[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79526-79528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22248]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE287]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application 
for an Exempted Fishing Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application for exempted fishing permit.

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

SUMMARY: This notice announces NMFS' receipt of an application and the 
public comment period for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Trident 
Seafoods. If issued, this permit would allow the applicant to develop 
and test modifications to the footrope of pelagic trawl gear. The 
purpose and goal of this EFP, if issued, would be to exempt 
participating vessels from complying with the regulation defining the 
footrope for pelagic trawl gear. Field testing would be conducted 
between January 20, 2025 and December 31, 2027, and the EFP would 
expire at the end of that period. This experiment would test trawl gear 
design that aims to minimize seafloor contact by the footrope when 
targeting pollock that are on or near the seafloor and thus promote the 
objective of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) to protecting habitat that fish need to 
spawn, breed, feed, and grow to maturity.

DATES: Comments on this EFP application must be submitted to NMFS on or 
before October 15, 2024. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council) will consider the application at its meeting from September 
30, 2024 through October 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held virtually and in person in 
Anchorage, AK. The agenda for the Council meeting is available at 
https://www.npfmc.org. In addition to submitting public comments during 
the Council meeting through the Council website, you may submit your 
comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0106, by either of the following 
methods:
    <bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter [NOAA-NMFS-2024-0106] in the Search box 
(note: copying and pasting the FDMS Docket Number directly from this 
document may not yield search results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit written comments to Gretchen Harrington, 
Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 
Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box 
21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.
    <bullet> Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any 
other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment 
period, may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part 
of the public record

[[Page 79527]]

and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the EFP application and the basis for a 
categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act are 
available from https://www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS Alaska 
Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maggie Chan, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fisheries in the 
exclusive economic zone of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 
under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the BSAI 
Management Area (BSAI FMP). The Council prepared the BSAI FMP under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing the BSAI groundfish 
fisheries appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the EFP-
implementing regulations at Sec.  600.745(b) and Sec.  679.6 allow the 
NMFS Regional Administrator to authorize, for limited experimental 
purposes, fishing that would otherwise be prohibited. Procedures for 
issuing EFPs are contained in the implementing regulations.

Background and Need for Exempted Fishing Permit

    As described further below, NMFS has regulatory definitions for a 
pelagic trawl that specify the allowable numbers of fishing line, 
footrope, and weighted lines. This regulatory definition limits the 
ability to test trawl gear redesigns on the footrope and weighted 
lines.
    In 2023, Trident Seafoods began a pilot project aimed at designing 
modified footrope concepts after consulting with NMFS. This pilot 
project occurred during the 2023 pollock fishery and underscored the 
need to expand the pilot project into an EFP. This EFP would help 
facilitate innovation to reduce impacts to the environment from pelagic 
trawl fishing and provide transparency in the development of new gear 
designs. This EFP would build on the 2023 pilot project by expanding 
testing modified footrope designs during commercial fishing operations. 
The primary gear modification involves altering the length and 
orientation of the existing footrope components in a way that maintains 
sufficient weight to ensure the proper opening (i.e., shape) of the 
net, while also resulting in less bottom contact. The re-design of the 
gear results in having more than two weighted lines, but, due to the 
design of the modified footrope, results in less total bottom contact. 
The EFP would assess changes to bottom contact and catch (composition 
and efficiency), gear performance, and fishing operations and safety.
    This requested EFP would temporarily exempt fishers from the 
regulation at Sec.  679.2 ``Authorized fishing gear'', paragraph 
(14)(vii) that states pelagic trawl gear ``Has no more than one fishing 
line and one footrope for a total of no more than two weighted lines on 
the bottom of the trawl between the wing tip and the fishing circle.'' 
If approved, this EFP would allow testing of trawl gear design concepts 
that aim to minimize seafloor contact by the trawl gear when targeting 
pollock that are on or near the seafloor. The EFP would expire on 
December 31, 2027.

Exempted Fishing Permit

    On September 6, 2024, Dr. No[euml]lle Yochum and Shannon Carroll of 
Trident Seafoods submitted an application for an EFP to develop and 
test modifications to the footrope of pelagic trawl gear. The purpose 
and goal of this proposed EFP is to assess changes to gear performance, 
catch composition, fishing operations, safety, and costs.
    Vessel operators participating in this project would include trawl 
vessels that deliver catch to shoreside plants or motherships. All 
vessels will be equipped for pollock fishing in Alaska and will use 
pelagic pollock trawls. Gear and fishing operations will be conducted 
in compliance with current management regulations with the exception of 
the modifications exempted under the EFP.
    Vessel operators would continue to adhere to required monitoring 
and fishery observer requirements. Vessel operators fishing under the 
EFP will be responsible for providing information to the EFP applicant 
about gear performance and use, including areas fished and catch 
information. Fishing under this EFP will not be conducted within any 
protected or restricted areas that are otherwise closed to pollock 
fishing under the American Fisheries Act and Community Development 
Quota programs under current regulations. This project aims to minimize 
seafloor contact by the trawl gear when targeting pollock that are on 
or near the seafloor.

Exemptions

    One exemption is necessary to conduct this project. An exemption 
would be necessary from the regulation at Sec.  679.2 ``Authorized 
fishing gear'', paragraph (14)(vii) that states pelagic trawl gear 
``Has no more than one fishing line and one footrope for a total of no 
more than two weighted lines on the bottom of the trawl between the 
wing tip and the fishing circle.''

Permit Conditions, Review, and Effects

    If issued, the exempted fishing permit would contain several 
conditions. Among them, the applicant would be required to submit to 
NMFS an annual report that includes a summary of the vessels 
participating, any problems and successes, and how well EFP objectives 
were accomplished. Within 6 months of the end of EFP fishing, a final 
report would be submitted to NMFS that updates the interim reports and 
describes how well EFP objectives were accomplished. The Alaska 
Fisheries Science Center found no concern with the objectives, scope, 
or methods described in the EFP. The activities that would be conducted 
under this EFP involve the development and testing of new and modified 
trawl fishing gear and technology in order to reduce adverse effects 
from trawl fishing gear on non-target species, and is limited in size, 
magnitude, and duration with no potential for significant individual or 
cumulative impacts, as detailed in the draft categorical exclusion for 
this action (see ADDRESSES).
    In accordance with Sec. Sec.  679.6 and 600.745, NMFS has 
determined that the application warrants further consideration and has 
forwarded the application to the Council to initiate consultation. The 
Council is scheduled to consider the EFP application during its October 
2024 meeting, which will be held in person in Anchorage, AK with an 
option to participate virtually. The applicant has been invited to 
speak in support of the application.

Public Comments

    Interested persons may comment on the application during the 
October 2024 Council meeting during public testimony or the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal (see ADDRESSES) until October 15, 2024, when the 
comment period ends. Information regarding the meeting is available at 
the Council's website at https://www.npfmc.org. Copies of the 
application and categorical exclusion are available for review from 
NMFS (see ADDRESSES). Comments may also be

[[Page 79528]]

submitted directly to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) by the end of the comment 
period (see DATES).
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 24, 2024.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-22248 Filed 9-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P