[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 19527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09385]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG203


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 
Atlantic Offshore Lobsterman's Association and Maine Department of 
Marine Resources 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 May 18, 2018.

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's 
Association (AOLA) and Maine Department of Marine Resources (ME DMR) 
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
on April 10, 2018, to conduct fishing activities that the regulations 
would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize one commercial 
fishing vessel to conduct a lobster tagging study using experimental 
traps to track movements and migrations of American lobster in the Gulf 
of Maine/Georges Bank stock. This EFP proposes to use 300 experimental 
traps in Lobster Conservation Management Area (LCMA) 3 in statistical 
area 515. Maps depicting this area is available on request.
    AOLA and ME DMR are requesting exemptions from the following 
Federal lobster regulations:
    1. Gear specification requirements to allow for the use of traps 
with escape vents compliant with LCMA 1, but not LCMA 3 (50 CFR 
697.21(c)(4));
    2. Trap limit requirements to allow for trap limits to be exceeded 
(Sec.  697.19(a) for LCMA 1);
    3. Trap tag requirements to allow for alternatively-tagged traps 
(Sec.  697.19(i)); and
    4. LCMA designation requirements to allow fishing with experimental 
traps in LCMA 3 without an LCMA 3 designation on a Federal permit 
(Sec.  697.4(a)(7)(i)).
    The purpose of this lobster study is to track migration in the Gulf 
of Maine/Georges Bank stock area, estimate growth rates via imaging 
technology and direct measurements, and characterize catch-per-unit-
effort and spatial distribution of egg-bearing females. This study will 
expand on data collected in 2015 from a New Hampshire Fish and Game and 
ALOA's fishery dependent lobster survey, which gathered some 
information on the spatial and temporal distribution of mature lobsters 
in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank area.
    Trawls will be compliant with the Atlantic Large Whale Take 
Reduction Plan and consistent with LCMA 1 trap standards. Sampling will 
occur from June to July. Trawls will be hauled no more than 8 times 
over the 40-day study period. Researchers have selected four primary 
research sites and one alternate site. Trawls will be initially 
deployed by the vessel's crew alone, but all hauling activities will be 
supervised by ME DMR staff. All lobsters caught will be measured, 
tagged, and returned to the water. All other species will be 
immediately returned to the sea. No catch from the study will be landed 
for sale.
    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 30, 2018.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09385 Filed 5-2-18; 8:45 am]
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