[Federal Register: March 18, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 52)]
[Notices]
[Page 13173-13174]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18mr05-50]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 031505D]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Application
for an Exempted Fishing Permit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of exempted fishing permit application.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application for an
exempted fishing permit (EFP) from John Gauvin and John Gruver. If
granted, this permit would be used to continue the development and
testing of a salmon excluder device in the Bering Sea pollock trawl
fishery. It is intended to promote the objectives of the Fishery
Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (FMP) by developing a method for reducing salmon
bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP application are available by writing to
Sue Salveson, Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Alaska Region, NMFS, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802, Attn:
Lori Durall.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, 907-586-7228 or
melanie.brown@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI)
under the FMP. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)
prepared the FMP under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Regulations governing the groundfish fisheries of the
BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the implementing
regulations at Sec. Sec. 679.6 and 600.745(b) authorize issuance of
EFPs to allow fishing that would otherwise be prohibited. Procedures
for issuing EFPs are contained in the implementing regulations.
NMFS received an application for an EFP from John Gauvin, Principal
Investigator and John Gruver of the United Catcher Boats Association.
The purpose of the project is to improve the performance of the salmon
excluder device developed under an EFP in 2004 and 2005, and to
validate the performance of this device for pollock trawls. The goal is
to develop a device for pollock trawls that reduces salmon bycatch
without significantly lowering catch rates of pollock.
The EFP would allow for two types of testing of the salmon excluder
device in fall 2005 and spring 2006. In the first experiment, a catcher
vessel would be used to test minor adjustments to the current excluder
device design to improve performance. The second experiment would be
conducted using a catcher/processor for the paired-tow experiment to
validate the performance of the excluder device. Depending on the
results from the work in 2005 and 2006, the EFP may need to be modified
to allow for an additional year of testing.
Exemptions from regulations for salmon bycatch limits, observer
requirements, salmon savings area closure, the Catcher Vessel Operating
Area (CVOA), and total allowable catch amounts (TACs) for groundfish
would be necessary to conduct the work. The taking of salmon during the
experiment is crucial for determining the effectiveness of the device.
Salmon taken during the experiment would not be counted toward the
chinook and chum salmon bycatch limits under Sec. Sec.
679.21(e)(1)(vii) and (e)(1)(viii). Potentially, the amount of salmon
bycatch by the pollock trawl industry during the EFP period could
approach or exceed the salmon bycatch limits. The additional salmon
taken during the experiment would create an additional burden on the
pollock trawl industry and may lead to closures of the salmon savings
areas, if the EFP salmon were counted toward the salmon bycatch limits.
Approximately 2,500 chum salmon and 1,500 chinook salmon would be
required to support the project.
The applicants also have requested an exemption from closures of
the Chinook Salmon Savings Areas and the Chum Salmon Savings Area
(Sec. Sec. 679.21(e)(7)(vii) and (e)(7)(viii)). The experiment must be
conducted in areas of salmon concentration to ensure a sufficient
sample size. The salmon savings areas are areas of known concentration
of salmon and provide an ideal location for conducting the experiment
and ensuring that the vessels encounter concentrations of salmon.
Groundfish taken under the EFP would be exempt from the TACs
specified in the annual harvest specifications (Sec. 679.20). A total
of 2,500 metric tons (mt) of groundfish (primarily pollock) would be
taken during the EFP work and would not be included in the harvest
applied against the Bering Sea groundfish TACs, including the pollock
TAC of approximately 1.5 million mt. The 2005 Bering Sea pollock
acceptable biological catch is 1.960 million mt, well above the
combined TAC and the additional harvest anticipated from the project.
Because of the nature of groundfish bycatch in the pollock fishery, the
harvest of other groundfish species during the project is expected to
be very minor.
The experiment using the catcher/processor would require exemption
from the CVOA restriction (Sec. 679.22(a)(5)) because of the location
of the Chinook Salmon Savings Area in the CVOA. Catcher/processors are
prohibited from operating in the CVOA during the B season. It would be
necessary for the catcher/processor to conduct tows in this area to
ensure encountering sufficient pollock and salmon.
The EFP would include an exemption from the observer requirements
at Sec. 679.50. The applicants would use ``sea samplers'' who are
NMFS-trained observers. They would not be deployed
[[Page 13174]]
as NMFS observers, however, at the time of the experiment. The ``sea
samplers'' would conduct the data collection and perform other observer
duties that would normally be required for vessels directed fishing for
pollock.
The activities under the EFP are not expected to have a significant
impact on the marine environment, but the potential effects on the
marine environment will be further analyzed during review of the
application.
In accordance with Sec. 679.6, NMFS has determined that the
proposal warrants further consideration and has initiated consultation
with the Council by forwarding the application to the Council. The
Council will consider the EFP application during its April 4-11, 2005,
meeting which will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, AK. The
applicants have been invited to appear in support of the application,
if the applicants desire. Interested persons may comment on the
application at the Council meeting during public testimony. A notice
announcing the upcoming meeting will be published in the Federal
Register.
A copy of the application is available for review from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 15, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E5-1186 Filed 3-17-05; 8:45 am]
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