Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 120 / Thursday, June 23, 2022 / Notices 37501 

2Best abundance estimate. For most taxa, the best abundance estimate for purposes of comparison with take estimates is considered here to 

be the model-predicted abundance (Roberts et al., 2016). For those taxa where a density surface model predicting abundance by month was 

produced, the maximum mean seasonal abundance was used. For those taxa where abundance is not predicted by month, only mean annual 

abundance is available. For the killer whale, the larger estimated SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Includes 1 takes by Level A harassment and 19 takes by Level B harassment. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of BHP’s proposed survey 

activity described in its LOA 

application and the anticipated take of 

marine mammals, NMFS finds that 

small numbers of marine mammals will 

be taken relative to the affected species 

or stock sizes and therefore is of no 

more than small numbers. 

Authorization 

NMFS has determined that the level 

of taking for this LOA request is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

incidental take regulations and that the 

amount of take authorized under the 

LOA is of no more than small numbers. 

Accordingly, we have issued an LOA to 

BHP authorizing the take of marine 

mammals incidental to its geophysical 

survey activity, as described above. 

Dated: June 16, 2022. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13371 Filed 6–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XC088] 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Exempted 

Fishing Permit 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an 

application for exempted fishing permit; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt 

of an application for an exempted 

fishing permit (EFP) from the 

Sustainable Seas Technology, LLC. If 

granted, the EFP would authorize the 

applicant to deploy modified black sea 

bass pots with Subsea Buoy Retrieval 

Systems (SBRS) in South Atlantic 

Federal waters off North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The 

project would continue to examine the 

potential usefulness of SBRSs for use in 

the black sea bass pot component for the 

commercial sector of the snappergrouper fishery in minimizing impacts 

to protected species. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before July 8, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the application, identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2022–0059’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2022–0059’’ in the 

Search box. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Frank Helies, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on 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 application 

and may be obtained from the Southeast 

Regional Office website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/black-sea-basspot-experimental-retrieval-projectexempted-fishing-permit-applicationrevision/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Helies, 727–824–5305; email: 

frank.helies@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EFP is 

requested under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C 1801 

et seq.), and regulations at 50 CFR 

600.745(b) concerning exempted 

fishing. 

Currently, vertical end lines and 

buoys, such as those utilized with black 

sea bass pots in the South Atlantic, 

present an entanglement risk to the 

North Atlantic right whale, a species 

that is listed as endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA). Each 

fall, some right whales travel from their 

feeding areas in the waters off New 

England and Canada to the shallow, 

coastal waters of North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern 

Florida. SBRSs are a type of fishing gear 

that allows fish traps, including black 

sea bass pots, buoys, and their retrieval 

devices to be stored at depth until 

triggered for retrieval at the surface. 

These gear systems allow for trap and 

pot buoys and vertical lines to exist in 

the water column for minutes instead of 

hours or days, as they are activated via 

acoustic or timed release only when 

fishers are present. As described in the 

application, the applicant believes that 

adaptation of SBRSs or ‘‘ropeless’’ 

systems for black sea bass pot fishing in 

the South Atlantic could reduce the risk 

to these whales and other marine 

animals that are subject to 

entanglements from vertical lines and 

buoys. 

The project seeks to build upon 

previous research and continue to 

examine the potential usefulness of the 

modified black sea bass pot gear in 

minimizing impacts to protected 

species. This would be the third EFP 

authorizing this applicant to conduct 

this type of proposed research. NMFS 

approved the applicant’s first EFP 

(August 24, 2020, through October 20, 

2020) for the pilot research that allowed 

gear testing outside the black sea bass 

pot closed season (85 FR 42831; July 15, 

2020). NMFS approved a second EFP on 

February 2, 2022, to be effective through 

August 31, 2024, that was similar to the 

first EFP but it allowed testing during 

the black sea bass pot closed season (87 

FR 2595; January 22, 2022). Those EFPs 

allowed gear testing in offshore Federal 

waters of North Carolina, South 

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 

If granted, this EFP would allow 

similar gear testing throughout the year, 

as discussed below. The EFP would 

exempt limited fishing gear testing 

activities from certain regulations for 

the black sea bass pot component for the 

commercial sector of the South Atlantic 

snapper-grouper fishery, specifically 

gear identification at 50 CFR 

622.177(a)(4), area and seasonal closures 

at 50 CFR 622.183 (622.183(a)(1)(ii)(E), 

622.183(a)(2)(vii)(E), and 622.183(b)(6)), 

black sea bass pot configuration 

restrictions and requirements at 50 CFR 

622.189 (622.189(b), 622.189(e)(1), and 

622.189(g)) and Atlantic large whale 

gear marking requirements at 50 CFR 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
37502 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 120 / Thursday, June 23, 2022 / Notices 

