Notice2025-21997
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
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Published
December 5, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region (GARFO), 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 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF). 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 232 (Friday, December 5, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 232 (Friday, December 5, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56131-56133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-21997]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF350]
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; 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 (GARFO), 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 Massachusetts Division of Marine
Fisheries (MA DMF). 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 December 22, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d6b8bbb0a5f8b1b7a4f8b3b0a696b8b9b7b7f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3957545f4a175e584b175c5f497957565858175e564f">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line ``MA DMF On-Demand
EFP.'' 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#d695bea4bfa5a2bfb8b3f890b9a4b296b8b9b7b7f8b1b9a0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e7a48f958e94938e8982c9a1889583a789888686c9808891">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9185.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MA DMF submitted a complete application
for an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the
regulations would otherwise restrict, to conduct trials of on-demand
fishing gear that use no surface buoys and to test the ability of gear
marking systems to consistently locate gear. This EFP would exempt the
participating vessels from the following Federal regulations:
[[Page 56132]]
Table 1--Requested Exemptions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFR citation Regulation Need for exemption
------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 CFR 697.21(b)(2)........... Gear marking For trial of trap/pot
requirements. gear with no surface
markings (fully
ropeless) on trawls
of more than three
traps.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title................... Testing on-demand fishing technologies
that help minimize the risk of large
whale entanglements in lobster trap
fishing gear in Massachusetts coastal
waters.
Project start................... 02/01/2026.
Project end..................... 05/15/2026.
Project objectives.............. Provide access and support for
Massachusetts lobster trap fishers to
fish during the closed season in the
restricted areas. Mitigate the
economic impact of seasonal fishing
closures while continuing to reduce
the risk of entanglement to
endangered North Atlantic right
whales. Collect data to help address
technological and logistical issues
associated with the implementation of
on-demand gear fishing.
Project location................ Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA);
South Islands Restricted Area (SIRA);
Outer Cape Cod Lobster Management
Area (OCCLMA).
Number of vessels............... Up to 50.
Number of trips................. Up to 700.
Trip duration (days)............ 1 day.
Total number of days............ Up to 700.
Gear type(s).................... Trap/pot.
Number of tows or sets.......... Up to 20/trip; up to 14,000 total.
Duration of tows or sets........ Up to 7 days.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Narrative
This EFP would allow federally permitted vessels to test on-demand
gear in seasonal Restricted Areas that do not allow the use of
persistent vertical lines under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction
Plan (ALWTRP). This project would allow up to 50 lobster trap vessels
to replace up to 20 of their existing trawls with modified trawls in
the ALWTRP Restricted Areas. Modified gear would replace both
traditional end lines with one or two on-demand units; trawls would
have no persistent vertical lines (fully ropeless). Participants will
use privately owned on-demand gear purchased with their own funds or
purchased through reimbursements provided by an on-demand grant program
operated by MA DMF. Participants will only be allowed to use on-demand
systems that are currently approved for use in the restricted areas
under the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) EFP, based on
their gear team's reliability standards. MA DMF will record each
participants' brand of approved on-demand gear, and consult with them
to confirm they know how to use the gear and marking system, either via
training from the manufacturer, from participation in another EFP, or
through training by MA DMF.
The goals of this project are to provide Federal lobster permit
holders in Massachusetts with access to seasonal Restricted Areas, to
test the efficacy of methods that alert other fishers to the presence
of gear on the bottom, and to provide policy makers with information
about the operational benefits and constraints of fishing without
vertical lines. The project objectives are to:
<bullet> Provide participants with additional fishing opportunities
through access to seasonal Restricted Areas;
<bullet> Collect data on the deployment and retrieval of on-demand
gear, usage of gear location marking systems, and any occurrences of
gear conflicts or gear deployment failures;
<bullet> Provide support and training for participating fishers on
the use of on-demand technologies;
<bullet> Trial gear location marking systems that promote
interoperability for fishers and reduce the potential for gear
conflict;
<bullet> Collect timing data on hauling efficiency of on-demand
versus traditional fishing gear; and
<bullet> Provide feedback to on-demand manufacturers to increase
performance under commercial fishery conditions.
This permit would only exempt vessels from the specified Federal
regulations in Federal waters. It would not exempt the vessels from any
requirements imposed by any state, the Endangered Species Act, the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, or any other applicable laws. The
applicant would be responsible for obtaining all required state
authorizations. Other than gear markings, all trap/pot trawls would be
consistent with the regulations of the management area where the vessel
is fishing and would be fished in accordance with the participating
vessels' standard operations (number and length of trips, soak times,
trap limits, etc.).
Participants would be required to virtually mark the location of
each end of their trawls using the gear-marking technology associated
with the on-demand system they were fishing. All gear-marking would be
integrated with the EarthRanger gear location cloud-based database so
that all EarthRanger users would be able to see all set on-demand gear
within 5 miles (8.05 km). MA DMF would also have access to all on-
demand set locations through EarthRanger.
MA DMF would provide standardized data collection sheets to all
participants. Data deemed confidential, including but not limited to
on-demand specific deployment locations and catch information, may be
collected but will not be made public.
MA DMF proposes the following best practices and risk reduction
measures:
<bullet> All vessels would report all right whale sightings to NMFS
via <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#422c276c30356c31373034273b022c2d23236c252d34"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="204e450e52570e535552564559604e4f41410e474f56">[email protected]</span></a> or NOAA (866-755-6622) or the U.S. Coast
Guard (Channel 16) and record sightings on data sheets;
<bullet> All vessels would retrieve on-demand vertical lines as
quickly as possible to minimize time in the water column;
<bullet> All vessels would adhere to current approach regulations--
a 500-yard (457.2-meter) buffer zone created by a surfacing right
whale--and must depart immediately at a safe and slow speed, in
accordance with current regulations;
<bullet> If any large whale species came within 500 yards (457.2
meters) of a participating vessel during hauling, fishing would
immediately cease, by
[[Page 56133]]
either removal or resetting, and be reinitiated only after it was
reasonable to assume the whale(s) had left the area;
<bullet> All vessels would provide mandatory, weekly gear loss
reports; MA DMF would provide monthly gear conflict/loss reports to the
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO);
<bullet> All vessels would operate within a 10-knot (18.52 km)
speed limit when transiting Restricted Areas or when whales are
observed;
<bullet> EarthRanger web access, the ER Buoy app, or an equivalent
application will be utilized for identifying any on-demand gear
currently set within the work areas;
<bullet> Stowed hauling lines in on-demand units will contain a
unique colored marking consisting of 12'' of yellow twine above each
regional ALWTRP marking;
<bullet> A unique flag will be flown by each vessel within ALWTRP
vertical line closure areas for enforcement recognition;
<bullet> All participants would carry a MA DMF scientist on a
subset of trips to collect additional data and oversee trial
performance;
<bullet> No floating groundline would be used on research trawls,
including where otherwise legally allowed between the first trap and
anchor or on-demand unit; and
<bullet> Law enforcement agencies will be notified of project
participants and activities in advance of the project start date.
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: December 2, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-21997 Filed 12-4-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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