[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43072-43074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18488]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 071003A]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)

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

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

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SUMMARY:  The Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional 
Administrator) has made a preliminary determination that the subject 
EFP application contains all the required information and warrants 
further consideration. The Regional Administrator has also made a 
preliminary determination that the activities authorized under the EFP 
would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (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 the EFP. Therefore, NMFS 
announces that the Regional Administrator proposes to issue EFPs in 
response to an application submitted by the East Coast Tuna Association 
(ECTA) that would allow five purse seine vessels to fish for giant 
Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in NE multispecies year-round 
Closed Area I, where use of purse seine gear is currently prohibited. 
The EFP would exempt these vessels from the gear restrictions for the 
Georges Bank Regulated Mesh Area. 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. Regulations under the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of 
this notification to provide interested parties the

[[Page 43073]]

opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

DATES:  Comments on this document must be received on or before August 
5, 2003.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. 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 facsimile 
(fax) to (978) 281-9135.
    Copies of the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) are available 
from the Northeast Regional Office at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Douglas W. Christel, Fishery 
Management Specialist, 978-281-9141.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Georges Bank and Southern New England (GB/SNE) NE multispecies 
year-round closed areas were established under the FMP to provide 
protection to concentrations of regulated multispecies--particularly 
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 NE multispecies 
bycatch. For example, pelagic midwater trawl gear was determined to 
have a negligible catch of NE regulated multispecies because the gear 
fishes well off the ocean floor. As a result, it is an allowed gear in 
the GB/SNE NE 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 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 NE 
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 fathoms (fm) (51 - 64 meters (m)). 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, 
specifically 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 to 86 fm (100 - 157 m). In 2001, EFPs were issued to 
all five vessels authorized to fish for bluefin tuna with purse seine 
gear. During this experiment, four trips were made into Closed Area I. 
On a single trip, one of the participating vessels made three sets 
inside Closed Area I in depths ranging from 40 to 60 fm (73 - 110 m). 
Although one basking shark was caught and later released alive, no 
other interactions with non-target or protected species and no bycatch 
of NE regulated multispecies occurred during the 2001 experimental 
fishery. During the 2002 experimental fishery, four of the five purse 
seine boats issued EFPs made 32 sets in Closed Area I. There was no 
bycatch of demersal finfish, no interaction with the bottom, and no 
interaction with either marine mammals or sharks.
    A fourth experimental fishery has been requested by ECTA in order 
to ascertain, definitively, whether there will be any significant 
interactions between purse seine gear and NE multispecies and EFH. The 
Council is considering an exemption for tuna purse seine gear within 
all groundfish closed areas as part of Amendment 13 to the FMP.

Proposed EFP

    The proposed EFP would exempt five 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, 2001, and 2002 purse seine experimental fisheries 
in Closed Area I, no more than five vessels would be authorized to 
participate.
    The applicant has requested that the experimental fishery begin on 
July 15, 2003, and continue through the end of the calendar year on 
December 31, 2003. However, because of the timing of the application 
and the length of time required to fully review the application, this 
EFP, if approved, would be issued as soon as possible, but necessarily 
after the requested July 15, 2003, date.
    The tuna purse seine fishing season is not scheduled to begin until 
August 15, 2003. However, NMFS is reviewing another request by the ECTA 
to issue an EFP that would start the tuna purse seine fishing season on 
July 15, 2003, instead of August 15, 2003. Therefore, the exempted 
fishery that would allow tuna purse seine vessels into Closed Area I 
may begin prior to August 15, 2003, contingent upon the approval of the 
EFP to begin the purse seine fishing season earlier. The EFP would 
continue in effect until the five vessels have achieved their 
individual fishing quotas, or the end of the 2003 calendar year, 
whichever occurs first. Although these individual quotas may be taken 
prior to 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, at the most.
    Vessel captains would be required to record information on bottom 
depth, depth of net, mesh size used, location of set, information on 
any bycatch species, any interactions between the net and the bottom, 
and any incidental take of marine mammals or protected species. Any NE 
multispecies that are captured during fishing activities would be 
required to be discarded after measurement.
    EAs that analyzed the impacts of the experimental tuna purse seine 
fishery on the human environment were prepared for the 2000 and 2001 
experimental fisheries. A supplement to the 2001 EA was prepared for 
the 2002 EFP. These documents concluded that the activities that were 
conducted under the EFP are consistent with the goals and objectives of 
the FMP, are consistent with the HMS FMP, and will have no significant 
environmental impacts. The EAs also considered the impacts of the EFP 
activities on EFH, marine mammals, and protected species and found that 
the proposed exempted tuna purse seine fishery would have no 
significant impact on EFH, marine mammals, or protected species. An EA 
was prepared for the 2003 experimental fishery, which incorporates the 
results of the 2001 and 2002 exempted fisheries, addresses the 
cumulative impacts of the proposed 2003 exempted fishery, and 
recommends a finding of no significant impact.
    NOAA Fisheries believes that one additional EFP will provide the 
necessary data to determine conclusively that there is minimal 
interaction between purse seine gear and NE multispecies and EFH. The 
Regional Administrator, therefore, has made a preliminary determination 
to issue an Exempted Fishing Permit to ECTA.
    If approved, EFPs would be issued to the five participating vessels 
to exempt them from the restrictions of Closed Area I of the FMP.
    Based on the results of this EFP, this action may lead to further 
rulemaking.


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

    Dated: July 15, 2003.
Virginia M. Fay,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-18488 Filed 7-18-03; 8:45 am]
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