[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45283-45284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16571]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE715


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management 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 from the 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries contains all of the required 
information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing 
Permit would allow a commercial fishing vessel to retain approximately 
600 sublegal-sized male, and egg-bearing, v-notched, and sublegal-sized 
female lobsters during normal fishing operations in Lobster Management 
Area 2 for use in reproductive laboratory research being conducted by 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
    Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

[[Page 45284]]

Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
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 July 28, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email to: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line ``MA DMF Climate Change Lobster EFP.''
     Mail to: 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 MA 
DMF Climate Change Lobster EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Hanson, NOAA Affiliate, 978-
281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries 
(MA DMF) submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit (EFP) on June 27, 2016, to conduct commercial fishing activities 
that the regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize 
one vessel to possess and transport approximately 600 sublegal-sized 
male, and egg-bearing, v-notched, and sublegal-sized female lobsters 
during normal fishing operations in Lobster Management Area (LMA) 2. 
These lobsters will be delivered to MA DMF staff for use in laboratory 
research. The research will study the effects of climate change and 
thermal stress on reproduction in lobsters and requires reproductively 
capable lobsters to examine/observe mating success, fecundity, egg 
quality, and overall reproductive capacity.
    Funding for this study has been awarded under the Saltonstall-
Kennedy Research Program (Grant #NA16NMF4270242). This study is 
designed to investigate the decline and recruitment failure of the 
Southern New England lobster stock. MA DMF is requesting specific 
exemptions from Federal lobster regulations on:
    1. Minimum legal size harvest and possession requirements specified 
at 50 CFR 697.20(a)(4);
    2. Restrictions on the harvest, possession, and transport of egg-
bearing females at Sec.  697.20(d)(1) through (3); and
    3. Restrictions on the harvest and possession of standard v-notch 
females detailed at Sec.  697.20(g)(3) through (4).
    If the EFP is approved, all exempted collections would take place 
on designated collection days during the normal commercial fishing 
activity of the participating vessel. No additional and/or modified 
gear or effort would be used, so no additional impacts to bycatch, 
marine mammals, or endangered species are anticipated beyond the risks 
associated with normal fishing operations. This project will collect 
approximately 400 egg-bearing females and 200 otherwise restricted 
lobsters for scientific study. All lobsters caught under the EFP for 
research purposes would be banded with a different color to distinguish 
them from the legally harvestable commercial catch, and any egg-bearing 
females would be held separately from the remainder of the catch. A MA 
DMF staff member would meet the vessel at the dock after each 
collection trip to take possession of the EFP-authorized lobsters and 
bring them to the MA DMF facility for processing and experimental 
study. No more than a total of four collection days/trips of typical 
commercial fishing activity are anticipated under this EFP.
    If approved, MA DMF may request minor modifications and extensions 
to the EFP throughout the study period. 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: July 8, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-16571 Filed 7-12-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P