[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29174-29175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13214]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XW001
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery; 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 California Wetfish Producers Association, requests an exemption
from the expected prohibition of primary 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 July 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0057, 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-2019-0057, 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, 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
[[Page 29175]]
2019-2020 fishing year off the U.S. West Coast, which begins on July 1.
This proposed rule included a 4,514 metric ton (mt) annual catch limit
(ACL) 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 California Wetfish Producer Association's (CWPA)
exempted fishing permit (EFP) application as well as one other
application that NMFS is evaluating separately, which both requested an
exemption from the prohibition on directed fishing for Pacific sardine.
The Council therefore structured the 2019-2020 Pacific sardine harvest
specifications so that up to 405 mt (the combined total of the
anticipated harvests under the two EFP proposals the Council reviewed)
of the ACL could be harvested under EFPs. The CWPA requested to
directly harvest up to 400 mt of Pacific sardine for its Coastal
Pelagic Species Near-shore Cooperative Survey (CPS-NCS).
Since 2012 the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in
partnership with the CWPA, has been conducting aerial surveys to
estimate the biomass and distribution of sardine and certain other CPS
species in nearshore waters in the Southern California Bight, and in
the Monterey-San Francisco area since the summer of 2017. Currently,
there is uncertainty in the biomass estimates from aerial spotter
pilots. The CPS-NCS survey associated with the proposed EFP is part of
research to quantify that level of uncertainty by capturing CPS schools
identified by aerial spotter pilots and validating the biomass and
species composition of the schools. A portion of each point set (i.e.,
an individual haul of fish captured with a purse seine net) will be
retained for biological sampling, and the remainder will be sold by the
participating fishermen and processors to offset research costs and
avoid unnecessary discard. This research contributes to broader efforts
to understand CPS biomass in shallow, nearshore areas that NOAA's CPS
offshore acoustic trawl survey is unable to access.
If NMFS issues this EFP, the CPS-NCS will survey nearshore waters
of the Southern California Bight for 7-10 days between July 1, 2019 and
June 30, 2020. Any harvest under this EFP would count against the ACL
for Pacific sardine. If NMFS does not issue this EFP, then this 400 mt-
portion of the ACL would be available for harvest by other permissible
fishing activities.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-13214 Filed 6-20-19; 8:45 am]
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