Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits, 18821-18823 [2015-08056]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
Fishery Management Council (Council),
1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu,
HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220,
www.wpcouncil.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob
Harman, Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS
Pacific Islands Regional Office, 808–
725–5170.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
204(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the
Secretary of State, with the concurrence
of the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) and in consultation with the
Council, to negotiate and enter into a
Pacific Insular Area fishery agreement
(PIAFA). A PIAFA would allow foreign
fishing within the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) adjacent to
American Samoa, Guam, or the
Northern Mariana Islands with the
concurrence of, and in consultation
with, the Governor of the Pacific Insular
Area to which the PIAFA applies.
Before entering into a PIAFA, the
appropriate Governor, with the
concurrence of the Council, must
develop a 3-year MCP providing details
on uses for any funds collected by the
Secretary under the PIAFA.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
payments received under a PIAFA to be
deposited into the United States
Treasury and then conveyed to the
Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for
which funds were collected. In the case
of violations by foreign fishing vessels
in the EEZ around any Pacific Insular
Area, amounts received by the Secretary
attributable to fines and penalties
imposed under the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, including sums collected from the
forfeiture and disposition or sale of
property seized subject to its authority,
shall be deposited into the Treasury of
the Pacific Insular Area adjacent to the
EEZ in which the violation occurred,
after direct costs of the enforcement
action are subtracted. The government
may use funds deposited into the
Treasury of the Pacific Insular Area for
fisheries enforcement and for
implementation of an MCP.
An MCP must be consistent with the
Council’s fishery ecosystem plans, must
identify conservation and management
objectives (including criteria for
determining when such objectives are
met), and must prioritize planned
marine conservation projects. Although
no foreign fishing is being considered at
this time, at its 160th meeting held June
24–27, 2014, in Honolulu, the Council
reviewed and approved the MCP for
American Samoa and recommended its
submission to the Secretary for
approval. On March 16, 2015, the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:55 Apr 07, 2015
Jkt 235001
Governor of American Samoa submitted
the MCP to NMFS, the designee of the
Secretary, for review and approval.
The American Samoa MCP contains
six conservation and management
objectives, listed below. Please refer to
the MCP for planned projects and
activities designed to meet each
objective, the evaluative criteria, and
priority rankings.
MCP Objectives
1. Maximize social and economic
benefits through sustainable fisheries
development.
2. Support quality scientific research
to assess and manage fisheries.
3. Promote an ecosystem approach in
fisheries management, reduce waste in
fisheries and minimize interactions
between fisheries and protected species.
4. Recognize the importance of island
culture and traditional fishing in
managing fishery resources and foster
opportunities for participation.
5. Promote education and outreach
activities and regional collaboration
regarding fisheries conservation.
6. Encourage development of
technologies and methods to achieve the
most effective level of enforcement and
to ensure safety at sea.
This notice announces that NMFS has
determined that the American Samoa
MCP satisfies the requirements of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and approves
the MCP for the 3-year period from
April 1, 2015, through March 31, 2018.
This MCP supersedes the one approved
for the period August 11, 2012, through
August 10, 2015 (77 FR 58813,
September 24, 2012).
Dated: April 3, 2015.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–08070 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XD885
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,
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18821
Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS
(Assistant Regional Administrator), 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 allow
up to three commercial fishing vessels
to conduct exploratory fishing in yearround groundfish closed areas (Closed
Areas I and II) for the purposes of
obtaining fisheries dependent catch
information. This research is being
conducted by Atlantic Trawlers Fishing,
Inc.
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 April 23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by any of the following
methods:
• Email nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments
on Exploratory Closed Area Fishing
EFP.’’
• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional
Office, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside
of the envelope ‘‘Comments on Closed
Area Exploratory Fishing EFP.’’
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brett Alger, Fisheries Management
Specialist, 978–675–2153, brett.alger@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a 2014
proposed rule for Northeast
Multispecies Sectors that would have
allowed vessels using selective trawl
gear into portions of year-round Georges
Bank (GB) groundfish closed areas (CAs)
I and II, we announced interest in
gathering catch data from these areas
through exempted fishing permits
(EFPs) (79 FR 14639, March 17, 2014).
