[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 210 (Monday, October 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67149-67151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28042]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA775


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management 
Measures; 2012 Research Fishery

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

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for applications.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its request for applications for the 2012 shark 
research fishery from commercial shark fishermen with a directed or 
incidental limited access permit. The shark research fishery allows for 
the collection of fishery-dependent data for future stock assessments 
while also allowing NMFS and commercial fishermen to conduct 
cooperative research to meet the shark research objectives of the 
Agency. The only commercial vessels authorized to land sandbar sharks 
are those participating in the shark research fishery. Shark research 
fishery permittees may also land non-sandbar large coastal sharks 
(LCS), small coastal sharks (SCS), and pelagic sharks. Commercial 
vessels not participating in the shark research fishery may only land 
non-sandbar LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks. Commercial shark fishermen 
who are interested in participating in the shark research fishery need 
to submit a completed Shark Research Fishery Permit Application in 
order to be considered.

DATES: Shark Research Fishery Applications must be received no later 
than 5 p.m., local time, on November 30, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Please submit completed applications to the HMS Management 
Division at:
     Mail: Attn: Delisse Ortiz, HMS Management Division (F/
SF1), NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
     Fax: (301) 427-8503
    For copies of the Shark Research Fishery Permit Application, please 
write to the HMS Management Division at the address listed above, call 
(301) 427-8503 (phone), or fax a request to (301) 713-1917. Copies of 
the Shark Research Fishery Application are also available at the HMS 
Web site at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm. Additionally, 
please be advised your application may be released under the Freedom of 
Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Delisse Ortiz, 
at (301) 427-8503 (phone) or (301) 713-1917 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Consolidated HMS Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 635.
    The final rule for Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP (73 FR 
35778, June 24, 2008, corrected at 73 FR 40658, July 15, 2008) 
established, among other things, a shark research fishery to maintain 
time series data for stock assessments and to meet NMFS'

[[Page 67150]]

research objectives. The shark research fishery also allows selected 
commercial fishermen the opportunity to earn more revenue from selling 
additional sharks, including sandbar sharks, than allowed outside of 
the commercial shark fishery. Only the commercial shark fishermen 
selected to participate in the shark research fishery are authorized to 
land/harvest sandbar sharks subject to the sandbar quota available each 
year. The base quota is 87.9 mt dw per year through December 31, 2012, 
although this number may be reduced in the event of overharvests, if 
any. The selected shark research fishery permittees will also have 
access to the non-sandbar LCS, SCS, and pelagic shark quotas. 
Commercial fishermen not participating in the shark research fishery 
may land non-sandbar LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks subject to retention 
limits and quotas per Sec. Sec.  635.24 and 635.27, respectively.
    The 2012 trip limits and number of trips per month will depend on 
the number of selected vessels, available quota, and objectives of the 
research fishery. The trip limits and the number of trips taken have 
changed each year the research fishery has been active. Participants 
may also be limited on the amount of gear they can deploy on a given 
set (e.g., number of hooks, length of longline). In 2011, vessels 
selected to participate in the shark research fishery were allowed a 
trip limit of 33 sandbar sharks and 33 non-sandbar large coastal 
sharks. The vessels participating in the shark research fishery fished 
an average of 2.6 trips per month.
    In order to participate in the shark research fishery, commercial 
shark fishermen need to submit a completed Shark Research Fishery 
Application showing the vessel and owner(s) meet the specific criteria 
outlined below.

Research Objectives

    Each year, NMFS determines the research objectives for the upcoming 
shark research fishery. The research objectives are developed by a 
shark board, which is comprised of representatives within NMFS, 
including representatives from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center 
(SEFSC) Panama City Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
(NEFSC) Narragansett Laboratory, the Southeast Regional Office, 
Protected Species Division (SERO\PSD), and the HMS Management Division. 
The research objectives for 2012 are based on the Southeast Data, 
Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 11, 2005/2006 LCS stock assessment and 
SEDAR 21, 2010/2011 U.S. South Atlantic blacknose, U.S. Gulf of Mexico 
blacknose, sandbar, and dusky sharks stock assessment. The 2012 
research objectives are:
     Collect reproductive, length, sex, and age data from 
sandbar sharks throughout the calendar year;
     Collect reproductive, length, sex, and age data from all 
species of sharks for additional species-specific assessments;
     Monitor the size distribution of sandbar sharks and other 
species captured in the fishery;
     Continue on-going tagging programs for identification of 
migration corridors and stock structure;
     Maintain time-series of abundance from previously derived 
indices for the shark BLL observer program;
     Acquire fin-clip samples of all species for genetic 
analysis;
     Attach satellite archival tags to endangered smalltooth 
sawfish to provide information on critical habitat and preferred depth, 
consistent with ESA requirements for such tagging under the SEFSC 
observer program take permit obtained through the 2008 Section 7 
Consultation and Biological Opinion (BiOp) for the Continued 
Authorization of Shark Fisheries (Commercial Shark Bottom Longline, 
Commercial Shark Gillnet and Recreational Shark Handgear Fisheries) as 
Managed under the Consolidated Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic 
Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks (Consolidated HMS FMP), including 
Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP (F/SER/2007/05044);
     Attach satellite archival tags to prohibited dusky sharks 
and other sharks, as needed, to provide information on daily and 
seasonal movement patterns, and preferred depth;
     Evaluate hooking mortality and post-release survivorship 
of dusky, hammerhead, and other sharks using hook timers and 
temperature-depth recorders;
     Evaluate the effects of controlled gear experiments in 
order to determine the effects of potential hook changes to prohibited 
species interactions and fishery yields; and
     Examine the size distribution of sandbar sharks and other 
species captured in the Mid-Atlantic shark time/area closure off the 
coast of North Carolina from January 1 through July 31.

