[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 45 (Friday, March 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 13142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04616]
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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; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: At the request of the public, NMFS is reopening the comment
period for an Exempted Fishing Permit application. 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 March 23, 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.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9225.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 27, 2020, we published a notice
soliciting public comment on an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)
application (85 FR 4638) and received requests from the public to
extend the comment period. At the request of the public, we are
reopening the comment period for 15 days. A full description of the
requested exemptions and research plan are available in the original
notice and are not repeated here.
In an effort to address some of the New England Fishery Management
Council's research priorities for the Great South Channel Habitat
Management Area (GSC HMA), Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) 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, 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.
We received 27 comments on the original notification and discussed
the EFP request at the January 2020 New England Fishery Management
Council meeting. Based on that discussion and comments received, we are
reopening the comment period for an additional 15 days.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 3, 2020.
Karyl K. Brewster-Geisz,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-04616 Filed 3-5-20; 8:45 am]
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