[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 61 (Monday, March 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17541-17543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06542]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XX042]


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 a proposed exempted fishing permit contains all of 
the required information and warrants further consideration. This 
exempted fishing permit would allow midwater trawl Atlantic herring 
vessels to use electronic monitoring, coupled with portside sampling, 
in lieu of at-sea monitoring to satisfy their industry-funded 
monitoring requirements during 2020--2021. 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 April 14, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by either of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``HERRING EM 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 ``HERRING EM 
EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Fenton, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9196.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    At its April 2018 meeting, the New England Fishery Management 
Council took final action on the New England Industry-Funded Monitoring 
(IFM) Omnibus Amendment and recommended a 50-percent coverage target 
for at-sea monitoring (ASM) coverage aboard vessels issued a Category A 
or B herring permit. This 50-percent coverage target includes a 
combination of Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) and 
IFM coverage. IFM coverage requirements may be waived on a trip-by-trip 
basis if monitoring coverage is unavailable, if vessels intend to land 
less than 50 mt of herring, or if vessels carry no fish on pair 
trawling trips (i.e., wing vessels). The IFM Amendment also included a 
provision allowing midwater trawl vessels to purchase observer coverage 
in order to fish in Groundfish Closed Areas (GCA).
    The New England Council reviewed the results from a midwater trawl 
electronic monitoring (EM) pilot study and concluded that a combination 
of EM and portside sampling was an appropriate substitute for ASM 
aboard midwater trawl vessels. The purpose of EM is to confirm catch 
retention and verify compliance with slippage restrictions. The purpose 
of portside sampling is to collect species composition data along with 
age and length information. However, rather than including EM and 
portside requirements in the IFM Amendment, the Council recommended 
that NMFS administer EM and portside sampling via an exempted fishing 
permit (EFP) for midwater trawl vessels during the first 2 years of IFM 
in the herring fishery.
    Findings from the voluntary EM study, as well as analyses in the 
Environmental Assessment for the IFM Amendment, suggest that EM and 
portside sampling may be a more cost-effective monitoring option than 
at-sea monitors or observers for the herring fishery. Developing 
another permanent monitoring option for the herring fishery would give 
herring vessels additional flexibility to select the most cost-
effective monitoring option for their fishing operations, which would 
help mitigate the negative economic impacts of recent reductions to the 
herring annual catch limits (ACL) and associated revenue. The Council 
is required to evaluate the effectiveness of IFM in the herring fishery 
2 years after implementation of the amendment. Data collected through 
the EFP would provide NMFS and the Council with additional information 
about how to most effectively and efficiently administer an EM and 
portside sampling program for the herring fishery. Information learned 
through this EFP will also help evaluate the utility of EM and portside 
sampling to monitor fishing in GCAs, or to monitor midwater trawl 
vessels when they choose to fish with alternate gears (i.e., purse 
seine, bottom trawl).

Project Description

    The project period for this EFP would cover IFM years 2020-2021 
(April 1, 2020--March 31, 2022), contingent upon availability of funds. 
Under this EFP, up to 12 midwater trawl vessels issued Category A or B 
herring permits would be required to run EM systems (video cameras and 
gear sensors) on 100 percent of declared herring trips. EM data from 50 
percent of EFP trips would be selected for video review. Participating 
vessels would be required to run EM systems regardless of whether they 
are carrying an SBRM observer on trips that are selected for SBRM 
coverage. Participating vessels would be required to adhere to all 
normal reporting requirements, except as exempted through this EFP, and 
would also be required to submit electronic vessel trip reports (VTR) 
in lieu of paper VTRs. Participating vessels would be required to 
adhere to individual Vessel Monitoring Plans (VMP) when fishing under 
the EFP. Each vessel's VMP would outline the catch handling protocols 
and EM system configurations that the vessel would use while 
participating in the program. Vessels would not be permitted to fish 
under the EFP until they hold a NMFS-approved VMP.
    NMFS contracted Saltwater Inc., as the EM service provider for this 
EFP during IFM year 2020. Vessels would be required to use Saltwater 
Inc., as the EM service provider when fishing under this EFP. The EM 
service provider would be responsible for developing VMPs for 
participating vessels and establishing standards for approving VMPs and 
equipment installations. The EM service provider would also be 
responsible for: Installing, maintaining, and uninstalling EM equipment 
on participating vessels; reviewing EM video footage; processing and 
annotating video and sensor data; generating EM data analysis 
summaries; and working with NMFS personnel to review program 
performance for refinement.
    Participating vessels would primarily fish with midwater trawl gear 
on declared herring trips; however, some vessels may fish with 
alternate gears (i.e., small-mesh bottom trawl, purse seine) under the 
EFP during the fishing year. Prior to the start of each year, 
participating vessels would be required to submit a fishing plan to the 
Principal Investigator (PI) and NMFS describing which gears they 
planned to fish with at what points during the year. Participating 
vessels would also be required to notify the PI and NMFS one month 
ahead of when they planned to switch gears. Allowing vessels to switch 
gears during the year will incentivize participation in the EFP by 
allowing vessels flexibility to maximize fishing

