[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14596-14597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05449]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA906]


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 April 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on CFRF Lobster Study Fleet EFP.'' If you are unable to 
submit your comments via the comments email address, please contact 
Laura Hansen at (978) 281-9225 or email at [email protected].

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 December 9, 2020, to conduct fishing activities 
that the regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize 
19 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 69 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:

[[Page 14597]]

    1. Gear specification requirements in 50 CFR 697.21(c) to allow for 
closed 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 69 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.  697.20(a), (d), (g), and (h)(1) 
and (2), to allow for onboard biological sampling of undersized, v-
notched, and egg-bearing lobsters and undersized and egg-bearing Jonah 
crabs.
    If the EFP is approved, this study would take place during the 
regular fishing activity of 19 federally-permitted commercial fishing 
vessels; 4 ``inshore'' vessels in LCMA 2 and 15 ``offshore'' vessels in 
LCMAs 1, 3, and 4. Four additional offshore vessels will be added to 
the project at a later date. Each vessel would have up to three 
modified traps attached to a standard Atlantic Large Whale-compliant, 
trap trawl. When the additional vessels are active on the EFP, no more 
than 69 total modified traps would be in the water at any time. The 
modifications to a conventional lobster trap would include a closed 
escape vent, single parlor, and smaller mesh size and entrance head to 
capture juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs. Additional traps would be 
added to the participating vessels' commercial trawls so there would be 
no additional vertical lines as a result of this project. Sampling 
would occur year round with traps hauled weekly in LCMA 2 and every 10 
days in the other areas. All lobsters 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.
    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: March 11, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05449 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
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