[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 42443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15186]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC151]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; 
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 modification 
from Blue Planet Strategies 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 August 1, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on Blue Planet Strategies 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: Blue Planet Strategies was issued an 
exempted fishing permit (EFP) request on September 7, 2021. The purpose 
of this project is to test technologies for sub-surface gear marking 
and gear tracking technologies and prototypes for acoustic release of 
bottom stowed lift bags or vertical lines for retrieving fishing gear 
used in the New England groundfish, monkfish, and American lobster and 
Jonah crab fisheries for the purpose of reducing buoy line interactions 
with marine mammals. For 2022, this EFP authorized up to 12 
participating vessels in 2022 to test ropeless systems in the Gulf of 
Maine Regulated Mesh Area (gillnet) and Lobster Management Areas 1 and 
3 (lobster trap/pot). Blue Planet Strategies was granted exemptions 
from the following requirements:
    1. Gear marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow for 
the use of a single buoy marker on a trawl of more than three traps; 
and
    2. Gear marking requirements at Sec.  648.84(b) to allow for the 
use of a single buoy marker on a gillnet.
    One end of both the gillnet and lobster trap gear is required to be 
marked according to regulations, the other end will test a lift bag 
system or a stowed rope system, or a spooled rope system. Both gillnet 
and lobster gear will test either acoustic or modem gear marking 
technology. A maximum of 140 gillnet deployments were expected in 2022, 
with a soak time of 96 hours. A maximum of 800 lobster trap deployments 
were expected in 2022, with a maximum soak time of 4-8 days. Sampling 
is expected to largely occur from June through October in both 2021 and 
2022, though the permit is approved through December 2022.
    Blue Planet Strategies submitted a request to revise the EFP on 
June 21, 2022. Investigators wish to add one additional vessel that 
operates out of Chatham, Massachusetts and fishes in the Georges Bank 
Regulated Mesh Area (statistical area 521) and Southern New England 
Regulated Mesh Area (statistical area 538). Therefore, investigators 
have requested a geographic expansion of the gillnet effort. No 
additional gear deployments are expected.
    Investigators also request to modify the exemption from gear 
marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow for the use of no 
surface markings within a discrete portion of Area 1. Investigators 
wish to test the feasibility of using fully on-demand gear within the 
shipping channel known as the ``Southern Channel'' or ``Southern 
Route'' in Frenchman Bay (Downeast Maine). This new work is expected to 
account for approximately 100 of the 800 deployments approved in 2022 
(i.e., no new effort will result from this modification). In addition 
to informing work to reduce the potential for entanglements, this 
research could help determine whether ropeless gear could allow 
fishermen to prosecute the fishery in shipping channels that are 
presently kept clear of fishing gear that uses vertical lines and 
buoys, minimizing the risk of gear conflict.
    If approved, Blue Planet Strategies may request minor modifications 
and extensions to the EFP throughout the study. 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: July 11, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-15186 Filed 7-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P