[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59616-59617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24120]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XX026]
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 renewal application from
the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation contains all of the
required information and warrants further consideration. This permit
would facilitate research on the abundance and distribution of juvenile
American lobster and Jonah crab along the northwest Atlantic coast.
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 November 20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Comments on CFRF Lobster Study Fleet EFP.''
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
CFRF Lobster Study Fleet EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9225, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
(CFRF) submitted a complete application to renew an existing Exempted
Fishing Permit (EFP) on October 1, 2019, to conduct fishing activities
that the regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize
20 vessels to continue a study using ventless lobster traps to survey
the abundance and distribution of juvenile American lobster and Jonah
crab in regions and times of year not covered by traditional surveys.
This EFP proposes to use 60 ventless lobster traps throughout Lobster
Conservation Management Areas (LCMA) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Maps of these
areas are available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/map/lobster-management-areas. The study would inform management by
addressing questions of changing reproduction and recruitment dynamics
of lobster, and developing a foundation of knowledge for the data poor
Jonah crab fishery.
Funding for this study is through the Campbell Foundation and the
Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program (Grant # NA17NMF4270208). For this
project, CFRF is requesting exemptions from the following Federal
lobster regulations:
1. Gear specification requirements in 50 CFR 697.21(c) to allow for
closed
[[Page 59617]]
escape vents and smaller trap mesh and entrance heads;
2. Trap limit requirements, as listed in Sec. 697.19, for LCMA 1,
2, 3, 4 and 5, to be exceeded by 3 additional traps per fishing vessel
for a total of 60 additional traps;
3. Trap tag requirements, as specified in Sec. 697.19(j), to allow
for the use of untagged traps (though each experimental trap will have
the participating fisherman's identification attached); and
4. Possession restrictions in Sec. Sec. 697.20(a), 697.20(d), and
697.20(g) to allow for temporary possession of juvenile, v-notched, and
egg-bearing lobsters for onboard biological sampling.
If the EFP is approved, this research would take place during the
regular fishing activity of the participating vessels: 6 ``inshore''
vessels in LCMA 2 and 14 ``offshore'' vessels in LCMAs 1, 3, 4, and 5.
Experimental traps will be attached to a standard, Atlantic Large Whale
Take Reduction Plan-compliant trap trawl. Modifications to conventional
lobster traps include closed escape vents, single parlors, and smaller
mesh sizes and entrance heads, to allow for the capture of juvenile
lobsters and Jonah crabs. Sampling would occur weekly in LCMA 2, and
every 10 days in the other areas.
All lobster and Jonah crabs caught in the experimental traps would
be counted, sexed, and measured. Biological information including shell
hardness and presence of eggs would also be recorded. All species
captured in study traps would be returned promptly to the sea after
sampling. All data collected would be made available to state and
Federal management agencies to improve and enhance the available data
for these two crustacean species.
We anticipate that the final rulemaking to implement Jonah crab
Federal regulations will occur during the proposed study period. To
ensure that there is no disruption to research activities, we would
modify exemptions granted to this study, should they be approved, to
include exemption from the possession of undersized and egg-bearing
Jonah crabs. We have solicited comment on this expansion in the Jonah
Crab Fishery Management Plan rulemaking process.
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: October 31, 2019.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-24120 Filed 11-4-19; 8:45 am]
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