[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66311-66312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19190]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 110806A]


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

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for an exempted fishing permit 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 exempted fishing 
permit (EFP) application submitted by Truex Enterprises contains all 
the required information and warrants further consideration. This 
proposed EFP was first published for public comment on June 16, 2006. 
Due to changes in the EFP proposal from that previously published, the 
notice and comment period is re-initiated. The proposed EFP would test 
the safety and efficacy of harvesting surfclams and ocean quahogs from 
the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog Georges Bank (GB) Closure Area 
using a harvesting protocol developed by state and Federal regulatory 
agencies and endorsed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 
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 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 November 
29, 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. 
This proposed EFP was first published in the Federal Register on June 
19, 2006 (71 FR 35254). On October 2, 2006, the applicant submitted 
additional information seeking to add states where the product 
harvested under the EFP could be landed. 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 advice from the 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 which can form 
blooms commonly referred to as red tides. Red tide blooms, also known 
as harmful 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 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 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 is available 
from the NMFS Northeast Region website: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/clams.
    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. The exemption zone would not include any 
Northeast multispecies or essential fish habitat year-round closure 
areas. This proposed exempted fishing activity would occur from 
approximately December 2006 through March 2007, 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 (9,370,240 L) of surfclams and 
80,000 bushels (4,259,200 L) of ocean quahogs from the

[[Page 66312]]

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[micro]g toxin/100g of 
shellfish). In order for the proposed EFP to be issued, the applicant 
would be required to obtain an endorsement from the state in which it 
intends to land the product harvested under the EFP. The initial 
application, submitted on March 30, 2006, only listed Massachusetts as 
a possible state for landing the product. The revised application 
includes the initial preferred state of landing, Massachusetts, as well 
as Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware as possible states where 
shellfish harvested under the EFP could be landed. Each state would be 
required to endorse and/or otherwise explicitly permit the F/V 
Seawatcher to land product harvested under the conditions of the EFP in 
order for the EFP to be valid, as each state is responsible for 
regulating the molluscan shellfish industry within its jurisdiction and 
ensuring the safety of shellfish harvested within or entering its 
borders. 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).
    During the comment period for the initial proposed EFP, NMFS 
received five comments. One comment was against the concept of the EFP 
in general. Three comments were opposed to the issuance of the EFP 
until concerns regarding the dockside sampling protocol could be 
resolved. One comment, from the Massachusetts Division of Marine 
Fisheries, was in support of the comments regarding the dockside 
sampling protocol submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Public 
Health. Although adherence to the dockside monitoring protocol would be 
a condition of the EFP, NMFS is not the author of the protocol, nor the 
Federal agency responsible for matters of public health, thus NMFS 
defers response to issues regarding the dockside monitoring protocol to 
the FDA. However, since the initial public notification of this EFP, 
the FDA has amended the Protocol in response to concerns raised by 
state shellfish control authorities. The Protocol and the pilot project 
that would be authorized by this EFP have also since been endorsed by 
the executive board of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.

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

    Dated: November 8, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-19190 Filed 11-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S