Notice2022-02839
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
February 10, 2022
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 (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted by the applicant. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7822-7823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02839]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB789]
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management 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 (EFP) application
contains all of the required information and warrants further
consideration. The EFP would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish
outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted by the
applicant. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act require publication of this notification to provide
interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for
proposed EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cea0a3a8bde0a9afbce0aba8be8ea0a1afafe0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7816151e0b561f190a561d1e083816171919561f170e">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``CFRF Ventless Trap EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bef2dfcbccdf90fadbd7d9d6dfd0fed0d1dfdf90d9d1c8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6a260b1f180b442e0f030d020b042a04050b0b440d051c">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
submitted a complete application for an EFP to conduct commercial
fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict to
continue to provide distribution, abundance, and biological data on
juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs from times and areas with low
coverage from traditional surveys. This EFP would exempt the
participating vessels from the following Federal regulations:
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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Citation Regulation Need for exemption
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50 CFR 697.21(c)..................... Gear specification requirements.. To allow for closed escape vents and
smaller trap mesh and entrance heads.
Sec. 697.19........................ Trap limit requirements.......... To allow for three additional traps
per fishing vessel for a total of up
to 66 additional traps.
Sec. 697.19(j)..................... Trap tag requirements............ To allow for the use of untagged traps
(though each modified trap will have
the participating fisherman's
identification attached).
Sec. 697.20(a), (d), (g), and Possession restrictions.......... To allow for onboard biological
(h)(1) and (2). sampling of undersized, v-notched,
and egg-bearing lobsters and
undersized and egg-bearing Jonah
crabs and retention of up to 300
legal and sublegal Jonah crabs per
month for a molting study.
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This project is a continuation of ongoing effort to collect data on
juvenile lobster and Jonah crab abundance and distribution in areas and
times of year with low or no coverage by traditional surveys. To date,
this project has collected data from over 175,000 lobsters and 105,000
Jonah crabs. The current EFP will expire April 5, 2022;
[[Page 7823]]
this EFP would cover a study period of April 1, 2022, through June 30,
2023.
The project includes 4 inshore vessels (Lobster Management Area 2)
and 16 offshore vessels (Lobster Management Areas 1, 3, and 4). Each
vessel would fish with 3 modified, ventless traps designed to capture
juvenile lobsters, totaling 60 modified traps. The project team hopes
to add 2 additional offshore vessels (Lobster Management Areas 1, 3, 4,
and/or 5) in 2022, which would increase the total to 66 traps. The
modified traps would adhere to the standard coast-wide survey gear for
lobster and Jonah crab set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission and would be fished within standard Atlantic Large Whale-
compliant trawls. The traps would remain in the water up to 12 months
and be hauled every 7 days by the inshore vessels and every 10 days by
the offshore vessels.
This study would take place during the regular fishing activity of
the participating vessels, but catch from modified traps would remain
separate from that of standard gear. Operators would collect data on
size, sex, presence of eggs, and shell hardness for lobsters and Jonah
crabs and v-notch and shell disease for lobsters. In addition to
onboard sampling, three inshore and three offshore vessels would retain
up to 50 Jonah crabs per month each, for a total of up to 300 crabs per
month, for a molting study. Operators would return all other specimens
from modified gear to the ocean once sampling is complete.
The study is designed to inform management by addressing questions
of changing reproduction and recruitment dynamics of lobster and
develop a foundation of knowledge for the data-deficient Jonah crab
fishery. The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation would share data
with the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program, the Northeast
Fisheries Science Center, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission, and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
every 6 months.
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: February 7, 2022.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-02839 Filed 2-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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