Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 96631 

drugs or alcohol, or other causes that 

prevent sufficient understanding or 

capacity to manage his or her own 

affairs competently. 

(f) Amount of Accelerated Benefit 

Request: (1) A member can request as an 

Accelerated Benefit an amount up to a 

maximum of 50% of the face value of 

the insurance coverage. 

(2) A member’s request for an 

Accelerated Benefit must be $5,000 or a 

multiple of $5,000 (for example, 

$10,000, $15,000). 

(g) Accelerated Benefit Decision: The 

Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life 

Insurance will review the application 

and determine whether a member meets 

the requirements of this section for 

receiving an Accelerated Benefit. 

(1) They will approve the application 

if the requirements of this section are 

met. 

(2) If the Office of Servicemembers’ 

Group Life Insurance determines that 

the application form does not fully and 

legibly provide the information 

requested by the application form, they 

will contact the member or their 

alternate applicant and request that the 

member or their alternate applicant 

submit the missing information to them. 

They will not take action on the 

application until the information is 

provided. 

(h) Payment of Accelerated Benefit: 

An Accelerated Benefit will be paid in 

a lump sum. 

(i) Cancellation of Application for 

Accelerated Benefit: (1) An election to 

receive the Accelerated Benefit is made 

at the time the Accelerated Benefit is 

cashed or deposited. After that time, the 

Accelerated Benefit cannot be cancelled. 

Until that time, a request for the 

Accelerated Benefit may be cancelled by 

informing the Office of Servicemembers’ 

Group Life Insurance in writing and 

returning payment, if issued by check, 

or stopping payment before deposit in 

the member’s account, if issued by 

electronic funds transfer. If a member 

wants to change the amount of benefits 

requested or decides to reapply after 

cancelling a request, the member must 

file another application requesting 

either the same or a different amount of 

benefits. 

(2) If a member dies before cashing or 

depositing an Accelerated Benefit 

payment, the payment must be returned 

to the Office of Servicemembers’ Group 

Life Insurance. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28138 Filed 12–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 241120–0296] 

RIN 0648–BN28 

International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna 

Fisheries; Fishing Restrictions for 

Tropical Tuna in the Eastern Pacific 

Ocean for 2025 and Beyond 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations 

under the Tuna Conventions Act (TCA) 

of 1950, as amended, to implement 

Resolution C–24–01 (Conservation 

Measures For Tropical Tunas In The 

Eastern Pacific Ocean During 2025– 

2026) adopted at the 102nd Meeting of 

the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

Commission (IATTC) in September 

2024. This proposed rule would 

maintain and extend management 

measures for fishing vessels targeting 

tropical tuna (i.e., bigeye tuna (Thunnus 

obesus)), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus 

albacares), and skipjack tuna 

(Katsuwonus pelamis) in the eastern 

Pacific Ocean (EPO). The fishing 

restrictions would apply to large purse 

seine vessels of class sizes 4–6 (i.e., 

vessels with a carrying capacity of 182 

metric tons (mt) or greater) and longline 

vessels greater than 24 meters (m) in 

overall length that fish for tropical tuna 

in the EPO. This proposed rule is 

necessary for the conservation of 

tropical tuna stocks in the EPO and for 

the United States to satisfy its 

obligations as a member of the IATTC. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule 

and supporting documents must be 

submitted in writing by January 6, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary 

of this proposed rule is available at 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

NOAA-NMFS-2024-0119. You may 

submit comments on this document, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2024–0119, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2024–0119’’ in the 

Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Tyler Lawson, NMFS West Coast Region 

Portland Office, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., 

Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232. Include 

the identifier ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2024– 

0119’’ in the comments. 

Instructions: 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 by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

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

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Copies of supporting documents that 

were prepared for this proposed rule, 

including the regulatory impact review 

(RIR) are available via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov, docket NOAA– 

NMFS–2024–0119, or contact Tyler 

Lawson, NMFS West Coast Region 

Portland Office, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., 

Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97205, or 

tyler.lawson@noaa.gov. 

