View Rule

This rule would implement the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commissions Resolution requiring that the United States restrict the catch of bigeye tuna in the longline fishery, and the effort in the purse seine fishery in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in each of the years 2014, 2015, and 2016 to prevent overfishing of bigeye and yellowfin tuna. Overall, the expected impacts on bigeye tuna and other living marine resources from this action are expected to be beneficial, because they would implement a landings limit on bigeye tuna and purse seine closure periods where they currently do not exist. This action is likely to have negligible economic impacts because: (i) the longline fishery based out of Hawaii operates primarily outside the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Convention Area, (ii) based on historical data, NMFS predicts the 500-mt quota on bigeye tuna is not likely to be reached; and (iii) as for the purse seine closure, currently only five U.S. vessels of class 4 or greater fish in the Convention Area, all of which are capable of fishing outside of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Convention Area.