Federal Register #2026-15161

NOAA Exempted Fishing Permit and Peer Review Meetings for Spiny Dogfish and Salmon Fisheries

This opportunity concerns a request for public comments on an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application for the spiny dogfish fishery, managed by the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), specifically the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Greater Atlantic Region. - Government Buyer: - Department of Commerce - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Sustainable Fisheries - No OEMs or commercial vendors are involved, as this is a regulatory and research-focused fishing permit, not a procurement of products or equipment. - Products/Services Requested: - Exempted Fishing Permit for up to 50 federally permitted vessels to exceed the standard spiny dogfish trip possession limit, allowing up to 37,500 lbs of spiny dogfish to be landed weekly per vessel. - Use of sink gillnet, bottom longline, and bottom trawl gear types. - Peer review panel meetings to evaluate methods for updating Sacramento River Fall Chinook spawner abundance at maximum sustainable yield (SMSY). - Unique or Notable Requirements: - Up to 4 trips per vessel per week, with a total of up to 7,200 fishing days. - Quota monitoring with possible suspension of the EFP if 80% of the quota is projected to be reached. - Submission of a final report to inform future fishery management decisions. - Public peer review meetings for scientific assessment. - No specific part numbers, commercial products, or equipment are being procured.

Description

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced a request for comments on an application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) submitted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. The EFP would allow federally permitted fishing vessels to fish outside of current fishery regulations to support exempted fishing activities. The project aims to provide data to inform future trip limits in the spiny dogfish fishery and encourage increased participation by allowing higher possession limits. Comments on the application must be received by August 12, 2026.

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