[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 81 (Friday, April 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22339-22340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9048]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XH46


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 an Exempted Fishing Permit 
(EFP) application submitted by David Beutel and Laura Skrobe of the 
University of Rhode Island (URI) contains all of the required 
information and warrants further consideration. The EFP would enable 
researchers to test an experimental net that uses very large mesh 
panels to increase escapement of cod relative to haddock by granting 
exemption from the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas II and 
III. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made a preliminary 
determination that the activities authorized under this EFP would be 
consistent with the goals and objectives of the Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and 
consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to 
issue an 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 fishing operations that 
are otherwise restricted by the regulations governing the fisheries of 
the Northeastern United States.
    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 May 12, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on Eliminator Trawl EFP.''
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE 
Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 
outside of the envelope ``Comments on Eliminator Trawl EFP.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A complete application for an EFP was 
submitted on April 2, 2008, by David Beutel and Laura Skrobe for a 
project entitled ``Exploring Bycatch Reduction in the Haddock Fishery 
Through the Use of the Eliminator Trawl with Fishing Vessels in the 250 
to 550 Horsepower Range'' funded under the Northeast Region Cooperative 
Research Partnership Program. The study would conduct field testing of 
a new net design, referred to as the Eliminator Trawl, specifically 
scaled for vessels with 250 to 550 horsepower engines. This trawl net 
is equipped with very large mesh in selected portions of the body to 
increase escapement of cod and flatfish while retaining haddock. The 
original Eliminator Trawl, currently being considered as an additional 
gear in special programs in the NE multispecies fishery, is not 
designed to allow smaller powered vessels to utilize this net.
    The EFP would exempt two vessels from the seasonal GOM Rolling 
Closure Areas II and III, as specified at 50 CFR 648.81(f)(1)(ii) and 
(iii), while conducting research trips. These closure areas are 
believed to provide the mix of species needed, while still being close 
enough to shore for the safe operation of these smaller vessels. The 
goal of the research is to demonstrate the efficiency of this net 
design to selectively target haddock. The applicants intend that, if 
sufficiently effective, the gear be proposed by the New England Fishery 
Management Council for use in existing Special Access Programs (SAPs) 
or for the development of a new SAP in the study area.
    Research trips would be conducted within 30-minute squares 132 and 
133 and the vessels would conduct side-by-side tows. One vessel would 
fish with the experimental trawl and the other with a standard legal 
groundfish trawl. The experimental trawl net employs graduated webbing 
starting with 5 foot (1.524 m) meshes and ending with the legal minimum 
6-inch (15.24-cm) mesh size in the body and 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) mesh in 
the codend. Each vessel would conduct four to six 1-hour tows per day 
over six days between the start of the EFP and May 30, 2008, and again 
between April 1 and May 30, 2009. The researchers believe the best mix 
of haddock, Atlantic cod, and flounders would be present in this area 
during this period. Overall, the total expected catch from both the 
experimental and commercial trawls would be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   Species                          Estimated Catch
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlantic Cod                                   14,400 lb (6,531.7 kg)
Haddock                                        30,000 lb (13,607.8 kg)
American Plaice                                400 lb (181.4 kg)
Yellowtail Flounder                            10 lb (4.5 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on other previous research conducted in the proposed area and 
season, the researchers estimate that the vessels would catch less that 
50 lb (22.7 kg) each of other regulated groundfish species, white hake, 
winter flounder, witch flounder, windowpane flounder, redfish, and 
pollock. The vessels would be charged A days-at-sea (DAS) during the 
research trips and would be subject to applicable size and possession 
limits. Undersized, or otherwise protected fish, would not be retained 
or landed. Legal sized fish would be landed and sold under normal NE 
multispecies DAS and other applicable regulations.
    The applicant 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. Any fishing activity conducted outside the scope of the 
exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.

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


[[Page 22340]]


    Dated: April 22, 2008.
Emily H. Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-9048 Filed 4-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S