Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 36671 

trip, by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov 

or by using the HMS Catch Reporting 

app, or calling (888) 872–8862 (Monday 

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

p.m.). 

Depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 

may determine that additional 

adjustments are necessary to ensure 

available quota is not exceeded or to 

enhance scientific data collection from, 

and fishing opportunities in, all 

geographic areas. If needed, subsequent 

adjustments will be published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, fishermen 

may call the Atlantic Tunas Information 

Line at (978) 281–9260, or access 

hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on 

quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 635, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(c), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest to 

provide prior notice of, and an 

opportunity for public comment on, this 

action for the following reasons: 

NMFS provides notification of 

retention limit adjustments by 

publishing the notice in the Federal 

Register, emailing individuals who have 

subscribed to the Atlantic HMS News 

electronic newsletter, and updating the 

information posted on the Atlantic 

Tunas Information Line and on 

hmspermits.noaa.gov. The regulations 

implementing the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments provide for 

inseason retention limit adjustments to 

respond to the unpredictable nature of 

BFT availability on the fishing grounds, 

the migratory nature of this species, and 

the regional variations in the BFT 

fishery. 

Prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment is impracticable 

because the regulations implementing 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, as 

amended, intended that inseason 

retention limit adjustments would allow 

the agency to respond quickly 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. Based on 

available BFT quotas, fishery 

performance in recent years, and the 

availability of BFT on the fishing 

grounds, adjustment to the General 

category BFT daily retention limit from 

the current level is warranted. 

Delays in adjusting the retention limit 

may result in the available June 1 

through August 31 subquota being 

reached or exceeded and NMFS needing 

to close the fishery earlier than 

otherwise would be necessary under the 

lower limit being set for the remainder 

of this period. Such delays could 

adversely affect those General category 

and HMS Charter/Headboat vessels that 

would otherwise have an opportunity to 

harvest BFT if the fishery were to 

remain open for as feasible throughout 

the remaining subquota periods. 

Limited opportunities to harvest the 

respective quotas may have negative 

social and economic impacts for U.S. 

fishermen that depend upon catching 

the available quota within the time 

periods designated in the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments. Adjustment of the 

retention limit needs to be effective as 

soon as possible to extend fishing 

opportunities for fishermen in all 

geographic areas, and to provide 

equitable opportunities. 

Prior notice and an opportunity for 

public comment is also impracticable 

for the retention limit adjustment to one 

fish for the remainder of the June 

through August 2021 subquota period. 

Avoiding delay in implementation will 

also allow fishermen to take advantage 

of the availability of fish on the fishing 

grounds and of quota. Therefore, the AA 

finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

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

opportunity for public comment. For 

these reasons, there 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: July 8, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14849 Filed 7–8–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 201209–0332; RTID 0648– 

XB229] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Quota Transfer from VA to NY 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Commonwealth of Virginia is 

transferring a portion of its 2021 

commercial bluefish quota to the State 

of New York. This quota adjustment is 

necessary to comply with the Atlantic 

Bluefish Fishery Management Plan 

quota transfer provisions. This 

announcement informs the public of the 

revised commercial bluefish quotas for 

Virginia and New York. 

DATES: Effective July 12, 2021 through 

December 31, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9225. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery are found in 50 CFR 

648.160 through 648.167. These 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned among the coastal states 

from Maine through Florida. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.162, and the 

final 2021 allocations were published 

on December 16, 2020 (85 FR 81421). 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 1 to the Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) published in 

the Federal Register on July 26, 2000 

(65 FR 45844), and provided a 

mechanism for transferring bluefish 

quota from one state to another. Two or 

more states, under mutual agreement 

and with the concurrence of the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, 

can request approval to transfer or 

combine bluefish commercial quota 

under § 648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii). 

The Regional Administrator must 

approve any such transfer based on the 

criteria in § 648.162(e). In evaluating 

requests to transfer a quota or combine 

quotas, the Regional Administrator shall 

consider whether: The transfer or 

combinations would preclude the 

overall annual quota from being fully 

harvested; the transfer addresses an 

unforeseen variation or contingency in 

the fishery; and the transfer is consistent 

with the objectives of the FMP and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Virginia is transferring 50,000 lb 

(22,680 kg) of bluefish commercial 

quota to New York through mutual 

agreement of the states. This transfer 

was requested to ensure that New York 

would not exceed its 2021 state quota. 

The revised bluefish quotas for 2021 are: 

Virginia, 278,800 lb (126,099 kg); and 

New York, 337,438 lb (153,059 kg). 


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36672 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii), which was 

issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is 

exempted from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

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

Dated: July 8, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–14842 Filed 7–12–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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