[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14846-14847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07088]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG141


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 Acting Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary 
determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit Application from the 
Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation contains all the required 
information and warrants further consideration. Regulations under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the 
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act require 
publication of this notice to provide interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on applications for proposed Exempted Fishing 
Permits.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on CFRF Lobster EFP.''
     Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930.

[[Page 14847]]

Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CFRF Lobster EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, NOAA Affiliate, (978) 
281-9225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation 
(CFRF) submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit 
(EFP) on February 22, 2018, to conduct fishing activities that the 
regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize four 
commercial fishing vessels to conduct a study using ventless traps to 
survey the abundance and distribution of juvenile American lobster and 
Jonah crab in Lobster Conservation Management Area (LCMA) 2. Overall, 
this EFP proposes to use a total of 144 ventless traps to survey the 
abundance and distribution of juvenile American lobster and Jonah crab 
in the Rhode Island/Massachusetts Wind Energy Area (RI/MA WEA); 
covering statistical areas 537 and 539. Maps depicting these areas are 
available on request.
    This study is funded through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 
(Award #M13AC00009). The CFRF is requesting exemptions from the 
following Federal lobster regulations:
    1. Gear specification requirements in 50 CFR 697.21(c) to allow for 
closed escape vents;
    2. Trap limit requirements, as listed in Sec.  697.19 (b), for LCMA 
2, to be exceeded by 32 standard survey traps and 48 ventless traps per 
fishing vessel for a total of 80 additional traps;
    3. Trap tag requirements, as specified in Sec.  697.19(j), to allow 
for the use of untagged traps;
    4. Possession restrictions in Sec. Sec.  697.20(a), 697.20(d), and 
697.20(g) to allow for temporary onboard biological sampling of sub-
legal lobsters; and,
    5. Possession limits and minimum fish size requirements specified 
in Sec.  648, subsections B and D through O, for biological sampling 
purposes.
    If the EFP is approved, this study would take place from May 
through November, 2018. Each participating vessel would have eight 
trawls with 10 traps per trawl, consisting of 6 ventless traps and 4 
standard traps per trawl. Each vessel will deploy a trawl at eight 
stations twice a month. Gear will be deployed and retrieved after a 
five-day soak period. No more than 144 modified and 96 standard traps 
would be in the water at any time. Modifications to a standard lobster 
trap would include a closed escape vent, a smaller mesh size, and a 
smaller entrance head. Traps will be rigged on trawls that are 
compliant with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. Each 
experimental trap will have the participating fisherman's 
identification attached.
    Lobster and Jonah crab retrieved from the standard and modified 
traps would remain onboard for a short period of time to allow for 
sampling, after which they would be returned to the water. During 
sampling, biological information would be collected on all lobsters 
caught, including: Carapace length; sex; cull status; and presence of 
eggs, v-notches, and shell disease. Bycatch species would also be kept 
onboard for enumeration, weight collection, and measurement. All 
species captured in study traps will be returned promptly to the water 
after sampling. In conjunction with the ventless trap survey within the 
RI/MA WEA, the project will include a lobster tagging program to 
determine the seasonal movement patterns and habitat use by lobsters. 
Investigators anticipate tagging of 300 lobsters per month across the 
area. Outreach and incentive programs will be developed to encourage 
tag reporting. Permitted activities would begin on or after May 1, 
2018, and continue through November 2018. No catch from this project 
will be landed for sale. All data collected will be made available to 
state and Federal management agencies to improve and enhance the 
available data for these two crustacean species.
    If approved, the applicant may request minor modifications and 
extensions to the EFP throughout the year. We may grant 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. The EFP would prohibit 
any fishing activity conducted outside the scope of the exempted 
fishing activities.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: April 3, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-07088 Filed 4-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P