Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Proposed Rules 12643 

9 Id. 

10See 49 U.S.C. 30111(a). 

demonstrate the level of effectiveness of 

those technologies and designs in 

addressing the claimed concerns 

regarding the installation of ELDs. 

However, the petitioner provided only 

high-level, anecdotal information about 

their broad, general concerns. 

Furthermore, petitioner failed to 

provide any solutions to those concerns. 

3. SBTC has not provided the 

substance that a standard would be 

comprised of. 

As stated in previous NHTSA 

guidance,9 the petition should describe 

the requested standard (i.e., the 

performance requirements, test 

conditions, and test procedures), the 

supporting research and reasons why 

those performance requirements, test 

conditions, and test procedures are 

appropriate and provide proposed 

regulatory text. However, SBTC failed to 

provide any substantive information 

regarding what a new FMVSS would be 

comprised of that would resolve the 

alleged concerns regarding the ELD 

installation. 

B. SBTC’s Petition To Amend the 

Existing FMVSS Nos. 105, 121, and 124, 

and NHTSA’s Rationale for Denying 

This Petition 

Like the first petition for a new 

FMVSS, this second petition should 

demonstrate a safety need that could be 

resolved by amending the existing 

FMVSSs. However, SBTC merely 

contended that the alleged 

vulnerabilities of telematics systems 

could impact braking and acceleration 

control systems and did not provide 

sufficient information or evidence of 

such attacks occurring in heavy 

vehicles. The resources provided by the 

petitioner cover a wide range of 

potential telematics vulnerabilities in 

light passenger vehicles, many of which 

are directly impacted by specific vehicle 

architectures (i.e., make and model 

specific, in many instances). Petitioner 

has failed to provide evidence that 

indicates there is a general safety need 

related to telematics units in heavy 

vehicles that warrants modification of 

existing FMVSS. Without an identified 

safety need, it is unclear how 

petitioner’s request would meet the 

need for safety.10

Similarly, the petitioner failed to 

provide practical means or solutions by 

which NHTSA could resolve its 

concern. SBTC provided only highlevel, anecdotal information about its 

broad, general concerns regarding the 

interaction between telematics and 

heavy vehicle braking and acceleration 

control systems regulated by the 

existing FMVSSs. SBTC also failed to 

provide any substantive information 

regarding the amendments of the 

existing FMVSSs to resolve its concerns. 

Therefore, NHTSA is denying both of 

the SBTC’s rulemaking petitions 

because they lacked sufficient 

information as discussed above. 

Furthermore, the agency is 

discretionarily allocating and managing 

its vehicle safety resources to those 

rulemakings that are mandated by 

Congress and others that have a 

demonstrated safety need with solutions 

available to resolve those needs. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30113; delegation of 

authority at 49 CFR 1.95. 

Steven S. Cliff, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04729 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 220223–0056] 

RIN 0648–BK99 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

General Category Restricted-Fishing 

Days 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is proposing to set 

Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) General 

category restricted-fishing days (RFDs) 

for the 2022 fishing year. This proposed 

rule would set RFDs for specific days 

during the months of July through 

November 2022. On an RFD, Atlantic 

Tunas General category permitted 

vessels may not fish for (including 

catch-and-release or tag-and-release 

fishing), possess, retain, land, or sell 

BFT. On an RFD, Highly Migratory 

Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat 

permitted vessels with a commercial 

sale endorsement also are subject to 

these restrictions to preclude fishing 

commercially for BFT under the General 

category restrictions and retention 

limits, but such vessels may still fish 

for, possess, retain, or land BFT when 

fishing recreationally under applicable 

HMS Angling category rules. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by April 6, 2022. NMFS will 

hold a public hearing via conference 

call and webinar for this proposed rule 

on March 24, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 

p.m. For webinar registration 

information, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0025, by electronic 

submission. Submit all electronic public 

comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2022–0025’’ in the 

Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

Comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the close 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 

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). 

