[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14145-14147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04632]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC742]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern 
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approved Monitoring 
Service Providers

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of approved Northeast multispecies at-sea and electronic 
monitoring service providers for fishing year 2023.

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SUMMARY: NMFS has approved nine companies to provide Northeast 
multispecies sector at-sea catch monitoring and/or electronic catch 
monitoring services in fishing year 2023. Regulations implementing the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan require at-sea catch 
monitoring and electronic catch monitoring companies to be approved

[[Page 14146]]

by NMFS to provide catch monitoring services to sectors. This action 
will allow sectors to contract for catch monitoring services with any 
of the approved service providers for fishing year 2023.

DATES: Northeast multispecies at-sea and electronic monitoring service 
provider approvals are effective May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The list of NMFS-approved sector monitoring service 
providers is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/data/observer-providers-northeast-and-mid-atlantic-programs.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Northeast Multispecies Fishery 
Management Plan includes a requirement for industry-funded monitoring 
of catch by sector vessels. NMFS approves independent third-party 
service providers who sectors may contract with to provide at-sea and/
or electronic catch monitoring services to their vessels. Beginning 
this year, NMFS is requiring full applications for approval only from 
at-sea catch monitoring (ASM) and electronic catch monitoring (EM) 
companies that are not currently approved to be a service provider. 
Previously approved ASM and EM companies are no longer required to 
submit a full application to maintain their approval status if they 
continue to meet all service provider performance standards and submit 
required updated information annually. The required updated information 
to maintain approval includes an updated Emergency Action Plan, 
evidence of adequate insurance coverage, and, if applicable, any 
updates to staffing or operations. Regulations at 50 CFR 648.11(h) 
describe the criteria for approval of ASM and EM service provider 
applications. NMFS approves service providers based on: (1) 
Completeness and sufficiency of applications; and (2) determination of 
the applicant's ability to meet the performance requirements of a 
sector monitoring service provider. Once approved, service providers 
must meet specified performance requirements outlined in Sec.  
648.11(h)(5) and (6), including required coverage levels, in order to 
maintain eligibility. NMFS must notify service providers, in writing, 
if NMFS withdraws approval for any reason.

Approved Monitoring Service Providers

    On December 9, 2022, NMFS announced an opportunity for new 
monitoring companies to apply for approval to provide ASM and/or EM 
services in fishing year 2023, and an opportunity for currently 
approved providers to submit documentation to maintain their approval 
status in fishing year 2023. NMFS previously approved nine companies to 
provide catch monitoring services to the Northeast multispecies sectors 
in fishing year 2022. Four of the nine approved companies provide both 
ASM and EM services: A.I.S., Inc.; East West Technical Services, LLC; 
Fathom Research, LLC; and Saltwater, Inc. The other five approved 
companies provide EM services only: Archipelago Marine Research, Ltd.; 
Flywire Cameras; New England Marine Monitoring; Satlink US, LLC; and 
Teem Fish Monitoring, Inc.
    All currently approved ASM and EM companies continue to meet all 
service provider performance standards, submitted all required 
documentation, and are therefore approved service providers for fishing 
year 2023. Additionally, one company previously approved only for EM 
services, New England Marine Monitoring, met the ASM application 
requirements, documented its ability to comply with service provider 
standards, and therefore is newly approved to provide ASM services in 
fishing year 2023, in addition to EM services. Table 1 includes the 
revised list of approved monitoring service providers.
    The new procedures do not change NMFS's authority to remove a 
service provider from its approved status in accordance with the 
regulations at Sec.  648.11(h)(7). A monitoring service provider that 
fails to meet the requirements, conditions, and responsibilities will 
be notified in writing that it is subject to removal from the list of 
approved monitoring service providers. Withdrawing approval of a 
service provider will be based on an evaluation of the service 
providers ability to meet the third-party catch monitoring provider 
standards in Sec.  648.11(h)(5) and (6). NMFS will closely monitor the 
performance of approved service providers, and will withdraw approval 
during the current approval term if we determine performance standards 
are not being met.
    NMFS did not solicit applications to provide dockside monitoring 
(DSM) services related to the maximized retention EM program. NMFS 
intends to continue to fund and manage the DSM program for the 
remainder of the 2022 and 2023 fishing years. In future fishing years, 
NMFS intends to solicit applications to be an approved DSM provider 
when the DSM program transitions to industry funding.

                                                    Table 1--Approved Providers for Fishing Year 2023
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               Provider                           Services                     Address               Phone            Fax                Website
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A.I.S., Inc...........................  ASM/EM......................  540 Hawthorn St.,           508-990-9054    508-990-9055  https://aisobservers.com/
                                                                       Dartmouth, MA 02747.                                      .
Archipelago Marine Research, Ltd......  EM..........................  525 Head St., Victoria,     250-383-4535    250-383-0103  https://
                                                                       BC V9A 5S1 Canada.                                        www.archipelago.ca/.
East West Technical Services, LLC.....  ASM/EM......................  91 Point Judith Rd.,        860-910-4957    860-223-6005  https://www.ewts.com/.
                                                                       Suite 26 Unit 347
                                                                       Narragansett, RI 02882.
Fathom Resources, LLC.................  ASM/EM......................  855 Aquidneck Ave., Unit    508-990-0997    508-858-5383  https://
                                                                       9, Middletown, RI 02842.                                  fathomresources.com/.
Flywire Cameras.......................  EM..........................  PO BOX 55048, Lexington,    888-315-7796    502-861-6568  https://
                                                                       KY 40511.                                                 www.flywirecameras.com/
                                                                                                                                 .
New England Marine Monitoring.........  ASM/EM......................  350 Commercial St.,         508-269-8138  ..............  https://
                                                                       Portland, ME 04101.                                       www.nemarinemonitoring.
                                                                                                                                 com/.
Saltwater, Inc........................  ASM/EM......................  733 N St., Anchorage, AK    907-276-3241    907-258-5999  https://
                                                                       99501.                                                    www.saltwaterinc.com/.
Satlink US, LLC.......................  EM..........................  16423 Sawgrass Drive,       703-447-5287  ..............  https://www.satlink.es/
                                                                       Rehoboth Beach, DE                                        en/.
                                                                       19971.

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Teem Fish Monitoring, Inc.............  EM..........................  309 2nd Ave., Suite 363,    778-884-2598  ..............  https://teem.fish/.
                                                                       Prince Rupert, BC V8J
                                                                       3T1 Canada.
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Note: ASM/EM = At-sea and electronic monitoring; EM = Electronic monitoring only.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: March 2, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-04632 Filed 3-6-23; 8:45 am]
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