Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits, 9170-9171 [2016-03760]

Download as PDF 9170 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2016 / Notices of the public who are interested in speaking are requested to contact Annie Sokol at the contact information indicated in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Speakers who wish to expand upon their oral statements, those who had wished to speak but could not be accommodated on the agenda, and those who were unable to attend in person are invited to submit written statements. In addition, written statements are invited and may be submitted to the ISPAB at any time. All written statements should be directed to the ISPAB Secretariat, Information Technology Laboratory, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8930, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899–8930. Kevin Kimball, Chief of Staff. [FR Doc. 2016–03905 Filed 2–23–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–13–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RIN 0648–XE463 Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice; request for comments. AGENCY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt commercial fishing vessels from Atlantic sea scallop regulations in support of research conducted by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation. Regulations under the MagnusonStevens 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 March 10, 2016. ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following methods: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:59 Feb 23, 2016 Jkt 238001 • Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line ‘‘DA15–084 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.’’ • Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on DA15–030 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.’’ • Fax: (978) 281–9135. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fisheries Management Specialist, 978–282–8456. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA Fisheries awarded the Coonamesset Farm Foundation (CFF) a grant through the 2015 Atlantic sea scallop research set-aside (RSA) program, in support of a project titled, ‘‘Habitat Characterization and Sea Scallop Resource Enhancement Study in a Proposed Habitat Research Area-Year Three.’’ CFF has also submitted a proposal for a project of similar design for consideration under the 2016 Atlantic sea scallop RSA program titled ‘‘Drivers of Dispersal and Retention in Recently Seeded Sea Scallops.’’ Final project selections for the 2016 scallop RSA program are still to be determined and grant funding is expected sometime in March 2016. CFF submitted a complete application for an EFP for both projects on November 12, 2015. The main objectives for these projects are: 1. Perform a seeding operation and monitor environmental conditions before and after seeding; 2. Test a new cost-effective technique for marking and tracking seed scallops by size class; 3. Monitor transplanted scallops using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to quantify scallop and predator densities, dispersal rates, and survival; and 4. Investigate the different seedbed characteristics to provide insight into factors behind transplant success or failure. Each project would transplant scallops from areas of high concentration to areas of lower concentration that were historically known to have high scallop densities, to demonstrate the feasibility of a reseeding program to enhance and stabilize scallop recruitment on Georges Bank. The Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating vessels from Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea allocations at 50 CFR 648.53(b); crew size restrictions at § 648.51(c); Atlantic sea scallop observer program requirements at § 648.11(g); and closed area exemptions for Nantucket PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Lightship at § 648.58(c). It would also exempt participating vessels from the access area program requirements at § 648.60(a)(4), which would allow them to transit in and out of the access areas from the open area, as well as from the 50 bushel in-shell scallop possession limit outside of an access area found at § 648.52(f). Finally the Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt vessels from possession limits and minimum fish size requirements specified in 50 CFR part 648, subsections B and D through O, for sampling purposes and to retain any yellowtail flounder showing signs of disease for further shore side analysis. Three dredging trips would collect and transplant roughly 10,000 to 15,000 scallops. One trip would support the 2015 project and two trips would support the proposed 2016 project. Dredging trips would be conducted utilizing a single vessel starting in March 2016 for the 2015 project, and April through May 2016 for the 2016 project if funded. The juvenile scallops would be harvested from the southeast portion of Nantucket Lightship Access Area (NLAA) to suitable sites in an alternate area of NLAA or a suitable site on Cox’s Ledge. The projects define a suitable site as having currents less than 3 knots (∼1 m/s) and large areas of coarse substrate preferred by scallops. The vessel would tow two standard 15-foot (4.57-meter) wide dredges with a 4-inch (10.16-cm) ring bag for up to 10 minutes at 4.5 knots. To harvest all of the scallops, the applicant estimates they would need to complete approximately 25 tows. Once the catch is on deck, the scallops would be sorted by size class, marked with an appropriately colored reflective tape to aid with post-seeding monitoring, and stored in fish totes with a chilled seawater flow through system. All harvesting and tagging would occur during nighttime hours to reduce stress on the scallops. Once the vessel reaches the reseeding site, the vessel would anchor up to allow for a controlled placement, and researchers will lower the scallops to the ocean bottom for a targeted density of two scallops per square meter. A bottom marker would also be released with each scallop placement to locate the original site enabling researchers to note any scallop movement. One bushel from each tow would be measured for size frequency and 15 individual scallops would be sampled for meat weights to determine shell height/meat weight ratios prior to transplanting. Any finfish caught in the dredge that show signs of abnormalities would have a small biopsy of the area E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM 24FEN1 9171 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2016 / Notices removed and preserved in a vial with formalin and the carcass would be placed in a ziplock bag and stored on ice. Researchers would continue gathering information on the prevalence of the disease Ichthyophonus seen locally in yellowtail flounder. Anticipated bycatch for both projects is listed in the table below. Minimum bycatch Maximum bycatch Species (lb) mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Scallop ............................................................................................................. Yellowtail Flounder .......................................................................................... Winter Flounder ............................................................................................... Windowpane Flounder ..................................................................................... Monkfish ........................................................................................................... Other Fish ........................................................................................................ Barndoor Skate ................................................................................................ NE Skate Complex .......................................................................................... In addition to trips that will harvest and place seed scallops, there will be five trips dedicated to conducting optical surveys of the research area; two trips to determine seed placement locations, and three trips to monitor the seeding effort. Researchers would conduct each initial optical survey over the course of a day and the post seed optical surveys over seven days. The post seeding surveys would start immediately after scallop placement, and recur at each site once a day. To collect data at each of the sites, researchers would use a GAVIA AUV, and a video sled comprised of a 9.84foot (3-m) wide beam outfitted with a battery operated camera and strobe system. The only contact with the ocean bottom would be with three 3-inch (7.62-cm) wide runners attached to the bottom of the beam. No exemptions are needed for the optical survey trips. Regulatory exemptions are needed to allow CFF to collect scallops from a closed access area and reseed them in an open area, and without being charged days-at-sea. Exemptions are also needed to deploy dredge gear in closed access areas and retain yellowtail flounder for scientific purposes. Participating vessels need crew size waivers to accommodate science personnel and possession waivers will enable them to conduct data collection activities. We would waive the observer program notification requirements because the research activity is not representative of standard fishing activity. 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. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:59 Feb 23, 2016 Jkt 238001 12,000 140 20 120 500 220 20 7,740 Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: February 18, 2016. Alan D. Risenhoover, Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2016–03760 Filed 2–23–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Telecommunications and Information Administration Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee Meeting National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. AGENCY: This notice announces a public meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on spectrum management policy matters. DATES: The meeting will be held on March 18, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Wiley Rein Conference Center, 1776 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20006. Public comments may be mailed to Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Room 4099, Washington, DC 20230 or emailed to BWashington@ ntia.doc.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce M. Washington, Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 482–6415 or BWashington@ntia.doc.gov; and/or visit NTIA’s Web site at https://www.ntia.doc. gov/category/csmac. SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 (kg) (lb) 5,443 64 9 54 227 100 9 3,510 15,075 450 225 450 1,575 450 675 12,825 (kg) 6,838 204 102 204 714 204 306 5,817 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information on needed reforms to domestic spectrum policies and management in order to: license radio frequencies in a way that maximizes public benefits; keep wireless networks as open to innovation as possible; and make wireless services available to all Americans. See Committee Charter at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/ publications/csmac_2015_charter_ renewal_2-26-15.pdf. This Committee is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. 2, and is consistent with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Act, 47 U.S.C. 904(b). The Committee functions solely as an advisory body in compliance with the FACA. For more information about the Committee visit: https://www.ntia.doc. gov/category/csmac. Matters To Be Considered: The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary to assist in developing and maintaining spectrum management policies that enable the United States to maintain or strengthen its global leadership role in the introduction of communications technology, services, and innovation. This helps to expand the economy, adding jobs, and increasing international trade, while at the same time providing for the expansion of existing technologies and supporting the country’s homeland security, national defense, and other critical needs of government missions. The Committee will hear reports of the following Subcommittees: 1. Federal Access to Non-Federal Bands (Bi-directional Sharing) 2. Agency and Industry Collaboration 3. Measurement and Sensing in 5 GHz 4. Spectrum Access System (SAS)/ Spectrum Database International Extension 5. 5G E:\FR\FM\24FEN1.SGM 24FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9170-9171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03760]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE463


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary 
determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit application contains all 
of the required information and warrants further consideration. This 
Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt commercial fishing vessels from 
Atlantic sea scallop regulations in support of research conducted by 
the Coonamessett Farm 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 March 10, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line 
``DA15-084 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.''
     Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
DA15-030 CFF Resource Enhancement Study EFP.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fisheries Management 
Specialist, 978-282-8456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA Fisheries awarded the Coonamesset Farm 
Foundation (CFF) a grant through the 2015 Atlantic sea scallop research 
set-aside (RSA) program, in support of a project titled, ``Habitat 
Characterization and Sea Scallop Resource Enhancement Study in a 
Proposed Habitat Research Area-Year Three.'' CFF has also submitted a 
proposal for a project of similar design for consideration under the 
2016 Atlantic sea scallop RSA program titled ``Drivers of Dispersal and 
Retention in Recently Seeded Sea Scallops.'' Final project selections 
for the 2016 scallop RSA program are still to be determined and grant 
funding is expected sometime in March 2016. CFF submitted a complete 
application for an EFP for both projects on November 12, 2015. The main 
objectives for these projects are:
    1. Perform a seeding operation and monitor environmental conditions 
before and after seeding;
    2. Test a new cost-effective technique for marking and tracking 
seed scallops by size class;
    3. Monitor transplanted scallops using an autonomous underwater 
vehicle (AUV) to quantify scallop and predator densities, dispersal 
rates, and survival; and
    4. Investigate the different seedbed characteristics to provide 
insight into factors behind transplant success or failure.