Selection Criteria

    Shark Research Fishery Permit Applications will only be accepted 
from commercial shark fishermen who hold a current directed or 
incidental limited access permit. While incidental permit holders are 
welcome to submit an application, to ensure that an appropriate number 
of sharks are landed/harvested to meet the research objectives for this 
year, NMFS will be giving priority to directed permit holders. As such, 
qualified incidental permit holders will only be selected if there are 
not enough qualified directed permit holders to meet research 
objectives.
    The Shark Research Fishery Permit Application includes, but is not 
limited to, a request for the following information: Type of commercial 
shark permit possessed; past participation in the commercial shark 
fishery (not including sharks caught for display); past involvement and 
compliance with HMS observer programs per Sec.  635.7; past compliance 
with HMS regulations at 50 CFR part 635; availability to participate in 
the shark research fishery; ability to fish in the regions and season 
requested; ability to attend necessary meetings regarding the 
objectives and research protocols of the shark research fishery; and 
ability to carry out the research objectives of the Agency. An 
applicant who has been charged criminally or civilly (e.g., issued a 
Notice of Violation and Assessment (NOVA) or Notice of Permit Sanction) 
for any HMS-related violation will not be considered for participation 
in the shark research fishery. In addition, applicants who were 
selected to carry an observer in the previous 2 years for any HMS 
fishery, but failed to communicate with NMFS observer programs in order 
to arrange the placement of an observer before commencing any fishing 
trip that would have resulted in the incidental catch or harvest of any 
Atlantic HMS, per Sec.  635.7, will not be considered for participation 
in the 2012 shark research fishery. Applicants who were selected to 
carry an observer in the previous 2 years for any HMS fishery and 
failed to comply with all the observer regulations per Sec.  635.7, 
including failure to provide adequate sleeping accommodations per Sec.  
635.7(e)(1), a sufficiently sized survival craft per Sec.  
600.746(f)(6), or failure to pass a USCG safety examination per Sec.  
600.746(c)(2) will also not be considered. Exceptions will be made for 
vessels that were selected for HMS observer coverage but did not fish 
in the quarter when selected. Applicants who do not possess a valid 
Unites States Coast Guard (USCG) safety inspection decal when the 
application is submitted will not be considered. Applicants who have 
been non-compliant with any of the HMS observer program regulations in 
the previous 2 years, as described above, may be eligible for future 
participation in shark

[[Page 67151]]

research fishery activities by demonstrating 2 subsequent years of 
compliance with observer regulations at Sec.  635.7.

Selection Process

    The HMS Management Division will review all submitted applications 
that are deemed complete and develop a list of qualified applicants. A 
qualified applicant is an applicant that has submitted a complete 
application and has met the selection criteria. Qualified applicants 
are eligible to be selected to participate in the shark research 
fishery for 2012. The HMS Management Division will provide the list of 
qualified applicants without identification information to the SEFSC. 
The SEFSC will then evaluate the list of qualified applicants and, 
based on the temporal and spatial needs of the research objectives, the 
availability of qualified applicants, and the available quota for a 
given year, will randomly select approximately 10 qualified applicants 
to conduct the prescribed research. Where there are multiple qualified 
applicants that meet the criteria, permittees will be randomly selected 
through a lottery system. If a public meeting is deemed necessary, NMFS 
will announce details of a public selection meeting in a subsequent 
Federal Register notice.
    Once the selection process is complete, NMFS will notify the 
selected applicants and issue the shark research fishery permits. If 
needed, NMFS will communicate with the shark research fishery permit 
holders to arrange a captain's meeting to discuss the research 
objectives and protocols. The shark research fishery permit holders 
must contact the NMFS observer coordinator to arrange the placement of 
a NMFS-approved observer for each shark research trip.
    A shark research fishery permit will only be valid for the vessel 
and owner(s) and terms and conditions listed on the permit, and, thus, 
cannot be transferred to another vessel or owner(s). Issuance of a 
shark research permit does not guarantee that the permit holder will be 
assigned a NMFS-approved observer on any particular trip. Rather, 
issuance indicates that a vessel may be issued a NMFS-approved observer 
for a particular trip, and on such trips, may be allowed to harvest 
Atlantic sharks, including sandbar sharks, in excess of the retention 
limits described in Sec.  635.24(a). These retention limits will be 
based on available quota, number of vessels participating in the 2012 
shark research fishery, the research objectives set forth by the shark 
board, and may vary by vessel and/or location. When not operating under 
the auspices of the shark research fishery, the vessel would still be 
able to land non-sandbar, SCS, and pelagic sharks subject to existing 
retention limits on trips without a NMFS-approved observer. The shark 
research permit may be revoked or modified at any time and does not 
confer the right to engage in activities beyond those listed on the 
shark research fishery permit.
    Commercial shark permit holders (directed and incidental) are 
invited to submit an application to participate in the shark research 
fishery on an annual basis. Permit applications can be found on the HMS 
Management Division's Web site at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm or by calling (301) 427-8503. Final decisions on the issuance 
of a shark research fishery permit will depend on the submission of all 
required information, and NMFS' review of applicant information as 
outlined above. The 2012 shark research fishery will start after the 
opening of the shark fishery and under available quotas as published in 
a separate Federal Register final rule.

    Dated: October 25, 2011.
Galen Tromble,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-28042 Filed 10-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P