15712 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

(55) For an individual issued an HMS 

Caribbean Small Boat Commercial 

permit to purchase, barter for, or trade 

for HMS harvested by other vessels with 

the intent to sell such landings. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) First receive or attempt to first 

receive Atlantic swordfish from the 

north or south Atlantic swordfish stock 

without a Federal Atlantic swordfish 

dealer permit as specified in § 635.4(g) 

unless the harvesting vessel possesses a 

valid HMS Caribbean Small Boat 

Commercial permit issued under § 635.4 

of this part and harvested the swordfish 

in the U.S. Caribbean as defined at 

§ 622.2. 

* * * * * 

(10) Fish for, catch, possess, retain, or 

land an Atlantic swordfish using, or 

captured on, ‘‘buoy gear’’ as defined at 

§ 635.2, unless the vessel owner has 

been issued a swordfish directed limited 

access permit or a swordfish handgear 

limited access permit in accordance 

with § 635.4(f) or a valid HMS 

Caribbean Small Boat Commercial 

permit in accordance with § 635.4(o). 

(11) As the owner of a vessel 

permitted, or required to be permitted, 

in the swordfish directed, swordfish 

handgear limited access permit 

category, or issued a valid HMS 

Caribbean Small Boat Commercial 

permit and utilizing buoy gear, to 

possess or deploy more than 35 

individual floatation devices, to deploy 

more than 35 individual buoy gears per 

vessel, or to deploy buoy gear without 

affixed monitoring equipment, as 

specified at § 635.21(e)(4)(iii). 

* * * * * 

(16) Possess any HMS, other than 

Atlantic swordfish, harvested with buoy 

gear as specified at § 635.21(e) unless 

issued a HMS Caribbean Small Boat 

Commercial permit and operating 

within the U.S. Caribbean as defined at 

§ 622.2. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–6455 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 120306154–2152–01] 

RIN 0648–XA920 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

2012 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota 

Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2012 quota 

specifications for the Atlantic bluefin 

tuna (BFT) fishery. This action is 

necessary to implement binding 

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). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before April 16, 2012. 

Dates and locations for public hearings 

on this proposed action will be 

specified in a separate document in the 

Federal Register to be published at a 

later date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2012– 

0048’’, by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. To submit 

comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, 

first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon, 

then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2012–0048’’ 

in the keyword search. Locate the 

document you wish to comment on 

from the resulting list and click on the 

‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right 

of that line. 

• Fax: 978–281–9340, Attn: Sarah 

McLaughlin 

• Mail: Sarah McLaughlin, Highly 

Migratory Species Management 

Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries 

(F/SF1), NMFS, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 

• Instructions: Comments must be 

submitted by one of the above methods 

to ensure that the comments are 

received, documented, and considered 

by NMFS. Comments sent by any other 

method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on http://www.regulations.gov without 

change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.) 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Supporting documents, including the 

2011 Environmental Assessment, 

Regulatory Impact Review, and Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, as well 

as others, such as the Fishery 

Management Plans described below may 

be downloaded from the HMS Web site 

at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/. These 

documents also are available by sending 

your request to Sarah McLaughlin at the 

mailing address specified above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 

978–281–9260. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, albacore tuna, 

yellowfin tuna, and skipjack tuna 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘Atlantic 

tunas’’) are managed under the dual 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and ATCA. As an active member of 

ICCAT, the United States implements 

binding ICCAT recommendations to 

comply with this international treaty. 

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 MagnusonStevens Act and ATCA has been 

delegated from the Secretary to the 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

NMFS. 

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 (1999 FMP). The 1999 FMP 

included a framework process to 

promulgate annual specifications for the 

BFT fishery, in accordance with ATCA 

and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and to 

implement the annual recommendations 

of ICCAT. Since 1982, ICCAT has 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Proposed Rules 15713 

recommended a Total Allowable Catch 

(TAC) of BFT, and since 1991, ICCAT 

has recommended specific limits 

(quotas) for the United States and other 

Contracting Parties with BFT fisheries. 

On October 2, 2006, NMFS published 

in the Federal Register (71 FR 58058) a 

final rule, effective November 1, 2006, 

implementing the 2006 Consolidated 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 

Fishery Management Plan (Consolidated 

HMS FMP), which consolidated 

management of all Atlantic HMS (i.e., 

sharks, swordfish, tunas, and billfish) 

into one comprehensive FMP. The 

implementing regulations for Atlantic 

HMS are at 50 CFR part 635. Among 

other things, the Consolidated HMS 

FMP maintained an allocation scheme, 

established in the 1999 FMP, for 

dividing the baseline annual U.S. BFT 

quota among several domestic quota 

categories based on gear type (i.e., 

Harpoon, Purse Seine, Angling, General, 

Longline, and Trap categories). 

