38286 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Byrd, SEDAR Coordinator, 4055 Faber 

Place Drive, Suite 201, North 

Charleston, SC 29405; phone: (843) 571– 

4366; email: julia.byrd@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 

Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions, 

have implemented the Southeast Data, 

Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 

process, a multi-step method for 

determining the status of fish stocks in 

the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a threestep process including: (1) Data 

Workshop; (2) Assessment Process 

utilizing webinars; and (3) Review 

Workshop. The product of the Data 

Workshop is a data report which 

compiles and evaluates potential 

datasets and recommends which 

datasets are appropriate for assessment 

analyses. The product of the Assessment 

Process is a stock assessment report 

which describes the fisheries, evaluates 

the status of the stock, estimates 

biological benchmarks, projects future 

population conditions, and recommends 

research and monitoring needs. The 

assessment is independently peer 

reviewed at the Review Workshop. The 

product of the Review Workshop is a 

Summary documenting panel opinions 

regarding the strengths and weaknesses 

of the stock assessment and input data. 

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 at the Data 

Scoping webinar are as follows: 

1. Participants will review SEDAR 58 

stock identification recommendations. 

2. Participants will identify potential 

data sources and discuss data needs and 

treatments in order to prepare for the 

Data Workshop. 

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: July 31, 2018. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16699 Filed 8–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XG385 

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 allow 

four commercial fishing vessels, 

directed by Coonamessett Farm 

Foundation, to be exempt from Atlantic 

sea scallop regulations for the purpose 

of bycatch reduction research. 

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 August 21, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: NMFS.GAR.EFP@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments 

on CFF Extended Link Apron EFP.’’ 

• Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional 

Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside 

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on CFF 

Extended Link Apron EFP.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–282–8456. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) 

submitted a complete application for an 

Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) on July 

10, 2018, to conduct commercial fishing 

activities that the regulations would 

otherwise restrict. The EFP would 

authorize vessels to test the efficacy of 

an extended link scallop dredge apron 

at reducing the capture of yellowtail and 

windowpane flounder and small 

scallops over the duration of four 

directed research cruises. The EFP 

would support research associated with 

a project titled ‘‘Development of an 

Extended Link Apron: A Broad Range 

Tool for Bycatch Reduction,’’ that has 

been funded under the 2017 Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) 

Program. 

CFF is requesting exemptions that 

would exempt four commercial fishing 

vessels from the following regulations: 

• Atlantic sea scallop days-at-sea 

(DAS) allocations at 50 CFR 648.53(b); 

• Crew size restrictions at § 648.51(c); 

• Dredge gear restrictions for 

minimum mesh size at § 648.51(b)(2) 

and gear obstructions at 

§ 648.51(b)(4)(iii); 

• Atlantic sea scallop observer 

program requirements at § 648.11(g); 

• Access area program requirements 

at § 648.59(a)(1)–(3), (b)(2), (b)(4); 

• Rotational closed area exemptions 

for Closed Area I Access Area at 

§ 648.60(c), Closed Area II Access Area 

at § 648.60(d), and all four of the 

Nantucket Lightship areas at 

§ 648.60(e)–(h); and 

• Possession limits and minimum 

size requirements specified in 50 CFR 

part 648, subpart B and subparts D 

through O, to allow temporary 

possession for biological sampling. 

Any fishing activity conducted 

outside the scope of the exempted 

fishing activity would be prohibited. 

The project would consist of conduct 

four, 7-day research trips for a total of 

28 days-at-sea on limited access (LA) 

vessels fishing on Georges Bank. All 

trips will take place from September 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 / Notices 38287 

2018 through June 2019. Vessels would 

complete approximately 55 paired, 30- 

minute tows per trip at a standard vessel 

speed of 4.8 knots. In addition to open 

areas, tows could occur in Closed Area 

I, Closed Area II, or the four Nantucket 

Lightship Scallop Rotational Areas. The 

four research trips would be centralized 

around areas with high yellowtail and 

winter flounder bycatch and in areas 

with a high abundance of harvestable 

size scallops mixed with pre-recruit 

scallops. 

