[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9871-9872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03171]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC408]


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 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 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 March 2, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``High-Volume Intelligent Discard Chute EM EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samantha Tolken, Fishery Management 
Specialist, [email protected], 978-675-2176.

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 648.80(a)(3)(i)................  Gulf of Maine Regulated Mesh    Conduct fishing with the use of 4.5-inch
                                         Area Minimum Mesh Size and      (11.4-cm) diamond mesh intended to
                                         Gear Restrictions.              facilitate the catch of redfish and 5.1-
                                                                         inch (13-cm) square mesh intended to
                                                                         facilitate the catch of haddock, in
                                                                         order to expand the predictive
                                                                         capabilities of the Artificial
                                                                         Intelligence (AI) program under varying
                                                                         catch compositions.
50 CFR 648.80(a)(4)(i)................  Georges Bank Regulated Mesh     Conduct fishing with the use of 4.5-inch
                                         Area Minimum Size and Gear      (11.4-cm) diamond mesh intended to
                                         Restrictions.                   facilitate the catch of redfish and 5.1-
                                                                         inch (13-cm) square mesh intended to
                                                                         facilitate the catch of haddock, in
                                                                         order to expand the predictive
                                                                         capabilities of the AI program under
                                                                         varying catch compositions.
50 CFR 648.81(a)(5)...................  Closed Area II Closure Area...  Conduct fishing in the non-habitat
                                                                         management area of Closed Area II
                                                                         Closure Area from April 16 through
                                                                         January 31 to vary the areas fished and
                                                                         catch compositions to expand the
                                                                         capability of the AI program and
                                                                         improve predictive power.
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                        Table 2--Project Summary
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Project title.....................  High-Volume Audit (HVA) Electronic
                                     Monitoring (EM) for Groundfish
                                     Vessels Testing an Intelligent
                                     Discard Chute.
Applicant.........................  A.I.S. Inc.
Project objectives................  To develop and pilot an innovative
                                     solution for electronic monitoring
                                     (EM) based on wireless video
                                     transfer, edge-based AI processing
                                     via intelligent discard chute, and
                                     web-based video review to
                                     incentivize fleet adoption for high-
                                     volume groundfish trawl vessels.
Application date..................  2/8/2023.
Project period....................  5/1/2023-4/30/2024.
Project location..................  Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank.
Number of vessels.................  4.
Number of trips...................  130.
Trip duration (days)..............  7-10 days.

[[Page 9872]]

 
Total number of days..............  1,300.
Gear type(s)......................  Bottom trawl.
Number of tows or sets............  20-25 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets..........  30 minutes-2 hours.
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Project Narrative

    The subject application would study the feasibility of deploying an 
intelligent discard chute with integrated artificial intelligence (AI) 
technology for catch accounting onboard high-volume groundfish trawl 
vessels. The project would determine the optimal design and workflow to 
minimize costs and maximize precision and accuracy of electronic 
monitoring (EM) data for size, species, and weight of regulatory 
discards. This research could significantly reduce the cost of EM 
programs for large, high-volume groundfish vessels if the intelligent 
discard chute and AI prove to be an accurate and reliable source for 
catch accounting. This information could also be used to develop a 
future High-Volume Audit (HVA) EM program for high-volume vessels, 
which could incentivize EM adoption in the region.
    The subject application would allow up to four high-volume trawl 
sector vessels enrolled in the Audit Model EM program additional 
exemptions from 50 CFR 648.80(a)(3)(i) and (a)(4)(i) to conduct fishing 
using codends with diamond mesh as small as 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) to 
increase the catch of redfish in the Sector Redfish Exemption Area and 
conduct fishing using codends with square mesh as small as 5.1 inches 
(13 cm) to increase the catch of haddock in the Gulf of Maine and 
Georges Bank. The use of different mesh sizes and gears, leading to 
various catch compositions, will improve and expand the predictive 
capabilities of the AI program and the intelligent discard chute on 
high-volume vessels.
    Additionally, vessels would be exempt from the non-habitat 
management area portion of the Closed Area II Closure Area, from April 
16 through January 31, at 50 CFR 648.81(a)(5). This will allow vessel 
access to an additional fishing area, where catch compositions may 
differ. The opportunity to encounter varying catch composition will be 
used to further expand the AI program capabilities and predicative 
powers.
    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: February 9, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03171 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
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