[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14605-14606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05510]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA885]


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 Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association contains all of the 
required information and warrants further consideration. 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 any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on AOLA Larval Lobster EFP.'' If you cannot submit a comment 
through this method, please contact Allison Murphy at (978) 281-9122, 
or email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9122, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's 
Association (AOLA) submitted a complete application requesting Exempted 
Fishing Permit (EFP) on

[[Page 14606]]

February 12, 2021, to conduct fishing activities that the regulations 
would otherwise restrict. The EFP would authorize one vessel to conduct 
larval sampling in Lobster Conservation Management Area 3. A map of 
this area is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/map/lobster-management-areas.
    The study would provide information on the spatial and temporal 
distribution and abundance of early and late stage American lobster 
larvae and their likely zooplankton prey to investigate factors 
affecting recruitment in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank stock area.
    Funding for this research has been awarded under a National Sea 
Grant Lobster Initiative grant (NA20OAR4170505). For this project, AOLA 
is requesting exemptions from the following Federal lobster 
regulations:
    1. Lobster gear prohibitions in 50 CFR 697.7(c)(1)(xxii) to allow 
for the use of multiple gear types capable of catching lobsters;
    2. Lobster possession restrictions in Sec.  697.17(a) to allow the 
harvest of lobster above the non-trap limit; and
    3. Lobster possession restrictions in Sec.  697.20(a) to allow for 
the collection of larval lobsters below the minimum size.
    If the EFP is approved, this study would hire one federally-
permitted lobster vessel to conduct a single day of lobster larval 
sampling on 14 multi-day (5-10 day) commercial fishing trips, spanning 
from the first week in June through the last week in September. When 
sampling, the vessel crew would conduct three replicate neuston tows 
for lobster larvae and record physical parameters. Samples from the 
nets will be preserved in ethanol, bottled, landed, and mailed to the 
principal investigator. Legal lobsters from the commercial portion of 
the trip will be landed and sold.
    If approved, AOLA 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 12, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05510 Filed 3-16-21; 8:45 am]
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