51016 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: September 7, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19622 Filed 9–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XB400] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 113.8 

metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna 

(BFT) quota from the Reserve category 

to the General category. This action is 

intended to account for an accrued 

overharvest of 53.8 mt from previous 

time-period subquotas and to provide 

further opportunities for General 

category fishermen to participate in the 

September General category fishery, 

based on consideration of the regulatory 

determination criteria regarding 

inseason adjustments. This action 

would affect Atlantic tunas General 

category (commercial) permitted vessels 

and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

with a commercial sale endorsement 

when fishing commercially for BFT. 

DATES: Effective September 9, 2021 

through September 30, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Redd, Jr., 301–427–8503, Nicholas 

Velseboer, 978–281–9260, or Lauren 

Latchford, 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. 

The current baseline General and 

Reserve category quotas are 555.7 mt 

and 29.5 mt, respectively. The General 

category baseline subquota for the 

September time-period is 147.3 mt. Any 

unused General category quota rolls 

forward from one time-period to the 

next and is available for use in 

subsequent time-periods. To date for 

2021, NMFS has published three actions 

that resulted in adjustments to the 

General and Reserve category quotas. 

The current adjusted quotas are 138 mt 

for the Reserve category, 75 mt for the 

General category January through March 

2021 subquota period, and 9.4 mt for the 

December 2021 subquota period (85 FR 

83832, December 23, 2020; 86 FR 8717, 

February 9, 2021; 86 FR 43420, August 

9, 2021). 

Transfer of 113.8 mt From the Reserve 

Category to the General Category 

Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the 

authority to transfer quota among 

fishing categories or subcategories after 

considering determination criteria 

provided under § 635.27(a)(8). NMFS 

has considered all of the relevant 

determination criteria and their 

applicability to this inseason quota 

transfer. These considerations include, 

but are not limited to, the following: 

Regarding the usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular category for biological 

sampling and monitoring of the status of 

the stock (§ 635.27(a)(8)(i)), biological 

samples collected from BFT landed by 

General category fishermen and 

provided by tuna dealers provide NMFS 

with valuable parts and data for ongoing 

scientific studies of BFT age and 

growth, migration, and reproductive 

status. Additional opportunity to land 

BFT in the General category would 

support the continued collection of a 

broad range of data for these studies and 

for stock monitoring purposes. 

NMFS also considered the catches of 

the General category quota to date 

(including during the summer/fall and 

winter fisheries in the last several years) 

and the likelihood of closure of that 

segment of the fishery if no adjustment 

is made (§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)). 

Preliminary landings data as of 

September 8, 2021, indicate that the 

General category landed a cumulative 

total of 406.7 mt through August 31, 

which exceeds the cumulative adjusted 

quota available through August 31, i.e., 

352.9 mt. Preliminary September 

landings as of September 8, 2021, are 

74.5 mt, which represent 51 percent of 

the baseline September subquota (147.3 

mt). As of September 8, 2021, the 

General category September time-period 

subquota has not yet been exceeded, but 

without a quota transfer at this time, 

NMFS would likely close the General 

category fishery shortly, and 

participants would have to stop BFT 

fishing activities while commercialsized BFT remain available in the areas 

where General category permitted 

vessels operate at this time of year. 

Transferring 113.8 mt of quota from the 

Reserve category would account for 53.8 

mt of accrued overharvest from the prior 

time-periods and result in an additional 

60 mt being available for the September 

2021 subquota time-period, thus 

effectively providing limited additional 

opportunities to harvest the U.S. BFT 

quota while avoiding exceeding it. 

NMFS also took into consideration a 

recently published final rule that would 

set restricted-fishing days for the 

General category during the months of 

September through November 2021 (86 

FR 43421, August 9, 2021). That rule 

would further increase the likelihood 

that the fishery would remain open 

throughout the subperiod and year. 

