[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46922-46923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18656]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC786
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, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Administrator), has made a
preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit Application
contains all the required information and warrants further
consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating
commercial fishing vessels from the escape vent, trap limits, and trap
tag requirements of the Federal lobster regulations in order to help
determine the abundance and distribution of juvenile American lobsters
at the Massachusetts and Rhode Island offshore wind farm area. The
research is being conducted by the Commercial Fisheries Research
Foundation.
Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of this notification to provide
interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for
proposed Exempted Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 19, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Comments on CFRF Lobster EFP.''
Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CFRF Lobster EFP.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Jacob, Environmental Technician,
978-281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
(CFRF) submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit
on June 24, 2013. To conduct its research on the abundance and
distribution of juvenile American lobster in Lobster Management Area
(LMA) 2, the CFRF is requesting exemptions from the following Federal
lobster regulations: (1) Gear specifications to allow for closed escape
vents, as prohibited in 50 CFR 697.21(c)(2); (2) trap limits to be
exceeded by 80 additional traps per fishing vessel, for a total of 240
additional traps, as prohibited in Sec. 697.19(a)(2) for LMA 2; and
(3) trap tag requirements, as specified in Sec. 697.19(f). Escape
vents are designed to allow smaller, sublegal-sized lobsters to escape
standard lobster traps; therefore, closed escape vents are necessary to
target juvenile American lobsters and collect information on their
abundance and distribution. Federal lobster regulations also limit the
number of traps that each permit holder can fish, which is based on
their permit qualification. Therefore, each participating vessel would
need exemptions in order to fish the survey traps in excess of their
trap allocation. The wind farm development area includes 24 lease
blocks, and sampling would take place with 1 trawl of 10 traps per
lease block, requiring 24 trawls of 10 traps (240 traps), or 80 traps
per vessel. Federal lobster regulations also require a trap tag to be
fixed to each active lobster trap; however, the survey traps will
remain separate from each vessel's commercial fishing traps, and would
be hauled during sampling trips only. Therefore, there is no need to
have these survey traps fixed with the conventional lobster trap tags.
Instead, there would be identification tags fixed to each trap for
identification purposes.
Funding for this pilot study would be provided through the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management. The proposed lobster sampling would take
place outside of regular fishing activity, with one or two scientist(s)
from the University of Rhode Island onboard each vessel. Gear would be
set for a 5-day soak during regular commercial fishing trips, without a
scientist onboard; however, no sampling would take place when survey
gear is being set. If an EFP is granted, there would be an additional
240 modified traps in the water for 6 consecutive months (May through
October), and for a 2-year study period. Each participating vessel
would have eight trawls with 10 traps per trawl, consisting of 6 vent-
less traps and 4 standard traps per trawl, for a total of 48 modified
traps and 32 standard traps for each vessel, to be hauled after a 5-
night soak. The addition of 144 modified traps and 96 standard traps in
[[Page 46923]]
total for all three vessels would increase the total number of traps in
the fishery by 240 traps, a negligible number when compared to the
current number of lobster traps deployed in the fishery.
Modifications to a conventional lobster trap would include a closed
escape vent, a smaller mesh size, and a smaller entrance head. All
lobsters retrieved from standard and modified traps would remain
onboard for a short period of time to allow for sampling, after which
they would be returned to the water.
Biological information would be collected on all lobsters,
including: Carapace length; sexual determination; cull status; and
presence of eggs, v-notches, and shell disease. Bycatch species would
also be kept onboard for enumeration, weight collection, and
measurement.
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: July 30, 2013.
Emily H. Menashes,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-18656 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
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