[Federal Register: November 10, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 217)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 63747-63751]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10no03-13]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 031028268-3268-01; I.D. 091603F]
RIN 0648-AR12
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Bluefin Tuna Season and Size
Limit Adjustments
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to amend regulations under the framework
provisions of the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas,
Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP) governing the Atlantic bluefin tuna
(BFT) fishery regarding the opening date of the Purse seine category,
closure dates of the Harpoon and General categories, and size
tolerances of large medium BFT for the Purse seine and Harpoon
categories. The intent of this proposed rule is to further achieve
domestic management objectives under the HMS FMP and Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 28,
2003. The public hearing dates are:
1. November 24, 2003, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Atlantic Beach, NC.
2. November 25, 2003, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., Gloucester, MA.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed rule should be sent to
Dianne Stephan, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, Office of
Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NMFS, One Blackburn Dr. Gloucester, MA
01930. Comments also may be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9340.
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.
The public hearing locations are:
1. Sheraton Atlantic Beach Oceanfront Hotel, 2717 W. Fort Macon
Road, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512.
2. Sawyer Free Library, 2 Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA 01930.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dianne Stephan at (978) 281-9397.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Atlantic Tunas Convention
Act (ATCA). ATCA authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to
implement binding recommendations of the International Commission for
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The authority to issue
regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA has been delegated
from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA
(AA).
Background
On May 28, 1999, NMFS published in the FEDERAL REGISTER (64 FR
29090) final regulations, effective July 1, 1999, implementing the HMS
FMP that was adopted and made available to the public in April 1999.
This action proposes to amend the current HMS regulations regarding
quota category opening and closure dates for the Purse seine, Harpoon
and General categories and size tolerances for large medium BFT,
measuring 73 to less than 81 inches (185 to less than 206 cm), in the
Harpoon and Purse seine categories. NMFS issues this proposed rule to
solicit public comment on the merits and potential impacts of these
changes to the HMS regulations, which are intended to further the
objectives of the HMS FMP. After consideration of public comment, NMFS
will publish a final rule in the Federal Register.
Several additional issues regarding the domestic management of BFT
were discussed at length during the most recent HMS Advisory Panel (AP)
meeting held in Silver Spring, MD, many of which are beyond the scope
of this action and will be addressed through a future HMS FMP
amendment. These issues may include, but are not limited to, adjustment
of domestic BFT quota allocation percentages, adjustment of General
category time-period subquotas, and addressing the BFT quota allocation
aspects of the Petition for Rulemaking (Petition) submitted by the
North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries (see Notice of Receipt of
Petition, 67 FR 69502, November 18, 2002). Because these issues require
further analysis and public input, NMFS has announced its intent to
address these additional issues through an HMS FMP amendment (68 FR
40907, July 9, 2003).
Adjustment of the Purse Seine Category Start Date
The Purse seine category start date was originally designed to
minimize potential gear conflicts between the purse seine fishery and
the handgear fishery for BFT. During the early 1970's, the opening of
the purse seine BFT season was determined by the Regional Director and
fluctuated between September 1 and the day after Labor Day. Since the
late 1970's, August 15 has been the official start date for the Purse
seine category BFT fishery (44 FR 36049, June 20, 1979), while June 1
has been the start date of the handgear fisheries (i.e., General and
Harpoon categories). August 15 was determined as an appropriate start
date for the Purse seine category as the majority of BFT handgear
landings took place early in the season (i.e., July through early
August). However, over the past several years there has been a shift in
the commercial handgear landings to the fall months, which results in a
large portion of General category BFT being landed simultaneously with
Purse seine category landings. This can potentially re-create the gear
conflicts originally intended to be avoided by the August 15 Purse
seine start date as well as cause market gluts of BFT being exported
from the United States, thus depressing ex-vessel prices and revenues
($13,948,190 and $3,066,034, respectively for 2002) in these two
categories.
Thus, NMFS proposes to adjust the start date of the Purse seine
category BFT fishery to commence on July 15 of each fishing year. This
proposed action would be consistent with the original intent behind the
creation of the Purse seine category start date to minimize conflicts
with other gear types and permit categories, as well as maximize
economic yields from General and Purse seine category landings (i.e.,
avoid market gluts). This proposed action should have a positive
economic impact to the BFT fishery as a whole, although the Harpoon
category may experience a minor negative economic impact. This proposed
action is not expected to have substantial ecological impacts because
there would be no changes to the current mortality level of BFT or of
any non-target species.
