishing season (December 31, 

2018). A higher retention limit will 

better promote fishing opportunities and 

utilization of available quota in the 

Atlantic region. 

• Estimated date of fishery closure 

based on when the landings are 

projected to reach 80 percent of the 

quota given the realized catch rates. 

Once the landings reach 80 percent of 

either the aggregated LCS or 

hammerhead shark quotas, NMFS 

would, as required by the regulations at 

§ 635.28(b)(3), close the aggregated LCS 

and hammerhead shark management 

groups since they are ‘‘linked quotas.’’ 

Current catch rates would likely result 

in the fisheries remaining open for the 

remainder of the year, but with the 

quotas being underutilized in the 

Atlantic region. The higher retention 

limit should help make it possible to 

more fully utilize the quota in the 

Atlantic region. 

• Effects of the adjustment on 

accomplishing the objectives of the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments. 

Increasing the retention limit on the 

aggregated LCS and hammerhead 

management groups in the Atlantic 

region from 3 to 36 LCS other than 

sandbar sharks per vessel per trip would 

allow for fishing opportunities later in 

the year, consistent with the FMP’s 

objective to ensure equitable fishing 

opportunities throughout the region. 

• Variations in seasonal distribution, 

abundance, or migratory patterns of the 

relevant shark species based on 

scientific and fishery-based knowledge. 

The directed shark fisheries in the 

Atlantic region are composed of a mix 

of species, with a high abundance of 

aggregated LCS caught in conjunction 

with hammerhead sharks. Migratory 

patterns of many LCS in the Atlantic 

region indicate the sharks move farther 

north in the summer and then return 

south in the fall. Increasing the 

retention limit in the Atlantic region at 

this time provides for fishing 

opportunities by fishermen farther north 

(i.e. Mid-Atlantic and New England) as 

the sharks are likely going to be in the 

northern areas of the region for only a 

short period of time before migrating 

south again. As a result, by increasing 

the harvest and landings on a per-trip 

basis, fishermen throughout the Atlantic 

region will likely experience equitable 

fishing opportunities. 

• Effects of catch rates in one part of 

a region or sub-region precluding 

vessels in another part of that region or 

sub-region from having a reasonable 

opportunity to harvest a portion of the 

relevant quota. 

NMFS has previously provided notice 

to the regulated community (82 FR 

55512; November 22, 2017, and 83 FR 

21744; May 10, 2018) that a goal of this 

year’s fishery is to ensure fishing 

opportunities throughout the fishing 

season and the Atlantic region. While 

dealer reports indicate that, under 

current catch rates, the aggregated LCS 

and hammerhead shark management 

groups in the Atlantic region would 

remain open for the remainder of the 

year, the catch rates also indicate that 

the quotas would likely not be fully 

harvested under the current retention 

limit. If the harvest of these species is 

increased through an increased 

retention limit, NMFS estimates that the 

fishery would still remain open for the 

remainder of the year and fishermen 

throughout the Atlantic region would 

have a reasonable opportunity to harvest 

a portion of the quota. 

On November 22, 2017 (82 FR 55512), 

NMFS announced in a final rule that the 

aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark 

fisheries management groups for the 

Atlantic region would open on January 

1 with a quota of 168.9 mt dw (372,552 

lb dw) and 27.1 mt dw (59,736 lb dw), 

respectively. We had published a 

proposed rule on August 22, 2017 (82 

FR 39735) and invited and considered 


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33872 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 138 / Wednesday, July 18, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

public comment. In the final rule, 

NMFS explained that if it appeared that 

the quota is being harvested too quickly, 

thus precluding fishing opportunities 

throughout the entire region (e.g., if 

approximately 20 percent of the quota is 

caught at the beginning of the year), 

NMFS would consider reducing the 

commercial retention limit to 3 or fewer 

LCS other than sandbar sharks and then 

later consider increasing the retention 

limit, perhaps to 36 LCS other than 

sandbar sharks per vessel per trip 

around July 15, 2018, consistent with 

the applicable regulatory requirements. 