Send comments on aspects of the 

collection of information to the 

ADDRESSES above, and by email to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax 

to (202) 395–5806. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tyler Lawson, NMFS WCR, at (503) 

230–5421, tyler.lawson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on the IATTC 

The United States is a member of the 

IATTC, which was established under 

the 1949 Convention for the 

Establishment of an Inter-American 

Tropical Tuna Commission (1949 

Convention). In 2003, the IATTC 

updated the 1949 Convention through 

the adoption of the Convention for the 

Strengthening of the IATTC Established 

by the 1949 Convention between the 

United States of America and the 

Republic of Costa Rica (Antigua 

Convention). The Antigua Convention 

entered into force in 2010. The United 

States acceded to the Antigua 

Convention on February 24, 2016. The 

full text of the Antigua Convention is 

available at: https://www.iattc.org/ 

PDFFiles2/Antigua_Convention_Jun_

2003.pdf. 

The IATTC consists of 21 member 

nations and 5 cooperating non-member 

nations. The IATTC is responsible for 


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the conservation and management of 

tuna and tuna-like species in the IATTC 

Convention Area. The IATTC 

Convention Area is defined as waters of 

the EPO within the area bounded by the 

west coast of the Americas and by 50° 

N latitude, 150° W longitude, and 50° S 

latitude. The IATTC maintains a 

scientific research and fishery 

monitoring program and regularly 

assesses the status of tuna, sharks, and 

billfish stocks in the IATTC Convention 

Area to determine appropriate catch 

limits and other measures deemed 

necessary to promote sustainable 

fisheries and prevent the 

overexploitation of these stocks. 

International Obligations of the United 

States Under the Antigua Convention 

As a Party to the Antigua Convention 

and a member of the IATTC, the United 

States is legally bound to implement 

decisions of the IATTC under the Tuna 

Conventions Act (TCA) of 1950, as 

amended, 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. (Pub. L. 

114–81). The TCA directs the Secretary 

of Commerce, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State and, with respect to 

enforcement measures, the U.S. Coast 

Guard, to promulgate such regulations 

as may be necessary to carry out the 

United States’ obligations under the 

Antigua Convention, including 

recommendations and decisions 

adopted by the IATTC. The authority of 

the Secretary of Commerce to 

promulgate such regulations has been 

delegated to NMFS. 

IATTC Resolution on Tropical Tuna 

Conservation 

The 102nd Meeting of the IATTC was 

held in Panama City, Panama, in 

September 2024. At this meeting, the 

IATTC adopted Resolution C–24–01 

(Conservation Measures for Tropical 

Tunas In The Eastern Pacific Ocean 

During 2025–2026). Many of the 

provisions in Resolution C–24–01 are 

identical in content to those contained 

in the previous tropical tuna Resolution 

(C–21–04; Conservation Measures for 

Tropical Tuna in the Eastern Pacific 

Ocean During 2022–2024), which NMFS 

implemented in a July 8, 2022 

rulemaking (87 FR 17248), and are in 

effect until they are modified or 

amended. Resolution C–24–01 

continues to include provisions for a 72- 

day EPO fishing closure period for purse 

seine vessels, exemptions from that 

closure period due to force majeure, 

catch limits of bigeye tuna caught in the 

EPO for longline vessels greater than 24 

m in overall length, catch limit transfer 

requirements for bigeye tuna, a 

requirement that all tropical tuna be 

retained and landed (with some 

exceptions), and restrictions on the use 

and design of fish aggregating devices 

(FADs). 

In addition to continuing the existing 

measures, Resolution C–24–01 requires 

the IATTC to re-examine the Resolution 

at the annual IATTC meeting in 2025 or 

2026 based on a yellowfin tuna 

benchmark assessment or, if a 

benchmark assessment is not available, 

the current stock assessment, as long as 

it is deemed reliable by IATTC scientific 

staff at that time. Based on that review, 

if necessary, the Resolution provides 

that the Commission will take actions to 

reduce fishing pressure on yellowfin 

tuna to a level that allows for 

sustainable fishing. Alternatively, if the 

benchmark assessment or stock 

assessment shows that the yellowfin 

tuna stock is not overfished nor subject 

to overfishing, the Commission would 

consider options for new measures that 

reduce the number of days of closure or 

the elimination of the ‘‘corralito’’ 

closure area, which NMFS currently has 

implemented in 50 CFR 300.25(e)(1) and 

300.25(e)(6). If action is taken by the 

IATTC in 2025 and a new Resolution is 

adopted, NMFS would consider 

additional action as appropriate. 

