[Federal Register: October 3, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 191)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 58287-58289]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03oc06-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[I.D. 092506B]
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 retention limit adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that the daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT)
retention limits for the Atlantic tunas General category should be
adjusted to allow for a reasonable opportunity to
[[Page 58288]]
harvest the General category October through January time-period
subquota. Therefore, NMFS increases the daily BFT retention limits for
October to provide enhanced commercial General category fishing
opportunities in all areas while minimizing the risk of an overharvest
of the General category BFT quota.
DATES: The effective dates for the BFT daily retention limits are
provided in Table 1 under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Murray-Brown, 978-281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implemented under the authority
of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (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. The 2006 BFT fishing year began on June 1, 2006, and ends May
31, 2007. The final initial 2006 BFT specifications and General
category effort controls were published on May 30, 2006 (71 FR 30619).
These final specifications divided the General category quota among
three subperiods (June through August, the month of September, and
October through January) in accordance with the Highly Migratory
Species Fishery Management Plan (1999 FMP) published in 1999 (May 29,
1999; 64 FR 29090), and implementing regulations at Sec. 635.27. A
three-fish General category retention limit was set for the first
subperiod (June through August) due to the large amount of available
quota and the low catch rate at the opening of the season. The three-
fish General category retention limit was extended through the second
subperiod (September) as catch rates remained low to provide enhanced
fishing opportunities while minimizing the risk of exceeding available
quota (71 FR 51529, August 30, 2006).
Daily Retention Limits
Pursuant to this action and the final initial 2006 BFT
specifications, noted above, the daily BFT retention limits for
Atlantic tunas General category are as follows:
Table 1. Effective dates for retention limit adjustments
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BFT Size Class
Permit Category Effective Dates Areas Limit
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General September 1, 2006, All Three BFT per
through September vessel per day/
30, 2006, trip, measuring 73
inclusive inches (185 cm)
curved fork length
(CFL) or larger
---------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2006, All Three BFT per
through October vessel per day/
31, 2006, trip, measuring 73
inclusive inches (185 cm)
curved fork length
(CFL) or larger
---------------------------------------------------
November 1, 2006, All One BFT per vessel
through January per day/trip,
31, 2007, measuring 73
inclusive inches (185 cm)
CFL or larger
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjustment of General Category Daily Retention Limits
Under Sec. 635.23(a)(4), NMFS may increase or decrease the General
category daily retention limit of large medium and giant BFT over a
range from zero (on Restricted Fishing Days) to a maximum of three per
vessel to allow for a reasonable opportunity to harvest the quota for
BFT. As part of the final specifications on May 30, 2006 (71 FR 30619),
NMFS adjusted the commercial daily BFT retention limit, in all areas,
for those vessels fishing under the General category quota, to three
large medium or giant BFT, measuring 73 inches (185 cm) or greater
curved fork length (CFL), per vessel per day/trip. This retention limit
was to remain in effect through August 31, 2006, inclusive, but on
August 30, 2006, was extended through September (71 FR 51529). From
October 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007, inclusive, the General
category daily BFT retention limit was scheduled to revert to one large
medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip.
The June through September time-period subquota allocations for the
2006 fishing year totaled approximately 1,038 metric tons (mt). As of
September 15, 2006, 75.8 mt have been landed in the General category
and catch rates are less than 1.0 mt per day. If catch rates remain at
current levels, approximately 11 mt would be landed during the
remainder of September. This projection would bring the June though
September time-period subquota landings to approximately 88.4 mt,
resulting in an underharvest of approximately 951 mt. This carryover
combined with the October through January time-period subquota
allocation of 115.3 mt would allow for 1,066 mt to be harvested during
the months of October through January. In combination with the subquota
rollover from the June through August time-period, the expected
rollover from September time-period subquota allocation, and the
October through January subquota allocation, current catch rates, and
the daily retention limit reverting to one large medium or giant BFT
per vessel per day on October 1, 2006, NMFS anticipates the full
October through January time-period subquota will not be harvested.
Adding an excessive amount of unused quota from one time-period
subquota to the subsequent time period subquota is undesirable because
it effectively changes the time-period subquota allocation percentages
established in the 1999 FMP and may contribute to excessive carry-overs
to subsequent fishing years. In the past, however the fishery has had
the capability of increasing landings rates dramatically in the latter
Fall and Winter months, particularly off southern states. If the
fishery was to perform at these past levels with very high landings
rates (although not witnessed during the winter of 2005/2006) it would
alleviate concern of excessive roll-overs from one fishing year to the
next but raises the possibility of a curtailed season without full
extension of fishing opportunities through January.
