[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13984-13985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05118]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB870]


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 application contains all 
of the required information and warrants further consideration. The 
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish 
outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted by the 
applicant. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
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 28, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``AOLA Early Benthic-Phase Lobster Trap EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, [email protected], (978) 281-9184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's 
Association submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial fishing activities that the 
regulations would otherwise restrict to pilot test a single early 
benthic-phase (EBP) lobster trap, which targets lobsters between 15- 
and 50-millimeter carapace length, to determine its feasibility for 
broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would exempt the participating 
vessel from the Federal regulations described in Table 1.

[[Page 13985]]



                      Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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           Citation                 Regulation       Need for exemption
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50 CFR 697.21(c) and Sec.       Gear               To allow for the use
 697.21(d).                      specification      a modified trap with
                                 requirements.      no escape vents or
                                                    ghost panels.
Sec.   697.19.................  Trap limit         To allow for one
                                 requirements.      additional trap.
Sec.   697.19(j)..............  Trap tag           To allow for the use
                                 requirements.      of an untagged trap.
Sec.  Sec.   697.20(a)(7),      Possession         To allow for onboard
 697.20(a)(8), 697.20(b)(5),     restrictions.      biological sampling
 697.20(b)(6), 697.20(d), and                       of undersized,
 697.20(g).                                         oversized, v-
                                                    notched, and egg-
                                                    bearing lobsters.
Sec.   697.21(a)..............  Gear               To allow for the use
                                 identification     of an unmarked trap.
                                 and marking
                                 requirements.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This project would use one federally permitted lobster vessel to 
pilot test the use of an EBP lobster trap in Lobster Management Area 3 
(Statistical Areas 561, 562, and 522) between May 1, 2022, and November 
1, 2022. The EBP trap is an 80-centimeter square trap based on a 
modified crawfish trap. It has four square openings, measuring less 
than two inches, which lead to ramps that drop the lobsters into a 
baited kitchen. Inside the trap, there are additional ramps that lead 
the lobsters to four cylindrical parlors with vertical openings. The 
trap is attached to cement runners that provide weight and maintain 
proper orientation.
    The participants would place the EBP trap on one of their existing 
trawls and haul it every 7-14 days during the course of the vessel's 
normal fishing activity. At each haul, the participants would record 
and immediately release all bycatch and measure, sex, and release all 
lobsters from the EBP trap. The project would include no more than 26 
experimental hauls. In addition to the EBP trap, the vessel would fish 
with its full allotted number of standard traps, but the total number 
of traps would remain less than the Area 3 trap cap. Participants would 
land and sell the legal catch from the standard traps.
    The goal of this project is to test the selectivity of the EBP trap 
(versus ventless traps that often catch eel and crab) and the 
scalability of its use. If successful, EBP traps could be used in 
lobster surveys to provide information about larval settlement patterns 
and juvenile nursery grounds.
    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: March 7, 2022.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-05118 Filed 3-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P