The 2012 BFT quota specifications are 

necessary to adjust the annual U.S. 

baseline BFT quota, recommended for 

2011 and for 2012 by ICCAT, to account 

for any underharvest or overharvest of 

the adjusted 2011 U.S. BFT quota. 

Preliminary information indicates an 

underharvest of the 2011 adjusted BFT 

quota. Final 2011 landings and dead 

discard information will be available in 

May 2012. 

2010 ICCAT Recommendation and 2011 

Implementing Rule 

At its 2010 annual meeting, ICCAT 

recommended a TAC of 1,750 mt 

annually for 2011 and for 2012, 

inclusive of dead discards (ICCAT 

Recommendation 10–03—Supplemental 

Recommendation by ICCAT concerning 

the Western Atlantic BFT Rebuilding 

Program). This amount is expected to 

allow for continued stock growth under 

the both the low and high stock 

recruitment scenarios developed by 

ICCAT’s scientific body at the last BFT 

stock assessment. The U.S. share of the 

TAC, adjusted for two specific bycatch 

allocations, is 54.02 percent, resulting in 

a baseline quota of 923.7 mt. The annual 

total U.S. quota, including 25 mt to 

account for bycatch related to pelagic 

longline fisheries in the Northeast 

Distant gear restricted area (NED), is 

948.7 mt. Currently, ICCAT limits the 

amount of underharvest that may be 

carried forward from one year to the 

next to no more than 10 percent of a 

country’s quota. This limits the amount 

of 2011 U.S. underharvest that may be 

carried forward to 94.9 mt (10 percent 

of the 948.7-mt total U.S. quota). 

Through a final rule implementing the 

BFT quotas and Atlantic tuna fisheries 

management measures (76 FR 39019, 

July 5, 2011), NMFS modified the 

baseline quota to 948.7 mt to implement 

ICCAT Recommendation 10–03 and set 

the domestic BFT fishing category 

subquotas per the allocation scheme 

established in the Consolidated HMS 

FMP and as permitted in implementing 

regulations (71 FR 58058, October 2, 

2006). The baseline quota and category 

subquotas are codified and will be 

effective until changed; for instance, as 

a result of any new ICCAT BFT TAC 

recommendation. However, consistent 

with the Consolidated HMS FMP, 

NMFS will make underharvest and 

overharvest adjustments as necessary for 

the 2012 fishing year. Until the final 

specifications are effective, the existing 

BFT base quotas continue to apply as 

codified. See Table 1, second column. 

Accounting for Dead Discards 

The United States must report BFT 

landings data and BFT dead discard 

estimates to ICCAT annually. Currently, 

the best available annual estimate of 

dead discards for 2011 and that can be 

expected for 2012 is the 2010 estimate 

of 122.3 mt. Only pelagic longline dead 

discard estimates are available at this 

time. Estimates from other BFT gear 

types and fishing sectors that are not 

observed at sufficient levels for 

estimation and that do not report via a 

logbook are not included in this 

calculation. However, bycatch and 

bycatch mortality of BFT by vessels 

using handgear and purse seine gear is 

considered to be relatively low. Using 

the 2010 estimate as a proxy for 

estimated 2012 dead discards for the 

proposed action is appropriate because 

it is the best available and most 

complete information NMFS currently 

has regarding dead discards and is the 

established protocol in the regulations. 

When the 2011 BFT dead discard 

estimate becomes available (late spring 

2012), it will be used to prepare the 

final specifications and will be reported 

to ICCAT along with total 2011 BFT 

landings. 

2012 Quota Specifications 

The 2012 BFT quota specifications are 

necessary to adjust the annual U.S. 

baseline BFT quota, which was 

recommended by ICCAT for 2011 and 

for 2012, to account for underharvest or 

overharvest of the adjusted 2011 U.S. 

BFT quota. Based on preliminary data 

available as of January 18, 2012, 

landings for 2011 totaled 746.3 mt. 