229.32 (229.32(c)(1), 229.32(c)(2)(ii), 

and 229(c)(2)(iv)). 

The applicant seeks an EFP to 

determine the following: if the SBRS 

gear would continue to show a greater 

than 99 percent successful deployment 

and retrieval rate; if SBRS gear 

significantly increases the time and/or 

expense for gear retrieval and recovery 

versus the current fishing method such 

that it might affect profitability; if SBRS 

gear significantly increases time and/or 

expense for the repacking of gear for 

redeployment versus the current fishing 

method such that it might affect 

profitability; if bycatch rates for the 

modified black sea bass pot fishing 

configuration are greater than those for 

the traditional single pots; and if the 

harvest of black sea bass in the preferred 

inshore areas that are currently closed, 

would still yield enough catch to offset 

the cost of SBRS fishing gear and 

modifications. If granted, the project 

would allow for expansion of gear 

testing conducted under the currently 

issued EFP to allow gear testing year 

round, including during the seasonal 

closure of the commercial black sea bass 

pot component of the snapper-grouper 

fishery. This proposed EFP would 

provide additional time to the applicant 

to train new participants and conduct 

tests with the gear, to perform gear 

configuration adjustments, and to liaise 

with SBRS manufacturers on 

modifications that might best suit the 

particular needs of the black sea bass 

pot component of the snapper-grouper 

fishery. 

Under the EFP, the applicant would 

collect data through an ongoing 

collaborative effort among different 

SBRS manufacturers and fishery 

industry partners. If granted, the EFP 

would be effective from the date of 

issuance through April 30, 2025. If 

granted, the EFP issued to the applicant 

on February 2, 2022, for this type of gear 

research would be ended and replaced 

by the new EFP as described here and 

in the application. In addition to this 

EFP request for exemption from 

Magnuson-Stevens Act regulations, the 

applicant would consult with NMFS to 

ensure the EFP would be consistent 

with North Atlantic right whale 

conservation measures currently in 

place through the ESA and Marine 

Mammal Protection Act. Fishers 

participating in this project are assumed 

to be receiving grant funding and/or 

self-funding the work. These fishers 

would be allowed to keep and sell all 

catch lawfully harvested by black sea 

bass pots. The proposed EFP testing area 

would occur in offshore Federal waters 

of North Carolina, South Carolina, 

Georgia, and Florida out to a depth of 

65 meters. The inshore water depth for 

testing in Federal waters would not be 

less than 20 meters. Sampling would 

occur year round, including the 

November 1 through April 30 closed 

season, of each year. The testing would 

not occur in any special management 

zones listed in 50 CFR 622.182 or in the 

North Atlantic Right Whale Critical 

Habitat Area. 

Up to 11 different SRBS designs 

would be fished as singles, two pot 

trawls, and four pot trawls in inshore 

areas. This would be done year round, 

including during the black sea bass pot 

closure period each year (November 1 

through April 30), to compare against 

control pots fished under previous EFPs 

to yield data relative to the time 

expended to retrieve and rebait 

traditional traps pursuant to the current 

regulations. Using the SBRS, the 

applicant would utilize virtual gear 

marking of the pots (marking of gear 

deployment location with chart plotters, 

GPS, and manufacturer-provided 

software). The applicant would also 

evaluate the feasibility of use of various 

virtual gear marking systems and share 

the results with fishery management 

partners. 

Participating permitted commercial 

fishers would deploy experimental gear 

for up to 10 days each year in 

supervised field trials and additional 

unsupervised fishing trials, not to 

exceed 2,500 gear hauls per vessel over 

the length of the EFP, to evaluate the 

performance of SBRS with both the 

experimental and standard black sea 

bass pot configurations. Each 

deployment under the EFP would be 

limited to 35 total pots per vessel, with 

an average soak time of 90 minutes per 

configuration. Some overnight sampling 

would occur for acoustic releases. 

