[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30659-30660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 052406A]


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 an application for an exempted fishing 
permit.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application for an 
exempted fishing permit (EFP) from the Marine Conservation Alliance 
Foundation. If granted, the EFP would allow the applicant to test trawl 
gear modifications that may reduce Pacific halibut bycatch rates for 
trawlers targeting Pacific cod in the Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA). 
This project is intended to promote the objectives of the Fishery 
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and National 
Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by developing gear that may reduce bycatch.

[[Page 30660]]


ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP application and the environmental 
assessment (EA) are available by writing to Sue Salveson, Assistant 
Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, 
P. O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Ellen Walsh. The application 
and EA are also available from the Alaska Region, NMFS website at 
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Gasper, 907-586-7228 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
manages the domestic groundfish fisheries in the GOA under the FMP. The 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) prepared the FMP 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Regulations governing the groundfish 
fisheries of the GOA 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 be otherwise 
prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs are contained in the 
implementing regulations.
    NMFS received an EFP application from Alaska Marine Conservation 
Alliance Foundation in April 2006. The proposed EFP would allow for the 
testing of a modification to trawl gear commonly used in the Central 
GOA that may reduce Pacific halibut bycatch rates in the Central GOA 
trawl fishery. GOA trawl fishery Pacific halibut bycatch is controlled 
by a prohibited species catch (PSC) limit. Once reached, a PSC limit 
closes a fishery regardless of the available target species quota. 
These closures impose a cost on the industry in the form of unharvested 
groundfish quota. Therefore, a reduction in PSC bycatch rates may allow 
the industry to harvest a greater proportion of the total allowable 
catch (TAC) of groundfish.
    The proposed EFP's primary objective is to reduce Pacific halibut 
bycatch rates without substantially reducing the target species catch 
(Pacific cod). The Alaska Marine Conservation Alliance developed the 
EFP in cooperation with NMFS scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science 
Center (AFSC). The project has the following three performance goals: 
(1) To reduce current Pacific halibut bycatch rates by 40 percent; (2) 
to not reduce the target species catch by more than 10 percent; and (3) 
to be functional for a typical GOA trawl vessel which has limited deck 
space and may have only aft reels. The degree to which the excluder 
meets these performance goals will be evaluated by the applicant and 
the AFSC.
    The project will take two weeks to conduct between August 1, 2006, 
and August 30, 2006. The project may be extended by the Regional 
Administrator to occur during a two week period between August 1, 2007 
and August 30, 2007. Continuation of the experiment in 2007 would allow 
refinement of the trawl gear modification and time to address 
statistical issues discovered during the 2006 experiment. August was 
chosen by the applicant because trawl vessels are not fishing for 
Pacific cod and are thus available to fish the EFP permit. Fishing 
would occur in the Central GOA, primarily in the Portlock Bank and 
Albatross Bank areas near Kodiak Island, Alaska. Fishing would be 
conducted by six trawl vessels each equipped with ordinary trawl gear. 
Participating vessels would be vessels that operate in the Central GOA 
Pacific cod trawl fishery.
    The proposed EFP exempts the applicant from fishery closures and 
prohibited species catch (PSC) limits. These exemptions are necessary 
to allow the permit holder to efficiently conduct the project and 
minimize Central GOA trawl fishery impacts. The EFP would exempt the 
applicant from Central GOA directed fishing closures implemented under 
Sec. Sec.  679.20, 679.21, 679.23 or 679.25. Retained amounts of 
groundfish other than Pacific cod would be limited to the relevant 
maximum retainable amount specified in Table 10 of 50 CFR part 679, 
using Pacific cod as the basis species from which maximum retainable 
amounts would be calculated. The proposed EFP would also exempt the 
applicant from observer requirements at Sec. Sec.  679.50, 679.7(a)(3), 
and 679.7(g).
    The total allowable groundfish harvest for the proposed EFP is 
1,300 metric tons (mt), of which 950 mt is expected to be Pacific cod 
and 350 mt is expected to be other groundfish species. Sufficient TAC 
amounts for several groundfish species likely to be taken during the 
project may be fully utilized by the groundfish fishery. Therefore, 
groundfish harvested under the EFP would not be deducted from the TAC 
amounts specified in the annual harvest specifications (71 FR 10870, 
March 3, 2006).
    The PSC limit for Pacific halibut may be reached during the 
project, requiring the closure of the Central GOA trawl fisheries in 
accordance with 50 CFR 600.745(b) and 50 CFR 679.25. Halibut PSC limits 
closed the Central GOA trawl fishery for flatfish before the TAC was 
taken in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Therefore, to limit the impact on other 
Central GOA groundfish fisheries, halibut mortality from the project is 
limited to a maximum of 90 mt and would not be counted against the 
annual PSC limit. The proposed EFP would exempt a vessel from halibut 
PSC limits at 50 CFR 679.21(d)(3) and permit up to 90 mt of halibut 
mortality as determined through consultation with the International 
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and the AFSC.
    In accordance with 50 CFR 600.745(b) and 50 CFR 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 June 5-13, 2006 meeting in Kodiak, Alaska. The applicant has been 
invited to appear in support of the application. Interested persons may 
comment on the application at the Council meeting during public 
testimony. Information regarding the June 2006 Council meeting is 
available at the Council's website at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/council.htm.
    Copies of the application and EA are available for review from NMFS 
(see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: May 24, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-8264 Filed 5-26-06; 8:45 am]
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