Document
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 an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) applica...
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:
Table 1—Requested Exemptions
| CFR citation |
Regulation |
Need for exemption |
| 50 CFR 648.370(h) |
Habitat Management Areas prohibition on using bottom-tending mobile gear |
To conduct compensation fishing with hydraulic clam dredges. |
Table 2—Project Summary
| Project title |
Compensation Fishing in Support of Great South Channel Habitat Management Area Study Phase II: An Acoustic Mapping Survey of Davis Bank East. |
| Project start |
07/15/2026. |
| Project end |
09/30/2026. |
| Project objectives |
Compensation surfclam fishing to fund a habitat mapping project using multibeam sonar and drop cameras. |
| Project location |
Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (GSC HMA): Davis Bank East (DBE), and Rose and Crown (RC). |
| Number of vessels |
4. |
| Number of trips |
Up to 64. |
| Trip duration (days) |
1-2. |
| Total number of days |
Up to 128. |
| Gear type(s) |
Hydraulic clam dredge. |
| Number of tows or sets |
30 per trip. |
| Duration of tows or sets |
5-20 minutes. |
Project Narrative
The original EFP in support of this project was issued May 24, 2024, authorizing 260 compensation fishing trips to harvest surfclams from the DBE for the purpose of generating funds for acoustic and visual DBE habitat surveys (Letter of Acknowledgement #24028 issued May 7, 2025). This was later expanded to include compensation fishing in the RC, and the EFP was extended through March 31, 2026, due to poor DBE harvest. On March 3, 2026, the applicant requested an additional 90 compensation fishing trips and another extension. The applicant stated that additional trips and time were needed to generate the funds needed to conduct the final acoustic survey (Letter of Acknowledgement #26040 issued April 17, 2026). On April 24, 2026, a minor EFP extension and expansion was issued, adding 26 trips (a 10-percent increase of the original 260 permitted trips) to the EFP, and extending the EFP out to July 15, 2026.
This EFP would authorize the harvest of surfclams from two areas closed to hydraulic clam dredges for the purpose of generating funds for the above-mentioned habitat survey and final project report. Four commercial surfclam vessels would take up to 64 total trips into either the eastern portion of DBE or into the RC, defined by these coordinates:
DBE
| Latitude |
Longitude |
| 41.325° N |
69.558° W |
| 41.238° N |
69.539° W |
| 41.238° N |
69.508° W |
| 41.3° N |
69.508° W |
| 41.325° N |
69.531° W |
RC
| Latitude |
Longitude |
| 41.19996° N |
69.70669° W |
| 41.22955° N |
69.6906° W |
| 41.27988° N |
69.71163° W |
| 41.27766° N |
69.62776° W |
| 41.23004° N |
69.60022° W |
| 41.21001° N |
69.58873° W |
| 41.19856° N |
69.59788° W |
| 41.19996° N |
69.70669° W |
The vessels would use 48-inch-wide hydraulic surfclam dredges that would be towed between 2 to 3 knots for 5-20 minutes per tow with a trip limit of 14 cages. Approximately 30 tows would be conducted per trip. A CFF scientist would be onboard 20 percent of trips to collect surfclam catch per unit effort and catch composition data. The vessel owners have committed 15 percent of the value of each trip to cover the full cost of the research trips and data analysis. At an estimated $30 per bushel ex-vessel value, this will just cover the total research budget of roughly $505,000. The participating vessel owners have agreed to make up the difference if the price falls below $30 per bushel.
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.)
Dated: May 20, 2026.
David R. Blankinship,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.