[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43109-43111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17919]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XW006


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; General 
Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing 
Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has determined that seventeen exempted fishing permit 
(EFP) applications warrant further consideration, and requests public 
comment on the applications. All EFP applicants request an exemption 
from a prohibition on the use of unauthorized gear to harvest highly 
migratory species (HMS) under the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West 
Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP), to test the 
effects and efficacy of using deep-set buoy gear (DSBG), deep-set 
linked buoy gear (DSLBG), or modified deep-set linked buoy gear set at 
night, to harvest swordfish and other HMS off of the U.S. West Coast.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by September 19, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2019-0079, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the

[[Page 43110]]

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0079, click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Attn: Chris Fanning, NMFS West Coast Region, 501 W. 
Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802. Include the identifier 
``NOAA-NMFS-2019-0079'' in the comments.
    Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Fanning, NMFS West Coast Region, 
562-980-4198.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DSBG fishing trials have occurred for the 
past eight years (2011-2015, research years; 2015-2019, EFP years) in 
the U.S. West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off California. Data 
collected from these fishing activities have demonstrated DSBG to 
achieve about a 95 percent marketable catch composition (swordfish, 
opah, tunas, and sharks). Non-marketable species catch rates have 
remained low and most non-marketable catch are released alive. Due to 
DSBG being actively tended, strikes are detected within minutes of a 
catch on the line. As a result, all catches can be tended quickly, with 
catch brought onboard the vessel in good condition.
    To date, DSBG has had four interactions with protected species. 
Three interactions were with elephant seals, which were not seriously 
injured and were released alive due to the strike detection and quick 
tending of the gear. These species are protected by the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act, but are not listed as threatened or endangered under 
the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
    On August 4, 2018, a loggerhead sea turtle was observed entangled 
in the surface buoy lines of a vessel fishing under an EFP to test 
standard DSBG. The sea turtle was brought on board, disentangled, and 
released back to the sea in a lively, uninjured condition. Based on 
analysis of the incident, NMFS West Coast Region amended the applicable 
Terms and Conditions to require the following attributes, to minimize 
the likelihood of future sea turtle entanglements:
    1. The surface buoy flotation and strike detection array must be a 
streamlined inline configuration, with no loops or hanging material, 
and no more than 6 feet between adjacent buoys, to reduce entanglement 
potential.
    2. The surface buoy flotation and strike detection array must 
consist of a >40lb flotation non-compressible hard ball, a minimum six 
pound flotation inline-float, and a sub-surface inline-float, all 
connected in-line with a minimum of \3/8\ inch diameter line, and no 
more than six feet between adjacent buoys.
    3. Use of buoy tether attachments (e.g., non-streamlined gear with 
loops, nooks, and dangling components) is prohibited.
    DSLBG trials have occurred since 2015 and have produced similar 
results to standard DSBG activities. Swordfish and other marketable 
species have represented about 97 percent of the catch with very 
similar catch composition to DSBG. Non-marketable species are released 
alive due to quick DSLBG strike detection and active gear tending. To 
date, there have been no protected species interactions with DSLBG in 
either EFP fishing or research trials.
    At the June 2019 Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
meeting, the Council received a total of seventeen additional EFP 
applications for review. Based on recommendations from the Council's 
HMS Management Team, the Council recommended that NMFS consider issuing 
EFPs to authorize use of DSBG and/or DSLBG for sixteen of the 
applications (see Table)
    In addition, one application for one vessel to fish modified linked 
buoy gear at night, was preliminarily approved by the Council, with a 
final recommendation scheduled for the September 2019 Council meeting. 
The gear configuration in this application differs from previously 
approved EFPs in that the applicants propose fishing at night, at a 
depth of around 300 feet. The array of surface buoys has also been 
modified to include a green light to aid in the monitoring, strike 
detection, and retrieval of gear at night. At previous Council 
meetings, the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) 
included a brief summary of DSBG gear trials conducted at night. These 
sets were fished at a depth of less than 100 ft and resulted in a large 
proportion of blue shark catch. Due to this high rate of interactions 
with blue sharks, PIER ceased night fishing with DSBG. Mr. Perez and 
Mr. Carson believe that fishing at a greater depth at night will 
increase catch of marketable species, including swordfish during their 
diurnal migration to and from depth, while greatly reducing the 
occurrence of non-marketable species interactions. The Council's HMS 
Management Team (HMSMT) agreed (https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/J5a_Sup_HMSMT_Rpt1_JUN2019BB.pdf) that this theory is 
worth allowing a single vessel, operated by a fisherman with several 
years of DSBG fishing experience under both PIER and his own EFP, to 
test this new approach.

