Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 32 / Thursday, February 18, 2010 / Proposed Rules 7227 

provider or agent for the provider or 

facility may not impose any additional 

charge for any services for which 

payment is made by VA. 

(d) In a case where a veteran has paid 

for emergency treatment for which VA 

may reimburse the veteran under 

§ 17.120, VA will reimburse the amount 

that the veteran actually paid. Any 

amounts due to the provider but unpaid 

by the veteran will be reimbursed to the 

provider under paragraphs (a) and (b) of 

this section. 

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1703, 1728) 

[FR Doc. 2010–3042 Filed 2–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 600 and 697 

RIN 0648–XT83 

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act Provisions; 

Application for Exempted Fishing 

Permits (EFPs) 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of a request for an 

EFP; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This EFP application, 

submitted by the Pemaquid Fishermen’s 

Cooperative Association (PFC), is 

intended to assist NMFS and the 

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 

Team (ALWTRT) in their efforts to 

address the identified entanglement 

threat of vertical lines in fixed gear 

fisheries to Atlantic large whale 

populations. The EFP application is for 

testing of fixed fishing gear with no 

vertical lines on the northern edge of 

Jeffrey’s Ledge in the Gulf of Maine. 

The Assistant Regional Administrator 

for Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast 

Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional 

Administrator), has made a preliminary 

determination that the subject EFP 

application contains all the required 

information and warrants further 

consideration and that the activities 

authorized under the EFP would be 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of federal management of the American 

lobster (lobster) resource. However, 

further review and consultation may be 

necessary before a final determination is 

made to issue an EFP. NMFS announces 

that the Assistant Regional 

Administrator proposes to issue an EFP 

and, therefore, invites comments on the 

issuance of this EFP. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 5, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 

Regional Office, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930–2298. 

Mark the outside of the envelope 

‘‘Comments - Lobster EFP Proposal.’’ 

Comments also may be sent via 

facsimile (fax) to 978–281–9117. 

Comments may also be submitted by email to Alobster@noaa.gov. Include in 

the subject line of the e-mail the 

following document identifier: 

‘‘Comments - Lobster EFP Proposal.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Towne, Research Associate, (978) 

675–2162, fax (978) 281–9117. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations that govern exempted 

fishing, at § 600.745(b) and § 697.22, 

allow the Regional Administrator to 

authorize for limited testing, public 

display, data collection, exploration, 

health and safety, environmental cleanup, and/or hazardous removal purposes, 

and the targeting or incidental harvest of 

managed species that would otherwise 

be prohibited. An EFP to authorize such 

activity may be issued, provided there is 

adequate opportunity for the public to 

comment on the EFP application, the 

conservation goals and objectives of 

federal management of the lobster 

resource are not compromised, and 

issuance of the EFP is beneficial to the 

management of the species. 

The lobster fishery is one of the most 

valuable fisheries in the northeastern 

United States. In 2008, approximately 

82 million lbs (37,120 mt) of lobster 

were landed, with an ex-vessel value of 

approximately $306 million. Under the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission’s interstate management 

process, lobsters are managed in state 

waters under Amendment 3 to the 

American Lobster Interstate Fishery 

Management Plan (Amendment 3). In 

federal waters of the Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ), lobsters are 

managed under federal regulations at 50 

CFR part 697. 

The ALWTRP is a program to reduce 

the risk of serious injury or death of 

large whales due to incidental 

entanglement in U.S. commercial 

fishing gear. The plan is required by the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), and has been implemented by 

NMFS. The ALWTRP evolves as NMFS 

and the ALWTRT learn more about why 

whales become entangled and how 

fishing practices might be modified to 

reduce the risk of entanglement. 

Proposed EFP 

The EFP application requests 

exemptions from regulations in order to 

conduct gear research on the northern 

edge of Jeffrey’s Ledge in the Gulf of 

Maine to study fixed lobster fishing gear 

without vertical lines that could reduce 

or diminish whale entanglement. One 

contracted commercial fisherman would 

fish 140 traditional wire lobster traps 

with no vertical lines (experimental) 

and 140 traditional wire lobster traps 

with vertical lines (control), each set in 

multiple trawl configurations, rigging no 

fewer then 7 trawls with 20 traps each. 

Both the experimental and control 

group trawls would be hauled 30 times 

each during the fishing season, totaling 

no fewer than 420 hauls. The EFP 

application proposes the collection of 

statistical and scientific information as 

part of the project. Investigators would 

complete a NMFS-approved data sheet 

on each trip, collecting data on weather 

and sea conditions, position of gear, 

bottom type, water depth and 

temperature, duration of hauling time, 

set time, trap loss, configuration 

changes, hauling procedure 

modifications, catch, price per pound, 

and gear conflicts. 

