Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures; 2021 Research Fishery
| Published date | 18 March 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 14732 |
| Record Number | 2021-05553 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14732-14733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05553]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XA886]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management
Measures; 2021 Research Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: On November 30, 2020, NMFS published a notice inviting
qualified commercial shark permit holders to submit applications to
participate in the 2021 Shark Research Fishery. The Shark Research
Fishery allows for the collection of fishery-dependent data for future
stock assessments and cooperative research with commercial fishermen to
meet the shark research objectives of the Agency. Every year, the
permit terms and permitted activities (e.g., number of hooks and
retention limits) specifically authorized for selected participants in
the Shark Research Fishery are designated depending on the scientific
and research needs of the Agency, as well as the number of NMFS-
approved observers available. In order to inform selected participants
of this year's specific permit requirements and ensure all terms and
conditions of the permit
[[Page 14733]]
are met, NMFS is holding a meeting for selected participants. The date
and time of that meeting is announced in this notice.
DATES: A conference call will be held on March 22, 2021.
ADDRESSES: A meeting will be conducted. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
for information on how to access the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Latchford at (301) 427-8503 or
Delisse Ortiz at (240) 681-9037.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are managed
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is
implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 635.
The final rule for Amendment 2 to the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP (73
FR 35778, June 24, 2008, corrected at 73 FR 40658, July 15, 2008)
established, among other things, a shark research fishery to maintain
time-series data for stock assessments and to meet NMFS' research
objectives. The Shark Research Fishery gathers important scientific
data and allows selected commercial fishermen the opportunity to earn
more revenue from selling the sharks caught, including sandbar sharks.
Only the commercial shark fishermen selected to participate in the
Shark Research Fishery are authorized to land/harvest sandbar sharks
subject to the sandbar quota available each year. The 2021 base annual
sandbar shark quota is 90.7 mt dressed weight (dw). The selected Shark
Research Fishery participants also may fish using the research large
coastal shark (Sec. 635.27(b)(1)(iii)(B)), small coastal shark (Sec.
635.27(b)(1)(i)(C) and (b)(1)(ii)(D)), and pelagic shark quotas (Sec.
635.27(b)(1)(iii)(D)) subject to the retention limits at Sec. 635.24.
On November 30, 2020 (85 FR 76533), NMFS published a notice
inviting qualified commercial shark directed and incidental permit
holders to submit an application to participate in the 2021 Shark
Research Fishery. NMFS received four applications and selected all four
participants. In order to inform selected participants of this year's
specific permit requirements and to ensure all terms and conditions of
the permit are met, per the requirements of Sec. 635.32(f)(4), NMFS is
holding a mandatory permit holder meeting via conference call.
Meeting Date, Time, and Dial-In Number
The conference call will be held on March 22, 2021, from 12:00 to
1:30 p.m. (EDT). Participants and interested parties should join via
Webex: https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/onstage/g.php?MTID=e8b3199060b61df77141feb73910a581d.
Event Number: 199 505 0346 Event Password: QMjwQScall or can call
in using the conference line 1-415-527-5035 and the passcode 199 505
0346. Selected participants are strongly encouraged to attend. Selected
participants who are unable to attend will not be allowed to
participate in the Shark Research Fishery until they are able to
discuss the terms and conditions of their Shark Research Fishery permit
with NMFS staff. Selected participants are encouraged to invite their
captain, crew, or anyone else who may assist them in meeting the terms
and conditions of the Shark Research Fishery permit to the conference
call. Other interested parties may call in and listen to the
discussion.
Dated: March 12, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05553 Filed 3-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