                                 Table 1
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          Applicant                 Applications recommended to NMFS
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Barker/McCaffrey.............  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 4: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Jordan McCaffrey.
Bateman......................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 15: DSBG EFP
                                Application from John Bateman.
Burke........................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 14: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Sean Burke.
Dirkse.......................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 7: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Douglas and Lucas
                                Dirkse.
Doljanin.....................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 19: DSBG EFP
                                Application from John Doljanin.
Estrada......................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 12: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Antonio Estrada.
Flynn........................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 10: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Michael Flynn.
Gerritsen....................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 3: DSBG EFP
                                Application from J.J Gerritsen.
Green........................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 13: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Anthony Green.
Grey/Gibbs...................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 9: DSBG EFP
                                Application from John Gibbs and Anthony
                                Grey.
Guglielmo....................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 8: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Nicholas Guglielmo.
Kirkpatrick..................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 18: DSBG EFP
                                Application from John Kirkpatrick.
Lins.........................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 2: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Nathan Lins.

[[Page 43111]]

 
Marvin.......................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 16: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Brock Marvin.
Roach........................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 6: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Zachary Roach.
Stephens.....................  Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 11: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Dave Stephens.
Perez/Carson.................  Application preliminarily approved for
                                Council recommendation:
                               Agenda Item J.5, Attachment 17: DSBG EFP
                                Application from Nathan Perez and Thomas
                                Carson.
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    All applications are available at the Council June 2019 meeting 
briefing book website, under agenda item J.5: https://www.pcouncil.org/resources/archives/briefing-books/june-2019-briefing-book/#hmsJun2019.
    The Council also recommended that NMFS prioritize issuance of these 
June 2019 EFP applications over previously-approved EFP applications 
that have not yet been issued, that NMFS extend currently issued DSBG 
EFPs through 2020, and that NMFS consider any EFP applications 
previously approved by the Council but not issued by December 31, 2019, 
due to inaction or abandoned by the applicant, as ineligible for 
issuance.
    NMFS is requesting public comment on the seventeen DSBG/DSLBG EFP 
applications recommended for consideration by the Council. If all 
applications are approved, the EFPs would allow up to eighteen vessels 
to fish with DSBG, four vessels to fish with DSLBG, and one vessel to 
fish modified linked buoy gear at night, in the U.S. West Coast EEZ. 
Aside from the exemption described above, vessels fishing under an EFP 
would be subject to all HMS FMP requirements implemented in NMFS 
regulations at 50 CFR 660, including measures to protect sea turtles, 
marine mammals, and seabirds. For up-to-date information on HMS EFPs, 
please visit NMFS West Coast Region's ``Highly Migratory Species--
Exempted Fishing Permits'' web page: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/sustainable-fisheries/highly-migratory-species-exempted-fishing-permits.
    NMFS will consider all public comments submitted in response to 
this Federal Register Notice prior to issuance of any EFP. 
Additionally, NMFS will analyze the effects of issuing EFPs in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and NOAA's 
Administrative Order 216-6, as well as compliance with other applicable 
laws, including Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 
which requires the agency to consider whether the proposed action is 
likely to jeopardize the continued existence and recovery of any 
endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or 
adverse modification of critical habitat.

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

    Dated: August 15, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-17919 Filed 8-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P