[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7227-7228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3150]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600 and 697

RIN 0648-XT83


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; 
Application for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a request for an EFP; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This EFP application, submitted by the Pemaquid Fishermen's 
Cooperative Association (PFC), is intended to assist NMFS and the 
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (ALWTRT) in their efforts to 
address the identified entanglement threat of vertical lines in fixed 
gear fisheries to Atlantic large whale populations. The EFP application 
is for testing of fixed fishing gear with no vertical lines on the 
northern edge of Jeffrey's Ledge in the Gulf of Maine.
    The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 
Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), has made a 
preliminary determination that the subject EFP application contains all 
the required information and warrants further consideration and that 
the activities authorized under the EFP would be consistent with the 
goals and objectives of federal management of the American lobster 
(lobster) resource. However, further review and consultation may be 
necessary before a final determination is made to issue an EFP. NMFS 
announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to issue 
an EFP and, therefore, invites comments on the issuance of this EFP.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 5, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great 
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Mark the outside of the 
envelope ``Comments - Lobster EFP Proposal.'' Comments also may be sent 
via facsimile (fax) to 978-281-9117. Comments may also be submitted by 
e-mail to [email protected]. Include in the subject line of the e-mail 
the following document identifier: ``Comments - Lobster EFP Proposal.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Towne, Research Associate, (978) 
675-2162, fax (978) 281-9117.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations that govern exempted fishing, at Sec.  600.745(b) 
and Sec.  697.22, allow the Regional Administrator to authorize for 
limited testing, public display, data collection, exploration, health 
and safety, environmental clean-up, and/or hazardous removal purposes, 
and the targeting or incidental harvest of managed species that would 
otherwise be prohibited. An EFP to authorize such activity may be 
issued, provided there is adequate opportunity for the public to 
comment on the EFP application, the conservation goals and objectives 
of federal management of the lobster resource are not compromised, and 
issuance of the EFP is beneficial to the management of the species.
    The lobster fishery is one of the most valuable fisheries in the 
northeastern United States. In 2008, approximately 82 million lbs 
(37,120 mt) of lobster were landed, with an ex-vessel value of 
approximately $306 million. Under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission's interstate management process, lobsters are managed in 
state waters under Amendment 3 to the American Lobster Interstate 
Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 3). In federal waters of the 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), lobsters are managed under federal 
regulations at 50 CFR part 697.
    The ALWTRP is a program to reduce the risk of serious injury or 
death of large whales due to incidental entanglement in U.S. commercial 
fishing gear. The plan is required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
(MMPA), and has been implemented by NMFS. The ALWTRP evolves as NMFS 
and the ALWTRT learn more about why whales become entangled and how 
fishing practices might be modified to reduce the risk of entanglement.

Proposed EFP

    The EFP application requests exemptions from regulations in order 
to conduct gear research on the northern edge of Jeffrey's Ledge in the 
Gulf of Maine to study fixed lobster fishing gear without vertical 
lines that could reduce or diminish whale entanglement. One contracted 
commercial fisherman would fish 140 traditional wire lobster traps with 
no vertical lines (experimental) and 140 traditional wire lobster traps 
with vertical lines (control), each set in multiple trawl 
configurations, rigging no fewer then 7 trawls with 20 traps each. Both 
the experimental and control group trawls would be hauled 30 times each 
during the fishing season, totaling no fewer than 420 hauls. The EFP 
application proposes the collection of statistical and scientific 
information as part of the project. Investigators would complete a 
NMFS-approved data sheet on each trip, collecting data on weather and 
sea conditions, position of gear, bottom type, water depth and 
temperature, duration of hauling time, set time, trap loss, 
configuration changes, hauling procedure modifications, catch, price 
per pound, and gear conflicts.
    Trawls would be tested on different bottom types, and the grappling 
hook gear used to retrieve the lineless trawls would be specific to 
that bottom type. Although the grappling hooks might adversely impact 
benthic habitats, their limited use for the proposed activity would not 
constitute a threat that is significantly greater than the one 
associated with the impact of the traps themselves, or of the other 
lobster traps that are already being fished in the proposed project 
location. Therefore there would be no anticipated adverse effects on 
protected resources or habitat as a result of this work.
    This project would not involve the authorization of any additional 
lobster trap gear. To allow for experimentation with traps without 
vertical lines, the EFP would provide exemptions from the vertical line 
and buoy regulations at Sec.  697.21(b)(2). All traps fished by the 
participating vessel would comply with all other applicable lobster 
regulations specified at 50 CFR part 697. There would not be observers 
or researchers onboard the participating vessel.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.


[[Page 7228]]


    Dated: February 12, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-3150 Filed 2-17-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S