[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7079-7080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02167]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC732]


Magnuson-Stevens 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 (EFP) application 
contains all of the required information and warrants further 
consideration. The EFP would allow federally permitted fishing vessels 
to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing 
activities proposed by the applicant. Regulations under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of 
this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``6-Inch Gillnet Mesh Exploratory Fishing.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, [email protected], (978) 281-9232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant submitted a complete 
application for an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that 
the regulations would otherwise restrict. This EFP would exempt the 
participating vessels from the following Federal regulations:

                      Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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          Citation                 Regulation        Need for exemption
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50 CFR                        Minimum mesh size     Needed to deploy 6-
 648.80(a)(3)(iv)(B)(1).       for Trip Gillnet      inch gillnet gear
                               Vessels in the Gulf   in Gulf of Maine.
                               of Maine.
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                        Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title.....................  6-Inch Gillnet Mesh Exploratory
                                     Fishing.
Applicant.........................  Northeast Sector Services Network.
Project objectives................  Evaluate the efficacy of smaller
                                     mesh gillnet for haddock, without
                                     increasing catch of cod.
Application date..................  November 22, 2022.
Project period....................  January 2023--May 31, 2023.
Project location..................  Gulf of Maine.
Number of vessels.................  1.
Number of trips...................  20-30.
Trip duration (days)..............  2-3.
Total number of days..............  40-90 days.
Gear type(s)......................  Gillnet, 6 inch (15.24-cm) mesh.
Number of tows or sets............  20-30.
Duration of tows or sets..........  24 hours.
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Project Narrative

    The proposed EFP is a continuation of a project conducting 
exploratory fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) that mimics the 
structure of the GOM Sink Gillnet Mesh Exemption originally approved 
for sectors from fishing years 2010 through 2012. In fishing year 2013, 
NMFS disapproved the exemption due to concerns regarding the status of 
the GOM haddock stock, which at the time was subject to overfishing and 
approaching an overfished condition. The proposed EFP would provide 
preliminary catch data to inform future studies to test the feasibility 
of using the 6-inch (15.24-cm) gillnet gear to target haddock while 
minimizing catch of GOM cod.
    From issuance to May 31, 2023, the participating vessel would 
conduct between 20 and 30 trips under the EFP in the GOM Regulated Mesh 
Area

[[Page 7080]]

during which it would make 20-30 hauls with 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh 
gillnet gear. The maximum number of individual nets that could be 
deployed is 75. Gillnets would be set for a soak of up to 24 hours, and 
would be actively tended by the vessel (i.e., the vessel would not 
leave the fishing grounds while nets are deployed).
    A Northeast Fisheries at-sea monitor or observer would be deployed 
on all groundfish trips taken under the EFP. The participating vessel 
would use the Pre-Trip Notification System to identify groundfish trip 
taken under the EFP. Trips would be eligible for natural selection for 
observer coverage for either the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program 
or the At-Sea Monitoring program. Trips not naturally selected for 
observer coverage would not be reimbursable from Federal 
appropriations.
    Allowable discards would be discarded at-sea, while all other 
species would be retained, landed, and processed per normal commercial 
fishing procedures. Monitors would document all discards of allocated 
sub-legal catch.
    While on EFP trips, the vessel may also occasionally deploy a small 
amount of longline and 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) mesh gillnet gear, in order 
to generate catch composition data that could be used to compare the 
catchability of the 6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh gear with other gears used 
on a normal fishing trip. The gillnet gear would consist of 12 to 24 
nets in a single string, while the longline gear would have between 
1,000 and 2,400 hooks. All groundfish catch, including both discards 
and landings, would be deducted from the appropriate sector allocation.
    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: January 30, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02167 Filed 2-1-23; 8:45 am]
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