Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit, 71323 [2020-24837]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 217 (Monday, November 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 71323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24837]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA559]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit

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 application contains all 
of the required information and warrants further consideration. This 
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial fishing vessels to 
participate in a sampling survey in the eastern Gulf of Maine targeting 
adult cod with rod and reel while on commercial lobster trips. 
Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act require publication of this notice to provide interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on Exempted Fishing Permit 
applications.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by either of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on MCCF Eastern Gulf of Maine Cod Survey 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 ``Comments on 
MCCF Eastern Gulf of Maine Cod Survey EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9232, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries 
(MCCF) submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit 
(EFP) in support of an Atlantic cod biological sampling initiative in 
the eastern Gulf of Maine (GOM). The EFP would exempt commercial 
fishing vessels from gear requirements for vessels fishing under the 
open access Handgear B permit, which prohibit vessels from using or 
possessing onboard gear other than handgear while fishing for Northeast 
multispecies at 50 CFR 648.88(a)(2)(i), and the open access handgear 
possession limits specific in Sec.  648.88(a)(1) for Gulf of Maine cod.
    MCCF also requested that the EFP include an exemption from Vessel 
Trip Reporting (VTR) requirements at Sec.  648.7(b)(1)(i). An exemption 
from these requirements would encourage participation in the EFP by 
vessels which would need to acquire an open access Handgear B permit to 
do so and are not already subject to VTR requirements. We do not intend 
to issue this exemption, as it is not essential to the completion of 
the project, and would undermine a fundamental reporting requirement of 
the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
    Activity under this EFP would occur from October through April 
2021, within a subset of statistical area 512, from approximately Port 
Clyde to Swan's Island, Maine, out to the Federal Lobster Area 1 
boundary. During EFP trips, vessels would deploy commercial lobster 
traps as normal and would opportunistically fish with handgear for cod 
sampling when captains deem appropriate based on operational factors 
such as weather conditions and haul schedules. Vessels would record 
location, gear, bait, bottom type, depth, and time for each deployment 
of hook gear. There are two depth strata, 0-50 fathoms (0-91.4 m) and 
50-100 fathoms (91.4-182.9 m). On each EFP trip, vessels would be 
allowed to keep up to 2 cod at or above a minimum size of 24 inches 
(60.9 cm) from each depth strata. Any other fish caught while fishing 
with handgear would be returned to the ocean as soon as possible.
    Kept cod would be landed and delivered to the MCCF in Stonington. 
MCCF technicians would photograph, measure, and dissect each fish. MCCF 
would send tissue, stomach, and otolith samples will be distributed to 
University of Maine and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
    The total sample size for the project is 40 cod, 20 of which would 
come from a 0-50-fathom (0-91.4-m) depth strata and the other 20 from a 
50-100-fathom (91.4-182.9-m) depth strata. MCCF estimates that landed 
cod will amount to approximately 300 lb (136.1 kg) of fish for the 
entire sampling season, based on an assumption that the average target 
fish would weigh around 5 lb (2.3 kg). MCCF has stated that estimated 
discards would be minimal, based on experience from the Sentinel Survey 
Fishery. Because the maximum number of fish planned to be kept for each 
trip is 4 fish (2 from each strata), at least 10 EFP trips would need 
to occur to collect 40 cod. It is not likely that vessels will be able 
to catch the maximum number of cod allowed for each trip, so MCCF has 
projected that it may take up to 84 trips total to complete sampling. 
This projection assumes that each of the three vessels would make three 
attempts every week of the seven-month study period. Additional 
handgear B vessels may be added to the EFP, if approved, to meet 
sampling targets.
    The exemption from gear requirements of the open access Handgear B 
permit at 50 CFR part 648.88(a)(2)(i) would allow participating vessels 
to deploy handgear and fish under the conditions of the permit while 
also fishing with pot/trap gear during commercial lobster trips. 
Exemptions from the open access handgear B possession limits specified 
in Sec.  648.88(a)(1) for GOM cod would allow participating vessels to 
keep cod in excess of 25 lb (11.3 kg) per trip if needed for biological 
sampling.
    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: November 4, 2020.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-24837 Filed 11-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P