[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 83 (Monday, May 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 22649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8697]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 042605H]


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: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator for 
Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional 
Administrator), has determined that an application for revised Exempted 
Fishing Permits (EFPs) contains all of the required information and 
warrants further consideration. The Assistant Regional Administrator is 
considering the impacts of the activities to be authorized under the 
EFPs with respect to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary 
before a final determination is made to issue EFPs. Therefore, NMFS 
announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to issue 
revised EFPs in response to an application submitted by the Cape Cod 
Commercial Hook Fisherman's Association (CCCHFA), in collaboration with 
Maine Division of Marine Resources (MEDMR), and Research, Environmental 
and Management Support (REMSA).
    Previous public comment was solicited on these EFPs, which would 
allow up to 20 commercial vessels to conduct an experimental demersal 
longline fishery for haddock in Georges Bank (GB) Closed Area (CA) II 
and portions of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. This action would revise 
these EFPs by including an exemption from the May GB Seasonal Closure 
Area. This fishery would take place at various times from May 2005 
through February 2006. The purpose of the proposed study is to 
determine if hook-and-line gear could be used to target haddock with 
minimal bycatch of cod in order to establish potential future Special 
Access Programs (SAPs) in these areas as allowed under Amendment 13 to 
the FMP.

DATES: Comments on this action must be received (see ADDRESSES) on or 
before May 17, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 
Haddock CA II SAP EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also be sent via fax to 
978-281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to the following address: 
[email protected]. Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA) are 
available from the NE Regional Office at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tasker, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone: 978-281-9273, fax: 978-281-9135, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CCCHFA, in collaboration with the MEDMR 
and REMSA, submitted a request for an EFP on November 16, 2004. Public 
notification of the proposal and request for comments was published in 
the Federal Register on March 2, 2005 (70 FR 10074).
    The proposed EFP would enable researchers to conduct a study 
targeting GB haddock within GB CA II and a portion of the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area outside of CA II. The purpose of the proposed study is to 
determine if demersal longline gear could be used to target GB haddock 
with minimal bycatch of GB cod. This proposal expands upon a study that 
began on June 10, 2004, and ended on January 31, 2005, that examined 
the feasibility of using demersal longline gear to target haddock with 
minimal cod bycatch in several closure areas in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) 
and GB.
    The CCCHFA's November 17, 2004, proposal requests authorization for 
a total of 160 trips by 20 commercial longline vessels to fish for and 
possess haddock in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, including CA II, 
during various times from May 2005 through February 2006. In order to 
accomplish this work, the CCCHFA requested an exemption from the CA II 
restrictions on the haddock trip limit for all participating vessels, 
and an exemption from the 3,600-hook limit for participating non-Sector 
vessels in their initial application. At a later date, it also 
requested an exemption from the GB Seasonal Closure Area restrictions 
for participating non-Sector vessels. The notice and request for 
comments published on March 2, 2005, addressed the exemptions requested 
in the initial proposal but did not address the exemption to the GB 
Seasonal Closure Area. This proposed revision would exempt 
participating non-Sector vessels from the GB Seasonal Closure Area 
during the month of May 2005.
    The applicant may request minor modifications and extensions to the 
EFP throughout the year. EFP modifications and extensions may be 
granted without further notice if they are deemed essential to 
facilitate completion of the proposed research and 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 27, 2005.
Anne M. Lange
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-8697 Filed 4-29-05; 8:45 am]
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