[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11692-11693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04393]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XB836]


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.

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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. The 
Exempted Fishing Permit would allow four commercial surfclam and ocean 
quahog vessels to conduct at-sea paralytic shellfish poisoning testing 
in the Closed Area II scallop access area in statistical area 562. 
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 17, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dab4b7bca9f4bdbba8f4bfbcaa9ab4b5bbbbf4bdb5ac"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0b65666d78256c6a79256e6d7b4b65646a6a256c647d">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line 
``Sea Watch Surfclam EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9225, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6824091d1a09462009061b0d062806070909460f071e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="377b56424556197f5659445259775958565619505841">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sea Watch is requesting exemption from the 
Georges Bank Closed Area specified at 50 CFR 648.76(a)(4). The proposed 
project would conduct at-sea testing for paralytic shellfish poisoning 
(PSP) in the Georges Bank Closed Area II Scallop Access area.
    This Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) would allow two commercial 
surfclam and ocean quahog vessels, using

[[Page 11693]]

hydraulic clam dredge gear, to conduct at-sea PSP testing in the Closed 
Area II Scallop Access Area in statistical area 562. The participating 
vessels are already certified for at-sea testing and are currently 
operating in the area opened on Georges Bank in 2012.
    In 2008, before the open area of Georges Bank was approved, we 
issued an EFP for a single vessel with a harvest of 176,000 bushels 
(bu) of surfclams and 80,000 bu of ocean quahogs to determine if at-sea 
PSP testing was feasible in that area. The project now under 
consideration was designed to align with the original EFP that was 
issued to open the area of Georges Bank.
    Vessels would take up to 60 trips to collect data on the presence, 
or lack thereof, of PSP-contaminated shellfish in the area. The project 
would also collect data on clam densities, shell size and landings per 
unit effort. No less than 10 percent of the trips would be covered by 
observers paid for by Sea Watch. Vessels would land up to 4,800 bu of 
surfclams or ocean quahogs per trip and all landings would be counted 
against the vessel's annual Individual Fishing Quota allocation. All 
landings would be handled under the current PSP protocol in place as 
mandated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Interstate 
Shellfish Sanitation Conference. A positive PSP result from any one 
sample would deem the area unacceptable for harvest. The vessel Captain 
would immediately report all positive screening test results, by 
telephone or email, to the Authority within the intended state of 
landing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Shellfish Specialist, 
and the processor. The FDA would notify us and permitted vessels would 
stop fishing in the affected area(s).
    Participating vessels would adhere to all seasonal groundfish 
closures in Closed Area II and would not retain any scallops while on 
EFP trips. Additionally, vessels must also adhere to all other 
requirements at Sec.  648.76(a)(4)(i).
    If approved, Sea Watch may request minor modifications and 
extensions to the EFP throughout the study. 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: February 25, 2022.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-04393 Filed 3-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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