[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 101 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45646-45648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11327]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XD973]


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 commercial 
fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of 
research conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation 
(CFRF). 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 EFPs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 7, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:

[[Page 45647]]

     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``CFRF Ventless Trap EFP''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Ford, Fishery Management 
Specialist, [email protected], (978) 281-9185.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CFRF submitted a complete application for an 
EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations would 
otherwise restrict. The EFP would continue to provide distribution, 
abundance, and biological data on juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs 
from times and areas with low coverage from traditional surveys. This 
EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the following Federal 
regulations:

                      Table 1--Requested Exemptions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
         CFR citation               Regulation       Need for exemption
------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 CFR 697.21(c)..............  Gear               To allow for closed
                                 specification      escape vents and
                                 requirements.      smaller trap mesh
                                                    and entrance heads.
Sec.   697.19.................  Trap limit         To allow for 3
                                 requirements.      additional traps per
                                                    fishing vessel, for
                                                    a total of 66
                                                    additional traps.
Sec.   697.19(j)..............  Trap tag           To allow for the use
                                 requirements.      of untagged traps
                                                    (though each
                                                    modified trap will
                                                    have the
                                                    participating
                                                    fisherman's
                                                    identification
                                                    attached).
Sec.   697.20(a), (d), (g),     Possession         To allow for onboard
 and (h)(1) and (2).             restrictions.      biological sampling
                                                    of undersized, v-
                                                    notched, and egg-
                                                    bearing lobsters and
                                                    undersized and egg-
                                                    bearing Jonah crabs
                                                    and retention of up
                                                    to 300 legal and
                                                    sublegal Jonah crabs
                                                    per month for a
                                                    molting study.
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                        Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title.....................  A Collaborative Fishing Vessel
                                     Approach to Addressing Data Needs
                                     for the American Lobster and Jonah
                                     Crab Fisheries.
Project start.....................  7/1/2024.
Project end.......................  6/30/2025.
Project objectives................  To continue to provide distribution,
                                     abundance, and biological data on
                                     juvenile lobsters and Jonah crabs
                                     from times and areas with low
                                     coverage from traditional surveys.
Project location..................  Lobster Management Areas 1, 2, 3, 4,
                                     and 5.
Number of vessels.................  Up to 22.
Number of trips...................  52 per inshore vessel, 36 per
                                     offshore vessel (up to 936 total).
Trip duration (days)..............  4.
Total number of days..............  Up to 3,744.
Gear type(s)......................  Trap.
Number of tows or sets............  1 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets..........  7 days inshore, 10 days offshore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Narrative

    This project would continue an ongoing effort to collect data on 
juvenile lobster and Jonah crab abundance and distribution in areas and 
times of the year with low or no coverage by traditional surveys. To 
date, this project has collected data from over 226,000 lobsters and 
131,000 Jonah crabs. The current EFP will expire on June 30, 2024.
    The project would include 6 inshore vessels (Lobster Management 
Area 2) and 13 offshore vessels (Lobster Management Areas 1, 3, and 4) 
with the goal of adding 3 more offshore vessels to increase the 
geographic coverage (Lobster Management Area 5). Each vessel would fish 
with 3 modified, ventless traps designed to capture juvenile lobsters, 
totaling up to 66 modified traps. The modified traps would adhere to 
the standard coastwide survey gear for lobster and Jonah crab set by 
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and would be fished 
with standard Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan-compliant 
trawls. The traps would remain in the water for up to 12 months and be 
hauled every 7 days by the inshore vessels and every 10 days by the 
offshore vessels.
    This study would take place during regular fishing activity of the 
participating vessels, but catch from modified traps would remain 
separate from that of standard gear. Operators would collect data on 
size, sex, presence of eggs, and shell hardness for lobsters and Jonah 
crabs and v-notch and shell disease for lobsters. In addition to 
onboard sampling, 3 inshore and 3 offshore vessels would retain up to 
50 Jonah crabs per month each, for a total of up to 300 crabs per 
month, for a molting study. Operators would return all other specimens 
from modified gear to the ocean once sampling is complete.
    The study is designed to inform management by addressing questions 
about changing reproduction and recruitment dynamics of lobster and to 
develop a foundation of knowledge for the data-deficient Jonah crab 
fishery. CFRF would share data with the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative 
Statistics Program, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Rhode Island 
Department of Environmental Management every 6 months.
    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.
    All comments received are a part of the public record and may be 
posted for public viewing 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

[[Page 45648]]

signature if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: May 16, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-11327 Filed 5-22-24; 8:45 am]
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