The implementation of this 

Resolution by all IATTC members is 

intended to prevent overfishing of 

tropical tuna stocks in the EPO. Based 

on 2024 IATTC benchmark stock 

assessments and applying the stock 

status criteria NMFS identified in the 

Highly Migratory Species Fisheries 

Management Plan (HMS FMP), the 

stocks are not subject to overfishing and 

are not overfished. Based on the most 

recent IATTC benchmark assessment 

(2020) for yellowfin tuna in the EPO, 

NMFS determined the stock is not 

overfished or subject to overfishing. 

Efforts to complete a new benchmark 

assessment for yellowfin tuna are 

underway, and results are anticipated 

within the next 2 years. 

For the 2024 Commission meeting of 

the IATTC, the IATTC scientific staff 

recommended that conservation 

measures from tropical tuna Resolution 

C–21–04 be extended to prevent 

overfishing of these stocks. Those 

measures are already codified and 

would continue under this proposed 

rule, as discussed in the following 

section. 

Proposed Regulations 

This proposed rule would be 

implemented under the TCA (16 U.S.C. 

951 et seq.) and include minor changes 

to part 300, subpart C of title 50 of the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The 

proposed rule would apply to U.S. 

commercial fishing vessels using purse 

seine and longline gear to catch tropical 

tuna in the IATTC Convention Area. 

Most of the measures in Resolution C– 

24–01 do not need to be implemented 

through this proposed rule because they 

continue existing measures that are 

already codified and do not expire. 

These include maintaining a 750 mt 

catch limit on bigeye tuna caught by 

longline vessels greater than 24 m in 

overall length in the IATTC Convention 

Area (50 CFR 300.25(a)(2)), maintaining 

the prohibition on purse seine vessels of 

class size 4 to 6 (i.e., vessels with a 

carrying capacity greater than 182 mt) 

from fishing for tropical tuna in the 

IATTC Convention Area for a period of 

72 days (50 CFR 300.25(e)(1)), and 

maintaining a closure period (i.e., the 

Corralito closure) for the purse seine 

fishery for tropical tuna within the area 

of 96° W and 110° W and between 4° N 

and 3° S annually from 0000 hours on 

October 9 to 2400 hours on November 

8 (50 CFR 300.25(e)(5)). 

The following provisions of C–24–01 

also are already in the regulations: 

• Provisions related to transferring 

longline catch limits for bigeye tuna 

between IATTC members (50 CFR 

300.25(a)(5)); 

• Provisions related to selection of a 

72-day closure period (50 CFR 

300.25(e)(2) and (3)); 

• Provisions related to exemptions 

from the 72-day closure period 

requirement due to force majeure (50 

CFR 300.25(e)(5)); 

• Requirements related to stowing 

gear during time/area closure periods 

(50 CFR 300.25(e)(7)); 

• A requirement that all tropical tuna 

be retained on board and landed (with 

certain exceptions) (50 CFR 300.27(a)); 

• Restrictions related to FADs for 

purse seine vessels in the IATTC 

Convention Area (50 CFR 300.22(c) and 

50 CFR 300.28); 

• Prohibitions against failing to 

comply with gear-stowing restrictions, 

retention requirements, and FAD-related 

restrictions (50 CFR 300.24(e), (f), (m), 

(nn), (oo), and (pp)); and, 

• Reporting requirements for satellite 

buoys, including specific information 

about activations and deactivations (50 

CFR 300.22(c)(3) and (4)), and 

circumstances where activations and 

deactivations are allowed (50 CFR 

300.28(d) and (e)). 

The following management measures 

would continue unless and until 

modified or replaced, rather than 

expiring in 2025. 

Regulations at 50 CFR 300.25(e) 

currently specify a system of additional 

closure days for class size 4–6 purse 

seine vessels that exceed specified 

annual catch levels for bigeye tuna for 


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calendar years 2023 and 2024. Under 

this proposed rule, the regulations 

would remain in effect for 2025 and 

future calendar years. The catch levels 

would continue to begin at 1,200 mt of 

bigeye tuna with 10 additional closure 

days and would increase incrementally 

by 300 mt and 3 additional closure days 

beyond that level. U.S. purse seine 

vessels that exceed a certain annual 

catch level of bigeye tuna would be 

required to increase the number of 

closure days they observe in the 

following year, as specified in table 1. 

