SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (ME DMR) submitted a complete application for an EFP to conduct commercial fishing activities that the regulations would otherwise restrict to test alternative gear retrieval systems that only use one traditional surface buoy. This EFP would exempt the participating vessels from the following Federal regulations:

Project Narrative

This EFP would allow federally permitted vessels to test alternative gears to reduce entanglement risk to protected species, mainly the North Atlantic right whale, in trap/pot and sink gillnet fisheries. There would be two components to this EFP, a gear library component, which is an assortment of devices and technologies to retrieve gear, and a gear geolocation component.

This EFP would build on the research conducted by ME DMR under previous EFPs, with DA25-005 being the most recent. Since the start of this project and under previously issued EFPs, ME DMR has conducted 6,715 trap/pot hauls as part of the gear library component. Of these, 2,170 hauls were conducted under the most recent EFP (DA25-005), which became effective December 1, 2025. No hauls have been conducted with gillnet gear, and 55 hauls, which did not use active fishing traps, have been completed as part of the gear geolocation component.

The EFP objectives are to: (1) collect data on deployments and retrievals of various acoustic on-demand fishing gear within the trap/pot and gillnet fisheries in the Gulf of Maine; (2) provide support and training to fishers on various on-demand technologies; (3) assess fishing areas that may be best suited for adopting the tested retrieval systems; (4) increase familiarity of on-demand gear within the trap/pot and gillnet fisheries; (5) provide feedback to on-demand fishing gear manufacturers to increase performance under commercial fishery conditions; (6) trial gear geolocation and marking systems that promote interoperability for fishers and management; and (7) compare the relative precision of various gear geolocation technologies to improve understanding of how transitioning to acoustic technologies may impact fishing behavior.

For the gear library component, participating vessels would replace one traditional surface marking with their choice of alternative gear available in the Maine Innovative Gear Library. Currently, there are several options, including, but not limited to: (1) buoy and stowed rope systems ( e.g., Sub Sea Sonics, Ashored, Edgetech); (2) lift bag systems ( e.g., SMELTS (Sea Mammal Education Learning Technology Society), Ropeless Systems, Liftlabs); (3) buoy and spooled rope systems ( e.g., Devocean); and (4) stowed rope/timed release ( e.g., Sub Sea Sonics). Vessels would be required to use one traditional ( printed page 58102) surface marking on one end of trap trawls of more than three traps and on all gillnet gear. For trap trawls of fewer than three traps, vessels would still use one traditional surface marking, in addition to the on-demand retrieval system; therefore, there would be no fully ropeless trawls. Other than gear markings, all trap trawls and gillnet strings would be consistent with the regulations of the management area where the vessel is fishing and would be fished in accordance with the participating vessels' standard operations ( i.e., number and length of trips, soak times, trap limits, etc.). Because the on-demand systems would replace buoyed systems that the fishermen would otherwise be fishing, the gear library component would not increase fishing effort.

For the geolocation component, vessels would use acoustic positioning systems from Teledyne Benthos, Ropeless Systems, Ashored, Sub Sea Sonics, Edgetech, or Advanced Navigation. Each of these systems uses a surface unit to communicate with a unit on the seafloor to determine the gear's geolocation, associated with whichever gear is attached. This may differ significantly from the geolocation provided by the surface buoy or surface GPS marking upon deployment, the extent of which ME DMR is proposing to investigate, alongside the performance of these systems in an acoustic environment where multiple signals are being transmitted simultaneously. Vessels would set up to three trawls at different distances apart, within a one-kilometer radius. Trawls would be allowed to soak no longer than 1 hour each. Up to 10 discrete, single-day gear geolocation trials would be conducted within the fishing year, resulting in a maximum of 150 gear retrievals. In instances where traps are used, they would not have fresh bait. These trials would increase trap/pot effort via short soaks and a high rate of retrieval. However, catch per unit effort would be reduced.

ME DMR researchers anticipate, for the gear library component, up to 6,240 trap/pot trawl retrievals and up to 500 gillnet string retrievals, and up to an additional 150 retrievals of trap/pot trawls for the geolocation component. Trap trawls would be consistent with Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) regulations. Trawls would not exceed 50 traps per trawl. The gear library component trawls would soak for no shorter than 3 days and no longer than 30 days. Gillnets would be consistent with ALWTRP and Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan regulations. Gillnets would use 15-30.5 centimeter mesh, would not exceed 3,200 meters, and are estimated to soak for no more than 24 hours. Any legal catch would be sold to a dealer.

To maximize data collection and participation, ME DMR requests flexibility to modify the participant vessel list with the ability to list up to 65 total vessels, consisting of up to 7 gillnet vessels, with the rest consisting of trap/pot vessels.

ME DMR or partnering organizations and a representative from gear manufacturers would distribute gear and train all participants on its use. Scientific observers may accompany the participants on up to two trips per vessel, within budget and safety limitations. ME DMR would provide standardized data collection sheets to all participants. Individually identifiable data would only be made available via consent of the participants.

ME DMR has proposed the following best practices and risk management:

• Buoy lines associated with this project would contain unique white and blue markings above the required regional markings;
• Weekly mandatory gear loss reporting;
• After release, the on demand vertical line would be retrieved as quickly as possible to minimize time in the water column;
• Visual right whale sightings would be recorded on data sheets and fishermen would notify NMFS via email (ne.rw.survey@noaa.gov) or via phone (866-755-6622), or the U.S. Coast Guard via radio (Channel 16);
• Typical soak time is anticipated to be less than 14 days and no longer than 30 days (weather permitting and without unforeseen circumstances);
• Project vessels would adhere to a 10-knot (5.1 meters per second) speed limit when transiting dynamic management areas, transiting areas closed to vertical lines, and/or whales are observed;
• Law enforcement agencies, including Maine Marine Patrol and NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, would be notified of project participants and activities in advance of the project start date. Materials related to the redeployment of alternative retrieval gear systems would be provided along with this notice. Law enforcement would be able to inspect gear at any time as usual, because at least one traditional endline would be present at all times. Law enforcement would be provided with the information necessary to continue relevant enforcement operations with participant gear;
• Trap Tracker or an equivalent application would be utilized for acoustic on-demand retrieval and set positioning details and would be available to Federal, State, and corresponding enforcement personnel;
• Gear locations would be available to those who have downloaded gear marking applications, but otherwise locations would be treated with sensitivity to mitigate the possibility of gear molestation from members of the public who oppose project activities;
• Project updates would be updated through the ME DMR website for public awareness of general activities related to this EFP; and
• Premature deployments of on-demand gear would be documented and would be retrieved as soon as circumstances (e.g., weather) allow.

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.

91 FR 58100