[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 222 (Thursday, November 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67540-67541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3204]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 110904A]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits

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

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for permits 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 Exempted Fishing 
Permit (EFP) application contains all the 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 
Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas, the minimum mesh size for 
trawl gear, the Days-at-Sea (DAS) notification requirements, and the 
effort-control program (DAS). 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 must be received on or before December 3, 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 the GOM Rope Separator Trawl Study.'' Comments may also 
be sent via 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: An application for an EFP was submitted on 
September 22, 2004, by Dr. Pingguo He of the University of New 
Hampshire (UNH) for a Cooperative Research Partnership Initiative 
contract project. The primary goal of the research is to design and 
test a rope separator trawl that targets haddock and pollock while 
releasing cod and flounder in inshore western GOM waters. The intent of 
the researchers is that the experimental net, if successful, could be 
suitable for fishing using B DAS in the future.
    The project, which is anticipated to be 18 months in duration, 
would include flume tank trials and 12 days of at-sea trials during the 
first year of the project. At-sea trials would consist of three to four 
1-hour tows per sea day. Additionally, researchers would use remote 
underwater video observation and acoustic gear geometry monitoring to 
assess the success of the net during at-sea trials. The design of the 
net would consist of a rope separator in place of the more common 
netting separator in order to simplify design and rigging; a large 
bottom escape area for cod, flatfishes, and benthos; and a raised 
fishing line running through long drop chains to further allow benthic 
species to escape. Researchers have requested a small mesh exemption to 
allow for the use of a second codend or a small-mesh cover to collect 
fish released from the trawl to assess the effectiveness of the 
separator trawl.
    All specimens caught would be sampled and measured. All undersized 
fish would be returned to the sea as quickly as practical after 
measurement and examination. The overall fishing mortality is estimated 
to be 30 percent of the average commercial fishing mortality that would 
result from the proposed number of DAS. The researcher anticipates that 
a total of 6,249 lb (2,834.5 kg) of fish, including 1,550 lb (703.1 kg) 
of cod, will be harvested throughout the course of the study. Other 
species that are anticipated to be caught are haddock, dab, yellowtail 
flounder, winter flounder, grey sole, white hake, and pollock. All 
legal-sized fish, within the possession limit, will be sold, with the 
proceeds returned to the project for the purposes of future enhancing 
research.
    The first year of the study would take place from May 1, 2005, to 
April 30, 2006. All at-sea research will be conducted from one fishing 
vessel. The trials would occur between 43[deg]20' and 42[deg]30' N. 
lat. and west of 70[deg]15' W. long., excluding the Western GOM Closure 
Area. Researchers have asked for an exemption to the regulations 
establishing the Western GOM Rolling Closure Areas because they believe 
that an optimum mixture of haddock and cod for testing the experimental 
gear will be present in the waters of the Western GOM during May and 
June. Because the aim of the project is to separate haddock and cod 
before the fish are brought onboard, an exemption from the Western GOM 
Rolling Closures is important to the success of the study. An exemption 
from DAS is requested since a commercial DAS level of effort will not 
likely be realized due to the additional time necessary to weigh, 
measure, and sort the catch, and to adjust underwater video and 
acoustic monitoring systems.


[[Page 67541]]


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

    Dated: November 12, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E4-3204 Filed 11-17-04; 8:45 am]
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