Establishment of a Harpoon Category End Date
On June 13, 1980, NMFS established the Harpoon category (45 FR
40118) with the intent to create a quota category in which harpoons
were the only permissible gear type in order to
[[Page 63748]]
preserve a historical fishery that takes place in northern New England
(i.e., Gulf of Maine). Until recently, all Harpoon category landings
have occurred in traditional locations in New England prior to BFT
migrating out of the Gulf of Maine. However, in recent years, the
Harpoon category quota has not been fully harvested in New England,
which has led to vessels in other geographic regions landing 1,043
pounds of BFT against the Harpoon category quota in 2002. This has
raised several concerns including conflict with the original intent of
the regulations for this fishery to be in the New England area, as well
as administrative issues regarding potential mis-reporting and
enforcement concerns regarding illegal activities. Over the last couple
of years, the Harpoon category has remained open with quota available
after the General category quota has been met. This has led some
vessels that use rod and reel gear to obtain a Harpoon category permit
and land BFT caught with rod and reel against the Harpoon category
quota. Typically, these concerns have not been raised as the Harpoon
category quota is harvested prior to BFT moving out of the New England
area, thus there has been no reason to implement a Harpoon category
season end date.
NMFS proposes to establish a Harpoon category season end date of
November 15, which is near the time period when BFT migrate out of the
New England area, for each fishing year regardless of whether the quota
is harvested. The intent of this proposed action is to preserve the
traditional Harpoon category fishery by restricting its geographic
activity to the New England area and minimize any negative impacts by
proposing action before an investment in a southern area Harpoon
category fishery takes place. Any potential negative impacts to the
northern area fishermen from a closure date and prior to attaining the
entire quota maybe somewhat mitigated by an adjustment to the tolerance
limit for large medium BFT, as discussed below.
The impacts associated with this proposed action should be
negligible due to the lack of investment in outfitting vessels to
participate in the Harpoon category and the limited number of BFT
Harpoon landings that have occurred outside the traditional New England
area in recent history. Since there had been no Harpoon category
participation outside the New England area prior to 2002, there has
been minimal investment in a true Harpoon category fishery. Finally,
any minor potential negative impacts to vessel owners/operators that
wish to fish outside the traditional New England area and use a harpoon
as a primary gear type may be mitigated because they would still be
able to do so with a General category permit under General category
retention limits and regulations.
Adjustment of General Category Closure Date
During the development of the HMS FMP, the emergence of a General
category BFT fishery in the southern Atlantic region was extensively
discussed by the HMS AP and the public. However, the HMS AP did not
reach consensus on how the HMS FMP should address the scope of a
southern area General category BFT fishery. Over the last couple of
years, NMFS has performed a number of inseason quota transfers of BFT,
consistent with the transfer criteria established in the HMS FMP, which
have allowed the General category BFT fishery to extend into the winter
months (i.e., late November - December). In 2002, NMFS received the
Petition to formalize this winter fishery and extend fishing
opportunities for the General category into January. NMFS published a
Notice of Receipt of Petition on November 18, 2002 (67 FR 69502).
In part, to address some of the concerns raised in the Petition, as
well as to increase fishing opportunities and optimum yield for the
fishery overall, NMFS proposes to extend the General category end date
from December 31 to January 31. This would effectively alter the third
time-period from October through December to October through January.
The quota allocated to this time-period would remain 10 percent of the
overall General category quota (minus the 10 mt New York Bight Set-
aside).
This action could have negative economic impacts on those northern
area fishermen who would have otherwise caught and sold fish earlier in
the season, but would have positive economic impacts to southern area
fishermen who would be able to fish later in the season. Negative
impacts could be slightly mitigated if northern area fishermen are
willing to travel south late in the season, provided there is
reciprocity among the different state permitting regulations.
Adjustment of the BFT Size Tolerance Limits for the Purse Seine
Category
Currently, vessels permitted in the Purse seine category may
retain, possess, land, and sell large medium BFT in amounts not
exceeding 15 percent, by weight, of the giant BFT landed on a
particular trip, provided that the total amount of large medium BFT
landed does not exceed 10 percent, by weight, of the total BFT quota
allocated to that vessel for that fishing year. This restriction is
intended to focus the fishery on BFT that have likely spawned at least
once, and provide some protection to the large medium BFT size class,
which is generally considered to represent pre-spawning fish imminently
available to contribute to recruitment in the western Atlantic BFT
stock.
