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...
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Notice; request for comments.
SUMMARY:
The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would allow federally permitted fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing activities proposed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 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 EFPs.
DATES:
Comments must be received on or before August 12, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit written comments by email:
nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line “Spiny Dogfish Weekly Limit EFP.” All comments received are a part of the public record and may be posted for public viewing 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 “anonymous” as the signature if you wish to remain anonymous).
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries 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:
To allow vessels to exceed the trip possession limit and land up to 37,500 lb (17,010 kg) of spiny dogfish per week.
Table 2—Project Summary
Project title
Seasonal weekly aggregate limit program for the Northern Region Spiny Dogfish Fishery
Project start
09/01/2026.
Project end
12/31/2026.
Project objectives
To provide data to inform the setting of future trip limits in the spiny dogfish fishery through the specifications process.
Project location
Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine, Southern New England.
Number of vessels
Up to 50.
Number of trips
Up to 4 per vessel per week.
Trip duration (days)
1-2 days.
Total number of days
Up to 7,200 total.
( printed page 47222)
Gear type(s)
Sink gillnet, bottom longline, bottom trawl.
Number and duration of tows or sets
See Project Narrative.
Project Narrative
The purpose of this project is to: 1. Provide data to inform the setting of future trip limits in the spiny dogfish fishery through the specifications process, and 2. Encourage additional effort in the spiny dogfish fishery by providing more economically viable fishing trips and increasing utilization of the northern region quota, as managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission). The northern region, which is allocated 58 percent of the coastwide quota by the Commission, has routinely underutilized its quota for over a decade, often by more than 50 percent. In the most recent fishing year, the northern region landed approximately 28 percent of its quota. Under the recently reduced quota levels, continued quota underutilization will jeopardize the operation of the sole dogfish processor, located in New Bedford, MA. Northern region spiny dogfish landings occur primarily during July, August, and the beginning of September, when the resource is closest to shore. Effort and landings decline concurrently with the resource's seasonal shift to deeper and more southern waters. The applicants hope to encourage continued, and possibly increased, participation in the fishery via this EFP.
Under this EFP, participants would be exempt from the 7,500-lb (3,402-kg) trip possession limit and instead be authorized a 37,500-lb (17,010-kg) weekly possession and landing limit, which approximates the maximum weekly landings available to vessels in the northern region under the current trip limit. Vessels would be subject to all other management measures for the spiny dogfish fishery. No significant changes to standard fishing operations regarding number or duration of sets are expected. All spiny dogfish landings under the EFP (as well as landings not under the EFP) would count towards the commercial fishery quota and be monitored cooperatively by the states in the northern region. Weekly reported dealer data would be used for quota monitoring. To mitigate the potential for this EFP to impact vessels not participating in the program, the EFP would be suspended, and the possession limit would revert to the 7,500-lb (3,402-kg) daily limit, if 80 percent of the northern region quota was projected to be utilized. The applicants acknowledge the potential for the project to reduce ex-vessel spiny dogfish price. However, demand has exceeded supply in recent years, so this is not anticipated. The processor would be provided with a list of participating vessels and be able to advise them if supply is outpacing demand and causing negative impacts on ex-vessel price. If this occurs, trips under the EFP may be temporarily suspended.
A final report summarizing data collected under the EFP (
e.g.,
participation, fishing effort, ex-vessel price, landings per trip) will be submitted to the Commission's Spiny Dogfish Management Board to inform future deliberations on possession limit regulations.
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.