33056 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

(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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applicable HMS Angling category rules. 

RFDs are designed, in part, to slow the 

rate of landings and extend fishing 

opportunities for General category 

permit holders through a greater portion 

of the subquota periods. NMFS may 

waive previously scheduled RFDs under 

certain circumstances, but will 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). 

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 

1, 2022, through November 30, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of this final 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 or 

Carrie Soltanoff, carrie.soltanoff@

noaa.gov, at 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, 

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. 

Specific information regarding RFDs, 

request for comments, and the current 

U.S. quota and General category 

subquotas, was provided in the 

preamble to the proposed rule (87 FR 

12643, March 7, 2022) and is not 

repeated here. 

As described in the proposed rule, 

NMFS is undertaking this rulemaking to 

address and avoid repetition of certain 

issues that affected the General category 

BFT fishery in 2020 and earlier and 

could recur without additional action. 

Those issues include the shortened time 

to fish under the General category 

subquotas that occurs when the quota is 

filled quickly, increasing numbers of 

BFT that are landed but not sold to 

dealers because of market gluts, and the 

resulting decreased price of BFT. 

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 proposed an RFD schedule for 

the 2022 fishing year. 

The comment period for the proposed 

rule closed on April 6, 2022. NMFS 

received 19 written comments, 

including comments from commercial 

and recreational fishermen, Atlantic 

tuna dealers, and the general public, as 

well as oral comments at a public 

hearing held by webinar. The comments 

received, and responses to those 

comments, are summarized below in the 

Response to Comments section. 

After considering public comments on 

the proposed rule in light of the 

management goals of this action, NMFS 

is finalizing the 2022 RFD schedule as 

proposed. As described below, no 

changes are made from the proposed 

rule. Implementing this RFD schedule, 

with the ability to waive scheduled 

RFDs, should slow the rate of landings 

and provide available quota throughout 

a longer duration of the General 

category subquota periods while 

providing reasonable fishing 

opportunities, including some fishing 

tournament opportunities, for all 

General category participants. 

Specifically, NMFS sets RFDs for the 

2022 fishing year on the following days: 

All Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 

from July 1 through November 30, 2022. 

On an RFD, vessels permitted in the 

Atlantic Tunas General category are 

prohibited from fishing for (including 

catch-and-release and tag-and-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 and size classes, and they 

may participate in including catch-andrelease 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 will announce any such waiver 

by filing a retention limit adjustment 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

for publication. Such adjustments will 

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 only catch-and-release or tagand-release fishing for BFT under 

§ 635.26(a). NMFS will 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) other than 

waiving designated RFDs based on the 

circumstances described above. 

Response to Comments 

All written comments can be found at 

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

NOAA–NMFS–2022–0025. NMFS 

received approximately 19 comments 

orally at public hearings and in writing 

from General category fishermen, 

charter/headboat fishermen, tournament 

operators, and others from the public. 

Commenters both supported and 

opposed General category RFDs for the 

2022 fishing year. Below, NMFS 

summarizes and responds to all 

comments made specifically on the 

proposed rule during the comment 

period. 

Comment 1: Most commenters 

supporting RFDs noted that RFDs 

should lengthen the General category 

season within the subquota periods and 

the season overall. 

Response: NMFS agrees that RFDs 

should lengthen the General category 

season within the subquota periods and 

the season overall. The primary 

objective of this action is to slow the 

harvest rate of BFT in order to extend 

the period of time that the fishery 

remains open, allowing fishing 

opportunities later in the season. 

Comment 2: Some commenters 

supporting RFDs noted that there may 

be more reliance on domestic markets 

this year given that global markets and 

economies are still stabilizing, as well as 

due to the anticipated increase in 

shipping costs due to fuel prices. Other 

commenters expressed that RFDs were 

unnecessary given the impacts of 

COVID–19 on the recovery of domestic 

and international markets. 

