[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4162-4163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1909]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[ID.010303C]


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western 
Pacific;Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Application for an Exempted 
Fishing Permit

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of three exempted fishing permits (EFP) 
applications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of three EFP applications from the 
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. If awarded, these 
EFPs would allow vessels with valid Washington State delivery permits 
to harvest and retain federally managed groundfish in closed rockfish 
conservation areas and to retain federally managed groundfish species 
in excess of cumulative trip limits. These activities are otherwise 
prohibited. Vessels fishing under these EFPs will be required to carry 
either a State-sponsored sampler or a Federal observer while conducting 
EFP fishing. Samplers/observers will collect catch and effort data and 
retain specimens from catch that is generally discarded at sea and is 
otherwise not available at the shoreside processing facility. These EFP 
proposals are intended to promote the objectives of the Pacific Coast 
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) by providing much needed data 
on total catch and incidental catch rates by fishing strategy.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 12, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP applications are available from Becky 
Renko Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Bldg. 1, 
Seattle, WA 98115-0070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko (206)526-6110 or Carrie 
Nordeen (206) 526-6144.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by the FMP and 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 600.745 and 50 CFR 660.350.
    On December 12, 2002, NMFS received three completed EFP 
applications from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. 
The primary purpose of the exempted fishing activity is to measure 
bycatch rates for overfished and other rockfish species associated with 
the fishing strategies currently used to harvest dogfish shark, walleye 
pollock, and arrowtooth flounder.
    Each EFP requires that the participating vessels carry a State-
sponsored sampler or Federal groundfish observer to collect data from 
which incidental catch rates and total catch of various species and 
species groups can be estimated. Samplers/observers would also collect 
and retain specimens, that may not be kept under current regulations. 
Because the retention of such fish is prohibited by Federal 
regulations, an EFP is needed to allow State-sponsored samplers to 
retain these specimens. To the extent possible, data provided by the 
State-sponsored samplers will be compatible with that collected by the 
NMFS coastwide observer program. The information gathered through these 
EFPs may lead to future rulemakings.
    At the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) November 
2002, meeting in Foster City, CA, the applicants presented the EFP 
applications. The Council considered the applications and recommended 
that NMFS issue the EFPs for the proposed activity. All EFP harvests 
are expected to be within set asides optimum yields (OYs) for 2003 EFP 
harvests and, therefore, no OY is expected to be exceeded. Copies of 
the applications are available for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

    Spiny dogfish is an abundant and important species in the 
groundfish fishery off Washington State. Fixed gear is used to directly 
harvest spiny dogfish. For 2003, fishing with fixed gear in areas where 
spiny dogfish have historically been harvested will be prohibited 
because the areas fall within the Non-trawl Rockfish Conservation Area. 
Rockfish conservation areas are large-scale depth-related areas where 
low abundance groundfish species are commonly found. Little is known 
about the bycatch catch rates of other groundfish, including overfished 
species, by vessels specifically targeting spiny dogfish. However, 
fishers believe that spiny dogfish can be harvested with much lower 
bycatch rates than are currently assumed.

[[Page 4163]]

    If the permit is issued, this EFP will allow approximately 3 
vessels, which have historically harvested spiny dogfish, to use fixed 
gear to directly harvest spiny dogfish and to retain and land 
groundfish in excess of trip limits taken in a Non-trawl Rockfish 
Conservation Area. These activities are otherwise prohibited by Federal 
regulations. Fishing under the proposed EFP would occur between 
February 1 and May 31, 2003. Vessels would be required to retain all 
groundfish and the proceeds from the sale of groundfish in excess of 
current trip limits, other than spiny dogfish, would be forfeited to 
the State of Washington. All fishing by participating vessels, EFP and 
non-EFP fishing, during the effective dates of the EFP would be 
restricted to waters north of 46[deg]16'N. lat.
    There will be no monthly limit on the harvest of spiny dogfish, but 
the harvest of spiny dogfish will be constrained by limits for 
yelloweye and canary rockfish. If any of the individual limits are 
reached for an overfished species, the EFP will be terminated. If a 
permitted vessel harvests 125 lbs (56.7 kg) of canary rockfish or 500 
lbs (227 kg) of yelloweye rockfish, the vessels cannot fish in the Non-
trawl Rockfish Conservation Area for the rest of that month.
    Data collected during this project are expected to have a broad 
significance to the management of the groundfish fishery by providing 
much needed information on: (1) total catch by vessels directly 
harvesting spiny dogfish, (2) catch rates of incidentally caught 
species, including canary, yelloweye and other rockfish by fishing 
location, (3) age structure data that is otherwise not available, and 
(4) the feasibility of a full retention program.

