Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 33049 

a. First-Class Mail pieces may be sent 

with Certified Mail service or, for 

parcels only, USPS Tracking or 

Signature Confirmation service. 

b. Priority Mail pieces may be sent 

with Certified Mail service, USPS 

Tracking, or Signature Confirmation 

service. 

* * * * * 

[Revise the text of item d to read as 

follows:] 

d. Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground 

and Package Services mail may be sent 

with, for parcels only, USPS Tracking or 

Signature Confirmation service. 

18.4 Additional Standards for Priority 

Mail Open and Distribute 

* * * * * 

18.4.2 Extra Services 

* * * The mail enclosed in the 

container may receive only the 

following services: 

[Revise the text of item a to read as 

follows:] 

a. First-Class Mail pieces may be sent 

with Certified Mail service or special 

handling or, for parcels only, USPS 

Tracking or Signature Confirmation 

service. 

* * * * * 

[Revise the text of item c to read as 

follows:] 

c. Parcel Select and Package Services 

mail may be sent with, for parcels only, 

USPS Tracking or Signature 

Confirmation service. 

* * * * * 

Index 

* * * * * 

E 

* * * * * 

extra services, 503 

[Revise the ‘‘extra services’’ entry by 

deleting the ‘‘Special Handling— 

Fragile’’ line item.] 

* * * * * 

S 

* * * * * 

[Delete the ‘‘special Handling’’ entry 

in its entirety.] 

* * * * * 

Joshua J. Hofer, 

Attorney, Ethics & Legal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11573 Filed 5–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 220523–0119] 

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: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this final rule, NMFS 

modifies the baseline annual U.S. quota 

and subquotas for Atlantic bluefin tuna 

and the baseline annual U.S. North 

Atlantic albacore tuna (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). NMFS 

also adjusts the 2022 bluefin tuna 

Reserve category quota and the 2022 

baseline northern albacore quota to 

account for available underharvest from 

2021, consistent with the Atlantic tunas 

quota regulations. NMFS further 

recalculates the bluefin tuna Purse 

Seine and Reserve category quotas that 

were announced earlier this year, to 

reflect the quotas in this final rule. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 

1, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of this final 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), Larry Redd, Jr. (larry.redd@

noaa.gov), or Steve Durkee 

(steve.durkee@noaa.gov) at 301–427– 

8503. 

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(a) 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 635.27(e) implements the 

ICCAT-recommended U.S. northern 

albacore quota and provides the annual 

northern albacore quota adjustment 

process. 

Background information about the 

need to modify the baseline annual U.S. 

quota and subquotas for Atlantic bluefin 

tuna and the baseline annual U.S. 

northern albacore quota was provided in 

the preamble to the proposed rule (87 

FR 12648, March 7, 2022) and most of 

that background information is not 

repeated here. The comment period for 

the proposed rule closed on April 6, 

2022. NMFS received one written 

comment and did not receive any oral 

comments at a public webinar. The 

comment received, and the response to 

that comment, is summarized below in 

the Response to Comments section. 

Consistent with the regulations 

regarding annual bluefin tuna and 

northern albacore quota adjustment, 

NMFS annually announces the addition 

of available underharvest, if any, to the 

bluefin tuna Reserve category and to the 

northern albacore quota in a Federal 

Register notice once catch (landings and 

dead discards) information is available. 

Preliminary data have become available 

to NMFS since publication of the 

proposed rule. These preliminary data 

do not necessarily represent the 

complete and quality-controlled catch 

data that will become available later in 

the year and that will be submitted to 

ICCAT for 2021. However, NMFS 

anticipates that any changes in the data 

as a result of this additional analysis 

would be minor and would not change 

the amount of allowable carryover into 

2022 for either bluefin tuna or northern 

albacore. Notice of the quota adjustment 

for 2021 underharvest is included in 

this final rule to provide the regulated 

community with information about the 

adjusted quota balances. 

NMFS has prepared an Environmental 

Assessment (EA), Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR), and Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), which 

analyze the anticipated environmental, 

social, and economic impacts of several 

alternatives for each of the major issues 

contained in this final rule. A summary 

of the analyses is provided below. The 

full list of alternatives and their 

analyses are provided in the final EA/ 

RIR/FRFA and are not repeated here. 


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A copy of the final EA/RIR/FRFA 

prepared for this final rule is available 

from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

Bluefin Tuna Annual Quota and 

Subquotas 

Quotas and Domestic Allocations 

Under ICCAT Recommendation 21– 

07, adopted at the November 2021 

ICCAT meeting, the annual U.S. bluefin 

tuna quota is 1,316.14 mt, plus 25 mt to 

account for bycatch related to pelagic 

longline fisheries in the Northeast 

Distant gear restricted area (NED), 

resulting in a total of 1,341.14 mt. The 

1,316.14-mt quota is an increase of 

68.28 mt (5.5 percent) from the 

1,247.86-mt level established in the 

2018 quota rule (83 FR 51391, October 

11, 2018). All total allowable catch 

(TAC), quota, and weight information 

provided in this action are whole weight 

(ww) amounts. 

This action implements the ICCATrecommended quota of 1,341.14 mt, 

which would remain in effect until 

changed (for instance as a result of a 

new ICCAT bluefin tuna TAC and U.S. 

quota recommendation). The ICCATrecommended bluefin tuna quota is 

divided among the established 

regulatory domestic bluefin tuna 

subquota categories. To calculate the 

subquotas under the existing 

regulations, 68 mt first is subtracted 

from the baseline annual U.S. bluefin 

tuna quota and allocated to the Longline 

category quota. This amount was first 

provided through Amendment 7 to the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP to 

facilitate the category’s ability to 

account for both landings and dead 

discards within the quota, consistent 

with the historical separate dead discard 

allocation. Second, the remaining quota 

is divided among the categories 

according to the following percentages: 

General—47.1 percent; Angling—19.7 

percent; Harpoon—3.9 percent; Purse 

Seine—18.6 percent; Longline—8.1 

percent (plus the 68-mt initial 

allocation); Trap—0.1 percent; and 

Reserve—2.5 percent. The resulting 

subquotas will be codified at § 635.27(a) 

when this final rule becomes effective 

and will remain in effect until changed. 

