[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 24 (Monday, February 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6420-6421]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-484]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 020205D]


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 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 vessel to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise 
restricted by the regulations

[[Page 6421]]

governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The EFP may 
allow for exemptions from the NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) effort 
control program for up to 11 DAS for the purposes of studying the 
effects of a soft grid species separation trawl. In addition, this EFP 
would allow exemptions from the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure 
Areas II, III, and IV.
    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 February 
22, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice may be submitted by e-mail. The 
mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is [email protected]. 
Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following 
document identifier: ``Comments on UNH Soft Grid Gear Modification EFP 
Proposal.'' 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 UNH Soft Grid Gear Modification EFP Proposal.'' Comments 
may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather L. Sagar, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone 978-281-9341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Dr. Pingguo He of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative 
Extension (UNH) submitted an application for an EFP on May 27, 2004. 
This EFP was approved and granted for the period November 19, 2004, 
through April 30, 2005. This is a continuation of a project that was 
begun in 2002. Due to the time needed to conduct gear modifications and 
tank flume tests, as well as poor weather conditions, the sea trails 
were not completed during the 2003-2004 fishing years. This EFP would 
authorize one commercial vessel to conduct sea trials using a soft grid 
finfish excluder device. The objective of the research is to test trawl 
gear designed to separate flatfish from roundfish for the purpose of 
reducing bycatch of roundfish, particularly cod. The separation device 
is designed to exploit behavioral differences that exist between these 
two types of fish.
    The proposed gear design consists of a trawl net with a soft panel, 
or ramp, that would be positioned in front of a double codend. The gear 
is designed in such a way as to take advantage of the tendency for 
flatfish to swim towards the ocean bottom after encountering the 
separation panel and thereby into the lower codend portion of the net. 
Roundfish, which are not expected to swim towards the sea floor after 
encountering the panel, are expected to swim into the upper codend 
portion of the net, which would be left open under normal fishing 
practices when the vessel is targeting flatfish. However, for the 
purposes of this experiment, both codends would remain closed in order 
to quantify separation success of these two types of fish. The net 
would also utilize visual stimuli fixed forward of the codend to test 
changes in swimming behavior in roundfish and flatfish in response to 
the stimuli. Underwater videography would be employed to observe fish 
behavior and functioning of the experimental selectivity device. The 
sea trials would be conducted in shallow water (30 to 50 fathoms (55 to 
91 m)) off the coasts of New Hampshire, southern Maine, and a small 
portion of northern Massachusetts. UNH researchers would be aboard the 
vessel at all times during the experimental work.
    In a letter dated January 20, 2005, Dr. He requested that this EFP 
be extended from April 30, 2005, the previously proposed end date, 
through July 31, 2005. Because no additional DAS would be exempted from 
what was allowed under the previously approved 2004 EFP, the at-sea 
portion of the experiment would last no longer than 11 fishing days 
from November 19, 2004, through July 31, 2005. Based upon the catch 
rates from 8 days of fishing during the same period of time in the 2003 
fishing year, the following catch is estimated to be harvested under 
this EFP during the period May 1, through July 31, 2005: Cod 2,846 lb 
(1,291 kg); witch flounder 1,547 lb (702 kg); American plaice 274 lb 
(124 kg); white hake 140 lb (64 kg); yellowtail flounder 87 lb (40 kg); 
winter flounder 50 lb (23 kg); haddock 34 lb (15 kg); and pollock 11 lb 
(5 kg). All undersized fish would be returned to the sea as quickly as 
possible. Legal-sized fish that would otherwise have to be discarded 
would be allowed to be retained and sold within the applicable GOM 
possession limits. The participating vessel would be required to report 
all landings in its Vessel Trip Report.
    Due to an oversight in the Federal Register notice announcing the 
2004 EFP for this project (69 FR 58153, September 29, 2004), this EFP 
would also exempt vessels from Rolling Closure Area II during April 
2005. Thus, an EFP would be issued to one vessel exempting it from GOM 
Rolling Closure Areas II, III, and IV and; from the NE multispecies DAS 
effort control program for any of the 11 DAS remaining from the 
previous 2004 EFP that was issued. The applicant may request minor 
modifications to the EFP throughout the year. EFP modifications may be 
granted without further notice if they are deemed essential to 
facilitate completion of the proposed research and minimal as not to 
change the scope or impact the initially approved EFP request.

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

    Dated: February 2, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-484 Filed 2-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S