Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits, 20863-20864 [2023-07262]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 67 / Friday, April 7, 2023 / Notices
Authority
Under section 4 of the ESA, the
Secretary of Commerce is required to
adopt such regulations as he deems
necessary and advisable for the
conservation of species listed as
threatened. The ESA salmon and
steelhead 4(d) Rule (50 CFR 223.203(b))
specifies categories of activities that
contribute to the conservation of listed
salmonids and sets out the criteria for
such activities. The rule further
provides that the prohibitions of
paragraph (a) of the rule do not apply to
actions undertaken in compliance with
a plan developed jointly by a state and
a tribe and determined by NMFS to be
in accordance with the salmon and
steelhead 4(d) Rule (65 FR 42422, July
10, 2000).
Dated: April 4, 2023.
Angela Somma,
Chief, Endangered Species Division, Office
of Protected Resources, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–07330 Filed 4–6–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XC888]
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries
Cooperative Management 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. The
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow
commercial fishing vessels to fish
outside fishery regulations in support of
research conducted by the applicant.
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens 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
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:11 Apr 06, 2023
Jkt 259001
applications for proposed Exempted
Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by the following method:
• Email: nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line ‘‘Blue Planet
Strategies 2023 On-Demand Gear EFP.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, Laura.Deighan@noaa.gov,
(978) 281–9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Blue
Planet Strategies submitted a complete
application for an Exempted Fishing
Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial
fishing activities that the regulations
would otherwise restrict to expand trials
of on-demand fishing gear that uses one
or no surface buoys. This EFP would
exempt the participating vessels from
the gear marking requirements at 50
CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow the use of
trawls of more than three traps with no
more than one surface marking and
§ 648.84(b) to allow the use of gillnet
gear with no more than one surface
marking.
This project would be a continuation
and expansion of Blue Planet Strategies
trials of on-demand fishing systems
aimed at reducing the entanglement risk
to protected species, mainly the North
Atlantic right whale, in the American
lobster and Jonah crab and sink gillnet
fisheries. Under the previous EFP, 6
lobster vessels made 136 trips and 175
deployments in Statistical Areas 513,
467, and 512. Four gillnet vessels made
83 trips and 60 deployments in
Statistical Areas 521 and 513. Blue
Planet Strategies states that they have
not experienced gear conflicts as a result
of their on-demand research to date. In
addition to gear trials, Blue Planet
Strategies has been involved in outreach
efforts, including meetings and
demonstrations with fishermen, fishing
organizations, conservation
organizations, fishery management
agency staff and leadership, and other
interested parties and presentations to
the Ropeless Consortium and Society for
Marine Mammalogy.
The objectives of this EFP include
testing the efficacy of acoustic release
devices and other alternatives to static
vertical lines in both trap/pot and sink
gillnet fisheries; testing the efficacy of
sub-surface gear marking technology to
relocate gear and notify other fishermen
to the presence of gear in the absence of
surface markings; testing smart buoy
technology that signals gear location
and movement; testing and comparing
two sub-surface gear marking systems
(including hull-mounted transducers);
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
20863
and testing the viability of integrating
SmartRafts, which monitor whale
presence and changing ocean
conditions, into on-demand gear.
If granted, this permit would allow up
to 16 trap/pot vessels and 4 sink gillnet
vessels to replace up to 4 of their
existing trawls or strings with modified
gear that replace one or both vertical
lines with acoustic on-demand systems
or other alternatives to static buoy lines
(including, but not limited to, spooled
systems, buoy and stowed rope systems,
lift bag systems, and grappling).
Initially, the researchers would work
with 10 lobster vessels and 2 gillnet
vessels, and would expand to the full
number of vessels (16 and 4,
respectively) in mid-to-late 2023, as
additional funding and gear become
available. While effort would occur
year-round, the researchers anticipate
the majority of effort would occur from
May to October and fewer than 20
vessels would use on-demand gear at
any given time.
For trap/pot gear trials, participants
fish between 3 and 25 traps per trawl,
in depths ranging from 50 to 400 ft
(15.24 to 121.92 m), and with soak times
of 2 to 4 days. The researchers expect
780 trips, with 2 pieces of modified gear
set per trip, resulting in a total of 1,560
deployments. Participants would deploy
on-demand trap/pot gear in Lobster
Management Area 1 and, to a lesser
extent, Lobster Management Area 3, and
would target areas that are not as
heavily fished by mobile fleets to reduce
the risk of gear conflicts. This project
would include the opportunity for up to
12 of the participating lobster vessels to
trial gear without static vertical lines in
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction
Plan (ALWTRP) Restricted Areas.