Within the bluefin tuna quota 

implemented in this action and 

consistent with the ICCATrecommended limit on the harvest of 

school bluefin tuna (measuring 27 to 

less than 47 inches curved fork length), 

the school bluefin tuna subquota is 

134.1 mt. The 25-mt NED allocation is 

in addition to these subquotas. 

The table below shows the quotas and 

subquotas that result from applying this 

process, using the current subquota 

formula and regulations. In May 2021, 

NMFS published a proposed rule for 

Draft Amendment 13 to the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP (86 FR 27686, 

May 21, 2021) that proposed 

modifications to the category quotas. At 

the time of this rulemaking, NMFS has 

not yet issued a final rule for 

Amendment 13, and the quotas and 

subquotas in Table 1 are not affected by 

Amendment 13 at this time. 

TABLE 1—ANNUAL ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA QUOTAS

[In metric tons] 

Category Annual 

baseline 

quota 

Subquotas 

General .......................................................................... 587.9 

January–March 1 .............................. 31.2 

June–August .................................... 293.9 

September ....................................... 155.8 

October–November .......................... 76.4 

December ........................................ 30.6 

Harpoon ......................................................................... 48.7 

Longline ......................................................................... 169.1 

Trap ............................................................................... 1.2 

Purse Seine ................................................................... 232.2 

Angling ........................................................................... 245.9 

School ..............................................

Reserve ....................................

North of 39°18′ N lat ................

South of 39°18′ N lat ................

134.1 

........................

........................

........................

24.8 

51.6 

57.7 

Large School/Small Medium ............

North of 39°18′ N lat ................

South of 39°18′ N lat ................

106.1 

........................

........................

50.1 

56.0 

Trophy ..............................................

North of 39°18′ N lat ................

South of 39°18′ N lat ................

Gulf of Mexico ..........................

5.7 

........................

........................

........................

1.9 

1.9 

1.9 

Reserve ......................................................................... 31.2 

U.S. Baseline Quota ...................................................... 2 1,316.14 

Total U.S. Quota, including 25 mt for NED 

(Longline).

2 1,341.14 

1 January 1 through the effective date of a closure notice filed by NMFS announcing that the January subquota is reached or projected to be 

reached, or through March 31, whichever comes first. 2Totals subject to rounding error. 

In addition to the final measures, in 

the EA for this action, NMFS analyzed 

a no action alternative that would 

maintain the current U.S. annual bluefin 

tuna quota of 1,247.86 mt and the 

current subquotas. The EA for this 

action describes the impacts of the no 

action alternative and the preferred 

alternative finalized here. 


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Recalculation of Quota Available to 

Atlantic Tunas Purse Seine Category 

and Reserve Category 

Pursuant to § 635.27(a)(4), NMFS 

annually determines the amount of 

quota available to the Atlantic Tunas 

Purse Seine category participants, based 

on their bluefin tuna catch (landings 

and dead discards) in the prior year, and 

reallocates the remainder to the Reserve 

category. Because this action increases 

the U.S. baseline quota and subquotas, 

NMFS also recalculates the 2022 Purse 

Seine and Reserve category quotas in 

this final rule. NMFS previously 

announced that 55 mt were available to 

the Purse Seine category for 2022, and 

the amount of Purse Seine category 

quota to be reallocated to the Reserve 

category was 164.5 mt (219.5 mt less 55 

mt available to the Purse Seine category) 

(87 FR 5737, February 2, 2022). To 

account for the ICCAT quota increase 

addressed in this rule, NMFS first 

adjusts the 2022 Purse Seine category 

quota to reflect the ICCAT quota 

increase. As a result, the baseline Purse 

Seine category quota initially increases 

by 12.7 mt to 232.2 mt. NMFS then 

recalculates the amounts of quota 

available to individual Purse Seine 

category participants for 2022 using the 

revised baseline Purse Seine category 

quota (232.2 mt). As a result of this 

recalculation, 58 mt are available overall 

for Purse Seine category participants in 

2022, based on the cumulative amounts 

available to individual participants 

under the regulations at 

§ 635.27(a)(4)(v). NMFS will notify 

Purse Seine category participants of the 

adjusted amount of quota available for 

their use in 2022 through the Individual 

Bluefin Quota (IBQ) electronic system 

and in writing. 

The remaining 174.2 mt (232.2 mt less 

58 mt available to the Purse Seine 

category) is added to the 2022 Reserve 

category quota. This final rule also 

increases the baseline annual Reserve 

category quota by 1.7 mt from 29.5 mt 

to 31.2 mt based on the ICCAT baseline 

quota increase and the existing Reserve 

category quota percentage. Thus, the 

recalculated 2022 Reserve category 

quota is: 29.5 mt (current baseline) + 1.7 

mt (reflecting ICCAT baseline quota 

increase) + 174.2 mt (transfer to Reserve 

following Purse Seine adjustments 

reflecting ICCAT baseline quota 

increase), for a total of 205.4 mt. The 

2022 Reserve category quota is further 

adjusted from this recalculated total as 

described below. 

Adjustment of the 2022 Bluefin Tuna 

Reserve Category Quota for 

Underharvest 

Consistent with the regulations 

regarding annual bluefin tuna quota 

adjustment at § 635.27(a), NMFS 

annually announces the addition of 

available underharvest, if any, to the 

bluefin tuna Reserve category, after 

catch information is available. Under 

ICCAT Recommendation 17–06, as 

implemented in the U.S. quota 

adjustment regulations at 

§ 635.27(a)(10), the maximum 

underharvest that a Contracting Party 

may carry forward from one year to the 

next is 10 percent of its initial catch 

quota, which, for the United States, was 

127.29 mt for 2021 (10 percent of 

1,272.86 mt). 

