[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66070-66071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27174]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XZ46


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), 
is soliciting public comment on an EFP application submitted by Wallace 
& Associates on behalf of Truex Enterprises. The proposed EFP would 
extend a previously authorized EFP for an additional year to continue 
testing the

[[Page 66071]]

safety and efficacy of harvesting surfclams and ocean quahogs from the 
Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog Georges Bank (GB) Closure Area using 
a sampling 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 made to issue the EFP. The subject EFP 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 must be received on or before November 12, 2010.

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 2011 GB PSP Closed Area Exemption.'' 
Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope 
``Comments on 2011 GB PSP Closed Area Exemption.'' Comments may also be 
sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Macan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone 978-281-9165. Copies of supporting documents 
referenced in this notice are available from Anna Macan, Fishery 
Management Specialist, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great 
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, and are available via the 
Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/clams.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, Wallace & Associates, of 
Cambridge, MD, requests on behalf of Truex Enterprises, a renewal of 
their current EFP, which is due to expire on December 31, 2010, to 
allow the catch and retention for sale of Atlantic surfclams from 
within the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog GB Closure Area. The GB 
Closure Area is located east of 69[deg]00' W. long. and south of 
42[deg]20' N. lat and has been closed since May 25, 1990, due to the 
presence of a toxin (saxotoxins) that cause Paralytic Shellfish 
Poisoning (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 sampling protocol that was developed by State and Federal 
regulatory agencies to test for presence of saxotoxins in shellfish, 
and thus has been in a trial period through previous EFPs since 2006. 
This protocol would facilitate the harvest of shellfish from waters 
susceptible to Harmful Algal Blooms, which produce the saxotoxins, but 
that are not currently under rigorous water quality monitoring programs 
by either State or Federal management agencies. A copy of the protocol 
is available from the NMFS Northeast Region Web site: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sfd/clams.
    The proposed project would continue to conduct a trial for the 
sampling protocol in an exemption zone within the larger 1990 GB 
Closure Area with one fishing vessel. The exemption zone would not 
include any Northeast multispecies or essential fish habitat year-round 
closure areas. This proposed exempted fishing activity would occur 
during the 2011 calendar year, using surfclam quota allocated to Truex 
Enterprises under the Federal individual transferable quota program. 
The applicant has estimated a harvest of 200,000 bushels (1,606,250 L) 
of surfclams from the exemption area. The exemption area has been 
tested in cooperation with the FDA from 2006 to the present.
    The applicant has obtained endorsements for the EFP and the 
sampling protocol from the States of Rhode Island, New Jersey, and 
Delaware, the States in which it intends to land and process the 
product harvested under the EFP. 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. The sampling 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.
    The applicants may request minor modifications and extensions to 
the EFP throughout the course of research. EFP modifications and 
extensions may be granted without further public notice if they are 
deemed essential to facilitate completion of the proposed research and 
result in only a minimal change in the scope or impacts of the 
initially approved EFP request.
    In accordance with NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6, a 
Categorical Exclusion or other appropriate National Environmental 
Policy Act document would be completed prior to the issuance of the 
EFP. Further review and consultation may be necessary before a final 
determination is made to issue the EFP. After publication of this 
document in the Federal Register, the EFP, if approved, may become 
effective following the public comment period.

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

    Dated: October 22, 2010.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-27174 Filed 10-26-10; 8:45 am]
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