[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15395-15396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6750]



[[Page 15395]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 030101F]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs)

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

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for EFPs to conduct experimental 
fishing; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator), has made a preliminary determination to issue 
EFPs that would allow two vessels to conduct fishing operations 
otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the 
Northeastern United States. The Manomet Center for Conservation 
Sciences (Manomet) submitted a complete application for the issuance of 
EFPs to two commercial fishing vessels, which warrants further 
consideration. The experiment would be conducted in a portion of the 
Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Regulated Mesh Area (GOM/GB RMA). The EFPs 
would be issued to two federally permitted groundfish vessels to 
conduct trawl net gear trials with two modified excluder devices and 
the associated small-mesh codend cover to target mixed groundfish 
species--primarily cod, yellowtail flounder, winter flounder 
(blackback), summer flounder (fluke), American plaice (dab) and grey 
sole (witch flounder), for the purpose of establishing selectivity 
parameters of trawl nets with and without the excluder device. EFPs 
would allow for exemptions to the gear restrictions, temporary 
possession of catch in excess of the landing limits for the purposes of 
data collection, and entry into the seasonal area closures in the GOM. 
The study is intended to determine the selective efficiency of two 
excluder device designs for the most effective exclusion of small cod 
and other sub-legal sized fish. 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 on this notification must be received at the 
appropriate address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before April 3, 
2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia Kurkul, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 
281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Van Pelt, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Manomet submitted an industry cooperative 
proposal on February 5, 2001, for two EFPs to conduct gear selectivity 
studies to address bycatch and discard of incidental catch and sub-
legal sized fish, cod in particular, in the mixed-groundfish fisheries 
of the Northeast. The study would be conducted with two federally 
permitted multispecies vessels within the following four areas, 
excluding portions that overlap year-round closure areas (Western GOM 
Closure Area and Closed Area I) and including some Canadian territorial 
waters as follows:

                                                                         Table 1
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                          Point                                             N. Latitude                                    W. Longitude
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1                                                                                                          from the Maine shoreline at 69 deg.55' (east
                                                                                                                                  from the Western GOM Closure Area)
2                                                                                  south to 42 deg. 30'                                     69 deg. 00'
3                                                                                            44 deg.00'                   69 deg. 08' (Maine shoreline)
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                                                                         Table 2
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                          Point                                             N. Latitude                                    W. Longitude
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1                                                         from the Massachusetts shoreline at 42 deg.50'                                     69 deg.30'
2                                                                                            42 deg.05'                                      69 deg.08'
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                                                                         Table 3
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                          Point                                             N. Latitude                                    W. Longitude
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1                                                                                       from 42 deg.00'                                      68 deg.30'
2                                                                                            41 deg.00'                                      67 deg.20'
3                                                                                            42 deg.00'                                      68 deg.30'
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                                                                         Table 4
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                          Point                                             N. Latitude                                    W. Longitude
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1                                                                                            41 deg.10'                   70 deg.30' east to 69 deg.00'
2                                                                                            40 deg.50'                                     70 deg. 30'
3                                                                                            41 deg.10'                                     70 deg. 30'
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[[Page 15396]]