Over the last few years, the Purse seine category has not fully
harvested its allocated quota. This can be attributed to a number of
different reasons outside of the industry's or NMFS' control. In 2001,
Purse seine category landings were steady until the September 11
terrorist attack. After September 11, spotter planes were unable to
assist in locating schools of BFT for Purse seine category vessels due
to a requirement by the Federal Aviation Administration to have all
flights schedule a predetermined flight pattern prior to take-off. In
2002, Purse seine category vessels claimed there were large numbers of
mixed schools of BFT, comprised of different size classes, and that it
was difficult to locate schools consisting solely of giant BFT. Purse
seine category vessels claimed they therefore did not set on these
mixed schools to ensure they stayed within the regulations tolerance
limits and to avoid the potential of increasing BFT dead discards.
However as a result, they were not able to land the allocated quota. In
2003, a similar scenario to 2002 is occurring, although this year there
also appears to be fewer giant BFT available in any school.
To address some of the concerns raised by the Purse seine category
participants and to provide a balance between dead discard reduction
and increased numbers of pre-spawning BFT landed, NMFS proposes to
remove the large medium tolerance limit on a trip basis and increase
the seasonal large medium BFT tolerance to 15 percent by weight of the
total BFT quota allocated to that vessel. This proposed action is
designed to maintain the focus of the fishery on BFT that have likely
spawned at least once while still providing Purse seine category
vessels opportunities to harvest their allocated BFT quota in its
designated time frame, thus increasing optimum yield. NMFS currently
has very little data on BFT discards associated with this segment of
the BFT fishery and therefore proposes to implement a previously
approved vessel logbook program to gather more data on this issue,
particularly regarding impacts of Purse seine category activities on
discards of undersized
[[Page 63749]]
BFT. In the future, if circumstances and/or the data warrant, observers
may also be deployed as well.
Adjustment of the BFT Size Tolerance Limits for the Harpoon Category
In 1992, NMFS implemented a tolerance limit on the large medium BFT
size class for the Harpoon category (57 FR 32905, July 24, 1992) and
restricted vessels permitted in the Harpoon category to one large
medium BFT per vessel per day. These vessels may land an unlimited
number of giant BFT, so long as the Harpoon category quota is not
exceeded. This action was taken to reduce the fishing mortality on
large medium BFT, thus allowing for an increase in the spawning
potential of the western Atlantic BFT stock, while allowing for the
incidental take of large medium BFT to minimize regulatory discards and
negative economic impacts. Over the last couple of years, however, the
Harpoon category has not been fully harvested, which can be attributed
to a number of reasons such as oceanographic conditions, weather
patterns, and migratory patterns, all of which appear to have reduced
the availability of giant BFT. Also, similar to members of the Purse
seine category, operators of Harpoon category vessels claim large
numbers of mixed schools of BFT are comprised of different size
classes, and that it has been difficult to locate schools of giant BFT
on the fishing grounds. Having the ability to visually determine the
size class of BFT prior to throwing a harpoon is a vital characteristic
of this fishing method which will to minimize mortality on undersized
BFT and reduce dead discards.
This proposed action is intended to provide Harpoon category
vessels a reasonable opportunity to harvest the allocated Harpoon
category quota in its designated time frame by allowing vessels
permitted in the Harpoon category to retain two large medium BFT per
vessel per day. Again, NMFS currently has very little data on BFT
discards associated with this segment of the BFT fishery and may
implement a previously approved vessel logbook program in the future to
assist in determining the impact of the regulations and tolerance
limits on discards in this fishery.
The potential impacts associated with this proposed action could
consist of positive economic impacts by providing Harpoon category
vessels more opportunities to harvest their allocated BFT quota in its
designated time frame, thus increasing optimum yield. In addition, the
proposed action is expected to have positive economic and biological
impacts by facilitating Harpoon category vessels to retain, land, and
sell more large medium BFT that would otherwise be discarded while
maintaining the focus of the fishery on BFT that have likely spawned at
least once.
Classification
This proposed rule is published under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. The AA has preliminarily determined that
the regulations contained in this proposed rule are necessary to
implement the recommendations of ICCAT and to manage the domestic
Atlantic HMS fisheries.
