[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 214 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68513-68515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28257]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE244


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management 
Measures; 2016 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 2016 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 and to meet the 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 7, 2015.

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.
     Email: [email protected].
    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) or Delisse 
Ortiz at 240-681-9037.

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; 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; and collection of 
sharks to determine the weight conversion factor from dressed weight to 
whole weight.
    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 90.7 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw), 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 2016 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

[[Page 68514]]

changes each year. In 2015, seven fishermen were chosen to participate. 
From 2008 through 2015, 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 the beginning of the 2015 fishing season, NMFS split the sandbar 
and LCS research fishery quotas equally among selected participants, 
with each vessel allocated 13.3 mt dw of sandbar shark research fishery 
quota and 5.7 mt dw of other LCS research fishery quota. On August 18, 
2015, NMFS implemented Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (80 
FR 50074; Amendment 6) which, among other things, established a new 
base annual quota for the sandbar shark research fishery as 90.7 mt dw 
(199,943 lb dw). To account for the lower sandbar shark quota, NMFS 
revised the equal allocation of every participating vessel in the shark 
research fishery to 80 percent of their current allocation minus their 
landings up until Amendment 6 was implemented. NMFS also established a 
regional dusky bycatch limit where once three or more dusky sharks were 
caught dead in any 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, after the change in soak time, 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 2016 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, the 2010/2011 U.S. 
South Atlantic blacknose, U.S Gulf of Mexico blacknose, sandbar, and 
dusky sharks stock assessments, and the 2012 U.S. Gulf of Mexico 
blacktip shark stock assessment. The 2016 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 and availability 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; past 
and present availability to participate in the shark research fishery 
year-round; 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. Preference will be given to 
those applicants who are willing and available to fish year-round and 
who affirmatively state that they

[[Page 68515]]

intend to do so, in order to ensure the timely and accurate data 
collection NMFS needs to meet this year's research objectives. 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 2016 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 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 2016. 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 
2016. 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 2013 (78 FR 14515; March 6, 2013), 
2014 (79 FR 12155; March 4, 2014), and 2015 (80 FR 3221; January 22, 
2015) and expects to hold one again in 2016. 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). Shark research 
fishery permit holders must carry a NMFS-approved observer in order to 
land sandbar sharks. 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 2016 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 2016 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: November 2, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-28257 Filed 11-4-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P