[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8843-8844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04413]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG790
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 exempt seven commercial fishing vessels
from limited access sea scallop regulations in support of a study on
the feasibility of transplanting and monitoring scallops transplanted
from one offshore area to another.
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 March 27, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``DA19-005 CFF Reseeding 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 ``DA19-005 CFF
Reseeding 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 ``Dispersal and Growth of Recently Transplanted Sea Scallops
(Placopecten magellanicus) in an Offshore Grow-Out Area.'' The project
would look primarily at the feasibility of transplanting/seeding
scallops from one offshore area to another. The project would also
demonstrate the feasibility of tracking the scallops once they have
been transplanted/seeded over a nine-month period. Researchers propose
that information gained from this project on scallop growth and
survival could be broadly applicable to future stock dynamic studies as
well as a possible mitigation technique to help deal with global
climate change.
To enable this research, CFF is requesting exemptions for seven
commercial fishing vessels from the Atlantic sea scallop crew size
restrictions at Sec. 648.60(c); observer program requirements at Sec.
648.11(g); Nantucket Lightship South and North Rotational Areas at
Sec. 648.60(e) and 648.60(g); and access area program requirements at
Sec. 648.59(a)(1)-(3), (b)(2), (b)(4).
This project would be conducted in three phases. An initial trip
would harvest approximately 60 scallops to conduct a health assessment
to ensure that disease transmission between areas will not occur. The
second phase would have 1 vessel conducting dredging operations to
harvest between 100,000-500,000 scallops on a single trip from
Nantucket Lightship South and transplant them in Nantucket Lightship
North. This trip would also include camera surveys when the scallops
are transplanted and then at 12-, 24-, and 48-hour intervals. The third
phase of the project would consist of five trips to the transplant
area. The first four would only consist of camera surveys of the
transplant area. The fifth and final trip would consist of a camera
survey of the area and harvest activities of both natural set and
transplant scallops for final size composition comparisons.
All tows to harvest scallops for transplanting would be conducted
with one 15-foot (4.57 m) dredge for a duration of 10 minutes using an
average tow speed of 4.5 knots. All dredge gear would conform to
scallop gear regulations. A subset of approximately 10,000 scallops
would be tagged with a unique identifier to both the top and bottom of
the shell. An additional 25 scallops would be tagged with acoustic
telemetry tags to help relocate transplanted scallop piles. All
scallops, both tagged and untagged, would be lowered to the ocean
bottom in covered baskets. Following transplant operations, CFF would
use a stationary camera array tied on to the vessel to photographically
document the drift of the transplanted scallops.
No catch sampling beyond tagging scallops would occur, therefore
any non-scallop catch would not be retained for longer than needed to
sort catch, and no catch would be landed for sale. All catch estimates
for the project are listed in the table below.
[[Page 8844]]
Table 1--Estimated Catch, by Species, for CFF EFP Request
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Estimated Estimated
Common name weight weight
(lb) (kg)
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Sea Scallop..................................... 12,000 5,443
Yellowtail Flounder............................. 20 9
Winter Flounder................................. 20 9
Windowpane Flounder............................. 60 27
Monkfish........................................ 100 45
Other Fish...................................... 120 54
Barndoor Skates................................. 20 9
Northeast Skate Complex......................... 500 227
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CFF needs these exemptions to allow them to deploy gear in areas
that are currently closed to scallop fishing. Participating vessels
need crew size waivers to accommodate science personnel. 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 New England Fishery Management Council is currently devising a
management strategy for these scallops in the 2020 fishing year and
there is talk of allocating them through a specifications action. NMFS
is particularly interested in receiving comment on how this EFP would
intersect with the Council's developing management strategy.
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: March 6, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-04413 Filed 3-11-19; 8:45 am]
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