[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18376-18377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05271]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD656]


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 federally permitted fishing vessels 
to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing 
activities proposed by Coonamessett Farm Foundation. 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 April 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email at 
[email protected]. Include in the subject line ``CFF Great South 
Channel HMA Clam EFP.''
    All comments received are a part of the public record and will 
generally be posted for public viewing in https://www.noaa.gov/organization/information-technology/foia-reading-room without change. 
All personal identifying information (e.g., name, address), 
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information 
submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS 
will accept anonymous comments (enter ``anonymous'' as the signature if 
you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
[email protected], 978-281-9341.

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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          CFR citation                Regulation      Need for exemption
------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 CFR 648.370(h)...............  Habitat Management  To conduct
                                   Areas--prohibitio   compensation
                                   n on using bottom-  fishing with
                                   tending mobile      hydraulic clam
                                   gear.               dredges.
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                        Table 2--Project Summary
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                                    Compensation fishing in support of a
                                         Great South Channel Habitat
           Project title             Management Area study phase II: an
                                      acoustic mapping survey of Davis
                                                  Bank East
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Division action number............  DA23-073.
Principal Investigator............  Natalie Jennings.
Institution.......................  Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF).
Continuing project (yes/no).......  Yes.
Initial application date..........  September 26, 2023.
Complete application date.........  December 5, 2023.
Funding source....................  Compensation fishing.
Project Start.....................  Upon issue.
Project End.......................  1 year from issue.

[[Page 18377]]

 
Project objectives................  Compensation surfclam fishing to
                                     fund a habitat mapping project
                                     using multibeam sonar and drop
                                     cameras.
Project location..................  Great South Channel Habitat
                                     Management Area, Davis Bank East.
Number of vessels.................  3 (2 active with 1 in reserve).
Number of trips...................  260.
Trip duration (days)..............  1.
Total number of days..............  260.
Gear type(s)......................  Hydraulic clam dredge.
Number of tows or sets............  30 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets..........  0.16 hrs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Narrative

Acoustic Survey Trips

    An initial survey of the full Davis Bank East area (approximately 
60 square kilometers) would be conducted using multibeam sonar and a 
drop camera array, lasting approximately 8 and 6 days, respectively. 
This would establish a baseline to monitor changes in fished and 
unfished portions of the area. Following the initial survey, research 
trips would consist of one 4-day trip per season (16 total days) in the 
northern half of the area. The survey would be conducted with a 25-
percent overlap between adjacent multibeam lines. Sonar imagery would 
be processed for bathymetry and backscatter. In addition, a 2-day 
research trip would occur seasonally (8 total days) using a drop camera 
array to ground-truth the sonar imagery and provide benthic community 
biological information. Drop camera survey trips would be conducted 
concurrent with the sonar survey trips. Four drops per hour would be 
accomplished for 12 hours for 2 days, with a goal of approximately 96 
stations sampled per trip. Time of day, sea state and weather 
conditions, GPS coordinates, depth, and time on bottom will be recorded 
at each drop camera station. The drop camera is a 4-foot-tall, four-
sided pyramid outfitted with lights and a high-resolution Sony camera 
with a 1-meter-squared field of view. A final multibeam sonar and drop 
camera survey of the full Davis Bank East area would be conducted again 
lasting approximately 8 and 6 days, respectively. All survey trips 
would be directed by two CFF scientists onboard the vessel. No fishing 
gear will be deployed during survey trips. CFF will submit a separate 
application for a letter of acknowledgment of scientific research for 
these survey cruises.

Compensation Fishing Trips

    The EFP would authorize the harvest of surfclams from an area 
closed to hydraulic clam dredges for the purpose of generating funds 
for the acoustic survey. After the initial acoustic survey is 
completed, two commercial surfclam vessels would take up to 130 trips 
(260 total trips) into the southern portion of the Davis Bank East area 
defined by these coordinates:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Latitude                             Longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
41.268[deg] N.............................  69.58[deg] W.
41.268[deg] N.............................  69.508[deg] W.
41.223[deg] N.............................  69.566[deg] W.
41.223[deg] N.............................  69.508[deg] W.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Both vessels would use a 48-inch-wide hydraulic surfclam dredge, 
towed between 2 and 3 knots for 10 minutes per tow, with a trip limit 
of 14 cages. Approximately 30 tows would be conducted per trip. A CFF 
scientist would be onboard 25 percent of compensation fishing trips to 
collect surfclam catch per unit effort and catch composition data. The 
vessel owners have committed 15 percent of the value of each trip to 
cover the full cost of the research trips and data analysis. At an 
estimated $30 per bushel ex-vessel value, this would just cover the 
total research budget of roughly $505,000. The participating vessel 
owners have agreed to make up the difference if the price falls below 
$30 per bushel.
    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: March 7, 2024.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-05271 Filed 3-12-24; 8:45 am]
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