NMFS has prepared a regulatory impact review and an Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) that examine the impacts of the
alternatives for adjusting the Purse seine category start date,
establishing a Harpoon category end date, adjusting the General
category end date, and adjusting the retention limit for large medium
BFT in the Harpoon and Purse seine category fisheries on small
entities. The purpose of this proposed action is to ensure the BFT
fishery is managed consistently with the objectives of the HMS FMP and
its implementing regulations, applicable statutes including the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA, and the 1998 ICCAT Rebuilding Plan for
western Atlantic BFT.
The analysis for the IRFA assesses the impacts of the various
alternatives on the vessels that participate in the BFT fisheries, all
of which are considered small entities. Specifically, these issues
affect vessels in three permit categories, namely the Purse seine,
Harpoon, and General categories. The gross revenues for 2002, and
number of vessels to date for 2003 for each category are as follows:
General category, $13.9 million, 6,797 vessels; Purse Seine category,
$3.0 million, 5 vessels; and the Harpoon category, $0.5 million, 59
vessels.
Three alternatives were analyzed for the adjustment of the Purse
seine category start date, including the status quo/no action
alternative of an August 15 start date, the preferred alternative of a
July 15 start date, and the same start date as all other categories -
June 1. These alternatives were evaluated to improve optimum yield and
ex-vessel prices for the Purse seine and General categories while
minimizing negative impacts to other commercial categories,
specifically the Harpoon category. Because of the various factors that
affect ex-vessel prices for BFT (i.e., supply, quality, etc.), the
exact effect of different Purse seine category season start dates on
ex-vessel prices is uncertain. NMFS estimated these impacts by assuming
that the amount of product on the market was the primary factor
affecting ex-vessel prices. Under the no action alternative, both the
General and Purse seine categories appear to be negatively affected by
depressed ex-vessel prices which may result from a mid-season glut of
BFT on the market. However, under this alternative the Harpoon category
benefits with higher ex-vessel prices early in the season before the
Purse seine category commences. Opening the Purse seine category on
June 1 could shift Purse seine category landings to earlier in the year
and result in positive impacts for the Purse seine and General
categories by relieving the mid-season market glut and distributing
landings more uniformly over the fishing year. However, the Harpoon
category could suffer the most negative impacts under this alternative
because of the overall net increase in early season landings resulting
from the overlap with the Purse seine category fishery season. This
overlap would occur during the time period when the Harpoon category
traditionally experiences the best ex-vessel prices and on average
annually lands the bulk (87%) of its product. The preferred alternative
of a July 15 start date appears to minimize the negative impacts on the
Harpoon category by reducing the amount of overlap with the Purse seine
category season relative to Alternative three, while still reducing the
mid-season market glut, which should positively impact Purse Seine and
General category ex-vessel prices. Increase in overlap with the Harpoon
category during the time period when the Harpoon category averages
approximately 26 percent of its gross revenues annually would be
reduced to 30 days. Due to the large amount of landings, gross revenues
and numbers of participants attributed to the Purse seine and General
category commercial BFT sectors, this alternative is expected to
provide the greatest positive impacts to the BFT fishery as a whole,
even though the smaller Harpoon category may experience slightly
negative economic impacts. In addition, it should be noted that any
negative impact to the Harpoon category from the preferred alternative
could be partially mitigated by the preferred alternative for Issue 2,
which would increase the tolerance limit for large medium BFT to two
fish per day, in an effort to improve the ability of the Harpoon
category to catch its annual quota.
Three alternatives were also considered for the Harpoon category
end date. The status quo alternative
[[Page 63750]]
would maintain an open Harpoon category season year round, provided
there is Harpoon category quota available. Alternative two would close
the Harpoon category season on November 15, and alternative three would
establish a flexible season end date based on the actual dates of the
BFT Fall migration. Alternatives two and three were designed to
maintain the Harpoon category quota for the traditional New England
fishery and impact only the Harpoon category vessels. The status quo
alternative is expected to result in negative impacts for the
traditional northern Harpoon category fishery since BFT could be
harvested under the Harpoon category quota in areas outside the New
England area. In addition, the status quo may encourage the development
of, and investment in, a southern area Harpoon category fishery, which
has not yet occurred. The second, and preferred alternative, is
expected to provide positive impacts for the traditional New England
Harpoon category fishery since it would close the fishery near the time
period when BFT would migrate out of the New England area. Negative
impacts to southern area fishermen interested in participating in the
Harpoon category fishery under alternatives two and three are expected
to be negligible since there had been no BFT landings against the
Harpoon category quota prior to 2002, few vessels have participated in
the Harpoon category fishery in the south Atlantic since that time, and
there has been little investment in gear and equipment in a Harpoon
category fishery outside of the New England area. Finally, vessel
owners/operators that fish outside the traditional New England area
that wish to use a harpoon as a primary gear type would still be
allowed to do so under the General category permit, albeit under
General category retention limits and restrictions. The third
alternative could also provide positive impacts to the traditional New
England Harpoon category fishery since it would more closely track the
BFT fall migration, and could eliminate the landing of any BFT under
the Harpoon category quota outside of the area of the traditional
fishery, but could be difficult to administer due to the difficulty in
tracking the BFT migration.
