Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application for an Exempted Fishing Permit

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This notice announces NMFS' receipt of an application and the public comment period for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Trident Seafoods. If issued, this permit would allow the applicant to develop and test modifications to the footrope of pelagic trawl gear. The purpose and goal of this EFP, if issued, would be to exempt participating vessels from complying with the regulation defining the footrope for pelagic trawl gear. Field testing would be conducted between January 20, 2025 and December 31, 2027, and the EFP would expire at the end of that period. This experiment would test trawl gear design that aims to minimize seafloor contact by the footrope when targeting pollock that are on or near the seafloor and thus promote the objective of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) to protecting habitat that fish need to spawn, breed, feed, and grow to maturity.