    This collaborative study involves Manomet, the Massachusetts 
Division of Marine Fisheries, and the Maine Department of Marine 
Resources as co-principal investigators. In addition, project tasks 
will be coordinated with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and 
Oceans to ensure compatibility with existing methodology and data 
format. A bycatch reduction device called EX-it was developed by the 
Icelandic fishing industry, with scientific and Governmental 
collaboration. The EX-it device is now used by over 60 percent of the 
inshore fishing fleet in Icelandic waters and has been demonstrated to 
reduce effectively the bycatch of undersized fish in fisheries from 
Iceland to Namibia.
    The main objective of the experiment is to field test two 
modifications of the EX-it devices, which consist of a net tube in the 
shape of an hourglass, and steel grids. The EX-it device is inserted in 
the top panel of a codend (industry-standard mesh) within a trapezoidal 
steel frame. The grid system is made of eight smaller grids that are 
joined together. The field trials would deploy two EX-it devices, one 
with a grid bar spacing interval of 60 mm (2.36 inch), and the other of 
55-mm (2.17-inch) spacing, combined with a retainer bag made of 1-7/8 
inch (4.78-cm) mesh, which is attached to the EX-it devise, as well as 
additional 1-7/8 inch (4.78-cm) mesh cover surrounding the codend mesh 
itself. The retainer bag would retain all the fish that were excluded 
by each design of the EX-it device, and the codend covers would sample 
the portion of the catch that would have escaped the codend to obtain a 
selectivity curve, which requires the length-frequency distribution of 
the population sampled, as well as that of the population retained.
    The purpose of the study is to develop a size-selective trawl gear 
configuration through modifications to the grid bar spacing of the EX-
it device to release sub-legal sized cod and flatfish species 
incidental to the catch, while retaining fish of marketable size. The 
catch data for each sample (tow) would be used to prepare gear-specific 
mesh selectivity curves. Video observations would be performed in 
conjunction with the gear trials for use in behavioral analyses to 
ascertain the presence/absence of species-specific behavioral patterns 
that may explain observed differences in the selective efficiency of 
the gear modifications.
    The field trials would take place over a period of approximately 5 
days, with a total sample size of 20 tows; 10 tows (1 hour tow length) 
for each of the two EX-it device bar spacings tested, at four tows per 
day. These commercial gear trials would operate in the four areas 
designated (Tables 1-4) outside the Western GOM Year Round Closure Area 
and Closed Area I beginning in March 2001, until the 20 tows are 
obtained. Access to the GOM seasonal closures areas is necessary to 
maximize sampling and data return, while minimizing the need for a 
lengthy study and exhaustive fishing efforts. The GOM seasonal closures 
that may correspond in time and location with the proposed study are as 
follows: Rolling Closure Area I (March 1 to March 31), Rolling Closure 
Area II (April 1 to April 30), Rolling Closure Area III (May 1 to May 
31), Rolling Closure Area IV (June 1 to June 30), and the Cashes Ledge 
Closure Area (July 1 to October 31). The study will continue for up to 
6 months to allow for weather contingencies and to capture seasonal 
variability in target species distribution and abundance.
    The experimental sampling design (use of a codend cover and the 
retainer bag) is intended to minimize greatly the number of tows 
necessary to yield the necessary amount of catch information; a minimum 
of 10 tows (1 hour in length maximum) is required for satisfactory 
selectivity curve results. The target species are yellowtail flounder, 
winter flounder (blackback), summer flounder (fluke), American plaice 
(dab) and cod. The main incidental species are expected to be skates, 
smooth and spiny dogfish, sculpins, sea raven and sea robin. Any sub-
legal sized fish would be processed by the researcher (e.g., measured) 
and returned immediately to the water. During the experimental trials, 
participating vessels would be instructed to conduct normal fishing 
operations. Therefore, the vessels may only retain fish for commercial 
sale in the amount allowed under their respective Federal fishery 
permits and days-at-sea allocations.
    NMFS-certified observers will collect fisheries data from each tow 
conducted during the course of the experiment. All the data reports 
will be forwarded to NMFS, the New England Fishery Management Council, 
various fishermen's and industry organizations, Sea Grant offices and 
other interested parties. It is hoped that this experiment could serve 
as an example for future cooperative ventures between the U.S., Canada, 
and Iceland.
    EFPs would be issued to two participating federally permitted 
Northeast multispecies vessels to exempt them from the gear 
restrictions, temporary possession of catch in excess of the landing 
limits for the purposes of data collection, and the GOM seasonal area 
closures of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, found 
at 50 CFR part 648, subpart F.

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

    Dated: March 13, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-6750 Filed 3-16-01; 8:45 am]
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