Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 16, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 38853 

challenges to the rule’s underlying 

premise or approach; or (2) why the 

direct final rule will be ineffective or 

unacceptable without a change. In 

determining whether a comment 

necessitates withdrawal of this direct 

final rule, NASA will consider whether 

it warrants a substantive response in a 

notice and comment process. 

II. Publication of This Final Rule for 

Public Comment Is Not Required by 

Statute 

Publication of proposed regulations’’, 

41 U.S.C. 1707, is the statute which 

applies to the publication of the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation. Paragraph (a)(1) 

of the statute requires that a 

procurement policy, regulation, 

procedure or form (including an 

amendment or modification thereof) 

must be published for public comment 

if it relates to the expenditure of 

appropriated funds, and has either a 

significant effect beyond the internal 

operating procedures of the agency 

issuing the policy, regulation, procedure 

or form, or has a significant cost or 

administrative impact on contractors or 

offerors. This direct final rule is not 

required to be published for public 

comment because it makes 

nonsubstantive changes to Agency 

regulations. It merely removes from the 

NASA FAR Supplement a reference to 

the NASA Acquisition Information 

System (NAIS) posting system and 

updates titles to agency-level directives. 

III. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health, and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. This is not a significant 

regulatory action and, therefore, was not 

subject to review under section 6(b) of 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act does 

not apply to this rule because this final 

rule does not constitute a significant 

NFS revision within the meaning of 

FAR 1.501–1 and 41 U.S.C. 1707 and 

therefore does not require publication 

for public comment. 

V. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The rule does not contain any 

information collection requirements that 

require the approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 1852 

Government Procurement. 

Manuel Quinones, 

NASA FAR Supplement Manager. 

Accordingly, 48 CFR part 1852 is 

amended as follows: 

PART 1852—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1852 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 51 U.S.C. 20113(a) and 48 CFR 

chapter 1. 

1852.215–77 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend section 1852.215–77 by 

removing from paragraph (e) last 

sentence, the words ‘‘using the NAIS 

Electronic Posting System’’. 

1852.245–82 [Amended] 

■ 3. Amend section 1852.245–82 by— 

■ a. Revising the title and date of the 

clause; 

■ b. Removing in paragraph (a)(1) ‘‘NPD 

8800.14, Policy for Real Property 

Management’’ and adding ‘‘NPD 

8800.14, Policy for Real Estate 

Management’’ in its place; and 

■ c. Removing in paragraph (a)(2) ‘‘NPD 

8831.2, Facility Maintenance 

Management’’ and adding ‘‘NPD 8831.2, 

Facilities Maintenance and Operations 

Management’’ in its place. 

The revision reads as follows: 

1852.245–82 Occupancy management 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

Occupancy Management Requirements 

(September 15, 2017) 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–16962 Filed 8–15–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 150121066–5717–02] 

RIN 0648–XF606 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason quota 

transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 30 

metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna 

(BFT) quota from the Reserve category 

to the Harpoon category. With this 

transfer, the adjusted Harpoon category 

quota for the 2017 fishing season is 68.6 

mt. The 2017 Harpoon category fishery 

is open until November 15, 2017, or 

until the Harpoon category quota is 

reached, whichever comes first. The 

action is based on consideration of the 

regulatory determination criteria 

regarding inseason adjustments, and 

applies to Atlantic tunas Harpoon 

category (commercial) permitted 

vessels. 

DATES: Effective August 11, 2017 

through November 15, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin or Brad McHale, 

978–281–9260. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations implemented 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.) governing the harvest of BFT by 

persons and vessels subject to U.S. 

jurisdiction are found at 50 CFR part 

635. Section 635.27 subdivides 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 

Highly Migratory Species Fishery 

Management Plan (2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP) (71 FR 58058, October 2, 

2006), as amended by Amendment 7 to 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP 

(Amendment 7) (79 FR 71510, December 

2, 2014). NMFS is required under ATCA 

and the Magnuson-Stevens Act to 

provide U.S. fishing vessels with a 


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38854 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 16, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

ICCAT-recommended quota. 

The base quotas for the Harpoon 

category and Reserve category are 38.6 

mt and 24.8 mt, respectively. See 

§ 635.27(a). To date for 2017, NMFS has 

published two actions that have 

adjusted the available 2017 Reserve 

category quota, which currently is 78 mt 

(82 FR 12296, March 2, 2017, and 82 FR 

12747, March 7, 2017). The 2017 

Harpoon category fishery opened June 1 

and is open through November 15, 2017, 

or until the Harpoon category quota is 

reached, whichever comes first. 

Quota Transfer 

Under § 635.27(a)(9), NMFS has the 

authority to transfer quota among 

fishing categories or subcategories, after 

considering regulatory determination 

criteria provided under § 635.27(a)(8). 

NMFS has considered the relevant 

determination criteria and their 

applicability to the Harpoon category 

fishery. These considerations include, 

but are not limited to, the following: 

Regarding the usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular category for biological 

sampling and monitoring of the status of 

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

samples collected from BFT landed by 

Harpoon category fishermen and 

provided by BFT dealers continue to 

provide valuable data for ongoing 

scientific studies of BFT age and 

growth, migration, and reproductive 

status. Additional opportunity to land 

BFT in the Harpoon category would 

support the continued collection of a 

broad range of data for these studies and 

for stock monitoring purposes. 