NMFS will hold a public hearing via 

conference call and webinar on this 

proposed rule. For specific location, 

date and time, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

Copies of this proposed rule and 

supporting documents are available 

from the HMS Management Division 

website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/atlantichighly-migratory-species or by 

contacting Larry Redd at larry.redd@

noaa.gov or 301–427–8503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

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

301–427–8503, or Carrie Soltanoff, 

carrie.soltanoff@noaa.gov, 301–427– 

8503. 

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 (2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP) and its 

amendments are implemented by 

regulations at 50 CFR part 635. Section 

635.27 divides the U.S. BFT quota, 


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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. Section 

635.23 specifies the retention limit 

provisions for Atlantic Tunas General 

category permitted vessels and HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels, 

including regarding RFDs. 

RFDs are used as an effort control to 

ensure that BFT quotas and subquotas 

are not exceeded. In 2018, NMFS 

implemented a final rule that 

established the overall U.S. BFT quota 

and subquotas consistent with ICCAT 

Recommendation 17–06 (83 FR 51391, 

October 11, 2018) and split that BFT 

quota into subquotas among fishing 

categories, including for the Angling 

category (recreational) and General 

category (commercial). In 2020, 

following a stock assessment update, 

ICCAT adopted Recommendation 20– 

06, which maintained the total 

allowable catch of 2,350 metric tons 

(mt) and the associated U.S. quota. As 

such, as described in § 635.27(a), the 

current baseline U.S. quota remains 

1,247.86 mt (not including the 25 mt 

ICCAT allocated to the United States to 

account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic 

longline fisheries in the Northeast 

Distant Gear Restricted Area). The 

baseline quota for the General category 

is 555.7 mt. Each of the General category 

time periods (January through March, 

June through August, September, 

October through November, and 

December) is allocated a portion of the 

annual General category quota. 

In November 2021, following the 

results of the 2021 western BFT stock 

assessment, ICCAT adopted 

Recommendation 21–07, which 

increased the total allowable catch to 

2,746 mt and the associated U.S. quota 

by 68.28 mt to 1,316.14 mt. NMFS 

recently published a proposed rule that 

would implement Recommendation 21– 

07. If finalized as proposed after 

considering public comment, the final 

rule would increase the baseline annual 

U.S. quota and for BFT to the ICCATrecommended U.S. BFT quota and 

subquotas would increase accordingly. 

Background 

NMFS first established the regulatory 

authority to set ‘‘no fishing’’ days in a 

1995 rule (60 FR 38505, July 27, 1995) 

as an available effort control that could 

be used to extend the General category 

time period subquotas while providing 

additional inseason management 

flexibility with regard to quota use and 

season length. An RFD is a day, 

established ahead of time through a 

schedule published in the Federal 

Register, on which NMFS sets the BFT 

retention limit at zero for certain 

categories of permit holders. 

Specifically, on an RFD, vessels 

permitted in the Atlantic Tunas General 

category are prohibited from fishing for 

(including catch-and-release and tagand-release fishing), possessing, 

retaining, landing, or selling BFT 

(§ 635.23(a)(2)). RFDs also apply to HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels to 

preclude fishing commercially under 

General category restrictions and 

retention limits on those days but do not 

preclude such vessels from recreational 

fishing activity under applicable 

Angling category regulations, including 

catch-and-release and tag-and-release 

fishing (§ 635.23(c)(3)). 

NMFS may waive previously 

scheduled RFDs under certain 

circumstances. Consistent with 

§ 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may waive an RFD 

by adjusting the daily BFT retention 

limit from zero up to five on specified 

RFDs, after considering the inseason 

adjustment determination criteria at 

§ 635.27(a)(8). Considerations include, 

among other things, review of dealer 

reports, daily landing trends, and the 

availability of BFT on fishing grounds. 