Adding the 122.3-mt estimate of dead 

discards results in a preliminary 2011 

total catch of 868.6 mt, which is 175 mt 

less than the amount of quota (inclusive 

of dead discards) allowed under ICCAT 

Recommendation 10–03 (948.7 mt plus 

94.9 mt of 2010 underharvest carried 

forward to 2011, totaling 1,043.6 mt). 

However, the current ICCAT 

recommendation limits the amount of 

underharvest the United States may 

carry forward to 2012 to 94.9 mt, 10 

percent of the total U.S. quota. 

NMFS proposes to account up front 

(i.e., at the beginning of the fishing year) 

for half of the expected dead discards 

for 2012, using the best available 

estimate of dead discards, and 

deducting that portion directly from the 

Longline category subquota. This is the 

same approach that NMFS took for the 

final 2011 BFT quota specifications. 

Accounting for dead discards in the 

Longline category in this way may 

provide further incentive for pelagic 

longline fishermen to reduce those 

interactions that may result in dead 

discards. NMFS would apply half of the 

amount of underharvest that is allowed 

to be carried forward to 2012 to the 

Longline category and maintain the 

other half in the Reserve category. 

Maintaining this portion of the 

underharvest in the Reserve category 

until later in the fishing year would 

provide maximum flexibility in 

accounting for 2012 landings and dead 

discards. Consistent with determination 

criteria at § 635.27(a)(8), NMFS may 

allocate any portion of the Reserve 

category quota for inseason or annual 

adjustments to any other quota category. 

Specifically, NMFS would deduct half 

of the dead discard estimate of 122.3 mt 

(i.e., 61.2 mt) from the 2012 baseline 

Longline category subquota of 74.8 mt 

and apply half of the 94.9 mt allowed 

to be carried forward to 2012 to the 

Longline category, i.e., 74.8 ¥ 61.2 + 

47.5 = 61.1 mt adjusted Longline 

subquota (not including the 25-mt 

allocation set aside by ICCAT for the 

NED). NMFS would add the remainder 

of the 2011 underharvest that can be 

carried forward to 2012 (47.4 mt) to the 

Reserve category’s baseline allocation of 

23.1 mt, for an adjusted Reserve 

category quota of 70.5 mt. 

For the directed fishing categories 

(i.e., the Angling, General, Harpoon, 

Purse Seine categories) as well as the 

Trap category, NMFS is not proposing 

adjustments to the baseline BFT 

subquotas (i.e., the allocations that 

result from applying the scheme 

established in the Consolidated HMS 

FMP to the baseline U.S. BFT quota). 

Thus, in accordance with the ICCAT 

Recommendation 10–03, the 

Consolidated HMS FMP allocation 

scheme for the domestic categories, and 

regulations regarding annual 

adjustments at § 635.27(a)(10), NMFS 

proposes quota specifications for the 


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15714 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

2012 fishing year as follows and as 

shown in Table 1: General category— 

435.1 mt; Harpoon category—36 mt; 

Purse Seine category—171.8 mt; 

Angling category—182 mt; Longline 

category—61.1 mt; and Trap category— 

0.9 mt. The amount 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 

would be 70.3 mt. 

NMFS will make any necessary 

adjustments to the 2012 specifications 

in the final rule after considering 

updated 2011 landings information and 

the final dead discard estimate for 2011. 

It is important to note that NMFS and 

ICCAT have separate schedules and 

approaches for accounting for U.S. 

landings and dead discards. Through 

the specifications process used in 2011 

(and proposed here), NMFS accounted 

proactively for half of the best estimate 

of dead discards at the beginning of the 

fishing year, and indicated that total 

2011 U.S. BFT landings and dead 

discards would be accounted for and 

reported to ICCAT, and NMFS would 

make any ICCAT-required adjustments 

to future U.S. BFT quotas, if necessary. 

In contrast, ICCAT assesses quota 

compliance at its annual meeting in 

November by comparing the prior year’s 

landings and reported dead discards 

against the adjusted U.S. quota. At the 

2012 ICCAT annual meeting, ICCAT 

will compare actual 2011 landings and 

dead discards against the 948.7-mt base 

quota for 2011, plus the 94.9 mt allowed 

to be carried forward from 2010 to 2011 

(for a total 2011 adjusted U.S. quota of 

1,043.6 mt), to determine the United 

States’ compliance with ICCAT. 

