Notice2025-22768
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
December 15, 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 Department of Marine Resources (ME DMR). 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 238 (Monday, December 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 238 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57960-57961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22768]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF296]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act
Provisions; 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 Department of Marine Resources (ME
DMR). 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 30, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#533d3e35207d3432217d363523133d3c32327d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e6888b8095c8818794c8838096a688898787c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line ``Maine lobster
fishery-dependent offshore ventless and commercial trap research
program''. 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: Elise Scholl, Fishery Management
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#67020b0e14024914040f080b0b270908060649000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2540494c56400b56464d4a4949654b4a44440b424a53">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9189.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant submitted a complete
application for an EFP to conduct commercial 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 697.21(c)............ Gear To allow for closed
specification escape vents and smaller
requirements. trap mesh and entrance
heads.
Sec. 697.19 (a-e)......... Trap limit To allow for 3 additional
requirements. traps per fishing
vessel, for a total of
up to 60 additional
traps.
Sec. 697.19(j)............ Trap tag To allow for the use of
requirements. untagged traps (though
each modified trap will
have the participating
fisherman's
identification
attached).
Sec. Sec. 697.20(a), Possession To allow for onboard
697.20(d), 697.20(g), and restrictions. biological sampling of
697.20(h)(1) and (2). undersized, v-notched,
and egg-bearing lobsters
and undersized and egg-
bearing Jonah crabs.
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Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title..................... Maine lobster fishery-dependent
offshore ventless and commercial
trap research program.
Project start..................... 1/01/2026.
Project end....................... 12/31/2026.
Project objectives................ To conduct a survey, in partnership
with the Commercial Fisheries
Research Foundation (CFRF), to
provide distribution, abundance,
and biological data on juvenile
lobsters and Jonah crabs from times
and areas in Federal waters of the
Gulf of Maine with low coverage
from traditional surveys.
Project location.................. Gulf of Maine: Statistical Areas
511, 512, and 513.
Number of vessels................. Up to 20.
Number of trips................... Up to 36 per vessel; up to 720
total.
Trip duration (days).............. Up to 3 days.
Total number of days.............. Up to 108 per vessel; up to 2,160
total.
Gear type(s)...................... Trap.
Number of tows or sets............ 1 per trip; up to 720 total.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 7-10 days.
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Project Narrative
This project would contribute to the ongoing effort by the CFRF 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. This would be year two of an ongoing project that
received an EFP with the same exemptions in 2024.
The 2024 survey identified 10 harvesters to participate in the
first year of the program and were included on the 2024 EFP. Of those,
nine harvesters have been trained and have begun data collection from
commercial and ventless traps. There are currently 27 ventless traps
deployed within Lobster Management Area 1, spanning statistical areas
511, 512 and 513. To date, there have been 224 sampling events from
ventless traps. 145 trips have had sampling from either commercial or
ventless gear. Within both commercial
[[Page 57961]]
and ventless traps, a total of 10,614 biological samples from lobsters
and crabs have been recorded.
Year 2 of this project would expand the program to up to 20
federally-permitted Maine lobster vessels. Each vessel would fish with
3 modified, ventless traps designed to catch juvenile lobsters,
totaling up to 60 modified traps. The ventless trap configuration is as
follows: 40 inch length x 21 inch width x 14 inch height, single
parlor, 1 inch square rubber-coated 12-gauge wire, standard shrimp mesh
netting, cement runners, and 4 inch x 6 inch disabling door. 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.
This study would take place during regular fishing activity of the
participating vessels, but catch from the 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. Operators would
return all 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. All data collected by the participants using the CFRF data
collection app would be sent to ME DMR for processing. ME DMR would
then share final datasets with CFRF, to further share with the Atlantic
Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program, the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
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 10, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-22768 Filed 12-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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