[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22499-22500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09876]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF383


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 allow eight commercial fishing vessels to 
be exempt from limited access sea scallop regulations in support of a 
study on seasonal bycatch distribution and optimal scallop meat yield 
on Georges Bank.
    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 May 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``DA17-032 CFF Georges Bank Optimization 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 ``DA17-032 CFF 
Georges Bank Optimization Study EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alyson Pitts, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coonamesset Farm Foundation (CFF) has 
submitted an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application in support of a 
project titled ``Optimizing the Georges Bank Scallop Fishery by 
Maximizing Meat Yield and Minimizing Bycatch,'' that has been funded 
under the 2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. 
The project will look primarily at seasonal distribution of bycatch on 
the eastern part of Georges Bank in relation to sea scallop meat weight 
yield. Additional objectives include continued testing of a modified 
scallop dredge bag design to reduce flatfish bycatch and collecting 
biological samples to examine scallop meat quality and yellowtail 
flounder liver disease. Project investigators working on this project 
would also work with New Hampshire Fish and Game (NHFG) and the 
Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association (AOLA) to tag female 
lobsters.
    To enable this research, CFF is requesting exemptions for eight 
commercial fishing vessels from the Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea 
(DAS) allocations at 50 CFR 648.53(b); crew size restrictions at Sec.  
648.51(c); observer program requirements at Sec.  648.11(g); Closed 
Area II (CAII) scallop gear restrictions specified at Sec.  648.81(b); 
and access area program requirements at Sec.  648.59(a)(1)-(3), (b)(2), 
(b)(4); Closed Area II Scallop Access Area Seasonal Closure at Sec.  
648.60(d)(2), and Closed Area II Extension Scallop Rotational Area at 
Sec.  648.60(e). CFF has also requested that vessels be exempt from 
possession limits and minimum size requirements specified in 50 CFR 
part 648, subsections B and D through O for biological sampling, and 
Sec.  697.20 for lobster sampling and tagging purposes only.
    Participating vessels would conduct scallop dredging in a year-
round seasonal study, from August, 2017 through June, 2018. Vessels 
will condust a total of eight 7-day trips, for a total of 56 DAS. 
Closed Area II Access Area tows would take place in the central portion 
situated below the Closed Area II Habitat Closure Area, including the 
northern portion of Atlantic Sea Closed Area II Scallop Access Area 
Seasonal Closure and the northern part of Closed Area II Extension 
Scallop Rotational Area. Open area tows would be conducted on the 
northern half of Georges Bank, west of the boundary of Closed Area II 
Access Area. The applicant also requested to conduct tows inside the 
Closed Area II Habitat Closure Area. NMFS does not support access to 
the Habitat Closure Area for this project until a final measures from 
the Omnibus Habitat Amendment II have been proposed and implemented by 
NMFS. This project is designed to ``optimize'' the harvest of scallops 
by the scallop fishery. Because this area remains closed to bottom-
tending mobile gear to protect sensitive benthic habitat, it is 
premature to grant access at this time. If the scallop fishery is 
authorized to fish in this area through a future rule making, it may be 
appropriate to amend this EFP to allow research in this area, as the 
information could be useful to supporting scallop harvest decisions.
    There is a potential for gear conflict with lobster gear in the 
central portion of Closed Area II. In an effort to help mitigate gear 
interactions, CFF would distribute the time and location of stations to 
the lobster industry, work only during daylight hours, post an extra 
lookout to avoid gear, and actively avoid tangling in stationary gear. 
We do not expect the DAS, crew size, possession limits, or minimum size 
exemptions to generate any controversy or concern about the potential 
catch of egg-bearing female lobsters in this area during the months of 
August-June. The project would work in cooperation in with NHFG and 
AOLA to tag lobsters with the primary goal of documenting their 
movement on and off Georges Bank. Data from the tagging project could 
also help answer questions of lobster discard mortality in the scallop 
fishery.
    All tows would be conducted with two tandem 15-foot (4.6-m) turtle 
deflector dredges for a duration of 30 minutes using an average tow 
speed of 4.8 knots. One dredge would be rigged with a 7-row apron and 
twine top hanging ratio of 2:1, while the other dredge would be rigged 
with a 5-row apron and 1.5:1 twine top hanging ratio. Both dredge 
frames would be rigged with identical rock and tickler chain 
configurations, 10-inch (25.4-cm) twine top, and 4-inch (10.2-cm) ring 
bag. Gear

[[Page 22500]]

comparison data will help improve efforts to reduce scallop dredge 
bycatch.
    For all tows the entire sea scallop catch would be counted into 
baskets and weighed. One basket from each dredge would be randomly 
selected and the scallops would be measured in 5-milimeter increments 
to determine size selectivity. All finfish catch would be sorted by 
species and then counted and measured. Weight, sex, and reproductive 
state would be determined for a random subsample (n=10) of yellowtail, 
winter, and windowpane flounders. Lobsters would be measured, sexed, 
and evaluated for damage and shell disease. No catch would be retained 
for longer than needed to conduct sampling and no finfish or lobsters 
would be landed for sale. All catch estimates for the project are 
listed in Table 1, below.

                   Table 1--Coonamessett Farm Foundation Georges Bank Scallop Research Project
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                                                                                     Estimated
                  Common name                            Scientific name           weight  (lbs)     Estimated
                                                                                         *         weight  (kg)
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Sea Scallop...................................  Placopecten magellanicus........          19,300           8,754
Yellowtail Flounder...........................  Limanda ferruginea..............           1,200             544
Winter Flounder...............................  Pseudopleuronectes americanus...           1,500             680
Windowpane Flounder...........................  Scophthalmus aquosus............           4,000           1,814
Summer Flounder...............................  Paralichthys dentatus...........             900             408
Fourspot Flounder.............................  Paralichthys oblongus...........             130              58
American Plaice...............................  Hippoglossoides platessoides....              50              22
Grey Sole.....................................  Glyptocephalus cynoglossus......              30              13
Haddock.......................................  Melanogrammus aeglefinus........              70              31
Atlantic Cod..................................  Gadus morhua....................             150              68
Monkfish......................................  Lophius americanus..............           6,000           2,721
Spiny Dogfish.................................  Squalus acanthias...............             130              58
Barndoor Skates...............................  Dipturus laevis.................             870             394
NE Skate Complex (excluding barndoor skate)...  Leucoraja erinacea, Leucoraja             80,000          36,287
                                                 ocellata.
American lobster..............................  Homarus americanus..............           3,000           1,360
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* Weights estimated using catch from a similar 2015 project.

    CFF needs these exemptions to allow them to conduct experimental 
dredge towing without being charged DAS, as well as to deploy gear in 
areas that are currently closed to scallop fishing. Participating 
vessels need crew size waivers to accommodate science personnel. 
Possession waivers would enable researchers to sample finfish and 
lobster catch that exceeds possession limits or prohibitions. The 
project would be exempt from the sea scallop observer program 
requirements because activities conducted on the trip are not 
consistent with normal fishing operations. The goal of the proposed 
work is to provide information on spatial and temporal patterns in 
bycatch rates in the scallop fishery, with the objective of identifying 
mechanisms to mitigate bycatch. The data collected would enhance 
understanding of groundfish bycatch and scallop yield as they relate to 
access and open area management.
    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: May 11, 2017.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-09876 Filed 5-15-17; 8:45 am]
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