Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 1999 Quota and Effort Control Specifications

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 285 and 635

[Docket No. 990217050-9147-02; I.D. 010799A]

RIN 0648-AM17

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries; Atlantic

Bluefin Tuna 1999 Quota and Effort Control Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final specifications.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces specifications to set the 1999 Atlantic bluefin

tuna (BFT) fishing category quotas and General category effort

controls. These specifications are necessary to implement the 1998

recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act

(ATCA) and to achieve domestic management objectives.

DATES: The final specifications are effective June 1, 1999, through May

31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the Fishery

Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (HMS FMP),

are available from the Highly Migratory Species Management Division,

NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA

01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale or Sarah McLaughlin at

978-281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic tunas are managed under the dual

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and ATCA. The authority to issue regulations

has been delegated from the Secretary to the Assistant Administrator

for Fisheries, NOAA (AA). Within NMFS, daily responsibility for

management of Atlantic HMS fisheries rests with the Office of

Sustainable Fisheries, and is administered by the HMS Management

Division.

ICCAT has identified the western stock of Atlantic BFT as

overexploited and has recommended fishing quotas for the contracting

parties. Based on the 1998 revised stock assessment, parties at the

1998 meeting of ICCAT adopted a 20-year west Atlantic BFT rebuilding

program, beginning in 1999 and continuing through 2018. ICCAT has

adopted an annual total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,500 metric tons

whole weight (mt ww) of west Atlantic BFT inclusive of dead discards,

to be applied annually until such time as the TAC is changed based on

advice from the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics. Given

the new stock assessment and rebuilding schedule, the annual landing

quota allocated to the United States was increased by 43 mt ww to 1,387

mt ww.

Background information and rationale for these specifications were

provided in the Bluefin Tuna Addendum to the draft HMS FMP and the

final HMS FMP, and are not repeated here. The quota specifications

allocate the landings quota among the several established fishing

categories. The specifications are issued pursuant to interim

provisions of Sec. 635.25(c) of the consolidated HMS regulations (64 FR

29090, May 28, 1999) until June 30, 1999, and thereafter through May

31, 2000, pursuant to Sec. 635.27(a) of the Atlantic HMS regulations.

The General category effort controls are issued pursuant to Sec. 285.24

of the Atlantic tunas regulations until June 30, 1999, and thereafter

through May 31, 2000, pursuant to Sec. 635.23(a) of the Atlantic HMS

regulations.

Changes From the Proposed Specifications

Based on consideration of comments received during the comment

period, NMFS has added 1 day per week (Mondays) to the proposed

schedule of restricted fishing days (RFDs) in order to extend the

General category fishery season.

Fishing Category Quotas

U.S. domestic quota allocations are based on the same percentages

as the 1997 allocations, except that the Purse

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Seine category is capped at its 1997/1998 quota of 250 mt ww. Based on

these percentages, and quota adjustments based on overharvests or

underharvests in the Angling, General, and Purse Seine categories in

1998, the adjusted quotas for the 1999 fishing year are as follows: 261

mt ww for the Angling category, including 99 mt ww for the school BFT

subquota; 654 mt ww for the General category; 54 mt ww for the Harpoon

category; 113 mt ww for the Longline category; 1 mt ww for the Trap

category; 252 mt ww for the Purse Seine category; and 43 mt ww for the

Reserve.

The Angling category quota is subdivided as follows: School BFT--99

mt ww, with 43 mt ww to the northern area, 38 mt ww to the southern

area, and 18 mt ww held in reserve; large school/small medium BFT --

156 mt ww, with 83 mt ww to the northern area and 73 mt ww to the

southern area; large medium/giant BFT -- 6 mt ww, with 2 mt ww to the

northern area and 4 mt ww to the southern area.

The Longline category is subdivided as follows: 89 mt ww to

longline vessels operating south of 34 deg. N, and 24 mt ww to longline

vessels operating north of 34 deg. N.

For 1999, NMFS implements General category quota subdivisions as

established for 1998, as follows: 60 percent for June-August, 30

percent for September, and 10 percent for October-December. Given the

carryover quota for the General category (1 mt ww), adjustments are

necessary to allocate the carryover across the established subperiods.

These percentages are applied only to the coastwide baseline quota for

the General category of 644 mt ww, with the remaining 10 mt ww reserved

for the New York Bight fishery. Thus, of the 644 mt ww baseline General

category quota, 387 mt ww will be available in the period beginning

June 1 and ending August 31, 193 mt ww will be available in the period

beginning September 1 and ending September 30, and 64 mt ww will be

available in the period beginning October 1 and ending December 31.