Regarding the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the General 

category quota to harvest the additional 

amount of BFT quota transferred before 

the end of the fishing year 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS considered 

General category landings over the last 

several years and landings to date this 

year. Landings are highly variable and 

depend on access to commercial-sized 

BFT and fishing conditions, among 

other factors, such as the restrictions 

that some dealers placed on their 

purchases of BFT from General category 

participants this year. A portion of the 

transferred quota covers the 53.8 mt 

overharvest in the category to date, and 

NMFS anticipates that General category 

participants will be able to harvest the 

remaining 60 mt of transferred BFT 

quota by the end of the subquota timeperiod. In the unlikely event that any of 

this quota is unused by September 30, 

such quota will roll forward to the next 

subperiod within the calendar year (i.e., 

to the October through November 

period), and NMFS anticipates that it 

would be used before the end of the 

fishing year. NMFS also anticipates that 

some underharvest of the 2020 adjusted 

U.S. BFT quota will be carried forward 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 51017 

to 2021 and placed in the Reserve 

category, in accordance with the 

regulations. Thus, this quota transfer 

would allow fishermen to take 

advantage of the availability of fish on 

the fishing grounds and provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

available U.S. BFT quota. 

NMFS also considered the estimated 

amounts by which quotas for other gear 

categories of the BFT fishery might be 

exceeded (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iv)) and the 

ability to account for all 2021 landings 

and dead discards. In the last several 

years, total U.S. BFT landings have been 

below the available U.S. quota such that 

the United States has carried forward 

the maximum amount of underharvest 

allowed by ICCAT from one year to the 

next. NMFS will need to account for 

2021 landings and dead discards within 

the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, and 

anticipates having sufficient quota to do 

that. 

NMFS also considered the effects of 

the adjustment on the BFT stock and the 

effects of the transfer on accomplishing 

the objectives of the FMP 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). This transfer 

would be consistent with established 

quotas and subquotas, which are 

implemented consistent with ICCAT 

recommendations (established in 

Recommendation 17–06 and maintained 

in Recommendation 20–06), ATCA, and 

the objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments. In 

establishing these quotas and subquotas 

and associated management measures, 

ICCAT and NMFS considered the best 

scientific information available, 

objectives for stock management and 

status, and effects on the stock. This 

quota transfer is in line with the 

established management measures and 

stock status determinations. Another 

principal consideration is the objective 

of providing opportunities to harvest the 

available General category quota 

without exceeding the annual quota, 

based on the objectives of the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments, including to achieve 

optimum yield on a continuing basis 

and to optimize the ability of all permit 

categories to harvest available BFT 

quota allocations (related to 

§ 635.27(a)(8)(x)). Specific to the 

General category, this includes 

providing opportunities equitably across 

all time-periods. 

Given these considerations, NMFS is 

transferring 113.8 mt of the available 

138 mt of Reserve category quota to the 

General category. Of this amount, 53.8 

mt accounts for preliminary overharvest 

of the January through March and June 

through August time-period subquotas, 

and 60 mt is added to the September 

subquota. Therefore, NMFS adjusts the 

General category September 2021 

subquota to 207.3 mt after accounting 

for the 53.8 mt of overharvest through 

for the prior 2021 time-periods and 

adjusts the Reserve category quota to 

24.2 mt. The General category fishery 

will remain open until September 30, 

2021, or until the adjusted General 

category quota is reached, whichever 

comes first. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to 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 

category and HMS Charter/Headboat 

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 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 (e.g., quota adjustment, 

daily retention limit adjustment, or 

closure) 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 taken pursuant to 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: 

The regulations implementing the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

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. 

Affording prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment to implement the 

quota transfer for the September 2021 

time-period is contrary to the public 

interest as such a delay would likely 

result in closure of the General category 

fishery when the baseline subquota for 

the September time-period is met and 

the need to re-open the fishery, with 

attendant costs to the fishery, including 

administrative costs and lost fishing 

opportunities. The delay would 

preclude the fishery from harvesting 

BFT that are available on the fishing 

grounds and that might otherwise 

become unavailable during a delay. This 

action does not raise conservation and 

management concerns. Transferring 

quota from the Reserve category to the 

General category does not affect the 

overall U.S. BFT quota, and the 

adjustment would have a minimal risk 

of exceeding the ICCAT-allocated quota. 

NMFS notes that the public had an 

opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings that established 

the U.S. BFT quota and the inseason 

adjustment criteria. 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 also 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: September 9, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19777 Filed 9–9–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[RTID 0648–XA696] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; West 

Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 

21 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 

Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with RULES1