Notice2023-02167
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
February 2, 2023
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 federally permitted fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing activities proposed by the applicant. 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 EFPs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7079-7080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02167]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC732]
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 (EFP) application
contains all of the required information and warrants further
consideration. The EFP would allow federally permitted fishing vessels
to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing
activities proposed by the applicant. 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 EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bcd2d1dacf92dbddce92d9daccfcd2d3dddd92dbd3ca"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4826252e3b662f293a662d2e380826272929662f273e">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``6-Inch Gillnet Mesh Exploratory Fishing.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Policy
Analyst, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#154665707b7670673b41747978747270557b7a74743b727a63"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ecbf9c89828f899ec2b88d80818d8b89ac82838d8dc28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9232.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant submitted a complete
application for an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that
the regulations would otherwise restrict. 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 Minimum mesh size Needed to deploy 6-
648.80(a)(3)(iv)(B)(1). for Trip Gillnet inch gillnet gear
Vessels in the Gulf in Gulf of Maine.
of Maine.
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title..................... 6-Inch Gillnet Mesh Exploratory
Fishing.
Applicant......................... Northeast Sector Services Network.
Project objectives................ Evaluate the efficacy of smaller
mesh gillnet for haddock, without
increasing catch of cod.
Application date.................. November 22, 2022.
Project period.................... January 2023--May 31, 2023.
Project location.................. Gulf of Maine.
Number of vessels................. 1.
Number of trips................... 20-30.
Trip duration (days).............. 2-3.
Total number of days.............. 40-90 days.
Gear type(s)...................... Gillnet, 6 inch (15.24-cm) mesh.
Number of tows or sets............ 20-30.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 24 hours.
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Project Narrative
The proposed EFP is a continuation of a project conducting
exploratory fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) that mimics the
structure of the GOM Sink Gillnet Mesh Exemption originally approved
for sectors from fishing years 2010 through 2012. In fishing year 2013,
NMFS disapproved the exemption due to concerns regarding the status of
the GOM haddock stock, which at the time was subject to overfishing and
approaching an overfished condition. The proposed EFP would provide
preliminary catch data to inform future studies to test the feasibility
of using the 6-inch (15.24-cm) gillnet gear to target haddock while
minimizing catch of GOM cod.
From issuance to May 31, 2023, the participating vessel would
conduct between 20 and 30 trips under the EFP in the GOM Regulated Mesh
Area
[[Page 7080]]
during which it would make 20-30 hauls with 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh
gillnet gear. The maximum number of individual nets that could be
deployed is 75. Gillnets would be set for a soak of up to 24 hours, and
would be actively tended by the vessel (i.e., the vessel would not
leave the fishing grounds while nets are deployed).
A Northeast Fisheries at-sea monitor or observer would be deployed
on all groundfish trips taken under the EFP. The participating vessel
would use the Pre-Trip Notification System to identify groundfish trip
taken under the EFP. Trips would be eligible for natural selection for
observer coverage for either the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program
or the At-Sea Monitoring program. Trips not naturally selected for
observer coverage would not be reimbursable from Federal
appropriations.
Allowable discards would be discarded at-sea, while all other
species would be retained, landed, and processed per normal commercial
fishing procedures. Monitors would document all discards of allocated
sub-legal catch.
While on EFP trips, the vessel may also occasionally deploy a small
amount of longline and 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) mesh gillnet gear, in order
to generate catch composition data that could be used to compare the
catchability of the 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh gear with other gears used
on a normal fishing trip. The gillnet gear would consist of 12 to 24
nets in a single string, while the longline gear would have between
1,000 and 2,400 hooks. All groundfish catch, including both discards
and landings, would be deducted from the appropriate sector allocation.
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: January 30, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02167 Filed 2-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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