[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 211 (Friday, October 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64750-64752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25957]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD457


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management 
Measures; 2015 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 2015 shark 
research fishery from commercial shark fishermen with directed or 
incidental shark limited access permits. The shark research fishery 
allows for the collection of fishery-dependent and biological data for 
future stock assessments 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 other large coastal sharks (LCS), 
small coastal sharks (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 December 1, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Please submit completed applications to the HMS Management 
Division at:
     Mail: Attn: Gu[yacute] DuBeck, HMS Management Division (F/
SF1), NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
     Fax: (301) 713-1917.
    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 that your application may be released under the 
Freedom of Information Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Gu[yacute] 
DuBeck, 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 shark research fishery was established, in part, to maintain 
time series data for stock assessments and to meet NMFS' research 
objectives. Since the shark research fishery was established in 2008, 
the research fishery has allowed for: The collection of fishery 
dependent data for current and future stock assessments; the operation 
of cooperative research to meet NMFS' ongoing research objectives; the 
collection of updated life-history information used in the sandbar 
shark (and other species) stock assessment; the collection of data on 
habitat preferences that might help reduce fishery interactions through 
bycatch mitigation; and the evaluation of the utility of the mid-
Atlantic closed area on the recovery of dusky sharks and collection of 
hook-timer and pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) information to 
determine at-vessel and post-release mortality of dusky sharks.
    The shark research fishery allows selected commercial fishermen the 
opportunity to earn revenue from selling additional sharks, including 
sandbar sharks. Only the commercial shark fishermen selected to 
participate in the shark research fishery are authorized to land 
sandbar sharks subject to the sandbar quota available each year. The 
base quota is 116.6 metric (mt) dressed weight (dw) per year, although 
this number may be reduced in the event of overharvests, if any. The 
selected shark research fishery permittees will also be allowed to land 
other LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks per any restrictions established on 
their shark research fishery permit. Generally, the shark research 
fishery permits are valid only for the calendar year for which they are 
issued.
    The specific 2015 trip limits and number of trips per month will 
depend on the availability of funding, number of selected vessels, the 
availability of observers, the available quota, and the objectives of 
the research fishery and will be included in the permit terms at time 
of issuance. The number of participants in the research fishery change 
each year. In 2014, five fishermen were chosen to participate. From 
2008 through 2014, there has been an average of seven participants each 
year with the range from five to eleven. The trip limits and the number 
of trips taken per month 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 and sets, soak 
times, length of longline).
    In 2014, NMFS split the sandbar and LCS research fishery quotas 
equally among selected participants, with each vessel allocated 18.6 mt 
dw of sandbar shark research fishery quota and 8.0 mt dw of other LCS 
research fishery quota. NMFS also established a regional dusky bycatch 
limit where once three or more dusky sharks were caught dead in any

[[Page 64751]]

of five designated regions across the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
through the entire year, any shark research fishery permit holder in 
that region was not able to soak their gear for longer than 3 hours. If 
there were three or more additional dusky shark interactions (alive or 
dead) observed, shark research fishery permit holders were not able to 
make a trip in that region for the remainder of the year, unless 
otherwise permitted by NMFS. There were slightly different measures 
established for shark research fishery participants in the mid-Atlantic 
shark closed area in order to allow NMFS observers to place satellite 
archival tags on dusky sharks and collect other scientific information 
on dusky sharks while also minimizing any dusky shark mortality.
    Participants were also required to keep any dead sharks, unless 
they were a prohibited species, in which case they were required to 
release them. If the regional non-blacknose SCS, blacknose, and/or 
pelagic shark management group quotas were closed, then the shark 
research fishery permit holder fishing in the closed region had to 
discard all of the species from the closed management groups regardless 
of condition. Any sharks, except prohibited species or closed 
management groups (i.e., SCS or pelagic sharks), caught and brought to 
the vessel alive could have been released alive or landed. In addition, 
participants were restricted by the number of longline sets as well as 
the number of hooks they could deploy and have on board the vessel. The 
vessels participating in the shark research fishery fished an average 
of one trip per month.
    In order to participate in the shark research fishery, commercial 
shark fishermen need to submit a completed Shark Research Fishery 
Application by the deadline noted above (see DATES) showing that the 
vessel and owner(s) meet the specific criteria outlined below.