TABLE 1—BIGEYE TUNA CATCH LEVELS AND CORRESPONDING ADDITIONAL CLOSURE DAYS

Catch level (mt) 

exceeded 

Additional closure 

days observed 

1,200 ......................... 10 

1,500 ......................... 13 

1,800 ......................... 16 

2,100 ......................... 19 

2,400 ......................... 22 

Regulations at 50 CFR 300.28(c) 

implement restrictions on active FAD 

limits, as specified in table 2, for 

calendar year 2024. 

TABLE 2—ACTIVE FAD LIMITS FOR

PURSE SEINE VESSELS

Well volume 

(m3) Active FAD limit 

1,200 or more ........... 340 

426–1,199 ................. 210 

213–425 .................... 85 

0–212 ........................ 50 

Under this proposed rule, the active 

FAD limits would remain in effect for 

2025 and future calendar years. 

Although Resolution C–24–01 is in 

effect through 2026, NMFS does not 

intend for these proposed regulations to 

expire concurrently with the Resolution. 

Instead, because the IATTC will likely 

continue to adopt similar conservation 

and management measures upon 

expiration of this resolution, and to 

avoid a lapse in the management of the 

fishery that may occur between 

expiration of the proposed regulations 

and implementation of new measures 

adopted by the IATTC, NMFS proposes 

that these regulations would remain in 

effect unless and until they are amended 

or replaced. 

The TCA gives NMFS the authority to 

promulgate such regulations as may be 

necessary to carry out the United States’ 

international obligations under the 

Convention and this chapter, including 

recommendations and decisions 

adopted by the Commission. 16 U.S.C. 

955(a). In past years, NMFS has 

implemented IATTC resolutions for 

specific calendar years, and this 

approach has at times led to lapses in 

management in the affected fisheries in 

subsequent years. Given the timeconsuming nature of the U.S. domestic 

rulemaking process, combined with the 

increasingly frequent delayed adoption 

of IATTC resolutions, implementing 

domestic measures that do not expire 

unless and until new measures are in 

place is necessary to carry out the 

United States’ international obligations 

under the Antigua Convention and the 

TCA because it will ensure there is no 

lapse in management of the tropical 

tuna fishery in the EPO. 

Thus, NMFS proposes that the 

proposed regulations would remain in 

effect until they are amended or 

replaced. NMFS intends to publish 

proposed and final rules to implement 

new resolutions adopted by the IATTC 

as expeditiously as possible; however, 

this approach would allow existing 

regulations to remain in force and 

prevent any lapse in regulatory coverage 

caused by expirations. 

Because the IATTC adopted 

Resolution C–24–01 as a 2-year 

conservation and management measure 

(2025–2026), the supporting analyses for 

this proposed rule (discussed later in 

the Classification section) cover a 2-year 

time period, with the understanding 

that NMFS would consider whether 

these analyses would need to be 

supplemented should the measures 

remain in effect for more than 2 years. 

Classification 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that this proposed rule 

is consistent with the TCA and other 

applicable laws, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

Executive Order 12866 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule does not contain 

changes to the collection of information 

requirement for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 

existing collection of information 

requirements would continue to apply 

under Office of Management and 

Business (OMB) Control Number 0648– 

0214 (Pacific Islands Region Logbook 

Family of Forms) as well as for OMB 

Control Number 0648–0148 (West Coast 

Region Pacific Tuna Fisheries Logbook, 

Fish Aggregating Device Form, and 

Observer Safety Reporting) OMB 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

requirements. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

All currently approved NOAA 

collections of information may be 

viewed at: https://www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Chief Counsel 

for Regulation of the Department of 

Commerce has certified to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The rationale for the certification is 

provided in the following paragraphs. 

The United States Small Business 

Administration defines a ‘‘small 

business’’ (or ‘‘small entity’’) as one 

with annual revenue that meets or is 

below an established size standard. For 

Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes 

only, NMFS has established a small 

business size standard of $11 million in 

annual gross receipts for businesses, 

including their affiliates, whose primary 

industry is commercial fishing (see 50 

CFR 200.2). This standard applies to all 

businesses classified under North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) code 11411 for 

commercial fishing, including all 

businesses classified as commercial 

finfish fishing (NAICS 114111), 

commercial shellfish fishing (NAICS 

114112), and other commercial marine 

fishing (NAICS 114119) businesses. 

