Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that two Exempted Fishing Permit applications contain all of the required information and warrant further consideration. These Exempted Fishing Permits would allow commercial fishing vessels to fish outside of the limited access scallop regulations in support of research conducted by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation. The Exempted Fishing Permits would exempt participating vessels from the crew size restriction; and possession limits and minimum size requirements for sampling purposes only. These exemptions are in support of research conducted on trips to test gear modifications for bycatch reduction in the scallop dredge fishery. 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.