[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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