[Federal Register: March 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 13210-13211]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr08-58]
[[Page 13210]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XF99
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application
for an Exempted Fishing Permit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; receipt of an application for an exempted fishing
permit.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces receipt of an application for an
exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Mr. John Gauvin of Gauvin and
Associates, LLC. If granted, this permit would allow the applicant to
continue the development and testing of a salmon excluder device for
the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. This activity is intended to
promote the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) by reducing
salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. Comments will
be accepted at the April 1-7, 2008, North Pacific Fishery Management
Council (Council) meeting in Anchorage, AK.
DATES: Interested persons may comment on the EFP application and on the
environmental assessment during the Council's April 1-7, 2008, meeting
in Anchorage, AK.
ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 500
West Third Ave., Anchorage, AK.
Copies of the EFP application and the environmental assessment (EA)
are available by writing to the Alaska Region, NMFS, P. O. Box 21668,
Juneau, AK 99802, Attn: Ellen Sebastian. The EA and application also
are available from the Alaska Region, NMFS website at http://
www.fakr.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Brown, 907-586-7228 or
melanie.brown@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the domestic groundfish
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI)
under the FMP. The Council prepared the FMP under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Regulations governing the
groundfish fisheries of the BSAI appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
The FMP and the implementing regulations at Sec. Sec. 600.745(b) and
679.6 authorize issuance of EFPs to allow fishing that would otherwise
be prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs are contained in the
implementing regulations.
NMFS received an application for an EFP from Mr. Gauvin on January
29, 2008. The purposes of the EFP project are to improve the
performance of the salmon excluder device developed under EFPs in 2004
through 2007 and to validate the performance of this device for pollock
trawl gear used in the BSAI. The goal is to develop a device for
pollock trawl gear that reduces salmon bycatch without significantly
lowering catch rates of pollock.
The EFP would allow for development and testing of the salmon
excluder device from September 2008 through March 2010, for several
weeks in each pollock A and B season. Testing in each season would
allow the device to be used under salmon occurrence and pollock fishing
practices specific to each season. Testing in the A season would catch
primarily Chinook salmon and roe-bearing pollock, while testing in the
B season would catch Chinook and chum salmon and pollock that are not
likely to be roe-bearing. EFP fishing would be conducted by one vessel
in each season.
To test the salmon excluder device, exemptions would be necessary
from regulations for salmon bycatch limits, observer requirements,
several closures areas, and total allowable catch amounts (TACs) for
groundfish. The taking of salmon during the experiment is crucial for
determining the effectiveness of the device. Salmon taken during the
experiment would not be counted toward the Chinook and chum salmon
bycatch limits under Sec. 679.21(e)(1)(vi) and (vii). The amount of
salmon bycatch by the pollock trawl industry during the EFP period
could potentially approach or exceed the salmon bycatch limits. If the
EFP salmon were counted toward the salmon bycatch limits, the EFP
salmon may create an additional burden on the pollock trawl fishermen
not participating in the intercooperative agreement for salmon bycatch
reduction by causing earlier closures of the salmon savings areas. More
information regarding the intercooperative agreement for salmon bycatch
reduction is at 72 FR 61070 (October 29, 2007).
Approximately 2,500 chum salmon for each B season and 2,500 Chinook
salmon for each A and B season would be required to support the
project. In total, the applicant would be limited to harvesting 10,000
Chinook salmon and 5,000 chum salmon for the time period of the EFP.
The experimental design requires this quantity of salmon to ensure
statistically valid results.
The applicant also has requested an exemption from the Chinook
Salmon Savings Areas (Sec. 679.21(e)(7)(viii)), the Chum Salmon
Savings Area (Sec. Sec. 679.21(e)(7)(vii) and 679.22(a)(10)), the
Bering Sea Pollock Restriction Area (Sec. 679.22(a)(7)(ii)), and the
Steller Sea Lion Conservation Area (Sec. 679.22(a)(7)(vii)). These
overlapping areas occur in locations of salmon concentration. The
experiment must be conducted in areas of salmon concentration
sufficient to ensure a statistically adequate sample size. These
locations are ideal for conducting the experiment and ensuring that the
vessel encounters sufficient concentrations of salmon and pollock for
meeting the experimental design.
Groundfish taken under the EFP would be exempt from the TACs
specified in the annual harvest specifications (Sec. 679.20). A total
of 2,500 metric tons (mt) of groundfish (primarily pollock) would be
taken during each season of the EFP for a total of 10,000 mt over the
duration of the EFP. The experimental design requires this quantity of
pollock to ensure a statistically adequate sample size for measuring
pollock escapement through the salmon excluder device. The EFP
groundfish harvest would not be included in the harvest applied against
the Bering Sea groundfish TACs, including the 2008 and 2009 pollock TAC
of 1.0 million mt. The 2008 and 2009 Bering Sea pollock acceptable
biological catch (ABC) also is 1.0 million mt. For each year of the
EFP, the amount of pollock harvest under the EFP would be approximately
0.25 to 0.5 percent of the annual harvest of pollock in the Bering Sea
pollock fishery. Even though the EFP would allow for harvest over the
ABC, the amount is so small that no discernable effect is expected.
Because of very little groundfish incidental catch in the pollock
fishery, the harvest of other groundfish species during the EFP fishing
is expected to be a negligible amount, less than 25 mt.
Using a catcher/processor for the EFP study would require exemption
from the Catcher Vessel Operating Area (CVOA) restriction (Sec.
679.22(a)(5)) because of the location of the Chinook Salmon Savings
Area in the CVOA. Catcher/processors are prohibited from operating in
the CVOA during the B season. The EFP fishing may be done by either a
catcher vessel or a catcher/processor. It may be necessary for the EFP
applicant to use a catcher/processor to conduct tows in this area to
ensure encountering sufficient pollock and salmon concentrations to
meet the experimental design.
[[Page 13211]]
The EFP would include an exemption from the observer requirements
at Sec. 679.50. The applicants would use ``sea samplers'' who are
NMFS-trained observers. They would not be deployed as NMFS observers,
however, at the time of the EFP fishing. The ``sea samplers'' would
conduct the EFP data collection and perform other observer duties that
would normally be required for vessels directed fishing for pollock.
The activities under the EFP are not expected to have a significant
impact on the human environment as analyzed in the EA for this action
(see ADDRESSES). The EFP would be subject to modifications pending any
new relevant information regarding the 2010 fishery, including pollock
harvest specifications or restructuring of the salmon bycatch
management program.
In accordance with Sec. 679.6, NMFS has determined that the
proposal warrants further consideration and has forwarded the
application to the Council to initiate consultation. The Council will
consider the EFP application during its April 1-7, 2008, meeting, which
will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. The applicant
has been invited to appear in support of the application.
Public Comments
Interested persons may comment on the application and on the EA at
the April 2008 Council meeting during public testimony. Information
regarding the meeting is available at the Council's website at http://
www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/council.htm. Copies of the application and EA
are available for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 7, 2008.
Emily H. Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-4904 Filed 3-11-08; 8:45 am]
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