[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70823-70824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24074]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE31


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 
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

[[Page 70824]]

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 December 
28, 2007.

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.
    Copies of supporting documents referenced in this notice are 
available from George H. Darcy, Assistant Regional Administrator, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930, and are available via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/clams.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Hooker, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
phone 978-281-9220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Truex Enterprises of New Bedford, MA, first 
submitted an application for an EFP on March 30, 2006, and public 
comment was solicited via 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. Comments for the revised EFP were published on 
November 14, 2006 (71 FR 66311). At that time, due to lack of 
concurrence on the Protocol for Onboard Screening and Dockside Testing 
for PSP Toxins in Molluscan Shellfish (Protocol) from the state of 
landing, the EFP was not issued. The applicant has since received 
concurrence from the state of landing and the state where the product 
is to be processed for the Protocol and EFP, thus the applicant has re-
initiated the EFP application.
    The exempted 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., has been closed since 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 proposed study is to test the efficacy of 
the Protocol that was 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 Sea Watcher I. 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 2007 through November 2008, 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 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 (80microg toxin/100g of shellfish).
    The applicant has obtained endorsements for the EFP and the 
Protocol from the States of New Jersey and Delaware, the states in 
which it intends to land and process the product harvested under the 
EFP, respectively. 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).
    Comments received during the comment period for the EFP notice 
published on June 19, 2006 (71 FR 35254), were addressed in the 
November 14, 2006, notice. During the comment period for the EFP as re-
proposed on November 14, 2006 (71 FR 66311), NMFS received two 
comments. The two commenters were opposed to the issuance of the EFP 
until concerns regarding the dockside sampling protocol could be 
resolved. 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 to the FDA to respond to issues regarding the dockside 
monitoring protocol. A letter dated July 25, 2007, from the FDA to the 
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Department), addressed 14 
concerns raised by the Department. In addition, the FDA has amended the 
Protocol in response to concerns raised by state shellfish control 
authorities. The most recent version was issued in August 2007. These 
documents are available from the Regional Administrator and via the 
Internet (see ADDRESSES). 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: December 7, 2007.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-24074 Filed 12-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S