Therefore, based on a review of dealer reports, daily landing
trends, available quota, and the availability of BFT on the fishing
grounds, NMFS has determined that an increase in the General category
daily BFT retention limit effective from October 1, 2006, through
October 31, 2006, inclusive, is warranted. Thus, the General category
daily retention limit of three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per
day/trip (see Table 1) is extended through October 31, 2006. From
November 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007, inclusive, the General
category default daily BFT retention limit will be one large medium or
giant
[[Page 58289]]
BFT per vessel per day/trip. NMFS anticipates that with a combination
of the default retention limit starting on November 1, 2006, and the
large amount of General category quota available, there will be
sufficient quota for the coastwide General category season to extend
into the winter months and allow for a southern Atlantic fishery to
take place on an order of magnitude of prior years with minimal risk of
landings exceeding available quota. However, to reduce the risks of
excessive landings rates throughout the winter, NMFS has determined it
necessary to only extend the three BFT daily retention limit for the
one month of October and will re-examine the need to further extend the
increased bag limit prior to November 1 based on landings rates and
other fishery information. In addition, one of the preferred
alternatives in the final Consolidated Highly Migratory Species FMP
(July 14, 2006, 71 FR 40095), would formally allocate General category
sub-quota to the December and January individual time-frames to provide
for a late-season south Atlantic fishery.
This adjustment is intended to provide a reasonable opportunity to
harvest the U.S. landings quota of BFT while maintaining an equitable
distribution of fishing opportunities, to help achieve optimum yield in
the General category BFT fishery, to collect a broad range of data for
stock monitoring purposes, and to be consistent with the objectives of
the 1999 FMP.
Monitoring and Reporting
NMFS selected the daily retention limits and their duration after
examining current and previous fishing year catch and effort rates,
taking into consideration public comment on the annual specifications
and inseason management measures for the General category received
during the 2006 BFT quota specifications rulemaking process, and
analyzing the available quota for the 2006 fishing year. NMFS will
continue to monitor the BFT fishery closely through dealer landing
reports, the Automated Landings Reporting System, state harvest tagging
programs in North Carolina and Maryland, and the Large Pelagics Survey.
Depending on the level of fishing effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS
may determine that additional retention limit adjustments are necessary
to ensure available quota is not exceeded or, to enhance scientific
data collection from, and fishing opportunities in, all geographic
areas.
Closures or subsequent adjustments to the daily retention limits,
if any, will be published in the Federal Register. In addition,
fishermen may call the Atlantic Tunas Information Line at (888) 872-
8862 or (978) 281-9260, or access the internet at http://www.hmspermits.gov,
for updates on quota monitoring and retention limit 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:
NMFS has recently become aware of increased availability of large
medium and giant BFT off southern New England fishing grounds from
fishing reports and landings data from dealers. This increase in
abundance provides the potential to increase General category landings
rates for a late season, southern New England fishery if participants
are authorized to harvest three large medium or giant BFT per day.
Although landings to date have been low (i.e. less than one mt/day)
there is the potential for increased availability of BFT off the
southern New England coast during the Fall to allow for an increase in
fishery landing rates. The regulations implementing the 1999 FMP
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. Adjustment of retention limits is also necessary to avoid
excessive quota rollovers to subsequent General category time-period
subquotas. Affording prior notice and opportunity for public comment to
implement these retention limits is impracticable as it would preclude
NMFS from acting promptly to allow harvest of BFT that are still
available on southern New England fishing grounds. Analysis of
available data shows that the General category BFT retention limit may
be increased for the Atlantic tuna General and HMS Charter/Headboat
permit holders with minimal risks of exceeding the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas allocated quota.
Delays in increasing the retention limits would be contrary to the
public interest. Limited opportunities to harvest the respective quotas
may have negative social and economic impacts to U.S. fishermen that
either depend on catching the available quota within the time-periods
designated in the 1999 FMP, or depend on multiple BFT retention limits
to attract individuals to book charters. For both the General and the
HMS Charter/Headboat sectors, the retention limits must be adjusted as
expeditiously as possible so the impacted sectors can benefit from the
adjustment.
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, and because this action relieves a restriction
(i.e., current default retention limit is one fish per vessel/trip but
this action increases that limit and allows retention of more fish),
there is also 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 635.23(a)(4) and is exempt
from review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 27, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 06-8435 Filed 9-28-06; 2:57 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S