The New York Bight set-aside area is the area comprising the waters

south and west of a straight line originating at a point on the

southern shore of Long Island at 72 deg.27' W (Shinnecock Inlet) and

running SSE 150 deg. true, and north of 38 deg.47' N. When the

coastwide General category fishery has been closed in any quota period,

NMFS may publish notification in the Federal Register to make available

up to 10 mt ww of the quota set aside for the New York Bight area. The

daily catch limit for the set-aside area will be one large medium or

giant BFT per vessel per day. Upon the effective date of the set-aside

fishery, fishing for, retaining, or landing large medium or giant BFT

is authorized only within the set-aside area. Any portion of the set-

aside amount not harvested prior to the reopening of the coastwide

General category fishery in the subsequent quota period may be carried

over for the purpose of renewing the set-aside fishery at a later date.

Attainment of the subquota in any quota period will result in a

closure until the beginning of the following quota period. The subquota

for the following quota period will be adjusted by any underharvest or

overharvest in the previous quota period. Announcements of closures

will be filed for publication with the Office of the Federal Register,

stating the effective date of closure, and will be disseminated by the

Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fax Network, the Atlantic Tunas

Information Line, NOAA weather radio, and Coast Guard Notice to

Mariners. Although notification of closure will be provided as far in

advance as possible, fishermen are encouraged to call the Atlantic

Tunas Information Line (978-281-9305 or 888-USA-TUNA) to check the

status of the fishery before leaving for a fishing trip.

Restricted-Fishing Days

Persons aboard vessels permitted in the General category are

prohibited from fishing (including tag and release fishing) for BFT of

all sizes on the following days in 1999: July 7, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19,

21, 25, 26, and 28; August 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 22,

23, 25, 29, and 30; September 1, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22, 26,

27 and 29; and October 1. Persons aboard vessels permitted in the

Atlantic Tunas Charter/Headboat category are prohibited from fishing

for large medium and giant BFT under the General category quota on the

indicated RFDs. These RFDs will improve distribution of fishing

opportunities without increasing BFT mortality.

Comments and Responses

NMFS received numerous comments regarding BFT quota allocation and

General category effort controls. NMFS addressed quota allocation

comments in the final rule to implement the HMS FMP.

General Category Quota Subdivision

Comment: NMFS received some comments in support of the status quo

General category time-period subquotas (three periods), and some

suggesting alternate schedules, including: NMFS should implement two

General category time-period subquotas (e.g., for June through

September and October through December) since prices are higher in

August than September, and in order to avoid derby conditions in

October.

Response: NMFS has considered these comments and believes that a

General category season divided into three time-period subquotas, as

proposed, best meets the concerns of the fishing industry, as well as

the fishery management objective of maximizing fishing opportunities. A

season divided into two time-period subquotas as some suggested (June

through September and October through December) could result in the

General category fishery being closed for the entire month of

September. This would reduce fishing opportunities, as the fishery

would be closed during a time when bluefin tuna are available

throughout New England. In addition, catch per unit effort (CPUE)

information has traditionally been collected from the General category

fishery during September, and if the fishery were to be closed during

this time period, the continuous time-series of CPUE data could be

lost.

Restricted-fishing days

Comment: NMFS received numerous comments regarding RFDs, some of

which support the status quo, some of which oppose RFDs altogether, and

some suggesting alternate schedules, including: in order to extend the

General category season, NMFS should implement more RFDs than proposed,

e.g., 3 days or more per week (Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or

Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays) in addition to the days that

correspond to Japanese market closures, and should begin the schedule

of RFDs for 1999 in early July.

Response: NMFS has considered these comments and agrees additional

General category RFDs may increase the likelihood that fishing would

continue throughout the summer and fall, and would further distribute

fishing opportunities without increasing bluefin mortality. NMFS has

added Mondays to the schedule of RFDs.

Classification

These final specifications are published under the authority of the

Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., and the Atlantic Tunas

Convention Act, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. The AA has determined that these

specifications are necessary to implement the recommendations of ICCAT

and are necessary for the management of the Atlantic tuna fisheries.

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce

certified

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to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration

that the proposed specifications would not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small entities. No comments were

received that would alter the basis for this determination. Given the

certification, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis was not

prepared for the proposed specifications. However, irrespective of the

certification, a final regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared for

the HMS FMP, which also contains an analysis of General category effort

controls. A summary of that analysis may be found in the HMS FMP

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

These quota and effort control specifications impose no

requirements with which fishermen will have to come into compliance,

and are necessary to help ensure that the U.S. actions are consistent

with its international obligations at ICCAT. Therefore, NMFS has

determined that there is good cause to waive partially the 30-day delay

in the effective date normally required by 5 U.S.C. 553(d). NMFS will

rapidly communicate these final specifications through the FAX network.

These final specifications have been determined to be not

significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Dated: May 28, 1999.

William W. Fox,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries

Service.

[FR Doc. 99-14054 Filed 5-28-99; 4:31 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F