[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21114-21115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08128]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XC573


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 contains all of the required information and warrants 
further consideration. This Exempted Fishing Permit would exempt 
commercial fishing vessels from whiting possession limits to test an 
experimental trawl net as a means to reduce winter flounder bycatch in 
the small-mesh whiting and squid fisheries. The research is being 
conducted by Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk 
County, NY.
    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 April 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line 
``Comments on CCE Winter Flounder EFP.''
     Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE 
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark 
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CCE Winter Flounder EFP.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Berthiaume, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9177.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) 
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 
on March 13, 2013, to conduct commercial fishing activities that the 
regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would exempt two vessels 
from the Northeast multispecies whiting possession limit restrictions 
and would temporarily exempt the vessels from the winter flounder 
possession and size limits to conduct onboard sampling.
    This project proposes to evaluate bottom trawl modifications as a 
means to reduce winter flounder bycatch in the small-mesh longfin squid 
and whiting fisheries. To accurately quantify both whiting and squid 
catch rates, the project coordinators propose to use a 2.125-in (5.4-
cm) mesh codend. This project would build upon previous research that 
also utilized 2.125-in (5.4-cm) mesh, which is the industry standard 
for the squid fishery. The researchers propose to continue to use a 
2.125-in (5.4-cm) mesh codend to maintain consistency in the data. 
However, due to the number of tows necessary to collect adequate data 
on the effectiveness of the gear, the catch rates for whiting are 
expected to be more than the 3,500-lb (1,588-kg) whiting possession 
limit for a 2.125-in (5.4-cm) mesh codend. To avoid wasteful discarding 
of whiting and to allow the continued use of 2.125-in (5.4-cm) mesh, 
the applicant requested an exemption from the whiting possession limit.
    Researchers from CCE will work with two commercial fishing vessels 
to further test the performance of a 12-inch (30.5-cm) drop chain sweep 
and 7 ft (64.8 cm) of large-mesh belly panel to reduce winter flounder 
bycatch. The nets will be industry standard small-mesh nets, with the 
experimental net using a drop chain sweep and large-mesh belly panels. 
Both nets will use a 2.125-in (5.4-cm) mesh codend to account for any 
smaller whiting or longfin squid. Whiting, and other legally permitted 
species within applicable possession limits, will be landed and sold. 
Winter flounder will be possessed temporarily for scientific workup and 
will not be landed for commercial sale. Both winter flounder and 
whiting will be sampled onboard using standard NMFS catch sampling 
methods.
    If approved, 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 21115]]


    Dated: April 3, 2013.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-08128 Filed 4-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P