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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
This retention limit adjustment is effective on August 24, 2021, through December 31, 2021, or until NMFS
announces via a notification in the Federal Register another adjustment to the retention limit or a fishery closure, if warranted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lauren Latchford at 3014278503;
lauren.latchford@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fishery is managed under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.. The 2006
Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species HMS Fishery Management Plan FMP and its amendments are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR
part 635. The retention limits and inseason adjustment criteria for sharks are described in 635.24a. The commercial shark quotas, including the regional and sub-regional definitions, are described in section 635.27b.
The Atlantic shark fishery has separate regional Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic quotas for all management groups except those for blue shark, porbeagle shark, pelagic sharks other than porbeagle or blue sharks, and the shark research fishery. The boundary between the Gulf of Mexico region and the Atlantic region is defined at 635.27b1 as a line beginning on the East Coast of Florida at the mainland at 2520.4 N lat., proceeding due east.
Any water and land to the south of that boundary is considered, for the purposes of setting and monitoring quotas, to be within the Gulf of Mexico region. This inseason action affects the aggregated LCS, hammerhead, and blacktip shark management groups in the Gulf of Mexico region.
Under 635.24a8, NMFS may adjust the commercial retention limits in the shark fishery during the fishing season. Before making any adjustment, NMFS must consider specified regulatory criteria see 635.24a8i through vi. After considering these criteria as discussed below, NMFS has concluded that increasing the retention limit in the Gulf of Mexico region will allow use of available quotas for those groups. Therefore, NMFS is increasing retention limits for directed shark limited access permit holders from 45 to 55 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip in the Gulf of Mexico region. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region, this applies to any shark in the aggregated LCS, hammerhead, or blacktip management groups. In the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region, because aggregated LCS and hammerhead management groups are
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closed, this increase only applies to the blacktip management group.
NMFS considered the inseason retention limit adjustment criteria listed at 635.24a8i through vi, which include:
The amount of remaining shark quota in the relevant region.
Based on dealer reports through July 9, 2021, approximately 45 percent of the 85.5-metric tons mt dressed weight dw quota for aggregated LCS and approximately 42 percent of the 13.4-mt dw quota for the hammerhead shark management group have been harvested in the eastern Gulf of Mexico subregion. In addition, based on dealer reports through July 9, 2021, approximately 23 percent of the 37.7-mt dw quota for the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region blacktip and approximately 61 percent of the 347.2-mt dw quota for the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region blacktip have been harvested. NMFS is increasing the retention limit to 55 LCS
other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip in the Gulf of Mexico region to facilitate the use of available quota.
The catch rates in the relevant region.
Based on the current dealer reports, the average daily catch rates of landings in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region for species in the aggregated LCS, hammerhead, and blacktip shark management groups, and the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region for the blacktip shark management group are low. Using 2021 catch rates through July 9, 2021, and comparing to catch rates from previous years, projections indicate that landings would not reach the quota before the end of 2021. A
higher retention limit authorized under this action will provide increased fishing opportunities and facilitate use of available quota in the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico sub-regions.
The estimated date of fishery closure based on projections.
If landings of either the aggregated LCS or hammerhead shark management groups reach 80 percent of their respective quotas, and those landings are projected to reach 100 percent of the quota by the end of the year, NMFS
would, as required by the regulations at 635.28b3, close the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-regional aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark management groups since they are linked quotas. The blacktip shark quotas in the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico sub-regions are not linked to the aggregated LCS or hammerhead shark sub-regional quotas.
If blacktip shark landings reach, or are projected to reach a threshold of 80
percent of the available quota and are projected to reach 100 percent before
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the end of the fishing season, NMFS
would close blacktip sharks, consistent with existing regulations. Current overall regional catch rates for aggregated LCS and, hammerhead shark management groups in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region, and blacktip sharks in the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico sub-regions indicate all management groups would likely remain open for the remainder of the year. The higher retention limit should increase the likelihood of full utilization of the respective quotas, while also allowing these management groups to remain open for the remainder of the year.
The effects of the adjustment on accomplishing the objectives of the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and its amendments.
Increasing the retention limit for the aggregated LCS and hammerhead management groups in the Gulf of Mexico region from 45 to 55 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip would continue to allow for fishing opportunities throughout the remainder of the year consistent with objectives established in the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and would manage these groups within previously-established, science-based quotas, consistent with requirements in relation to preventing overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks.
The variations in seasonal distribution, abundance, or migratory patterns of the relevant shark species.
The directed shark fishery in the Gulf of Mexico region is composed of a mix of species, with a high abundance and distribution of aggregated LCS caught in conjunction with hammerhead and blacktip sharks. As a result, by increasing the harvest and landings on a per-trip basis, fishermen throughout the Gulf of Mexico region will likely experience equitable fishing opportunities and have a chance to fully utilize the available quotas.
The effects of catch rates in one part of a region precluding vessels in another part of that region from having a reasonable opportunity to harvest a portion of the relevant quota.
One of NMFSs goals for the 2021
commercial shark fishery is to facilitate fishing opportunities throughout the fishing season in the Gulf of Mexico region. While dealer reports indicate that, under current catch rates, the aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark management groups in the eastern Gulf of Mexico region and blacktip sharks in the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico sub-regions would remain open for the remainder of the year, the catch rates also indicate that the quotas would
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