[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 12595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06368]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG857
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 from the
Coonamessett Farm Foundation contains all of the required information
and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would
allow a participating party/charter fishing vessel to temporarily
possess undersized black sea bass for tagging and biological sampling
purposes. 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 April 17, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Comments on CFF Black Sea Bass Tagging EFP.''
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 CFF Black Sea
Bass Tagging EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9180, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF)
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)
on February 27, 2019, to conduct fishing activities that the
regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize a
participating vessel to temporarily possess undersize black sea bass
while conducting tagging procedures and biological sampling. This
research is designed to tag and release black sea bass to study
movement patterns, habitat usage, and migratory cycles for up to the 2-
year battery life of the telemetry tags.
If approved, this research would be conducted over the course of
four 3-day long sampling trips in April and August of 2019 and 2020,
for a total of 12 research fishing days. All fishing would be conducted
using rod and reel gear on a contracted charter vessel in state and
Federal waters off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, and North
Carolina. The exact fishing locations would be determined by the vessel
captain, but would be recorded via GPS.
All black sea bass caught on directed research trips under this EFP
would be placed in a live well, and the length and sex of each
individual would be recorded before tagging. Each black sea bass would
then be tagged with an internal anchor spaghetti tag, allowed to
recover from the procedure, assessed for barotrauma, and released back
into the water using a pressure-activated recompression descending
release device. All non-target species would be returned to the water
as quickly as possible, and no catch would be retained for sale. CFF
personnel would accompany all trips and oversee these research
activities.
In addition to the spaghetti tags, 92 black sea bass are expected
to be tagged with additional specialty tags/equipment through this
project, with the type of specialized tag used and data gathered
depending on the size and vigor of each fish. A total of 48 fish will
receive acoustic transmitters to record temperature, 40 slightly larger
fish (greater than 25 cm) will receive an additional archival tag that
records temperature, depth, and conductivity, and four of the largest
fish (greater than 46 cm) will be affixed with satellite tags. The
satellite tags measure temperature, depth, light level, and
geolocation.
CFF is requesting temporary exemptions from the recreational
possession limit and minimum size possession restrictions in the Black
Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan found at 50 CFR 648.145(a) and Sec.
648.147(b) to sample and tag all black sea bass during these selected
fishing trips. Funding for this research has been awarded under a NOAA
Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research grant (NA18NMF4570257).
If approved, CFF may request minor modifications and extensions to
the EFP throughout the study period. 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 28, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-06368 Filed 4-1-19; 8:45 am]
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