Because many of these areas have been
closed to groundfish bottom trawling for
nearly 20 years, fisheries dependent
data collected through an EFP would
help inform whether to allow
conditional access to CAs I and II to
sector vessels through the sector
exemption process. Data from vessels
operating under an EFP may be used to
characterize catch rates of target and
non-target species in the CAs, as well as
help inform industry on the economic
feasibility of industry-funded
monitoring for trips into CAs I and II.
In April 2014, we announced our
intention to issue an EFP to Atlantic
Trawlers Fishing, Inc. (79 FR 23940,
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
18822
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
April 29, 2014). In May 2014, an EFP
was issued that authorized vessels to
fish inside portions of groundfish CA I
and CA II during specified times of the
fishing year. For more details on the
original application and objectives of
this EFP, reference last year’s notice or
visit https://
www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/
mediacenter/2014/EFPsgroundfish_
closed_areas.html. Additionally, for
preliminary catch information from
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., visit
https://
www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/
aps/monitoring/nemultispecies.html.
Due to several factors, including catch
rates, time and area access to CAs I and
II, and weather, only 12 trips were taken
under the EFP in fishing year 2014.
Because there were a limited amount of
trips and, therefore, not enough
information to make a determination on
whether or not to approve access to CAs
I and II through the sector exemption
process, we did not approve access for
sectors in fishing year 2014.
Additionally, we did not propose to
allow sector vessels access to CAs I and
II for fishing year 2015 (80 FR 12380,
March 19, 2015), however, Atlantic
Trawlers Fishing, Inc., has requested an
EFP renewal for fishing year 2015 to
continue collecting data under the same
exemptions as their previous EFP.
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., seeks
to address five objectives as follows: (1)
Generate data on the composition of
catch, including presence and absence
of target (e.g., GB haddock) and nontarget species; (2) test the effectiveness
of utilizing gear comparable to the
Canadian haddock fishery on GB (e.g.,
haddock separator trawl with 5.1-inch
(13-cm) square mesh codend) to
improve haddock selectivity, catch
ratios, and improved annual catch limit
(ACL) utilization rates; (3) collect data
to examine the economic feasibility of
an industry funded monitoring program
for CA trips; (4) test the effectiveness of
providing access to portions of the
existing CAs for improving utilization
rates of GB haddock; and (5) collect
information from CAs I and II so that we
may conduct analyses to determine
whether fishing can be allowed at a
level of observer coverage of less than
100 percent, should an exemption be
considered and approved.
To fulfill these objectives, three
vessels would be allowed to use nets
with either a haddock separator trawl or
a Ruhle trawl, fitted with either a 6-inch
(15.2-cm) diamond mesh codend
(currently allowed in the fishery) or a
5.1-inch (13-cm) square mesh codend
(not currently allowed in the fishery).
The applicant claims that the 5.1-inch
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:55 Apr 07, 2015
Jkt 235001
(13-cm) square mesh codend will
improve their ability to target legal-size
haddock while maintaining the ability
to filter out small non-target catch,
including sub-legal haddock.
Preliminary results indicate that the two
codends have similar selectivity
characteristics, but additional replicates
are needed. In addition, for sampling
purposes, vessels would be authorized
to temporarily retain sub-legal fish, and
fish in excess of possession limits. All
undersized fish and fish in excess of
possession limits would be discarded as
soon as practicable following data
collection. All three vessels would be
accompanied by a technician with an atsea monitor certification and equipped
with echo sounders that operate on
multiple frequencies, which provide the
capability of revealing fish size
distribution and bottom hardness.
For CA I, vessels would have access
from May 1, 2015, through February 15,
2016, but would not be given access to
areas within CA I that are existing
Habitat Management Areas.