For gillnet trials, participants fish a
maximum of 21 nets of 300 ft (91.44 m)
or less for 6 to 8 hours. The researchers
expect 104 trips, with 2 pieces of
modified gear set per trip, resulting in
a total of 208 deployments. Gillnet
participants would deploy gear in
Statistical Area 521 (approximately 50
deployments), Area 538 (approximately
10 deployments), and in the Georges
Bank Regulated Mesh Area (148
deployments).
Some units would be outfitted with
EdgeTech acoustic marking technology,
acoustic triggers, and software. Other
units would be outfitted with Teledyne
undersea modem marking technology,
acoustic triggers, and software. All units
would include smart buoys on each
anchoring unit, outfitted with GPS for
data collection and lost gear retrieval.
Other than gear markings, all trap
trawls and gillnet strings would be
consistent with the regulations of the
E:\FR\FM\07APN1.SGM
07APN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
20864
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 67 / Friday, April 7, 2023 / Notices
management area where the vessel is
fishing. This permit would exempt
participating vessels from the specified
Federal regulations in Federal waters
only. The applicant would be
responsible for obtaining any necessary
state authorizations. This EFP would
not exempt the vessels from any
requirements imposed by any state, the
Endangered Species Act, the Marine
Mammal Protection Act, or any other
applicable laws.
Blue Planet Strategies and engineering
teams representing the respective
prototype would oversee initial
deployments of on-demand gear. If
necessary, participants would use a
GoPro System, or other recording
device, on deck to record the success
and/or failures of some or all of the
retrievals for review. Participants would
record data on standardized data
collection sheets (specific to the
relevant sub-project). Blue Planet
Strategies has proposed permit
conditions and requirements similar to
those included in other on-demand
EFPs to minimize the chance of causing
injury to right whales and mitigate the
risk of gear conflicts, including:
• All vessels would report all right
whale sightings to NMFS via
ne.rw.survey@noaa.gov or NOAA (866–
755–6622) or the U.S. Coast Guard
(Channel 16);
• All vessels would provide
mandatory, weekly gear loss reports;
• All vessels would retrieve ondemand vertical lines as quickly as
possible to minimize time in the water
column;
• All vessels would adhere to current
approach regulations—a 500-yard
(457.2-meter or 1,500-foot) buffer zone
created by a surfacing right whale—and
must depart immediately at a safe and
slow speed, in accordance with current
regulations. Hauling any lobster gear
would immediately cease, by either
removal or resetting, to accommodate
the regulation and be reinitiated only
after it is reasonable to assume the
whale has left the area;
• All vessels would use smart buoy
technology to provide alerts to the
fishermen and the researcher staff
within 2 hours of an unplanned release
of a stowed line;
• All vessels would use the Trap
Tracker or an equivalent application to
record positioning details, which would
be available to Federal, state, and
corresponding enforcement personnel,
as well as other fishermen;
• Vessels would operate within a 10knot speed limit when transiting
Restricted Areas or when whales are
observed;
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:11 Apr 06, 2023
Jkt 259001
• When fishing in ALWTRP
Restricted Areas, on-demand vertical
lines would be marked with unique
markings in addition to ALWTRP
regulations. The specific markings/color
combinations would be agreed upon by
the NMFS Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Team Coordinator and
provided to the Office of Law
Enforcement;
• When fishing in ALWTRP
Restricted Areas, vessels would check
real-time right whale sightings
information (such as Right Whale
Sightings Advisories and Whale ALERT)
before setting any gear and avoid areas
of high right whale abundance;
• When fishing in ALWTRP
Restricted Areas, all vessels would
avoid operation between dusk and
dawn;
• The principal investigators would
update the appropriate regional and
state management partners on a regular
basis to the level necessary to avoid
miscommunication and maintain
effective working relationships;
• The principal investigators would
regularly provide the approximate
location and intensity of fishing in
Restricted Areas where trawls will not
have any surface markers and would
proactively communicate within local
ports with mobile and fixed gear fleets
on fishing effort and location under the
EFP, with particular focus on the
Restricted Areas. Communications
would be tailored to each region and
port, and may include methods such as
in-person meetings with fishermen in
ports in advance of research activities to
discuss gear locations, email or text
contact with fishing vessels identified
by the Vessel Monitoring System as
fishing in the research area, Coast Guard
notices to mariners, and any other
methods that will assure local fishermen
are informed about research activities in
order to avoid any potential gear
conflicts;
• Participants would document and
researchers would summarize all
instances of gear conflicts/gear loss in
the final report; and
• A copy of the final report would be
provided to NMFS within 6 months of
the expiration of the EFP.
