[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4638-4640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01301]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XX031]


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 Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary 
determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all 
of the required information and warrants further consideration. The 
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial fishing vessels to use 
dredge fishing gear with a forward facing camera within the Great South 
Channel Habitat Management Area to characterize habitat substrate types 
where dredge fishing occurs, and conduct compensation fishing that 
would support research conducted by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation. 
Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act require publication of this notification to provide 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for 
proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 11, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``CFF Great South Channel HMA Clam 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 
CFF Great South Channel HMA EFP.''

[[Page 4639]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 9, 2018, we approved the New 
England Fishery Management Council's Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat 
Amendment 2 that created the Great South Channel Habitat Management 
Area (GSC HMA). The Council also initiated a follow-up action in 
December of 2018 that approved limited exemption areas within the HMA 
for the surfclam fishery, and explicitly mentioned potential research 
in other parts of the HMA that could provide data necessary to support 
expanded exemptions in the future.
    In an effort to address some of the Council's research priorities 
for the GSC HMA, Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) has developed a 
multi-phase research project that would attempt to:
    1. Characterize substrate types where surfclam and mussel fishing 
occurs within the GSC HMA;
    2. Track spatiotemporal habitat change and benthic macrofauna 
distribution in an active fishing ground; and
    3. Determine spatiotemporal occurrence of Atlantic cod and other 
species within the HMA that are subjected or adjacent to commercial 
clam and mussel dredging activities.
    CFF submitted a complete application for an EFP on November 8, 
2019, to enable research in support of the objective 1 (identified 
above). The exemptions would authorize participating vessels to fish 
with dredge gear in portions of the GSC HMA in order to characterize 
substrate types where surfclam and mussel fishing occurs, and to enable 
compensation fishing, which would fund research associated with 
objectives 2 and 3.
    Under this EFP, five vessels targeting surfclams and mussels would 
fish with dredge-mounted, forward-facing cameras to characterize 
substrate types where surfclam and mussel fishing occurs within the GSC 
HMA. CFF contends that this information will support future 
consideration of HMA dredge emeption areas. A portion of the funds 
generated from these trips would be used to support future data 
collection using cameras to examine the habitat impacts of dredging, 
conduct habitat mapping and analysis, and research the presence of 
juvenile cod in the GSC HMA. If this EFP is approved, CFF has indicated 
their intention to broaden the scope of where they may fish with clam 
and mussel dredges once the initial phase of fishing is complete. 
Additional dredge fishing in the GSC HMA would entail a new EFP. We 
would evaluate future EFP applications on its own merits, which would 
include the utility of the information gathered from the first phase of 
dredge fishing before considering additional exemptions.
    Figure 1 shows Rose and Crown and Davis Bank, the 24 km\2\ phase 1 
study area within Rose and Crown, and two reference points within the 
study area where fishing would not occur. CFF estimates that up to 120 
clam fishing trips and 27 mussel fishing trips would be taken within 
the Rose and Crown study area. Clam and mussel trips are typically day 
trips, and effort would be constrained spatially within the 24 km\2\ 
area and temporally to one year. CFF states that every dredge would be 
fitted with at least one forward viewing GoPro camera with lights. CFF 
plans to record 100 percent of each dredge tow, provided there are no 
equipment losses or malfunctions. Vessel crew would document retained 
catch of clams, estimate the volume of total bycatch by bushel for 
mussels and other species such as crab, weight for individual fish 
species, and bushel counts for cobble and rocks. A camera would be set 
up to take video and time lapse frames of the deck pile as it is 
picked. CFF stated that crew would take estimates of the catch on every 
tow through a visual estimate and a more thorough sampling of the catch 
would occur when CFF staff are on board. CFF staff would be on board 
for approximately 10 percent of EFP trips. Catch estimates for clam and 
other species are provided in Table 1. The catch estimates were based 
on experimental trips taken in the HMA from December 2018-April 2019. 
CFF would take some samples of blue mussels back to a lab for age and 
disease analysis. All other catch above a possession limit or below a 
minimum size would be discarded as soon as possible following data 
collection. All catch landed for sale would be accounted for in 
accordance with standard commercial catch accounting procedures, and 
applied against the applicable quota.

[[Page 4640]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN27JA20.037


                                     Table 1--Estimated Catch for EFP Trips
                                                  [Bushel = bu]
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                   Species                                   Number                 Weight (lb)     Weight (kg)
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Atlantic Surfclam............................  200,000 bu.......................       3,333,333       1,511,974
Mussel.......................................  5,000 bu.........................          83,333          37,799
Winter Flounder..............................  540..............................              76              34
Windowpane Flounder..........................  540..............................             199              90
Skate (Misc.)................................  1,000............................           8,000           3,629
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    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: January 22, 2020.
Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-01301 Filed 1-24-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P