[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 117 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35254-35255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9557]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D.061306B]


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic 
Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of 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 EFP application 
submitted by Truex Enterprises contains all the required information 
and warrants further consideration. The proposed EFP would test the 
safety and efficacy of harvesting surfclams and ocean quahogs from the 
Georges Bank Closure Area using a harvesting protocol developed by the 
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 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 Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog regulations and 
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 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 would allow for an exemption from 
the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog Georges Bank (GB) Closure Area.
    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 on this document must be received on or before July 19, 
2006.

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 GB PSP Closed Area 
Exemption.'' 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 GB PSP Closed Area Exemption.'' Comments may also be sent 
via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tobey Curtis, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone 978-281-9273.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Truex Enterprises of New Bedford, MA 
submitted an application for an EFP on March 30, 2006. Additional 
information was received on April 19, 2006, completing the application. 
The experimental fishing application requests authorization to allow 
the catch and retention for sale of Atlantic surfclams and ocean 
quahogs from within the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog GB Closure 
Area. This area, located east of 69[deg]00 W. long. and south of 
42[deg]20 N. lat., was closed on May 25, 1990. This closure was 
implemented based on the advice from the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) after samples of surfclams from the area tested 
positive for the toxins (saxotoxins) that cause Paralytic Shellfish 
Poisoning (PSP). These toxins are produced by the algae Alexandrium 
fundyense that can form blooms commonly referred to as red tides. Red 
tide blooms, also known as harmful

[[Page 35255]]

algal blooms (HABs), can produce toxins that accumulate in filter-
feeding shellfish. Shellfish contaminated with the saxotoxin, if eaten 
in large enough quantity, can cause illness or death from PSP. Due, in 
part, to the inability to test and monitor this area for the presence 
of PSP, this closure was made permanent through Amendment 12 to the 
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP in 1999.
    The primary goal of the study is to test the efficacy of the 
Protocol for Onboard Screening and Dockside Testing for PSP Toxins in 
Molluscan Shellfish (Protocol) developed by state and Federal 
regulatory agencies to test for presence of saxotoxins in shellfish. 
This protocol would facilitate the harvest of shellfish from waters 
susceptible to HABs, which produce the saxotoxins, but that are not 
currently under rigorous water quality monitoring programs by either 
state or Federal management agencies. The Protocol is currently under 
final review by the FDA. This project would only proceed once the FDA 
has endorsed the final Protocol. The Protocol details procedures and 
reporting for harvesting, testing, and landing of shellfish harvested 
from areas that are susceptible to HABs prior to the shellfish from 
entering commerce. A copy of the Protocol, when finalized, will be 
available by contacting NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
    The proposed project would conduct a trial for the sampling 
protocol in an exemption zone within the larger 1990 GB Closure Area 
with the F/V Seawatcher. This proposed exempted fishing activity would 
occur from approximately July-December 2006, using surfclam and ocean 
quahog quota allocated to Truex Enterprises under the Federal 
individual transferable quota (ITQ) program. The applicant has 
estimated a harvest of 176,000 bushels of surfclams and 80,000 bushels 
of ocean quahogs from the exemption area. The exemption area was tested 
in cooperation with the FDA in the winter of 2006. No samples collected 
during that time were above acceptable levels for saxotoxins (80 microg 
toxin/100g of shellfish). In order for the proposed EFP to be issued 
the applicant would be required to obtain a permit from the 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MADMF) to land the product 
in New Bedford, Massachusetts. NMFS, FDA, MADMF, and Massachusetts 
Department of Public Health are working closely in reviewing this 
proposed project. This EFP would allow for an exemption from the 
Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog GB Closure Area specified at 50 CFR 
648.73(a)(4).

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

    Dated: June 14, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
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[FR Doc. E6-9557 Filed 6-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S