NMFS would announce any such 

waiver by filing a retention limit 

adjustment with the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication. Such 

adjustments would be effective no less 

than 3 calendar days after the date of 

filing for public inspection with the 

Office of the Federal Register. NMFS 

also may waive previously designated 

RFDs effective upon closure of the 

General category fishery so that persons 

aboard vessels permitted in the General 

category may conduct catch-and-release 

or tag-and-release fishing for BFT under 

§ 635.26(a). NMFS would not modify 

the previously scheduled RFDs during 

the fishing year in other ways (such as 

changing an RFD from one date to 

another, or adding RFDs). 

Due to increased BFT catch rates in 

the General category in 2019 and 2020, 

and numerous requests from Atlantic 

tuna dealers, General category 

participants, and members of the 

Atlantic HMS Advisory Panel, NMFS 

proposed to resume the use of RFDs for 

2021 for the first time since 2007 (86 FR 

25992, May 12, 2021). Although NMFS 

proposed a schedule of all Tuesdays, 

Fridays, and Saturdays from July 20 

through November 30, 2021, due to 

timing issues, the final rule established 

RFDs on all Tuesdays, Fridays, and 

Saturdays from September 3 through 

November 30, 2021 (86 FR 43421, 

August 9, 2021). NMFS closed the 

General category September subquota 

period on September 23, 2021 (86 FR 

53010, September 24, 2021). For the 

October through November subquota 

period, the General category remained 

open until the end of the subquota 

period (November 30, 2021). Because 

the use of RFDs in 2021 succeeded in 

extending fishing opportunities through 

a greater portion of the relevant 

subquota periods and the fishing season 

overall, consistent with management 

objectives for the fishery, NMFS is 

proposing an RFD schedule for the 2022 

fishing year. 

Proposed RFD Schedule for the 2022 

Fishing Year 

For 2022, NMFS proposes a schedule 

of RFDs as follows: All Tuesdays, 

Fridays, and Saturdays from July 1, 

2022, through November 30, 2022, 

while the fishery is open. On these 

designated RFDs, persons aboard vessels 

permitted in the General category would 

be prohibited from fishing for (including 

catch-and-release and tag-and-release 

fishing), possessing, retaining, landing, 

or selling BFT. Persons aboard HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

with a commercial sale endorsement 

also would be prohibited from fishing 

commercially for BFT. Persons aboard 

all HMS Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels (including those with a 

commercial sale endorsement) could 

fish recreationally for BFT under the 

applicable Angling category restrictions 

and retention limits. 

NMFS is proposing the same weekly 

schedule as the 2021 RFD schedule (i.e., 

every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday). 

However, while the 2021 RFDs did not 

start until September 2021, the 2022 

RFDs proposed schedule would begin at 

the start of July and extend through the 

end of November. This proposed 

schedule and extension is based on 

general feedback provided by Atlantic 

tuna dealers, General category 

participants and members of the 

Atlantic HMS Advisory Panel in 2021, 

a review of average daily catch rate data 

for recent years, a review of past years’ 

RFD schedules (including the most 

recent 2021 RFD schedule), and a 

review of past closure dates prior to 

RFDs being set in 2021. Considering that 

information, NMFS believes that a 

schedule of Tuesday, Friday, and 

Saturday RFDs from July 1 through 

November 30 should continue to 

increase the likelihood of pacing 

General category landings to extend 

fishing opportunities through a greater 

portion of the subquota periods (similar 

to the 2021 RFD schedule). It would also 

allow for two-consecutive-day periods 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Proposed Rules 12645 

twice each week (Sunday–Monday; 

Wednesday–Thursday) for BFT product 

to move through the market and allow 

for some commercial fishing activity 

each weekend (Sunday). 

In proposing the same schedule as last 

year, NMFS did consider the comments 

and feedback received last year that 

suggested a different approach. During 

the public comment period for the 2021 

RFD rulemaking, NMFS received 

comments regarding RFDs potentially 

negatively impacting HMS tournaments 

given the limits on weekend fishing. 

