Notice2024-11327
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
May 23, 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) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would allow federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF). Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and 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 101 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 101 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45646-45648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11327]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XD973]
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 commercial
fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of
research conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
(CFRF). Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and 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 June 7, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
[[Page 45647]]
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5836353e2b763f392a763d3e281836373939763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6c02010a1f420b0d1e42090a1c2c02030d0d420b031a">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line
``CFRF Ventless Trap EFP''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Ford, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c380abb1aab0b7aaada6ed85acb1a783adaca2a2eda4acb5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="70331802190304191e155e361f0214301e1f11115e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CFRF submitted a complete application for an
EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations would
otherwise restrict. The EFP would continue to provide distribution,
abundance, and biological data on juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs
from times and areas with low coverage from traditional surveys. This
EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the following Federal
regulations:
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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CFR citation Regulation Need for exemption
------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 CFR 697.21(c).............. Gear To allow for closed
specification escape vents and
requirements. smaller trap mesh
and entrance heads.
Sec. 697.19................. Trap limit To allow for 3
requirements. additional traps per
fishing vessel, for
a total of 66
additional traps.
Sec. 697.19(j).............. Trap tag To allow for the use
requirements. of untagged traps
(though each
modified trap will
have the
participating
fisherman's
identification
attached).
Sec. 697.20(a), (d), (g), Possession To allow for onboard
and (h)(1) and (2). restrictions. biological sampling
of undersized, v-
notched, and egg-
bearing lobsters and
undersized and egg-
bearing Jonah crabs
and retention of up
to 300 legal and
sublegal Jonah crabs
per month for a
molting study.
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Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title..................... A Collaborative Fishing Vessel
Approach to Addressing Data Needs
for the American Lobster and Jonah
Crab Fisheries.
Project start..................... 7/1/2024.
Project end....................... 6/30/2025.
Project objectives................ To continue to provide distribution,
abundance, and biological data on
juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs
from times and areas with low
coverage from traditional surveys.
Project location.................. Lobster Management Areas 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
Number of vessels................. Up to 22.
Number of trips................... 52 per inshore vessel, 36 per
offshore vessel (up to 936 total).
Trip duration (days).............. 4.
Total number of days.............. Up to 3,744.
Gear type(s)...................... Trap.
Number of tows or sets............ 1 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 7 days inshore, 10 days offshore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Narrative
This project would continue an ongoing effort to collect data on
juvenile lobster and Jonah crab abundance and distribution in areas and
times of the year with low or no coverage by traditional surveys. To
date, this project has collected data from over 226,000 lobsters and
131,000 Jonah crabs. The current EFP will expire on June 30, 2024.
The project would include 6 inshore vessels (Lobster Management
Area 2) and 13 offshore vessels (Lobster Management Areas 1, 3, and 4)
with the goal of adding 3 more offshore vessels to increase the
geographic coverage (Lobster Management Area 5). Each vessel would fish
with 3 modified, ventless traps designed to capture juvenile lobsters,
totaling up to 66 modified traps. The modified traps would adhere to
the standard coastwide survey gear for lobster and Jonah crab set by
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and would be fished
with standard Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan-compliant
trawls. The traps would remain in the water for up to 12 months and be
hauled every 7 days by the inshore vessels and every 10 days by the
offshore vessels.
This study would take place during regular fishing activity of the
participating vessels, but catch from modified traps would remain
separate from that of standard gear. Operators would collect data on
size, sex, presence of eggs, and shell hardness for lobsters and Jonah
crabs and v-notch and shell disease for lobsters. In addition to
onboard sampling, 3 inshore and 3 offshore vessels would retain up to
50 Jonah crabs per month each, for a total of up to 300 crabs per
month, for a molting study. Operators would return all other specimens
from modified gear to the ocean once sampling is complete.
The study is designed to inform management by addressing questions
about changing reproduction and recruitment dynamics of lobster and to
develop a foundation of knowledge for the data-deficient Jonah crab
fishery. CFRF would share data with the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative
Statistics Program, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Rhode Island
Department of Environmental Management every 6 months.
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.
All comments received are a part of the public record and may be
posted for public viewing 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
[[Page 45648]]
signature if you wish to remain anonymous).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 16, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-11327 Filed 5-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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