Response: NMFS considered 

economic factors and past and present 


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market conditions and economies in the 

proposed rule. NMFS acknowledges the 

unique global impacts of COVID–19 and 

the challenges that could be 

experienced as domestic and 

international markets recover and given 

higher fuel prices; however, NMFS 

observed the issues that contributed to 

the need for this action for several years, 

and those issues were exacerbated in 

both 2019 and 2020. Specifically, over 

the past several years, landings have 

been highest from mid-August through 

November, contributing to derby-like 

conditions and market gluts, shortening 

the time it takes to fill relevant 

subquotas, and resulting in inseason 

closures earlier than desired. In 2021, 

NMFS established a schedule of RFDs 

from September through November. 

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 proposed an RFD schedule for 

the 2022 fishing year. 

Comment 3: Some commenters 

expressed concern that the proposed 

rule seemed to be economic in nature 

and would negatively impact General 

category participants. 

Response: As discussed in response to 

Comment 2, above, NMFS considered 

economic factors in developing the 

proposed rule for this action, but the 

primary purpose of the action is not 

solely economic in nature. Rather, the 

rule is designed to lengthen the General 

category season within the subquota 

periods and the season overall. 

Considering all relevant information, 

NMFS concluded that RFDs should help 

prevent large numbers of BFT from 

entering the market at the same time, 

which could potentially alleviate some 

negative economic impacts experienced 

by General category and Charter/ 

Headboat permitted fishermen who 

could not find buyers for their BFT (as 

did the 2021 RFD rule). 

NMFS acknowledges the unique 

global impacts of COVID–19 and the 

challenges that could be experienced 

due to rising fuel prices and recovering 

domestic and international markets. The 

issues that contributed to the need for 

this action were occurring for several 

years, however, not only as a result of 

COVID–19 market effects, although 

those issues were exacerbated in both 

2019 and 2020. Specifically, over the 

past several years, landings have been 

highest from mid-August through 

November, contributing to derby-like 

conditions and market gluts, shortening 

the time it takes to fill relevant 

subquotas, and resulting in inseason 

closures earlier than desired. In 2021, 

NMFS established a schedule of RFDs 

from September through November. 

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 proposed an RFD schedule for 

the 2022 fishing year. 

Comment 4: Some commenters 

opposing RFDs expressed concerns that 

RFDs could result in safety-at-sea 

concerns and could have negative 

impacts given fuel prices. 

Response: Overall, NMFS believes 

that by spreading out fishing effort over 

a longer period of time, safety-at-sea 

issues should decrease, as the 

conditions that encourage derby-like 

behavior would be diminished. NMFS 

recognizes that the weather is 

unpredictable, particularly in the 

second half of October and early 

November, and that poor weather may 

limit participation without the need for 

additional RFDs during this part of the 

season. Should BFT landings and catch 

rates merit waiving RFDs, NMFS could 

adjust the daily retention limit on 

waived days with a minimum 3-day 

notification to fishermen, by filing such 

an adjustment in the Federal Register, 

under § 635.23(a)(4). 

Comment 5: NMFS received 

comments both supporting the proposed 

Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday schedule 

of RFDs, and opposing the proposed 

schedule. Some commenters suggested 

modifications to the proposed schedule, 

including implementing RFDs starting 

June 1, 2022, and/or avoiding weekends. 

One commenter objected to the 

proposed RFD schedule while also 

suggesting a weekly RFD schedule of 

Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Some 

commenters supported the proposed 

schedule of RFDs starting on July 1, 

2022. 

Response: NMFS’ proposed schedule 

of RFDs was based on a review of 

average daily catch rate data for recent 

years, a review of past years’ RFD 

schedules (including the 2021 RFD 

schedule) and how they worked to 

extend the use of the General category 

quota, and input from General category 

participants, Atlantic tuna dealers, and 

members of the HMS Advisory Panel. 

The Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday RFD 

schedule allows for two-consecutiveday periods twice each week (SundayMonday; Wednesday-Thursday) for 

General category and Charter/Headboat 

permitted vessels with a commercial 

sale endorsement to fish for and sell 

BFT. NMFS believes that twoconsecutive-day periods twice each 

week would allow BFT products to 

move through the market while also 

allowing some commercial fishing 

activity to occur each weekend (i.e., 

Sundays). NMFS acknowledges that 

Sunday (similar to Friday and Saturday) 

is a high catch and landing day. 

However, NMFS believes that setting 

Sunday as an RFD instead of Saturday 

would not meet the objective of this 

rulemaking as it would not allow 

adequate time for fish products to move 

through the market and would continue 

the increasing trend of BFT landed by 

General category participants that could 

not be sold, as occurred from 2018 

through 2020. 

NMFS disagrees that RFDs should 

start on June 1, 2022, as catch and 

landings rates are generally slow at the 

beginning of the June. NMFS is setting 

RFDs starting on July 1, 2022, as 

proposed, when catch and landing rates 

begin to substantially increase, resulting 

in General category subquotas being met 

and closures of applicable General 

category subquota periods. NMFS 

believes that this schedule of RFDs 

should 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). 

Comment 6: NMFS received 

comments, from both those in support 

of and opposed to RFDs, regarding the 

potential negative impacts of RFDs on 

BFT fishing tournaments. These 

commenters noted the economic 

importance of fishing tournaments on 

local economies. One commenter noted 

the negative impact that RFDs would 

have on fishing tournaments but 

suggested that NMFS maintain the 

proposed RFD schedule, i.e., Tuesday, 

Friday, and Saturday RFDs beginning 

July 1, 2022, noting that many fishing 

tournaments have established their 

dates based around the proposed 

schedule. One commenter noted that 

RFDs did not negatively impact their 

fishing tournament in 2021. 

Response: NMFS acknowledges that 

RFDs that occur on a tournament date 

may affect BFT fishing at those 

tournaments, since some tournament 

participants are General category permit 

holders and are prohibited from fishing 

for BFT on RFDs. However, on an RFD, 

General category permit holders may 

still participate in non-BFT fishing 

during the tournament, and may land 

sharks, swordfish, billfish, and/or 

bigeye, albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack 

tunas recreationally as otherwise 

allowed. Additionally, on an RFD, 

Charter/Headboat-permitted vessels may 

participate recreationally in HMS 

fishing tournaments, including for BFT, 


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under the applicable Angling category 

restrictions and size class limits. Under 

the current regulations, tournament 

operators are required to register their 

tournament with NMFS at least four 

weeks prior to the start of the 

tournament. Given past scheduled 

tournaments from July through 

November and the tournaments that 

have registered already for this year, 

NMFS anticipates or has been notified 

of several fishing tournaments that will 

likely include BFT. Should a 

tournament change its dates of 

operation, NMFS encourages 

tournament operators to contact NMFS 

to update the dates for which their 

tournament is registered. NMFS does 

not plan to waive RFDs specifically and 

solely to accommodate tournaments as 

doing so could eliminate the benefits of 

RFDs by allowing General category and 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

with a commercial sale endorsement the 

opportunity to land and sell commercial 

size BFT on those scheduled RFD dates. 

NMFS will closely monitor BFT 

landings and catch rates and, based on 

that information, NMFS will consider 

waiving RFDs if BFT landings and 

catches indicate that such action is 

warranted, after taking into 

consideration the inseason adjustment 

determination criteria at § 635.27(a)(8). 

This would include, among other 

things, review of dealer reports, daily 

landing trends, and the availability of 

BFT on fishing grounds. NMFS could 

waive an RFD by adjusting the daily 

retention limits with a minimum 3-day 

notification to fishermen, by filing such 

an adjustment in the Federal Register, 

under § 635.23(a)(4). 