Research Objectives

    Each year, 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 Narragansett 
Laboratory, the Southeast Regional Office, Protected Resources 
Division, and the HMS Management Division. The research objectives for 
2015 are based on various documents, including the 2012 Biological 
Opinion for the Continued Authorization of the Atlantic Shark Fisheries 
and the Federal Authorization of a Smoothhound Fishery, 2010/2011 U.S. 
South Atlantic blacknose, U.S. Gulf of Mexico blacknose, sandbar, and 
dusky sharks stock assessment and the 2012 U.S. Gulf of Mexico blacktip 
shark stock assessment. The 2015 research objectives are:
     Collect reproductive, length, sex, and age data from 
sandbar and other sharks throughout the calendar year for species-
specific stock assessments;
     Monitor the size distribution of sandbar sharks and other 
species captured in the fishery;
     Continue on-going tagging shark programs for 
identification of migration corridors and stock structure using dart 
and/or spaghetti tags;
     Maintain time-series of abundance from previously derived 
indices for the shark bottom longline observer program;
     Sample fin sets (e.g. dorsal, pectoral) from prioritized 
species to further develop fin identification guides;
     Acquire fin-clip samples of all shark and other species 
for genetic analysis;
     Attach satellite archival tags to endangered smalltooth 
sawfish to provide information on critical habitat and preferred depth, 
consistent with the requirements listed in the take permit issued under 
Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act to the SEFSC observer program;
     Attach satellite archival tags to prohibited dusky 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, blacktip, 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;
     Examine the size distribution of sandbar and other sharks 
captured throughout the fishery including in the Mid-Atlantic shark 
time/area closure off the coast of North Carolina from January 1 
through July 31; and
     Develop allometric and weight relationships of selected 
species of sharks (e.g. hammerhead, sandbar, blacktip shark).

Selection Criteria

    Shark Research Fishery Permit Applications will be accepted only 
from commercial shark fishermen who hold a current directed or 
incidental shark limited access permit. While incidental permit holders 
are welcome to submit an application, to ensure that an appropriate 
number of sharks are landed to meet the research objectives for this 
year, NMFS will give priority to directed permit holders as recommended 
by the shark board. As such, qualified incidental permit holders will 
be selected only 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 50 CFR 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 contact NMFS to arrange the placement of an 
observer as required per 50 CFR 635.7, will not be considered for 
participation in the 2015 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 50 
CFR 635.7 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 and thus did not require an observer. 
Applicants who do not possess a valid 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 research fishery activities 
by demonstrating 2 subsequent years of compliance with observer 
regulations at 50 CFR 635.7.

Selection Process

    The HMS Management Division will review all submitted applications 
and develop a list of qualified applicants

[[Page 64752]]

from those applications that are deemed complete. A qualified applicant 
is an applicant that has submitted a complete application by the 
deadline (see DATES) and has met the selection criteria listed above. 
Qualified applicants are eligible to be selected to participate in the 
shark research fishery for 2015. The HMS Management Division will 
provide the list of qualified applicants without identifying 
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 observers, the 
availability of qualified applicants, and the available quota for a 
given year, will randomly select 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. The 
shark research fishery permits will be valid only in calendar year 
2015. 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. NMFS held mandatory captain's meetings before 
observers were placed on vessels in both 2013 (78 FR 14515; March 6, 
2013) and 2014 (79 FR 12155; March 4, 2014) and expects to hold one 
again in 2015. Once the fishery starts, 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 50 CFR 635.24(a). These retention limits will be 
based on available quota, number of vessels participating in the 2015 
shark research fishery, the research objectives set forth by the shark 
board, the extent of other restrictions placed on the vessel, 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 
LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks subject to existing retention limits on 
trips without a NMFS-approved observer.
    NMFS annually invites commercial shark permit holders (directed and 
incidental) to submit an application to participate in the shark 
research fishery. 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 by the deadline (see DATES), and NMFS' review of 
applicant information as outlined above. The 2015 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 28, 2014.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-25957 Filed 10-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P