Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits, 8843-8844 [2019-04413]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 48 / Tuesday, March 12, 2019 / Notices
assessment analyses, and describes the
fisheries, evaluates the status of the
stock, estimates biological benchmarks,
projects future population conditions,
and recommends research and
monitoring needs. Participants for
SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the
Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and
Caribbean Fishery Management
Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast
Regional Office, Highly Migratory
Species Management Division, and
Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
Participants include: Data collectors and
database managers; stock assessment
scientists, biologists, and researchers;
constituency representatives including
fishermen, environmentalists, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs);
international experts; and staff of
Councils, Commissions, and state and
federal agencies.
The items of discussion in the Data/
Assessment Scoping webinar are as
follows: Participants will discuss data
issues, as necessary, including the
potential use of otolith count versus
calendar ages in the assessment and
discuss initial modeling issues, as
needed.
Although non-emergency issues not
contained in this agenda may come
before this group for discussion, those
issues may not be the subject of formal
action during this meeting. Action will
be restricted to those issues specifically
identified in this notice and any issues
arising after publication of this notice
that require emergency action under
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, provided the public has been
notified of the intent to take final action
to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is accessible to people
with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary
aids should be directed to the SAFMC
office (see ADDRESSES) at least 5
business days prior to the meeting.
Note: The times and sequence
specified in this agenda are subject to
change.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 7, 2019.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–04485 Filed 3–11–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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16:50 Mar 11, 2019
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG790
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 Acting 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
seven commercial fishing vessels from
limited access sea scallop regulations in
support of a study on the feasibility of
transplanting and monitoring scallops
transplanted from one offshore area to
another.
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 27, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by any of the following
methods:
• Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line ‘‘DA19–005
CFF Reseeding EFP.’’
• Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic
Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Mark the outside of the envelope
‘‘DA19–005 CFF Reseeding EFP.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978–282–8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Coonamesset Farm Foundation (CFF)
submitted an exempted fishing permit
(EFP) application in support of a project
titled ‘‘Dispersal and Growth of
Recently Transplanted Sea Scallops
(Placopecten magellanicus) in an
Offshore Grow-Out Area.’’ The project
would look primarily at the feasibility of
transplanting/seeding scallops from one
offshore area to another. The project
would also demonstrate the feasibility
of tracking the scallops once they have
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8843
been transplanted/seeded over a ninemonth period. Researchers propose that
information gained from this project on
scallop growth and survival could be
broadly applicable to future stock
dynamic studies as well as a possible
mitigation technique to help deal with
global climate change.
To enable this research, CFF is
requesting exemptions for seven
commercial fishing vessels from the
Atlantic sea scallop crew size
restrictions at § 648.60(c); observer
program requirements at § 648.11(g);
Nantucket Lightship South and North
Rotational Areas at § 648.60(e) and
648.60(g); and access area program
requirements at § 648.59(a)(1)–(3), (b)(2),
(b)(4).
This project would be conducted in
three phases. An initial trip would
harvest approximately 60 scallops to
conduct a health assessment to ensure
that disease transmission between areas
will not occur. The second phase would
have 1 vessel conducting dredging
operations to harvest between 100,000–
500,000 scallops on a single trip from
Nantucket Lightship South and
transplant them in Nantucket Lightship
North. This trip would also include
camera surveys when the scallops are
transplanted and then at 12-, 24-, and
48-hour intervals. The third phase of the
project would consist of five trips to the
transplant area. The first four would
only consist of camera surveys of the
transplant area. The fifth and final trip
would consist of a camera survey of the
area and harvest activities of both
natural set and transplant scallops for
final size composition comparisons.
All tows to harvest scallops for
transplanting would be conducted with
one 15-foot (4.57 m) dredge for a
duration of 10 minutes using an average
tow speed of 4.5 knots. All dredge gear
would conform to scallop gear
regulations. A subset of approximately
10,000 scallops would be tagged with a
unique identifier to both the top and
bottom of the shell. An additional 25
scallops would be tagged with acoustic
telemetry tags to help relocate
transplanted scallop piles. All scallops,
both tagged and untagged, would be
lowered to the ocean bottom in covered
baskets. Following transplant
operations, CFF would use a stationary
camera array tied on to the vessel to
photographically document the drift of
the transplanted scallops.
No catch sampling beyond tagging
scallops would occur, therefore any
non-scallop catch would not be retained
for longer than needed to sort catch, and
no catch would be landed for sale. All
catch estimates for the project are listed
in the table below.