For 2022, NMFS is carrying forward 

the full, allowable 127.29 mt. In 2021, 

the adjusted bluefin tuna quota was 

1,400.15 mt (baseline quota of 1,272.86 

mt + 127.29 mt of 2020 underharvest 

carried over to 2021 (86 FR 54659, 

October 4, 2021)). The total 2021 bluefin 

tuna catch, including landings and dead 

discards, was 1,184.5 mt, which is an 

underharvest of 215.65 mt from the 

2021 adjusted quota and which exceeds 

the allowable carryover of 127.29 mt. 

When carrying over underharvest from 

one year to the next, NMFS uses the 

underharvest to augment the bluefin 

tuna Reserve category quota. Thus, for 

2022, NMFS augments the Reserve 

category quota with the allowable 

carryover of 127.29 mt. 

Effective January 28, 2022, NMFS 

transferred 26 mt of Reserve category 

quota to the General category (87 FR 

5737, February 2, 2022). Thus, the 

adjusted 2022 Reserve category quota as 

of the effective date of this action is: 

29.5 mt (current baseline) + 1.7 mt 

(reflecting ICCAT baseline quota 

increase) + 174.2 mt (transfer to Reserve 

following Purse Seine adjustments 

reflecting ICCAT baseline quota 

increase)¥26 mt (January quota 

transfer) + 127.29 mt (underharvest 

carryover in this action), for a total of 

306.69 mt. 

Northern Albacore Annual Quota 

Domestic Quota 

Although an increase in the U.S. 

northern albacore quota to 711.5 mt was 

recommended for 2021 in ICCAT 

Recommendation 20–04, NMFS did not 

codify the quota increase at that time 

due to the low level of northern albacore 

landings compared to the baseline 

quota, as described in the rule to adjust 

the 2021 northern albacore, swordfish, 

and bluefin tuna Reserve category 

quotas (86 FR 54659, October 4, 2021). 

At its 2021 annual meeting, under 

Recommendation 21–04, ICCAT 

adopted a management procedure for 

northern albacore and maintained the 

711.5-mt U.S. northern albacore quota 

for 2022 and 2023. Accordingly, this 

action modifies the baseline annual U.S. 

northern albacore quota from 632.4 mt, 

as established in the 2018 quota rule, to 

711.5 mt. The associated EA for this 

action also analyzes the effects of threeyear annual quotas of up to 950 mt, 

where the quota is set through 

application of the harvest control rule 

within Recommendation 21–04’s 

northern albacore management 

procedure. This level of 950 mt is 

derived from the maximum allowable 

catch limit recommended in the 

northern albacore management 

procedure. The maximum catch limit of 

50,000 mt represents an increase of 

approximately 32 percent over the 

current TAC of 37,801 mt. Assuming the 

portion of the overall quota allocated to 

the United States remains the same in 

future years under the management 

procedure, such an increase would 

result in a maximum annual baseline 

U.S. quota of 950 mt. This analysis 

anticipates that NMFS would 

implement U.S. northern albacore 

quotas as recommended by ICCAT in 

accordance with the management 

procedure, up to the analyzed maximum 

baseline quota of 950 mt. The baseline 

quota would remain at 711.5 mt 

annually until changed by ICCAT. 

NMFS anticipates implementing any 

new baseline quotas through final 

rulemaking, assuming no new 

management measures are adopted or 

other relevant changes in circumstances 

occur. Additionally, consistent with 

current practice, NMFS annually would 

provide notice to the public in the 

Federal Register of the baseline 

northern albacore quota with any 

annual adjustments as allowable for 

over- and underharvest, as appropriate. 

NMFS would evaluate the need for any 

additional environmental analyses or for 

proposed and final rulemaking when a 

new quota is adopted by ICCAT and 

implemented by NMFS. 

In addition to the final measures, in 

the EA for this action, NMFS analyzed 

a no action alternative that would 

maintain the current U.S. annual 

northern albacore quota of 632.4 mt, as 

well as an alternative that would 

implement the ICCAT-recommended 

711.5-mt U.S. annual northern albacore 

quota without considering a maximum 

quota under the northern albacore 

management procedure. The EA for this 

action describes the impacts of these 


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two alternatives and the preferred 

alternative finalized here. 

Adjustment of the 2022 Northern 

Albacore Quota 

Consistent with regulations at 

§ 635.27(e), NMFS adjusts the U.S. 

annual northern albacore quota for 

allowable underharvest, if any, in the 

previous year. NMFS makes such 

adjustments consistent with ICCAT 

carryover limits when catch information 

for the prior year is available. Under 

ICCAT Recommendation 21–04, the 

maximum underharvest that a 

Contracting Party may carry forward 

from one year to the next is 25 percent 

of its initial catch quota, which, relevant 

to 2022, would be 177.9 mt for the 

United States (25 percent of 711.5 mt 

under Recommendation 20–04). 

In 2021, the adjusted northern 

albacore quota was 790.5 mt (baseline 

quota of 632.4 mt plus 158.1 mt of 2020 

underharvest carried forward to 2021, 

based on 25 percent of the 632.4-mt 

quota in place for 2020) (86 FR 54659, 

October 4, 2021). The total 2021 

northern albacore landings were 272 mt, 

which is an underharvest of 518.5 mt of 

the 2021 adjusted quota. Of this 

underharvest, 177.9 mt may be carried 

forward to the 2022 fishing year. Thus, 

the adjusted 2022 northern albacore 

quota is 711.5 mt plus 177.9 mt, for a 

total of 889.4 mt. 

Response to Comments 

Written comments can be found at 

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0024. Below, 

NMFS summarizes and responds to the 

comment made specifically on the 

proposed rule during the comment 

period. 

Comment 1: A commenter suggested 

that, for conservation reasons, NMFS 

should reduce rather than increase the 

northern albacore and bluefin tuna 

overall quotas. 

