Notice2022-05118
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
March 11, 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 application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The Exempted Fishing Permit 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 Exempted Fishing Permits.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 48 (Friday, March 11, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13984-13985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05118]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB870]
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 application contains all
of the required information and warrants further consideration. The
Exempted Fishing Permit 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 Exempted Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 28, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a2cccfc4d18cc5c3d08cc7c4d2e2cccdc3c38cc5cdd4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bed0d3d8cd90d9dfcc90dbd8cefed0d1dfdf90d9d1c8">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``AOLA Early Benthic-Phase Lobster Trap EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2965485c5b48076d4c404e4148476947464848074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="feb29f8b8c9fd0ba9b9799969f90be90919f9fd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's
Association submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing
Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial fishing activities that the
regulations would otherwise restrict to pilot test a single early
benthic-phase (EBP) lobster trap, which targets lobsters between 15-
and 50-millimeter carapace length, to determine its feasibility for
broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would exempt the participating
vessel from the Federal regulations described in Table 1.
[[Page 13985]]
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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Citation Regulation Need for exemption
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50 CFR 697.21(c) and Sec. Gear To allow for the use
697.21(d). specification a modified trap with
requirements. no escape vents or
ghost panels.
Sec. 697.19................. Trap limit To allow for one
requirements. additional trap.
Sec. 697.19(j).............. Trap tag To allow for the use
requirements. of an untagged trap.
Sec. Sec. 697.20(a)(7), Possession To allow for onboard
697.20(a)(8), 697.20(b)(5), restrictions. biological sampling
697.20(b)(6), 697.20(d), and of undersized,
697.20(g). oversized, v-
notched, and egg-
bearing lobsters.
Sec. 697.21(a).............. Gear To allow for the use
identification of an unmarked trap.
and marking
requirements.
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This project would use one federally permitted lobster vessel to
pilot test the use of an EBP lobster trap in Lobster Management Area 3
(Statistical Areas 561, 562, and 522) between May 1, 2022, and November
1, 2022. The EBP trap is an 80-centimeter square trap based on a
modified crawfish trap. It has four square openings, measuring less
than two inches, which lead to ramps that drop the lobsters into a
baited kitchen. Inside the trap, there are additional ramps that lead
the lobsters to four cylindrical parlors with vertical openings. The
trap is attached to cement runners that provide weight and maintain
proper orientation.
The participants would place the EBP trap on one of their existing
trawls and haul it every 7-14 days during the course of the vessel's
normal fishing activity. At each haul, the participants would record
and immediately release all bycatch and measure, sex, and release all
lobsters from the EBP trap. The project would include no more than 26
experimental hauls. In addition to the EBP trap, the vessel would fish
with its full allotted number of standard traps, but the total number
of traps would remain less than the Area 3 trap cap. Participants would
land and sell the legal catch from the standard traps.
The goal of this project is to test the selectivity of the EBP trap
(versus ventless traps that often catch eel and crab) and the
scalability of its use. If successful, EBP traps could be used in
lobster surveys to provide information about larval settlement patterns
and juvenile nursery grounds.
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: March 7, 2022.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-05118 Filed 3-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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