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8844
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 48 / Tuesday, March 12, 2019 / Notices
TABLE 1—ESTIMATED CATCH, BY
SPECIES, FOR CFF EFP REQUEST
Common name
Sea Scallop .....................
Yellowtail Flounder ..........
Winter Flounder ...............
Windowpane Flounder ....
Monkfish ..........................
Other Fish .......................
Barndoor Skates .............
Northeast Skate Complex
Estimated
weight
(lb)
Estimated
weight
(kg)
12,000
20
20
60
100
120
20
500
5,443
9
9
27
45
54
9
227
CFF needs these exemptions to allow
them to deploy gear in areas that are
currently closed to scallop fishing.
Participating vessels need crew size
waivers to accommodate science
personnel. The project would be exempt
from the sea scallop observer program
requirements because activities
conducted on the trip are not consistent
with normal fishing operations.
Researchers from CFF will accompany
each trip taken under the EFP.
The New England Fishery
Management Council is currently
devising a management strategy for
these scallops in the 2020 fishing year
and there is talk of allocating them
through a specifications action. NMFS is
particularly interested in receiving
comment on how this EFP would
intersect with the Council’s developing
management strategy.
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: March 6, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–04413 Filed 3–11–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
National Estuarine Research Reserve
System
Stewardship Division, Office
for Coastal Management, National
Ocean Service, National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Mar 11, 2019
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Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
Notice of approval for the San
Francisco Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve Management Plan
revision.
ACTION:
Under applicable Federal
regulations, notice is hereby given that
the Stewardship Division, Office for
Coastal Management, National Ocean
Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce approves the
revised Management Plan for San
Francisco Bay, California National
Estuarine Research Reserve
Management Plan. In accordance with
applicable Federal regulations, the San
Francisco Bay Reserve revised its
Management Plan, which will replace
the plan previously approved in 2011.
SUMMARY:
Bree
Turner (Phone: 206–526–4641, Email:
Bree.Turner@noaa.gov) or Erica Seiden
(Phone: 240–533–0781) of NOAA’s
National Ocean Service, Stewardship
Division, Office for Coastal
Management, 1305 East-West Highway,
N/ORM5, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD
20910.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
revised Management Plan outlines the
administrative structure; the research/
monitoring, stewardship, education, and
training programs of the Reserve; and
the plans for future land acquisition and
facility development to support Reserve
operations.
The San Francisco Bay Reserve takes
an integrated approach to management,
linking research, education, coastal
training, and stewardship functions.
The Reserve has outlined how it will
manage administration and its core
program providing detailed actions that
will enable it to accomplish specific
goals and objectives. Since the last
Management Plan, the Reserve has built
out its core programs and monitoring
infrastructure; conducted an
educational market analysis and needs
assessment to better meet teacher needs
and underserved audiences; developed
resource management and restoration
management plans; and expanded the
coastal training program through
development of a five year strategy and
partnership with the on-site wetland
science program.
On December 21, 2017, NOAA issued
a notice of a thirty day public comment
period for the San Francisco Bay
Reserve revised plan (82 FR 60588).
Responses to the written and oral
comments received, and an explanation
of how comments were incorporated
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
into the final revised plan, are available
in Appendix G of the revised plan.
The revised Management Plan will
serve as the guiding document for the
3,710 acre San Francisco Bay Reserve.
View the San Francisco Bay, California
Reserve Management Plan at https://
www.sfbaynerr.org/resource-library/
reserve-plans-reports/sf-bay-finalmanagement-plan-2018–2023/.
The revised management plan does
not make substantial changes that are
relevant to environmental concerns and
does not raise significant new
circumstances or information that may
lead to new or different environmental
impacts. It does not propose new
construction, land acquisition, or
changes in allowable or restricted uses.
As such, the initial Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) prepared at the
time of designation is still valid and
supplementation of the EIS is not
required. NOAA has made the
determination that the revision of the
management plan will not have a
significant effect on the human
environment and qualifies for a
categorical exclusion under NOAA
Administrative Order 216–6A and the
NOAA NEPA Companion Manual. An
environmental assessment will not be
prepared. Any specific actions that
NOAA may fund or carry out in the
future pursuant to this management
plan will be subject to future NEPA and
environmental review, as applicable.
Authority: 15 CFR 921.33.
Dated: March 4, 2019.
