Meetings: Exempted fishing, 25814 [E5-2394]
Agencies
[Federal Register: May 16, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 93)]
[Notices]
[Page 25814]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16my05-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 051005A]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator)
has made a preliminary determination that the subject Exempted Fishing
Permit (EFP) application contains all the required information and
warrants further consideration. The Assistant Regional Administrator
has also made a preliminary determination that the activities
authorized under the EFP would be consistent with the goals and
objectives of the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before
a final determination is made to issue the EFP. Therefore, the
Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an EFP be
issued that would allow three commercial fishing vessels to conduct
fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations
governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The EFP
would allow for exemptions from the FMP as follows: The Gulf of Maine
(GOM) Rolling Closure Areas II and III.
Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of this notification to provide
interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for
proposed EFPs.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 31, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope
``Comments on the Manomet Rigid Mesh EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also
be sent via fax to (978) 281-9135 or via e-mail to da5-85@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tasker, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone (978) 281-9273.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences
submitted an application for an EFP on March 16, 2005. The primary goal
of the research is to test the effectiveness of inserting a rigid mesh
panel between the extension and the codend of a trawl net to reduce
bycatch while targeting yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, summer
flounder, American plaice, and cod in inshore GOM waters.
The proposed rigid mesh panel would be 6.56 ft (2 m) in length and
would be constructed of elongate meshes 2.36 inches (60 mm) wide and
7.87 inches (200 mm) long. This panel would be inserted between the
extension and the codend of the net and would be the same diameter as
the net. This project is proposed to occur in the Western GOM,
excluding the Western GOM Closure Area but including GOM Rolling
Closure Areas II and III. The project would take place over 22 days
from May 2005, to July 15, 2005, in two areas in the GOM waters,
excluding the Western GOM Closure Area, as follows: (1) The area from
43[deg]10' N lat. to the Maine shoreline, and from 69[deg]30' W long.
to the Maine shoreline; and (2) the area from 42[deg]00' N lat. to
42[deg]30' N lat., and from 70[deg]00' W long. to the Massachusetts
shoreline (approximately 70[deg]40' W long.). Researchers request an
exemption from the regulations establishing these closures because of
the high likelihood that the targeted species would be present in
significant numbers during these times, which would enhance the
effectiveness of the experiment. Researchers would film the interior
and exterior of the net to verify proper construction and to document
species' reactions to the net. Once the proper construction of the net
has been verified, researchers would use the remainder of the trials to
test the potential for bycatch reduction of the experimental panel by
conducting alternating tows using the net with the experimental panel
and a conventional codend, following an A-B-B-A pattern, comparing the
catches between the two codends. No more than 110 tows total for the
three vessels combined would be performed during at-sea trials. Under
the previously issued EFP, researchers were authorized to conduct
similar research over 30 days of sea trials; however, they were able to
conduct only 8 days of sea trials.
The researchers anticipate that a total of 4,917 lb (2,230.3 kg) of
fish, including 1,320 lb (598.7 kg) of cod, 550 lb (249.5 kg) of
yellowtail flounder, 550 lb (249.5 kg) of winter flounder, and 550 lb
(249.5 kg) of American plaice would be harvested throughout the course
of the study. Other species that are anticipated to be caught are
species of skates, smooth and spiny dogfish, sculpins, sea ravens, and
sea robins. All legal-sized fish, within the possession limits, would
be sold, with the proceeds going toward defraying the cost of vessel
chartering fees. There would be no retention of undersized fish aboard
the vessels and there is no anticipated impact on marine mammals or
endangered species.
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 minimal enough so
as not to change the scope or impact the initially approved EFP
request.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 10, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-2394Filed 5-16-05; 8:45 am]
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