If the final 2011 landings and dead 

discards information results in a total of 

greater than 948.7 mt (e.g., if the final 

dead discards estimate increases by 

more than 80.1 mt) but less than 1,043.6 

mt, then the amount of 2011 

underharvest that the United States may 

carry forward to 2012 would need to be 

reduced from 94.9 mt accordingly. In 

such an event, NMFS could decide to 

provide half of the available amount 

carried forward to the Longline category 

and the other half to the Reserve 

category (e.g., if the 2011 landings and 

the final dead discard estimate total 

963.6 mt, 80 mt would be available to 

carry forward and NMFS could provide 

40 mt to the Longline category and 40 

mt to the Reserve category). NMFS 

could also decide to provide the entire 

amount to the Longline or Reserve 

category, particularly if the amount is 

small, such as 20 mt, or could allocate 

the amount carried forward in another 

manner after considering domestic 

management needs for 2012. In these 

examples, the baseline subquotas for the 

directed fishing categories and Trap 

category would be maintained (i.e., not 

changed). NMFS invites public 

comment on the range of possible 

allocations of the amount carried 

forward should that amount be greater 

than 0 mt and less than 94.9 mt. 

Conversely, if the complete 2011 

landings information and the final dead 

discard estimate for 2011 total more 

than the adjusted 2011 U.S. BFT quota 

of 1,043.6 mt, NMFS may need to take 

further action, consistent with the BFT 

quota adjustment regulations and with 

ICCAT Recommendation 10–03. Also, 

the United States may be subject to 

adjustment of the U.S. BFT quota, 

consistent with ICCAT 

recommendations. Given the amount of 

dead discards the United States has 

reported to ICCAT in the last few years 

(ranging from 122 to 204 mt), NMFS 

considers this potential situation to be 

unlikely, as the dead discard estimate 

would need to be approximately 300 mt. 

However, NMFS requests public 

comment on the potential adjustment of 

the final 2012 quota and subquotas to 

account for potential overharvest of the 

2011 adjusted U.S. quota. For example, 

NMFS may determine that reducing 

either the Longline and/or the Reserve 

category quotas is necessary, or that the 

overall 2012 BFT quota must be 

reduced, which would affect all 

category subquotas. 

The adjusted Longline category 

subquota for 2012 would be further 

subdivided in accordance with the 

North/South allocation percentages (i.e., 

no more than 60 percent to the south of 

31° N. latitude) in the Consolidated 

HMS FMP. Thus, the proposed Longline 

category subquota of 61.1 mt would be 

subdivided as follows: 24.4 mt to 

pelagic longline vessels landing BFT 

north of 31° N. latitude, and 36.7 mt to 

pelagic longline vessels landing BFT 

south of 31° N. latitude. NMFS would 

account for landings under the 25-mt 

NED allocation separately from other 

Longline category landings. 

NMFS considers this a transitional 

approach from the method used for 

2007 through 2010. From 2007 through 

2010, there were substantial 

underharvests of some of the 

commercial BFT subquotas. Consistent 

with the Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

implementing regulations, NMFS 

provided the Longline category a 

substantial portion of prior year U.S. 

underharvest that was allowed to be 

carried forward (limited to 50 percent of 

the total U.S. quota at that time) during 

the annual specification process at the 

beginning of the fishing year. This 

provided quota sufficient for the pelagic 

longline fleet to operate for the entire 

fishing year while also accounting for 

dead discards ‘‘up front’’ using the best 

available estimate of anticipated dead 

discards. NMFS was also able to 

increase the directed categories’ quotas 

and the Reserve category quota using 

available underharvest. 

This new method is appropriate again 

for 2012 as NMFS plans to begin an 

HMS FMP amendment process to 

determine whether existing 

management measures need to be 

adjusted more broadly to meet the 

multiple goals for the BFT fishery in the 

future. In the meantime, management of 

the BFT fishery continues under the 

current Consolidated HMS FMP, 

implementing regulations, and ICCAT 

Recommendations. Through the FMP 

amendment process, NMFS may begin 

to expand BFT data collection programs, 

including collection of dead discard 

information, for all categories and may 

revise measures to account for and 

control dead discards. In contemplating 

how to account for dead discards within 

the U.S. BFT quota, NMFS believes that 

the operational issues facing the pelagic 

longline fishery and implications 

regarding BFT dead discards that may 

occur while the fleet continues directed 

fishing operations for swordfish and 

other tunas should be considered. 

NMFS anticipates that dead discards in 

the pelagic longline fishery may be 

reduced due to continued 

implementation of the weak hook 

requirement in the Gulf of Mexico in 

2011 (76 FR 18653, April 5, 2011). 


