Notice2024-09502
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
May 2, 2024
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) renewal application from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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 Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 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 89 Issue 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35813-35814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09502]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD903]
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 (EFP) renewal application
from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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 Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
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 May 17, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fa94979c89d49d9b88d49f9c8aba94959b9bd49d958c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7c9cac1d489c0c6d589c2c1d7e7c9c8c6c689c0c8d1">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``NHFG Early Benthic-Phase Lobster Trap EFP''.
All comments received are a part of the public record and may be
posted for public viewing in <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/organization/information-technilogy/foia-reading-room">https://www.noaa.gov/organization/information-technilogy/foia-reading-room</a> without change. All personal
identifying information (e.g., name, address), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``anonymous'' as the signature if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Ford, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ad9f2e8f3e9eef3f4ffb4dcf5e8fedaf4f5fbfbb4fdf5ec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8dcee5ffe4fef9e4e3e8a3cbe2ffe9cde3e2ececa3eae2fb">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
(NHFG) submitted a complete application for an EFP to conduct
commercial fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise
restrict. The EFP would allow NHFG to continue pilot testing of early
benthic-phase (EBP) lobster traps, designed to target juvenile lobsters
between 15- and 60-millimeter (mm) carapace length, to determine their
feasibility for broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would exempt
the participating vessels from the Federal regulations in table 1:
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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CFR citation Regulation Need for exemption
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50 CFR 697.21(c) and Sec. Gear specification To allow for the
697.21(d). requirements. use of modified
traps with no
escape vents or
ghost panels.
[[Page 35814]]
Sec. 697.19................... Trap limit To allow for four
requirements. additional traps
per vessel (20
total).
Sec. 697.19(j)................ Trap tag To allow for the
requirements. use of four
untagged traps
per vessel (20
total).
Sec. Sec. 697.20(a)(7), Possession To allow for
697.20(a)(8), 697.20(b)(5), restrictions. onboard
697.20(b)(6), 697.20(d), and biological
697.20(g). sampling of
undersized,
oversized, v-
notched, and egg-
bearing lobsters.
Sec. 697.21(a)................ Gear To allow for the
identification use of four
and marking unmarked traps
requirements. per vessel (20
total).
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title................ Testing an EBP lobster trap on Georges
Bank.
Project start................ 06/15/2024.
Project end.................. 06/14/2025.
Project objectives........... To continue testing an early-benthic-
phase lobster trap, which targets
lobsters between 15- and 60-mm carapace
lengths, to determine its feasibility
for broader use in lobster surveys.
Project location............. Offshore Gulf of Maine & Georges Bank;
Statistical Areas 513, 522, 525, 526,
537, 561, and 562.
Number of vessels............ Up to 5.
Number of trips.............. 500.
Trip duration (days)......... Up to 8.
Total number of days......... Up to 4,000.
Gear type(s)................. Trap/pot (modified--see project
narrative).
Number of tows or sets....... Up to 4 per trip; up to 2,000 total.
Duration of tows or sets..... ~4 days.
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Project Narrative
The participants would place four EBP traps on two of their
existing trawls (two EBP traps per trawl) and haul them up to twice per
trip (for a total of up to four hauls per trip) during the course of
the vessel's normal fishing activity. The EBP traps are 80-centimeter
(cm) square traps based on a modified crawfish trap. They have four
square openings, measuring less than 2 inches (5.08 cm), which lead to
ramps that drop the lobsters into a baited kitchen. Inside the traps,
there are additional ramps that lead the lobsters to four cylindrical
parlors with vertical openings. The traps are attached to cement
runners that provide weight and maintain proper orientation. The crews
would rig the EBP traps within Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction
Plan-compliant commercial trawls, resulting in no additional end lines.
Each vessel would fish four traps above their allocation, but would
remain within the universal Area 3 trap cap. At each haul, crews would
record, and immediately release, all bycatch and measure, sex, and
release all lobsters from the EBP trap. They would also sample catch in
two standard traps within the trawl as control data. They 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: April 26, 2024.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-09502 Filed 5-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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