[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37472-37473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG354


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Monkfish Research Set-Aside Exempted Fishing Permit 
Adjustment

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 adjustment to increase the total weight of 
monkfish allowed to be harvested under the two existing exempted 
fishing permits issued for the 2017 monkfish research set-aside program 
warrants further consideration. This notice provides interested parties 
the opportunity to comment on the proposed change to these exempted 
fishing permits.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on 2017 Monkfish RSA DAS Pound Increase.''
     Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 2017 Monkfish 
RSA DAS Pound Increase.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Hanson, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9180, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Exempted Fishing Permits (EFP) that waive 
monkfish landing limits for designated Research Set-Aside (RSA) days-
at-sea (DAS) have been routinely issued since 2007 to increase 
operational efficiency and to optimize research funds generated under 
the Monkfish RSA Program. Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) (70 FR 21929; April 28, 2005) specifies that 500 
RSA DAS are set aside each year to support approved monkfish research 
projects. Award recipients receive an allocation of those 500 RSA DAS, 
and their EFP limits the maximum weight of monkfish that may be landed 
under their allocated RSA DAS. Projects are constrained to the total 
DAS, maximum landing weight, or EFP expiration date, whichever is 
reached first. Since the origination of the RSA program in 2007, no 
project has reached the total DAS or maximum landing weight.
    Allowing vessels an exemption from monkfish landing limits provides 
an incentive for vessel owners to participate in the Monkfish RSA 
Program. Constraining each project to a maximum harvest limit ensures 
that the overall Monkfish RSA catch will be consistent with DAS effort 
and total mortality controls established for the fishery as a whole. To 
calculate the maximum weight allocation for each year's 500 RSA DAS, we 
assign each RSA DAS to be equal to twice the limit for a Permit 
Category A or C monkfish vessel fishing in the Southern Fishery 
Management Area (i.e., the highest permissible landing limit within the 
fishery). This means that annually, a maximum weight of 500 times this 
calculated RSA DAS pound value may be harvested under the Monkfish RSA 
program, and each project is limited to this assigned weight value 
multiplied by their allocated number of RSA DAS.
    On April 28, 2017, we issued RSA compensation fishing EFPs to the 
Cornell Cooperative Extension (Cornell) and the University of 
Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) for 
their 2017 Monkfish RSA projects. At the time, the associated monkfish 
landing weight for each 2017 RSA DAS was 3,552 lb (1,611 kg). Cornell 
was allocated 300 DAS for a maximum weight limit of 1,065,600 lb 
(483,348 kg) to fund their research. SMAST was allocated the remaining 
200 DAS, allowing 710,400 lb (322,232 kg) to be caught for their 
project. However, on July 12, 2017, Framework Adjustment 10 to the 
Monkfish FMP (82 FR 32145) increased the industry's DAS allocation and 
trip limits across the whole monkfish fishery. As a part of the 
Framework 10 changes, the possession limit for Category A and C vessels 
in the Southern Area increased from 1,776 lb (806 kg) to 2,037 lb (924 
kg).
    On June 8 and July 12, 2018, we received requests from Cornell and

[[Page 37473]]

SMAST, to increase assigned pound value of the 2017 RSA DAS from 3,552 
lb (1,611 kg) to 4,074 lb (1,848 kg), commensurate with the Framework 
10 possession limit increase already implemented in the fishery. The 
adjusted total weight limit of each project under this higher DAS 
valuation would be 1,222,200 lb (554,381 kg) for Cornell and 814,800 lb 
(369,587 kg) for SMAST. Investigators from Cornell and SMAST have 
stated there is less incentive for industry to buy RSA DAS now that the 
possession limits in the fishery have increased through the Framework 
10 measures. The requested weight adjustment to RSA DAS would help 
maintain the relative value of the Monkfish RSA Program, and 
potentially attract and maintain participants from the fishing 
industry.
    The revised EFPs would not alter the previously approved 
exemptions, and all participating vessels and allocated RSA DAS would 
remain the same. The only revision would be the maximum total weight 
that may be landed under each project. This adjustment would be 
consistent with changes implemented in the monkfish fishery under 
Framework 10, and the minimal additional effort that may occur within 
the RSA program is negligible and within the scope of the analysis 
originally conducted. The proposed adjustment does not change any of 
the determinations made during the review and approval of the original 
2017 Monkfish RSA EFPs. These EFPs are scheduled to expire April 30, 
2019. Because the RSA program is a unique entitlement within the 
monkfish fishery, we are soliciting public input on the increase in per 
RSA DAS weight requested by the participating research institutions.

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

    Dated: July 27, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-16437 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P