NMFS prepared the following 

analyses for this regulatory action in 

light of this size standard. All of the 

entities directly regulated by this 

regulatory action are commercial finfish 

fishing businesses. Under this size 

standard, some U.S. purse seine vessels 

affected by this action are considered 

large, and some are small businesses. 

The longline vessels this action applies 

to are considered to be small businesses 

based on above standards. 

U.S. Purse Seine Vessels Fishing in the 

IATTC Convention Area 

There are two components to the U.S. 

tuna purse seine fishery in the EPO: (1) 

large purse seine vessels (class size 6; 

greater than 363 mt carrying capacity) 

that typically have been based in the 

western and central Pacific Ocean 


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(WCPO), and (2) coastal purse seine 

vessels with smaller fish hold volumes 

(class sizes 2–3; between 46–181 mt 

carrying capacity) that are based on the 

U.S. West Coast. Although Resolution 

C–24–01 and the proposed 

implementing regulations include 

restrictions for class size 4–5 (182–363 

mt carrying capacity) purse seine 

vessels, there are currently no U.S. 

vessels of class sizes 4–5 registered to 

fish in the IATTC Convention Area, nor 

have there been in the past 10 years. 

Therefore, to the extent the proposed 

regulations specify application to class 

size 4–5 purse seine vessels, they are 

not expected to have any impact on U.S. 

vessel owners or operators. 

As of September 2024, the U.S. has 14 

active large U.S. purse seine vessels on 

the IATTC Regional Vessel Register 

authorized to fish in the EPO. Twelve of 

these vessels also have Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries Commission 

(WCPFC) Area Endorsements. WCPFC 

Area Endorsements are NMFS-issued 

authorizations required for a vessel to 

fish commercially for HMS on the high 

seas in the WCPFC Convention Area. 

NMFS used cannery data from the 

IATTC and Regional Purse Seine 

Logbook (RPL) data from Pacific Islands 

Fisheries Science Center to estimate fish 

landings in both the EPO and WCPO for 

the vessels that fished in both 

Convention Areas within a year. 

Because neither gross receipts nor exvessel price information specific to 

individual fishing vessels are available 

to NMFS, NMFS applied regional price 

data—as approximations of ex-vessel 

prices—to annual catches of individual 

vessels obtained from RPLs and IATTC 

observer data, to estimate the vessels’ 

annual receipts. 

Using this approach, NMFS estimates 

that among the affected vessels, the 

range in average annual per-vessel 

receipts in 2021–2023 was $500,000 to 

$13.4 million with an average of 

approximately $10 million. Nine of the 

active purse seine vessels had estimated 

average annual receipts of less than $11 

million, and thus are considered to be 

small entities. The remaining five are 

considered large businesses. 

U.S. Longline Vessels That Fish in the 

IATTC Convention Area 

As of September 2024, the IATTC 

Regional Vessel Register lists 35 largescale longline vessels (i.e., greater than 

24 m in overall length) that have the 

option to fish in the IATTC Convention 

Area. The majority of these longline 

vessels have Hawaii Longline Limited 

Access Permits (issued under 50 CFR 

665.13). Under the Hawaii longline 

limited access program, no more than 

164 permits may be issued. The Hawaii 

longline fisheries include a tunatargeting (including bigeye tuna) deepset fishery and swordfish-targeting 

shallow set fishery. Additionally, there 

are U.S. longline vessels based on the 

U.S. West Coast, some of which operate 

under the Pacific HMS permit and high 

seas permits. U.S. West Coast-based 

longline vessels operating under the 

Pacific HMS permit fish primarily in the 

EPO and are currently restricted to 

fishing with deep-set longline gear 

outside of the U.S. West Coast exclusive 

economic zone. 

Between 2019 and 2023, longline 

vessels that fished in the IATTC 

Convention Area had average ex-vessel 

revenues ranging from $197,301 to 

$255,985 for total landings, including 

those in the EPO and WCPO. The 

maximum ex-vessel revenue of any 

longline vessel that fished in the IATTC 

Convention Area was well below the 

$11 million threshold for finfish 

harvesting businesses. Therefore, all of 

the longline vessels impacted by the 

proposed rule would be considered 

small business entities. 

