Notice2023-10681
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
May 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 Exempted Fishing Permits to facilitate the use of fishing year 2023 and 2024 monkfish research set-aside days-at-sea warrant further consideration. This notice provides interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32201-32202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10681]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC953]
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.
[[Page 32202]]
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 Exempted Fishing Permits to facilitate the use of
fishing year 2023 and 2024 monkfish research set-aside days-at-sea
warrant further consideration. This notice provides interested parties
the opportunity to comment on the proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f8b6b5beabd6bfb9aad6bdbea8b896979999d69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6a24272c39442d2b38442f2c3a2a04050b0b440d051c">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``Comments on 2023 Monkfish RSA EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Policy
Analyst, 978-281-9232, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#285b584d464b4d5a065c494445494f4d6846474949064f475e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c1b2b1a4afa2a4b3efb5a0adaca0a6a481afaea0a0efa6aeb7">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) that waive
monkfish landing limits have been routinely approved since 2007 to
increase operational efficiency and optimize research funds generated
from the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. These EFPs would
facilitate compensation fishing in support of the projects funded under
the 2023/2024 monkfish RSA competition. Consistent with previous years
of the monkfish RSA program, these RSA compensation fishing EFPs would
authorize an exemption for participating vessels from days-at-sea (DAS)
landing limit restrictions in the Monkfish Northern and Southern
Fishery Management Areas found at 50 CFR 648.94(b)(1) and (2). Vessels
fishing under an RSA DAS would be allowed to harvest monkfish in excess
of the usual landing limits associated with their Federal permits.
The Monkfish RSA Program is allocated 500 monkfish RSA DAS
annually, as established by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Councils in Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) (70 FR 21929, April 28, 2005). These monkfish RSA DAS are
awarded through a competitive grant program in support of monkfish
research. Award recipients sell RSA DAS to limited access monkfish
vessel owners to fund approved monkfish RSA research projects. Award
recipients receive an allocation of RSA DAS and a maximum amount of
monkfish that may be landed under available DAS. Projects are
constrained to the total DAS, maximum available landing weight, or
grant award timetable, whichever is reached first. To calculate a
maximum weight allocation that is similar to the Councils' original
intent to be harvested under the allocated 500 RSA DAS, NMFS uses twice
the landing limit for Permit Category A and C monkfish vessel fishing
in the Southern Fishery Management Area (4,074 lb (2 mt) whole weight)
for each RSA DAS. Annually, a maximum of 2,037,000 lb (924 mt) of whole
weight may be harvested across all Monkfish RSA projects. Allowing
vessels an exemption from monkfish landing limits provides an incentive
for vessels to purchase and fish under RSA DAS to catch more monkfish
per trip, while constraining each project to a maximum available
harvest limit ensures that the overall monkfish RSA catch will not be
an excessive burden on the fishery as a whole.
If approved, grant awardees may request minor modifications and
extensions to their EFPs 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 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: May 15, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10681 Filed 5-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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