EFP Black Sea Bass Pot Configurations 

Under the EFP, four regulation-sized 

pots would be connected together with 

wire connecting clips or zip ties so that 

only one SBRS gear device is needed to 

retrieve four connected pots. Each pot 

would have the standard black sea bass 

pot single entrance and would possess 

one back panel of 2-inch (5.1-cm) 

uniform mesh. The connected four traps 

would test both one and two single 

entrances (on adjacent sides of single 

traps to replace the allowable two 

opposite entrances) to four regulationsized trap interiors, and would 

otherwise comply with the requirements 

for black sea bass pot dimensions and 

construction in the South Atlantic. This 

experimental gear design of the four 

connected pots is not a chevron-style 

fish trap, it is a design of standard black 

sea bass pots connected to adjacent 

standard black sea bass pots. The goal 

of this modification is to examine ways 

to reduce procurement and 

implementation costs associated with 

the number of required SBRSs to fish 35 

pots. 

In addition to this configuration, the 

applicant would also test a new 

adaptation to their gear research, which 

is a simplified version of the four pot 

trawl design in which only two traps are 

connected, allowing for both a normal 

number of trap entrances as well as half 

the number of trap entrances, as 

described above. This configuration was 

developed to assist vessel captains that 

fish without crew, who found the four 

pot trawl configuration difficult to 

service singlehanded. 

EFP Gear Markings 

Two of the technologies that would be 

used in the EFP utilize lift bags and 

buoys and are therefore unable to be 

line-marked as they do not incorporate 

line into their design. For the other 

technologies being tested under the EFP, 

all buoy lines on SBRS gear types that 

use stored line would be marked in 

accordance with the most recent 

requirements pursuant to the Atlantic 

Large Whale Take Reduction Plan and 

other Federal regulations, and would 

have weak links with a maximum 

breaking strength of 600 lb (272 kg), 

1,700 lb (771 kg) maximum breaking 

strength sleeves, and line with a 

breaking strength of less than 2,200 lb 

(998 kg). 

EFP Buoy Line 

Six of the eight currently available 

SBRS devices require the use of a line 

for retrieval that is contained and stored 

at depth by a line management system. 

The other two release devices do not use 

line, but instead, utilize the inflation of 

either a lift bag or inflatable buoy to pull 

a lead trap to the surface. The styles of 

line storage vary with device design and 

includes square, rectangular, domed, 

circular, and conical cages, oyster mesh 

bags, canisters, and spools. These have 

been successfully used in trials and 

testing in a variety of active fishing 

operations in the United States and 

worldwide. 

Four of the SBRS devices in the EFP 

require floating line to return the buoy 

or buoys to the surface for retrieval. 

Currently, the average time for 

appearance of buoys at depths greater 

than 100 ft (30.5 m) is approximately 3 

minutes. Retrieval generally takes less 

than 2 minutes, which means that any 

floating line would be at the surface for 

less than 5 minutes, and during which 

time the fishing vessel would be within 

20–30 ft (6.1–9.1 m) of the line. Two of 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 120 / Thursday, June 23, 2022 / Notices 37503 

the release devices do not incorporate 

line longer than 10 ft (3.1 m) in their 

design, and two devices use a harness 

that clips to the pot. The remaining 

devices use less than 150 ft (45.7 m) of 

line which would be stowed inside 

either a bag or on a spool. Sinking line 

cannot be used for any SBRS as it would 

create a negatively buoyant strain on the 

buoys and not effectively allow for their 

return to the surface. All of the SBRSs 

with a line storage system would need 

to be attached between the trap and the 

buoy. If necessary, several of the SBRSs 

may also require a small anchor or 

weight to be attached between the pot 

and line-storage device or buoy in areas 

with higher current to keep them from 

fouling in the pot, as well as to ensure 

they are not dragged from their intended 

deployment area. For lift bag and buoy 

systems, the actual systems would be 

secured between the pot and the buoy/ 

bag. 

