    [Federal Register Volume 90, Number 84 (Friday, May 2, 2025)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 18836-18837]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 2025-07623]

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    DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    [RTID 0648-XE879]

    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) 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 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 May 19, 2025.

    ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by email at
    nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. 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 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, christine.ford@noaa.gov, 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 (CL), to determine
    their feasibility for broader use in lobster surveys. This EFP would
    exempt the participating vessels from the Federal regulations in table
    1; a summary of the project is provided in table 2.

                          Table 1--Requested Exemptions
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              CFR citation                Regulation      Need for exemption
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    50 CFR 697.21(c) and 697.21(d)..  Gear specification  To allow for the
                                       requirements.       use of modified
                                                           traps with no
                                                           escape vents or
                                                           ghost panels.
    50 CFR 697.19...................  Trap limit and      To allow for four
                                       trap tag            additional
                                       requirements.       untagged traps
                                                           per vessel (20
                                                           total).

    [[Page 18837]]

    50 CFR 697.20(a), 697.20(b),      Possession          To allow for
     697.20(d), and 697.20(g).         restrictions.       onboard
                                                           biological
                                                           sampling of
                                                           undersized,
                                                           oversized, v-
                                                           notched, and egg-
                                                           bearing lobsters.
    50 CFR 697.21(a)................  Gear                To allow for the
                                       identification      use of 4 unmarked
                                       and marking         traps per vessel
                                       requirements.       (20 total).
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Table 2--Project Summary
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Project title.....................  Testing an EBP Lobster Trap.
    Project start.....................  06/01/2025.
    Project end.......................  05/31/2026.
    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 4000.
    Gear type(s)......................  Trap/pot (modified--see project
                                         narrative).
    Number of tows or sets............  Up to 4 per trip; up to 2000 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 Exclusive Economic Zone Offshore Management
    Area 3 trap cap. At each haul, the crew would measure, sex, and
    promptly release all lobsters and Jonah crabs caught in the EBP traps;
    any bycatch would be recorded and immediately released. They would also
    sample catch from two standard traps per trawl (four total) as control
    data. Legal catch from standard traps would be landed for sale.
        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. During the 2023 testing, 108 lobsters
    ranging from 28 to 67 mm CL were caught. The EBP collector was
    redesigned to target lobsters between 15-60 mm CL for the 2024 testing.
    Results are pending, as the 2024 testing is not complete.
        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 28, 2025.
    Karen H. Abrams,
    Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
    Fisheries Service.
    [FR Doc. 2025-07623 Filed 5-1-25; 8:45 am]
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