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TABLE 1—PROPOSED 2012 ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA QUOTAS AND QUOTA SPECIFICATIONS

[in metric tons] 

2011 Quota specifications 

Category (% share of baseline 

quota) 

Baseline allocation for 2011 and 

2012 (per 2010 ICCAT recommendation and consolidated 

HMS FMP allocations) 

Dead discard 

deduction (1/2 

of 2011 proxy 

of 122.3 mt) 

2011 Underharvest to 

carry forward 

to 2012 (94.9 

mt total) 

Adjusted 2012 fishing year quota 

Total (100) ...................................... 923.7* ........................ ........................ 957.4 

Angling (19.7) ................................. 182.0 ........................ ........................ 182.0 

SUBQUOTAS: ........................ ........................ SUBQUOTAS: 

School 94.9 ........................ ........................ School 94.9 

Reserve 17.6 ........................ ........................ Reserve 17.6 

North 36.5 ........................ ........................ North 36.5 

South 40.8 ........................ ........................ South 40.8 

LS/SM 82.9 ........................ ........................ LS/SM 82.9 

North 39.1 ........................ ........................ North 39.1 

South 43.8 ........................ ........................ South 43.8 

Trophy 4.2 ........................ ........................ Trophy 4.2 

North 1.4 ........................ ........................ North 1.4 

South 2.8 ........................ ........................ South 2.8 

General (47.1) ................................ 435.1 ........................ ........................ 435.1 

SUBQUOTAS: ........................ ........................ SUBQUOTAS: 

Jan 23.1 ........................ ........................ Jan 23.1 

Jun–Aug 217.6 ........................ ........................ Jun–Aug 217.6 

Sept 115.3 ........................ ........................ Sept 115.3 

Oct–Nov 56.6 ........................ ........................ Oct–Nov 56.6 

Dec 22.6 ........................ ........................ Dec 22.6 

Harpoon (3.9) ................................. 36.0 ........................ ........................ 36.0 

Purse Seine (18.6) ......................... 171.8 ........................ ........................ 171.8 

Longline (8.1) .................................. 74.8 ¥61.2 +47.5 61.1 

SUBQUOTAS: ........................ ........................ SUBQUOTAS: 

North (-NED) 29.9 ........................ ........................ North (-NED) 24.4 

NED 25.0 * ........................ ........................ NED 25.0 * 

South 44.9 ........................ ........................ South 36.7 

Trap (0.1) ........................................ 0.9 ........................ ........................ 0.9 

Reserve (2.5) .................................. 23.1 ........................ +47.4 70.5 

* 25-mt ICCAT set-aside to account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic longline fisheries in the NED. Not included in totals at top of table. 

Request for Comments 

NMFS solicits comments on this 

proposed rule through April 16, 2012. 

See instructions in ADDRESSES section 

above. 

Classification 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that the proposed rule is 

consistent with the Consolidated HMS 

FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

ATCA, and other applicable law, subject 

to further consideration after public 

comment. 

This proposed rule is exempt from the 

procedures of E.O. 12866 because this 

action contains no implementing 

regulations. 

Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., the 

Chief Council for Regulation of the 

Department of Commerce certified to 

the Chief Council for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

that this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The reasoning for this 

certification is as follows: 

These annual quota Atlantic bluefin 

tuna (BFT) specifications (effective 

January 1 through December 31, 2012) 

are 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 Act. Under ATCA, 

the United States must promulgate 

regulations as necessary and appropriate 

to implement binding recommendations 

of ICCAT. 

The proposed rule would adjust the 

annual U.S. baseline BFT quota, which 

was recommended for 2011 and for 

2012 by ICCAT, to account for any 

underharvest or overharvest of the 

adjusted 2011 U.S. BFT quota. 

Preliminary information indicates an 

underharvest of the 2011 adjusted BFT 

quota. This proposed action was 

developed in accordance with the 

framework process set forth in the 2006 

Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory 

Species Fishery Management Plan 

(Consolidated HMS FMP), and is 

supported by the Environmental Impact 

Statement/Regulatory Impact Review/ 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

prepared for the Consolidated HMS 

FMP and the Environmental 

Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/ 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA) prepared for the 2011 final rule 

implementing BFT quotas and Atlantic 

tuna fisheries management measures 

(see ADDRESSES). 

