8432 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

claim on your behalf, NEH’s 

commitment will be subject to the 

availability of appropriated funds. The 

Agency Official may impose other 

conditions or limitations on the 

determination at his or her discretion. 

(h) If the Chairperson requests 

indemnification or settlement of a 

claim, the General Counsel will perform 

the functions assigned to the 

Chairperson under this section with 

respect to that request. 

§ 1173.2 [Reserved] 

Dated: February 9, 2022. 

Samuel Roth, 

Attorney-Advisor, National Endowment for 

the Humanities. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03058 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7536–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XB796] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the 

General category January through March 

fishery for 2022. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the General 

category fishery for large medium and 

giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) 

curved fork length or greater) Atlantic 

bluefin tuna (BFT) for the January 

through March subquota time period. 

This action applies to Atlantic Tunas 

General category (commercial) 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels with a 

commercial sale endorsement when 

fishing commercially for BFT. 

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, 

February 11, 2022, through May 31, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Redd, Jr., larry.redd@noaa.gov, 

301–427–8503, Nicholas Velseboer, 

nicholas.velsboer@noaa.gov, 978–281– 

9260, or Thomas Warren, 

thomas.warren@noaa.gov, 978–281– 

9347. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

HMS fisheries, including BFT fisheries, 

are managed 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.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic 

HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

and its amendments are implemented 

by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. 

Section 635.27 divides 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 

HMS FMP and its amendments. NMFS 

is required under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act to provide U.S. fishing vessels with 

a reasonable opportunity to harvest 

quotas under relevant international 

fishery agreements such as the ICCAT 

Convention, which is implemented 

domestically pursuant to ATCA. 

Under § 635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a 

closure notice with the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication when a 

BFT quota (or subquota) is reached or is 

projected to be reached. Retaining, 

possessing, or landing BFT under that 

quota category is prohibited on and after 

the effective date and time of a closure 

notice for that category, for the 

remainder of the fishing year, until the 

opening of the subsequent quota period 

or until such date as specified. 

The 2022 baseline quota for the 

General category is 555.7 mt. The 

General category baseline subquota for 

the January through March time period 

is 29.5 mt. As a result of two 

adjustments, the adjusted subquota for 

the January through March time period 

is 75 mt (86 FR 72857, December 23, 

2021; 87 FR 5737, February 2, 2022). 

Closure of the January Through March 

2022 General Category Fishery 

As of February 10, 2022, reported 

landings for the General category 

January through March subquota time 

period total approximately 63.1 mt. 

Based on these landings data, as well as 

average catch rates and anticipated 

fishing conditions, NMFS projects the 

adjusted January through March 2022 

subquota of 75 mt will be reached 

shortly. Therefore, retaining, possessing, 

or landing large medium or giant (i.e., 

measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved 

fork length or greater) BFT by persons 

aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic 

Tunas General category and HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

(while fishing commercially) must cease 

at 11:30 p.m. local time on February 11, 

2022. The General category will 

automatically reopen June 1, 2022, for 

the June through August 2022 subquota 

time period. This action applies to 

Atlantic Tunas General category 

(commercial) permitted vessels and 

HMS Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels with a commercial sale 

endorsement when fishing 

commercially for BFT and is taken 

consistent with the regulations at 

§ 635.28(a)(1). The intent of this closure 

is to prevent overharvest of the available 

January through March subquota. 

Fishermen aboard General category 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels may catchand-release and tag and release BFT of 

all sizes, subject to the requirements of 

the catch-and-release and tag-andrelease programs at § 635.26. All BFT 

that are released must be handled in a 

manner that will maximize their 

survival, and without removing the fish 

from the water, consistent with 

requirements at § 635.21(a)(1). For 

additional information on safe handling, 

see the ‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ 

brochure available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/ 

outreach-and-education/careful-catchand-release-brochure/. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fisheries closely. Dealers are 

required to submit landing reports 

within 24 hours of a dealer receiving 

BFT. Late reporting by dealers 

compromises NMFS’ ability to timely 

implement actions such as quota and 

retention limit adjustment, as well as 

closures, and may result in enforcement 

actions. Additionally, and separate from 

the dealer reporting requirement, 

General and HMS Charter/Headboat 

category vessel owners are required to 

report the 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.). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS 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 its 

amendments provide for inseason 

adjustments and fishery closures to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 8433 

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. This fishery is currently 

underway and delaying this action 

would be contrary to the public interest 

as it could result in BFT landings 

exceeding the General category adjusted 

January through March 2022 subquota, 

which could result in the need to reduce 

quota for the General category later in 

the year and thus could affect later 

fishing opportunities. 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 all 

of the above reasons, there is good cause 

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

day delay in effectiveness. 

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

et seq. 

Dated: February 10, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03236 Filed 2–10–22; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 210210–0018; RTID 0648– 

XB755] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by 

Vessels Using Pot Gear in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by vessels using 

pot gear in the Western Regulatory Area 

of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action 

is necessary to prevent exceeding the A 

season allowance of the 2022 total 

allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod by 

vessels using pot gear in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), February 11, 2022, through 

1200 hrs, A.l.t., June 10, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Krista Milani, 907–581–2062. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

GOA exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska (FMP) prepared by the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act. Regulations governing 

fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance 

with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 

CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679. 

The A season allowance of the 2022 

Pacific cod TAC apportioned to vessels 

using pot gear in the Western Regulatory 

Area of the GOA is 1,330 metric tons 

(mt) as established by the final 2021 and 

2022 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the GOA (86 FR 10184, 

February 19, 2021) and inseason 

adjustment (86 FR 74384, December 30, 

2021). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i), 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that the A season allowance 

of the 2022 Pacific cod TAC 

apportioned to vessels using pot gear in 

the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA 

will soon be reached. Therefore, the 

Regional Administrator is establishing a 

directed fishing allowance of 1,330 mt 

and is setting aside the remaining 0 mt 

as bycatch to support other anticipated 

groundfish fisheries. In accordance with 

§ 679.20(d)(1)(iii), the Regional 

Administrator finds that this directed 

fishing allowance has been reached. 

Consequently, NMFS is prohibiting 

directed fishing for Pacific cod by 

vessels using pot gear in the Western 

Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

While this closure is effective the 

maximum retainable amounts at 

§ 679.20(e) and (f) apply at any time 

during a trip. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 679, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there 

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest, as it would prevent 

NMFS from responding to the most 

recent fisheries data in a timely fashion 

and would delay the closure of Pacific 

cod by vessels using pot gear in the 

Western Regulatory Area of the GOA. 

NMFS was unable to publish a notice 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of February 9, 

2022. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA also finds good cause 

to waive the 30-day delay in the 

effective date of this action under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based 

upon the reasons provided above for 

waiver of prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment. 

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

Dated: February 10, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03221 Filed 2–10–22; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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