The General category season is scheduled to end on December 31 of
each fishing year or when the General category quota is harvested,
whichever comes first. A winter fishery for large medium and giant BFT
has existed in the south Atlantic since the early 1990s, and when quota
is available, fish have been harvested under the General category. Two
alternatives were considered that both extended the General category
season to provide southern Atlantic fishermen with more access to the
General category BFT quota in the late fall and winter. Alternative two
would move the General category end date to January 31 of each fishing
year. Overall economic impacts of this alternative to the General
category BFT fishery as a whole would be neutral since the same overall
amount of the General category quota would be landed and the value of
the General category quota would not be changed. However, General
category fishermen in the northern region may experience negative
economic and social impacts since any unharvested quota as of December
31 would have been rolled over to the following year under the status
quo alternative. General category fishermen in the southern region
would be positively affected by this alternative as it would allow
utilization of existing investment in gear and equipment especially if
quota was still available for harvest after December 31. Under
Alternative three, extending the General category end date to May 31,
overall impacts would again be neutral, but northern General category
fishermen could be more negatively affected and southern region
fishermen could be more positively affected, depending on the amount of
quota that remains after the season would have usually been closed.
Alternative two was chosen as the preferred alternative since it
minimizes negative impacts to northern area fishermen by providing a
more limited southern fishery extension and provides positive impacts
for southern area fishermen by allowing further utilization of gear and
equipment previously invested in a southern area large medium and giant
BFT fishery. Negative impacts on northern area fishermen could be
slightly mitigated if they are willing to travel south late in the
season, provided there is reciprocity among different states'
permitting costs, and out-of-state fishermen are allowed under a
coastal state's regulations to participate in a BFT commercial fishery,
regardless of whether it occurs in federal or state waters.
As discussed above, the Purse seine and Harpoon categories have
recently experienced difficulties in landing the full annual quota
provided for each of these categories with the result of decreased
annual gross revenues. Each of the alternatives associated with this
issue modify the tolerance limits for large medium BFT and are analyzed
to determine the change in opportunities to harvest the respective
quotas in the designated time frames while balancing any ecological
impacts of changed fishing mortality and potential dead discards. As
NMFS currently has little information on discards for these categories,
each preferred alternative for the Harpoon and Purse seine categories
respectively includes implementation of a previously approved logbook
program and the potential for an observer program.
The status quo alternative has had negative economic impacts with a
resulting decrease in optimum yield on both the Purse seine and Harpoon
categories since they have not been able to land and sell the full
allotted quota. Alternatives two, three, and four, all related solely
to the Purse seine category, were all designed to increase access to
large medium BFT for the Purse Seine category and to increase the
possibility of full quota attainment while balancing the need to
control overall mortality and increased pressure on the large medium
size class of BFT. Alternative two removes the 10% annual tolerance
limit and maintains the 15 percent trip limit which could increase
landings and gross revenue for the Purse seine category. Alternative
three (preferred), which eliminates the trip limit and establishes the
annual limit at 15 percent, would provide access to the same total
amount of landings as Alternative two, but may also increase net
revenues by increasing flexibility in meeting the annual tolerance
limit. Alternative four could provide the greatest increase in access
by decreasing the minimum size to 73 inches (185 cm) for the Purse
Seine category; however, it was not chosen as the preferred alternative
because of the associated potential negative ecological impact of a
relatively large increase in overall BFT mortality with the large
medium size class of BFT.