Several of these comments requested 

that a schedule of RFDs be announced 

earlier in the fishing year to allow 

tournament operators the flexibility to 

adapt their tournaments around RFDs. 

Publishing the proposed rule and 

affording an opportunity for comments 

on the proposed schedule earlier in the 

year would allow tournament operators 

the opportunity to comment and later to 

adjust their scheduled tournaments as 

needed around the 2022 RFDs. In 2021 

after the RFD schedule had published, 

NMFS also received a request to 

establish a weekly schedule consisting 

of three days in a row such as Thursday, 

Friday, and Saturday. This request 

stated that a block of days would better 

assist the bluefin tuna product to move 

through the market, assist enforcement, 

and assist the industry with three 

consecutive days off. NMFS is not 

proposing that requested schedule at 

this time but specifically is requesting 

comment on this topic to help assess 

whether such a block of time would be 

less disruptive to the fishery and would 

better meet the goals of RFDs. 

Additionally, in late 2021, NMFS 

received requests from some winter 

fishery participants to extend RFDs 

through the December subquota period. 

These dealers and General category 

participants suggested that establishing 

RFDs in December would assist in 

facilitating entry of BFT product to the 

market while also allowing rest days for 

commercial BFT fishermen. These 

requests specifically suggested 

Wednesdays and Saturdays as December 

subquota period RFDs. Over the last five 

years, closure of the December subquota 

period has been necessary in 2017, 

2020, and 2021, with the fishery 

remaining open through the end of the 

month in 2018 and 2019.At this time 

NMFS is not proposing to extend RFDs 

through the December subquota period 

for the 2022 fishing year. However, in 

the Federal Register notice, NMFS 

specifically requests comment on 

whether RFDs should be extended 

through the December subquota period. 

NMFS will consider comments before 

deciding on a final schedule. 

Lastly, NMFS also received a 

suggestion to implement RFDs for the 

January through March subquota period. 

Given that the 2022 January through 

March subquota period is currently 

underway, NMFS is not proposing RFDs 

for this period in this rulemaking, given 

timing considerations. However, NMFS 

requests comment on whether it could 

be appropriate to implement RFDs for 

the January through March subquota 

period in the future, including the 2023 

January through March subquota period. 

Under existing regulations, based on 

consideration of regulatory criteria at 

§ 635.27(a)(8), NMFS may waive certain 

RFDs consistent with § 635.23(a)(4), 

either by adjusting the retention limit 

upwards on a previously-scheduled 

RFD or by waiving an RFD to allow 

recreational fishing under the Angling 

category restrictions and retention limits 

when the General category closes. Once 

the schedule is set, however, NMFS 

would not modify RFDs in other ways 

(e.g., switching days or adding RFDs). 

Request for Comments 

NMFS is proposing a schedule of 

RFDs for every Tuesday, Friday, and 

Saturday from July 1, 2022, through 

November 30, 2022. NMFS is requesting 

comments on this RFD schedule for the 

2022 fishing year. NMFS is also 

specifically requesting comments on (1) 

whether the RFD schedule should be 

three days in a row per week, (2) 

whether RFDs should also be 

considered for the General category 

December subquota period, and (3) 

whether RFDs should be considered for 

the January through March subquota 

period for future rulemakings since this 

subquota period is currently closed. 

Comments on this proposed rule may be 

submitted via www.regulations.gov or at 

a public conference call and webinar. 

NMFS solicits comments on this action 

by April 6, 2022 (see DATES and 

ADDRESSES). 

During the comment period, NMFS 

will hold a public hearing via 

conference call and webinar for this 

proposed action. Requests for sign 

language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

Larry Redd at larry.redd@noaa.gov or 

301–427–8503, at least 7 days prior to 

the meeting. 

The conference call and webinar will 

take place on March 24, 2022. 

