[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 47 (Thursday, March 11, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11515-11516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5259]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XU32


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Application for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit

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

ACTION: Notice; intent to issue exempted fishing permits, request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the intent to issue exempted fishing permits 
(EFPs) to Pacific whiting shoreside vessels and first receivers that 
participate in a maximized retention and monitor program for the 2010 
Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. EFPs are needed to allow vessels to 
retain catch in excess of the cumulative limits and to retain 
prohibited species until offloading. EFPs are also needed to allow 
first receivers to possess Pacific whiting deliveries with prohibited 
species, to possess catch that is in excess of cumulative limits, and 
to use hopper type scales to derive accurate catch weights prior to 
sorting. Issuance of the EFPs would allow NMFS to collect catch data on 
incidentally caught species, including salmonids listed under the 
Endangered Species Act, and would allow new components of an overall 
monitoring program to continue to be investigated before implementation 
of a regulatory program.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 26, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-XU32, by any 
one of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include 0648-XU32 in the 
subject line of the message.
     Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Becky Renko
     Mail: Barry A. Thom, Acting Regional Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, 
Attn: Becky Renko.
    Instructions: Attachments to e-mail comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Becky Renko or Kevin Duffy at (206) 
526-6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by the Magnuson 
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act provisions at 50 CFR 
600.745 which states that EFPs may be used to authorize fishing 
activities that would otherwise be prohibited in order to collect data 
among other activities. NMFS Northwest Region sent a letter to the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) that included a proposal 
for issuance of EFPs to vessels and first receivers participating in 
the 2010 Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. The Council considered the 
EFP activity at their November 2009 meeting. If issued, the EFPs would 
provide for a maximized retention and monitoring program for the 
Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. The maximized retention and 
monitoring program requirements specified in the EFP are intended to 
allow for the Pacific whiting shoreside fishery to be efficiently 
prosecuted while providing accurate catch data such that the Endangered 
Species Act and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act requirements for this fishery are adequately met.
    The issuance of EFPs would allow approximately 40 vessels to delay 
sorting of groundfish catch and to retain catch in excess of cumulative 
trip limits and prohibited species catch until offloading. These 
activities are otherwise prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR 
660.306(a)(10) and 50 CFR 660.306(a)(2) respectively.
    Additionally, issuance of the EFPs to approximately 15 first 
receivers (generally land-based processing facilities) would allow 
first receivers to possess more than a single cumulative limit of a 
particular species, per vessel, per applicable cumulative limit period. 
The possession of catch in excess of the cumulative limits is otherwise 
prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR 660.306(a)(10). In addition, the 
EFPs would include an allowance for first receivers to use hopper type 
scales to derive an accurate total catch weight prior to sorting. 
Regulations pertaining to sorting at Sec.  660.370(h)(6) and 
prohibitions at Sec.  660.306(a)(7) require vessels to sort the catch 
before weighing.
    Issuance of the EFPs would allow for the collection of information 
on the catch of salmon, non-whiting groundfish, and other non-
groundfish species incidentally taken with Pacific whiting. These data 
are needed to monitor the attainment of the shore based whiting 
allocation while assuring that the fishery specifications (bycatch 
limits, species allocations, OYs, and biological opinion thresholds) 
are not exceeded. Because whiting flesh deteriorates rapidly once the 
fish are caught, whiting must be minimally handled and immediately 
chilled to maintain the flesh quality. Allowing Pacific whiting 
shoreside vessels to retain unsorted catch will also enable whiting 
quality to be maintained.
    At the June 2007 Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting, 
the PFMC recommended that NMFS implement a maximized retention program 
in Federal regulations that would allow full retention of Pacific 
whiting catch by the vessels, that is delivered to first receivers on 
shore. The terms and conditions of the EFPs used in 2008 and 2009 were 
consistent with the Council's June 2007 recommendation for implementing 
the provisions of Amendment 10 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP), which allows implementation of this program. 
Although it was expected that a regulatory program would be in place at 
this time, it has not yet been implemented. At the June 2009 meeting 
the Council recommended a preferred alternative for implementation of a 
trawl rationalization program under Amendment 20 to the FMP that would 
change the future management and monitoring needs for the Pacific 
whiting shoreside fishery. EFPs will continue to be used until 
regulations implementing Amendment 10 to the groundfish FMP are 
implemented, or until tracking and monitoring regulations implementing 
the trawl rationalization program under Amendment 20 are effective. 
Additional information collected under this EFP program will benefit 
the development tracking and monitoring provisions of Amendment 20 to 
the groundfish FMP.
    The vessel EFPs would require Pacific whiting shoreside vessels to 
dump unsorted catch directly below deck and would allow unsorted catch 
to be landed, providing that an electronic monitoring system (EMS) is 
used on all fishing trips to verify retention of catch at sea. The EMS 
has shown to be an effective tool for accurately monitoring catch 
retention and identifying the time and location of discard events. The 
EFPs would include provisions for EMS, paid for by the vessels, similar 
to the 2009

[[Page 11516]]

EFP and similar to the proposed Federal regulatory program.
    Proposed Federal regulations for a maximized retention and 
monitoring program would also require first receivers to have onshore 
monitoring conducted by catch monitors. Catch monitors are third-party 
employees, paid for by industry, and trained to NMFS standards. The EFP 
would include provisions for third-party catch monitors from a NMFS 
specified provider. Like the proposed Federal regulatory program under 
development, catch monitors used under the EFPs would be trained in 
techniques that would be used for the verification of fish ticket data 
and in species identification. Catch monitor duties include overseeing 
the sorting, weighing, and recordkeeping process, as well as gathering 
information on incidentally caught salmon. Catch monitors verify the 
accuracy of electronic fish ticket data used to manage the Pacific 
whiting shoreside fishery such that inaccurate or delayed information 
does not result in any fishery specifications (bycatch limits, species 
allocations, OYs, and biological opinion thresholds) being exceeded. To 
insure the integrity of sector-specific bycatch limits, the 2010 EFPs 
would require full catch monitor coverage.

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

    Dated: March 5, 2010.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-5259 Filed 3-10-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S