Keelin Kuipers,
Deputy Director, Office for Coastal
Management, National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019–04419 Filed 3–11–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–08–P
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
[Docket ID: USN–2018–HQ–0018]
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
Department of the Navy, DoD.
30-Day information collection
AGENCY:
ACTION:
notice.
The Department of Defense
has submitted to OMB for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all
comments received by April 11, 2019.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\12MRN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8843-8844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-04413]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG790
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 Acting 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 seven commercial fishing vessels
from limited access sea scallop regulations in support of a study on
the feasibility of transplanting and monitoring scallops transplanted
from one offshore area to another.
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 27, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line
``DA19-005 CFF Reseeding EFP.''
Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS,
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``DA19-005 CFF
Reseeding EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-282-8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coonamesset Farm Foundation (CFF) submitted
an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application in support of a project
titled ``Dispersal and Growth of Recently Transplanted Sea Scallops
(Placopecten magellanicus) in an Offshore Grow-Out Area.'' The project
would look primarily at the feasibility of transplanting/seeding
scallops from one offshore area to another. The project would also
demonstrate the feasibility of tracking the scallops once they have
been transplanted/seeded over a nine-month period. Researchers propose
that information gained from this project on scallop growth and
survival could be broadly applicable to future stock dynamic studies as
well as a possible mitigation technique to help deal with global
climate change.
To enable this research, CFF is requesting exemptions for seven
commercial fishing vessels from the Atlantic sea scallop crew size
restrictions at Sec. 648.60(c); observer program requirements at Sec.
648.11(g); Nantucket Lightship South and North Rotational Areas at
Sec. 648.60(e) and 648.60(g); and access area program requirements at
Sec. 648.59(a)(1)-(3), (b)(2), (b)(4).
This project would be conducted in three phases. An initial trip
would harvest approximately 60 scallops to conduct a health assessment
to ensure that disease transmission between areas will not occur. The
second phase would have 1 vessel conducting dredging operations to
harvest between 100,000-500,000 scallops on a single trip from
Nantucket Lightship South and transplant them in Nantucket Lightship
North. This trip would also include camera surveys when the scallops
are transplanted and then at 12-, 24-, and 48-hour intervals. The third
phase of the project would consist of five trips to the transplant
area. The first four would only consist of camera surveys of the
transplant area. The fifth and final trip would consist of a camera
survey of the area and harvest activities of both natural set and
transplant scallops for final size composition comparisons.
All tows to harvest scallops for transplanting would be conducted
with one 15-foot (4.57 m) dredge for a duration of 10 minutes using an
average tow speed of 4.5 knots. All dredge gear would conform to
scallop gear regulations. A subset of approximately 10,000 scallops
would be tagged with a unique identifier to both the top and bottom of
the shell. An additional 25 scallops would be tagged with acoustic
telemetry tags to help relocate transplanted scallop piles. All
scallops, both tagged and untagged, would be lowered to the ocean
bottom in covered baskets. Following transplant operations, CFF would
use a stationary camera array tied on to the vessel to photographically
document the drift of the transplanted scallops.
No catch sampling beyond tagging scallops would occur, therefore
any non-scallop catch would not be retained for longer than needed to
sort catch, and no catch would be landed for sale. All catch estimates
for the project are listed in the table below.
[[Page 8844]]
Table 1--Estimated Catch, by Species, for CFF EFP Request
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated
Common name weight weight
(lb) (kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sea Scallop..................................... 12,000 5,443
Yellowtail Flounder............................. 20 9
Winter Flounder................................. 20 9
Windowpane Flounder............................. 60 27
Monkfish........................................ 100 45
Other Fish...................................... 120 54
Barndoor Skates................................. 20 9
Northeast Skate Complex......................... 500 227
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFF needs these exemptions to allow them to deploy gear in areas
that are currently closed to scallop fishing. Participating vessels
need crew size waivers to accommodate science personnel. The project
would be exempt from the sea scallop observer program requirements
because activities conducted on the trip are not consistent with normal
fishing operations. Researchers from CFF will accompany each trip taken
under the EFP.
The New England Fishery Management Council is currently devising a
management strategy for these scallops in the 2020 fishing year and
there is talk of allocating them through a specifications action. NMFS
is particularly interested in receiving comment on how this EFP would
intersect with the Council's developing management strategy.
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: March 6, 2019.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-04413 Filed 3-11-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P