Information for registering and 

accessing the webinars can be found at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

proposed-2022-restricted-fishing-daysatlantic-bluefin-tuna-fishery. 

The public is reminded that NMFS 

expects participants at conference calls 

and webinars to conduct themselves 

appropriately. At the beginning of each 

conference call and webinar, the 

moderator will explain how the 

conference call and webinar will be 

conducted and how and when 

participants can provide comments. 

NMFS representative(s) will structure 

the conference call and webinar so that 

all members of the public will be able 

to comment, if they so choose, 

regardless of the controversial nature of 

the subject(s). Participants are expected 

to respect the ground rules, and those 

that do not may be asked to leave the 

conference calls and webinars. 

Classification 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that the proposed rule is 

consistent with the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, ATCA, and other applicable law, 

subject to further consideration after 

public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) was prepared, as 

required by section 603 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The 

IRFA describes the economic impact 

this proposed rule, if adopted, would 

have on small entities. A description of 

the action, why it is being considered, 

and the legal basis for this action are 

contained at the beginning of this 

section in the preamble and in the 

SUMMARY section of the preamble. A 

summary of the analysis follows. 

Section 603(b)(1) requires agencies to 

describe the reasons why the action is 

being considered. The purpose of this 

proposed rulemaking is, consistent with 

the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, ATCA, and 

other applicable law, to potentially set 

a schedule of RFDs for the 2022 fishing 

year as an effort control for the General 

category quota, and to extend General 

category fishing opportunities through a 

greater portion of the General category 

subquota periods. Implementation of the 

proposal would further the management 

goals and objectives in the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments. 

Section 603(b)(2) of the RFA requires 

agencies to state the objectives of, and 

legal basis for, the proposed action. The 

objective of this proposed rulemaking is 

to set a schedule of RFDs for the 2022 

fishing year to increase the likelihood of 

pacing General category landings to 

extend fishing opportunities through a 

greater portion of the subquota periods 

(similar to the 2021 RFD schedule). The 


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12646 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

legal basis for the proposed rule is the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. 

Section 603(b)(3) of the RFA requires 

agencies to provide an estimate of the 

number of small entities to which the 

rule would apply. NMFS established a 

small business size standard of $11 

million in annual gross receipts for all 

businesses in the commercial fishing 

industry (NAICS 11411) for RFA 

compliance purposes. The Small 

Business Administration (SBA) has 

established size standards for all other 

major industry sectors in the United 

States, including the scenic and 

sightseeing transportation (water) sector 

(NAICS code 487210), which includes 

for-hire (charter/party boat) fishing 

entities. The SBA has defined a small 

entity under the scenic and sightseeing 

transportation (water) sector as one with 

average annual receipts (revenue) of less 

than $8.0 million. NMFS considers all 

HMS permit holders, both commercial 

and for-hire, to be small entities because 

they had average annual receipts of less 

than their respective sector’s standard of 

$11 million and $8 million. The 2020 

total ex-vessel annual revenue for the 

BFT fishery was $8.4 million. Since a 

small business is defined as having 

annual receipts not in excess of $11.0 

million, each individual BFT permit 

holder would fall within the small 

entity definition. The numbers of 

relevant annual Atlantic Tunas or 

Atlantic HMS permits as of October 

2021 are as follows: 2,730 General 

category permit holders and 4,055 HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit holders, of 

which 1,793 hold HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permits with a commercial 

sale endorsement. 

Section 603(b)(4) of the RFA requires 

agencies to describe any new reporting, 

record-keeping, and other compliance 

requirements. This proposed rule does 

not contain any new collection of 

information, reporting, or recordkeeping requirements. This proposed 

rule would set a schedule of RFDs for 

2022 as an effort control for the General 

category. 

