[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 38387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13684]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC128]


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.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is reopening the comment period for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit application. The Exempted Fishing Permit would allow commercial 
fishing vessels 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. 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 July 5, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by the following method:
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87e9eae1f4a9e0e6f5a9e2e1f7c7e9e8e6e6a9e0e8f1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3856555e4b165f594a165d5e487856575959165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the subject line 
``NEFSC On-Demand Gear EFP.''
    <bullet> Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
NEFSC On-Demand Gear EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3579544047541b71505c525d545b755b5a54541b525a43"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f4b895818695dab0919d939c959ab49a9b9595da939b82">[email protected]</span></a>, (978) 281-9184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 1, 2022, we published a notice 
soliciting public comment on the EFP application (87 FR 33132). The 
public comment period was open through June 16, 2022. Given the scope 
of the proposed project, as well as requests to provide additional 
information and opportunity to comment, we are reopening the comment 
period for five days. A full description of the requested exemptions 
and research plan are available in the original notice and are not 
repeated here.
    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 that have one or no surface markers. This EFP 
would allow up to 100 vessels to trial on-demand lobster gear designed 
to reduce entanglement risk to protected species, mainly North Atlantic 
right whales, on up to 10 trawls each. It would allow up to 30 of those 
vessels to trial gear with no static vertical lines in Atlantic Large 
Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) Restricted Areas and up to 25 to 
trial grappling for gear with no vertical lines.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: June 22, 2022.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-13684 Filed 6-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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