[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34832-34833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15724]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG350


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Acting 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 eight commercial fishing vessels 
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 August 7, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``DA18-051 CFF Georges Bank Optimization Study 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 ``DA18-051 CFF 
Georges Bank Optimization Study EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 282-8456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coonamesset Farm Foundation (CFF) 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 2018 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The project will 
evaluate seasonal distribution of bycatch on the eastern part of 
Georges Bank in relation to sea scallop meat weight yield. Additional 
objectives include 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), and Closed Area II Scallop Access Area Seasonal Closure at 
Sec.  648.60(d)(2). CFF has also requested that vessels be exempt from 
possession limits and minimum size requirements specified in 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 from August 
2018 through June 2019. Vessels would conduct 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 Atlantic Sea Closed Area II Scallop 
Access Area Seasonal Closure. Open area tows would be conducted on the 
western and southern boundaries of Closed Area II. The applicant also 
requested to conduct tows inside the Closed Area II Habitat Closure 
Area. This area remains closed to bottom-tending mobile gear to protect 
sensitive benthic habitat under Omnibus Habitat Amendment II. 
Consequently, NMFS does not intend to support the applicant's request 
to access the Habitat Closure Area.
    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

[[Page 34833]]

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. 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. The 
applicant states that 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 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, extended link 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 comparison data will help improve efforts to reduce 
scallop dredge bycatch. Dredge gear would conform to scallop gear 
regulations.
    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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                Common name                            Scientific name            weight  (lb) *   weight  (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sea Scallop................................  Placopecten magellanicus...........          33,103         15, 015
Yellowtail Flounder........................  Limanda ferruginea.................           1,097             498
Winter Flounder............................  Pseudopleuronectes americanus......           1,605             728
Windowpane Flounder........................  Scophthalmus aquosus...............           5,656           2,566
Summer Flounder............................  Paralichthys dentatus..............           1,886             855
Fourspot Flounder..........................  Paralichthys oblongus..............             148              67
American Plaice............................  Hippoglossoides platessoides.......             180              82
Grey Sole..................................  Glyptocephalus cynoglossus.........              24              11
Haddock....................................  Melanogrammus aeglefinus...........             116              53
Atlantic Cod...............................  Gadus morhua.......................             199              90
Monkfish...................................  Lophius americanus.................          16,839           7,638
Spiny Dogfish..............................  Squalus acanthias..................             173              78
Barndoor Skates............................  Dipturus laevis....................           2,217           1,006
NE Skate Complex (excluding barndoor skate)  Leucoraja erinacea, Leucoraja               127,055          57,631
                                              ocellata.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
American lobster...........................  Homarus americanus.................             1,000 **
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Weights estimated using catch from a similar 2016 project.
** Number of individual animals estimated to be caught.

    The applicant states that the exemptions are necessary to allow 
them to conduct experimental dredge towing without being charged DAS, 
as well as deploy gear in areas that are currently closed to scallop 
fishing. Participating vessels need crew size waivers to accommodate 
science personnel. Exemptions from possession limits would allow 
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. Researchers 
from CFF will accompany each trip taken under the EFP. 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 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: July 18, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-15724 Filed 7-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P