[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 104 (Thursday, May 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32374-32375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12862]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC600


Magnuson-Stevens 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 determination that an exempted fishing permit 
application contains all of the required information and warrants 
further consideration. This exempted fishing permit would exempt 
commercial fishing vessels from the prohibition on landing unshucked 
surfclams into any container other than a standard surfclam/ocean 
quahog cage, and would allow project participants to test alternatives 
to the industry standard cage used in the Atlantic surfclam fishery. 
The research would be coordinated by the Cape Cod Commercial Hook 
Fishermen's Association.
    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 exempted fishing permit.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 14, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on CCCHFA Atlantic surfclam EFP.''
     Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE 
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark 
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CCCHFA Atlantic surfclam 
EFP.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Berthiaume, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9177, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's 
Association (CCCHFA) submitted a complete application for an exempted 
fishing permit on May 14, 2013, to conduct commercial fishing 
activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict. The Exempted 
Fishing Permit (EFP) would authorize up to three vessels to research 
the feasibility of a day-boat Atlantic surfclam fishery for smaller 
vessels based out of Cape Cod by testing alternatives to the large 
industry-standard cages and 32-bu (1,703.68 L) cage tags. The 
traditional cages do not fit on smaller day-boats and, as a result, 
vessels not capable of carrying a cage onboard must offload directly 
into cages. The applicant stated that offloading into cages can be 
burdensome and dangerous and the extra handling and the compression of 
clams in the bottom of the cage can lead to damaged product. The CCCHFA 
proposes to explore the use of smaller containers that would result in 
less damaged product, thus creating a market for a lower volume, high 
quality product.
    In addition, the applicant seeks to devise a means for tagging and 
quantifying cage equivalents. The Atlantic surfclam fishery manages 
quota allocations by using a tagging system, with each tag representing 
32 bu (1,703.68 L) of allocation, or one cage. In addition to managing 
allocations, the tagging requirement is also important to maintain 
product chain of custody to allow harvested product to be tracked and 
disposed of, in the event the shellfish are harvested from contaminated 
waters and are determined to not be fit for human consumption. For 
these reasons, every cage containing surfclams must remain tagged from 
when the clams are first offloaded to the point of final disposition. 
Because this exempted fishing permit would exempt the cage 
requirements, by default the cage-tagging requirements would not be 
applicable. However, because tags are essential to carrying out the 
surfclam fishery, the applicants would work with NMFS and the National 
Band and Tag Company to convert standard cage tags into single-bushel 
tags to ensure all product harvested would be tagged. To allow for the 
flexibility to test a variety of experimental cage alternatives, 1-bu 
(53.24-L) tags would be developed and utilized on all cage 
alternatives.
    Surfclams would be landed in bushel increments using standardized 
fishery bushel methodology. Participants propose to test the viability 
of three different cage alternatives:
    1. Standardized shellfish bag (1 bu (53.24 L));
    2. Standardized stackable fish tote (1 bu (53.24 L)); and
    3. Standardized fish vat (used for skates and dogfish) (16 bu 
(851.84 L)).
    Standardized shellfish bags and stackable fish totes would each 
hold 1 bu (53.24 L) and would be tagged with a 1-bu (53.24-L) tag. The 
standardized fish vat measures nearly 16 bu (851.84 L), and would be 
tagged with no fewer than sixteen, 1-bu (53.24-L) tags. The shellfish 
bags and fish totes would be further constrained to weigh no more than 
89 lb (40.4 kg), the standard weight equivalent of a single bushel of 
clams.
    Quota and tags would be tracked using methods consistent with the 
standard Atlantic surfclam fishery reporting requirements. All Atlantic 
surfclams would be sold to federally permitted dealers. In addition, 
when offloading to the dealer, weight samples would be taken to verify 
weights as to further develop the experimental containers.
    The target species would be Atlantic surfclam, with some possible 
landings of stinson's clams. All clams caught would be sold and would 
be applied against the CCCHFA quota allocation of 31,136 bu (1.6 
million L). A 4-ft (122-cm) hydraulic clam dredge would be used on 30-
40, 15-min tows, on up to 150 trips. The research would be conducted 
from June through October, in Federal waters surrounding Nantucket 
Island within 30 mi (48 km) of shore.
    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

[[Page 32375]]

scope of the exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.

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

    Dated: May 24, 2013.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-12862 Filed 5-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P