Comment 7: NMFS received 

comments expressing concern that 

increasing the General category 

retention limit from the default of one 

fish to three fish to begin the June 

through August subquota period is 

counterproductive to the goal of setting 

RFDs. Some commenters requested the 

use of mechanisms other than RFDs to 

extend the fishery, such as maintaining 

the default retention limit throughout 

the season. One commenter suggested 

NMFS modify existing subquota 

allocations. 

Response: This action focuses on 

implementing RFDs, as currently 

authorized in the regulations, to slow 

the rate of General category landings, 

prevent early closures, and extend 

fishing opportunities through a greater 

portion of the General category timeperiod subquotas for the 2022 fishing 

year. NMFS will continue to use 

retention limits, RFDs, and other 

available management tools to manage 

the BFT fisheries, within the available 

BFT quota and established subquotas. In 

recent years, because the rate of 

landings and overall fishing effort in the 

General category is typically slow in 

early June, NMFS has regularly set the 

daily retention limit for the beginning of 

the June through August period at three 

fish, following consideration of the 

relevant criteria provided under 

§ 635.27(a)(8), including supporting 

scientific data collection. NMFS 

monitors the landings closely, and, as 

appropriate, NMFS then typically 

reduces the limit to the one-fish default 

level to ensure fishing opportunities in 

all respective time-period subquotas and 

to ensure that the available quota is not 

exceeded. Any change in the retention 

limit considers the relevant criteria and 

includes consideration of the catch rates 

associated with the various authorized 

gear types (e.g., harpoon, rod and reel). 

As with other mechanisms mentioned 

above, RFDs are an available effort 

control mechanism that can be used to 

extend time-period subquotas and 

provide additional inseason 

management flexibility regarding quota 

use and distribution and season length. 

Unlike other mechanisms, in the current 

regulations, RFDs may only be used to 

assist with the management of the BFT 

General category fishery (i.e., permit 

categories that fish against the General 

category quota). Throughout the season, 

NMFS monitors landings and catch 

rates and will close the fishery or 

modify retention limits as appropriate to 

ensure the quotas are not exceeded. 

NMFS will continue to monitor and 

evaluate the effectiveness of all these 

management measures in the context of 

current conditions to determine whether 

other actions are necessary. 

NMFS is not considering 

modifications of the General category 

subquotas in this action. The proposed 

rule for Amendment 13 to the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP (86 FR 27686, 

May 21, 2021) proposed modifications 

to the BFT category quotas which were 

further detailed in the Amendment 13 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 

published on May 13, 2022 (87 FR 

29310). The final rule for Amendment 

13 has not been completed, and the BFT 

quotas and subquotas therefore are not 

affected by Amendment 13 at this time. 

NMFS also recently published a final 

rule which would increase the U.S. 

baseline BFT quota to reflect a binding 

2021 ICCAT binding and to adjust the 

subquotas accordingly. 

Comment 8: NMFS received 

comments noting issues with dealer 

practices and requesting NMFS not to 

use RFDs. Several individuals noted 

that dealers could limit their own 

purchases in order to control supply 

and demand related to domestic and 

international markets. 

Response: NMFS requires that dealers 

obtain a Federal dealer permit to 

purchase, trade, or barter any HMS and 

abide by the regulations under both 

§ 635.4 and § 635.5. As described in the 

proposed rule, NMFS received 

communications from dealers and 

fishermen regarding the self-imposed 

no-purchase (or limited-purchase) days 

in 2019 and 2020. While these actions 

by dealers may have prevented an 

oversupply of BFT on the market and 

may have lengthened the duration of 

some subquota periods, these actions 

were not pre-scheduled or consistently 

implemented across the fishery. Some 

General category and Charter/Headboat 

permitted fishermen may have 

experienced negative impacts in this 

context, and opportunities may not have 

been equitably distributed among all 

permitted vessels. Thus, NMFS is 

finalizing a schedule of RFDs for 2022. 

Comment 9: NMFS received some 

comments noting that the BFT stock has 

rebounded and is healthy, and that, 

therefore, this action is not necessary. 

