Notice2024-14010
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery; Applications for Exempted Fishing Permits; 2024-2025 Fishing Year
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that two exempted fishing permit (EFP) applications warrant further consideration. Both applications are from the California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) and request an exemption from the expected prohibition on primary directed fishing for Pacific sardine during the 2024-2025 fishing year to collect Pacific sardine as part of industry-based scientific research. NMFS requests public comment on the applications.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53396-53397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14010]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE012]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery; Applications for Exempted
Fishing Permits; 2024-2025 Fishing Year
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of application; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, has made
a preliminary determination that two exempted fishing permit (EFP)
applications warrant further consideration. Both applications are from
the California Wetfish Producers Association (CWPA) and request an
exemption from the expected prohibition on primary directed fishing for
Pacific sardine during the 2024-2025 fishing year to collect Pacific
sardine as part of industry-based scientific research. NMFS requests
public comment on the applications.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 26, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2024-0058, by the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Submit all public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and type
NOAA-NMFS-2024-0058 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. The
EFP applications will be available under Supporting and Related
Materials through the same link.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Davis, West Coast Region, NMFS,
(323) 362-2126, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b000a1f020e450f0a1d02182b05040a0a450c041d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="355e54415c501b5154435c46755b5a54541b525a43">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Approving the EFP applications would be
authorized under the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) and regulations at 50 CFR 600.745, which allow NMFS Regional
Administrators to authorize EFPs for fishing activities that would
otherwise be prohibited.
At its April 2024 meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) recommended that NMFS approve two EFP applications for the
2024-2025 Pacific sardine fishing year. Both applications are from the
CWPA and are renewal requests for an exemption from the expected
prohibition on primary directed fishing for Pacific sardine during the
2024-2025 fishing year; the purpose of the requests are to collect
Pacific sardine as part of industry-based scientific research. The
Council considered these EFP applications concurrently with the 2024-
2025 annual harvest specifications for Pacific sardine because Pacific
sardine catch under each EFP would be accounted for under the proposed
2024-2025 annual catch limit (ACL), which is 6,005 metric tons (mt). A
summary of each EFP application is provided below:
(1) Request renewal of exempted fishery permit (EFP) to allow take
of Pacific sardine in point sets in 2024-2025 in support of the CPS-NCA
research program: The CWPA submitted a renewal application for their
CPS Nearshore Cooperative Survey (NCS) program. The purpose of this EFP
project is to collect data for estimating CPS biomass in shallow waters
that are not accessible to NOAA ships. The California Department of
Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with the CWPA, has been conducting
aerial surveys to
[[Page 53397]]
estimate the biomass and distribution of Pacific sardine and certain
other CPS in nearshore waters in the Southern California Bight since
2012, and in the Monterey-San Francisco area since the summer of 2017.
The CPS-NCS survey would capture CPS schools identified by aerial
spotter pilots, and weigh and sample the catch onshore to validate the
biomass and species composition of the schools observed in the
nearshore aerial survey. If approved, this EFP would allow up to eight
participating vessels to directly harvest a total of 150 mt of Pacific
sardine during the 2024-2025 fishing year. A portion of each point set
(i.e., an individual haul of fish captured with a purse seine net)
would be retained for biological sampling, and the remainder would be
sold by participating fishermen and processors to offset research costs
and avoid unnecessary discard.
(2) Request renewal of exempted fishery permit (EFP) to allow
fishing of Pacific sardine for biological samples in 2024-2025
nearshore research program: The CWPA submitted a renewal application
for their biological sampling EFP project. The primary directed fishery
for Pacific sardine has been closed since 2015 and, consequently,
scientists at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) have a
limited amount of fishery-dependent data to use in their stock
assessment. The goal of this EFP project is to provide fishery-
dependent catch data, including biological data (i.e., age and length
data from directed harvest), for potential use in Pacific sardine stock
assessments. If approved, this EFP would allow up to eight
participating vessels to directly harvest up to 520 mt of Pacific
sardine during the 2024-2025 fishing year. A portion of each landing
would be retained for biological sampling by the California Department
of Fish and Wildlife, and the remainder would be sold by participating
fishermen and processors to offset research costs and avoid unnecessary
discard.
Altogether, these EFP projects total 670 mt. If NMFS does not issue
one or more of these EFPs, the requested tonnage would be available for
harvest by other permissible fishing activities during the 2024-2025
fishing year (e.g., live bait or minor directed harvest).
After publication of this notice in the Federal Register, NMFS may
approve and issue permits to participating vessels after the close of
the public comment period. NMFS will consider comments submitted in
deciding whether to approve the applications as requested. NMFS may
approve the applications in their entirety or may make any alterations
needed to achieve the goals of the EFP projects and the FMP. NMFS may
also approve different amounts of Pacific sardine allocation for each
EFP project if any changes are made to the 2024-2025 proposed sardine
harvest specifications before final implementation.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 21, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-14010 Filed 6-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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