Notice2023-08214
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
April 19, 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 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 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 88 Issue 75 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24171-24173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08214]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC921]
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 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 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 May 4, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9df3f0fbeeb3fafcefb3f8fbedddf3f2fcfcb3faf2eb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dfb1b2b9acf1b8beadf1bab9af9fb1b0bebef1b8b0a9">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``NEFSC Study Fleet EFP''.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis Forristall, Fishery Management
Specialist, (339) 674-7646.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant 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 the following Federal
regulations:
[[Page 24172]]
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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CFR citation Regulation Need for exemption
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648.83................... Multispecies Allow possession of
Minimum Fish Sizes. haddock, yellowtail
flounder, winter
flounder, and American
plaice below minimum
size on common pool and
sector vessels for
biological sampling
purposes.
684.86(a)................ Haddock Possession Allow possession of
Restriction. haddock for biological
sampling.
648.86(d)................ Small-Mesh Exempt vessels from
Multispecies small-mesh possession
Possession restrictions for
Restriction. biological sampling.
648.86(g)................ Yellowtail Flounder Exempt common pool
Possession vessels from yellowtail
Restriction. possession restrictions
and limitations.
648.86(j)................ Georges Bank Winter Exempt common pool
Flounder vessels from winter
Possession flounder restrictions.
Restriction.
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title Study fleet program
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Applicant......................... Northeast Fisheries Science Center's
Cooperative Research Branch.
Project objectives................ Allow fishermen and Center staff to
collect biological data and
biological samples relevant to
stock assessments and fish biology.
Application date.................. March 1, 2023.
Project period.................... May 1, 2023-April 30, 2024.
Project location.................. The Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank,
Southern New England, and the Mid-
Atlantic.
Number of vessels................. 20.
Number of trips................... 100.
Trip duration (days).............. 5.
Total number of days.............. 500.
Gear type(s)...................... Otter trawl, scallop dredge,
midwater otter trawl, paired trawl.
Number of tows or sets............ 5.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 1 hour.
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Project Narrative
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Cooperative Research
Branch is requesting an EFP to allow participants in their Study Fleet
Program to collect biological information on catch. The Center
established the Study Fleet Program in 2002 to more fully characterize
commercial fishing operations and provide sampling opportunities to
augment NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service's data collection
programs. As part of the program, the Center contracts commercial
fishing vessels to collect biological data and fish specimens for the
Center to use in research relevant to stock assessments and fish
biology.
Under the EFP, Study Fleet participants would be allowed to
temporarily possess catch that is below minimum size restrictions and
above possession limits for the purposes of biological sampling. When
directed by the Center, participating vessels would be authorized to
retain and land specific amounts of fish exceeding possession limits
and/or below minimum fish sizes, for research purposes only. The
captain or crew would deliver these fish to Center staff or local Port
Agents upon landing. In these limited circumstances, the Study Fleet
Program would give participating vessels a formal biological sampling
request prior to landing. This would ensure that the landed fish do not
exceed any collection needs of the Study Fleet Program, as detailed
below.
During EFP trips, crew would sort, weigh, measure, and collect
biological data from fish prior to discarding. During sampling, some
discarded fish would remain on deck slightly longer than they would
under normal sorting procedures. Exemptions from minimum fish sizes and
possession restrictions would allow vessels to temporarily retain catch
for at-sea sampling.
Vessels would be required to comply with all other applicable
regulations specified at 50 CFR part 648 and would not be exempt from
any inseason quota closures. All catch would be attributed to the
appropriate commercial fishing quota. For a vessel fishing on a
groundfish sector trip, all catch of groundfish stocks allocated to
sectors would be deducted from the vessel's sector's annual catch
entitlement (ACE). If the ACE for a stock has been reached in a sector,
participating vessels would no longer be allowed to fish in that stock
area unless the sector acquires additional ACE for the stock in
question. For participating common pool vessels, all groundfish catch
would be counted toward the appropriate trimester total allowable catch
(TAC). Common pool vessels would be exempt from the possession and trip
limits, but would still be subject to trimester TAC closures.
Vessels fishing under this EFP would be required to report via
their Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) or the web- or app-based
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to identify trips that would be
landing species below minimum size limits and/or in excess of
possession limits. Vessels not landing fish for the Center, but
temporarily possessing fish for at-sea sampling, would not be required
to report via the IVR system or VMS.
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.
[[Page 24173]]
Dated: April 13, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-08214 Filed 4-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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