[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 181 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56197-56198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-2247]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 091504A]


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), Department of Commerce.

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

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator) 
has made a preliminary determination that the subject EFP application 
contains all the

[[Page 56198]]

required information and warrants further consideration. The Assistant 
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). However, further review and consultation may be 
necessary before a final determination is made to issue the EFP. 
Therefore, NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator 
proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow one 
commercial fishing vessel to conduct fishing operations that are 
otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of the 
Northeastern United States. The EFP would allow for exemptions from the 
FMP as follows: The Western Gulf of Maine (GOM) Closure Area and the 
minimum gillnet mesh size. 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.

DATES: Comments on this document must be received on or before October 
5, 2004.

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 GOM Gillnet Study.'' Comments may also be sent via 
facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to the 
following address: [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tasker, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone 978-281-9273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and Angelica Fisheries, 
Inc., submitted an application for an EFP on August 13, 2004. The 
primary goal of the research is to establish gillnet selectivity curves 
for haddock in the GOM, and to test whether it is possible to catch 
legal-size haddock with gillnet gear with mesh size that is less than 
6.5 inches (16.5 cm) while avoiding catching cod or other species of 
concern in an area east of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, during the period 
January through April 2005. The EFP would allow for exemptions from the 
regulations implementing the FMP as follows: The Western GOM Closure 
Area specified at Sec.  648.81(e) and the minimum gillnet mesh size 
specified at Sec.  648.80(a)(3)(iv)(B)(1).
    Five gillnets of mesh sizes ranging from 4.5 to 6.5 inches (11.4 to 
16.5 cm), in 0.5-inch (1.3 cm) increments, would be fished in six 
groups (each group containing one net of each mesh size), for a total 
of 30 nets. The nets would be of standard commercial length, 300 ft 
(91.4 m), and approximately two-thirds the standard commercial height, 
resulting in a height of 7.5 ft (2.3 m). This net size was selected 
based on the applicants' belief that cod typically are captured in the 
upper meshes of standard nets when standard nets are fished in this 
area. The soak times in the early stages of the study would be 
approximately 3 to 6 hours in order to reduce the likelihood of 
unwanted bycatch. Soak times may be slowly increased up to 20 hours if 
doing so can be accomplished with minimal bycatch.
    Researchers would fish in area off of Cape Ann, Massachusetts, 
between 42[deg]35' and 42[deg]50' N. lat. and 69[deg]50' to 70[deg]15' 
W. long. (30-minute squares 131 and 132). This area includes the 
Western GOM Closure Area. The research would take place over a total of 
14 sea days and would occur on one commercial fishing vessel.
    Researchers speculate that they will be able to catch haddock with 
minimal cod bycatch based on commercial fishing experience that 
indicates that small cod are not present in this area of relatively 
deep water during the proposed study period. Furthermore, commercial 
fishing experience indicates that haddock are present in high densities 
in the research area during the study period.
    Researchers estimate that the total catch for the sampling days 
would be 30,000 lb (13,608 kg), of which less than 2,000 lb (907 kg) 
would be cod. Should researchers capture more than 2,000 lb (907 kg) of 
cod, access to the Western GOM Closure Area would be terminated.
    The data collection activities aboard the participating vessels 
would be conducted by observers from the Gulf of Maine Research 
Institute and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to ensure 
compliance with the experimental fishery objectives.

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

    Dated: September 15, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E4-2247 Filed 9-17-04; 8:45 am]
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