3996 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 

CVD proceedings involving subject 

merchandise from those countries. 

Dated: January 11, 2021. 

Jeffrey I. Kessler, 

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00884 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XY117] 

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 application for 

exempted fishing permit. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces NMFS’ 

receipt of an application and the public 

comment period for an exempted 

fishing permit (EFP) from the Alaska 

Seafood Cooperative. If issued, this 

permit would allow the applicant to test 

methods to minimize bycatch of halibut 

using an excluder device in the North 

Pacific’s Amendment 80 flatfish fishery. 

The objective of this EFP, if issued, 

would be to develop a halibut excluder 

design that avoids high target species 

losses with more significant reductions 

in halibut bycatch. Field testing would 

be conducted between August 2021 and 

December 2022. This experiment would 

have the potential to promote the 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. 

DATES: Comments on this EFP 

application must be submitted to NMFS 

on or before February 12, 2021. The 

North Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) will consider the 

application at its meeting from February 

1, 2021 through February 12, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The Council meeting will be 

held virtually. The agenda for the 

Council meeting is available at http://

www.npfmc.org. In addition to 

submitting public comments during the 

Council meeting through the Council 

website, you may submit your 

comments, identified by NOAA–NMFS– 

2020–0156, by either of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020- 

0156, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: 

Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. 

Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802–1668. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered. All comments received are 

a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address) submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

Electronic copies of the EFP 

application and the basis for a 

categorical exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act may be 

obtained from www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the domestic groundfish 

fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands (BSAI) management area under 

the Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the BSAI Management 

Area (FMP), which the Council 

prepared under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Regulations governing the BSAI 

groundfish fisheries appear at 50 CFR 

parts 600 and 679. The FMP and the 

implementing regulations at 

§§ 600.745(b) and 679.6 allow the NMFS 

Regional Administrator to authorize, for 

limited testing and experimental 

purposes, fishing or target or incidental 

harvest of species managed under an 

FMP that would otherwise be 

prohibited. Procedures for issuing EFPs 

are contained in the implementing 

regulations. 

Background and Need for Exempted 

Fishing Permit 

Flatfish fishing is a significant 

component of the Bering Sea groundfish 

fishery, annually producing 

approximately 200,000 metric tons of 

sole, founders, and plaice. Amendment 

80, implemented in 2008, allocates 

BSAI yellowfin sole, flathead sole, rock 

sole, Atka mackerel, and Aleutian 

Islands Pacific ocean perch to trawl 

catcher processor sector, and allows 

qualified vessels to form cooperatives. 

Prior to 2008, halibut prohibited species 

catch bycatch tended to constrain 

harvest of much of the total allowable 

flatfish catches. Bycatch or incidental 

catch include fish species that are not 

targeted but are caught and discarded. 

Certain species taken incidentally in 

Alaska’s groundfish fisheries are called 

Prohibited Species Catch (PSC). Since 

2008, the Amendment 80 sector has 

been able to make significant 

improvements to reduce halibut and 

other bycatch and has increased target 

fish yields. This has been achieved 

because the new management program 

allows fishermen to fish when and 

where it makes most sense and to make 

better use of bycatch reduction tools like 

sharing information to avoid bycatch 

‘‘hot spots,’’ bycatch avoidance 

agreements, and gear modifications. 

In 2015, following the sector’s success 

under Amendment 80 and in response 

to a decline in halibut biomass in the 

Bering Sea, the Council approved a 25 

percent reduction in the sector’s halibut 

bycatch mortality cap, which is the total 

amount of permitted halibut bycatch. To 

help prevent a return to leaving a large 

fraction of flatfish un-harvested, the 

Council approved and NMFS 

implemented halibut deck sorting on 

November 14, 2019 (84 FR 55044; 

October 15, 2019). Through this new 

program, savings in halibut mortality 

from deck sorting have been significant. 

However, over the last two fishing years 

(possibly due to warming sea 

temperatures and lack of the cold pool 

thermal front that tended to spatially 

separate flatfish from halibut), 

encounter rates for halibut by the 

Amendment 80 fleet have increased. 

The sector is concerned that its ability 

to continue to fish for flatfish and other 

groundfish could be impacted by 

increasing rates of halibut bycatch. 

Over the last two decades, Bering Sea 

flatfish trawlers have been developing 

and using halibut excluders, which are 

modifications to the intermediate 

section of the trawl intended to allow 

halibut to escape while retaining 

sufficient levels of target species for 

operational efficiency. The design of 

these excluders has been refined over 

time, but now that halibut bycatch rates 

have increased in recent years, the 

sector is interested in further refinement 

and testing of excluder design. 

An initial analysis by the EFP 

applicant of current halibut excluder 

designs indicates current excluders are 

resulting in high loss rates of target fish 

and less reduction in halibut bycatch 

than what might be achieved through an 

improved design. This includes results 

from a 2006 EFP that was issued to 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2021 / Notices 3997 

evaluate the effectiveness of a halibut 

excluder in the Gulf of Alaska trawl cod 

fishery, which noted higher than 

desirable escapement rates of the target 

species. Therefore, an excluder design 

that avoids high target species losses 

with more significant reduction in 

halibut bycatch would be an 

improvement and could foster wider 

adoption of these devices among the 

fleet. This EFP proposes a collaborative 

study with the Alaska Seafood 

Cooperative and Amendment 80 

fishermen of halibut excluders in the 

Bering Sea flatfish trawl fishery to 

conduct field testing to explore 

improved designs. 

