[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18279-18280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5323]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 040506B]


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; receipt of Exempted Fishing Permit application.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator) 
has decided that the subject Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application 
contains all the required information and warrant's farther 
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). Based on preliminary review 
of this project, a Categorical Exclusion (CE) from requirements to 
prepare either an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) appears to be justified. 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 two commercial fishing vessels to conduct fishing operations that 
are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of 
the Northeastern United States. The EFP, which would enable researchers 
to investigate the feasibility of using low profile gillnets to catch 
flounders while limiting roundfish bycatch, would allow for exemptions 
from the FMP as follows: Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas I, 
II, III, IV, and V.
    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 April 26, 2006.

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 Low Profile Gillnet Study.'' Comments may also be 
sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to 
the following address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9145, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A complete application for an EFP was 
submitted on March 2, 2006, by Dr. Pingguo He of the University of New 
Hampshire (UNH) for a project funded by the Northeast Consortium. The 
primary goal of this joint project with the Massachusetts Division of 
Marine Fisheries is to test lower vertical profile flounder gillnets to 
reduce the catch of roundfish, such as cod, while retaining flounders, 
such as winter flounder, in inshore western GOM waters. Researchers 
anticipate that, if the experimental net is successful, data gathered 
during this study may be useful in the establishment of a Special 
Access Program for the use of NE multispecies B days-at-sea (DAS) in a 
future action.
    The project would be conducted between May 1, 2006, and April 30, 
2007, and would include flume tank trials and 45 days of at-sea trials. 
Two types of low profile gillnets, each 8 meshes deep with variations 
in flotation and hanging ratio, would be compared with three commercial 
cod and flounder gillnets, each 25 meshes deep. The participating 
vessels would fish the nets in fleets of 10 nets, two nets per type, 
alternately rigged so that two experimental nets can be compared with 
the three control nets. One vessel would fish six fleets per day; the 
other would fish eight fleets per day. The nets would be soaked for 24 
hr before hauling.
    All specimens caught would be sampled and measured. All undersized 
or otherwise protected fish would be returned to the sea as quickly as 
practicable 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 11,000 lb (4,990 kg) of fish 
would be harvested throughout the course of the study and there would 
be 8,420 lb (3,819 kg) of regulatory discards (see Table 1). All legal-
sized fish, within the possession limit, would be sold, with the 
proceeds returned to the project for the purpose of enhancing future 
research.

[[Page 18280]]



                                                                                             Table 1: Estimated Catch and Discard by Species
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                                                                                  Harvested                                                                                         Discarded
               Species               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             lb                                               kg                                               lb                                               kg
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Cod                                   4,000..........................................  1,814..........................................  700............................................  318
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter Flounder                       2,000..........................................  907............................................  100............................................  45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gray Sole                             1,000..........................................  454............................................  100............................................  45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Plaice                       1,000..........................................  454............................................  100............................................  45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yellowtail Flounder                   200............................................  91.............................................  20.............................................  9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monkfish                              200............................................  91.............................................  20.............................................  9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Hake                            400............................................  181............................................  100............................................  45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lobster                               0..............................................  0..............................................  200............................................  91
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dogfish                               0..............................................  0..............................................  5,000..........................................  2,268
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skates                                0..............................................  0..............................................  2,000..........................................  907
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All at-sea research would be conducted from three fishing vessels, each 
of which would be fishing in a different area. This EFP would cover two 
vessels, the F/V Barbara & Lyn (permit  230151, O.N. 552653) 
and the F/V Holly & Abby (permit  250467, O.N. 590567). A 
third vessel, the F/V Capt. Al (permit  221462, O.N. 693618), 
has previously been issued a separate EFP in the form of an extension. 
The F/V Barbara & Lyn would fish north of 42[deg]10' N. lat., and west 
of 69[deg]00' W. long. The F/V Holly & Abby would fish south of 
42[deg]40' N. lat., and west of 70[deg]00' W. long. Both vessels would 
fish exclusively outside the Western GOM Closed Area. Researchers have 
asked for an exemption to the regulations at 50 CFR 648.81(f) 
establishing the GOM Rolling Closure Areas I, II, III, IV, and V 
because they believe that an optimum mixture of flounders and cod for 
testing the experimental gear will be present in the waters of the 
Western GOM during May and June. All research would be conducted using 
A DAS.
    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 have minimal impacts 
that do not change the scope or impact of the initially approved EFP 
request.

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

    Dated: April 5, 2006.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-5323 Filed 4-10-06; 8:45 am]
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