Response: The western Atlantic 

bluefin tuna TAC adopted by ICCAT is 

consistent with the advice of ICCAT’s 

scientific body, the Standing Committee 

on Research and Statistics (SCRS). For 

management in 2022 under an interim 

conservation and management plan, 

ICCAT identified the selected TAC as 

precautionary, based on the results of 

the 2021 stock assessment, and as one 

that prevents overfishing with a high 

probability, prioritizes continued stock 

growth, including into the long-term, 

and ensures relative stability by 

avoiding a large fluctuation in catches. 

The northern albacore TAC resulted 

from the harvest control rule and 

management procedure adopted by 

ICCAT. The harvest control rule, 

management procedure, and resultant 

TAC support ICCAT’s management 

objectives for the northern albacore 

stock, including to maintain the stock in 

the green quadrant of the Kobe plot (i.e., 

not overfished and not undergoing 

overfishing), with at least a 60-percent 

probability, while maximizing long-term 

yield from the fishery. NMFS has 

determined that implementing the U.S. 

bluefin tuna and northern albacore 

baseline quotas is consistent with the 

ICCAT recommendations and NMFS’ 

conservation and management 

obligations under the MagnusonStevens Act and ATCA to provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

ICCAT-recommended quotas. 

Furthermore, ATCA prohibits NMFS 

from taking an action that ‘‘may have 

the effect of increasing or decreasing 

any allocation or quota of fish or fishing 

mortality level’’ set by ICCAT. 16 U.S.C. 

971d(c)(3). NMFS is committed to the 

sustainable, science-based management 

of bluefin tuna and northern albacore, 

and is supportive of ICCAT’s work 

toward adopting stock management 

recommendations using a management 

procedure for bluefin tuna, which 

ICCAT has recommended and has been 

adopted for northern albacore, to 

manage fisheries more effectively in the 

face of identified uncertainties. 

Reducing the quotas for either stock is 

not warranted from a conservation and 

management perspective. 

Classification 

NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that the final rule is 

consistent with the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, ATCA, and other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

A Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (FRFA) was prepared for this 

rule. The FRFA incorporates the initial 

regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), a 

summary of the significant issues raised 

by the public comments in response to 

the IRFA, NMFS’ responses to those 

comments, and a summary of the 

analyses completed to support the 

action. The full FRFA is available from 

NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary is 

provided below. 

Section 604(a)(1) of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) requires Agencies 

to state the need for, and objective of, 

the final action. The purpose of this 

rulemaking is, consistent with the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP objectives, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, ATCA, and 

other applicable laws, to analyze the 

impacts of the alternatives for 

implementing the ICCAT-recommended 

U.S. bluefin tuna and northern albacore 

quotas and allocating the bluefin tuna 

quota per the codified quota regulations. 

The objective of this rulemaking is to 

implement ICCAT recommendations 

consistent with ATCA and achieve 

domestic management objectives under 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act. See Section 

1 of the EA for a full description of the 

need for and objectives of the final rule. 

Section 604(a)(2) of the RFA requires 

a summary of significant issues raised 

by the public in response to the IRFA, 

a summary of the agency’s assessment of 

such issues, and a statement of any 

changes made as a result of the 

comments. NMFS received one 

comment on the proposed rule during 

the comment period. A summary of that 

comment and the Agency’s response are 

described above. That comment did not 

refer to the IRFA or the economic 

impacts of the rule. 

Section 604(a)(3) of the RFA requires 

the response of the agency to any 

comments filed by the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) in response to the 

proposed rule, and a detailed statement 

of any change made to the proposed rule 

in the final rule as a result of the SBA 

comments. NMFS did not receive 

comments from the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA in response to the 

proposed rule. 

Section 604(a)(4) of the RFA requires 

Agencies to provide descriptions of, and 

where feasible, 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 


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million and $8 million. Regarding those 

entities that would be directly affected 

by the preferred alternatives, the average 

annual revenue per active pelagic 

longline vessel is estimated to be 

$202,000, based on approximately 90 

active vessels that in total produced an 

estimated $18.2 million in revenue in 

2020, well below the NMFS small 

business size standard for commercial 

fishing businesses of $11 million. No 

single pelagic longline vessel has 

exceeded $11 million in revenue in 

recent years. 

Other non-longline HMS commercial 

fishing vessels typically earn less 

revenue than pelagic longline vessels 

and, thus, would also be considered 

small entities. Based on 2021 permit 

information, NMFS predicts that the 

preferred alternatives would apply to 

the following numbers of non-pelagic 

longline permit holders that fish 

commercially or engage in commercial 

activities: 2,730 General category, 4,055 

Charter/Headboat, 35 Harpoon category, 

and 34 seafood dealers that purchase 

bluefin tuna and northern albacore. 

There are no Purse Seine category 

permits issued currently; however there 

are five historical participants in the 

purse seine fishery that are allocated 

some portion of the category’s available 

bluefin tuna quota under regulations 

adopted in 2015. These participants 

may lease that quota to other category 

participants or pelagic longline vessels 

through the Individual Bluefin Quota 

(IBQ) leasing program. 

NMFS has determined that the 

preferred alternatives would not likely 

directly affect any small organizations 

or small government jurisdictions 

defined under RFA, nor would there be 

disproportionate economic impacts 

between large and small entities. 

This action would apply to all 

participants in the Atlantic tuna 

fisheries, i.e., to the over 7,000 permit 

holders that held an Atlantic HMS 

Charter/Headboat or an Atlantic Tunas 

permit as of October 2021. This final 

rule is expected to directly affect 

commercial and for-hire fishing vessels 

that possess an Atlantic Tunas permit or 

Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat permit. 

It is unknown what portion of HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit holders 

actively participate in the bluefin tuna 

and northern albacore fisheries or 

provide fishing services for recreational 

anglers. As summarized in the 2021 

SAFE Report for Atlantic HMS, there 

were 7,104 commercial Atlantic tunas or 

Atlantic HMS permits in 2021, 

categorized as follows: 2,730 in the 

Atlantic Tunas General category; 35 in 

the Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category; 

284 in the Atlantic Tunas Longline 

category; 2 in the Atlantic Tunas Trap 

category; and 4,055 in the HMS Charter/ 

Headboat category. The 90 active 

pelagic longline vessels described above 

are a subset of the 284 Atlantic Tunas 

Longline permits issued, 136 of which 

received IBQ shares. This constitutes 

the best available information regarding 

the universe of permits and permit 

holders recently analyzed. NMFS has 

determined that this action would not 

likely directly affect any small 

government jurisdictions defined under 

the RFA. 

