[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27093-27094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12245]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XW002]


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 Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, has made 
a preliminary determination that an application for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit warrants further consideration. The application, submitted by 
the West Coast Pelagic Conservation Group (a non-profit industry 
group), requests an exemption from the expected prohibition of directed 
fishing for Pacific sardine for the 2019-2020 fishing year to collect 
Pacific sardine as part of an industry-based scientific survey. NMFS 
requests public comment on the application.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0055, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0055, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments. The EFP application will be available under 
Relevant Documents through the same link.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Lynn Massey, Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, West Coast Region, NMFS, 501 W Ocean Blvd., Ste. 
4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4250.
     Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the 
above methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Massey, West Coast Region, NMFS, 
(562) 436-2462, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 28, 2019, NMFS published a proposed 
rule (84 FR 24459) to implement Pacific sardine harvest specifications 
for the 2019-2020 fishing year off the U.S. West Coast. This proposed 
rule included a 4,000 metric ton (mt) annual catch target (ACT) and a 
prohibition on directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the 
coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (except for small directed 
catch and catch of live bait). At the April 2019 Pacific Fishery 
Management Council (Council) meeting, the Council voted in support of 
the West Coast Pelagic Conservation Group's (WCPCG) EFP application and 
one other application that is being processed on a separate track. The 
WCPCG's application requests an exemption from the prohibition to 
directly harvest Pacific sardine. The proposed 2019-2020 Pacific 
sardine harvest specifications take into account the potential for up 
to 405 mt (the combined total of the two EFP proposals the Council 
reviewed) of the ACT to be harvested under EFPs.
    The WCPCG EFP application requests a permit to directly harvest 10 
mt of CPS, of which the applicant estimates no more than 5 mt will be 
Pacific sardine. The purpose of the EFP is to collect biological 
samples in areas inshore of the 2019 NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science 
Center acoustic trawl survey to better assess species composition and 
CPS distribution and abundance. An EFP is necessary to conduct this 
collection because the proposed 2019-2020 harvest specifications would 
prohibit most directed fishing for Pacific sardine. The collections 
under the EFP would take place between approximately June 25, 2019, and 
August 31, 2019. If NMFS

[[Page 27094]]

does not issue this EFP, then this 5-mt portion of the ACT would be 
available for harvest by other permissible fishing activities.

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

    Dated: June 5, 2019.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-12245 Filed 6-6-19; 4:15 pm]
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