On July 5, 2011, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a 

final rule (76 FR 39019) that modified 

the baseline quota to 948.7 mt to 

implement ICCAT Recommendation 10– 

03 (Supplemental Recommendation by 

ICCAT concerning the Western Atlantic 

BFT Rebuilding Program) and set the 

category subquotas per the allocations 

established in the Consolidated HMS 

FMP (71 FR 58058, October 2, 2006). 

The FRFA prepared for the 2011 BFT 

quota specifications indicated that there 

were 8,311 commercial Atlantic tunas or 

Atlantic HMS permit holders (3,849 in 

the Atlantic Tunas General category; 29 

in the Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category; 

5 in the Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine 


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15716 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 52 / Friday, March 16, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

category; 248 in the Atlantic Tunas 

Longline category; 6 in the Atlantic 

Tunas Trap category; and 4,174 in the 

HMS Charter/Headboat category). This 

constitutes the best available 

information regarding the universe of 

permit holders recently analyzed. 

Under the SBA’s regulations 

implementing the RFA, a small fishing 

entity is one that has less than $4 

million in annual revenue ($6.5 million 

for charter/party boats). This action 

would apply to all participants in the 

Atlantic BFT fishery, all of which are 

considered small entities. 

The most recent ex-vessel average 

price per pound information for each 

commercial quota is used to estimate 

potential ex-vessel gross revenues under 

the 2012 baseline subquotas and the 

2012 proposed adjusted subquotas, 

which would reduce the Longline 

category subquota in the same manner 

as implemented for 2011 (i.e., 2011 

prices for the General, Harpoon, and 

Longline/Trap categories, and 2009 for 

the Purse Seine category, when Purse 

Seine category landing were last 

recorded). The 2012 baseline quotas 

could result in estimated gross revenues 

for each category, if fully utilized, as 

follows: General category: $8.5 million 

(435.1 mt * $8.90/lb); Harpoon category: 

$565,000 (36 mt * $7.12/lb); Longline 

category: $1 million (74.8 mt * $6.10/ 

lb); Purse Seine category: $2.3 million 

(171.8 mt * $5.96/lb); and Trap category: 

$12,000 (0.9 mt * $6.10/lb). Under the 

adjusted quota for the Longline 

category, gross revenues could be 

$822,000 (61.1 mt * $6.10/lb). Estimated 

potential 2012 revenues on a per vessel 

basis, considering the number of permit 

holders listed above, could be $2,200 for 

the General category; $19,500 for the 

Harpoon category; $3,300 for the 

Longline category under the proposed 

adjusted subquota (reduced from $4,100 

under the baseline subquota); $451,000 

for the Purse Seine category; and $2,000 

for the Trap category. Thus, all of the 

entities affected by this rule are 

considered to be small entities for the 

purposes of the RFA. 

However, this proposed rule would 

not change the BFT baseline quota and 

category subquotas, or implement any 

new management measures not 

previously considered. ICCAT 

Recommendation 10–03 is in effect until 

changed, for instance, as a result of a 

new ICCAT BFT quota 

recommendation. The domestic BFT 

baseline quotas and subquotas are 

codified in the regulations. Thus, the 

affected entities will not experience any 

negative price impacts as a result of this 

rule. 

Carryover of underharvest: ICCAT 

Recommendation 10–03 limits the 

amount of underharvest that may be 

carried forward from one year to the 

next to no more than 10 percent of a 

country’s quota. This limits the amount 

of 2011 U.S. underharvest that may be 

carried forward to 94.9 mt (10 percent 

of the 948.7-mt total U.S. quota). NMFS 

proposes to carry 94.9 mt forward to 

2012 and distribute that amount in the 

same manner as specified for 2011. The 

adjusted BFT quota and subquotas for 

the 2012 fishing year would be the same 

as for the 2011 fishing year based on the 

best available data regarding 2011 

landings and the best available estimate 

of dead discards, which must be 

accounted for and reported to ICCAT. 

The annual specification process that 

this proposed rule follows, including 

application of underharvests and 

overharvests, is described in detail in 

Chapters 2 and 4 of the Consolidated 

HMS FMP. Because the economic 

impacts of the carryover of 

underharvest, to the extent that there are 

any, are expected to be generally 

positive, this rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Because this rule does not change the 

catch limits significantly, and will not 

have an economic impact (except a 

positive one) on the affected entities, it 

does not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities, no initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis is required, and none has been 

prepared. 

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

et seq. 

Dated: March 13, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6453 Filed 3–15–12; 8:45 am] 

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