[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61025-61027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17177]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 101206A]


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 the subject exempted fishing 
permit (EFP) application contains all the required information and 
warrants further 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

[[Page 61026]]

fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations 
governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The EFP, 
which would enable the applicants to investigate the feasibility of 
using a trawl net with buoyant ground cables and a buoyant sweep to 
reduce seabed contact and improve species selectivity, would allow for 
exemptions from the FMP as follows: Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure 
Areas II, III, IV, and V for two vessels; and an exemption from the 
days-at-sea (DAS) effort control requirements for one vessel.
    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 November 1, 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 Buoyant Ground Cables Study.'' Comments may also be 
sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to: 
[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 August 21, 2006, by Kelo Pinkham of the F/V Jeanne C for a 
joint project with Dana Morse, of Maine Sea Grant, that is funded by 
the Northeast Consortium (NEC). The primary goal of this research is to 
develop and test a trawl net with buoyant ground cables and a buoyant 
sweep to reduce seabed contact and increase species selectivity. The 
intent of the applicants is to demonstrate that the experimental net, 
if successful, could potentially be suitable as an alternate gear for 
vessels fishing in areas requiring a haddock separator trawl and/or 
fishing areas of hard bottom with the use of mid-water doors.
    The project would be conducted during the fall of 2006 and spring 
of 2007 and would include flume tank trials and 25 days of at-sea 
trials. An experimental otter trawl net, which would have floats 
incorporated along both the ground cables and the sweep, as well as 
drop chains integrated along the sweep, would first be constructed and 
flume tested. After the flume trials, one vessel would conduct 5 days 
of at-sea research using video cameras and a net-mind system to tune 
the performance of the net. A net-mind system is a net monitoring 
system that enables monitoring and managing the performance of the 
trawl. During these first 5 at-sea days, the net would have an open 
codend. After determining the best configuration of ground cables, 
floats, drop chains, and sweep position using the cameras and net-mind 
system, the experimental net would be transferred to the second vessel 
for fishing trials. This second vessel would conduct an additional 20 
at-sea days of research, during which the experimental net would be 
compared with a standard design otter trawl net as a control during 
experimental fishing. During these comparative fishing trials, this 
single vessel would conduct four 2-hour tows per day, alternating each 
tow between fishing the experimental net and fishing the control net. 
Cameras mounted on the nets and on tow sleds would be used to monitor 
the seabed before and after towing, as well as net performance and fish 
behavior in the mouth of the net.
    All fish caught would be weighed and as many fish as possible would 
be measured. All undersized fish, and fish that cannot legally be 
retained, would be returned to the sea as quickly as practicable after 
measurement and examination. The overall catch estimates expected for 
this project can be found in Table 1. The applicants anticipate that a 
total of 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of haddock and pollock (combined), the 
two target species, would be harvested throughout the course of the 
study, along with 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) of non-targeted catch and 
discards, including 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) of GOM cod. The estimated cod 
catch is 66 percent of the current daily possession limit of 600 lb 
(272 kg) (50 percent of the daily limit of 800 lb (363 kg ) proposed in 
Framework Adjustment 42) for the proposed number of DAS. All legal-
sized fish, within the possession limit, would be sold, with the 
proceeds returned to the NEC for the purpose of enhancing future 
research.

  Table 1: Estimated Targeted Catch, Non-Targeted Catch and Discard by
                                 Species
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Non-Targeted Catch and
      Species             Targeted Catch                Discards
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Haddock             10,000 lb (4,536 kg)       0
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Pollock             10,000 lb (4,536 kg)       0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cod                 0                          8,000 lb (3,629 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gray Sole           0                          2,000 lb (907 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Plaice     0                          2,000 lb (907 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monkfish            0                          2,000 lb (907 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    All at-sea research would be conducted from two fishing vessels, 
each of which would be fishing in a different area. This EFP would 
cover the F/V Ocean Reporter (permit  221596, O.N. 694848) and 
the F/V Jeanne C (permit  230524, O.N. 610415). The F/V Ocean 
Reporter would conduct the 5 days of at-sea video and gear tuning work 
in the area between the western border of the Western GOM Closure Area 
(42[deg]15' N. lat., 70[deg]15' W. long.; and 43[deg]15' N. lat., 
70[deg]15' W. long.) and the shore. The F/V Jeanne C would conduct the 
20 days of at-sea experimental fishing in an area northeast of the 
Western GOM Closure Area and northwest of the Cashes Ledge Closure Area 
(see Table 2). Both vessels would fish exclusively outside the Western 
GOM Closed Area.

   Table 2: Coordinates for Experimental Fishing Area by F/V Jeanne C
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    Point                N. Lat.                      W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1             43[deg]38'                    69[deg]40'
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2             43[deg]38'                    69[deg]21'
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3             43[deg]20'                    69[deg]40'
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4             43[deg]20'                    69[deg]21'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5             43[deg]38'                    69[deg]40'
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The applicants have asked for an exemption to the regulations at 50 
CFR 648.81(f)(1)(ii) through (v), GOM Rolling Closure Areas II, III, 
IV, and V, for both the F/V Ocean Reporter and F/V Jeanne C (for 5 DAS 
and 20 DAS, respectively) due to a belief that there will be a better 
mixture of flounders, pollock, haddock, and cod for testing the 
experimental gear present in the waters of the western GOM during these 
seasonal closures. Operation during these seasonal

[[Page 61027]]

closures would also increase the availability of the commercial vessels 
to work with scientists on the project because these coastal day boats 
are unable to conduct normal commercial fishing operations during these 
seasonal closures.
    The applicants have also requested an exemption to the DAS 
regulations at 50 CFR 648.82(a) for the F/V Ocean Reporter while 
conducting the 5 at-sea days of video and gear tuning work because the 
researchers would tow the nets with the codend open. With the exception 
of a small number of fish that could be gilled by the net mesh, no fish 
would be removed from the water during these 5 at-sea days of video and 
gear tuning work. During the 20 at-sea days of comparative fishing 
trials, the F/V Jeanne C would use A DAS and would be subject to all 
day and trip possession limits.
    The applicants 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: October 12, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-17177 Filed 10-16-06; 8:45 am]
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