[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46934-46935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21723]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[Docket No. 150121066-5717-02]
RIN 0648-XF727


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 
Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the General category fishery.

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SUMMARY: NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and 
giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches curved fork length or greater) 
Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) until the General category reopens on 
December 1, 2017. This action is being taken to prevent overharvest of 
the General category October through November 2017 BFT subquota and 
help ensure reasonable

[[Page 46935]]

fishing opportunities in the December subquota time period.

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, October 5 through November 30, 
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) among the various domestic fishing categories, per the 
allocations established in the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly 
Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (2006 Consolidated HMS FMP) 
(71 FR 58058, October 2, 2006) and amendments.
    NMFS is required, under Sec.  635.28(a)(1), to file a closure 
notice with the Office of the Federal Register for publication when a 
BFT quota (or subquota) is reached or is projected to be reached. On 
and after the effective date and time of such notification, for the 
remainder of the fishing year or for a specified period as indicated in 
the notification, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT under that 
quota category is prohibited until the opening of the subsequent quota 
period or until such date as specified in the notice.
    The base quota for the General category is 466.7 mt. See Sec.  
635.27(a). Each of the General category time periods (January, June 
through August, September, October through November, and December) is 
allocated a ``subquota'' or portion of the annual General category 
quota. Although it is called the ``January'' subquota, the regulations 
allow the General category fishery under this quota to continue until 
the subquota is reached or March 31, whichever comes first. The 
subquotas for each time period are as follows: 24.7 mt for January; 
233.3 mt for June through August; 123.7 mt for September; 60.7 mt for 
October through November; and 24.3 mt for December. Any unused General 
category quota rolls forward within the fishing year, which coincides 
with the calendar year, from one time period to the next, and is 
available for use in subsequent time periods. On December 19, 2016, 
NMFS published an inseason action transferring 16.3 mt of BFT quota 
from the December 2017 subquota to the January 2017 subquota period, 
resulting in a subquota of 41 mt for the January 2017 period and a 
subquota of 8 mt for the December 2017 period (81 FR 91873). For 2017, 
NMFS also transferred 40 mt from the Reserve to the General category 
effective March 2, and 156.4 mt from the Reserve to the General 
category effective September 28, resulting in an adjusted General 
category quota of 663.1 mt (82 FR 12747, March 7, 2017; 82 FR 46000, 
October 3, 2017). This transfer restored quota to the October through 
November and December subquota categories that otherwise would have 
been used to compensate for overharvests in earlier subquota periods, 
with the goal of making the subquota categories whole to the extent 
transferrable quota was available.
    Based on the best available landings information for the General 
category BFT fishery as well as recent and anticipated catch rates and 
fishing conditions, NMFS has determined that the General category 
October through November subquota will be reached by October 5, 2017. 
Therefore, retaining, possessing, or landing large medium or giant BFT 
by persons aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic tunas General and 
HMS Charter/Headboat categories must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time on 
October 5, 2017. The General category will reopen automatically on 
December 1, 2017, for the December 2017 subperiod. This action applies 
to Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and 
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted 
vessels, and is taken consistent with the regulations at Sec.  
635.28(a)(1). The intent of this closure is to prevent overharvest of 
the available General category October through November BFT subquota 
and help ensure reasonable fishing opportunities in the December 
subquota time period.
    Fishermen may catch and release (or tag and release) BFT of all 
sizes, subject to the requirements of the catch-and-release and tag-
and-release programs at Sec.  635.26. All BFT that are released must be 
handled in a manner that will maximize their survival, and without 
removing the fish from the water, consistent with requirements at Sec.  
635.21(a)(1). For additional information on safe handling, see the 
``Careful Catch and Release'' brochure available atwww.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/.

Monitoring and Reporting

    NMFS will continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely. Dealers are 
required to submit landing reports within 24 hours of a dealer 
receiving BFT. Late reporting by dealers compromises NMFS' ability to 
timely implement actions such as quota and retention limit adjustment, 
as well as closures, and may result in enforcement actions. General and 
Charter/Headboat 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. 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 and fishery 
closures 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. These fisheries are currently 
underway and the quota for the subcategory is projected to be reached 
shortly. Delaying this action would be contrary to the public interest 
because the subquota is projected to be reached shortly and any delay 
could lead to further exceedance, which may result in the need to 
reduce quota for the General category later in the year and thus could 
affect later fishing opportunities. 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 all of the above reasons, there also is good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness.
    This action is being taken under 50 CFR 635.28(a)(1) (BFT Fishery 
Closures), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: October 3, 2017.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-21723 Filed 10-4-17; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P