Alternatives five and six, related solely to the Harpoon category,
were designed to increase access to large medium BFT for the Harpoon
category and, similar to considerations with the Purse seine category,
balance concerns regarding attainment of the quota allocation with an
increase in mortality and negative ecological impacts. Alternative five
would allow an increase in the daily retention limit for the Harpoon
category from the status quo of one large medium BFT per day to two
large medium BFT per day, and is preferred as it is expected to provide
an acceptable balance between positive economic effects and a modest
increase in mortality of large medium BFT due to a harpooner's ability
to determine visually the size class of BFT prior to
[[Page 63751]]
throwing a harpoon. Alternative six would allow full access to the
large medium size class by reducing the minimum size limit for the
Harpoon category to 73 inches (185 cm), and would provide the most
positive economic impacts. However, it was not chosen because of the
potential negative ecological impact of a relatively large increase in
mortality on large medium fish. Finally, alternative seven, unlike all
other alternatives, would eliminate the tolerance for large medium size
class and raise the minimum size of BFT to 81 inches (206 cm) in both
the Purse seine and Harpoon categories. This alternative was considered
due to the potential positive ecological impacts that would increase
support of western Atlantic BFT stock rebuilding, but would likely have
negative economic and social impacts and further impede full attainment
of quota and optimum yield.
This proposed rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
any other Federal rules.
This proposed rule does not contain any new collection of
information, reporting, record keeping, or other compliance
requirements. NMFS intends, under existing regulations, to implement a
vessel logbook program for five Purse seine category vessels that has
previously been approved under OMB collection 0648-0371. As stated
earlier, NMFS is considering a vessel logbook program for the Harpoon
category in the future but is not proposing to implement a Harpoon
vessel logbook program at this time.
NMFS prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for this
proposed rule, and the AA has preliminarily concluded that there would
be no significant impact on the human environment if this proposed rule
were implemented. The EA presents analyses of the anticipated impacts
of these proposed regulations and the alternatives considered. A copy
of the EA and other analytical documents prepared for this proposed
rule, are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
NMFS has also preliminarily determined that these proposed
regulations are consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act as
well as with any International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas Recommendations.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
On September 7, 2000, NMFS reinitiated formal consultation for all
HMS commercial fisheries under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
(ESA). A Biological Opinion (BiOp) issued June 14, 2001, concluded that
continued operation of the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery is likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered and threatened sea
turtle species under NMFS jurisdiction. NMFS is currently implementing
the reasonable and prudent alternative required by the BiOp. This
proposed rule would not have any additional impact on sea turtles as
these actions do not affect the use of pelagic longline gear, would not
likely increase or decrease pelagic longline effort, nor are they
expected to shift effort into other fishing areas. No irreversible or
irretrievable commitments of resources are expected from this proposed
action that would have the effect of foreclosing the implementation of
the requirements of the BiOp.
The area in which this proposed action is planned has been
identified as an Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for species managed by
the New England Fishery Management Council, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the Caribbean Fishery
Management Council, and the HMS Management Division of the Office of
Sustainable Fisheries at NMFS. Based on the 1999 Fishery Management
Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks, which analyzed the
impacts of purse seine, harpoon, and rod and reel gear on EFH, this
action is not anticipated to have any adverse impacts to EFH and,
therefore, no consultation is required.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635
Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Foreign relations,
Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Statistics, Treaties.
Dated: November 3, 2003.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 635 is
proposed to be 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 Sec. 635.23, paragraphs (d) and (e)(1) are revised to read
as follows:
Sec. 635.23 Retention limits for BFT.
* * * * *
(d) Harpoon category. Persons aboard a vessel permitted in the
Atlantic Tunas Harpoon category may retain, possess, or land an
unlimited number of giant BFT per day. An incidental catch of only two
large medium BFT per vessel per day may be retained, possessed, or
landed.
(e) * * *
(1) May retain, possess, land, or sell large medium BFT in amounts
not exceeding 15 percent, by weight, of the total amount of giant BFT
landed during that fishing year.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 635.27, paragraphs (a)(1)(i)(C), (a)(4)(i), and (a)(5)
are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 635.27 Quotas.
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) * * *
(C) October 1 through January 31-10 percent.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(4) * * *
(i) Purse Seine category quota. The total amount of large medium
and giant BFT that may be caught, retained, possessed, or landed by
vessels for which Purse Seine category Atlantic Tunas permits have been
issued is 18.6 percent of the overall U.S. BFT landings quota. The
directed purse seine fishery for BFT commences on July 15 of each year.
* * * * *
(5) Harpoon category quota. The total amount of large medium and
giant BFT that may be caught, retained, possessed, landed, or sold by
vessels for which Harpoon category Atlantic Tunas permits have been
issued is 3.9 percent of the overall U.S. BFT quota. The Harpoon
category fishery closes on November 15 each year.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-28130 Filed 11-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S