Exempted Fishing Permit 

On June 2, 2020, Mr. John Gauvin of 

the Alaska Seafood Cooperative 

submitted an application for an EFP to 

develop and test a halibut excluder in 

the Amendment 80 flatfish fishery. The 

objectives of this proposed EFP are as 

follows: 

• Collect escapement rate data on a 

halibut excluder design. 

• Employ appropriate data collections 

methods to statistically estimate 

excluder performance. 

• Conduct excluder testing in two 

different target flatfish fisheries 

(yellowfin sole and flathead/mid-shelf 

flatfish) to get a broader range of results 

versus testing in just one fishery. 

• Collect caudal fin clips from a 

sample of halibut encountered during 

field testing for a pilot study of sex 

ratios of bycaught halibut. 

• Draft EFP reports to effectively 

communicate key results for excluder 

testing and pilot study of sex ratios. 

• Conduct outreach meetings of key 

results on halibut excluder performance 

tailored to the information needs of 

flatfish fishermen and gear 

manufacturers interested in the 

improvement of halibut excluders. 

Field testing would be conducted on 

the 261-foot (79.5 meter) factory trawler, 

The North Star, using twin trawl nets in 

the yellowfin sole and flathead sole 

fisheries. This would involve one trip 

with 60 to 70 total tows, occurring 

sometime between August 2021 and 

December 2022. To address potential 

differences in catch rates, the excluder 

device would be switched from one side 

to the other at the half way point for 

each part of the EFP testing (i.e., 

halfway through the tows in the 

yellowfin target; same for the tows in 

the flathead target). This would allow a 

separate analysis of excluder 

performance in each net, which would 

help to identify differences in catch 

rates for halibut and target species 

between sides. 

To understand the effects of the 

excluder, halibut catch and groundfish 

total catch data would be collected from 

each side of the twin trawl separately. 

Catch would be brought on board from 

the two nets separately and in 

conjunction with usual observer deck 

sorting, after which the contents of each 

net would be placed into separate tanks. 

Crew members would collect all halibut 

that make it to the factory (i.e., are not 

sorted on deck) for purposes of 

measuring each of these fish and 

recording the length data before 

discarding them using the same 

conveyor belt pathway that is normally 

used. 

The project manager for the field 

testing trip would collect up to 100 

caudal fins from a random sample of 

halibut from both the deck and the 

factory, storing them for later testing to 

determine sex ratios. This should not 

disturb the normal workflow of observer 

desk sorting and data collection. Testing 

would be done in conjunction with 

researchers from the International 

Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). 

This will help to provide data on the sex 

ratio of halibut taken as bycatch, which 

is a data gap identified by the IPHC. 

Exemptions 

Two exemptions are necessary to 

conduct this experiment. First, an 

exemption would be necessary from the 

requirement to minimize catch of 

prohibited species at § 679.21(a)(2)(i) in 

the event higher than average catch of 

halibut is encountered during field 

testing. 

Second would be an exemption from 

§ 679.21(a)(2)(ii) regarding careful 

handling and immediate release of 

prohibited species catch. This will 

allow the collection of caudal fin clips 

from a sample of the halibut 

encountered. This will also allow crew 

members to collect and measure the 

halibut that make it to the factory, 

recording length data before releasing 

the fish via the standard conveyor belt 

pathway. 

Permit Conditions, Review, and Effects 

The applicant would be required to 

submit to NMFS a report of the EFP 

results six months after completion of 

field testing. The report would include 

the halibut excluder device designs 

tested in the experiment; how the tests 

were conducted, including operational 

variables tested (such as towing speeds, 

water conditions, target catch rates); 

performance of the device in terms of 

halibut bycatch reduction, target catch 

escapement, handling, and 

maintenance; and the total catch of each 

groundfish species and Pacific halibut 

in metric tons during EFP fishing. The 

activities that would be conducted 

under this EFP are not expected to have 

a significant impact on the human 

environment, as detailed in the 

categorical exclusion prepared for this 

action (see ADDRESSES). 

In accordance with §§ 679.6 and 

600.745, NMFS has determined that the 

application warrants further 

consideration and has forwarded the 

application to the Council to initiate 

consultation. The Council is scheduled 

to consider the EFP application during 

its February 2021 meeting, which will 

be held virtually. The EFP application 

will also be provided to the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee for 

review at the February Council meeting. 

The applicant has been invited to speak 

in support of the application. 

Public Comments 

Interested persons may comment on 

the application during the February 

2021 Council meeting during public 

testimony or the Federal e-Rulemaking 

Portal (see ADDRESSES) until February 

12, 2021 when the comment period 

ends. Information regarding the meeting 

is available at the Council’s website at 

http://www.npfmc.org. Copies of the 

application and categorical exclusion 

are available for review from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). Comments may also be 

submitted directly to NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES) by the end of the comment 

period (see DATES). 

Authority: (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) 

Dated: January 12, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00911 Filed 1–14–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XA801] 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 73 Assessment 

Webinar III for South Atlantic Red 

Snapper. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 73 assessment of 

the South Atlantic stock of red snapper 

will consist of a data scoping webinar,