[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 52 (Friday, March 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13173-13174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1186]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 031505D]


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; receipt of exempted fishing permit application.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application for an 
exempted fishing permit (EFP) from John Gauvin and John Gruver. If 
granted, this permit would be used to continue the development and 
testing of a salmon excluder device in the Bering Sea pollock trawl 
fishery. It is intended to promote the objectives of the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 
Management Area (FMP) by developing a method for 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].

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.
    NMFS received an application for an EFP from John Gauvin, Principal 
Investigator and John Gruver of the United Catcher Boats Association. 
The purpose of the project is to improve the performance of the salmon 
excluder device developed under an EFP in 2004 and 2005, and to 
validate the performance of this device 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 would allow for two types of testing of the salmon excluder 
device in fall 2005 and spring 2006. In the first experiment, a catcher 
vessel would be used to test minor adjustments to the current excluder 
device design to improve performance. The second experiment would be 
conducted using a catcher/processor for the paired-tow experiment to 
validate the performance of the excluder device. Depending on the 
results from the work in 2005 and 2006, the EFP may need to be modified 
to allow for an additional year of testing.
    Exemptions from regulations for salmon bycatch limits, observer 
requirements, salmon savings area closure, the Catcher Vessel Operating 
Area (CVOA), and total allowable catch amounts (TACs) for groundfish 
would be necessary to conduct the work. The taking of salmon during the 
experiment is crucial for determining the effectiveness of the device. 
Salmon taken during the experiment would not be counted toward the 
chinook and chum salmon bycatch limits under Sec. Sec.  
679.21(e)(1)(vii) and (e)(1)(viii). Potentially, the amount of salmon 
bycatch by the pollock trawl industry during the EFP period could 
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 were counted toward the salmon bycatch limits. 
Approximately 2,500 chum salmon and 1,500 chinook salmon would be 
required to support the project.
    The applicants also have requested an exemption from closures of 
the Chinook Salmon Savings Areas and the Chum Salmon Savings Area 
(Sec. Sec.  679.21(e)(7)(vii) and (e)(7)(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 vessels encounter concentrations of salmon.
    Groundfish taken under the EFP would be exempt from the TACs 
specified in the annual harvest specifications (Sec.  679.20). A total 
of 2,500 metric tons (mt) of groundfish (primarily pollock) would be 
taken during the EFP work and would not be included in the harvest 
applied against the Bering Sea groundfish TACs, including the pollock 
TAC of approximately 1.5 million mt. The 2005 Bering Sea pollock 
acceptable biological catch is 1.960 million mt, well above the 
combined TAC and the additional harvest anticipated from the project. 
Because of the nature of groundfish bycatch in the pollock fishery, the 
harvest of other groundfish species during the project is expected to 
be very minor.
    The experiment using the catcher/processor would require exemption 
from the CVOA restriction (Sec.  679.22(a)(5)) because of the location 
of the Chinook Salmon Savings Area in the CVOA. Catcher/processors are 
prohibited from operating in the CVOA during the B season. It would be 
necessary for the catcher/processor to conduct tows in this area to 
ensure encountering sufficient pollock and salmon.
    The EFP would include an exemption from the observer requirements 
at Sec.  679.50. The applicants would use ``sea samplers'' who are 
NMFS-trained observers. They would not be deployed

[[Page 13174]]

as NMFS observers, however, at the time of the experiment. The ``sea 
samplers'' would conduct the data collection and perform other observer 
duties that would normally be required for vessels directed fishing for 
pollock.
    The activities under the EFP 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 4-11, 2005, 
meeting which will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, AK. 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 notice 
announcing the upcoming meeting will be published in the Federal 
Register.
    A copy of the application is available for review from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: March 15, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-1186 Filed 3-17-05; 8:45 am]
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