[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20863-20864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07262]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC888]


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; 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 April 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Blue Planet Strategies 2023 On-Demand Gear EFP.''

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Blue Planet Strategies submitted a complete 
application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial 
fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict to 
expand trials of on-demand fishing gear that uses one or no surface 
buoys. This EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the gear 
marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow the use of trawls 
of more than three traps with no more than one surface marking and 
Sec.  648.84(b) to allow the use of gillnet gear with no more than one 
surface marking.
    This project would be a continuation and expansion of Blue Planet 
Strategies trials of on-demand fishing systems aimed at reducing the 
entanglement risk to protected species, mainly the North Atlantic right 
whale, in the American lobster and Jonah crab and sink gillnet 
fisheries. Under the previous EFP, 6 lobster vessels made 136 trips and 
175 deployments in Statistical Areas 513, 467, and 512. Four gillnet 
vessels made 83 trips and 60 deployments in Statistical Areas 521 and 
513. Blue Planet Strategies states that they have not experienced gear 
conflicts as a result of their on-demand research to date. In addition 
to gear trials, Blue Planet Strategies has been involved in outreach 
efforts, including meetings and demonstrations with fishermen, fishing 
organizations, conservation organizations, fishery management agency 
staff and leadership, and other interested parties and presentations to 
the Ropeless Consortium and Society for Marine Mammalogy.
    The objectives of this EFP include testing the efficacy of acoustic 
release devices and other alternatives to static vertical lines in both 
trap/pot and sink gillnet fisheries; testing the efficacy of sub-
surface gear marking technology to relocate gear and notify other 
fishermen to the presence of gear in the absence of surface markings; 
testing smart buoy technology that signals gear location and movement; 
testing and comparing two sub-surface gear marking systems (including 
hull-mounted transducers); and testing the viability of integrating 
SmartRafts, which monitor whale presence and changing ocean conditions, 
into on-demand gear.
    If granted, this permit would allow up to 16 trap/pot vessels and 4 
sink gillnet vessels to replace up to 4 of their existing trawls or 
strings with modified gear that replace one or both vertical lines with 
acoustic on-demand systems or other alternatives to static buoy lines 
(including, but not limited to, spooled systems, buoy and stowed rope 
systems, lift bag systems, and grappling). Initially, the researchers 
would work with 10 lobster vessels and 2 gillnet vessels, and would 
expand to the full number of vessels (16 and 4, respectively) in mid-
to-late 2023, as additional funding and gear become available. While 
effort would occur year-round, the researchers anticipate the majority 
of effort would occur from May to October and fewer than 20 vessels 
would use on-demand gear at any given time.
    For trap/pot gear trials, participants fish between 3 and 25 traps 
per trawl, in depths ranging from 50 to 400 ft (15.24 to 121.92 m), and 
with soak times of 2 to 4 days. The researchers expect 780 trips, with 
2 pieces of modified gear set per trip, resulting in a total of 1,560 
deployments. Participants would deploy on-demand trap/pot gear in 
Lobster Management Area 1 and, to a lesser extent, Lobster Management 
Area 3, and would target areas that are not as heavily fished by mobile 
fleets to reduce the risk of gear conflicts. This project would include 
the opportunity for up to 12 of the participating lobster vessels to 
trial gear without static vertical lines in Atlantic Large Whale Take 
Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) Restricted Areas.
    For gillnet trials, participants fish a maximum of 21 nets of 300 
ft (91.44 m) or less for 6 to 8 hours. The researchers expect 104 
trips, with 2 pieces of modified gear set per trip, resulting in a 
total of 208 deployments. Gillnet participants would deploy gear in 
Statistical Area 521 (approximately 50 deployments), Area 538 
(approximately 10 deployments), and in the Georges Bank Regulated Mesh 
Area (148 deployments).
    Some units would be outfitted with EdgeTech acoustic marking 
technology, acoustic triggers, and software. Other units would be 
outfitted with Teledyne undersea modem marking technology, acoustic 
triggers, and software. All units would include smart buoys on each 
anchoring unit, outfitted with GPS for data collection and lost gear 
retrieval.
    Other than gear markings, all trap trawls and gillnet strings would 
be consistent with the regulations of the

[[Page 20864]]

management area where the vessel is fishing. This permit would exempt 
participating vessels from the specified Federal regulations in Federal 
waters only. The applicant would be responsible for obtaining any 
necessary state authorizations. This EFP would not exempt the vessels 
from any requirements imposed by any state, the Endangered Species Act, 
the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or any other applicable laws.
    Blue Planet Strategies and engineering teams representing the 
respective prototype would oversee initial deployments of on-demand 
gear. If necessary, participants would use a GoPro System, or other 
recording device, on deck to record the success and/or failures of some 
or all of the retrievals for review. Participants would record data on 
standardized data collection sheets (specific to the relevant sub-
project). Blue Planet Strategies has proposed permit conditions and 
requirements similar to those included in other on-demand EFPs to 
minimize the chance of causing injury to right whales and mitigate the 
risk of gear conflicts, including:
     All vessels would report all right whale sightings to NMFS 
via [email protected] or NOAA (866-755-6622) or the U.S. Coast 
Guard (Channel 16);
     All vessels would provide mandatory, weekly gear loss 
reports;
     All vessels would retrieve on-demand vertical lines as 
quickly as possible to minimize time in the water column;
     All vessels would adhere to current approach regulations--
a 500-yard (457.2-meter or 1,500-foot) buffer zone created by a 
surfacing right whale--and must depart immediately at a safe and slow 
speed, in accordance with current regulations. Hauling any lobster gear 
would immediately cease, by either removal or resetting, to accommodate 
the regulation and be reinitiated only after it is reasonable to assume 
the whale has left the area;
     All vessels would use smart buoy technology to provide 
alerts to the fishermen and the researcher staff within 2 hours of an 
unplanned release of a stowed line;
     All vessels would use the Trap Tracker or an equivalent 
application to record positioning details, which would be available to 
Federal, state, and corresponding enforcement personnel, as well as 
other fishermen;
     Vessels would operate within a 10-knot speed limit when 
transiting Restricted Areas or when whales are observed;
     When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, on-demand 
vertical lines would be marked with unique markings in addition to 
ALWTRP regulations. The specific markings/color combinations would be 
agreed upon by the NMFS Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team 
Coordinator and provided to the Office of Law Enforcement;
     When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, vessels would 
check real-time right whale sightings information (such as Right Whale 
Sightings Advisories and Whale ALERT) before setting any gear and avoid 
areas of high right whale abundance;
     When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, all vessels would 
avoid operation between dusk and dawn;
     The principal investigators would update the appropriate 
regional and state management partners on a regular basis to the level 
necessary to avoid miscommunication and maintain effective working 
relationships;
     The principal investigators would regularly provide the 
approximate location and intensity of fishing in Restricted Areas where 
trawls will not have any surface markers and would proactively 
communicate within local ports with mobile and fixed gear fleets on 
fishing effort and location under the EFP, with particular focus on the 
Restricted Areas. Communications would be tailored to each region and 
port, and may include methods such as in-person meetings with fishermen 
in ports in advance of research activities to discuss gear locations, 
email or text contact with fishing vessels identified by the Vessel 
Monitoring System as fishing in the research area, Coast Guard notices 
to mariners, and any other methods that will assure local fishermen are 
informed about research activities in order to avoid any potential gear 
conflicts;
     Participants would document and researchers would 
summarize all instances of gear conflicts/gear loss in the final 
report; and
     A copy of the final report would be provided to NMFS 
within 6 months of the expiration of the EFP.
    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: April 3, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-07262 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P