Additionally, vessels would not be
given access to areas that are Habitat
Management Area alternatives
contained in the Council’s draft
Omnibus Habitat Amendment as of
April 30, 2015. We have raised concerns
about spawning of groundfish in CA I
from January 1 to February 15, but
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., has
requested access for this period to
collect information to address questions
about spawning fish.
For CA II, vessels would have access
from May 1, 2015, through June 15,
2015, and then from November 1, 2015,
through February 15, 2016, but would
not be given access to areas within CA
II that are existing Habitat Management
Areas. Additionally, vessels would not
be given access to areas that are Habitat
Management Area alternatives
contained in the Council’s draft
Omnibus Habitat Amendment as of
April 30, 2015. Similar to CA I, we have
raised concerns about spawning of
groundfish in CA II from January 1 to
February 15, but Atlantic Trawlers
Fishing, Inc., has requested access for
this period to collect information to
address questions about spawning fish.
The dates for CA II access reflect an
agreement between sector trawl
fishermen and the lobster industry to
avoid gear conflicts. Atlantic Trawlers
Fishing, Inc., would not access portions
of CA II from June 15 through November
1, the time period that the lobster
industry is allowed access.
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc.,
requests issuance of the EFP for the
entire fishing year in order to use a
smaller mesh codend throughout the
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
year, but access to the closed areas
would be for only portions of the year.
Fishing effort under the EFP would be
heavily dependent upon operational
decisions dictating whether to fish
within CAs I and II, as compared to
outside the areas. As previously
described, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing,
Inc., has stated that the directed
haddock fishery is highly dynamic and
requires a high degree of mobility. If
approved, the three participating vessels
would focus on the directed haddock
fishery throughout the study period, and
make tows both inside and outside the
CAs on the same trip. Vessel tow
duration would vary from 30 minutes to
3 hours, and tow time and speed would
be at the discretion of the vessel
operator. However, in order to conduct
statistical comparisons between meshes
or areas, the vessels would be required
to conduct some tows in a specific
sequence and for a specified amount of
time. While this may be disruptive to
the commercial enterprise, it would
ensure that codend comparison data are
representative of the fishery and can be
used to inform any potential future
management decisions. Trawling would
occur up to 18 hours per fishing day, an
average trip would last seven days (five
days fishing and two days steaming),
and there would be an average of three
trips total, per month. Under the EFP in
fishing year 2014, this would have
resulted in approximately 72 trips,
however, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing,
Inc., only took the 12 trips. Under the
renewed EFP, vessels would be limited
to the remaining amount of trips (i.e.,
60), but anticipate taking far fewer than
that amount.
All legal sized fish will be landed and
sold with all proceeds retained by the
vessel owner. All three vessels are
members of the Sustainable Harvest
Sector (SHS) and all catch of allocated
stocks (e.g., haddock, cod) would be
accounted for under the annual catch
entitlements (ACEs) of the SHS. If the
SHS exceeds its ACE for an allocated
stock, it would need to lease in
additional ACE in order to continue
fishing.
If approved, Atlantic Trawlers
Fishing, Inc., 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 have minimal
impacts that do not change the scope or
impact of the initially approved EFP
request. Any fishing activity conducted
outside the scope of the exempted
fishing activity would be prohibited.
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 67 / Wednesday, April 8, 2015 / Notices
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 3, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–08056 Filed 4–7–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XD882
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery off the South Atlantic
States; Amendment 36
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare
a draft environmental impact statement
(DEIS); request for comments; notice of
scoping meetings.
AGENCY:
NMFS, Southeast Region, in
collaboration with the South Atlantic
Fishery Management Council (Council),
intends to prepare a DEIS to describe
and analyze a range of alternatives for
management actions to be included in
Amendment 36 to the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region (Amendment 36).
Amendment 36 will consider
alternatives to implement special
management zones (SMZs). The purpose
of this NOI is to solicit public comments
on the scope of issues to be addressed
in the DEIS and to announce scoping
meetings.
