[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 41764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17896]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA563


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, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), 
has made a preliminary decision that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
application contains all of the required information and now warrants 
public input on the application. This proposed project would be 
conducted by the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association (AOLA), in 
conjunction with scientists and the fishing industry, to help them 
understand the settlement and location of larval lobsters, and the size 
of the population in management Area 3. This EFP would excuse 11 
commercial fishing vessels from the following Federal American lobster 
regulation: Mutilation requirement within American lobster management 
Area 3. The researchers propose to collect a pleopod (small 
swimmerettes located on the lower body at the front side of the tail 
section of the lobster) from a maximum of 100 sexually immature 
juvenile lobsters during the AOLA project. The lobsters would then be 
measured and their sex determined before immediately being returned 
alive to the ocean. 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 August 1, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice may be submitted by e-mail. The 
mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is [email protected]. 
Include in the subject line ``Comments on AOLA Lobster Pleopod EFP.'' 
Comments may also be sent via facsimile to (978) 281-9135. Written 
comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 
NMFS, NE Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on AOLA Lobster 
Pleopod EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Sh[eacute], Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-282-8464, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AOLA submitted a complete application for an 
EFP on June 30, 2011, to conduct research activities that the 
regulations would otherwise restrict. This EFP requests an exemption 
for 11 Federal commercial fishing vessels from the following Federal 
regulation: Mutilation requirements in 50 CFR 697.20(c). This research 
would take place as part of the on-going research being conducted by 
AOLA under an EFP approved on April 29, 2011. The researchers propose 
to collect a pleopod (small swimmerettes located on the lower body at 
the front side of the tail section of the lobster) from a maximum of 
100 sexually immature juvenile lobsters during the AOLA project. To 
remove a pleopod for genetic analysis the following procedure would be 
followed: The lobster would be placed upside down, on the sorting table 
or other flat surface, to expose the underside of the tail. A crew 
member would use a small pair of snips or scissors to clip off the most 
distant part of one pleopod, approximately .20 inches by .20 (5 
millimeter (mm) by 5 mm in length). The specialized first pair of 
pleopods would be avoided, with all sampling coming from one of the 
rear pleopod sets. The impacts on the lobster resource would be 
negligible because: (1) The removal of the pleopod is not expected to 
result in mortality; and (2) 100 animals, in relation to the total 
American lobster population, is so small that any effects would not be 
able to be measured. Because this project is only relevant to the 
sampling and release of a maximum of 100 juvenile lobsters, there would 
be no impacts to habitat and protected species and there would be no 
impacts with respect to bycatch.

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

    Dated: July 12, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-17896 Filed 7-14-11; 8:45 am]
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