Notice2021-15725
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
July 23, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application submitted by Nordic, Inc. in partnership with the Coonamessett Farm Foundation contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 139 (Friday, July 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38990-38991]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15725]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB253]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary
determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application submitted by
Nordic, Inc. in partnership with the Coonamessett Farm Foundation
contains all of the required information and warrants further
consideration. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act require publication of this
notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment
on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
[[Page 38991]]
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0866656e7b266f697a266d6e784866676969266f677e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="234d4e45500d4442510d464553634d4c42420d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``Nordic Scallop Transplanting EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f18299909f9f9099df9b90938483949ab19f9e9090df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7c0f141d12121d1452161d1e090e19173c12131d1d521b130a">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Nordic, Inc. submitted a complete
application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial
fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict. This
EFP would exempt the participating vessels from: Day-at-sea
requirements at 50 CFR 648.53; crew size restrictions at Sec.
648.51(c); scallop fishing restrictions in the Nantucket Lightship
Closed Area--South at Sec. 648.60(g); scallop trawl restrictions at
Sec. 648.51(a)(1) and (f); scallop dredge restrictions at Sec.
648.51(b)(2) and (b)(3); and minimum size and possession restrictions
for onboard sampling and scallop transplanting in Sec. 648 subparts B
and D through O.
Nordic, Inc., Eastern Fisheries, Quinn Fisheries, and Fulcher
Trawling applied for an EFP on April 22, 2021, to work with the
Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) on a scallop transplanting study.
This project would continue previous scallop transplanting work done by
CFF and investigate the feasibility of using scallop transplanting to
increase scallop growth by moving them from deep, scallop dense areas
to shallower, less populated areas.
The proposed EFP would allow Nordic, Inc. and CFF to transplant
750,000 scallops in the Nantucket Lightship Access Area-South with
trawls and a dredge. A subsample of the catch would be tagged (i.e.,
10,000 scallops), along with a subsample of previously transplanted
scallops caught in the proposed research area. Transplanting work would
begin when an EFP is issued, and monitoring of the harvest and
transplant areas would occur during scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA)
funded surveys conducted by CFF, the Virginia Institute of Technology,
and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth School of Marine
Science and Technology.
CFF would provide scientific staff to oversee transplant
operations, tag scallops, and collect data during field operations.
Scallops would be harvested by a commercial scalloping vessel that
already preformed transplanting operations. Four vessels would harvest
scallops with a two-panel box net towed between 2.5 and 3.5 knots (4.6
and 6.5 km per hour) for 10 minutes per tow. These vessels would steam
to the transplant area with the trawl doors closed and the net
remaining in the water. One vessel would harvest scallops by towing
two, 4.57-meter wide New Bedford style dredges for 10 minutes per tow.
No catch will be landed for sale.
Once catch is brought on board, it would be sorted by size, marked,
and stored in cooled fish totes. A subsample of scallops would be
tagged with disc tags. Tagging would occur between dusk and dawn to
minimize mortality. Scallops would be released overboard at the
transplanting area.
If approved, the applicant may request minor modifications and
extensions to the EFP throughout the year. EFP modifications and
extensions may be granted without further notice if they are deemed
essential to facilitate completion of the proposed research and have
minimal impacts that do not change the scope or impact of the initially
approved EFP request. Any fishing activity conducted outside the scope
of the exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 20, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-15725 Filed 7-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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