SUMMARY:
Written comments on the scope
of issues to be addressed in the DEIS
will be accepted until May 8, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the NOI identified by ‘‘NOAA–
NMFS–2015–0050’’ by either of the
following methods:
• Electronic submissions: Submit
electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to www.
regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;
D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0050, click the
‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the
required fields, and enter or attach your
comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Rick DeVictor, NMFS Southeast
Regional Office (SERO), 263 13th
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
DATES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:55 Apr 07, 2015
Jkt 235001
the comment period, may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick
DeVictor, NMFS SERO, telephone: 727–
824–5305, or email: rick.devictor@
noaa.gov. Kim Iverson, Public
Information Officer, South Atlantic
Fisheries Management Council, 4055
Faber Place Drive,Suite 201, North
Charleston, SC 29405; telephone: 843–
571–4366, or email: kim.iverson@
safmc.net.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1983,
the Council and NMFS established a
procedure under the FMP for the
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region for designation of SMZs
to protect artificial reef habitats. The
procedure includes the development of
recommendations to establish an SMZ
by a monitoring team, a review of the
recommendations by the Council, and
submittal of the recommendations to the
NMFS Southeast Regional
Administrator (RA). The RA reviews the
Council’s recommendations and may
propose regulations in accordance with
the recommendations or take no action.
The Council and NMFS have used the
procedure to establish artificial reef
SMZs in the South Atlantic region. The
SMZs protect artificial reef habitat by
prohibiting the use of gear types such as
fish traps and bottom longlines.
Through Amendment 36, the Council
is considering modifications to the SMZ
process and framework procedures to
include the consideration of SMZs that
would protect locations where snappergrouper fish species are likely to spawn
and natural habitats that support
spawning fish. Protecting locations
where fish spawn and protecting natural
habitats that support spawning fish will
likely enhance stock productivity and
may act as an effective strategy when
managing a sustainable fish population.
In the amendment, the Council is also
considering the implementation of
SMZs to protect spawning snappergrouper species in the South Atlantic
region. The measures in Amendment 36
would prohibit fishing for, harvest, and/
or possession of species in the snappergrouper fishery management unit yearround in the proposed SMZs; fishing for
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18823
other species would be allowed in
accordance with the current regulations.
Some of the sites being considered in
Amendment 36 were recommended for
protection by a Marine Protected Area
(MPA) Expert Workgroup that was
formed by the Council in 2012. The
MPA Expert Workgroup is comprised of
scientists and fishermen with
experience studying snapper-grouper
fish species and observing fish in
spawning condition.
NMFS previously published NOIs to
notify the public that the Council and
NMFS are considering the establishment
of spatial management areas. NMFS
published an NOI to prepare a DEIS for
the Comprehensive Ecosystem-Based
Amendment 3 (CE–BA 3) on May 23,
2012 (77 FR 30506). One proposed
action in CE–BA 3 was to modify
existing MPAs or to establish new ones;
however, that action was moved to
Regulatory Amendment 17. An NOI for
Regulatory Amendment 17 was
published on December 4, 2013 (78 FR
72867). Through Regulatory
Amendment 17, the Council intended to
further reduce bycatch mortality of
speckled hind and warsaw grouper and
increase protection to their habitat.
However, at their June 2014 meeting,
the Council decided not to proceed
further with the development of
Regulatory Amendment 17.
NMFS, in collaboration with the
Council, will develop a DEIS to describe
and analyze alternatives to address the
management needs described above
including the ‘‘no-action’’ alternative. In
accordance with NOAA’s
Administrative Order 216–6, Section
5.02(c), Scoping Process, NMFS, in
collaboration with the Council, has
identified preliminary environmental
issues as a means to initiate discussion
for scoping purposes only. The public is
invited to attend scoping meetings
(dates and addresses below) and provide
written comments on the preliminary
issues, which are identified as actions
and alternatives in the Amendment 36
scoping document. These preliminary
issues may not represent the full range
of issues that will eventually be
evaluated in the DEIS. A copy of the
Amendment 36 scoping document is
available at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/sg/
index.html.
