30-day FRN

52282

Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 217 / Monday, November 13, 2017 / Notices
Dated: November 7, 2017.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES

National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration

[FR Doc. 2017–24471 Filed 11–9–17; 8:45 am]

Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

The Department of Commerce will
submit to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for clearance the
following proposal for collection of
information under the provisions of the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Title: Alaska Prohibited Species
Donation Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0316.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (extension of
a currently approved information
collection).
Number of Respondents: 1.
Average Hours per Response: 50
hours for a three-year permit,
annualized to 17.
Burden Hours: 17.
Needs and Uses: The prohibited
species donation (PSD) program for
salmon and halibut has effectively
reduced regulatory discard of salmon
and halibut by allowing fish that would
otherwise be discarded to be donated to
needy individuals through tax-exempt
organizations. Vessels and processing
plants participating in the PSD program
voluntarily retain and process salmon
and halibut bycatch. An authorized, taxexempt distributor, chosen by the
National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), is responsible for monitoring
retention and processing of fish donated
by vessels and processors. The
authorized distributor also coordinates
processing, storage, transportation, and
distribution of salmon and halibut. The
PSD program requires an information
collection so that NMFS can monitor the
authorized distributors’ ability to
effectively supervise program
participants and ensure that donated
fish are properly processed, stored, and
distributed.
Affected Public: Not-for-profit
institution.
Frequency: Every three years.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
This information collection request
may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow
the instructions to view Department of
Commerce collections currently under
review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to OIRA_Submission@
omb.eop.gov or fax to (202) 395–5806.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XF829

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Application for Exempted
Fishing Permits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

The Assistant Regional
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,
Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has
made a preliminary determination that
an Exempted Fishing Permit application
contains all of the required information
and warrants further consideration. This
Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt
a commercial fishing vessel from
Atlantic sea scallop regulations in
support of research conducted by the
Coonamessett Farm Foundation.
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens 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.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before November 28, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by any of the following
methods:
• Email: [email protected].
Include in the subject line ‘‘DA17–100
CFF BREP LA Flounder Sweep Study
EFP.’’
• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic
Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Mark the outside of the envelope
‘‘Comments on DA17–100 CFF BREP LA
Flounder Sweep Study EFP.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shannah Jaburek, Fisheries Management
Specialist, 978–282–8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF)
submitted an application for an EFP on
September 18, 2017, for a 2017 Bycatch
Reduction Engineering Program project
titled ‘‘A Modified Flounder Sweep for
SUMMARY:

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Flatfish Bycatch Reduction in the
Limited Access (LA) Scallop Fishery.’’
The project would test a modified
flounder cookie sweep on the outer bale
bars of the scallop dredge and film fishdredge interactions to monitor the
effectiveness of the gear modification in
reducing flatfish bycatch.
To conduct this experiment, vessels
would require exemptions from the
following regulations: Atlantic sea
scallop crew size restrictions at 50 CFR
648.51(c); dredge gear obstruction
restrictions at § 648.51(b)(4)(ii); Atlantic
sea scallop observer program
requirements at § 648.11(g); and closed
area exemptions for Closed Area I at
§ 648.60(c), Closed Area II at
§ 648.60(d), Closed Area II Extension at
§ 648.60(e), and Nantucket Lightship at
§ 648.60(f). It would also exempt
participating vessels from possession
limits and minimum fish size
requirements specified in 50 CFR part
648, subsections B and D through O, for
biological sampling purposes only.
Vessels would conduct scallop
dredging between November 2017-June
2018, on 2 trips each lasting
approximately 7 days-at-sea (DAS) each
for a project total of 14 DAS. An average
of 10 tows per day would be conducted
for a maximum duration of 50 minutes
at a tow speed range of 4.8–5.1 knots
(2.5–2.6 m/s). Trips would take place in
scallop open areas of Southern New
England and Georges Bank along with
scallop access areas Nantucket
Lightship and Closed Areas I and II.
The vessel would conduct all tows
with two 15-foot (4.57-m) New Bedford
Style dredges, one acting as a control
dredge and one acting as an
experimental dredge. The vessel would
tow both dredges simultaneously to
reduce spatial and temporal variability.
Researchers would attach the two 9-foot
(2.74-m) cookie sweeps to each of the
outer bale bars using chain and shackles
on the experimental dredge. The cookie
sweeps would alternate between the two
dredges each tow to reduce ‘‘side’’
effects. The cookie sweeps would be
constructed of round rubber disks with
lead cookies approximately 3–4 inches
(7.6–10.2 cm) in diameter evenly spaced
to encourage bottom contact. The
attachment chains would be evenly
spaced and varied in length to account
for dredge position while being towed to
ensure contact with the ocean bottom.
Exemption from the dredge gear
obstruction regulation would allow
researchers to use the cookie sweep for
the experimental tows.
Researchers would weigh all scallop
catch in industry bushel baskets caught
in both dredges and measure a onebasket sub-sample from each side in 5-

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