[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 230 (Thursday, November 29, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59552-59553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-29640]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 110601C]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Applications 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 that an 
EFP application, submitted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine 
Fisheries (MDMF), contains all the information as required by the 
regulations that govern exempted experimental fishing under the 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and has determined that the application 
warrants further consideration. The Regional Administrator has also 
made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under 
the EFP will be consistent with the goals and objectives of the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further 
review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination 
is made to issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Regional 
Administrator intends to issue an EFP that would allow a single vessel 
to conduct fishing operations in areas in the Gulf of Maine that would 
otherwise be closed by regulations governing the multispecies 
groundfish fisheries of the Northeastern United States. This 
notification is intended to provide interested parties the opportunity 
to comment on the proposed experimental fishery.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 14, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
Proposed Experimental Fishery.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Warren, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations that govern exempted 
experimental fishing, at 50 CFR 600.745, allow the Regional 
Administrator to authorize for certain purposes the targeting or 
incidental harvest of managed species that would otherwise be 
prohibited. An EFP to authorize such activity may be issued, provided 
there is adequate opportunity for the public to comment on the EFP 
application as required under 50 CFR 600.745 (b)(3), and the 
conservation goals and objectives of the FMP are not compromised.
    The MDMF submitted to NMFS on October 15, 2001, an application for 
an EFP to conduct gear research in the groundfish fishery in the Gulf 
of Maine (GOM). The Regional Administrator has determined that this 
application warrants further consideration. The research would target 
flatfish and cod in block 124 (a 30 minute square as used by the 
Multispecies FMP), during February and March, with the objective of 
comparing two designs of modified sink gillnets to a traditional sink 
gillnet design. The experimental sink gillnets would use modified 
leadlines and floatlines to reduce the vertical profile of the nets in 
order to exploit behavioral differences between cod and flatfish. 
Keeping the nets close to the bottom may allow flatfish to continue to 
be captured while cod are avoided. The goal of the research is to 
further the design of a sink gillnet that could result in significant 
reductions in the bycatch of cod in the sink gillnet sector of the 
flatfish fishery. This research is highly pertinent to the management 
of groundfish species under the FMP.
    A single vessel would conduct 10 overnight gillnet sets, with 
approximately 24 hours soak time. Each overnight set would be composed 
of two strings of experimental nets and two strings of standard nets 
serving as controls. Each string would consist of eight nets, each 300 
ft (91.4 m) long, for a total of 32 nets used per overnight set. The 
gillnets would be deployed and hauled using standard commercial 
practices.
    The vessel would utilize its multispecies days-at-sea and fish in

[[Page 59553]]

compliance with the pertinent mesh size, minimum fish size, and trip 
limit regulations of the FMP. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences 
observers or MDMF personnel would be on board the vessel during all 
trips when the gillnets are hauled. Legal catch would be kept and 
marketed, and the proceeds would serve as partial compensation to the 
vessel owner and crew for participation in the experiment. All 
incidental species and non-legal catch will be discarded following 
measurement and enumeration. The principal investigator of the 
experiment received funding for the research from the Northeast 
Consortium (NEC). The NEC is an organization composed of New England 
fishing industry members and university staff that facilitates the 
funding of cooperative fishery research.
    An EFP would be required to exempt the vessel from the GOM Rolling 
Closure Area VI and Rolling Closure Area I, during February and March, 
respectively. The vessel would be prohibited from fishing in that 
portion of block 124 that is inclusive of the Western GOM area closure.
    The proposed location and timing of the experiment is based on the 
experience of some industry members and similar research (Phase I) 
conducted in December 2000 and January 2001 that concluded that the 
absence of an adequate number of flatfish during Phase I of that study 
was a result of the research having been conducted in sub-optimal 
places and times. The proposed experiment (Phase II) in block 124 
during February and March is thought to be optimal for catching 
sufficient quantities of cod and flatfish to test the experimental 
hypothesis.
    Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Act require publication of 
this notification to provide interested parties with the opportunity to 
comment on application for proposed EFPs. Based on the outcome of this 
EFP, this action may lead to further rulemaking.

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

    Dated: November 21, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-29640 Filed 11-28-01; 8:45 am]
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