NMFS finds the application warrants 

further consideration based on a 

preliminary review. Possible conditions 

the agency may impose on the permit, 

if granted, include but are not limited 

to, a prohibition on conducting fishing 

gear testing within marine protected 

areas, marine sanctuaries, special 

management zones, or areas where they 

might interfere with managed fisheries 

without additional authorization. 

Additionally, NMFS may require special 

protections for ESA-listed species and 

designated critical habitat, and may 

require particular gear markings. A final 

decision on issuance of the EFP will 

depend on NMFS’ review of public 

comments received on the application, 

consultations with the appropriate 

fishery management agencies of the 

affected states, the South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, and the 

U.S. Coast Guard, and a determination 

that the activities to be taken under the 

EFP are consistent with all applicable 

laws. 

(Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.) 

Dated: June 16, 2022. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13407 Filed 6–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Patent and Trademark Office 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Invention Promoters/ 

Promotion Firms Complaints 

The United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) will submit 

the following information collection 

request to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for review and clearance 

in accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the 

date of publication of this notice. The 

USPTO invites comment on this 

information collection renewal, which 

helps the USPTO assess the impact of 

its information collection requirements 

and minimize the public’s reporting 

burden. Public comments were 

previously requested via the Federal 

Register on March 31, 2022 during a 60- 

day comment period. This notice allows 

for an additional 30 days for public 

comments. 

Agency: United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, Department of 

Commerce. 

Title: Invention Promoters/Promotion 

Firms Complaints. 

OMB Control Number: 0651–0044. 

Needs and Uses: Pursuant to the 

Inventors’ Rights Act of 1999, 35 U.S.C. 

297, and implementing regulations at 37 

CFR part 4, the United States Patent and 

Trademark Office (USPTO) is required 

to provide a forum for the publication 

of complaints concerning invention 

promoters and responses from the 

invention promoters. Upon receipt of a 

complaint, the USPTO will forward it to 

the inventor promoter for a response. 

The USPTO does not investigate these 

complaints or participate in any legal 

proceedings against invention 

promoters or promotion firms. Under 

the Act, USPTO is responsible for 

making complaints and responses 

available to the public on the USPTO’s 

website. 

A complaint submitted to the USPTO 

must be clearly marked, or otherwise 

identified, as a complaint. The 

complaint must include: (1) The name 

and address of the complaint; (2) the 

name and address of the invention 

promoter; (3) the name of the customer; 

(4) the invention promotion services 

offered or performed by the invention 

promoter; (5) the name of the mass 

media in which the invention promoter 

advertised providing such services; (6) 

and example of the relationship 

between the customer and the invention 

promoter; and (7) a signature of the 

complainant. Identifying information is 

necessary so that the USPTO can both 

forward the complaint to the invention 

promoter or promotion firm as well as 

notify the complainant that the 

complaint has been forwarded. 

Complainants should understand that 

the complaints will be forwarded to the 

invention promoter for response and 

that the complaint and response will be 

made available to the public as required 

by the Inventors’ Rights Act. If the 

USPTO does not receive a response 

from the invention promoter, the 

complaint will be published without a 

response. The USPTO does not accept 

under this program complaints that 

request confidentiality. 

This information collection contains 

one form, Complaint Regarding 

Invention Promoter (PTO/2048A), 

which is used by the public to submit 

a complaint under this program. This 

form is available for download from the 

USPTO website. Use of this form is 

voluntary, and the complainant may 

submit his or her complaint without the 

form via any of the approved methods 

of collection as long as the complainant 

includes the necessary information and 

the submission is clearly marked as a 

complaint filed under the Inventors’ 

Rights Act. There is no associated form 

for submitting responses to a complaint. 

Form: 

• PTO/2048A (Complaint Regarding 

Invention Promoter). 

Type of Review: Extension and 

revision of a currently approved 

information collection. 

Affected Public: Private sector; 

individuals or households. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 22 respondents. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 22 responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

USPTO estimates that the responses in 

this information collection will take the 

public approximately 15 minutes (0.25 

hours) to 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to 

complete. This includes the time to 

gather the necessary information, create 

the document, and submit the 

completed request to the USPTO. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Burden Hours: 8 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Respondent 

Non-Hourly Cost Burden: $51. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view 

Department of Commerce, USPTO 

information collections currently under 

review by OMB. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1