[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23985-23986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07304]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD680]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Exempted Fishing Permits

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application for exempted fishing 
permit; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted 
fishing permit (EFP) from LGL Ecological Research Associates Inc. If 
granted, the EFP would allow the retention, up to 24 hours, and lethal 
harvest of a limited number of red drum, king mackerel, and Spanish 
mackerel harvested by approved participants in the Louisiana commercial 
menhaden purse seine fishery in Federal waters during the 2024 menhaden 
season. The project would seek to quantify bycatch and test post-
release mortality of these species in the fishery to assess impacts the 
fishery may have on Federally-managed species in the Gulf of Mexico 
(Gulf).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the application, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2024-0048'', by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and 
type ``NOAA-NMFS-2024-0048'' in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' 
icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    Mail: Submit written comments to Dan Luers, Southeast Regional 
Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the EFP application may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/bycatch/exempted-fishing-permit-quantification-bycatch-composition-and-survival/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Luers, 727-824-5305, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is requested under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C 
1801 et seq.), and regulations at 50 CFR 600.745(b) concerning exempted 
fishing.
    Red drum, king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel are Federally-managed 
species that occur in Gulf waters that are caught as bycatch in the 
Louisiana commercial menhaden purse seine fishery, which operates in 
state and Federal waters. The proposed research would quantify bycatch 
from the Louisiana menhaden purse seine fishery as they occur in purse 
seine nets, fish excluder grates, dewatering screens, and release 
chutes, with the goal of quantifying bycatch for each exclusion method 
within the fishery and evaluate the post-release mortality of red drum, 
king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel caught as bycatch by the fishery.
    Approximately 400 purse seine sets are expected to occur during the 
2024 menhaden purse seine season (April 15-November 1, 2024) in water 
depths less than 60 feet (18 meters). During fishing operations, the 
applicant would accompany 1 of the 53 state-permitted vessels, which 
deploys a 1,200 to 1,500 foot (366 to 457 meters) purse seine for a 
soak time of 20 to 45 minutes and a second vessel pumps the catch 
(catch-collecting vessel) from the net into the hold. In this project, 
researchers on board the catch-collecting vessel would record bycatch 
caught by each exclusion method described in the previous paragraph. 
Off Louisiana, the commercial harvest of menhaden is

[[Page 23986]]

restricted to waters seaward of a boundary line described in the 
states' statutes (Louisiana Title 76) and includes both state and some 
Federal waters. The majority of fishing activities under this EFP are 
expected to occur in Louisiana State waters, but fishing operations 
could occur in Federal waters as the menhaden migrate from inshore 
estuarine waters to offshore marine waters in October. NMFS estimates 
that 64 of the 400 sets anticipated for the 2024 menhaden season could 
occur in Federal waters.
    The EFP would allow the applicant to harvest up to 200 individuals 
each of red drum, king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel during the 2024 
menhaden season to determine sex ratios. An additional number of red 
drum, king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel (up to 400 per species) would 
be held for 24 hours in tanks with continuous water flow on board the 
catch-collecting vessel to assess short-term survival and then would be 
tagged and released. All other bycatch initially retained by the 
applicant would be returned to the water. Red drum, king mackerel, and 
Spanish mackerel that die during normal fishing operations, or that die 
in the survival study, would be preferentially biopsied to minimize 
mortality attributed to this study. No red drum, king mackerel, and 
Spanish mackerel landed as part of the project would be sold.
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 622.92(b) prohibit the harvest and 
possession of red drum in or from the Gulf Federal waters and any red 
drum caught in the Gulf Federal waters must be released immediately 
with a minimum of harm. The EFP would allow the applicant to biopsy up 
to 200 red drum and possess for up to 24 hours an additional 400 red 
drum during the 2024 menhaden purse seine season (April 15-November 1, 
2024).
    Federal regulations at 50 CFR 622.375(a)(1)(iv) and 622.375(b)(3) 
prohibit the harvest of king mackerel and Spanish mackerel by purse 
seine gear. Additionally, regulations at 50 CFR 622.380(b) prohibit 
possession of king mackerel less than 24 inches (61 cm), fork length, 
and 622.380(c) prohibit possession of Spanish mackerel less than 12 
inches (30.5 cm), fork length. The EFP would allow the applicant to 
biopsy up to 200 of each species, including undersized fish, and 
possess for up to 24 hours an additional 400 each of king mackerel and 
Spanish mackerel and using purse seine gear during the 2024 menhaden 
purse seine season.
    If granted, the EFP would be effective from April 15, 2024, through 
December 31, 2024. The applicant and commercial menhaden fishermen and 
vessels participating in the EFP must comply with all other applicable 
laws and regulations.
    NMFS finds the application warrants further consideration based on 
a preliminary review. At its January 2024 meeting, the Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council reviewed the application and recommended 
that NMFS issue the EFP. A final decision on issuance of the EFP will 
depend on NMFS' review of public comments received on the application, 
consultations with the appropriate fishery management agencies of the 
affected states, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and a determination that the 
activities to be taken under the EFP are consistent with all other 
applicable laws.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.

    Dated: April 2, 2024.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07304 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P