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
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
scope of the exempted fishing activity
would be prohibited.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 3, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–07262 Filed 4–6–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO–P–2022–0045]
USPTO AI Inventorship: Notice of
Public AI Inventorship Listening
Session—East Coast
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public listening
session.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) plays an
important role in incentivizing and
protecting innovation, including
innovation enabled by artificial
intelligence (AI), to ensure continued
U.S. leadership in AI and other
emerging technologies (ET). On
February 14, 2023, the USPTO
published a Federal Register Notice
requesting comments regarding AI and
Inventorship. The USPTO is
announcing a public listening session
on April 25, 2023, titled ‘‘AI
Inventorship Listening Session.’’ The
purpose of the listening session is to
seek stakeholder input on the current
state of AI technologies and
inventorship issues that may arise in
view of the advancement of such
technologies, as set forth in the
questions posed in the Federal Register
Notice of February 14, 2023.
DATES: The AI Inventorship Listening
Session will be held on April 25, 2023,
from 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. Anyone
seeking to speak at the listening session
must register by 5 p.m. ET on April 20,
2023. Anyone seeking to attend, either
virtually or in person, but not speak at
the event must register by April 24,
2023. Seating is limited for in-person
attendance.
ADDRESSES: The public AI Inventorship
Listening Session will take place
virtually and in-person at the USPTO
Headquarters, National Inventors Hall of
Fame Museum, 600 Dulany Street,
Alexandria, VA 22314. All major
entrances to the building are accessible
to people with disabilities. Registration
is required for both virtual and inSUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\07APN1.SGM
07APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20863-20864]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07262]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC888]
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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. The
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish
outside fishery regulations in support of research conducted 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 Exempted Fishing Permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Blue Planet Strategies 2023 On-Demand Gear EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, [email protected], (978) 281-9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Blue Planet Strategies submitted a complete
application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to conduct commercial
fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict to
expand trials of on-demand fishing gear that uses one or no surface
buoys. This EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the gear
marking requirements at 50 CFR 697.21(b)(2) to allow the use of trawls
of more than three traps with no more than one surface marking and
Sec. 648.84(b) to allow the use of gillnet gear with no more than one
surface marking.
This project would be a continuation and expansion of Blue Planet
Strategies trials of on-demand fishing systems aimed at reducing the
entanglement risk to protected species, mainly the North Atlantic right
whale, in the American lobster and Jonah crab and sink gillnet
fisheries. Under the previous EFP, 6 lobster vessels made 136 trips and
175 deployments in Statistical Areas 513, 467, and 512. Four gillnet
vessels made 83 trips and 60 deployments in Statistical Areas 521 and
513. Blue Planet Strategies states that they have not experienced gear
conflicts as a result of their on-demand research to date. In addition
to gear trials, Blue Planet Strategies has been involved in outreach
efforts, including meetings and demonstrations with fishermen, fishing
organizations, conservation organizations, fishery management agency
staff and leadership, and other interested parties and presentations to
the Ropeless Consortium and Society for Marine Mammalogy.
The objectives of this EFP include testing the efficacy of acoustic
release devices and other alternatives to static vertical lines in both
trap/pot and sink gillnet fisheries; testing the efficacy of sub-
surface gear marking technology to relocate gear and notify other
fishermen to the presence of gear in the absence of surface markings;
testing smart buoy technology that signals gear location and movement;
testing and comparing two sub-surface gear marking systems (including
hull-mounted transducers); and testing the viability of integrating
SmartRafts, which monitor whale presence and changing ocean conditions,
into on-demand gear.
If granted, this permit would allow up to 16 trap/pot vessels and 4
sink gillnet vessels to replace up to 4 of their existing trawls or
strings with modified gear that replace one or both vertical lines with
acoustic on-demand systems or other alternatives to static buoy lines
(including, but not limited to, spooled systems, buoy and stowed rope
systems, lift bag systems, and grappling). Initially, the researchers
would work with 10 lobster vessels and 2 gillnet vessels, and would
expand to the full number of vessels (16 and 4, respectively) in mid-
to-late 2023, as additional funding and gear become available. While
effort would occur year-round, the researchers anticipate the majority
of effort would occur from May to October and fewer than 20 vessels
would use on-demand gear at any given time.