Walleye Pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)

    In July 2002, three vessels used midwater trawl gear to harvest 
walleye pollock off the northern coast of Washington State. The walleye 
pollock stock is primarily found off the west coast of Vancouver 
island. However, harvestable amounts of walleye pollock move south into 
Washington waters every 5 to 7 years. Historical harvests of walleye 
pollock occurred in the area which was designated as the Trawl Rockfish 
Conservation Area in the 2003 emergency rule (68 FR 544, January 6, 
2003). When fishers harvest walleye pollock, which is not a groundfish, 
they incidentally encounter groundfish such as Pacific whiting, 
yellowtail rockfish and spiny dogfish.
    An EFP is necessary to allow walleye pollock vessels to fish within 
the Trawl Rockfish Conservation Area with midwater trawl gear and to 
delay complete sorting of their catch until the point of offloading. An 
EFP is needed to delay sorting because regulations prohibit the 
retention of groundfish (except spiny dogfish) taken in a closed area 
or the retention of groundfish in excess of cumulative trip limits if 
taken outside the conservation areas.
    If the permit is issued, approximately 3 vessels are expected to 
fish under this EFP. Vessels would be required to retain all 
groundfish, except spiny dogfish, and the proceeds from the sale of 
groundfish landed in excess of trip limits would be forfeited to the 
State of Washington. Fishing under the proposed EFP would occur between 
February 1 and June 30, 2003. All fishing by participating vessels, EFP 
and non-EFP fishing, during the effective dates of the EFP would be 
restricted to waters north of 46[deg]16' N. lat.
    There will be no monthly limit on the harvest of walleye pollock, 
but the harvest of pollock will be constrained by limits for widow and 
canary rockfish. If any of the individual limits are reached for an 
overfished species, the EFP will be terminated.
    Data collected during this project are expected to have a broad 
significance to the management of the groundfish fishery by providing 
much needed information on: (1) total catch of groundfish in the 
walleye pollock fishery, (2) catch rates of incidentally caught 
groundfish species by fishing location, and (3) the feasibility of a 
full retention program.

Arrowtooth Flounder (Atheresthes stomias)

    Fishing for arrowtooth flounder, which is an abundant and 
commercially important groundfish species off Washington, is 
constrained by efforts to rebuild canary rockfish, an overfished 
species. Fishers who have historically targeted arrowtooth flounder 
believe that the fishery can be prosecuted with a much lower rockfish 
bycatch rate than is currently assumed. Similar EFPs, that yielded 
valuable data on the arrowtooth flounder fishery, were issued in 2001 
and 2002.
    If the permit is issued, this EFP would allow approximately 6 
vessels, which have historically participated in the arrowtooth 
flounder fisheries to: fish for arrowtooth flounder within a restricted 
rockfish conservation area; retain groundfish taken within a rockfish 
conservation area; and retain and sell arrowtooth flounder and petrale 
sole in excess of cumulative trip limits. These activities are 
otherwise prohibited by Federal regulations. Other than the proceeds 
from the sale of arrowtooth flounder and petrale sole, proceeds from 
the sale of rockfish in excess of current trip limits would be 
forfeited to the State of Washington.
    There will be no monthly limit on the harvest of arrowtooth 
flounder, but the harvest of arrowtooth flounder will be constrained by 
canary rockfish. If any of the individual limits are reached for an 
overfished species, the EFP will be terminated.
    Fishing under the proposed EFP would occur between May 1 and August 
31, 2003. All fishing by participating vessels, EFP and non-EFP 
fishing, during the effective dates of the EFP would be restricted to 
waters north of 46[deg]16' N. lat.
    Data collected during this project are expected to have a broad 
significance to the management of the groundfish fishery by providing 
much needed information on: (1) total catch in the northern flatfish 
fisheries, (2) catch rates of incidentally caught species, including 
canary, yelloweye and darkblotched rockfish by fishing location, and 
(3) age structure data that is otherwise not available.

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

    Dated: January 22, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director,Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service
[FR Doc. 03-1909 Filed 1-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S