[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49468-49469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23797]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 082599B]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Groundfish 
of the Gulf of Alaska Management Area; Exempted Fishing Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Issuance of an exempted fishing permit (EFP).

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the issuance of exempted fishing permit (EFP) 
99-04 to the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, Inc. (AFDF). The 
EFP authorizes AFDF to conduct an experiment in the Gulf of Alaska 
(GOA) to test artificial bait fabricated from Alaska pollock offal. 
This EFP is necessary to obtain information that could prove valuable 
for Alaska fisheries. It is intended to further the goals of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP and the Environmental Assessment (EA) 
prepared for the EFP are available from Lori Gravel, Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Mollett, 907-586-7462.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish 
of the Gulf of Alaska authorizes the issuance of EFPs for fishing for 
groundfish in a manner that would otherwise be prohibited under 
existing regulations. The procedures for issuing EFPs are set out at 50 
CFR 679.6 and 600.745.
    NMFS received an EFP application from AFDF on April 19, 1999, to 
conduct field trials in the GOA to test artificial longline bait 
fabricated from Alaska seafood offal. An announcement of receipt of the 
EFP application was published in the Federal Register on June 8, 1999 
(64 FR 30488). The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
approved the application at its June 9-14, 1999, meeting in Kodiak.
    AFDF is receiving funding for this project from the Alaska Science 
Technology Foundation and is conducting its research collaboratively 
with MARCO Marine; the Center for Applied Regional Studies (based in 
Cambridge, Massachusetts); and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which 
is run by the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
    AFDF plans to conduct the experiment in the GOA, near Seward, 
Kodiak, or Sitka, and will charter longline vessels under 60 feet for 
the purpose. The experiment will consist of two trials: One in late 
July, consisting of 8 days of fishing, and one in September, consisting 
of 12 days of fishing. The objective of the experiment is to compare 
the effectiveness between artificial and natural bait under commercial 
fishing conditions.
    The first trial is intended to determine whether the artificial 
bait is effective and to make any changes needed in the bait itself or 
in the procedures followed. The second trial is intended to obtain 
meaningful and, if possible, statistically significant results on the 
effectiveness of the bait. The bait will be tested for its 
attractiveness to Pacific cod, to other species taken as incidental 
catch in the Pacific cod fishery, and to Pacific halibut.
    AFDF sees both environmental and socioeconomic benefits accruing 
from its experiment, which, if successful, will lead to the 
substitution of artificial bait for much of the natural bait that is 
currently used. Potential environmental benefits include:
    1. Recycling waste that is currently being dumped into the ocean 
into a productive use;
    2. Reducing fishing pressure on bait species that are also used for 
human consumption, such as squid and herring;
    3. Enhancing fishermen's ability to target species and size of fish 
desired, thus lowering bycatch and discard rates. Norwegian studies 
have indicated that bait type may be the most important gear factor 
affecting species and size selectivity.
    Potential socioeconomic benefits include:
    1. Creation of Alaskan jobs in producing the artificial bait, and 
money brought into Alaska through sale of artificial bait, as opposed 
to natural bait currently bought out of state.
    2. Cost savings from bait that is less subject to loss, can 
continue to attract fish for longer periods underwater, and is more 
consistent in quality. Frozen bait, bought sight unseen, is sometimes 
rotten, and natural bait is often lost when it is cut into wrong size 
pieces;
    3. Cheaper bait--AFDF anticipates that its artificial bait will be 
less expensive by 15 to 20 percent;
    4. Higher catch rates if artificial bait proves to be indeed more 
successful in attracting fish than natural bait; and
    5. Improved safety in that uniform sized bait will be less likely 
to cause problems in automatic bait machines.
    AFDF plans to make two to four sets per day, depending on the 
weather. It will use four strings of longlines per set, each consisting 
of four skates and 200 hooks. Natural bait (herring) and artificial 
bait will be fished on each longline, alternating every ten hooks. Hook 
timers will be used to determine whether fish are attacking the bait 
and not being hooked and to compare catch over time and the success of 
hooking rates among bait types. Temperature-depth-time recorders will 
be used to determine fishing time on the bottom. Underwater video 
observations will be taken twice daily, for two hours at a time, to 
observe fish behavior with artificial and natural bait and to interpret 
the data recorded by the hook timers.
    Data collected prior to each set and before recovering gear will 
include vessel location, time, date, set number, set direction, 
beginning and ending set time, bottom depth, wind speed, swell height, 
chop height, presence of birds, and so forth. While hauling in the 
gear, data collected will include the bait type,

[[Page 49469]]

hook number in the sequence, presence of hook timer, bait status when 
nothing is caught (bait intact, partially gone, lost, hook lost, snood 
entanglement), species caught, and hook location.
    AFDF is required by the terms of the permit to report within 24 
hours the beginning and ending times of each fishing trip taken under 
the EFP. It is also required to provide a report to NMFS by February 
2000, including all catch data and its analysis and findings, and to 
coordinate with the Council on presenting the results of its experiment 
at a Council meeting.
    For the purposes of this experiment, AFDF will be allowed to catch 
20,800 lb (9.45 mt) of Pacific cod and 1,100 lb (0.5 mt) of rockfish. 
The participants are expected to catch relatively small amounts of 
other species while fishing. NMFS is not including these other species 
as a limiting factor in the EFP.
    The EFP states that, if AFDF approaches its limit on Pacific cod or 
rockfish, the Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional 
Administrator), must be notified immediately and will make a decision 
on whether to stop fishing under the EFP or to modify the terms of the 
permit, pursuant to 50 CFR 679.6(f).
    The applicant estimated a catch of up to 12,000 lb (5.44 mt) of 
Pacific halibut. However, the vessel is receiving no allowance of 
prohibited species bycatch and the halibut must be counted against the 
chartered vessel's individual fishing quota (IFQ) for halibut.
    Groundfish mortality associated with this experiment will not be 
deducted from total allowable catch (TAC) specified for the 1999 
groundfish fisheries. This additional groundfish mortality will not 
cause a conservation problem for groundfish species because estimated 
total removals under the EFP are very small compared with the overall 
TACs for these species and would not contribute in a meaningful way to 
approaching overfishing levels already considered in the EA for the 
1999 groundfish specifications.
    Failure of the permit holder to comply with the terms and 
conditions of the EFP may be grounds for revocation, suspension, or 
modification of the EFP under 15 CFR part 904 with respect to any or 
all persons and vessels conducting activities under the EFP. Failure to 
comply with applicable laws also may result in sanctions imposed under 
those laws.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator has determined that fishing activities 
conducted under this action will not affect endangered and threatened 
species or critical habitat in any manner not considered in prior 
consultations on the groundfish fisheries. Participating vessels must 
take seabird avoidance measures; in the unlikely event that a short-
tailed albatross is taken, it would be counted against the four short-
tailed albatrosses allowed under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 
Biological Opinion on the effects of the hook-and-line groundfish 
fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Area, March 19, 1999.
    This notice is exempt from review under E.O. 12866. It also is 
exempt under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) because prior notice 
and opportunity for public comment are not required. Therefore, the 
analytical requirements of the RFA are inapplicable.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 7, 1997.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-23797 Filed 9-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F