38676 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 29, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 211108–0227; RTID 0648– 

XC106] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Commercial Shark Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 11.3 

metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw) of 

aggregated large coastal shark (LCS) 

quota from the eastern Gulf of Mexico 

sub-region to the western Gulf of 

Mexico sub-region, and 6.8 mt dw of 

western Gulf of Mexico hammerhead 

shark sub-region quota to the Atlantic 

hammerhead shark region quota for the 

remainder of the 2022 fishing year. This 

action is based on consideration of the 

regulatory determination criteria 

regarding inseason quota transfers and 

affects commercial Atlantic shark 

permitted vessels and dealers. 

DATES: Effective June 28, 2022, through 

December 31, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy 

DuBeck, Ann Williamson, or Karyl 

Brewster-Geisz, at 301–427–8503. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 

under the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic 

Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP), its 

amendments, and implementing 

regulations (50 CFR part 635) issued 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

seq.). Section 635.27(b) describes the 

baseline quotas for different shark 

management groups and regions, 

describes the process for annual 

adjustments to those baseline quotas, 

and includes the criteria to consider for 

inseason quota transfers between 

regions and sub-regions. Section 

635.28(b) describes quotas that are 

linked for management purposes. 

On November 12, 2021 (86 FR 62737), 

NMFS announced the 2022 commercial 

western Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS 

(72.0 mt dw; 158,724 lb dw) and 

hammerhead shark (11.9 mt dw; 26,301 

lb dw) sub-regional quotas, eastern Gulf 

of Mexico aggregated LCS (85.5 mt dw; 

188,593 lb dw) sub-regional quota, and 

Atlantic hammerhead shark (27.1 mt 

dw; 59,736 lb dw) regional quota. Based 

on dealer reports received as of May 20, 

2022, NMFS estimates that in the 

western Gulf of Mexico sub-region, 65.7 

mt (144,732 lb) or 91 percent of the 

aggregated LCS sub-regional quota and 

less than 2.0 mt dw (less than 4,400 lb 

dw) or less than 17 percent of the 

hammerhead sub-regional quota has 

been landed. In the eastern Gulf of 

Mexico sub-region, 31.1 mt dw (68,582 

lb dw) or 36 percent of the aggregated 

LCS sub-regional quota has been landed. 

In the Atlantic region, 18.5 mt dw 

(40,874 lb dw) or 68 percent of the 

hammerhead shark regional quota has 

been landed. 

Regulations provide that quotas for 

certain shark species and/or 

management groups are linked, 

including Atlantic hammerhead sharks 

and Atlantic aggregated LCS; eastern 

Gulf of Mexico hammerhead sharks and 

eastern Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS; 

and western Gulf of Mexico 

hammerhead sharks and western Gulf of 

Mexico aggregated LCS (see 

§ 635.28(b)(4)). Regulations further 

provide that for each pair of linked 

species and/or management groups, if 

landings reach, or are projected to reach, 

a threshold of 80 percent of the 

available quota and are also projected to 

reach 100 percent of the available quota 

before the end of the 2022 fishing year, 

NMFS will close the relevant shark 

management groups (see § 635.28(b)(3)). 

At this time, without further action, 

NMFS projects that both the western 

Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS and 

Atlantic hammerhead shark 

management group quotas could be 

reached by August 15, 2022, and 

September 15, 2022, respectively. If that 

happens, NMFS would need to close the 

western Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS 

group and the linked western Gulf of 

Mexico hammerhead group, as well as 

the Atlantic aggregated LCS and the 

linked Atlantic hammerhead 

management groups. 

Under § 635.27(b)(2), NMFS may 

transfer quota inseason between regions 

or sub-regions. Such transfers may occur 

for species or management groups that 

are the same in both regions or subregions and the quota is split for 

management purposes and not as a 

result of a stock assessment. As 

described at § 635.27(b)(1)(ii), the subregional splits for the quotas in the Gulf 

of Mexico region were done for 

management purposes. Therefore, 

NMFS may transfer aggregated LCS 

quota between Gulf of Mexico subregions. As described at 

§ 635.27(b)(1)(iii)(C), the regional and 

sub-regional splits for the overall 

hammerhead quota were done for 

management purposes. Therefore, 

NMFS may transfer hammerhead quota 

between the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

regions. Before making any such 

transfer, NMFS must consider the 

following determination criteria in 

§ 635.27(b)(2)(iii), and other relevant 

factors: (1) The usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular management group for 

biological sampling and monitoring of 

the status of the respective shark species 

and/or management group; (2) the 

catches of the particular species 

and/or management group quota to date 

and the likelihood of closure of that 

segment of the fishery if no adjustment 

is made; (3) the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the particular 

species and/or management group quota 

to harvest the additional amount of 

corresponding quota before the end of 

the fishing year; (4) effects of the 

adjustment on the status of all shark 

species; (5) effects of the adjustment on 

accomplishing the objectives of the 

fishery management plan; (6) variations 

in seasonal distribution, abundance, or 

migration patterns of the appropriate 

shark species and/or management 

group; (7) effects of catch rates in one 

area precluding vessels in another area 

from having a reasonable opportunity to 

harvest a portion of the quota; and/or (8) 

review of dealer reports, daily landing 

trends, and the availability of the 

respective shark species and/or 

management group on the fishing 

grounds. 

