[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35813-35814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09502]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD903]


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 (EFP) renewal application 
from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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 the 
applicant. Regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
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 May 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``NHFG Early Benthic-Phase Lobster Trap EFP''.
    All comments received are a part of the public record and may be 
posted for public viewing in https://www.noaa.gov/organization/information-technilogy/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: Christine Ford, Fishery Management 
Specialist, [email protected], (978) 281-9185.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 
(NHFG) submitted a complete application for an EFP to conduct 
commercial fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise 
restrict. The EFP would allow NHFG to continue pilot testing of early 
benthic-phase (EBP) lobster traps, designed to target juvenile lobsters 
between 15- and 60-millimeter (mm) carapace length, to determine their 
feasibility for broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would exempt 
the participating vessels from the Federal regulations in table 1:

                      Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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          CFR citation                Regulation      Need for exemption
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50 CFR 697.21(c) and Sec.         Gear specification  To allow for the
 697.21(d).                        requirements.       use of modified
                                                       traps with no
                                                       escape vents or
                                                       ghost panels.

[[Page 35814]]

 
Sec.   697.19...................  Trap limit          To allow for four
                                   requirements.       additional traps
                                                       per vessel (20
                                                       total).
Sec.   697.19(j)................  Trap tag            To allow for the
                                   requirements.       use of four
                                                       untagged traps
                                                       per vessel (20
                                                       total).
Sec.  Sec.   697.20(a)(7),        Possession          To allow for
 697.20(a)(8), 697.20(b)(5),       restrictions.       onboard
 697.20(b)(6), 697.20(d), and                          biological
 697.20(g).                                            sampling of
                                                       undersized,
                                                       oversized, v-
                                                       notched, and egg-
                                                       bearing lobsters.
Sec.   697.21(a)................  Gear                To allow for the
                                   identification      use of four
                                   and marking         unmarked traps
                                   requirements.       per vessel (20
                                                       total).
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                        Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title................  Testing an EBP lobster trap on Georges
                                Bank.
Project start................  06/15/2024.
Project end..................  06/14/2025.
Project objectives...........  To continue testing an early-benthic-
                                phase lobster trap, which targets
                                lobsters between 15- and 60-mm carapace
                                lengths, to determine its feasibility
                                for broader use in lobster surveys.
Project location.............  Offshore Gulf of Maine & Georges Bank;
                                Statistical Areas 513, 522, 525, 526,
                                537, 561, and 562.
Number of vessels............  Up to 5.
Number of trips..............  500.
Trip duration (days).........  Up to 8.
Total number of days.........  Up to 4,000.
Gear type(s).................  Trap/pot (modified--see project
                                narrative).
Number of tows or sets.......  Up to 4 per trip; up to 2,000 total.
Duration of tows or sets.....  ~4 days.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Narrative

    The participants would place four EBP traps on two of their 
existing trawls (two EBP traps per trawl) and haul them up to twice per 
trip (for a total of up to four hauls per trip) during the course of 
the vessel's normal fishing activity. The EBP traps are 80-centimeter 
(cm) square traps based on a modified crawfish trap. They have four 
square openings, measuring less than 2 inches (5.08 cm), which lead to 
ramps that drop the lobsters into a baited kitchen. Inside the traps, 
there are additional ramps that lead the lobsters to four cylindrical 
parlors with vertical openings. The traps are attached to cement 
runners that provide weight and maintain proper orientation. The crews 
would rig the EBP traps within Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 
Plan-compliant commercial trawls, resulting in no additional end lines. 
Each vessel would fish four traps above their allocation, but would 
remain within the universal Area 3 trap cap. At each haul, crews would 
record, and immediately release, all bycatch and measure, sex, and 
release all lobsters from the EBP trap. They would also sample catch in 
two standard traps within the trawl as control data. They would land 
and sell the legal catch from the standard traps.
    The goal of this project is to test the selectivity of the EBP trap 
(versus ventless traps that often catch eel and crab), and the 
scalability of its use. If successful, EBP traps could be used in 
lobster surveys to provide information about larval-settlement patterns 
and juvenile nursery grounds.
    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 26, 2024.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-09502 Filed 5-1-24; 8:45 am]
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