Notice2026-08614
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Primary source
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Published
May 4, 2026
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 Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF). Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties with the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 85 (Monday, May 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 85 (Monday, May 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23968-23969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08614]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XF751]
Magnuson-Stevens 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, 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 Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
(CFRF). Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of this notification to provide
interested parties with the opportunity to comment on applications for
proposed EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 19, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89e7e4effaa7eee8fba7eceff9c9e7e6e8e8a7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2b45464d58054c4a59054e4d5b6b45444a4a054c445d">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line ``CFRF Ventless Trap
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
[[Page 23969]]
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2d4e455f445e59444348034b425f496d43424c4c034a425b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="27444f554e54534e49420941485543674948464609404851">[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 697.21(c).............. Gear To allow for closed
specification escape vents and
requirements. smaller trap mesh
and entrance heads.
Sec. 697.19(a), (b), (c), Trap limit To allow for 3
and (d). requirements for additional traps per
Areas 1-4. fishing vessel, for
a total of up to 60
additional traps.
Sec. 697.19(j).............. Trap tag To allow for the use
requirements. of untagged traps
(though each
modified trap will
have the
participating
fisherman's
identification
attached).
Sec. 697.20(a), (d), (g), Possession To allow for onboard
(h)(1), and (h)(2). restrictions. biological sampling
of undersized, v-
notched, and egg-
bearing lobsters and
undersized and egg-
bearing Jonah crabs.
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Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title..................... A Collaborative Fishing Vessel
Approach to Addressing Data Needs
for the American Lobster and Jonah
Crab Fisheries.
Project start..................... 07/01/2026.
Project end....................... 05/31/2027.
Project objectives................ To continue to provide distribution,
abundance, and biological data on
juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs
from times and areas with low
coverage from traditional surveys.
Project location.................. Lobster Management Areas (LMA) 1, 2,
3, and 4.
Number of vessels................. Up to 20.
Number of trips................... Up to 52 per inshore vessel; up to
36 per offshore vessel (up to 832
total).
Trip duration (days).............. Up to 4.
Total number of days.............. Up to 3,328.
Gear type(s)...................... Trap.
Number of tows or sets............ Up to 2,496.
Duration of tows or sets.......... 7 days inshore; 10 days offshore.
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Project Narrative
This project would continue an ongoing effort 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. To
date, this project has collected data from over 287,000 lobsters and
156,000 Jonah crabs, as well as coupled bottom water temperatures from
the Gulf of Maine to the Mid-Atlantic.
The project would include up to 7 inshore vessels (LMA 2), and up
to 13 offshore vessels (LMAs 1, 3, and 4). Each vessel would fish 3
modified ventless traps designed to capture juvenile lobsters, totaling
up to 60 modified traps. Vessels may fish all three ventless traps on
one trawl, or may spread them across two or three trawls. The modified
traps would adhere to the standard coastwide survey gear for lobster
and Jonah crab set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC) and would be fished within 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 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 was
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. CFRF would share data with the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative
Statistics Program, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, ASMFC, and
the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management every 6 months.
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: April 30, 2026.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-08614 Filed 5-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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