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opportunities. Additionally, allowing midwater trawl vessels to fish 
with alternate gears on EFP trips would provide NMFS with preliminary 
information on using EM and portside sampling aboard herring vessels 
fishing with bottom trawl and purse seine gear. Participation in the 
EFP is not expected to lead to any shifts in effort that would not 
otherwise have occurred in the fishery.

Portside Sampling

    Prior to any declared herring trip, representatives from vessels 
with Category A or B permits are required to follow the usual 
notification process for monitoring coverage. NMFS will notify the 
vessel representative if a trip is selected for SBRM or IFM coverage. 
Consistent with the Council-recommended 50-percent IFM coverage target 
for herring vessels, 50 percent of EFP trips would be selected for 
coverage. If selected for IFM coverage, participating vessels would be 
subject to portside sampling on the selected trip in lieu of hiring an 
at-sea monitor. If NMFS notifies a participating vessel that a trip has 
been selected for IFM coverage, that vessel would be required to 
procure portside sampling services from a NMFS-approved service 
provider. Consistent with the herring monitoring requirements at Sec.  
648.11(m)(1)(iv), the vessel would be prohibited from fishing for, 
taking, possessing, or landing any herring without procuring portside 
sampling services for that trip. Portside samplers would collect 
species composition data, along with age and length information.
    Except as noted in the proposed exemptions below, when a trip is 
subject to portside sampling (selected for IFM coverage or paying for 
portside sampling in order to fish in a GCA), participating vessels 
would be required to comply with slippage prohibitions and consequence 
measures, and they would need to offload their catch at a NMFS-approved 
sampling station. Sampling station owners would be responsible for 
maintaining sampling stations according to NMFS safety standards. 
Portside samplers would complete a safety inspection upon arrival at 
each sampling station, prior to the start of an offload. If a station 
failed to meet all of the requirements outlined in the safety 
inspection checklist, the participating vessel would be issued a one-
time waiver by the portside sampler to continue the offload and an 
explanation of the safety deficiency refusal. The portside sampler 
would also report the safety deficiency refusal to NMFS. If the 
original safety deficiency was not addressed within 48 hours of being 
reported to NMFS, participating vessels would not be permitted to 
continue offloading at that location on trips selected for portside 
sampling until the station had been brought into compliance.

Slippage Requirements

    If a participating vessel were to slip catch on a trip selected for 
portside sampling, that vessel would be subject to all of the following 
consequence measures:
     The vessel operator must move at least 15 nautical miles 
(nm) (27.78 km) from the location of the slippage event before 
deploying any gear again, and must stay at least 15 nm (27.78 km) away 
from the slippage event location for the remainder of the fishing trip;
     The vessel operator must complete and sign a Released 
Catch Affidavit detailing: The vessel name and permit number; the VTR 
serial number; where, when, and for what reason the catch was released; 
the estimated weight of each species brought on board or released on 
that tow. A completed affidavit must be submitted to NMFS within 48 
hours of the end of the trip; and
     The vessel operator must report slippage events on the 
herring daily Vessel Monitoring System catch report and indicate the 
reason for slipping catch.

