Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Adjustments to the 2024 North Atlantic Albacore Tuna, North and South Atlantic Swordfish, and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Reserve Category Quotas

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Atlantic HMS northern albacore, swordfish, and bluefin tuna fisheries, are managed under the authority of ATCA (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The HMS FMP and its amendments are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. Section 635.27(a) implements the ICCAT-recommended quota and describes the annual quota adjustment process for bluefin tuna. Section 635.27(c) implements the ICCAT-recommended quotas and describes the quota adjustment process for both North and South Atlantic swordfish. Section 635.27(e) implements the northern albacore annual quota recommended by ICCAT and describes the annual northern albacore quota adjustment process. NMFS is required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to provide U.S. fishing vessels with a reasonable opportunity to harvest quotas under relevant international fishery agreements such as the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which is implemented domestically pursuant to ATCA.

Note that, consistent with how the quotas are established, weight information for northern albacore and bluefin tuna below is shown in metric tons (mt) whole weight (ww), and weight information for swordfish is shown in both dressed weight (dw) and ww.

Northern Albacore Annual Quota and Adjustment Process

As described below, in accordance with the recent ICCAT Recommendation 23-05, this final rule sets the U.S. allocation and annual baseline quota for northern albacore at 889.4 mt NOAA conducted the analysis supporting this rule and described the findings in the Environmental Assessment (EA). This final rule further adjusts that baseline quota to 1,067.3 mt for 2024 based on an underharvest of the 2023 adjusted quota.

At its 2021 annual meeting, under Recommendation 21-04, ICCAT adopted a management procedure for northern albacore. The management procedure was domestically implemented via a 2022 final rule (87 FR 33049, June 1, 2022). At that time, NMFS considered different quota alternatives in an environmental assessment (EA). NOAA analyzed the effects of the maximum possible quota pursuant to the northern albacore management procedure in the EA, and the preferred alternative was selected based on that analysis. In other words, NOAA analyzed and preferred an alternative in the EA where the maximum annual baseline quota could be up to 950 mt if adopted by ICCAT through application of the management procedure within Recommendation 21-04. Additionally, the 2022 final rule that NMFS would implement any new annual baseline quotas through final rulemaking, assuming no new management measures are adopted or other relevant changes in circumstances occur; that NMFS annually would provide notice to the public in the Federal Register of the baseline northern albacore quota with any annual adjustments as allowable for over- and underharvest, as appropriate; and that NMFS would evaluate the need for any additional environmental analyses or for proposed and final rulemaking when a new quota is adopted by ICCAT and then implemented by NMFS. Because the U.S northern albacore allocation under Recommendation 23-05 is within the range analyzed in the 2022 EA, and because there are no new management measures other than the change in the baseline quota, this action is consistent with the 2022 final rule. Therefore, NMFS is proceeding directly to a final rule to implement this change in annual baseline quota.

Consistent with the northern albacore quota regulations at § 635.27(e), in this final rule and temporary quota adjustment, NMFS adjusts the U.S. annual northern albacore quota for allowable underharvest in the previous year. NMFS makes such adjustments consistent with ICCAT carryover limits, and when complete catch information for the prior year is available and finalized. The maximum underharvest that an ICCAT Contracting Party may carry forward from one year to the next is 25 percent of its baseline quota, which, for the 2023 baseline quota (711.5 mt), was 177.9 mt for the United States. For 2023, the adjusted quota was 889.4 mt (711.5 mt plus 177.9 mt of 2022 underharvest). In 2023, U.S. landings of northern albacore were 180.5 mt, which is an underharvest of 708.9 mt of the 2023 adjusted quota. This underharvest exceeds the 177.9-mt underharvest carryover limit allowed under Recommendation 21-04, which applied for 2023; therefore, only 177.9 mt may be carried forward to the 2024 fishing year. Thus, the adjusted 2024 northern albacore quota will be 1,067.3 mt (889.4 mt plus 177.9 mt underharvest) (table 1).