[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 38458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16194]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XX07


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; 
General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted 
Fishing Permits (EFP)

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, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), 
has made a preliminary determination that an EFP application contains 
all of the required information and warrants further consideration. 
This EFP would allow one commercial fishing vessel to harvest, retain, 
and bring to port, six egg-bearing, legal-sized, female American 
lobster (lobster) taken from conventional lobster traps in between 
Block and Hudson Canyons in Lobster Management Area 3 during the summer 
of 2010.
    The participating vessel will be exempted from the prohibitions 
relative to the possession, transportation and shipping of egg-bearing 
lobsters until the six egg-bearing lobsters are obtained for use by the 
researchers. The lobsters are needed for the purpose of studying 
lobster larval settlement by comparing settlement behavior of inshore 
and offshore lobster populations being conducted by Boston University 
in conjunction with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
    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 July 19, 2010.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on BU Lobster Larval Settlement EFP.''
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE 
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark 
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on BU Lobster Larval Settlement 
EFP.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9117.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Peter Burns, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9144, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Boston University, in conjunction with the 
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, submitted a complete application 
for an EFP on May 28, 2010, to conduct commercial fishing activities 
that the regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize 
one vessel to harvest, retain, and bring to port, six egg-bearing, 
legal-sized, female lobsters.
    The researchers are studying settlement behavior of larval 
lobsters. Recent genetic work indicates that lobster populations which 
are relatively close in proximity (for example, only 30 miles apart), 
are morphologically and genetically distinct from one another. The 
researchers believe settlement of the larvae may play a role in 
maintaining this population structure and have planned experiments to 
compare settlement behavior of different larval stages between inshore 
and offshore populations.
    The researchers request to obtain six egg-bearing, legal-sized 
female lobsters from an offshore commercial lobster trap vessel during 
the summer of 2010. The lobsters will be harvested using standard 
lobster traps which meet the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan 
gear specifications, and will be harvested from conventional traps set 
between Block and Hudson Canyons (NMFS Statistical Areas 537, 616, and 
613) in Lobster Management Area 3. All six egg-bearing lobsters will 
likely be obtained over the course of a single lobster trawl comprised 
of about 20-40 traps set for approximately one week. It is expected 
that the vessel will be able to obtain all the lobsters needed under 
this exemption during one multi-day fishing trip during July 2010. The 
researchers will take possession of the egg-bearing lobsters when the 
vessel reaches port at the end of the fishing trip during which the 
lobsters were harvested.
    Obtaining the egg-bearing lobster is most effectively done through 
coordinating with a commercial lobster vessel since lobsters 
representative of the offshore population are needed to conduct the 
study. The participating vessel will be exempted from the prohibitions 
in Sec. Sec.  697.20(d)(3) and (4) relative to the possession, 
transportation and shipping of egg-bearing lobsters until the six egg-
bearing lobsters are obtained for use by the researchers.
    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 not be covered by the exemption and 
would have to otherwise comply with all applicable laws.

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

    Dated: June 29, 2010.
James P. Burgess
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-16194 Filed 7-1-10; 8:45 am]
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