Atlantic Tuna Fisheries

摘要

The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) issues this proposed rule governing the Atlantic bluefin tuna (bluefin) fisheries to: Establish fishing category quota allocations for the 1994 fishing season; amend the specified amount of other species to be landed as a condition for landing an incidental bycatch of bluefin in the southern longline fishery; adjust the line that separates the northern and southern regulatory areas for vessels using longline gear and possessing an Incidental Catch permit for bluefin; make technical corrections to clarify the regulatory text; and request comments on the use of curved length measurements to identify bluefin size classes and on additional means to provide notice of fishery closures. This action is necessary to implement the recently adopted quota recommendation of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), to improve management and monitoring of the U.S. bluefin fisheries, to facilitate enforcement, and to enhance collection of data to improve assessment of the impacts of the fisheries.