[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18394-18395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9313]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 600 and 648
[I.D. 040599D]
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Applications for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notification of experimental fishery proposals; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Regional Administrator, Northeast
Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), is considering approval of the
Gulf of Maine Separator Trawl Whiting Fishery (Separator Trawl Fishery)
and proposed supplemental gear testing experiment to enable vessels to
conduct operations otherwise restricted by regulations governing the
Northeastern Multispecies Fishery. The experimental fisheries would
allow commercial vessels to fish for, retain, and land silver hake
(whiting) with mesh smaller than currently allowed in a portion of the
Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Regulated Mesh Area. These experiments would
continue investigations designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a
bycatch reduction device (separator grate) assembled on small-mesh
silver hake (whiting) trawls. It is anticipated that participation
level would be dictated by two interrelated factors: Market value of
whiting at the dock and the availability of the whiting at sea.
Approximately 60 vessels were authorized to participate in last year's
experiment from July 1 - November 30, 1998, although enrollment periods
fluctuated due to the factors identified here. Regulations implementing
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require
publication of this notification to provide interested parties the
opportunity to comment on the proposed experimental fisheries.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 29, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Jon Rittgers, Acting Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark on the outside of the envelope ``Comments on
Proposed Experimental Fisheries.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie VanPelt, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9244.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Maine Department of Marine Resources
(MEDMR) submitted an application to continue the experimental whiting
separator trawl fishery (Separator Trawl Fishery) in the Small Mesh
Northern Shrimp Area, a portion of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank
Regulated Mesh Area. This will provide an additional opportunity to
collect information on the effectiveness of the separator grate in an
effort to show that the separator trawl fishery could be a low bycatch
fishery. Although this would be the fifth consecutive year of the
experiment, data from previous years are sparse and inclusive, due in
part to the fact that the whiting failed to school in the experimental
fishery areas and market value of whiting declined. As a result, there
was limited activity in the experimental fishery in 1998. Therefore, in
order to gather sufficient data on the separator grate's ability to
reduce bycatch of regulated species consistent with the requirement of
an exempted fishery, as well as to determine whether the fishery as a
whole can reach its economic potential, a continuation of the
experiment is necessary.
Participants in the Separator Trawl Fishery will be required to
elect either a food fishery or bait fishery component designation: Food
fishery enrollment includes an allowance for landing whiting at the
dock only, while bait fishery enrollment allows for at-sea utilization
of whiting and transfer of whiting catch at sea under a special
authorization. Program participants may designate only one fishery
component at a time for a minimum enrollment of 7 days.
A participants list will be compiled by the MEDMR based on a trends
analysis of historical enrollment in recent years. Further limitations
on participation may be necessary depending on consistency in reporting
or logbook compliance issues identified through the NMFS review
process.
As part of the same request, the MEDMR also requested a
supplemental gear testing experiment to support the objectives of the
Separator Trawl Fishery. Proposed modifications of the current gear
include two increased bar spacings on the separator grate and two
increased codend mesh sizes along with the addition of a raised
footrope configuration on the otter trawl. The gear testing experiment
may reveal modifications in trawl gear and grate configuration that
would be more effective in reducing bycatch and more
[[Page 18395]]
selective in catching the appropriate sized whiting in accordance with
whiting resource management strategies.
EFPs would be issued to the participating vessels in both
experiments in accordance with the conditions stated therein, and will
exempt vessels from the mesh size, days-at-sea, and other gear
restrictions of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 8, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-9313 Filed 4-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