Vessels would fish two, 15-foot (4.57- 

m) Turtle Deflector Dredges; one dredge 

would be rigged with a standard apron 

while the other would be rigged with an 

extended vertical link apron. The 

project will alternate tows with and 

without the dredge over net over both 

dredges. Standard linking is defined as 

a single link between ring spaces, and 

the extended link is defined as two links 

linked together between rings. Both 

dredges would use 4-inch (10.16-cm) 

rings and a 10-inch (25.40-cm) twine 

top. 

For all tows, the sea scallop catch 

would be counted into baskets and 

weighed. One basket from each dredge 

would be randomly selected and the 

scallops would be measured in 5 mm 

increments to determine size selectivity. 

Finfish catch would be sorted by species 

and then counted, weighed, and 

measured in 1 mm increments. 

Depending on the volume of scallops 

and finfish captured, the catch would be 

subsampled as necessary. No catch 

would be retained for longer than 

needed to conduct sampling and no 

finfish or scallop catch would be landed 

for sale. Table 1 contains an estimate of 

the finfish catch anticipated for the 

project. 

TABLE 1—CFF EXTENDED LINK APRON PROJECT CATCH ESTIMATES

Species Weight 

(lbs) 

Weight 

(kg) 

Sea Scallop .............................................................................................................................................................. 16,552 7,508 

Yellowtail Flounder .................................................................................................................................................. 549 249 

Winter Flounder ....................................................................................................................................................... 803 364 

Windowpane Flounder ............................................................................................................................................. 2,828 1,283 

Summer Flounder .................................................................................................................................................... 943 428 

Fourspot Flounder ................................................................................................................................................... 74 34 

American Plaice Flounder ....................................................................................................................................... 90 41 

Witch Flounder ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 5 

Haddock ................................................................................................................................................................... 58 26 

Atlantic Cod ............................................................................................................................................................. 100 45 

Monkfish ................................................................................................................................................................... 8,420 3,819 

Spiny Dogfish ........................................................................................................................................................... 87 39 

Barndoor Skate ........................................................................................................................................................ 1,109 503 

NE Skate Complex (excluding barndoor skate) ...................................................................................................... 63,528 28,816 

CFF needs these exemptions to allow 

them to conduct experimental dredge 

towing without being charged DAS, and 

to deploy gear in closed access areas 

where concentrations of primary 

bycatch species are sufficiently high to 

provide statistically robust results. 

Researchers also need mesh size and 

gear obstruction exemptions in order to 

use the dredge net cover. Utilizing the 

dredge net cover will allow researchers 

to quantify fish that would normally 

escape through the gear during normal 

fishing operations. Participating vessels 

need crew size waivers to accommodate 

science personnel, and possession 

waivers will enable researchers to 

conduct finfish sampling activities. 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. 

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: August 1, 2018. 

Margo B. Schulze-Haugen, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16770 Filed 8–3–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF696 

Marine Mammals; File No. 21217 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for 

permit amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Aaron Roberts, Ph.D., University of 

North Texas, Biological Sciences, 1155 

Union Circle, #310559, Denton, TX 

76203, has applied for an amendment to 

Scientific Research Permit No. 21217. 

DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email 

comments must be received on or before 

September 5, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: The application and related 

documents are available for review by 

selecting ‘‘Records Open for Public 

Comment’’ from the ‘‘Features’’ box on 

the Applications and Permits for 

Protected Species (APPS) home page, 

https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov, and then 

selecting File No. 21217 from the list of 

available applications. 

These documents are also available 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301) 427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376. 

Written comments on this application 

should be submitted to the Chief, 

Permits and Conservation Division, at 

the address listed above. Comments may 

also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 

713–0376, or by email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov. Please 

include the File No. 21217 in the subject 

line of the email comment. 

Those individuals requesting a public 

hearing should submit a written request 

to the Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division at the address listed above. The 

request should set forth the specific 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES