SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The applicant submitted a complete application for an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict. This EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the following Federal regulations:

Project Narrative

CFF is requesting an EFP in support of a study aimed at better understanding how demersal gillnet baiting practices influence shearwater bycatch off the coast of Cape Cod. In the subject fishery, vessels harvest and process skates, and then use the skate racks to bait gillnets that are deployed to target dogfish, which can result in bycaught seabirds. This EFP would be issued for the second year of a 2-year study. In the project's first year, experimental fishing produced preliminary findings that baiting after gillnet deployment increased target catch while reducing seabird bycatch. In this second year of sampling, the project team proposes to conduct additional trials to ensure collection of a balanced dataset, with additional trials comparing the effects of baiting before and after deployment.

Sampling for this study would begin on July 1, 2025, and end by November 15, 2025. Under the EFP, five participating vessels would be exempt from Northeast Fishery Observer Program monitoring coverage due to limited space on vessels and life rafts needed to accommodate CFF personnel during research trips. No other exemptions are needed to perform this project. Vessels will target dogfish using 6.5-inch (16.5-cm) mesh gillnets set in strings consisting of 12 nets each. Of the 12 nets, half will utilize either forward baiting (baiting nets before setting) or after baiting (baiting nets after setting), and the remaining nets will not include bait. The vessels are expected to spend approximately 25 days on the water on Georges Bank, southeast of Cape Cod, with approximately two vessels fishing per day. A maximum of 50 vessel trips will be taken, with 1 gillnet set per trip and a soak time ranging from 45 minutes to 3 hours. CFF intends to use retained and discarded catch weights to assess the effect that different baiting treatments have on catch. Any entangled seabird will be documented in detail. CFF intends to use cameras to quantify behavior and abundance of seabird species in the study area. The results may help researchers determine if high levels of seabird bycatch correlate with specific gillnet baiting strategies.

CFF, or contracted scientific personnel, will accompany vessels on trips under the EFP. Legal catch will be landed for sale. If approved, the applicant may request minor modifications and extensions to the EFP throughout the year. 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.

90 FR 23035