[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38286-38287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16770]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XG385


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 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 allow four commercial fishing vessels, 
directed by Coonamessett Farm Foundation, to be exempt from Atlantic 
sea scallop regulations for the purpose of bycatch reduction research.
    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 21, 2018.

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) submitted 
a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) on July 10, 
2018, to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations 
would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize vessels to test the 
efficacy of an extended link scallop dredge apron at reducing the 
capture of yellowtail and windowpane flounder and small scallops over 
the duration of four directed research cruises. The EFP would support 
research associated with a project titled ``Development of an Extended 
Link Apron: A Broad Range Tool for Bycatch Reduction,'' that has been 
funded under the 2017 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) 
Program.
    CFF is requesting exemptions that would exempt four commercial 
fishing vessels from the following regulations:
     Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea (DAS) allocations at 50 
CFR 648.53(b);
     Crew size restrictions at Sec.  648.51(c);
     Dredge gear restrictions for minimum mesh size at Sec.  
648.51(b)(2) and gear obstructions at Sec.  648.51(b)(4)(iii);
     Atlantic sea scallop observer program requirements at 
Sec.  648.11(g);
     Access area program requirements at Sec.  648.59(a)(1)-
(3), (b)(2), (b)(4);
     Rotational closed area exemptions for Closed Area I Access 
Area at Sec.  648.60(c), Closed Area II Access Area at Sec.  648.60(d), 
and all four of the Nantucket Lightship areas at Sec.  648.60(e)-(h); 
and
     Possession limits and minimum size requirements specified 
in 50 CFR part 648, subpart B and subparts D through O, to allow 
temporary possession for biological sampling.
    Any fishing activity conducted outside the scope of the exempted 
fishing activity would be prohibited.
    The project would consist of conduct four, 7-day research trips for 
a total of 28 days-at-sea on limited access (LA) vessels fishing on 
Georges Bank. All trips will take place from September

[[Page 38287]]

2018 through June 2019. Vessels would complete approximately 55 paired, 
30-minute tows per trip at a standard vessel speed of 4.8 knots. In 
addition to open areas, tows could occur in Closed Area I, Closed Area 
II, or the four Nantucket Lightship Scallop Rotational Areas. The four 
research trips would be centralized around areas with high yellowtail 
and winter flounder bycatch and in areas with a high abundance of 
harvestable size scallops mixed with pre-recruit scallops.
    Vessels would fish two, 15-foot (4.57-m) Turtle Deflector Dredges; 
one dredge would be rigged with a standard apron while the other would 
be rigged with an extended vertical link apron. The project will 
alternate tows with and without the dredge over net over both dredges. 
Standard linking is defined as a single link between ring spaces, and 
the extended link is defined as two links linked together between 
rings. Both dredges would use 4-inch (10.16-cm) rings and a 10-inch 
(25.40-cm) twine top.
    For all tows, the 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 mm increments to determine size 
selectivity. Finfish catch would be sorted by species and then counted, 
weighed, and measured in 1 mm increments. Depending on the volume of 
scallops and finfish captured, the catch would be subsampled as 
necessary. No catch would be retained for longer than needed to conduct 
sampling and no finfish or scallop catch would be landed for sale. 
Table 1 contains an estimate of the finfish catch anticipated for the 
project.

        Table 1--CFF Extended Link Apron Project Catch Estimates
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                 Species                   Weight (lbs)     Weight (kg)
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Sea Scallop.............................          16,552           7,508
Yellowtail Flounder.....................             549             249
Winter Flounder.........................             803             364
Windowpane Flounder.....................           2,828           1,283
Summer Flounder.........................             943             428
Fourspot Flounder.......................              74              34
American Plaice Flounder................              90              41
Witch Flounder..........................              12               5
Haddock.................................              58              26
Atlantic Cod............................             100              45
Monkfish................................           8,420           3,819
Spiny Dogfish...........................              87              39
Barndoor Skate..........................           1,109             503
NE Skate Complex (excluding barndoor              63,528          28,816
 skate).................................
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    CFF needs these exemptions to allow them to conduct experimental 
dredge towing without being charged DAS, and to deploy gear in closed 
access areas where concentrations of primary bycatch species are 
sufficiently high to provide statistically robust results. Researchers 
also need mesh size and gear obstruction exemptions in order to use the 
dredge net cover. Utilizing the dredge net cover will allow researchers 
to quantify fish that would normally escape through the gear during 
normal fishing operations. Participating vessels need crew size waivers 
to accommodate science personnel, and possession waivers will enable 
researchers to conduct finfish sampling activities. 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.
    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: August 1, 2018.
Margo B. Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-16770 Filed 8-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P