Under section 603(b)(5) of the RFA, 

agencies must identify, to the extent 

practicable, relevant Federal rules 

which duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with the proposed action. Fishermen, 

dealers, and managers in these fisheries 

must comply with a number of 

international agreements, domestic 

laws, and other fishery management 

measures. These include, but are not 

limited to, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

ATCA, the High Seas Fishing 

Compliance Act, the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act, the Endangered Species 

Act, the National Environmental Policy 

Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and 

the Coastal Zone Management Act. This 

proposed action has been determined 

not to duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with any Federal rules. 

Under section 603(c) of the RFA, 

agencies must describe any significant 

alternatives to the proposed rule which 

accomplish the stated objectives of 

applicable statutes and which minimize 

any significant economic impact of the 

proposed rule on small entities. 

Specifically, the RFA (5 U.S.C. 

603(c)(1)–(4)) lists four general 

categories of significant alternatives to 

assist an agency in the development of 

significant alternatives. These categories 

of alternatives are: (1) Establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) clarification, consolidation, 

or simplification of compliance and 

reporting requirements under the rule 

for such small entities; (3) use of 

performance rather than design 

standards; and, (4) exemptions from 

coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, 

for small entities. 

Regarding the first, second, and fourth 

categories, NMFS cannot establish 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements for small entities or 

exempt small entities from coverage of 

the rule or parts of it, because all of the 

businesses impacted by this rule are 

considered small entities, and thus the 

requirements are already designed for 

small entities. Regarding the third 

category, NMFS does not know of any 

performance or design standards that 

would satisfy the aforementioned 

objectives of this rulemaking. 

This proposed rule would not change 

the U.S. Atlantic BFT quotas or 

implement any new management 

measures not previously considered 

under the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP 

and its amendments. NMFS proposes 

continuation of the use of RFDs for the 

General category in 2022 and provides 

the regulated community the 

opportunity to comment on the 

proposed RFD schedule. Under the 

regulations, when a General category 

subquota period is reached or projected 

to be reached, NMFS closes the General 

category fishery. 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. In recent 

years, these closures, if needed, have 

generally occurred toward the end of a 

subquota period. According to 

communications with dealers and 

fishermen, several of the high-volume 

Atlantic tunas dealers in 2019 and 2020 

were limiting their purchases of BFT 

and buying no or very few BFT (such as 

harpooned fish only) on certain days 

during the beginning portion of the June 

through August subquota period in 

order to extend the available quota until 

later in the subquota period given 

market considerations. However, while 

these actions may have prevented large 

numbers of BFT from entering the 

market at the same time and may have 

lengthened the time before any 

particular subquota period was closed, 

because these actions were not prescheduled or consistently implemented 

across the fishery, there were negative 

impacts experienced by some General 

category and Charter/Headboat 

permitted fishermen, who could not 

find buyers for their BFT. As a result, 

a number of BFT that normally would 

have been sold were not, and 

opportunities may not have been 

equitably distributed among all 

permitted vessels. In 2021, NMFS set 

pre-scheduled RFDs for the General 

category fishery on certain days 

(Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) from 

September through November to 

increase the likelihood of pacing 

General category landings to extend 

fishing opportunities through a greater 

portion of the subquota periods. Table 1 

shows the number and total metric tons 

(mt) of BFT that were landed but not 

sold by fishermen fishing under the 

General category quota for 2017 through 

2021. The number and weight of unsold 

BFT increased from 2018 through 2020, 

with a peak in 2020 (173 BFT and 25.8 

mt) in part to the pandemic and 

substantially decreased in 2021 (from 

143 to 12 BFT and 25.8 mt to 2.0 mt). 

NMFS believes this substantial 

reduction in 2021 from the peak in 2020 

is a result of the use of RFDs in 2021. 


