Final Environmental Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for the 2022 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna and Northern Albacore Quota Rule

This proposed action is 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). This action would increase the baseline annual U.S. bluefin tuna quota from the 1,247.86 mt level established via a 2018 quota rule to 1,316.14 mt, the level recommended for 2022 by ICCAT at its 2021 annual meeting. The ICCAT-recommended bluefin tuna quota proposed in this action would be divided among the established regulatory domestic bluefin tuna subquota categories. This action also would modify the baseline annual U.S. northern albacore quota from the 632.4-mt level established in the 2018 quota rule to a flexible baseline quota with a maximum of 950 mt based on the northern albacore management program. For 2022, the annual quota would be 711.5 mt.