Notice2022-15186
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
July 15, 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 modification from Blue Planet Strategies contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. Regulations under the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require publication of this notice 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 135 (Friday, July 15, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 42443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15186]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC151]
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act;
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 modification
from Blue Planet Strategies contains all of the required information
and warrants further consideration. Regulations under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic
Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require publication of
this notice to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on
applications for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#36787b70651871776418737066765859575718515940"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="410f0c07126f0600136f040711012f2e20206f262e37">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``Comments on Blue Planet Strategies EFP.'' If you cannot submit a
comment through this method, please contact Allison Murphy at (978)
281-9122, or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#56373a3a3f253938783b2324263e2f163839373778313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="31505d5d58425e5f1f5c4443415948715f5e50501f565e47">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy
Analyst, 978-281-9122, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#90f1fcfcf9e3fffebefde5e2e0f8e9d0fefff1f1bef7ffe6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8eefe2e2e7fde1e0a0e3fbfcfee6f7cee0e1efefa0e9e1f8">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Blue Planet Strategies was issued an
exempted fishing permit (EFP) request on September 7, 2021. The purpose
of this project is to test technologies for sub-surface gear marking
and gear tracking technologies and prototypes for acoustic release of
bottom stowed lift bags or vertical lines for retrieving fishing gear
used in the New England groundfish, monkfish, and American lobster and
Jonah crab fisheries for the purpose of reducing buoy line interactions
with marine mammals. For 2022, this EFP authorized up to 12
participating vessels in 2022 to test ropeless systems in the Gulf of
Maine Regulated Mesh Area (gillnet) and Lobster Management Areas 1 and
3 (lobster trap/pot). Blue Planet Strategies was granted exemptions
from the following requirements:
1. Gear marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow for
the use of a single buoy marker on a trawl of more than three traps;
and
2. Gear marking requirements at Sec. 648.84(b) to allow for the
use of a single buoy marker on a gillnet.
One end of both the gillnet and lobster trap gear is required to be
marked according to regulations, the other end will test a lift bag
system or a stowed rope system, or a spooled rope system. Both gillnet
and lobster gear will test either acoustic or modem gear marking
technology. A maximum of 140 gillnet deployments were expected in 2022,
with a soak time of 96 hours. A maximum of 800 lobster trap deployments
were expected in 2022, with a maximum soak time of 4-8 days. Sampling
is expected to largely occur from June through October in both 2021 and
2022, though the permit is approved through December 2022.
Blue Planet Strategies submitted a request to revise the EFP on
June 21, 2022. Investigators wish to add one additional vessel that
operates out of Chatham, Massachusetts and fishes in the Georges Bank
Regulated Mesh Area (statistical area 521) and Southern New England
Regulated Mesh Area (statistical area 538). Therefore, investigators
have requested a geographic expansion of the gillnet effort. No
additional gear deployments are expected.
Investigators also request to modify the exemption from gear
marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow for the use of no
surface markings within a discrete portion of Area 1. Investigators
wish to test the feasibility of using fully on-demand gear within the
shipping channel known as the ``Southern Channel'' or ``Southern
Route'' in Frenchman Bay (Downeast Maine). This new work is expected to
account for approximately 100 of the 800 deployments approved in 2022
(i.e., no new effort will result from this modification). In addition
to informing work to reduce the potential for entanglements, this
research could help determine whether ropeless gear could allow
fishermen to prosecute the fishery in shipping channels that are
presently kept clear of fishing gear that uses vertical lines and
buoys, minimizing the risk of gear conflict.
If approved, Blue Planet Strategies may request minor modifications
and extensions to the EFP throughout the study. 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 11, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-15186 Filed 7-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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