[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25240-25241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11321]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XX001


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management 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 Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary 
determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application from the 
University of Connecticut contains all of the required information and 
warrants further consideration.

[[Page 25241]]

Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
Management Act require publication of this notice to provide interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed 
Exempted Fishing Permits.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 17, 2019.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9225, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This project would collect egg bearing 
female lobsters to examine the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals 
on lobster larva development. The University of Connecticut submitted a 
complete EFP application on May 1, 2019.
    If the EFP is approved, this study would take place from May to 
September 2019. The EFP would authorize participating vessels to 
collect up to 18 female egg-bearing lobsters from Lobster Conservation 
Management Areas 2 and 3. The lobsters collected for this study would 
range in weight from 1.5-4.5 lb (0.68-2.41 kg). Fishermen would ship 
the lobsters overnight to a researcher at the Marine Biological 
Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. The researcher would transfer the 
lobsters to a holding tank to conduct further analysis of blood samples 
for the presence of endocrine disruptors and monitor larval 
development. The researcher will return surviving lobsters to the ocean 
following the experiments.
    If approved, the applicant 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: May 24, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-11321 Filed 5-30-19; 8:45 am]
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