Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; North and South Atlantic Swordfish Quotas

This final rule adjusts the North and South Atlantic swordfish quotas for the 2010 fishing year (January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010) to account for 2009 underharvest and implement International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Recommendations 09-02 and 09-03, which maintain the U.S. allocation of the international total allowable catch (TAC). This rule could affect commercial and recreational fishing for swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, by establishing annual quotas, although generally the levels of fishing effort and quota are expected to be similar to those previously published for the years 2008 through 2010.