[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9170-9171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03760]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE463
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, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, 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
Atlantic sea scallop regulations in support of research conducted by
the Coonamessett Farm Foundation. 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 Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 10, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``DA15-084 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.''
Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on
DA15-030 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fisheries Management
Specialist, 978-282-8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA Fisheries awarded the Coonamesset Farm
Foundation (CFF) a grant through the 2015 Atlantic sea scallop research
set-aside (RSA) program, in support of a project titled, ``Habitat
Characterization and Sea Scallop Resource Enhancement Study in a
Proposed Habitat Research Area-Year Three.'' CFF has also submitted a
proposal for a project of similar design for consideration under the
2016 Atlantic sea scallop RSA program titled ``Drivers of Dispersal and
Retention in Recently Seeded Sea Scallops.'' Final project selections
for the 2016 scallop RSA program are still to be determined and grant
funding is expected sometime in March 2016. CFF submitted a complete
application for an EFP for both projects on November 12, 2015. The main
objectives for these projects are:
1. Perform a seeding operation and monitor environmental conditions
before and after seeding;
2. Test a new cost-effective technique for marking and tracking
seed scallops by size class;
3. Monitor transplanted scallops using an autonomous underwater
vehicle (AUV) to quantify scallop and predator densities, dispersal
rates, and survival; and
4. Investigate the different seedbed characteristics to provide
insight into factors behind transplant success or failure.
Each project would transplant scallops from areas of high
concentration to areas of lower concentration that were historically
known to have high scallop densities, to demonstrate the feasibility of
a reseeding program to enhance and stabilize scallop recruitment on
Georges Bank. The Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating
vessels from Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea allocations at 50 CFR
648.53(b); crew size restrictions at Sec. 648.51(c); Atlantic sea
scallop observer program requirements at Sec. 648.11(g); and closed
area exemptions for Nantucket Lightship at Sec. 648.58(c). It would
also exempt participating vessels from the access area program
requirements at Sec. 648.60(a)(4), which would allow them to transit
in and out of the access areas from the open area, as well as from the
50 bushel in-shell scallop possession limit outside of an access area
found at Sec. 648.52(f). Finally the Exempted Fishing Permit would
exempt vessels from possession limits and minimum fish size
requirements specified in 50 CFR part 648, subsections B and D through
O, for sampling purposes and to retain any yellowtail flounder showing
signs of disease for further shore side analysis.
Three dredging trips would collect and transplant roughly 10,000 to
15,000 scallops. One trip would support the 2015 project and two trips
would support the proposed 2016 project. Dredging trips would be
conducted utilizing a single vessel starting in March 2016 for the 2015
project, and April through May 2016 for the 2016 project if funded. The
juvenile scallops would be harvested from the southeast portion of
Nantucket Lightship Access Area (NLAA) to suitable sites in an
alternate area of NLAA or a suitable site on Cox's Ledge. The projects
define a suitable site as having currents less than 3 knots (~1 m/s)
and large areas of coarse substrate preferred by scallops.
The vessel would tow two standard 15-foot (4.57-meter) wide dredges
with a 4-inch (10.16-cm) ring bag for up to 10 minutes at 4.5 knots. To
harvest all of the scallops, the applicant estimates they would need to
complete approximately 25 tows. Once the catch is on deck, the scallops
would be sorted by size class, marked with an appropriately colored
reflective tape to aid with post-seeding monitoring, and stored in fish
totes with a chilled seawater flow through system. All harvesting and
tagging would occur during nighttime hours to reduce stress on the
scallops. Once the vessel reaches the reseeding site, the vessel would
anchor up to allow for a controlled placement, and researchers will
lower the scallops to the ocean bottom for a targeted density of two
scallops per square meter. A bottom marker would also be released with
each scallop placement to locate the original site enabling researchers
to note any scallop movement.
One bushel from each tow would be measured for size frequency and
15 individual scallops would be sampled for meat weights to determine
shell height/meat weight ratios prior to transplanting. Any finfish
caught in the dredge that show signs of abnormalities would have a
small biopsy of the area
[[Page 9171]]
removed and preserved in a vial with formalin and the carcass would be
placed in a ziplock bag and stored on ice. Researchers would continue
gathering information on the prevalence of the disease Ichthyophonus
seen locally in yellowtail flounder. Anticipated bycatch for both
projects is listed in the table below.
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Minimum bycatch Maximum bycatch
Species ---------------------------------------------------------------
(lb) (kg) (lb) (kg)
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Scallop......................................... 12,000 5,443 15,075 6,838
Yellowtail Flounder............................. 140 64 450 204
Winter Flounder................................. 20 9 225 102
Windowpane Flounder............................. 120 54 450 204
Monkfish........................................ 500 227 1,575 714
Other Fish...................................... 220 100 450 204
Barndoor Skate.................................. 20 9 675 306
NE Skate Complex................................ 7,740 3,510 12,825 5,817
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In addition to trips that will harvest and place seed scallops,
there will be five trips dedicated to conducting optical surveys of the
research area; two trips to determine seed placement locations, and
three trips to monitor the seeding effort. Researchers would conduct
each initial optical survey over the course of a day and the post seed
optical surveys over seven days. The post seeding surveys would start
immediately after scallop placement, and recur at each site once a day.
To collect data at each of the sites, researchers would use a GAVIA
AUV, and a video sled comprised of a 9.84-foot (3-m) wide beam
outfitted with a battery operated camera and strobe system. The only
contact with the ocean bottom would be with three 3-inch (7.62-cm) wide
runners attached to the bottom of the beam. No exemptions are needed
for the optical survey trips.
Regulatory exemptions are needed to allow CFF to collect scallops
from a closed access area and reseed them in an open area, and without
being charged days-at-sea. Exemptions are also needed to deploy dredge
gear in closed access areas and retain yellowtail flounder for
scientific purposes. Participating vessels need crew size waivers to
accommodate science personnel and possession waivers will enable them
to conduct data collection activities. We would waive the observer
program notification requirements because the research activity is not
representative of standard fishing activity.
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: February 18, 2016.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-03760 Filed 2-23-16; 8:45 am]
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