Economic Impacts 

The proposed action is not expected 

to have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. Purse seine vessels subject to 

this proposed rule are considered to 

include both large and small businesses, 

and longline vessels subject to this 

proposed rule are considered to be small 

businesses. All of the measures in the 

Resolution maintain purse seine and 

longline measures that have been in 

place in U.S. regulations for years and 

are therefore routine for the purse seine 

and longline fleets. As described above, 

the IATTC extended the measures to 

prevent overfishing. 

Two provisions in the 2024 

Resolution are proposed to be extended 

beyond 2026 and without a specified 

end date. The proposed extension of the 

regulations to continue these provisions 

in this way, and the expected economic 

effects of these changes, are discussed in 

detail below. 

Additional closure days: The 

proposed action would remove end 

dates from the regulations and thus 

would continue to add 10 closure days 

for purse seine vessels that catch more 

than 1,200 mt of bigeye tuna, and would 

continue to add 3 additional closure 

days for every additional 300 mt caught 

beyond the 1,200 mt. In reviewing catch 

levels for U.S. purse seine vessels from 

2017–2020, only one U.S. vessel caught 

more than 1,200 mt in a single year. 

Since the 2022 rulemaking was put in 

place, no U.S. vessels have caught more 

than 1,200 mt in a single year. Thus, it 

is not expected that many, if any, U.S. 

vessels would be required to adhere to 

additional closure days. For vessels that 

may need to observe additional closure 

days, the majority of vessels have the 

option to fish in the WCPO, pending 

closures in the WCPFC Convention 

Area, noting that tropical tuna stocks in 

the WCPO are considered distinct from 

EPO stocks. 

FAD limits: The proposed rule would 

remove specific end years from FAD 

limits per vessel. With respect to limits 

on active FADs, all large U.S. purse 

seine vessels currently on the IATTC 

Regional Vessel Register have a well 

volume of 1,200 m3 or more. Therefore, 

the limit of 340 active FADs per large 

U.S. purse seine vessel would continue 

to apply in 2025 and beyond. According 

to 2018–2020 purse seine effort data 

provided by IATTC scientific staff, the 

average number of active FADs per U.S. 

vessel is approximately 90 and the 

maximum number per vessel is 271. 

Since the 2022 rulemaking began to 

gradually decrease active FAD limits to 

their current limits, U.S. purse seine 

vessels have continued to operate 

within the established limits. Thus, 

these proposed regulations are not 

expected to reduce the number of active 

FADs any U.S. purse seine vessel has in 

the water. As a result, these measures 

are not expected to reduce the 

profitability of the fishery, and no 

disproportionate impacts between small 

and large businesses are expected. 

In summary, the proposed action is 

not expected to substantially change the 

typical fishing practices of affected 

vessels. Any impact to the income of 

U.S. vessels is expected to be minor. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

this proposed rule is not expected to 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Therefore, an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Marine resources, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Treaties. 

Dated: November 20, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 300 as follows: 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2024 / Proposed Rules 96635 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300, 

subpart C, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. 

■ 2. Amend § 300.25 by revising 

paragraph (e)(2)(i) to read as follows: 

§ 300.25 Fisheries Management. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) U.S. purse seine vessels that 

exceed a certain annual catch level of 

bigeye tuna must increase the number of 

closure days they observe in the 

following year, as specified in table 1 to 

this paragraph (e)(2). 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (e)(2) 

Catch level (mt) 

exceeded 

Additional closure 

days observed 

1,200 ......................... 10 

1,500 ......................... 13 

1,800 ......................... 16 

2,100 ......................... 19 

2,400 ......................... 22 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 300.28 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 300.28 FAD restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(c) Restrictions on Active FADs for 

purse seine vessels. U.S. vessel owners 

and operators of purse-seine vessels 

with the following well volume in cubic 

meters (m3) must not have more than 

the following number of Active FADs 

per vessel in the IATTC Convention 

Area at any one time, as specified in 

table 1 to this paragraph (c). 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (c) 

Well volume (m3) Active FAD limit 

1,200 or more ........... 340 

426–1,199 ................. 210 

213–425 .................... 85 

0–212 ........................ 50 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–27689 Filed 12–4–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with PROPOSALS