[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39130-39131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18833]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 071701D]


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator), has determined that an application for EFPs 
contains all of the required information and warrants further 
consideration. The Regional Administrator is considering the impacts of 
the activities to be authorized under the EFPs with respect to the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (Multispecies FMP) and 
the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish and Sharks 
(Highly Migratory Species (HMS) FMP). However, further review and 
consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to 
issue EFPs. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Regional Administrator 
proposes to issue EFPs in response to an application submitted by the 
East Coast Tuna Association that would allow five purse seine vessels 
to fish for giant Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in Northeast 
Multispecies year-round Closed Area I, where use of purse seine gear is 
currently prohibited for the remainder of 2001. The purpose of the 
study is to collect information regarding bycatch of and interactions 
of purse seine gear with groundfish species, other species, and marine 
mammals, and to record contact with the ocean bottom or with any 
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). The results of this EFP would allow NMFS 
and the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to evaluate 
the feasibility of allowing purse seine gear in Closed Area I as an 
exempted gear on a permanent basis.

DATES: Comments on this action must be received at the appropriate 
address or fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before August 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia Kurkul, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also be sent via fax to (978) 281-9135. 
Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.
    Copies of the Environmental Assessment and the Regulatory Impact 
Review (EA/RIR) are available from the Northeast Regional Office at the 
same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Ferreira, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, phone: 978-281-9103, fax: 978-281-9135, email: 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Georges Bank and Southern New England (GB/SNE) multispecies 
year-round closed areas were established under the Multispecies FMP to 
provide protection to concentrations of regulated multispecies, 
particularly for cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder. Consequently, 
all fishing in these year-round closed areas was prohibited, with a few 
exceptions. The only exceptions allowing access to the closed areas 
were fishing activities known to have a very low incidence of 
multispecies bycatch. For example, pelagic midwater trawl gear was 
determined to have a negligible catch of regulated multispecies because 
the gear fishes well off the ocean floor. As a result, it is an allowed 
gear in the GB/SNE multispecies closed areas.
    Purse seine gear is typically used to target pelagic species such 
as herring, mackerel, and tuna that are concentrated at or near the 
surface of the ocean. This type of gear is not designed or intended to 
fish for species at or near the ocean floor, and is typically 
considered to have very little interaction with the bottom dwelling 
species, such as groundfish. Observer data from the 1996 tuna purse 
seine fishery, the last year the fishery carried full-time observers, 
documented a small catch of regulated groundfish, other demersal 
species, and bottom debris (i.e., sponges and empty shells) in 20 out 
of 39 observed sets. Out of these 20 sets, only 4 occurred inside 
Closed Area I, in depths ranging from 28 to 35 fm. In 2000, EFPs were 
issued to four purse seine vessels to collect information on the 
interaction between purse seine gear and demersal species and their 
habitat, particularly in Closed Area I. Data from the five observed 
trips in Closed Area I from the 2000 tuna purse seine experimental 
fishery did not show any bycatch of demersal species. These sets 
occurred in depths ranging from 55 fm to 86 fm. Due to the lingering 
questions concerning the degree of interactions between purse seine 
gear used in this fishery and the sea floor, and its interactions with 
regulated groundfish species, a second experimental fishery has been 
requested. The Council is considering an exemption for tuna purse seine 
gear within all groundfish closed areas as part of Framework Adjustment 
36 to the Multispecies FMP. Information collected through this 
experimental fishery would be used in development of Framework 
Adjustment 36.

Proposed EFP

    The proposed EFP would exempt purse seine vessels fishing for giant 
Atlantic bluefin tuna under 50 CFR part 635 from the gear restrictions 
of Closed Area I, as described at 50 CFR 648.81(a). Similar to the 2000 
purse seine experimental fishery in Closed Area I, no more than five 
vessels would be authorized to participate. The experimental fishery 
would begin on August 15, 2001, and continue until the five vessels 
have achieved their individual fishing quotas, or the end of the 
calendar year, whichever occurs first. Although these individual quotas 
may be taken through the end of the fishing year (December 31), they 
are typically taken by the middle of October. Because the bluefin tuna 
fishery takes place throughout the waters off New England, and the 
concentrations of fish often move between areas, it is likely that the 
fishery would take place within Closed Area I for only a few weeks.

[[Page 39131]]

    NMFS-certified observers would be required on all trips into Closed 
Area I. These observers would document the catch of all species, 
interactions between the net and the bottom, and any incidental take of 
marine mammals and protected species. After any sampling requested by 
an observer, all multispecies would be required to be discarded.
    An EA was prepared to analyze the impacts of the experimental 
fishery on the human environment. The EA has preliminarily concluded 
that the activities that would be conducted under the EFP are 
consistent with the goals and objectives of the Multispecies FMP, and 
are consistent with the HMS FMP. The EA also considers the impacts of 
the EFP activities on EFH and protected species.
    EFPs would be issued to the five participating vessels to exempt 
them from the restrictions of Closed Area I of the Multispecies FMP.
    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. Based on the outcome of this EFP, this action may lead 
to future rulemaking.

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

    Dated: July 23, 2001.
Dean Swanson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-18833 Filed 7-26-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S