[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 196 (Thursday, October 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57127-57128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22290]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA888]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit

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. This 
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow a single commercial fishing vessel 
to participate in exploratory fishing Gulf of Maine, targeting haddock 
with 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh gillnet gear. Regulations under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require 
publication of this notice to provide interested parties the 
opportunity to comment on Exempted Fishing Permit applications.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by either of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on NESSN 6-Inch Mesh Gillnet 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 
NESSN 6-Inch Mesh Gillnet EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9232, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Northeast Sector Service Network (NESSN) 
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
in support of an exploratory fishing project in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) 
Regulated Mesh Area (RMA). The EFP would exempt a single commercial 
fishing vessel from the 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) minimum mesh size 
restriction for day gillnet vessels fishing in the GOM RMA. The 
proposed EFP is intended to generate catch composition and gear 
comparison data to inform future studies on the feasibility of using 6-
inch (15.24-cm) mesh gillnet gear to target GOM haddock while 
minimizing catch of GOM cod.
    Activity under this EFP would occur from January 1, 2022 through 
May 31, 2022 within the GOM RMA. The participating vessel plans to take 
between 25 to 35 EFP trips, which will each average between 2 and 3 
days in length. During each trip, the vessel would deploy 5 to 8 sets 
of 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh gillnet gear. The maximum number of 
individual gillnets that would be deployed is 75. Soak time would not 
exceed 24 hours, and the vessel will not leave the fishing grounds 
while gear is fishing.
    The participating vessel would also periodically deploy 6.5-inch 
(16.51-cm) mesh gillnet and/or longline gear alongside the exploratory 
gear to generate data for catchability comparisons between these 
different gear types. The 6.5 inch (16.51-cm) gillnet gear would 
consist of a single string of 12 to 24 nets, while the longline gear 
would be 1,000 to 2,400 hooks fished as a 1 to 4 strings.
    A northeast fisheries at-sea monitor or observer will be deployed 
on all

[[Page 57128]]

groundfish trips taken under the EFP. Allowable discards will be 
discarded at-sea, while all other species will be retained, landed, and 
processed per normal commercial fishing procedures. Monitors will 
document all discards of allocated sub-legal catch. NESSN and the 
participating vessel are responsible paying for the additional 
monitoring for the EFP trips.
    All catch, including landings and discards, will be deducted from 
Sector ACE as normal. Catch estimates for the project provided by NESSN 
are shown in Table 1, and based on previous catch by the participating 
vessel under normal fishing conditions.

        Table 1--Estimated Total Catch of Groundfish on EFP Trips
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                                           Estimated total catch
              Stock              ---------------------------------------
                                   Legal sized catch  Sub-legal discards
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Acadian Redfish.................  50 lb (22.7 kg)...  0 lb.
American Plaice.................  10 lb (4.5 kg)....  0 lb.
GOM Cod.........................  600 lb (272.2 kg).  30 lb (13.6 kg).
Atlantic Halibut................  50 lb (22.7 kg)...  0 lb.
Atlantic Wolffish...............  0 lb..............  5 (2.3 kg).
GOM Haddock.....................  35,000 lb           300 (136.1 kg).
                                   (15,875.7 kg).
Ocean Pout......................  0 lb..............  0 lb.
Pollock.........................  15,000 lb (6,803.9  100 lb (45.4 kg).
                                   kg).
White Hake......................  1,000 lb (453.6     50 lb (22.7 kg).
                                   kg).
Witch Flounder..................  10 lb (4.5 kg)....  0 lb.
N. Windowpane Flounder..........  0 lb..............  0 lb.
GOM Winter Flounder.............  40 lb (18.1 kg)...  5 lb (2.3 kg).
CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder......  40 lb (18.1 kg)...  5 lb (2.3 kg).
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    The exemption from the mesh size restriction for day gillnet 
vessels at 50 CFR 648.80(a)(3)(iv)(B)(1) is necessary to allow the 
participating vessel to conduct exploratory fishing with 6-inch mesh 
gillnet gear under the proposed EFP.
    If approved, the applicant 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: October 7, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-22290 Filed 10-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P