Fishing Inside of Groundfish Closed Areas

    To comply with the 100-percent monitoring coverage requirement when 
fishing inside a GCA, participating vessels would be authorized to use 
EM and portside sampling, in lieu of carrying a human observer, even if 
not selected for IFM or SBRM coverage. Portside sampling for a GCA trip 
would not count towards achieving the vessel's 50-percent coverage rate 
if the vessel was not selected for IFM or SBRM coverage.

Proposed Exemptions

General Exemptions for Participating Vessels

    This EFP would exempt participating vessels from the IFM ASM 
coverage requirements at Sec.  648.11(m)(1)(ii). This exemption would 
authorize participating vessels to use EM, coupled with portside 
sampling, to satisfy their IFM coverage requirements in lieu of 
carrying a human at-sea monitor.

Slippage Exemptions for Participating Vessels Fishing Outside of 
Groundfish Closed Areas

    This EFP would also exempt participating vessels from the slippage 
definition at Sec.  648.2 under certain circumstances. Participating 
vessels fishing outside of GCAs would be authorized to discard species 
that are not required to be kept (i.e., does not include river herring, 
shad, haddock, or other groundfish) at the grate after sorting on a 
trip selected for portside sampling. These discards would not be 
considered slippage and would not trigger slippage consequence 
measures, and vessels would still be required to report them as 
discards. This exemption would not apply when vessels are fishing 
inside GCAs. When fishing inside GCAs, fish discarded at the grate 
after sorting would be considered slippage and would trigger slippage 
consequence measures. Feedback from industry suggests that only small 
quantities of fish are handpicked at the grate, so it is unlikely that 
this exemption would result in high volumes of fish being discarded 
prior to catch being sampled portside.
    Vessels with observer or ASM coverage may discard fish at the grate 
after those fish are made available for sampling, and those discards 
are not considered slippage. However, fish discarded at the grate after 
sorting are considered slippage on vessels selected for portside 
sampling. This exemption would resolve operational differences 
resulting from the slippage definition and help create equity in vessel 
operations across gear and monitoring types. Additionally, NMFS is 
currently conducting a separate study investigating discarding at the 
grate after sorting on midwater trawl vessels. The vessels 
participating in that study are permitted to discard certain species at 
the grate after sorting, and those vessels would likely also 
participate in this EFP. This exemption would create consistency in 
catch handling practices between that study and this EFP, which would 
help minimize confusion for overlapping vessels and decrease the 
chances for accidental non-compliance with the EFP.

Exemptions for Participating Vessels Fishing Inside of Groundfish 
Closed Areas

    This EFP would exempt participating vessels from the Northeast 
multispecies season and area restrictions at Sec.  648.202(b)(1), and 
from the prohibition against fishing in a Northeast multispecies closed 
area without an observer on board at Sec.  648.14(r)(2)(v). The EFP 
would authorize participating vessels to use EM and portside sampling 
in lieu of carrying a human observer when fishing in a GCA. Purchasing 
portside sampling coverage to fish in GCAs is expected to

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be less expensive than purchasing observer coverage to fish in GCAs, so 
this exemption would provide an incentive for vessels to participate in 
the EFP. This exemption would also allow NMFS to assess the feasibility 
of using EM and portside sampling to monitor midwater trawl herring 
trips fished in GCAs.
    This EFP would also exempt participating vessels from season and 
area restrictions at Sec.  648.202(b)(2) and (4) when operationally 
discarding catch. The EFP would authorize participating vessels to 
operationally discard catch in GCAs without triggering the consequence 
measures described at Sec.  648.202(b)(4). Operational discards in the 
herring fishery are defined as ``small amounts of fish that cannot be 
pumped on board and remain in the codend or seine at the end of pumping 
operations.'' Midwater trawl vessels are permitted to operationally 
discard outside of GCAs without triggering consequence measures, but 
not inside GCAs. This exemption would allow participating vessels to 
maintain operational consistency inside and outside of GCAs. This 
exemption would also allow NMFS to collect additional information on 
the frequency of operational discards in GCAs. This exemption would not 
undermine conservation objectives because participating vessels would 
be fully monitored on 100 percent of trips and would be fully 
accountable for their catch in GCAs.
    If approved, project partners may request minor modifications and 
extensions to the EFP throughout the year. 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: March 25, 2020.
H[eacute]l[egrave]ne M.N. Scalliet,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-06542 Filed 3-27-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P