[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 66 (Monday, April 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19058-19059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07728]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD183


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 scallop trawl mesh size restriction 
to test an experimental trawl net as a means to reduce finfish bycatch 
in the southern New England and Mid-Atlantic scallop trawl fishery. The 
research is being conducted by Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc., 
under contract with the NMFS's Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
    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.

[[Page 19059]]


DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 22, 2014.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Christopher, Senior Fishery 
Policy Analyst, 978-281-9288.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc. (CFFI) 
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
on February 27, 2014, to conduct commercial fishing activities that the 
regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would exempt 6 vessels 
from the 5.5-in (13.97-cm) minimum mesh size for scallop trawl gear, 
and would temporarily exempt the vessels from possession and minimum 
fish size limits for all species of fish in order for researchers to 
conduct onboard sampling. All fishing activity will otherwise be 
conducted under and consistent with normal scallop fishing operations.
    This project proposes to test the effectiveness of a turtle 
excluder device (TED) in reducing finfish bycatch. Scallop trawls will 
be equipped with a TED in the extension of the net. The TED includes 
several rows of 3.5-in (8.89-cm) mesh to prevent turtle entanglement as 
it passes through the TED extension. The TED gear is not currently 
required in the scallop trawl fishery and this project is not 
evaluating the TED's effectiveness in reducing turtle catch. In order 
to estimate bycatch, CFFI personnel onboard the vessels will measure 
and record all catch (or subsamples) after each tow. Researchers from 
CFFI will work with 6 commercial fishing vessels. Each vessel will use 
the gear during otherwise normal scallop fishing operations for 5 days, 
6 tows per day, for a total of up to 30 tows per vessel, and 180 tows 
for the project. All catch will be sampled onboard using standard catch 
sampling methods consistent with the researcher's contract with the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Vessels would retain and land 
scallops and all other legal catch. Research will be conducted from May 
through October and will occur in southern New England and Mid-Atlantic 
waters.
    NMFS has preliminarily determined that the CFFI application 
contains all of the required information. NMFS has preliminarily 
determined that the purpose, design and administration of the 
exemptions are consistent with the Scallop Fishery Management Plan's 
management objectives, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, and other applicable law. Further, granting the 
exemption is not expected to have a detrimental effect on the fishery 
resources, cause any quota to be exceeded, or create any significant 
enforcement problems. Therefore, the application warrants further 
consideration.
    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 scope 
of the exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.

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

    Dated: April 2, 2014.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-07728 Filed 4-4-14; 8:45 am]
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