Notice2025-11242
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
June 18, 2025
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 fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing activities proposed by the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries. 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 EFPs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 116 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26014-26015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11242]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE981]
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 fishing vessels
to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing
activities proposed by the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries.
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 EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 3, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e18f8c8792cf868093cf848791a18f8e8080cf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f1112190c51181e0d511a190f3f11101e1e51181009">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line ``EGOM Sentinel
Survey.'' 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 signature if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Ford, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ef8c879d869c9b86818ac189809d8baf81808e8ec1888099"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eb88839982989f82858ec58d84998fab85848a8ac58c849d">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant submitted a complete
application for an EFP to conduct fishing activities that the
regulations would otherwise restrict. 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
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50 CFR 648.4 (a)(1)........................ Requirement for vessels fishing To allow the American lobster-
for, possessing, or landing permitted vessel to fish for
multispecies finfish to have and temporarily possess cod and
been issued a valid Federal pollock for biological
Northeast (NE) multispecies sampling, and to land a small
permit. amount of lethally sampled cod
for personal use.
Sec. 648.4(a)(5)(iii).................... Requirement for vessels fishing To allow all participating
for, possessing, or landing vessels to fish for and
Atlantic mackerel to have been temporarily possess Atlantic
issued a valid Federal mackerel mackerel for biological
vessel permit. sampling.
Sec. 648.82(a)........................... Vessels issued a limited access To allow the multispecies
NE multispecies permit may not Category A vessel to conduct
fish for, possess, or land EFP-related activities without
regulated species, except during having to use a DAS.
Day(s) at Sea (DAS).
Sec. 648.83(a)........................... Restriction against fishing for, To allow all participating
possessing, or landing cod or vessels to sample all sizes of
pollock less than 19 inches cod and pollock caught during
(48.3 cm). surveys, and to land a small
amount of lethally sampled cod
for personal use.
Sec. 648.86(o)(1)........................ Regional Administrator Authority To allow the multispecies
to implement possession limits Handgear B vessel to catch and
(common pool). retain cod as prescribed by the
survey design if the possession
limit is reduced or a trimester
Total Allowable Catch area is
closed as an accountability
measure.
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title................ Eastern Gulf of Maine (EGOM) Sentinel
Survey.
Project start................ 07/15/2025.
Project end.................. 10/31/2025.
Project objectives........... Survey the groundfish, particularly cod,
resource in the waters of Eastern Maine,
with a focus on evaluating local
ecological knowledge of cod distribution
for potential inclusion in future stock
assessment work.
Project location............. Bound on the west by Penobscot Bay and on
the east by the Canadian border; extends
south to the 50 meter (m) bathymetric
edge, overlapping with Statistical Areas
511 and 512.
Number of vessels............ 3.
Number of trips.............. 15.
Trip duration (days)......... 1.
Total number of days......... 15.
Gear type(s)................. Rod and reel jigging.
Number of tows or sets....... Up to 40 sets per trip; up to 450 sets
total.
Duration of tows or sets..... Up to 5 minutes.
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Project Narrative
This project would continue an ongoing jig survey of the groundfish
resource in the Eastern Gulf of Maine (EGOM), going back to 2011. The
Atlantic Cod Stock Assessment Workshop identified cod in Statistical
Areas 511 and 512 as a separate biological stock, and, as a result, the
research track has accepted the Sentinel Survey's inshore jig time
series for inclusion as a recruitment index for the EGOM stock unit's
assessment.
[[Page 26015]]
The EFP would authorize 3 vessels to conduct random stratified
sampling using jig gear from 0-50 m at 36 sites, plus 9 fishermen's
choice sites within the study area, for a total of 45 sites. Jig gear
consists of a 16- or 26-oz (453.6- or 737.1-gram) Norwegian style
diamond jig with three teaser hooks, spaced at 15 inches (38.1
centimeters (cm)) apart. At each site, two anglers would execute five
5-minute jig drops within one hour. Gear would be retrieved upon the
first bite or at the 5-minute mark, whichever comes first.
All species captured would be weighed and measured. Photos and fin
clips would be collected from all cod, and a subset of cod would have
otoliths and stomach samples collected. Catch that are lethally sampled
could be landed for personal use. All other catch would be returned to
the ocean once sampling is complete. Scientific personnel from Maine
Center for Coastal Fisheries would be aboard the vessels to conduct
sampling activities. No catch would be landed for sale.
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: June 16, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-11242 Filed 6-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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