    Each project would transplant scallops from areas of high 
concentration to areas of lower concentration that were historically 
known to have high scallop densities, to demonstrate the feasibility of 
a reseeding program to enhance and stabilize scallop recruitment on 
Georges Bank. The Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt participating 
vessels from Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea allocations at 50 CFR 
648.53(b); crew size restrictions at Sec.  648.51(c); Atlantic sea 
scallop observer program requirements at Sec.  648.11(g); and closed 
area exemptions for Nantucket Lightship at Sec.  648.58(c). It would 
also exempt participating vessels from the access area program 
requirements at Sec.  648.60(a)(4), which would allow them to transit 
in and out of the access areas from the open area, as well as from the 
50 bushel in-shell scallop possession limit outside of an access area 
found at Sec.  648.52(f). Finally the Exempted Fishing Permit would 
exempt vessels from possession limits and minimum fish size 
requirements specified in 50 CFR part 648, subsections B and D through 
O, for sampling purposes and to retain any yellowtail flounder showing 
signs of disease for further shore side analysis.
    Three dredging trips would collect and transplant roughly 10,000 to 
15,000 scallops. One trip would support the 2015 project and two trips 
would support the proposed 2016 project. Dredging trips would be 
conducted utilizing a single vessel starting in March 2016 for the 2015 
project, and April through May 2016 for the 2016 project if funded. The 
juvenile scallops would be harvested from the southeast portion of 
Nantucket Lightship Access Area (NLAA) to suitable sites in an 
alternate area of NLAA or a suitable site on Cox's Ledge. The projects 
define a suitable site as having currents less than 3 knots (~1 m/s) 
and large areas of coarse substrate preferred by scallops.
    The vessel would tow two standard 15-foot (4.57-meter) wide dredges 
with a 4-inch (10.16-cm) ring bag for up to 10 minutes at 4.5 knots. To 
harvest all of the scallops, the applicant estimates they would need to 
complete approximately 25 tows. Once the catch is on deck, the scallops 
would be sorted by size class, marked with an appropriately colored 
reflective tape to aid with post-seeding monitoring, and stored in fish 
totes with a chilled seawater flow through system. All harvesting and 
tagging would occur during nighttime hours to reduce stress on the 
scallops. Once the vessel reaches the reseeding site, the vessel would 
anchor up to allow for a controlled placement, and researchers will 
lower the scallops to the ocean bottom for a targeted density of two 
scallops per square meter. A bottom marker would also be released with 
each scallop placement to locate the original site enabling researchers 
to note any scallop movement.
    One bushel from each tow would be measured for size frequency and 
15 individual scallops would be sampled for meat weights to determine 
shell height/meat weight ratios prior to transplanting. Any finfish 
caught in the dredge that show signs of abnormalities would have a 
small biopsy of the area

[[Page 9171]]

removed and preserved in a vial with formalin and the carcass would be 
placed in a ziplock bag and stored on ice. Researchers would continue 
gathering information on the prevalence of the disease Ichthyophonus 
seen locally in yellowtail flounder. Anticipated bycatch for both 
projects is listed in the table below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Minimum bycatch                 Maximum bycatch
                     Species                     ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       (lb)            (kg)            (lb)            (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scallop.........................................          12,000           5,443          15,075           6,838
Yellowtail Flounder.............................             140              64             450             204
Winter Flounder.................................              20               9             225             102
Windowpane Flounder.............................             120              54             450             204
Monkfish........................................             500             227           1,575             714
Other Fish......................................             220             100             450             204
Barndoor Skate..................................              20               9             675             306
NE Skate Complex................................           7,740           3,510          12,825           5,817
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to trips that will harvest and place seed scallops, 
there will be five trips dedicated to conducting optical surveys of the 
research area; two trips to determine seed placement locations, and 
three trips to monitor the seeding effort. Researchers would conduct 
each initial optical survey over the course of a day and the post seed 
optical surveys over seven days. The post seeding surveys would start 
immediately after scallop placement, and recur at each site once a day. 
To collect data at each of the sites, researchers would use a GAVIA 
AUV, and a video sled comprised of a 9.84-foot (3-m) wide beam 
outfitted with a battery operated camera and strobe system. The only 
contact with the ocean bottom would be with three 3-inch (7.62-cm) wide 
runners attached to the bottom of the beam. No exemptions are needed 
for the optical survey trips.
    Regulatory exemptions are needed to allow CFF to collect scallops 
from a closed access area and reseed them in an open area, and without 
being charged days-at-sea. Exemptions are also needed to deploy dredge 
gear in closed access areas and retain yellowtail flounder for 
scientific purposes. Participating vessels need crew size waivers to 
accommodate science personnel and possession waivers will enable them 
to conduct data collection activities. We would waive the observer 
program notification requirements because the research activity is not 
representative of standard fishing activity.
    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: February 18, 2016.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-03760 Filed 2-23-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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