After the DEIS associated with
Amendment 36 is completed, it will be
filed with the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). After filing, the EPA will
publish a notice of availability of the
DEIS for public comment in the Federal
Register. The DEIS will have a 45-day
comment period. This procedure is
pursuant to regulations issued by the
E:\FR\FM\08APN1.SGM
08APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18821-18823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08056]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XD885
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), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional
Administrator), 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
allow up to three commercial fishing vessels to conduct exploratory
fishing in year-round groundfish closed areas (Closed Areas I and II)
for the purposes of obtaining fisheries dependent catch information.
This research is being conducted by Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc.
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 exempted fishing permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email nmfs.gar.efp@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line
``Comments on Exploratory Closed Area Fishing EFP.''
Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on Closed Area Exploratory
Fishing EFP.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brett Alger, Fisheries Management
Specialist, 978-675-2153, brett.alger@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a 2014 proposed rule for Northeast
Multispecies Sectors that would have allowed vessels using selective
trawl gear into portions of year-round Georges Bank (GB) groundfish
closed areas (CAs) I and II, we announced interest in gathering catch
data from these areas through exempted fishing permits (EFPs) (79 FR
14639, March 17, 2014). Because many of these areas have been closed to
groundfish bottom trawling for nearly 20 years, fisheries dependent
data collected through an EFP would help inform whether to allow
conditional access to CAs I and II to sector vessels through the sector
exemption process. Data from vessels operating under an EFP may be used
to characterize catch rates of target and non-target species in the
CAs, as well as help inform industry on the economic feasibility of
industry-funded monitoring for trips into CAs I and II.
In April 2014, we announced our intention to issue an EFP to
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc. (79 FR 23940,
[[Page 18822]]
April 29, 2014). In May 2014, an EFP was issued that authorized vessels
to fish inside portions of groundfish CA I and CA II during specified
times of the fishing year. For more details on the original application
and objectives of this EFP, reference last year's notice or visit
https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/mediacenter/2014/EFPsgroundfish_closed_areas.html. Additionally, for preliminary catch
information from Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., visit https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/aps/monitoring/nemultispecies.html.
Due to several factors, including catch rates, time and area access
to CAs I and II, and weather, only 12 trips were taken under the EFP in
fishing year 2014. Because there were a limited amount of trips and,
therefore, not enough information to make a determination on whether or
not to approve access to CAs I and II through the sector exemption
process, we did not approve access for sectors in fishing year 2014.
Additionally, we did not propose to allow sector vessels access to CAs
I and II for fishing year 2015 (80 FR 12380, March 19, 2015), however,
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., has requested an EFP renewal for
fishing year 2015 to continue collecting data under the same exemptions
as their previous EFP.
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., seeks to address five objectives
as follows: (1) Generate data on the composition of catch, including
presence and absence of target (e.g., GB haddock) and non-target
species; (2) test the effectiveness of utilizing gear comparable to the
Canadian haddock fishery on GB (e.g., haddock separator trawl with 5.1-
inch (13-cm) square mesh codend) to improve haddock selectivity, catch
ratios, and improved annual catch limit (ACL) utilization rates; (3)
collect data to examine the economic feasibility of an industry funded
monitoring program for CA trips; (4) test the effectiveness of
providing access to portions of the existing CAs for improving
utilization rates of GB haddock; and (5) collect information from CAs I
and II so that we may conduct analyses to determine whether fishing can
be allowed at a level of observer coverage of less than 100 percent,
should an exemption be considered and approved.
