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Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: October 17, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 200)]
[Notices]
[Page 61025-61027]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc06-61]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 101206A]
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 the subject exempted fishing
permit (EFP) application contains all the required information and
warrants further consideration. 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 Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). Based on preliminary review of this project, a Categorical
Exclusion (CE) from requirements to prepare either an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) or an Environmental Assessment (EA) under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) appears to be justified.
However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a
final determination is made to issue the EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces
that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to recommend that an
EFP be issued that would allow two commercial fishing vessels to conduct
[[Page 61026]]
fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations
governing the fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The EFP,
which would enable the applicants to investigate the feasibility of
using a trawl net with buoyant ground cables and a buoyant sweep to
reduce seabed contact and improve species selectivity, would allow for
exemptions from the FMP as follows: Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure
Areas II, III, IV, and V for two vessels; and an exemption from the
days-at-sea (DAS) effort control requirements for one vessel.
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 1, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope
``Comments on the Buoyant Ground Cables Study.'' Comments may also be
sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to:
DA6-213@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grant, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9145, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A complete application for an EFP was
submitted on August 21, 2006, by Kelo Pinkham of the F/V Jeanne C for a
joint project with Dana Morse, of Maine Sea Grant, that is funded by
the Northeast Consortium (NEC). The primary goal of this research is to
develop and test a trawl net with buoyant ground cables and a buoyant
sweep to reduce seabed contact and increase species selectivity. The
intent of the applicants is to demonstrate that the experimental net,
if successful, could potentially be suitable as an alternate gear for
vessels fishing in areas requiring a haddock separator trawl and/or
fishing areas of hard bottom with the use of mid-water doors.
The project would be conducted during the fall of 2006 and spring
of 2007 and would include flume tank trials and 25 days of at-sea
trials. An experimental otter trawl net, which would have floats
incorporated along both the ground cables and the sweep, as well as
drop chains integrated along the sweep, would first be constructed and
flume tested. After the flume trials, one vessel would conduct 5 days
of at-sea research using video cameras and a net-mind system to tune
the performance of the net. A net-mind system is a net monitoring
system that enables monitoring and managing the performance of the
trawl. During these first 5 at-sea days, the net would have an open
codend. After determining the best configuration of ground cables,
floats, drop chains, and sweep position using the cameras and net-mind
system, the experimental net would be transferred to the second vessel
for fishing trials. This second vessel would conduct an additional 20
at-sea days of research, during which the experimental net would be
compared with a standard design otter trawl net as a control during
experimental fishing. During these comparative fishing trials, this
single vessel would conduct four 2-hour tows per day, alternating each
tow between fishing the experimental net and fishing the control net.
Cameras mounted on the nets and on tow sleds would be used to monitor
the seabed before and after towing, as well as net performance and fish
behavior in the mouth of the net.
All fish caught would be weighed and as many fish as possible would
be measured. All undersized fish, and fish that cannot legally be
retained, would be returned to the sea as quickly as practicable after
measurement and examination. The overall catch estimates expected for
this project can be found in Table 1. The applicants anticipate that a
total of 20,000 lb (9,072 kg) of haddock and pollock (combined), the
two target species, would be harvested throughout the course of the
study, along with 14,000 lb (6,350 kg) of non-targeted catch and
discards, including 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) of GOM cod. The estimated cod
catch is 66 percent of the current daily possession limit of 600 lb
(272 kg) (50 percent of the daily limit of 800 lb (363 kg ) proposed in
Framework Adjustment 42) for the proposed number of DAS. All legal-
sized fish, within the possession limit, would be sold, with the
proceeds returned to the NEC for the purpose of enhancing future research.
Table 1: Estimated Targeted Catch, Non-Targeted Catch and Discard by
Species
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Targeted Catch and
Species Targeted Catch Discards
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Haddock 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) 0
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Pollock 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) 0
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Cod 0 8,000 lb (3,629 kg)
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Gray Sole 0 2,000 lb (907 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Plaice 0 2,000 lb (907 kg)
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Monkfish 0 2,000 lb (907 kg)
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All at-sea research would be conducted from two fishing vessels,
each of which would be fishing in a different area. This EFP would
cover the F/V Ocean Reporter (permit # 221596, O.N. 694848) and
the F/V Jeanne C (permit # 230524, O.N. 610415). The F/V Ocean
Reporter would conduct the 5 days of at-sea video and gear tuning work
in the area between the western border of the Western GOM Closure Area
(42[deg]15' N. lat., 70[deg]15' W. long.; and 43[deg]15' N. lat.,
70[deg]15' W. long.) and the shore. The F/V Jeanne C would conduct the
20 days of at-sea experimental fishing in an area northeast of the
Western GOM Closure Area and northwest of the Cashes Ledge Closure Area
(see Table 2). Both vessels would fish exclusively outside the Western
GOM Closed Area.
Table 2: Coordinates for Experimental Fishing Area by F/V Jeanne C
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
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1 43[deg]38' 69[deg]40'
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2 43[deg]38' 69[deg]21'
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3 43[deg]20' 69[deg]40'
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4 43[deg]20' 69[deg]21'
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5 43[deg]38' 69[deg]40'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The applicants have asked for an exemption to the regulations at 50
CFR 648.81(f)(1)(ii) through (v), GOM Rolling Closure Areas II, III,
IV, and V, for both the F/V Ocean Reporter and F/V Jeanne C (for 5 DAS
and 20 DAS, respectively) due to a belief that there will be a better
mixture of flounders, pollock, haddock, and cod for testing the
experimental gear present in the waters of the western GOM during these
seasonal closures. Operation during these seasonal
[[Page 61027]]
closures would also increase the availability of the commercial vessels
to work with scientists on the project because these coastal day boats
are unable to conduct normal commercial fishing operations during these
seasonal closures.
The applicants have also requested an exemption to the DAS
regulations at 50 CFR 648.82(a) for the F/V Ocean Reporter while
conducting the 5 at-sea days of video and gear tuning work because the
researchers would tow the nets with the codend open. With the exception
of a small number of fish that could be gilled by the net mesh, no fish
would be removed from the water during these 5 at-sea days of video and
gear tuning work. During the 20 at-sea days of comparative fishing
trials, the F/V Jeanne C would use A DAS and would be subject to all
day and trip possession limits.
The applicants 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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 12, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-17177 Filed 10-16-06; 8:45 am]
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