Additionally, one commenter noted that 

NMFS is overly restrictive to BFT 

fishermen in New England. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that this 

action is ‘‘unwarranted.’’ The purpose of 

this action, consistent with the 

objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments and 

other applicable laws, is to 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 

time-period subquotas than have been 

available in recent years, as intended 

when the time-period subquotas were 

adopted. NMFS does not manage the 

General category fishery by region. 

Instead, these regulations are applicable 

to all General category permit holders 

and Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

that fish commercially for BFT. 


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Regarding the status of BFT, the 

western Atlantic BFT stock is assessed 

by ICCAT, and the most recent 

assessment was conducted in 2021. 

Domestically, following the 2017 stock 

assessment, NMFS determined that the 

overfished status for BFT is unknown 

and that the stock is not subject to 

overfishing, and this status remains in 

effect. NMFS recently published a final 

rule that increased the baseline U.S. 

BFT quota to 1,316.14 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), 

as codified at § 635.27(a), consistent 

with Recommendation 21–07 adopted 

by ICCAT at the November 2021 annual 

meeting. Further information on the 

BFT stock assessment and stock status 

can be found in that final rule and 

associated Environmental Assessment. 

This action helps manage the BFT 

fisheries within that available U.S. 

quota and the category subquotas as 

established in existing regulations. 

Comment 10: NMFS received 

comments supporting the future use of 

RFDs for the January through March 

subquota period noting that RFDs would 

likely result in better management of the 

annual quota and avoid quota 

exceedance during this period. One 

commenter expressed concerns for 

setting RFDs during the January through 

March subquota period noting 

unpredictable weather and the potential 

undesirable impacts of extending the 

length of time to reach the subquota if 

the fishery starts in mid-February. 

Additionally, NMFS received comments 

opposing the setting of three 

consecutive days of RFDs or setting 

RFDs for the December subquota period. 

Response: Although NMFS requested 

comment on the potential setting of 

RFDs for the January through March 

subquota period, NMFS is not setting 

RFDs for the January through March 

2023 subquota period through this 

action because BFT landings and catch 

rates do not indicate RFDs are 

warranted at this time. NMFS will 

continue to monitor landings during 

this subquota period and consider the 

input received during the public 

comment period for this action to 

determine whether RFDs are necessary 

for the January through March subquota 

period. If NMFS believes RFDs are 

necessary for the January through March 

subquota period, NMFS will publish a 

proposed schedule of RFDs in a future 

rulemaking. 

Comment 11: One commenter 

requested that NMFS establish RFDs for 

fishermen fishing in the Gulf of Mexico 

noting that the Gulf of Mexico is a 

spawning area for BFT. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that RFDs 

should be established specifically for 

the Gulf of Mexico. Under the current 

regulations, commercial fishermen, 

including all General category permit 

holders and Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels that fish commercially for BFT, 

may not target BFT at any time in the 

Gulf of Mexico, a rule that was 

established recognizing that the Gulf of 

Mexico is recognized as the primary 

spawning grounds for bluefin tuna. 

HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders 

fishing recreationally may retain one 

‘‘trophy’’ BFT (>73′′) per vessel per year 

from the Gulf of Mexico, if it is caught 

incidentally while fishing for other 

species, provided the limited ‘‘trophy’’ 

category subquota in the Gulf of Mexico 

is available at the time of harvest and 

the season has not closed. RFDs do not 

apply to recreational catch because 

RFDs only apply to General category 

permit holders and Charter/Headboat 

permitted vessels that fish commercially 

for BFT. 

Comment 9: NMFS received a 

comment expressing concern that RFDs 

would not reduce the amount of fishing 

gear in the ocean. 

Response: Addressing discarded gear 

is outside of the scope of this action. 

