Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 2013 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota Specifications

NMFS establishes 2013 quota specifications for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) fishery and closes the incidental Longline category northern and southern area fisheries for large medium and giant BFT for the remainder of 2013. These actions are necessary to implement binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as required by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA), and to achieve domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act). Under the closure, fishing for, retaining, possessing, or landing BFT in the Longline category northern and southern areas is prohibited for the remainder of 2013. The Longline fishery in the Northeast Distant gear restricted area (NED) remains open at this time. The closure is necessary to prevent overharvest of the adjusted Longline category subquotas as finalized in this action.