Section 604(a)(5) of the RFA requires 

agencies to describe any new reporting, 

record-keeping, and other compliance 

requirements. This action does not 

contain any new collection of 

information, reporting, or recordkeeping requirements. 

Section 604(a)(6) of the RFA requires 

Agencies to describe the steps the 

agency has taken to minimize the 

significant economic impact on small 

entities consistent with the stated 

objectives of applicable statutes, 

including a statement of the factual, 

policy, and legal reasons for selecting 

the alternative adopted in the final rule 

and why each one of the other 

significant alternatives to the rule 

considered by the agency which affect 

the impact on small entities was 

rejected. 

This rulemaking implements the 

recently adopted ICCAT-recommended 

U.S. bluefin tuna and northern albacore 

quotas and, for bluefin tuna, applies the 

allocations for each quota category per 

the codified quota regulations. This 

action would be consistent with ATCA, 

under which the Secretary promulgates 

regulations as necessary to implement 

binding ICCAT recommendations. 

As described below, NMFS analyzed 

several different alternatives in this 

rulemaking and provides rationales for 

identifying the preferred alternatives to 

achieve the desired objectives. The 

FRFA assumes that each permit holder 

will have similar catch and gross 

revenues to show the relative impact of 

the final action on permit holders. 

For bluefin tuna, NMFS analyzed a no 

action alternative, Alternative A1, 

which would maintain the current U.S. 

annual bluefin tuna quota of 1,247.86 

mt and the current subquotas. NMFS 

also analyzed Alternative A2, the 

preferred alternative, which would 

increase the U.S. annual bluefin tuna 

quota, as described below. 

NMFS has estimated the average 

impact of establishing the increased 

annual U.S. baseline bluefin tuna quota 

for all domestic quota categories under 

the preferred alternative on individual 

categories and the permit holders within 

those categories. As mentioned above, 

the 2021 bluefin tuna ICCAT 

recommendation increased the annual 

U.S. baseline bluefin tuna quota for 

1,316.14 mt and continues to provide 25 

mt annually for incidental catch of 

bluefin tuna related to directed longline 

fisheries in the NED. The annual U.S. 

baseline bluefin tuna subquotas would 

be adjusted consistent with the process 

(i.e., the formulas) established in 

Amendment 7 and as codified in the 

quota regulations (as shown in Table 1), 

and these amounts (in mt) would be 

codified. In May 2021, NMFS published 

a proposed rule for Draft Amendment 13 

to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (86 

FR 27686, May 21, 2021) that proposed 

modifications to the category quotas. At 

the time of this rulemaking, NMFS has 

not yet issued a final rule for 

Amendment 13, and Amendment 13 

does not affect the measures in this 

action. 

To calculate the average ex-vessel 

bluefin tuna revenues under this action, 

NMFS first estimated potential categorywide revenues. The most recent exvessel average price per pound 

information for each commercial quota 

category is used to estimate potential exvessel gross revenues under the 

subquotas in this action (i.e., 2021 

prices for the General, Harpoon, 

Longline/Trap categories, and 2015 

prices for the Purse Seine category). The 

baseline subquotas in this action could 

result in estimated gross revenues of 

$12.3 million annually, if fully utilized. 

Note that in recent years, the Purse 

Seine category has not landed any 

bluefin tuna and has therefore been 

distributed 25 percent of the Purse 

Seine category quota. The remaining 75 

percent of the Purse Seine category 

quota has been transferred to the 

Reserve category, which typically is 

then transferred to the General category. 

(This is a simplification for the purposes 

of this analysis. Reserve category quota 

can be transferred to any other category 

after consideration of regulatory 

criteria). The Purse Seine category quota 

distributed to participants is available 

for leasing to Atlantic Tunas Longline 

permit holders under the IBQ Program. 

The following quota category amounts 

assume the 174.2 mt is transferred to the 

General category (75 percent of the 

purse seine quota) and 58.1 mt is leased 

to the pelagic longline fishery (25 

percent of the purse seine quota). 

Potential revenues for each category are 

as follows: General category: $9.3 

million (762.1 mt multiplied by $5.55/ 

lb); Harpoon category: $660,289 (48.7 mt 

multiplied by $6.15/lb); Purse Seine 

category: $0 million (0 mt multiplied by 


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$3.21/lb); Longline category: $2.3 

million (227.2 mt multiplied by $4.52/ 

lb); and Trap category: $10,556 (1.2 mt 

multiplied by $3.99/lb). 

Using the above methodology, the 

current baseline subquotas under 

Alternative A1 could result in estimated 

gross revenues of $11.6 million 

annually, if fully utilized. The following 

quota category amounts assume the 

164.5 mt is transferred to the General 

category (75 percent of the purse seine 

quota) and 55 mt is leased to the pelagic 

longline fishery (25 percent of the purse 

seine quota). Potential revenues for each 

category are as follows: General 

category: $8.8 million (720.2 mt 

multiplied by $5.55/lb); Harpoon 

category: $623,690 (46 mt multiplied by 

$6.15/lb); Purse Seine category: $0 (0 mt 

multiplied by $3.21/lb); Longline 

category: $2.2 million (218.6 mt 

multiplied by $4.52/lb); and Trap 

category: $10,556 (1.2 mt multiplied by 

$3.99/lb). Note that these revenues are 

likely an underestimation for the 

General and Harpoon categories, which 

typically receive additional quota from 

the Reserve category (i.e., from the 

baseline Reserve subquota, and from the 

up to 10 percent of the U.S. baseline 

quota that could be carried forward from 

the previous year’s underharvest). These 

revenues are likely an overestimation 

for the Longline and Trap categories, 

which do not typically land their entire 

quotas allocated for incidental bluefin 

tuna catch. For comparison to these 

revenue estimations, in 2021, gross 

revenues were approximately $12.0 

million, broken out by category as 

follows: $10.5 million for the General 

category, $755,924 for the Harpoon 

category, $0 for the Purse Seine 

category, $753,067 for the Longline 

category, and $0 for the Trap category. 