To fulfill these objectives, three vessels would be allowed to use
nets with either a haddock separator trawl or a Ruhle trawl, fitted
with either a 6-inch (15.2-cm) diamond mesh codend (currently allowed
in the fishery) or a 5.1-inch (13-cm) square mesh codend (not currently
allowed in the fishery). The applicant claims that the 5.1-inch (13-cm)
square mesh codend will improve their ability to target legal-size
haddock while maintaining the ability to filter out small non-target
catch, including sub-legal haddock. Preliminary results indicate that
the two codends have similar selectivity characteristics, but
additional replicates are needed. In addition, for sampling purposes,
vessels would be authorized to temporarily retain sub-legal fish, and
fish in excess of possession limits. All undersized fish and fish in
excess of possession limits would be discarded as soon as practicable
following data collection. All three vessels would be accompanied by a
technician with an at-sea monitor certification and equipped with echo
sounders that operate on multiple frequencies, which provide the
capability of revealing fish size distribution and bottom hardness.
For CA I, vessels would have access from May 1, 2015, through
February 15, 2016, but would not be given access to areas within CA I
that are existing Habitat Management Areas. Additionally, vessels would
not be given access to areas that are Habitat Management Area
alternatives contained in the Council's draft Omnibus Habitat Amendment
as of April 30, 2015. We have raised concerns about spawning of
groundfish in CA I from January 1 to February 15, but Atlantic Trawlers
Fishing, Inc., has requested access for this period to collect
information to address questions about spawning fish.
For CA II, vessels would have access from May 1, 2015, through June
15, 2015, and then from November 1, 2015, through February 15, 2016,
but would not be given access to areas within CA II that are existing
Habitat Management Areas. Additionally, vessels would not be given
access to areas that are Habitat Management Area alternatives contained
in the Council's draft Omnibus Habitat Amendment as of April 30, 2015.
Similar to CA I, we have raised concerns about spawning of groundfish
in CA II from January 1 to February 15, but Atlantic Trawlers Fishing,
Inc., has requested access for this period to collect information to
address questions about spawning fish. The dates for CA II access
reflect an agreement between sector trawl fishermen and the lobster
industry to avoid gear conflicts. Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc.,
would not access portions of CA II from June 15 through November 1, the
time period that the lobster industry is allowed access.
Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., requests issuance of the EFP for
the entire fishing year in order to use a smaller mesh codend
throughout the year, but access to the closed areas would be for only
portions of the year. Fishing effort under the EFP would be heavily
dependent upon operational decisions dictating whether to fish within
CAs I and II, as compared to outside the areas. As previously
described, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., has stated that the
directed haddock fishery is highly dynamic and requires a high degree
of mobility. If approved, the three participating vessels would focus
on the directed haddock fishery throughout the study period, and make
tows both inside and outside the CAs on the same trip. Vessel tow
duration would vary from 30 minutes to 3 hours, and tow time and speed
would be at the discretion of the vessel operator. However, in order to
conduct statistical comparisons between meshes or areas, the vessels
would be required to conduct some tows in a specific sequence and for a
specified amount of time. While this may be disruptive to the
commercial enterprise, it would ensure that codend comparison data are
representative of the fishery and can be used to inform any potential
future management decisions. Trawling would occur up to 18 hours per
fishing day, an average trip would last seven days (five days fishing
and two days steaming), and there would be an average of three trips
total, per month. Under the EFP in fishing year 2014, this would have
resulted in approximately 72 trips, however, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing,
Inc., only took the 12 trips. Under the renewed EFP, vessels would be
limited to the remaining amount of trips (i.e., 60), but anticipate
taking far fewer than that amount.
All legal sized fish will be landed and sold with all proceeds
retained by the vessel owner. All three vessels are members of the
Sustainable Harvest Sector (SHS) and all catch of allocated stocks
(e.g., haddock, cod) would be accounted for under the annual catch
entitlements (ACEs) of the SHS. If the SHS exceeds its ACE for an
allocated stock, it would need to lease in additional ACE in order to
continue fishing.
If approved, Atlantic Trawlers Fishing, Inc., 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 have minimal impacts that do not change the scope or
impact of the initially approved EFP request. Any fishing activity
conducted outside the scope of the exempted fishing activity would be
prohibited.
[[Page 18823]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 3, 2015.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-08056 Filed 4-7-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
