Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fisheries; Regulatory Adjustments

NMFS is amending the final consolidated regulations governing the Atlantic HMS fisheries to clarify the applicability of recreational retention limits to persons aboard charter/headboat vessels; to set Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quotas for the period beginning January 1, 1999, and ending May 31, 1999; to clarify the requirements for embarking observers aboard shark gillnet vessels; to reestablish certain enforcement provisions inadvertently edited from the consolidated HMS regulations; to clarify transfer provisions for limited access permits; to correct the baseline reference point for limited access fishery vessel upgrades; to clarify references to the management unit and jurisdictional areas for species under regulation by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT); to correct the effective dates of the restriction on length of pelagic longlines; to correct cross references; and to remove the interim provisions that were not intended to remain in effect beyond June 30, 1999.