[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
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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).
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Table 2--Project Summary
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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.
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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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