NMFS amends the regulations governing the Atlantic bluefin tuna fisheries to establish, for 1999 only, a deadline of 4:00 P.M. on June 11 for requesting Atlantic Tunas permit category changes. NMFS had previously suspended the normally applicable deadline of May 15 to provide vessel owners the opportunity to consider category changes after publication of a final rule to implement the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS FMP) and the final 1999 bluefin tuna (BFT) quota specifications and after publication of a proposed rule on the use of spotter aircraft since these actions could affect the allowable operations of several fishing categories. Now that the final rule and quota specifications have been issued and the proposed spotter aircraft rule has been published, vessel owners are able to make an informed choice of fishing category.