[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12313-12314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6409]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XO01


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: Notification of a proposal to conduct exempted 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 that was submitted by the Gulf of Maine 
Research Institute (GMRI) warrants further consideration and should be 
issued for public comment. The EFP would exempt participating vessels 
from the seasonal Atlantic herring (herring) Management Area 1A and 
Management Area 1B quota closures, seasonal Management Area 1A gear 
restrictions, and herring trip possession limits. 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 Herring Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before 
a final determination is made.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 8, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected]. 
Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the following 
document identifier: ``Comments on GMRI herring EFP.'' Written comments 
should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Mark the

[[Page 12314]]

outside of the envelope, ``Comments on GMRI herring EFP.'' Comments may 
also be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl McGarrity, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone: 978-281-9174, fax: 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Science and Research Director for NMFS's 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center selected the proposal submitted by 
GMRI under the 2008-2009 Atlantic Herring Research Set-Aside (RSA) 
Program entitled: ``Effects of Fishing on Herring Aggregations,'' which 
would assess the effects of midwater trawling on herring aggregations. 
An EFP was issued to conduct this work in 2008, and this EFP would 
authorize exemptions for Year 2 of this research. The proposed research 
would examine the ability to evaluate potential impacts of midwater 
trawling on Atlantic herring aggregations through the use of 
hydroacoustics. Due to concern that other fishing vessels, particularly 
other herring midwater trawl vessels, fishing in the study area could 
interfere with the survey, GMRI submitted an EFP application to conduct 
its research during the midwater gear restriction period, thereby 
ensuring other midwater trawl vessels will not be fishing in the study 
area.
    GMRI requests that a pair of trawl vessels perform midwater 
trawling for up to four sampling trips (each of 5-days duration) using 
standard midwater trawl gear in Areas 1A and 1B between June 1 and 
September 30, 2008, to evaluate the behavioral response of isolated 
herring schools to midwater trawls. During a sampling trip, the 
research team would sequentially perform a series of acoustic surveys, 
conduct midwater pair trawling, then perform another series of acoustic 
surveys; which would take less than 72 hr. Vessels would conduct five 
or fewer tows per day, with each tow lasting 2 to 4 hr. All trawling 
operations would be monitored by GMRI staff. All herring caught during 
the survey would be deducted from GMRI's Area 1A and 1B herring RSA 
allocations of 2,976,240 lb (1,350 mt) and 661,380 lb (300 mt), 
respectively. Vessels conducting the survey would not be allowed to 
exceed their Area 1A or Area 1B RSA allocations.
    The subject EFP would exempt vessels fishing for herring in 
Management Area 1A and Management Area 1B from quota closures and 
herring trip possession limits, as specified at 50 CFR 648.201 and 
648.204, respectively. It would also exempt vessels from the seasonal 
Management Area 1A trawl gear restriction period (restriction period), 
as defined at Sec.  648.202(a). Fish caught during research trips would 
be landed under the set-aside quota awarded to GMRI. Herring caught as 
part of this research would be deducted from the RSA quota, not from 
the commercial quota.
    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. The applicant may place requests for 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 minimal 
so as not to change the scope or impact of the initially approved EFP 
request.

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

    Dated: March 19, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-6409 Filed 3-23-09; 8:45 am]
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