No affected entities would be 

expected to experience negative 

economic impacts as a result of this 

action. On the contrary, each of the 

bluefin tuna quota categories would 

increase relative to the baseline quotas 

that applied in prior years, and thus 

economic impacts would be expected to 

be positive. 

To estimate the potential average exvessel revenues for each permit holder 

that could result from this action for 

bluefin tuna, NMFS divided the 

potential annual gross revenues for the 

General, Harpoon, Purse Seine, and 

Trap categories by the number of permit 

holders. For the Longline category, 

NMFS divided the potential annual 

gross revenues by the number of permit 

holders that are IBQ share recipients. 

This is an appropriate approach for 

bluefin tuna fisheries, in particular, 

because available landings data (weight 

and ex-vessel value of the fish in priceper-pound) allow NMFS to calculate the 

gross revenue earned by a permit holder 

on a successful trip. The available data 

(particularly from non-Longline permit 

holders) do not, however, allow NMFS 

to calculate the effort and cost 

associated with each successful trip 

(e.g., the cost of gas, bait, ice, etc.), so 

net revenue for each permit holder 

cannot be calculated. As a result, NMFS 

analyzes the average impact of the 

alternatives among all permit holders in 

each category using gross revenues. The 

potential annual gross revenues reflect 

the analysis above, in which the Purse 

Seine category quota was divided 

among the General and Longline 

categories. 

Success rates for catching and landing 

bluefin tuna vary widely across permit 

holders in each category (due to extent 

of vessel effort and availability of 

commercial-sized bluefin tuna to permit 

holders where they fish), but for the 

sake of estimating potential revenues 

per permit holder, category-wide 

revenues can be divided by the number 

of permits in each category. For the 

Longline fishery, category-wide revenue 

is divided by the number of permits that 

received IBQ shares to determine 

potential revenue per the 136 permit 

holders that are IBQ share recipients, as 

indicated below, and actual revenues 

would depend, in part, on each permit 

holder’s IBQ in 2022. It is unknown 

what portion of HMS Charter/Headboat 

permit holders actively participate in 

the bluefin tuna fishery. HMS Charter/ 

Headboat vessels may fish commercially 

under the General category quota and 

retention limits. Therefore, NMFS is 

estimating potential General category 

ex-vessel revenue changes using the 

number of General category permit 

holders only. 

Considering the number of permit 

holders and estimated gross revenues 

listed above, under the current 

subquotas, estimated potential 2022 

bluefin tuna revenues on a per permit 

holder basis under Alternative A1, the 

no action alternative, could be $3,228 

for the General category permit holders; 

$17,819 for the Harpoon category permit 

holders; $0 for the Purse Seine category 

(no active vessels); $16,010 for the 

Longline category (using 136 IBQ share 

recipients); and $5,279 for the Trap 

category permit holders. Considering 

the number of permit holders and 

estimated gross revenues listed above 

and the subquotas in this action, 

estimated potential 2022 bluefin tuna 

revenues on a per permit holder basis 

under the preferred alternative could be 

$3,407 for the General category permit 

holders; $18,865 for the Harpoon 

category permit holders; $0 for the Purse 

Seine category (no active vessels); 

$16,912 for the Longline category (using 

136 IBQ share recipients); and $5,279 

for the Trap category permit holders. 

As noted above, there are no active 

purse seine vessels landing bluefin tuna, 

but Purse Seine category participants do 

lease bluefin tuna quota to Atlantic 

Tunas Longline permit holders through 

the IBQ Program system. As described 

in the FEIS for Amendment 13, the 

recent lease price for Purse Seine 

category quota is $1.08–$1.25/lb. Under 

Alternative A1, if the full 55 mt of Purse 

Seine quota were leased to the Longline 

category at $1.25/lb, revenue for Purse 

Seine category participants would be 

$151,568, or $30,314 per participant 

($151,568 divided by 5 participants). 

Under Alternative A2, if the full 58.1 mt 

of Purse Seine quota were leased to the 

Longline category, revenue for Purse 

Seine category participants would be 

$160,111, or $32,022 per participant. 

Because the directed commercial 

categories have underharvested their 

subquotas in recent years, the potential 

increases in ex-vessel revenues under 

both alternatives likely overestimate the 

probable economic impacts to permit 

holders in those categories relative to 

recent conditions. Additionally, there 

has been substantial interannual 

variability in ex-vessel revenues in each 

category in recent years, due to recent 

changes in bluefin tuna availability and 

other factors. Overall, because the U.S. 

quota has not been fully harvested in 

recent years and because the increase in 

quota under Alternative A2 is relatively 

minor, the expected economic impacts 

on individual permit holders as a result 

of this action is minor. 

For northern albacore, NMFS 

analyzed three alternatives. Alternative 

B1, the no action alternative, would 

maintain the current U.S. baseline 

northern albacore quota of 632.4 mt. 

Alternative B2 would implement the 

2021 northern albacore ICCAT 

recommendation that increased the 

annual U.S. baseline northern albacore 

quota to 711.5 mt. Alternative B3 would 

implement the 2021 ICCAT 

recommendation for northern albacore 

by establishing an annual baseline quota 

of 711.5 mt (the same level as in 

Alternative B2 for 2022) and would 

analyze and anticipate implementation 

of subsequent annual quotas set 

consistent with the management 

procedure’s harvest control rule, with a 

maximum of 950 mt, consistent with the 

process set out in Recommendation 21– 

04. This quota would be adjusted 

annually for overharvest and 

underharvest consistent with existing 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 33055 

regulations and ICCAT 

recommendations. 

