[Federal Register: June 19, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 117)]
[Notices]
[Page 35254-35255]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19jn06-43]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D.061306B]
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)
has made a preliminary determination that the subject EFP application
submitted by Truex Enterprises contains all the required information
and warrants further consideration. The proposed EFP would test the
safety and efficacy of harvesting surfclams and ocean quahogs from the
Georges Bank Closure Area using a harvesting protocol developed by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 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.
Therefore, NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator
proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that 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 Georges Bank (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 on this document must be received on or before July 19,
2006.
ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice may be submitted by e-mail.
The mailbox address for providing e-mail comments is
DA6114@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line of the e-mail comment the
following document identifier: ``Comments on GB PSP Closed Area
Exemption.'' 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 GB PSP Closed Area Exemption.'' Comments may also be sent
via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tobey Curtis, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone 978-281-9273.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Truex Enterprises of New Bedford, MA
submitted an application for an EFP on March 30, 2006. Additional
information was received on April 19, 2006, completing the application.
The experimental fishing application requests authorization to allow
the catch and retention for sale of Atlantic surfclams and ocean
quahogs from within the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog GB Closure
Area. This area, located east of 69[deg]00 W. long. and south of
42[deg]20 N. lat., was closed on May 25, 1990. This closure was
implemented based on the advice from the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) after samples of surfclams from the area tested
positive for the toxins (saxotoxins) that cause Paralytic Shellfish
Poisoning (PSP). These toxins are produced by the algae Alexandrium
fundyense that can form blooms commonly referred to as red tides. Red
tide blooms, also known as harmful
[[Page 35255]]
algal blooms (HABs), can produce toxins that accumulate in filter-
feeding shellfish. Shellfish contaminated with the saxotoxin, if eaten
in large enough quantity, can cause illness or death from 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
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP in 1999.
The primary goal of the study is to test the efficacy of the
Protocol for Onboard Screening and Dockside Testing for PSP Toxins in
Molluscan Shellfish (Protocol) developed by state and Federal
regulatory agencies to test for presence of saxotoxins in shellfish.
This protocol would facilitate the harvest of shellfish from waters
susceptible to HABs, which produce the saxotoxins, but that are not
currently under rigorous water quality monitoring programs by either
state or Federal management agencies. The Protocol is currently under
final review by the FDA. This project would only proceed once the FDA
has endorsed the final Protocol. The Protocol details procedures and
reporting for harvesting, testing, and landing of shellfish harvested
from areas that are susceptible to HABs prior to the shellfish from
entering commerce. A copy of the Protocol, when finalized, will be
available by contacting NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
The proposed project would conduct a trial for the sampling
protocol in an exemption zone within the larger 1990 GB Closure Area
with the F/V Seawatcher. This proposed exempted fishing activity would
occur from approximately July-December 2006, using surfclam and ocean
quahog quota allocated to Truex Enterprises under the Federal
individual transferable quota (ITQ) program. The applicant has
estimated a harvest of 176,000 bushels of surfclams and 80,000 bushels
of ocean quahogs from the exemption area. The exemption area was tested
in cooperation with the FDA in the winter of 2006. No samples collected
during that time were above acceptable levels for saxotoxins (80 microg
toxin/100g of shellfish). In order for the proposed EFP to be issued
the applicant would be required to obtain a permit from the
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MADMF) to land the product
in New Bedford, Massachusetts. NMFS, FDA, MADMF, and Massachusetts
Department of Public Health are working closely in reviewing this
proposed project. This EFP would allow for an exemption from the
Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog GB Closure Area specified at 50 CFR
648.73(a)(4).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 14, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
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[FR Doc. E6-9557 Filed 6-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S