In May 2018, dealer reports indicated 

that landings had reached 19 percent of 

the quota, and NMFS therefore reduced 

the commercial Atlantic aggregated LCS 

and hammerhead shark retention limit 

from 25 to 3 LCS other than sandbar 

sharks per vessel per trip on May 12, 

2018 (83 FR 21744; May 10, 2018) after 

considering the inseason retention limit 

adjustment criteria listed in 

§ 635.24(a)(8). Based on dealer reports 

through June 18, 2018, approximately 

75 percent and 82 percent of the 

aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark 

quotas remain, respectively. At this 

point in the season, fishermen in the 

Atlantic region may not have an 

opportunity to fully utilize the quotas in 

the region for the remainder of the year 

if the retention limits are not increased, 

and available quota will be 

underutilized. 

Accordingly, as of July 18, 2018, 

NMFS is increasing the retention limit 

for the commercial aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark management groups 

in the Atlantic region for directed shark 

limited access permit holders from 3 

LCS other than sandbar sharks per 

vessel per trip to 36 LCS other than 

sandbar sharks per vessel per trip. This 

retention limit adjustment does not 

apply to directed shark limited access 

permit holders if the vessel is properly 

permitted to operate as a charter vessel 

or headboat for HMS and is engaged in 

a for-hire trip, in which case the 

recreational retention limits for sharks 

and ‘‘no sale’’ provisions apply 

(§ 635.22(a) and (c)); or if the vessel 

possesses a valid shark research permit 

under § 635.32 and a NMFS-approved 

observer is onboard, in which case the 

restrictions noted on the shark research 

permit apply. 

All other retention limits and shark 

fisheries in the Atlantic region remain 

unchanged. This retention limit will 

remain at 36 LCS other than sandbar 

sharks per vessel per trip for the rest of 

the 2018 fishing season, or until NMFS 

announces via a notification in the 

Federal Register another adjustment to 

the retention limit or a fishery closure, 

if warranted. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest to 

provide prior notice of, and an 

opportunity for public comment on, this 

action for the following reasons: 

Prior notice is impracticable because 

the regulatory criteria for inseason 

retention limit adjustments are intended 

to allow the agency to respond quickly 

to existing management considerations, 

including remaining available shark 

quotas, estimated dates for the fishery 

closures, the regional variations in the 

shark fisheries, and equitable fishing 

opportunities. Additionally, regulations 

implementing Amendment 6 of the 2006 

Atlantic Consolidated HMS FMP (80 FR 

50074, August 18, 2015) intended that 

the LCS retention limit could be 

adjusted quickly throughout the fishing 

season to provide management 

flexibility for the shark fisheries and 

provide equitable fishing opportunities 

to fishermen throughout a region. Based 

on available shark quotas and informed 

by shark landings in previous seasons, 

responsive adjustment to the LCS 

commercial retention limit from the 

incidental level is warranted as quickly 

as possible to allow fishermen to take 

advantage of available quotas while 

sharks are present in their region. For 

such adjustment to be practicable, it 

must occur in a timeframe that allows 

fishermen to take advantage of it. 

Adjustment of the LCS fisheries 

retention limit in the Atlantic region 

will begin on July 18, 2018. Prior notice 

would result in delays in increasing the 

retention limit and would adversely 

affect those shark fishermen that would 

otherwise have an opportunity to 

harvest more than the current retention 

limit of 3 LCS other than sandbar sharks 

per vessel per trip and could result in 

low catch rates and underutilized 

quotas. Analysis of available data shows 

that adjustment of the LCS commercial 

retention limit upward to 36 would 

result in minimal risks of exceeding the 

aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark 

quotas in the Atlantic region based on 

our consideration of previous years’ 

data, in which the fisheries have opened 

in July. With quota available and with 

no measurable impacts to the stocks 

expected, it would be contrary to the 

public interest to require vessels to wait 

to harvest the sharks otherwise 

allowable through this action. 

Therefore, the AA finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment. Adjustment of the LCS 

commercial retention limit in the 

Atlantic region is effective July 18, 2018, 

to minimize any unnecessary disruption 

in fishing patterns, to allow the 

impacted fishermen to benefit from the 

adjustment, and to not preclude fishing 

opportunities by fishermen farther north 

as the sharks are likely going to be in the 

northern areas of the region for only a 

short period of time before migrating 

south again. Foregoing opportunities to 

harvest the respective quotas could have 

negative social and economic impacts 

for U.S. fishermen that depend upon 

catching the available quotas. Therefore, 

the AA finds there is also good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 

30-day delay in effectiveness. 

This action is being taken under 

§ 635.24(a)(2) and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: July 12, 2018. 

Margo B. Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15283 Filed 7–13–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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