Notice2025-23757
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
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
December 23, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (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 Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance. 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 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60063-60064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23757]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF375]
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 Regional Fisheries Office (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 Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's
Alliance. 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 January 7, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f896959e8bd69f998ad69d9e88b896979999d69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e3033382d70393f2c703b382e1e30313f3f70393128">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line ``CCCFA SCOQ 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#56353e243f25223f38337830392432163839373778313920"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c9aaa1bba0babda0a7ace7afa6bbad89a7a6a8a8e7aea6bf">[email protected]</span></a>, 978-281-9185.
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 648.14(j)(2)(iii)........ Prohibition Participating
against vessels are not
offloading capable of
unshucked carrying cages
surfclams or and ports do not
ocean quahogs have the
from vessels not infrastructure to
capable of safely offload
carrying cages. into cages.
50 CFR 648.14(j)(3)(vi)......... Prohibition Participating
against landing vessels will use
or possessing, alternate/smaller
after offloading, sized containers
any cage holding and alternate
surfclams or tags and will not
ocean quahogs be tagging as
without a cage required in Sec.
tag required by 648.77.
Sec. 648.77.
50 CFR 648.77(a)................ Cage tag The tags will not
requirements. be in increments
of 60 ft\3\ (32
bushels); the
landing
containers will
be tagged in 16-
bushel
increments.
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title..................... Use of alternative cage sizes and
tag protocols to support a high-
quality, niche market for Atlantic
surfclam and Ocean Quahog harvested
by day-boat vessels on Cape Cod.
Project start..................... Upon Issuance.
Project end....................... 12/31/2026.
Project objectives................ To test the viability of alternate
landing containers for smaller
vessels; to tag and quantify
surfclams and ocean quahogs with a
cage tag equivalent; and to
evaluate alternative landing
procedures to improve the quality
and value of surfclams landed with
smaller vessels and smaller
containers.
Project location.................. Federal waters around Cape Cod, to
include Statistical Areas 521, 514,
526, 537, and 538.
Number of vessels................. 3.
Number of trips................... Up to 105.
Trip duration (days).............. 1.
[[Page 60064]]
Total number of days.............. Up to 105.
Gear type(s)...................... Dredge.
Number of tows or sets............ 35 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 15-30 minutes.
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Project Narrative
This project builds on initial work completed approximately a
decade ago from 2014 through 2015, as well as work from a partial
season in 2025, and reflects renewed interest in surfclams and ocean
quahogs by the Cape Cod small boat fleet and by a new, local dealer/
processor that normally buys from state waters surfclam boats and
accepts smaller increments. The previous test from 10 years ago using
alternative containers and tags showed promise, but buyers at the time
would not accept non-standard cages, limiting the market viability of
the alternative cages. Between July 11, 2025, and September 30, 2025,
11 trips were taken under the 2025 EFP. Over 2,500 bushels of surfclams
were landed, with no safety incidents. Participants were able to sell
almost half the catch to live and specialty markets, at a higher price
point, as the percentage of broken clams dropped from 30 to 9 percent.
This EFP would collect data to support a future regulatory request to
permanently allow small boats to land surfclams and ocean quahogs in
smaller increments.
This EFP would authorize three vessels to continue to develop the
viability of a day-boat Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fishery for
small vessels based out of Cape Cod by testing alternatives to the
large industry-standard cages and 32-bushel (1.7 m\3\) cage tags. The
traditional cages do not fit on smaller day boats and, as a result,
vessels not capable of carrying a cage onboard must offload directly
into cages. This can be burdensome and dangerous and the extra handling
and compression of clams in the cages can lead to damaged product and
lower market value. Many ports do not have the infrastructure to safely
offload into cages and the local dealer dedicated to buying the catch
is not capable of handling 32-bushel cages. All participating vessels
would have open access permits and receive tags from one of the
participants with allocation.
The participating vessels would use two alternative landing
containers: a standard-size fish vat (internal measurements: 44 inch x
39 inch x 27 inch; 1.12 meter (m) x 0.99 m x 0.69 m) capable of holding
16 bushels (0.85 m\3\); and a standard-size stackable fish tote
(internal measurements: 25 inch x 15.8 inch x 10.2 inch; 0.64 m x 0.40
m x 0.26 m) capable of holding 1.5 bushels (0.08 m\3\). One alternative
denomination of a 16-bushel tag would be used, either on a fish vat or
on a pallet of 10 1.5-bushel totes wrapped in plastic wrap. The
participants acknowledge the loss of 1 bushel (0.05 m\3\) worth of
catch for each pallet tagged. The vats would be constrained to weigh no
more than 1,424 pounds (0.65 metric tons (mt)). The totes on a pallet
would also be constrained to weigh no more than 1,424 pounds (but
likely to only weigh 1,335 pounds (0.61 mt)). Weight samples would be
taken by the dealer to verify weights to further develop the
experimental containers. The applicant would work with NMFS and the
National Band and Tag Company to convert standard cage tags into the
alternative tag denomination. Up to 500 32-bushel ocean quahog tags and
up to 270 32-bushel surf clam tags would be converted to 16-bushel
tags.
Participating fishermen would complete a data sheet for each EFP
trip to provide information on price per bushel and weight for each
landing increment. Landings data would be verified with collection of
dealer reports for each EFP trip. The proportion of breakages vs. live
would be tested through collection of processor data detailing surfclam
quality and condition. Annual surveys to measure impact and determine
progress against the measures of success will be completed and the
effects of using modified landing containers and alternative tags will
be analyzed to determine what, if any, benefits the EFP protocol
provides to economic viability and safety of small boat surfclam/ocean
quahog fishing businesses.
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 19, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-23757 Filed 12-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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