[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 83 (Monday, May 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 22649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8697]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 042605H]
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: NMFS announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator for
Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional
Administrator), has determined that an application for revised Exempted
Fishing Permits (EFPs) contains all of the required information and
warrants further consideration. The Assistant Regional Administrator is
considering the impacts of the activities to be authorized under the
EFPs with respect to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management
Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary
before a final determination is made to issue EFPs. Therefore, NMFS
announces that the Assistant Regional Administrator proposes to issue
revised EFPs in response to an application submitted by the Cape Cod
Commercial Hook Fisherman's Association (CCCHFA), in collaboration with
Maine Division of Marine Resources (MEDMR), and Research, Environmental
and Management Support (REMSA).
Previous public comment was solicited on these EFPs, which would
allow up to 20 commercial vessels to conduct an experimental demersal
longline fishery for haddock in Georges Bank (GB) Closed Area (CA) II
and portions of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. This action would revise
these EFPs by including an exemption from the May GB Seasonal Closure
Area. This fishery would take place at various times from May 2005
through February 2006. The purpose of the proposed study is to
determine if hook-and-line gear could be used to target haddock with
minimal bycatch of cod in order to establish potential future Special
Access Programs (SAPs) in these areas as allowed under Amendment 13 to
the FMP.
DATES: Comments on this action must be received (see ADDRESSES) on or
before May 17, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul,
Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on
Haddock CA II SAP EFP Proposal.'' Comments may also be sent via fax to
978-281-9135, or submitted via e-mail to the following address:
[email protected]. Copies of the Environmental Assessment (EA) are
available from the NE Regional Office at the same address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Tasker, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone: 978-281-9273, fax: 978-281-9135, e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CCCHFA, in collaboration with the MEDMR
and REMSA, submitted a request for an EFP on November 16, 2004. Public
notification of the proposal and request for comments was published in
the Federal Register on March 2, 2005 (70 FR 10074).
The proposed EFP would enable researchers to conduct a study
targeting GB haddock within GB CA II and a portion of the Eastern U.S./
Canada Area outside of CA II. The purpose of the proposed study is to
determine if demersal longline gear could be used to target GB haddock
with minimal bycatch of GB cod. This proposal expands upon a study that
began on June 10, 2004, and ended on January 31, 2005, that examined
the feasibility of using demersal longline gear to target haddock with
minimal cod bycatch in several closure areas in the Gulf of Maine (GOM)
and GB.
The CCCHFA's November 17, 2004, proposal requests authorization for
a total of 160 trips by 20 commercial longline vessels to fish for and
possess haddock in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, including CA II,
during various times from May 2005 through February 2006. In order to
accomplish this work, the CCCHFA requested an exemption from the CA II
restrictions on the haddock trip limit for all participating vessels,
and an exemption from the 3,600-hook limit for participating non-Sector
vessels in their initial application. At a later date, it also
requested an exemption from the GB Seasonal Closure Area restrictions
for participating non-Sector vessels. The notice and request for
comments published on March 2, 2005, addressed the exemptions requested
in the initial proposal but did not address the exemption to the GB
Seasonal Closure Area. This proposed revision would exempt
participating non-Sector vessels from the GB Seasonal Closure Area
during the month of May 2005.
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 result in only a
minimal change in the scope or impact of the initially approved EFP
request. The EFP could be made effective following publication of the
EFP application in the Federal Register, with a 15-day public comment
period.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 27, 2005.
Anne M. Lange
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-8697 Filed 4-29-05; 8:45 am]
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