[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 239 (Friday, December 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73883-73884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29189]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XD650
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination
that an exempted fishing permit application contains all of the
required information and warrants further consideration. This Exempted
Fishing Permit would exempt a commercial fishing vessel from mesh size
requirements and butterfish possession limits to test experimental
codend mesh configurations as a means to reduce juvenile butterfish
bycatch in the directed butterfish fishery. Cornell University
Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, NY, will be conducting this
research. 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 exempted fishing permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 29, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Comments on CCE Butterfish Selectivity EFP.''
Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CCE Butterfish Selectivity
EFP.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-282-8456, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
submitted a complete application for an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP)
on October 3, 2014, to conduct commercial fishing activities that the
regulations would otherwise restrict. The EFP would exempt one vessel
from the minimum mesh size and butterfish possession limit restrictions
in the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management
Plan. The possession limit exemptions are necessary because the project
is using a 3-inch (7.62-cm) mesh control codend used in the targeted
longfin squid fishery, which triggers a butterfish possession limit of
less than 2500 lb (1134 kg). They are using this as the control in
order to retain smaller size butterfish to more effectively determine
the ability of the two experimental codends to reduce the catch of
small butterfish. Further, due to the number of replicates needed to
test the experimental gear, CCE wants to be able to retain butterfish
catch and avoid wasteful discarding.
CCE received funding from the Commercial Fisheries Research
Foundation to conduct a study that would compare butterfish catch in
otter trawls with different codend mesh configurations in an attempt to
reduce the catch of juvenile butterfish. The net used in the study will
be a 420 X 16-cm, 4 seam trawl with a 114-ft (34.75-m) cookie sweep
suited for vessels with horsepower in the range of 700 hp to 755 hp.
The codends will be compared using a trouser trawl configuration. One
leg of the trawl will have a control 6-cm diamond mesh codend typical
of the longfin squid fishery, and the other leg will have either an 8-
cm square mesh codend, or an 8-cm diamond mesh turned 90 degrees (T-
90). One vessel contracted by CCE will conduct five days of fishing,
which is representative of normal commercial fishing trips for
butterfish. Tow length would be limited to 30 min per tow, and
researchers plan on conducting eight tows per day, with additional tows
if time permits, with a minimum total of 40 tows (20 tows per
experimental mesh). Within each day the sides of the codend will be
switched to randomize sampling across both legs of the trouser trawl.
Catch for each codend will be kept separate on deck and will be
processed following standard NMFS survey methods. Total butterfish
actual weight and a minimum of 200 random lengths will be recorded per
codend per tow. Total weight of all species in each codend per tow will
be obtained by either actual weight or sub-sampling. Researchers
propose to conduct the trip during the period December 2014 through
March 2015.
[[Page 73884]]
The participating vessel would fish under the EFP along the continental
shelf from east of Hydrographers Canyon west to Toms Canyon, including
Atlantic, Block, and Hudson Canyons along the 60 fathom shoal (all
research to be done in statistical areas 616, 537, and 526). Exact
locations will be determined by the captain based on knowledge of
fishery and reported butterfish locations.
If approved, 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 have
minimal impacts that do not change the scope or impact of the initially
approved EFP request. Any fishing activity conducted outside the scope
of the exempted fishing activity would be prohibited.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 9, 2014.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-29189 Filed 12-11-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P