NMFS does not subdivide the U.S. 

northern albacore quota into category 

subquotas. The most recent ex-vessel 

average price per pound information is 

used to estimate potential ex-vessel 

gross revenues. Potential annual gross 

revenues are divided by the total 

number of Atlantic tunas or Atlantic 

HMS permit holders that are authorized 

to retain and sell northern albacore, 

however, note that not all permit 

holders will sell northern albacore each 

year. As described for bluefin tuna, this 

analysis excludes HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit holders and includes 

the 136 Atlantic Tunas Longline permit 

holders that received IBQ shares. In 

addition, Trap category permit holders 

cannot retain northern albacore. The 

total number of permit holders that 

would potentially land northern 

albacore is 2,901 (2,730 in the Atlantic 

Tunas General category; 35 in the 

Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category; 136 in 

the Atlantic Tunas Longline category 

(IBQ share recipients)). If the entire 

quota is harvested under Alternative B1, 

the no action alternative, estimated 

annual gross revenues would be $1.75 

million (632.4 mt ww/1.25 multiplied 

by $1.57/lb dressed weight (dw)) and 

average annual revenue across all 

permit holders would be $604 ($1.75 

million divided by 2,901 permit 

holders). If the entire quota is harvested 

under Alternative B2, estimated annual 

gross revenues would be $1.97 million 

(711.5 mt ww/1.25 multiplied by $1.57/ 

lb dw) and average annual revenue 

across all permit holders would be $679 

($1.97 million divided by 2,901 permit 

holders). If the entire maximum quota is 

harvested under Alternative B3, the 

preferred alternative, estimated annual 

gross revenues would be $2.63 million 

(950 mt ww/1.25 multiplied by $1.57/lb 

dw) and average annual revenue across 

all permit holders would be $907 ($2.63 

million divided by 2,901 permit 

holders). In the short-term, Alternative 

B3 would set the same quota and 

produce the same estimated revenue as 

Alternative B2. 

Because the directed commercial 

fishery has underharvested the quota in 

recent years, the potential increases in 

ex-vessel revenues under the three 

analyzed alternatives likely 

overestimate the probable economic 

impacts relative to recent conditions. 

Additionally, there has been substantial 

interannual variability in ex-vessel 

revenues in recent years, due to recent 

changes in northern albacore 

availability and other factors. Overall, 

because the U.S. quota has not been 

fully harvested in recent years and 

because the increase in quota under 

Alternative B3 is relatively minor, the 

expected economic impacts on 

individual permit holders as a result of 

this action is minor. 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a web page that 

also serves as small entity compliance 

guide (the guide) was prepared. This 

final rule and the guide are available on 

the HMS Management Division website 

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

action/changes-atlantic-bluefin-tunaand-north-atlantic-albacore-quotasproposed or by contacting Carrie 

Soltanoff at carrie.soltanoff@noaa.gov or 

301–427–8503. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635 

Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, 

Foreign relations, Imports, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Statistics, Treaties. 

Dated: May 25, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY 

MIGRATORY SPECIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 635 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 635.27, revise paragraphs (a) 

introductory text, (a)(1)(i), (a)(2) and (3), 

(a)(4)(i), (a)(5), (a)(7)(i) and (ii), and 

(e)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 635.27 Quotas. 

(a) Bluefin tuna. Consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, and with 

paragraph (a)(10)(iv) of this section, 

NMFS may subtract the most recent, 

complete, and available estimate of dead 

discards from the annual U.S. bluefin 

tuna quota, and make the remainder 

available to be retained, possessed, or 

landed by persons and vessels subject to 

U.S. jurisdiction. The remaining 

baseline annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota 

will be allocated among the General, 

Angling, Harpoon, Purse Seine, 

Longline, Trap, and Reserve categories, 

as described in this section. Bluefin 

tuna quotas are specified in whole 

weight. The baseline annual U.S. 

bluefin tuna quota is 1,316.14 mt, not 

including an additional annual 25-mt 

allocation provided in paragraph (a)(3) 

of this section. The bluefin quota for the 

quota categories is calculated through 

the following process. First, 68 mt is 

subtracted from the baseline annual U.S. 

bluefin tuna quota and allocated to the 

Longline category quota. Second, the 

remaining quota is divided among the 

categories according to the following 

percentages: General—47.1 percent 

(587.9 mt); Angling—19.7 percent (245.9 

mt), which includes the school bluefin 

tuna held in reserve as described under 

paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section; 

Harpoon—3.9 percent (48.7 mt); Purse 

Seine—18.6 percent (232.2 mt); 

Longline—8.1 percent (101.1) plus the 

68-mt allocation (i.e., 169.1 mt total not 

including the 25-mt allocation from 

paragraph (a)(3)); Trap—0.1 percent (1.2 

mt); and Reserve—2.5 percent (31.2 mt). 

NMFS may make inseason and annual 

adjustments to quotas as specified in 

paragraphs (a)(9) and (10) of this 

section, including quota adjustments as 

a result of the annual reallocation of 

Purse Seine quota described under 

paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. 

(1) * * * 

(i) Catches from vessels for which 

General category Atlantic Tunas permits 

have been issued and certain catches 

from vessels for which an HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit has been issued are 

counted against the General category 

quota in accordance with § 635.23(c)(3). 

Pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, 

the amount of large medium and giant 

bluefin tuna that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, landed, or sold 

under the General category quota is 

587.9 mt, and is apportioned as follows, 

unless modified as described under 

paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section: 

(A) January 1 through the effective 

date of a closure notice filed by NMFS 

announcing that the January subquota is 

reached, or projected to be reached 

under § 635.28(a)(1), or through March 

31, whichever comes first—5.3 percent 

(31.2 mt); 

(B) June 1 through August 31—50 

percent (293.9 mt); 

(C) September 1 through September 

30—26.5 percent (155.8 mt); 

(D) October 1 through November 30— 

13 percent (76.4 mt); and 

(E) December 1 through December 

31—5.2 percent (30.6 mt). 

