[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 98 (Friday, May 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23996-23997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12034]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XP35


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 the Massachusetts Division of Marine 
Fisheries (MADMF) contains all of the required information and warrants 
further consideration. 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 and Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). 
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 one commercial fishing vessel to conduct 
fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations 
governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. This EFP, 
which would enable researchers to study the effects of a spiny dogfish 
excluder grate within a raised footrope whiting trawl, would grant 
exemptions from the NE multispecies regulations as follows: Gear 
restrictions while fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Regulated Mesh 
Area (RMA); NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) effort control measures; 
GOM Rolling Closure areas; and NE multispecies minimum fish sizes for 
sampling purposes only.
    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 June 8, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on MADMF whiting fishery EFP.''
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE 
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark 
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on MA MADMF whiting fishery EFP, 
DA9-058.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for an EFP was submitted on 
March 4, 2009, by David Chosid, the conservation engineering project 
leader at MADMF. The primary goal of this study is to investigate the 
effects of an experimental excluder grate in order to reduce catch 
rates of spiny dogfish and maximize the catch rates of whiting, using a 
raised footrope whiting trawl. The results of this research could be 
submitted to the New England Fishery Management Council to provide 
information that could be used to enhance the management of the whiting 
and spiny dogfish fisheries.
    The project is proposed to be conducted from June 2009 through 
September 2009. One fishing industry collaborator would conduct a total 
of 56, 1-hour tows using the excluder grate in a raised footrope 
whiting trawl over the course of 14 trips. The vessel would use a 2.5-
inch (6.4-cm) diamond codend mesh and, with the exception of the spiny 
dogfish grate, the gear would be configured as a standard raised 
footrope trawl. All experimental tows would occur between 42[deg]12' W. 
long. and 42[deg]30' W. long. in statistical areas 513 and 514. Fishing 
would occur along the western edge of Stellwagen Bank National Marine 
Sanctuary, but not within it. An underwater camera would be attached to 
the net to observe the behavior of spiny dogfish and whiting. Catches 
in the codend would be quantified. MADMF would have at least one staff 
member on board the vessel at all times during the experimental tows.
    Due to the small mesh size used in the whiting fishery, this 
activity would require an exemption from gear restrictions while 
fishing in the GOM RMA found at 50 CFR 648.80(a)(3)(i). The researchers 
are requesting permission to fish outside of the small mesh exemption 
areas and time restrictions in order to demonstrate successful 
avoidance of the target species, spiny dogfish. Based on industry 
recommendations, whiting and spiny dogfish are expected to be in 
relatively high abundance in the

[[Page 23997]]

proposed research location. The requested exemption would help ensure 
that adequate densities of fish are present to conduct valid testing 
and provide sound statistical evidence of gear performance within that 
area. Additionally, work outside the Special Access Program (SAP) area 
could offer further possibilities for an extended whiting fishery. An 
exemption from the use of NE multispecies DAS is necessary because, due 
to the small mesh size of the raised footrope trawl, landing NE 
multispecies under the DAS possession limits would be prohibited and 
thus inconsistent with the purposes of charging DAS. In lieu of fishing 
under a NE multispecies DAS, the project would be required to adhere to 
a multispecies bycatch cap of 10 percent of the total weight of fish 
caught overall during the course of the research. No NE multispecies 
would be landed for sale, with the exception of small-mesh 
multispecies. An exemption from the GOM Rolling Closure areas is 
necessary so that the net may be tested when targeted species are 
present in order to prove successful avoidance. Additionally, this EFP 
would include a temporary exemption from multispecies minimum size 
limits at Sec.  648.86 for sampling purposes only. This exemption would 
allow measurement and recording biological information of undersized 
specimens prior to their discard.
    Small-mesh multispecies caught during the research would be landed 
and sold, up to the current possession limit, to provide additional 
funding for the project. All other organisms, including small-mesh 
multispecies with high expected survival rates, would be released as 
quickly and carefully as practicable. 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 initiallyapproved 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.

    Dated: May 18, 2009.
Kristen C. Koch
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-12034 Filed 5-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S