Classification 

NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator has 

determined that this 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, our responses to those 

comments and a summary of the 

analyses completed to support the 

action. The FRFA 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 objective of this final 

rulemaking is to set a schedule of RFDs 

for the 2022 fishing year that should 

slow the rate of General category 

landings to extend fishing opportunities 

through a greater portion of the 

subquota periods (similar to the 2021 

RFD schedule). 

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. As described above, during 

the public comment period, NMFS 

received comments both in support of 

and opposed to establishing RFDs for 

2022. No comments specifically 

referenced the IRFA, although some 

comments raised a variety of economic 

concerns including whether RFDs 

would affect the market (see comments 

2, 3, 5, and 8), whether RFDs would 

affect some parts of the fishery more 

than others (see comment 9), and 

whether RFDs would negatively affect 

tournaments (see comment 6). NMFS’ 

responses to those comments are 

summarized above. After careful 

consideration of all the comments 

received, no changes were made to the 

proposed 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 any 

comments from the Chief Counsel for 

Advocacy of the SBA on 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. 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 


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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 604(a)(5) of the RFA requires 

agencies to describe any new reporting, 

record-keeping, and other compliance 

requirements. This final rule does not 

contain any new collection of 

information, reporting, or recordkeeping requirements. This final rule 

would set a schedule of RFDs for 2022 

as an effort control for the General 

category. 

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 final rule does 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. This final rule will 

instead set a schedule of RFDs for the 

General category in 2022. 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 from 2017 

through 2021. The number and weight 

of unsold BFT increased from 2018 

through 2020, with a peak of unsold 

BFT in 2020 (161 BFT and 28.8 mt) 

which NMFS presumes is in part due to 

the pandemic, and substantially 

decreased in 2021 (from 161 to 14 BFT 

and 28.8 mt to 2.5 mt). NMFS believes 

this substantial decrease is in part due 

to the use of RFDs in 2021. 

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 ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 1.4 

2019 ................................................................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 

2020 ................................................................................................................................................................. 161 28.8 

2021 ................................................................................................................................................................. 14 2.5 

Total .......................................................................................................................................................... 194 34.9 

Table 2 shows the average ex-vessel 

price per pound of BFT during each 

General category subquota time period 

from 2017 through 2021. Ex-vessel price 

per pound was lower for the June 

through August period, with an average 

(2017 through 2021) of $6.29, and 

increased into fall period, with an 

average of $6.98 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. 


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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 ................................................................. $7.30 $6.73 $7.08 $7.58 $9.83 

2018 ................................................................. 7.49 6.92 6.56 7.58 9.56 

2019 ................................................................. 6.07 5.61 6.36 5.53 12.25 

2020 ................................................................. 6.14 4.92 5.22 5.63 5.76 

2021 ................................................................. 6.26 6.96 6.17 7.40 8.55 

2017–2021 average .................................. 6.52 6.29 6.26 6.98 8.80 

Table 3 shows the number of open 

days during each General category 

subquota time period from 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 the 

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 

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

NMFS is setting a schedule of RFDs 

for the 2022 fishing year that would 

specify days on which General category 

quota fishing and sales will not occur. 

Specifically, the 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 of 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 

positive impacts to the General category 

and Charter/Headboat (commercial) BFT 

fishery because 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 of RFDs, as in this final rule, 

without any other changes, it is possible 

that the trends of increasing numbers of 

unsold BFT (Table 1) and decreasing exvessel 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 from 2017 through 2020. If 

those trends were to continue, most 

active General category permit holders 

could experience negative economic 

impacts similar to those in 2019 and 

2020 when dealers were limiting their 

purchases of BFT and buying no or very 

few BFT on certain days in order to 

extend the available quota. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

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 rule. As part of this 

rulemaking process, NMFS has prepared 

a booklet summarizing fishery 


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information and regulations for Atlantic 

BFT General category RFDs for the 2022 

fishing year. That booklet notice serves 

as the small entity compliance guide. 

Copies of the compliance guide are 

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). 

Dated: May 24, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11730 Filed 5–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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