[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 15, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18187-18188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9231]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I. D. 031903E]


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application 
for an Exempted Fishing Permit

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of an application for an exempted fishing 
permit.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application for an 
exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. John Gauvin and Mr. Brent Paine. 
If granted, this permit would be used to test salmon excluder devices 
in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. It is intended to promote the 
objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of 
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (FMP) by testing methods of 
reducing salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP application are available by writing to 
Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, 
Attn: Lori Durall.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

[[Page 18188]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish 
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) 
under the FMP. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
prepared the FMP under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. Regulations governing the groundfish fisheries of the 
BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the implementing 
regulations at Sec. Sec.  679.6 and 600.745(b) authorize issuance of 
EFPs to allow fishing that would otherwise be prohibited. Procedures 
for issuing EFPs are contained in the implementing regulations. The 
information gathered through this EFP may lead to future rulemakings.
    NMFS received an application for an EFP from Mr. John Gauvin and 
Mr. Brent Paine. The purpose of the EFP is to test the effectiveness of 
salmon excluder devices for pollock trawls. The goal is to develop a 
device for pollock trawls that reduces salmon bycatch without 
significantly lowering catch rates of pollock.
    The EFP is necessary to allow the applicants to demonstrate whether 
such a device could be developed to reduce salmon bycatch. The taking 
of salmon during the experiment is crucial for determining the 
effectiveness of the device. Salmon taken during the experiment will 
not be counted toward the Chinook and Chum bycatch limits under Sec.  
679.21(e)(1)(vii) and (viii). The potential exists that the amount of 
pollock trawl salmon bycatch by the industry during the EFP period 
would approach or exceed the salmon bycatch limits. The additional 
salmon taken during the experiment would create an additional burden on 
the pollock trawl industry and may lead to closures of the salmon 
savings areas, if the EFP salmon is counted toward the salmon bycatch 
limits. Approximately 200 Chum salmon and 30 Chinook salmon are 
required to support the experiment, well below the BSAI annual limits 
of 33,000 chinook salmon and 42,000 chum salmon.
    The applicants have also requested an exemption from closures of 
the Chinook Salmon Savings Area and the Chum Salmon Savings Area (Sec.  
679.21(e)(7)(vii) and (viii)). The experiment must be conducted in 
areas of salmon concentration to ensure a sufficient sample size. The 
salmon savings areas are areas of known concentration of salmon and 
provide an ideal location for conducting the experiment and ensuring 
that the vessel encounters concentrations of salmon.
    Groundfish taken under the EFP also would not be applied to the 
total allowable catch (TAC) limit specified in the annual harvest 
specifications (Sec.  679.20), but the amount taken is expected to 
result in total groundfish harvests well below the acceptable 
biological catch (ABC) amounts for the BSAI. A total of approximately 
2,270 metric tons (mt) of Bering Sea pollock would be taken in the fall 
of 2003 and the spring of 2004 and would not be included in the harvest 
applied against the Bering Sea pollock TAC of approximately 1.5 mt. The 
Bering Sea pollock ABC is 2.33 million mt, well above the combined TAC 
and the additional harvest anticipated from the experiment.
    These levels of harvest and manner of harvest are not expected to 
have a significant impact on the marine environment, but the potential 
effects on the marine environment will be further analyzed during 
review of the application.
    In accordance with Sec.  679.6, NMFS has determined that the 
proposal warrants further consideration and has initiated consultation 
with the Council by forwarding the application to the Council. The 
Council will consider the EFP application during its April 3-8, 2003, 
meeting which will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska. The 
applicants have been invited to appear in support of the application, 
if the applicants desire. Interested persons may comment on the 
application at the Council meeting during public testimony.
    A copy of the application is available for review from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).
    Based on the results of this EFP, this action may lead to future 
rulemaking.

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

    Dated: April 9, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service
[FR Doc. 03-9231 Filed 4-14-03; 8:45 am]
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