43118 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 149 / Friday, August 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

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 are 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. 

Such procedures are unnecessary 

because the rule implementing the area 

closure authority and the state-specific 

private angling ACLs has already been 

subject to notice and comment, and all 

that remains is to notify the public of 

the closure. Such procedures are 

contrary to the public interest because a 

failure to implement the closure 

immediately would be inconsistent with 

Texas’s state management plan and may 

result in less access to red snapper in 

state waters. 

For the aforementioned reasons, there 

is good cause to waive the 30-day delay 

in the effectiveness of this action under 

5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Dated: August 3, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16857 Filed 8–3–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XB282] 

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 June through August 

fishery for 2021. 

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 June through 

August subquota time-period. 

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

August 4, 2021, through August 31, 

2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

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

301–427–8503, Nicholas Velseboer, 

nicholas.velseboer@noaa.gov, 978–675– 

2168, or Lauren Latchford, 

lauren.latchford@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 (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 action with 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 or after the effective 

date and time of a closure notice for that 

category until the opening of the 

relevant subsequent quota period or 

until such date as specified. 

As described in § 635.27(a), the 

current baseline U.S. quota continues to 

be 1,247.86 metric tons (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, 

June through August, September, 

October through November, and 

December) is allocated a portion of the 

annual General category quota. The June 

through August subquota is 277.9 mt. 

Closure of the June Through August 

2021 General Category Fishery 

As of August 2, 2021, reported 

landings total approximately 252.5 mt. 

Based on these landings data, as well as 

average catch rates and anticipated 

fishing conditions, we project that the 

General category June through August 

subquota will be reached and exceeded 

shortly. Therefore, retaining, possessing, 

or landing large medium or giant BFT 

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

curved fork length or greater) by persons 

aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic 

tunas General category and HMS 

Charter/Headboat category (while 

fishing commercially) must cease at 

11:30 p.m. local time on August 4, 2021. 

The General category will automatically 

reopen September 1, 2021, for the 

September 2021 subquota time period. 

This action applies to Atlantic tunas 

General category (commercial) 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat category permitted vessels 

with a commercial sale endorsement 

when fishing commercially for BFT, and 

is taken consistent with the regulations 

at § 635.28(a)(1). 

Fishermen may catch and release (or 

tag and release) BFT of all sizes, subject 

to the requirements of the catch-andrelease and tag-and-release 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 actively monitor the BFT 

fishery 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 adjustments, 

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.). 

After the fishery reopens on 

September 1, depending on the level of 

fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, 

NMFS may determine that additional 

adjustments are necessary to ensure 

available subquotas are 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. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 149 / Friday, August 6, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 43119 

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 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 

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. 

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 adjusted 

June through August 2021 General 

category quota, which could result in 

the need to reduce quota for the General 

category later in the year and thus could 

affect later fishing opportunities. 

Affording prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment to implement the 

quota transfer is impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest as such a 

delay would likely result in exceedance 

of the General category June through 

August fishery subquota or earlier 

closure of the fishery while fish are 

available on the fishing grounds. 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: August 2, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–16784 Filed 8–3–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES