[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10293-10294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03321]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC781]


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 6, 2023.

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations would 
otherwise restrict. The EFP would allow the Department to continue 
pilot testing of early benthic-phase (EBP) lobster traps, which target 
lobsters between 15- and 50-mm carapace length, to determine their 
feasibility for broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would exempt 
the participating vessel from the Federal regulations described in 
Table 1.

                      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      of modified traps
                                 requirements.      with 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 four untagged
                                                    traps.
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 four unmarked
                                 and marking        traps.
                                 requirements.
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[[Page 10294]]

    This project would use one federally permitted lobster vessel to 
pilot test the use of four EBP lobster traps in Lobster Management Area 
3 (Statistical Areas 561, 562, and 522). The EBP traps are 80-cm square 
traps based on a modified crawfish trap. They have four square 
openings, measuring less than two inches (5.08 cm), which lead to ramps 
that drop the lobsters into a baited kitchen. Inside the traps, there 
are additional ramps that lead the lobsters to four cylindrical parlors 
with vertical openings. The traps are attached to cement runners that 
provide weight and maintain proper orientation.
    The participants would place two EBP traps each on two of their 
existing trawls and haul them twice per trip during the course of the 
vessel's normal fishing activity. The vessel would take between 9 and 
13 experimental trips, lasting from 7 to 12 days, between May 15 and 
November 15, 2023. The crew would rig the EBP traps within Atlantic 
Large Whale Take Reduction Plan-compliant commercial trawls, resulting 
in no additional end lines. The vessel would fish one trap above its 
2023 allocation, but would remain within the universal Area 3 trap cap. 
Researchers would allow up to 144 total hauls, but expect 72 to 104 
hauls. At each haul, the crew would record, and immediately release, 
all bycatch and measure, sex, and release all lobsters from the EBP 
trap. They would also sample catch in two standard traps per trawl 
(four total) as control data. They 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: February 13, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03321 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
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