NMFS also considered the catches of 

the Harpoon category quota to date and 

the likelihood of closure of that segment 

of the fishery if no adjustment is made 

(§ 635.27(a)(8)(ii) and (ix)). As of August 

7, 2017, the Harpoon category has 

landed 35.0 mt. Commercial-size BFT 

are currently readily available to vessels 

fishing under the Harpoon category 

quota. Without a quota transfer at this 

time, Harpoon category participants 

would have to stop BFT fishing 

activities with very short notice, while 

commercial-sized BFT remain available 

in the areas Harpoon category permitted 

vessels operate. Transferring 30 mt of 

BFT quota from the Reserve category 

would result in a total of 68.6 mt being 

available for the Harpoon category for 

the 2017 Harpoon category fishing 

season. 

Regarding the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the particular 

category quota (here, the Harpoon 

category) to harvest the additional 

amount of BFT before the end of the 

fishing year (§ 635.27(a)(8)(iii)), NMFS 

considered Harpoon category landings 

over the last several years. Landings are 

highly variable and depend on access to 

commercial-sized BFT and fishing 

conditions, among other factors. NMFS 

anticipates that the Harpoon category 

could harvest the transferred 30.0 mt 

prior to the end of the Harpoon category 

season, subject to weather conditions 

and BFT availability. NMFS may 

transfer unused Harpoon category quota 

to other quota categories, as appropriate. 

NMFS also anticipates that some 

underharvest of the 2016 adjusted U.S. 

BFT quota will be carried forward to 

2017 and placed in the Reserve 

category, in accordance with the 

regulations. Thus, this quota transfer 

would allow fishermen to take 

advantage of the availability of fish on 

the fishing grounds, consider the 

expected increases in available 2017 

quota later in the year, and provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

full U.S. BFT quota. 

NMFS also considered the estimated 

amounts by which quotas for other gear 

categories of the fishery might be 

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

ability to account for all 2017 landings 

and dead discards. In the last several 

years, total U.S. BFT landings have been 

below the available U.S. quota such that 

the United States has carried forward 

the maximum amount of underharvest 

allowed by ICCAT from one year to the 

next. NMFS will need to account for 

2017 landings and dead discards within 

the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, and 

anticipates having sufficient quota to do 

that. 

This transfer would be consistent 

with the current quotas, which were 

established and analyzed in the 2015 

BFT quota final rule (80 FR 52198, 

August 28, 2015), and with objectives of 

the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments. (§ 635.27(a)(8)(v) and (vi)). 

Another principal consideration is the 

objective of providing opportunities to 

harvest the full annual U.S. BFT quota 

without exceeding it based on the goals 

of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and 

Amendment 7, including to achieve 

optimum yield on a continuing basis 

and to optimize the ability of all permit 

categories to harvest their full BFT 

quota allocations (related to 

§ 635.27(a)(8)(x)). 

Based on the considerations above, 

NMFS is transferring 30.0 mt of the 

available 78 mt of Reserve category 

quota to the Harpoon category. 

Therefore, NMFS adjusts the Harpoon 

category quota to 68.6 mt for the 2017 

Harpoon category fishing season (i.e., 

through November 15, 2017, or until the 

Harpoon category quota is reached, 

whichever comes first), and adjusts the 

Reserve category quota to 48.0 mt. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fishery closely. Dealers are required 

to submit landing reports within 24 

hours of a dealer receiving BFT. 

Harpoon category vessel owners are 

required to report the catch of all BFT 

retained or discarded dead, within 24 

hours of the landing(s) or end of each 

trip, by accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov 

or by using the HMS Catch Reporting 

App. Depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 

may determine that additional action 

(i.e., quota and/or daily retention limit 

adjustment, or closure) is necessary to 

ensure available quota is not exceeded 

or to enhance scientific data collection 

from, and fishing opportunities in, all 

geographic areas. If needed, subsequent 

adjustments will be published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, fishermen 

may call the Atlantic Tunas Information 

Line at (978) 281–9260, or access 

hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on 

quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

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 

retention limit adjustments to respond 

to the unpredictable nature of BFT 

availability on the fishing grounds, the 

migratory nature of this species, and the 

regional variations in the BFT fishery. 

Affording prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment to implement the 

quota transfer for the remainder of 2017 

is impracticable and contrary to the 

public interest as such a delay would 

likely result in closure of the Harpoon 

fishery when the base quota is met and 

the need to re-open the fishery, with 

attendant administrative costs and costs 

to the fishery. The delay would 

preclude the fishery from harvesting 

BFT that are available on the fishing 

grounds and that might otherwise 

become unavailable during a delay. 

Therefore, the AA finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment. For these reasons, there also 

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

waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 16, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 38855 

This action is being taken under 

§ 635.27(a)(9), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

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

et seq. 

Dated: August 10, 2017. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17266 Filed 8–11–17; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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