[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14922-14923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6443]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA303
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: The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator),
has made a preliminary determination that an Exempted Fishing Permit
(EFP) application contains all of the required information and warrants
further consideration. In support of research conducted by the
Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc. (CFFI), this EFP would grant
exemptions from the limited access scallop days-at-sea (DAS) program to
allow CFFI to conduct tests with its low profile excluder dredge (CFFI
dredge). In addition, limited access and limited access general
category (LAGC) vessels would be authorized to temporarily retain fish
that would otherwise be restricted by commercial fishing regulations.
Such regulations include minimum fish sizes; fish possession limits;
species quota closures; prohibited fish species, not including species
protected under the Endangered Species Act; and gear-specific fish
possession restrictions. The Assistant Regional Administrator has made
a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under this
EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Atlantic
sea scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and
consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to
issue an EFP.
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 April 4, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments by any of the following
methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject line
``Comments on CFFI flounder bycatch EFP.''
Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, NE
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on CFFI flounder bycatch EFP.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Biegel, Fisheries
Management Specialist, 978-281-9112.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CFFI has been awarded a research grant
through the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation titled, ``Testing
of a Low Profile Excluder Dredge for Winter Flounder Bycatch
Reduction.'' The goal of this research is to examine how modifications
to the CFFI excluder dredge will impact the bycatch of winter flounder
by commercial scallop vessels. The research will consist of three or
four trips of 5 to 7 days each, for a total of 21 days, and deploy the
CFFI dredge to document the impacts of dredge modifications on catch
and bycatch rates. Over the course of the project, there will be 240
tows of less than 30 minutes at 4.5 knots. The vessel is expected to
catch the following: Scallops 45,000 lb (20,412 kg); winter flounder
4,000 lb (1,815 kg); yellowtail flounder 300 lb (136 kg); monkfish
2,000 lb (907 kg); and little skate 8,000 lb (3,629 kg). All catch will
be discarded after standard species composition, size, and catch rate
data have been collected. The gear testing would occur between April
2011 and April 2012, in open areas of offshore of Massachusetts and
Rhode Island at a depth of 15 to 30 fathoms (30-60 m), including Cape
Cod Bay, South Channel, and Southern New England.
CFFI submitted a complete EFP application on February 4, 2011,
requesting exemption allowing commercial fishing vessels to fish
[[Page 14923]]
outside of the limited access Atlantic sea scallop DAS regulations at
50 CFR 648.53(b) and to temporarily retain fish that would otherwise be
restricted by commercial fishing regulations. Any fishing activity
conducted outside the scope of the exempted fishing activity would be
prohibited.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 15, 2011.
Margo Schulze-Haugen,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-6443 Filed 3-17-11; 8:45 am]
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