[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
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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]
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