[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73068-73069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20156]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE257]


Magnuson-Stevens 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 (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 the Maine Department of Marine Resources (ME 
DMR). 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 September 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email to 
[email protected]. Include in the subject line ``ME DMR Ventless 
Trap EFP.''

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ME DMR submitted a complete application for 
an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations 
would otherwise restrict. The EFP would 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 up to 60
                                                    additional traps.

[[Page 73069]]

 
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.  Sec.   697.20(a),         Possession         To allow for onboard
 697.20(d), 697.20(g), and       restrictions.      biological sampling
 697.20(h)(1)-(2).                                  of undersized, v-
                                                    notched, and egg-
                                                    bearing lobsters and
                                                    undersized and egg-
                                                    bearing Jonah crabs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                        Table 2--Project Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project title................  Maine lobster fishery dependent offshore
                                ventless and commercial trap research
                                program.
Project start................  11/04/2024.
Project end..................  11/03/2025.
Project objectives...........  To develop a new survey, in partnership
                                with Commercial Fisheries Research
                                Foundation (CFRF), to provide
                                distribution, abundance, and biological
                                data on juvenile lobsters and Jonah
                                crabs from times and areas in Federal
                                waters with low coverage from
                                traditional surveys.
Project location.............  Gulf of Maine: Statistical Areas 511,
                                512, and 513.
Number of vessels............  Up to 20.
Number of trips..............  Up to 36 per vessel; up to 720 total.
Trip duration (days).........  Up to 3.
Total number of days.........  Up to 108 per vessel; up to 2,160 total.
Gear type(s).................  Trap.
Number of tows or sets.......  1 per trip.
Duration of tows or sets.....  7-10 days.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Narrative

    This project would contribute to the ongoing effort by the CFRF 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.
    This project would include up to 20 federally permitted Maine 
lobster vessels. Each vessel would fish with 3 modified, ventless traps 
designed to catch juvenile lobsters, totaling up to 60 modified traps. 
The ventless trap configuration is as follows: 40-inch length x 21-inch 
width x 14-inch height (101.6-centimeter (cm) length x 53.34-cm width x 
35.56-cm height), single parlor, 1-inch (2.54-cm) square rubber-coated 
12-gauge wire, standard shrimp mesh netting, cement runners, and 4- by 
6-inch (10.16- by 15.24-cm) disabling door. 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.
    This study would take place during regular fishing activity of the 
participating vessels, but catch from the 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. Operators would 
return all 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. All data collected by the participants using the CFRF data 
collection app would be sent to ME DMR for processing. ME DMR would 
then share final datasets with CFRF, to further share with the Atlantic 
Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program, the Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
    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 signature if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 3, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-20156 Filed 9-6-24; 8:45 am]
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