[Federal Register: November 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 67540-67541]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18no04-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 110904A]
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), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of a proposal for permits 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 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). 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 exemptions from the FMP as follows: The
Gulf of Maine (GOM) Rolling Closure Areas, the minimum mesh size for
trawl gear, the Days-at-Sea (DAS) notification requirements, and the
effort-control program (DAS). 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 December 3, 2004.
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 GOM Rope Separator Trawl Study.'' Comments may also
be sent via fax to (978) 281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to the
following address: da689@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tasker, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone 978-281-9273.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An application for an EFP was submitted on
September 22, 2004, by Dr. Pingguo He of the University of New
Hampshire (UNH) for a Cooperative Research Partnership Initiative
contract project. The primary goal of the research is to design and
test a rope separator trawl that targets haddock and pollock while
releasing cod and flounder in inshore western GOM waters. The intent of
the researchers is that the experimental net, if successful, could be
suitable for fishing using B DAS in the future.
The project, which is anticipated to be 18 months in duration,
would include flume tank trials and 12 days of at-sea trials during the
first year of the project. At-sea trials would consist of three to four
1-hour tows per sea day. Additionally, researchers would use remote
underwater video observation and acoustic gear geometry monitoring to
assess the success of the net during at-sea trials. The design of the
net would consist of a rope separator in place of the more common
netting separator in order to simplify design and rigging; a large
bottom escape area for cod, flatfishes, and benthos; and a raised
fishing line running through long drop chains to further allow benthic
species to escape. Researchers have requested a small mesh exemption to
allow for the use of a second codend or a small-mesh cover to collect
fish released from the trawl to assess the effectiveness of the
separator trawl.
All specimens caught would be sampled and measured. All undersized
fish would be returned to the sea as quickly as practical after
measurement and examination. The overall fishing mortality is estimated
to be 30 percent of the average commercial fishing mortality that would
result from the proposed number of DAS. The researcher anticipates that
a total of 6,249 lb (2,834.5 kg) of fish, including 1,550 lb (703.1 kg)
of cod, will be harvested throughout the course of the study. Other
species that are anticipated to be caught are haddock, dab, yellowtail
flounder, winter flounder, grey sole, white hake, and pollock. All
legal-sized fish, within the possession limit, will be sold, with the
proceeds returned to the project for the purposes of future enhancing
research.
The first year of the study would take place from May 1, 2005, to
April 30, 2006. All at-sea research will be conducted from one fishing
vessel. The trials would occur between 43[deg]20' and 42[deg]30' N.
lat. and west of 70[deg]15' W. long., excluding the Western GOM Closure
Area. Researchers have asked for an exemption to the regulations
establishing the Western GOM Rolling Closure Areas because they believe
that an optimum mixture of haddock and cod for testing the experimental
gear will be present in the waters of the Western GOM during May and
June. Because the aim of the project is to separate haddock and cod
before the fish are brought onboard, an exemption from the Western GOM
Rolling Closures is important to the success of the study. An exemption
from DAS is requested since a commercial DAS level of effort will not
likely be realized due to the additional time necessary to weigh,
measure, and sort the catch, and to adjust underwater video and
acoustic monitoring systems.
[[Page 67541]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 12, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E4-3204 Filed 11-17-04; 8:45 am]
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