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TABLE 1—NUMBER (COUNT) AND WEIGHT (MT) OF BFT LANDED BUT UNSOLD BY GENERAL CATEGORY PARTICIPANTS BY

YEAR

[2017–2021] 

Year Count Weight 

(mt) 

2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 0 0 

2018 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.6 

2019 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 20 3.8 

2020 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 143 25.8 

2021 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.0 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 189 34.2 

Table 2 shows the average ex-vessel 

price per pound of BFT during each 

General category subquota time period 

for 2017 through 2021. Ex-vessel price 

per pound was lower for the June 

through August period, with an average 

(2017 through 2021) of $6.21, and 

increased over the summer and fall 

period, with averages of $6.26 for the 

September period and $6.73 for the 

October through November period). In 

2021, the average price per pound was 

higher for all time periods compared to 

the average price per pound during the 

time periods in 2020. In most time 

periods, the 2021 average price per 

pound was also higher than the 2019 

average price per pound. NMFS believes 

that this increase in average price was 

in part due to the use of RFDs in 2021. 

TABLE 2—AVERAGE EX-VESSEL PRICE PER POUND ($) OF BFT BY GENERAL CATEGORY SUBQUOTA TIME PERIOD

[2017–2021] 

Year 

Subquota time period 

January 

through 

March 

June 

through 

August 

September 

October 

through 

November 

December 

2017 ......................................................................................................... $7.37 $6.72 $7.08 $7.56 $9.83 

2018 ......................................................................................................... 7.43 6.92 6.55 7.58 9.56 

2019 ......................................................................................................... 6.06 5.61 6.36 5.53 12.25 

2020 ......................................................................................................... 6.13 4.90 5.21 5.61 5.76 

2021 ......................................................................................................... 6.22 6.92 6.09 7.38 8.51 

2017 through 2021 average ............................................................. 6.64 6.21 6.26 6.73 9.18 

Table 3 shows the number of open 

days during each General category 

subquota time period for 2017 through 

2021. On an annual basis, the average 

number of General category open days 

tends to be higher earlier in the fishing 

year (i.e., 64 days for the January 

through March period and 79 days for 

the June through August period) and 

decreases as the season progresses into 

the late fall and winter seasons (i.e., 21 

days for September period, 21 days for 

October through November period, and 

20 days for the December period). In 

2021, the total number of open days was 

higher compared to the total number of 

days in 2019. NMFS set RFDs for the 

September and October through 

November subquota periods in 2021. 

Although the number of open days for 

the September 2021 subquota period 

was the lowest except for 2019, the 

October through November 2021 

subquota period remained open for 

more days compared to the previous 

four years. NMFS believes that increase 

in fishing days was in part due to RFDs. 

TABLE 3—GENERAL CATEGORY NUMBER OF OPEN DAYS BY SUBQUOTA TIME PERIOD

[2017–2021] 

Year 

Subquota time period 

January 

through 

March 

June 

through 

August 

September 

October 

through 

November 

December Total 

2017 ................................................................................. 88 77 17 5 6 193 

2018 ................................................................................. 61 92 23 15 31 222 

2019 ................................................................................. 59 69 13 13 31 185 

2020 ................................................................................. 55 91 27 11 14 200 

2021 ................................................................................. 58 65 14 34 18 189 

2017 through 2021 average ..................................... 64 79 19 16 20 198 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
12648 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

NMFS is proposing to establish a 

schedule of RFDs for the 2022 fishing 

year that would specify days on which 

fishing and sales will not occur. 

Specifically, the proposed schedule 

allows for two-consecutive-day periods 

twice each week for BFT product to 

move through the market while also 

allowing some commercial fishing 

activity to occur each weekend (i.e., 

Sundays). Because this schedule of 

RFDs would apply to all participants 

equally, NMFS anticipates that this 

schedule would extend fishing 

opportunities through a greater 

proportion of the subquota periods in 

which they apply by spreading fishing 

effort out over time similar to the 2021 

fishing season. Further, to the extent 

that the ex-vessel revenue for a BFT sold 

by a General or HMS Charter/Headboat 

permitted vessel (with a commercial 

endorsement) may be higher when a 

lower volume of domestically-caught 

BFT is on the market at one time, the 

use of RFDs may result in some increase 

in BFT price, and the value of the 

General category subquotas could 

increase similar to that of 2021. Thus, 

although NMFS anticipates that the 

same overall amount of the General 

category quota would be landed as well 

as the same amount of BFT landed per 

vessel, there may be some positive 

impacts to the General category and 

Charter/Headboat (commercial) BFT 

fishery. Using RFDs may more equitably 

distribute opportunities across all 

permitted vessels for longer durations 

within the subquota periods. 