* * * * * 


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(2) Angling category quota. In 

accordance with the framework 

procedures of the Consolidated HMS 

FMP, prior to each fishing year, or as 

early as feasible, NMFS will establish 

the Angling category daily retention 

limits. In accordance with paragraph (a) 

of this section, the total amount of 

bluefin tuna that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, and landed by 

anglers aboard vessels for which an 

HMS Angling permit or an HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit has been 

issued is 245.9 mt. No more than 2.3 

percent (5.7 mt) of the annual Angling 

category quota may be large medium or 

giant bluefin tuna. In addition, no more 

than 10 percent of the annual U.S. 

bluefin tuna quota, inclusive of the 

allocation specified in paragraph (a)(3) 

of this section, may be school bluefin 

tuna (i.e., 134.1 mt). The Angling 

category quota includes the amount of 

school bluefin tuna held in reserve 

under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this section. 

The size class subquotas for bluefin tuna 

are further subdivided as follows: 

(i) After adjustment for the school 

bluefin tuna quota held in reserve 

(under paragraph (a)(7)(ii) of this 

section), 52.8 percent (57.7 mt) of the 

school bluefin tuna Angling category 

quota may be caught, retained, 

possessed, or landed south of 39°18′ N 

lat. The remaining school bluefin tuna 

Angling category quota (51.6 mt) may be 

caught, retained, possessed or landed 

north of 39°18′ N lat. 

(ii) An amount equal to 52.8 percent 

(56 mt) of the large school/small 

medium bluefin tuna Angling category 

quota may be caught, retained, 

possessed, or landed south of 39°18′ N 

lat. The remaining large school/small 

medium bluefin tuna Angling category 

quota (50.1 mt) may be caught, retained, 

possessed or landed north of 39°18′ N 

lat. 

(iii) One third (1.9 mt) of the large 

medium and giant bluefin tuna Angling 

category quota may be caught retained, 

possessed, or landed, in each of the 

three following geographic areas: North 

of 39°18′ N lat.; south of 39°18′ N lat., 

and outside of the Gulf of Mexico; and 

in the Gulf of Mexico. For the purposes 

of this section, the Gulf of Mexico 

region includes all waters of the U.S. 

EEZ west and north of the boundary 

stipulated at 50 CFR 600.105(c). 

(3) Longline category quota. Pursuant 

to paragraph (a) of this section, the total 

amount of large medium and giant 

bluefin tuna that may be caught, 

discarded dead, or retained, possessed, 

or landed by vessels that possess 

Atlantic Tunas Longline category 

permits is 169.1 mt. In addition, 25 mt 

shall be allocated for incidental catch by 

pelagic longline vessels fishing in the 

Northeast Distant gear restricted area, 

and subject to the restrictions under 

§ 635.15(b)(8). 

(4) * * * 

(i) Baseline Purse Seine quota. 

Pursuant to this paragraph (a), the 

baseline amount of large medium and 

giant bluefin tuna that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, or landed by 

vessels that possess Atlantic Tunas 

Purse Seine category permits is 232.2 

mt, unless adjusted as a result of 

inseason and/or annual adjustments to 

quotas as specified in paragraphs (a)(9) 

and (10) of this section; or adjusted 

(prior to allocation to individual 

participants) based on the previous 

year’s catch as described under 

paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. 

Annually, NMFS will make a 

determination when the Purse Seine 

fishery will start, based on variations in 

seasonal distribution, abundance or 

migration patterns of bluefin tuna, 

cumulative and projected landings in 

other commercial fishing categories, the 

potential for gear conflicts on the fishing 

grounds, or market impacts due to 

oversupply. NMFS will start the bluefin 

tuna purse seine season between June 1 

and August 15, by filing an action with 

the Office of the Federal Register, and 

notifying the public. The Purse Seine 

category fishery closes on December 31 

of each year. 

* * * * * 

(5) Harpoon category quota. The total 

amount of large medium and giant 

bluefin tuna that may be caught, 

retained, possessed, landed, or sold by 

vessels that possess Harpoon category 

Atlantic Tunas permits is 48.7 mt. The 

Harpoon category fishery commences on 

June 1 of each year, and closes on 

November 15 of each year. 

* * * * * 

(7) * * * 

(i) The total amount of bluefin tuna 

that is held in reserve for inseason or 

annual adjustments and research using 

quota or subquotas is 31.2 mt, which 

may be augmented by allowable 

underharvest from the previous year, or 

annual reallocation of Purse Seine 

category quota as described under 

paragraph (a)(4)(v) of this section. 

Consistent with paragraphs (a)(8) 

through (10) of this section, NMFS may 

allocate any portion of the Reserve 

category quota for inseason or annual 

adjustments to any fishing category 

quota. 

(ii) The total amount of school bluefin 

tuna that is held in reserve for inseason 

or annual adjustments and fisheryindependent research is 18.5 percent 

(24.8 mt) of the total school bluefin tuna 

Angling category quota as described 

under paragraph (a)(2) of this section. 

This amount is in addition to the 

amounts specified in this paragraph 

(a)(7)(i). Consistent with paragraph 

(a)(8) of this section, NMFS may allocate 

any portion of the school bluefin tuna 

Angling category quota held in reserve 

for inseason or annual adjustments to 

the Angling category. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) Annual quota. Consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, the ICCAT 

northern albacore management 

procedure, and domestic management 

objectives, the baseline annual quota, 

before any adjustments, is 711.5 mt. The 

total quota, after any adjustments made 

per paragraph (e)(2) of this section, is 

the fishing year’s total amount of 

northern albacore tuna that may be 

landed by persons and vessels subject to 

U.S. jurisdiction. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–11722 Filed 5–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 220524–0121] 

RIN 0648–BK99 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 

(HMS); Atlantic Tunas General 

Category Restricted-Fishing Days 

(RFDs) 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule sets Atlantic 

bluefin tuna (BFT) General category 

restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for all 

Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 

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 

bluefin tuna (BFT). On an RFD, 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 


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