NMFS has determined that, for the 

Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS subregional landings, the eastern Gulf of 

Mexico aggregated LCS sub-regional 

landings are not projected to reach their 

quota by the end of the year and that the 

western Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS 

sub-regional quota has exceeded 80 

percent (93 percent) of their quota and 

are projected to reach their quota by the 

end of the year. Therefore, NMFS has 

considered the inseason quota transfer 

criteria, documented in the Quota 

Transfer section below, and determined 

that a transfer from the sub-regional 

eastern Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS 

quota to the western Gulf of Mexico 

aggregated LCS quota is warranted to 

avoid potential closure of the western 

Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS quota 

and the western Gulf of Mexico 

hammerhead shark quota, which are 

linked under 50 CFR 635.28(b)(4)(iii), 

while fishing opportunities still exist. 

For the hammerhead shark landings, 

the western Gulf of Mexico 

hammerhead sub-regional landings are 

relatively low when compared to past 

fishing seasons, hammerhead sharks are 

not targeted nor landed in the western 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 29, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 38677 

Gulf of Mexico sub-region, and that the 

Atlantic hammerhead regional quota is 

nearing 80 percent (63 percent) of their 

quota and are projected to reach their 

quota by the end of the year. Therefore, 

NMFS has considered the inseason 

quota transfer criteria, documented in 

the Quota Transfer section below, and 

determined that a transfer from the 

western Gulf of Mexico hammerhead 

shark quota to the Atlantic hammerhead 

shark quota is warranted to avoid 

potential closure of the Atlantic 

hammerhead shark quota and the 

Atlantic aggregated LCS quota, which 

are linked under 50 CFR 635.28(b)(4)(i), 

while fishing opportunities still exist. 

Quota Transfer 

After fully considering all the criteria 

listed above, NMFS is taking action to 

transfer aggregated LCS quota from the 

eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-regional 

quota to the western Gulf of Mexico subregional quota, and hammerhead shark 

management group quota from the 

western Gulf of Mexico sub-regional 

quota to the Atlantic hammerhead shark 

quota. NMFS’ consideration of the 

relevant criteria found at 

§ 635.27(b)(2)(iii) includes, but is not 

limited to, the following: 

Regarding the usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular category for biological 

sampling and monitoring of the status of 

the stock (§ 635.27(b)(2)(iii)(A)), 

biological samples collected by NMFS 

scientific observers on commercial 

vessels targeting aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead sharks continue to provide 

NMFS with valuable data for ongoing 

scientific studies of shark age and 

growth, migration, and reproductive 

status. This is especially important for 

the upcoming bull, spinner, and tiger 

shark assessments in 2024. 

Regarding the catches of the quotas to 

date and the likelihood of a fishery 

closure if no adjustment is made, 

commercial shark dealer data show that 

landings of the western Gulf of Mexico 

aggregated LCS have exceeded 80 

percent of the quota (93 percent), while 

landings of the Atlantic hammerhead 

shark are approaching 80 percent of the 

quota (63 percent). Once the landings 

exceed the threshold of 80 percent of 

the quotas and are also projected to 

reach 100 percent before the end of the 

2022 fishing year, the western Gulf of 

Mexico aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark management groups, 

and the Atlantic aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead shark management groups 

will close absent a transfer of additional 

quota. 

NMFS also analyzed landings data, 

catch trends, and potential migration of 

the species involved 

(§ 635.27(b)(2)(iii)(C)–(D) and (F)–(H)) 

and determined that under current 

fishing rates, 11.3 mt dw of eastern Gulf 

of Mexico sub-regional aggregated LCS 

and 6.8 mt dw of western Gulf of 

Mexico hammerhead shark management 

groups are reasonable amounts of quota 

to transfer, allowing fishermen the 

opportunity to fully utilize the available 

shark quotas while avoiding negative 

economic impacts that would occur by 

closing the shark management groups. 

This action will not have impacts 

beyond those already analyzed in the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments and thus is not expected to 

negatively impact the stock. 

Regarding the effects of the 

adjustment on accomplishing the 

objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP (§ 635.27(b)(2)(iii)(E)), this 

action is consistent with the quotas 

previously implemented and analyzed 

in the 2022 shark quota final rule (86 FR 

62737; November 12, 2021) and in the 

final rules implementing Amendment 

5a (78 FR 40317; July 3, 2013) and 

Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP (80 FR 50073; August 18, 

2015). Specifically, this action is 

consistent with the objective of 

providing opportunities to fully harvest 

shark quotas without exceeding them. 

