Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; General Category December Quota Transfer

NMFS is transferring a total of 57.5 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from both the Reserve category and the Harpoon category to the General category for the remainder of the 2022 fishing year. With this transfer, the adjusted General category December subquota, Reserve category quota, and Harpoon category quota will be 50.1 mt, 6 mt, and 76.4 mt respectively. This action accounts for the accrued overharvest from previous 2022 General category time period subquotas, and will further opportunities for General category fishermen to participate in the December General category fishery, based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments. This action would affect Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.