For trap/pot gear trials, participants fish between 3 and 25 traps
per trawl, in depths ranging from 50 to 400 ft (15.24 to 121.92 m), and
with soak times of 2 to 4 days. The researchers expect 780 trips, with
2 pieces of modified gear set per trip, resulting in a total of 1,560
deployments. Participants would deploy on-demand trap/pot gear in
Lobster Management Area 1 and, to a lesser extent, Lobster Management
Area 3, and would target areas that are not as heavily fished by mobile
fleets to reduce the risk of gear conflicts. This project would include
the opportunity for up to 12 of the participating lobster vessels to
trial gear without static vertical lines in Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) Restricted Areas.
For gillnet trials, participants fish a maximum of 21 nets of 300
ft (91.44 m) or less for 6 to 8 hours. The researchers expect 104
trips, with 2 pieces of modified gear set per trip, resulting in a
total of 208 deployments. Gillnet participants would deploy gear in
Statistical Area 521 (approximately 50 deployments), Area 538
(approximately 10 deployments), and in the Georges Bank Regulated Mesh
Area (148 deployments).
Some units would be outfitted with EdgeTech acoustic marking
technology, acoustic triggers, and software. Other units would be
outfitted with Teledyne undersea modem marking technology, acoustic
triggers, and software. All units would include smart buoys on each
anchoring unit, outfitted with GPS for data collection and lost gear
retrieval.
Other than gear markings, all trap trawls and gillnet strings would
be consistent with the regulations of the
[[Page 20864]]
management area where the vessel is fishing. This permit would exempt
participating vessels from the specified Federal regulations in Federal
waters only. The applicant would be responsible for obtaining any
necessary state authorizations. This EFP would not exempt the vessels
from any requirements imposed by any state, the Endangered Species Act,
the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or any other applicable laws.
Blue Planet Strategies and engineering teams representing the
respective prototype would oversee initial deployments of on-demand
gear. If necessary, participants would use a GoPro System, or other
recording device, on deck to record the success and/or failures of some
or all of the retrievals for review. Participants would record data on
standardized data collection sheets (specific to the relevant sub-
project). Blue Planet Strategies has proposed permit conditions and
requirements similar to those included in other on-demand EFPs to
minimize the chance of causing injury to right whales and mitigate the
risk of gear conflicts, including:
All vessels would report all right whale sightings to NMFS
via [email protected] or NOAA (866-755-6622) or the U.S. Coast
Guard (Channel 16);
All vessels would provide mandatory, weekly gear loss
reports;
All vessels would retrieve on-demand vertical lines as
quickly as possible to minimize time in the water column;
All vessels would adhere to current approach regulations--
a 500-yard (457.2-meter or 1,500-foot) buffer zone created by a
surfacing right whale--and must depart immediately at a safe and slow
speed, in accordance with current regulations. Hauling any lobster gear
would immediately cease, by either removal or resetting, to accommodate
the regulation and be reinitiated only after it is reasonable to assume
the whale has left the area;
All vessels would use smart buoy technology to provide
alerts to the fishermen and the researcher staff within 2 hours of an
unplanned release of a stowed line;
All vessels would use the Trap Tracker or an equivalent
application to record positioning details, which would be available to
Federal, state, and corresponding enforcement personnel, as well as
other fishermen;
Vessels would operate within a 10-knot speed limit when
transiting Restricted Areas or when whales are observed;
When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, on-demand
vertical lines would be marked with unique markings in addition to
ALWTRP regulations. The specific markings/color combinations would be
agreed upon by the NMFS Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team
Coordinator and provided to the Office of Law Enforcement;
When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, vessels would
check real-time right whale sightings information (such as Right Whale
Sightings Advisories and Whale ALERT) before setting any gear and avoid
areas of high right whale abundance;
When fishing in ALWTRP Restricted Areas, all vessels would
avoid operation between dusk and dawn;
The principal investigators would update the appropriate
regional and state management partners on a regular basis to the level
necessary to avoid miscommunication and maintain effective working
relationships;
The principal investigators would regularly provide the
approximate location and intensity of fishing in Restricted Areas where
trawls will not have any surface markers and would proactively
communicate within local ports with mobile and fixed gear fleets on
fishing effort and location under the EFP, with particular focus on the
Restricted Areas. Communications would be tailored to each region and
port, and may include methods such as in-person meetings with fishermen
in ports in advance of research activities to discuss gear locations,
email or text contact with fishing vessels identified by the Vessel
Monitoring System as fishing in the research area, Coast Guard notices
to mariners, and any other methods that will assure local fishermen are
informed about research activities in order to avoid any potential gear
conflicts;
Participants would document and researchers would
summarize all instances of gear conflicts/gear loss in the final
report; and
A copy of the final report would be provided to NMFS
within 6 months of the expiration of the EFP.
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 3, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-07262 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