If NMFS does not implement a 

schedule, without any other changes, it 

is possible that the trends of increasing 

numbers of unsold BFT (Table 1) and 

decreasing ex-vessel prices (Table 2) 

from 2017 through 2020 could continue. 

Additionally, without RFDs in 2022, the 

General category could have fewer open 

days later in the fishing season when exvessel prices tend to be higher (Table 3) 

as observed in 2017 through 2020. If 

those trends were to continue, all active 

General category permit holders could 

experience negative economic impacts 

similar to 2019 and 2020 where dealers 

were limiting their purchases of BFT 

and buying no or very few BFT on 

certain days in order to extend the 

available quota. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635 

Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, 

Foreign relations, Imports, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Statistics, Treaties. 

Dated: February 28, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04546 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 220224–0058] 

RIN 0648–BL16 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna and North 

Atlantic Albacore Quotas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is proposing to modify 

the baseline annual U.S. quota and 

subquotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna and 

the baseline annual U.S. North Atlantic 

albacore (northern albacore) quota. This 

action is necessary to implement 

binding recommendations of the 

International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 

adopted in 2021, 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 by April 6, 2022. NMFS will 

hold a public hearing via conference 

call and webinar for this proposed rule 

on March 24, 2022, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 

p.m. EDT. For webinar registration 

information, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2022–0024, by electronic 

submission. Submit all electronic public 

comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2022–0024’’ in the 

Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

Comments sent by any other method, 

to any other address or individual, or 

received after the close 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 

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). 

NMFS will hold a public hearing via 

conference call and webinar on this 

proposed rule. For specific location, 

date and time, see the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this document. 

Copies of this proposed rule and 

supporting documents are available 

from the Highly Migratory Species 

(HMS) Management Division website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/topic/ 

atlantic-highly-migratory-species or by 

contacting Carrie Soltanoff at 

carrie.soltanoff@noaa.gov or 301–427– 

8503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carrie Soltanoff (carrie.soltanoff@

noaa.gov) or Larry Redd, Jr. (larry.redd@

noaa.gov) at 301–427–8503, or Steve 

Durkee (steve.durkee@noaa.gov) at 202– 

670–6637. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

tunas fisheries are managed under the 

authority of ATCA (16 U.S.C. 971 et 

seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The 2006 

Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery 

Management Plan (2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP) and its amendments are 

implemented by regulations at 50 CFR 

part 635. Section 635.27 divides the 

U.S. bluefin tuna quota recommended 

by ICCAT and as implemented by the 

United States among domestic fishing 

categories and provides the annual 

bluefin tuna quota adjustment process. 

Section 635.23(e) implements the 

ICCAT-recommended U.S. northern 

albacore quota and provides the annual 

northern albacore quota adjustment 

process. 

Since 1982, ICCAT has recommended 

a total allowable catch (TAC) of western 

Atlantic bluefin tuna for contracting 

parties fishing on the stock, and since 

1991, ICCAT has recommended specific 

quotas within that TAC for the United 

States and other contracting parties. 

ICCAT adopted a 20-year rebuilding 

program for western Atlantic bluefin 

tuna in 1998. The rebuilding plan 

period was set as 1999 through 2018. In 

2017, ICCAT adopted an interim 

conservation and management measure 

for western Atlantic bluefin tuna as to 

transition from the rebuilding program 

to a long-term management strategy for 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS