38664 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 7, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 150121066–5717–02] 

RIN 0648–XG391 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 30 

metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna 

(BFT) quota from the Reserve category 

to the Harpoon category. With this 

transfer, the adjusted Harpoon category 

quota for the 2018 fishing season is 68.6 

mt. The 2018 Harpoon category fishery 

is open until November 15, 2018, or 

until the Harpoon category quota is 

reached, whichever comes first. The 

action is based on consideration of the 

regulatory determination criteria 

regarding inseason adjustments, and 

applies to Atlantic tunas Harpoon 

category (commercial) permitted 

vessels. 

DATES: Effective August 2, 2018, through 

November 15, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 

978–281–9260. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations implemented under the 

authority of the Atlantic Tunas 

Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 971 et 

seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.) governing the harvest of BFT by 

persons and vessels subject to U.S. 

jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part 

635. Section 635.27 subdivides the U.S. 

BFT quota recommended by the 

International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 

and as implemented by the United 

States among the various domestic 

fishing categories, per the allocations 

established in the 2006 Consolidated 

Highly Migratory Species Fishery 

Management Plan (2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2, 

2006) and amendments, and in 

accordance with implementing 

regulations. NMFS is required under 

ATCA and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to 

provide U.S. fishing vessels with a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

ICCAT-recommended quota. 

The current baseline quotas for the 

Harpoon and Reserve categories are 38.6 

mt and 24.8 mt, respectively. See 

§ 635.27(a). To date for 2018, NMFS has 

published two actions that have 

adjusted the available 2018 Reserve 

category quota, which currently is 108.5 

mt (83 FR 9232, March 5, 2018, and 83 

FR 17110, April 18, 2018). The 2018 

Harpoon category fishery opened June 1 

and is open through November 15, 2018, 

or until the Harpoon category quota is 

reached, whichever comes first. 

Although NMFS has published a 

proposed rule (83 FR 31517, July 6, 

2018) to increase the baseline U.S. 

bluefin tuna quota from 1,058.79 mt to 

1,247.86 mt and subquotas for 2018 

(including an expected increase in the 

Harpoon category quota from 38.6 mt to 

46 mt, consistent with the annual 

bluefin tuna quota calculation process 

established in § 635.27(a)), NMFS does 

not anticipate that the final rule will be 

effective until September 2018. 

Quota Transfer 

Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the 

authority to transfer quota among 

fishing categories or subcategories, after 

considering regulatory determination 

criteria provided under § 635.27(a)(8). 

NMFS has considered the relevant 

determination criteria and their 

applicability to the Harpoon category 

fishery. These considerations include, 

but are not limited to, the following: 

Regarding the usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular category for biological 

sampling and monitoring of the status of 

the stock (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological 

samples collected from BFT landed by 

Harpoon category fishermen and 

provided by BFT dealers continue to 

provide valuable data for ongoing 

scientific studies of BFT age and 

growth, migration, and reproductive 

status. Additional opportunity to land 

BFT in the Harpoon category would 

support the continued collection of a 

broad range of data for these studies and 

for stock monitoring purposes. 

NMFS also considered the catches of 

the Harpoon category quota to date and 

the likelihood of closure of that segment 

of the fishery if no adjustment is made 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)). As of August 

1, 2018, the Harpoon category has 

landed 26.2 mt. Commercial-size BFT 

are currently readily available to vessels 

fishing under the Harpoon category 

quota. Without a quota transfer at this 

time, Harpoon category participants 

would have to stop BFT fishing 

activities with very short notice, while 

commercial-sized BFT remain available 

in the areas Harpoon category permitted 

vessels operate. Transferring 30 mt of 

BFT quota from the Reserve category 

would result in a total of 68.6 mt being 

available for the Harpoon category for 

the 2018 Harpoon category fishing 

season. 

Regarding the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the particular 

category quota (here, the Harpoon 

category) to harvest the additional 

amount of BFT before the end of the 

fishing year (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS 

considered Harpoon category landings 

over the last several years. Landings are 

highly variable and depend on access to 

commercial-sized BFT and fishing 

conditions, among other factors. NMFS 

anticipates that the Harpoon category 

could harvest the transferred 30 mt prior 

to the end of the Harpoon category 

season, subject to weather conditions 

and BFT availability. NMFS may 

transfer unused Harpoon category quota 

to other quota categories, as appropriate. 

NMFS also anticipates that some 

underharvest of the 2017 adjusted U.S. 

BFT quota will be carried forward to 

2018 and placed in the Reserve 

category, in accordance with the 

regulations. Thus, this quota transfer 

would allow fishermen to take 

advantage of the availability of fish on 

the fishing grounds, consider the 

expected increases in available 2018 

quota later in the year, and provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

full U.S. BFT quota. 

NMFS also considered the estimated 

amounts by which quotas for other gear 

categories of the fishery might be 

exceeded (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the 

ability to account for all 2018 landings 

and dead discards. In the last several 

years, total U.S. BFT landings have been 

below the available U.S. quota such that 

the United States has carried forward 

the maximum amount of underharvest 

allowed by ICCAT from one year to the 

next. NMFS will need to account for 

2018 landings and dead discards within 

the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, and 

anticipates having sufficient quota to do 

that. 

This transfer would be consistent 

with the current quotas, which were 

established and analyzed in the 2015 

BFT quota final rule (80 FR 52198, 

August 28, 2015), and with objectives of 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). 

Another principal consideration is the 

objective of providing opportunities to 

harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota 

without exceeding it based on the goals 

of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments, including to achieve 

optimum yield on a continuing basis 

and to optimize the ability of all permit 

categories to harvest their full BFT 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 152 / Tuesday, August 7, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 38665 

quota allocations (related to 

§ 635.27(a)(8)(x)). 

Based on the considerations above, 

NMFS is transferring 30 mt of the 

available 108.5 mt of Reserve category 

quota to the Harpoon category. 

Therefore, NMFS adjusts the Harpoon 

category quota to 68.6 mt for the 2018 

Harpoon category fishing season (i.e., 

through November 15, 2018, or until the 

Harpoon category quota is reached, 

whichever comes first), and adjusts the 

Reserve category quota to 78.5 mt. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fishery closely. Dealers are required 

to submit landing reports within 24 

hours of a dealer receiving BFT. 

Harpoon category vessel owners are 

required to report their own catch of all 

BFT retained or discarded dead, within 

24 hours of the landing(s) or end of each 

trip, by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov, 

using the HMS Catch Reporting app, or 

calling (888) 872–8862 (Monday 

through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 

p.m.). Depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 

may determine that additional action 

(i.e., quota and/or daily retention limit 

adjustment, or closure) is necessary to 

ensure available quota is not exceeded 

or to enhance scientific data collection 

from, and fishing opportunities in, all 

geographic areas. If needed, subsequent 

adjustments will be published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, fishermen 

may call the Atlantic Tunas Information 

Line at (978) 281–9260, or access 

hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on 

quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

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: 

The regulations implementing the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments provide for inseason 

retention limit adjustments to respond 

to the unpredictable nature of BFT 

availability on the fishing grounds, the 

migratory nature of this species, and the 

regional variations in the BFT fishery. 

Affording prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment to implement the 

quota transfer for the remainder of 2018 

is also contrary to the public interest as 

such a delay would likely result in 

closure of the Harpoon fishery when the 

baseline quota is met and the need to reopen the fishery, with attendant 

administrative costs and costs to the 

fishery. The delay would preclude the 

fishery from harvesting BFT that are 

available on the fishing grounds and 

that might otherwise become 

unavailable during a delay. Therefore, 

the AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the 

opportunity for public comment. For 

these reasons, there also is good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30- 

day delay in effectiveness. 

This action is being taken under 

§ 635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: August 2, 2018. 

Margo B. Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16853 Filed 8–2–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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