[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21739-21740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1989]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042205A]


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), Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for an EFP 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 issue 
an EFP that would allow four vessels 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 NE multispecies rolling closure area restrictions and the NE 
multispecies minimum mesh size requirements. The applicant proposes to 
conduct a study of an inclined separation panel, a bycatch reduction 
device, in order to examine the effectiveness of this type of gear at 
separating the catch of Atlantic cod, and other roundfish, from 
flatfish. The EFP would allow these exemptions for four commercial 
vessels for a combined total of 23 days at sea. All experimental work 
would be monitored by Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences 
(Manomet) personnel.
    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 May 12, 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 Manomet EFP Proposal for Inclined 
Separator Panel Study (DA5-86).'' 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 Manomet EFP Proposal for inclined Separator 
Panel Study (DA5-86).'' Comments may also be sent via fax to 978-281-
9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Cooper, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone: 978-281-9122, fax: 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for an EFP was submitted by 
Manomet on March 16, 2005. The EFP would exempt four federally 
permitted commercial fishing vessels from the following requirements in 
the FMP: NE multispecies Gulf of Maine (GOM) rolling closure area 
restrictions specified at 50 CFR 648.81(f)(1)(iii) and (f)(1)(iv) to 
provide an optimum mixture of cod and flatfish for testing the 
experimental gear; and the NE multispecies minimum mesh size 
requirements specified at Sec.  648.80(a)(3)(ii) in order to allow the 
use of 4-inch (10.2-cm) mesh within the separator panel.
    The goal of this study is to assess the applicability of this 
separator panel to separate cod and other roundfish from flatfish in 
the GOM NE multispecies fishery. Researchers would test a trawl net 
consisting of 6.5-inch (16.5-cm) diamond mesh throughout the net and 
codend, with a 4-inch (10.2-cm) diamond mesh inclined separation panel 
sewn into the end of the extension and the codend. The angle of the 
inclined panel and number of meshes in the panel would be initially set 
at values implemented in the Irish Sea fisheries that have been proven 
effective at separating cod and other roundfish from flatfish.
    The study would be conducted from May 1, 2005, through July 15, 
2005.

[[Page 21740]]

Inclined separation panel testing would take place aboard four 
different fishing vessels totaling 92, 1-hour trawls conducted over 23 
days at sea. Fishing activities would take place within 30-minute 
squares 123, 124, 138, 139, 140, 146, and 147, outside of year-round 
closure areas. All legal catch would be landed and sold, consistent 
with the current daily and trip possession and landing limits. 
Undersized fish would not be retained at any time. The participating 
vessels would be required to report all landings in their Vessel Trip 
Reports.
    The main species expected to be caught under this EFP are: 770 lb 
(350 kg) of Atlantic cod; 618 lb (281 kg) of monkfish; 270 lb (123 kg) 
of American plaice; 44 lb (20 kg) of haddock; 44 lb (20 kg) of winter 
flounder; 44 lb (20 kg) of witch flounder; 44 lb (20 kg) of yellowtail 
flounder; 44 lb (20 kg) of summer flounder; 2,640 lb (1,198 kg) of 
skate; 440 lb (200 kg) of crab; 440 lb (200 kg) of lobster; and 110 lb 
(50 kg) of sculpin. The applicant could request minor modifications and 
extensions to the EFP throughout the year. EFP modifications and 
extensions could be granted without further notice if they are deemed 
essential to facilitate completion of the proposed research and would 
result in only a minimal change in the scope or impact of the initially 
approved EFP request. The EFP could be made effective following 
publication of the EFP application in the Federal Register, with a 15-
day public comment period.

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

    Dated: April 22, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-1989 Filed 4-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S