[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 20391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5902]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 041306F]


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: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable 
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator), 
has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit 
(EFP) application submitted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore 
(UMES), contains all of the required information and warrants further 
consideration. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made a 
preliminary determination that the activities authorized under this EFP 
would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies and Monkfish Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). However, 
further review and consultation may be necessary before a final 
determination is made to issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that 
the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an EFP 
be issued that would allow one commercial fishing vessel 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 study the biology of large monkfish, 
would grant exemptions from the NE Multispecies FMP as follows: Western 
Gulf of Maine (GOM) Closure Area; GOM Rolling Closure Areas I and II; 
and monkfish effort control measures.
    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 5, 2006.

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 
UMES monkfish EFP, DA6-096.'' Comments may also be sent via fax to 978-
281-9135. Comments may also be submitted via e-mail to the following 
address: [email protected]. Include in the subject line of the e-mail 
``Comments on UMES monkfish EFP.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for an EFP was submitted on 
March 22, 2006, by Andrea K. Johnson, Research Assistant Professor at 
UMES, for a project funded under the New England and Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Councils' Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. 
The primary goal of this study is to provide information on the biology 
of large monkfish that can be used to enhance the management of this 
species.
    The project is scheduled to be conducted for one year (May 2006-
April 2007) and would collect large monkfish from three industry 
collaborators fishing using 57.5 Monkfish Days-At-Sea (DAS) awarded to 
the project through the RSA Program. Monkfish gillnet vessels fishing 
off of Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island would collect 
large monkfish as part of otherwise normal fishing activities and do 
not require an EFP. One vessel would fish inside the eastern edge of 
the Western GOM Closure Area from August 2006 through April 2007. The 
approximate location where fishing would take place is 42[deg]30' N 
latitude, 70[deg]00' W longitude. This is east of the Stellwagen Bank 
National Marine Sanctuary and would require exemption from the gear 
restrictions of the Western GOM Closure Area at 50 CFR 648.81(e) as 
well as from the restrictions of Rolling Closure Areas I and II at 
Sec.  648.81(f) that will be in effect during March and April 2007. It 
is expected that this location would provide access to large monkfish 
and would avoid gear interactions between these gillnets and trawls. 
The applicant is also requesting exemption from the Monkfish effort 
control measures at Sec.  648.92(b)(2) in order to create sufficient 
incentive for a commercial vessel to participate in this experiment. 
This would exempt the vessel from the need to use a NE Multispecies DAS 
concurrent with a Monkfish DAS for these trips.
    The vessel would make 28 trips using gillnets that are 13-inch 
stretch mesh with 24 gauge web and are 12 meshes deep. Each net is 300 
feet long by 3 feet high and 150 nets will be used with an average soak 
time of 72 hours. Ten fish per week (360 monkfish total) will be 
donated to the research project during the months of August 2006-April 
2007. This project is specifically interested in large monkfish, so 
donated fish will be the largest from each trip of at least 90 cm total 
length. Additional catch, within applicable size and possession limits, 
will be sold to help offset the costs of the research. As a consequence 
of the exemption from the need to use a NE Multispecies DAS, the vessel 
will not keep any regulated groundfish. Since these trips will use very 
large mesh nets, the bycatch of regulated groundfish is expected to be 
minimal.
    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. Any fishing activity conducted outside the scope of the 
exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.

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

    Dated: April 13, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-5902 Filed 4-19-06; 8:45 am]
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