Based on the considerations above, 

NMFS is transferring 11.3 mt dw of 

eastern Gulf of Mexico aggregated LCS 

sub-regional quota to the western Gulf 

of Mexico aggregated LCS sub-regional 

quota, and 6.8 mt dw of western Gulf of 

Mexico hammerhead shark sub-regional 

quota to the Atlantic hammerhead shark 

management group quota as of June 28, 

2022. This quota transfer results in 

adjusted quotas of 74.2 mt dw for 

aggregated LCS in the eastern Gulf of 

Mexico sub-region, 83.3 mt dw for 

aggregated LCS and 5.1 mt dw for the 

hammerhead shark management group 

in the western Gulf of Mexico subregion, and 33.9 mt dw for the 

hammerhead shark management group 

in the Atlantic region. If landings and 

fishing rates do not increase 

substantially, transferring Gulf of 

Mexico aggregated LCS sub-regional and 

Atlantic hammerhead shark regional 

quotas could allow the fisheries in each 

sub-region and region to remain open 

through the end of the 2022 fishing year. 

Therefore, NMFS adjusts the eastern 

and western Gulf of Mexico aggregated 

LCS and hammerhead management 

group sub-regional quotas and the 

Atlantic hammerhead shark 

management group quota for the 

remainder of the 2022 shark fishing 

year, unless NMFS announces another 

quota transfer in the Federal Register or 

close the fishery. NMFS may also 

announce future retention limit 

adjustments as needed throughout the 

remainder of the 2022 shark fishing 

year. 

The boundary between the Gulf of 

Mexico region and the Atlantic region is 

defined at § 635.27(b)(1) as a line 

beginning on the East Coast of Florida 

at the mainland at 25°20.4′ N lat., 

proceeding due east. Any water and 

land to the south and west of that 

boundary is considered, for the 

purposes of monitoring and setting 

quotas, to be within the Gulf of Mexico 

region. The boundary between the 

western and eastern Gulf of Mexico subregions is drawn along 88°00′ W long. 

(§ 635.27(b)(1)(ii)). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that it is impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest to 

provide prior notice of, and an 

opportunity for public comment on, this 

action for the following reasons: 

The regulations implementing the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments provide for inseason 

adjustments to respond to the 

unpredictable nature of shark species 

availability on the fishing grounds, the 

migratory nature of these species, and 

the regional variations in the shark 

fisheries. Affording prior notice and an 

opportunity for public comment 

regarding this quota transfer is 

impracticable. NMFS could not have 

proposed this action earlier, as it needed 

to consider and respond to updated 

landings data, including the recently 

available data as of May 20, 2022, in 

deciding whether to transfer a portion of 

the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-regional 

aggregated LCS quota to the western 

Gulf of Mexico sub-regional aggregated 

LCS quota and western Gulf of Mexico 

sub-regional hammerhead shark quota 

to the Atlantic regional hammerhead 

shark quota. If NMFS was to offer a 

public comment period, after having 

appropriately considered that data, it 

could preclude fishermen from 

harvesting aggregated LCS and 

hammerhead sharks in the western Gulf 

of Mexico sub-region and Atlantic 

region that are legally available 

consistent with all of the regulatory 

criteria. 

With quota available, and with no 

additional expected impacts to the 

stock, it would be contrary to the public 

interest to preclude fishing 


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38678 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 124 / Wednesday, June 29, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

opportunities for fishermen in subregions or regions when quota is still 

available for harvest. Analysis of 

available data shows that transfer of the 

quota from the eastern Gulf of Mexico 

sub-region to the western Gulf of 

Mexico sub-region would result in 

minimal risks of exceeding the 

aggregated LCS quotas in the Gulf of 

Mexico region, and transfer of the quota 

from the western Gulf of Mexico subregion to the Atlantic region would 

result in minimal risks of exceeding the 

hammerhead shark quotas in either subregion or region. NMFS notes that the 

public had an opportunity to comment 

on the underlying rulemakings that 

established the commercial shark quotas 

and the inseason adjustment criteria. 

Additionally, NMFS provides 

notification of inseason adjustments by 

publishing the notice in the Federal 

Register, emailing individuals who have 

subscribed to the Atlantic HMS News 

electronic newsletter, and updating the 

information posted on 

hmspermits.noaa.gov. Therefore, the AA 

finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

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

opportunity for public comment. 

This quota transfer needs to be 

effective upon filing for public 

inspection with the Office of the Federal 

Register, or as soon as possible 

thereafter, to minimize any unnecessary 

disruption in fishing patterns, to allow 

the impacted sectors to benefit from the 

quota transfer, and to not preclude 

fishing opportunities for fishermen in 

sub-regions or regions when quota is 

still available for harvest. Foregoing 

opportunities to harvest the respective 

quotas may have negative social and 

economic impacts for U.S. fishermen 

that depend upon catching the available 

quota designated in the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments. 

Therefore, the AA finds there is also 

good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to 

waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: June 24, 2022. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13922 Filed 6–28–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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