Trawls would be tested on different 

bottom types, and the grappling hook 

gear used to retrieve the lineless trawls 

would be specific to that bottom type. 

Although the grappling hooks might 

adversely impact benthic habitats, their 

limited use for the proposed activity 

would not constitute a threat that is 

significantly greater than the one 

associated with the impact of the traps 

themselves, or of the other lobster traps 

that are already being fished in the 

proposed project location. Therefore 

there would be no anticipated adverse 

effects on protected resources or habitat 

as a result of this work. 

This project would not involve the 

authorization of any additional lobster 

trap gear. To allow for experimentation 

with traps without vertical lines, the 

EFP would provide exemptions from the 

vertical line and buoy regulations at § 

697.21(b)(2). All traps fished by the 

participating vessel would comply with 

all other applicable lobster regulations 

specified at 50 CFR part 697. There 

would not be observers or researchers 

onboard the participating vessel. 

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

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7228 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 32 / Thursday, February 18, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

Dated: February 12, 2010. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3150 Filed 2–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

RIN 0648–AX89 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Chinook Salmon 

Bycatch Management Measures for 

Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area; 

Amendment 91 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery 

management plan amendment; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council submitted 

Amendment 91 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP) to NMFS for 

review. If approved, Amendment 91 

would be a novel approach to managing 

Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering 

Sea pollock fishery that combines a 

limit on the amount of Chinook salmon 

that may be caught incidentally with an 

incentive plan agreement and 

performance standard designed to 

minimize bycatch to the extent 

practicable in all years and prevent 

bycatch from reaching the limit in most 

years. This action is necessary to 

minimize Chinook salmon bycatch in 

the Bering Sea pollock fishery to the 

extent practicable while maximizing the 

potential for the full harvest of the 

pollock total allowable catch within 

specified prohibited species catch 

limits. Amendment 91 is intended to 

promote the goals and objectives of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, the 

FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Comments on the amendment 

must be received on or before April 19, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–AX89, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Fax: (907) 586–7557, Attn: Ellen 

Sebastian 

• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK. 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 91, 

the Final Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS), the Final Regulatory 

Impact Review (RIR), and the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

prepared for this action may be obtained 

from the Alaska Region website at 

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/regs/ 

summary.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Harrington or Seanbob Kelly, 

907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit any fishery management 

plan or fishery management plan 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

a fishery management plan amendment, 

immediately publish a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing that the 

amendment is available for public 

review and comment. 

This document announces that 

proposed Amendment 91 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (FMP) is available for 

public review and comment. The 

groundfish fisheries in the exclusive 

economic zone of the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Areas are 

managed under the FMP. The FMP was 

prepared by the North Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) under 

the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

The Bering Sea (BS) pollock fishery is 

managed under the American Fisheries 

Act (AFA) (16 U.S.C. 1851 note) enacted 

by Congress in October 1998. The AFA 

identifies vessels and processors eligible 

to participate in the directed pollock 

fishery and allocates pollock among the 

Community Development Quota (CDQ) 

Program, the catcher/processor sector, 

the mothership sector, and the inshore 

sector. 

The BS pollock fishery is the largest 

single species fishery, by volume, in the 

United States. The first wholesale gross 

value of this fishery was over $1.4 

billion in 2008. Pollock is harvested 

with fishing vessels using trawl gear 

during two seasons: the A season 

(January 20 to June 10) and the B season 

(June 10 to November 1). Chinook 

salmon and pollock occur in the same 

locations in the BS. Consequently, 

Chinook salmon are accidentally caught 

in the nets as fishermen target pollock. 

The BS pollock fishery catches up to 

95 percent of the Chinook salmon taken 

incidentally as bycatch in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish 

fisheries. From 1992 through 2001, the 

average Chinook salmon bycatch in the 

BS pollock fishery was 32,482 Chinook 

salmon. This average increased 

substantially from 2002 to 2007, to 

74,067 Chinook salmon. A historic high 

of approximately 122,000 Chinook 

salmon were taken in the BS pollock 

fishery in 2007. However, Chinook 

salmon bycatch has declined in recent 

years to 20,493 Chinook salmon in 2008 

and 12,410 Chinook salmon through 

October 31, 2009, the end of the 2009 

fishing year for pollock. 

Chinook salmon is a culturally and 

economically valuable species, which is 

fully allocated and, in some cases, 

facing conservation concerns. Estimates 

vary, but more than half of the Chinook 

salmon bycatch in the BS pollock 

fishery may be destined for river 

systems in western Alaska. In general, 

western Alaska Chinook salmon stocks 

declined sharply in 2007 and remained 

low in 2008 and 2009. Consequently, 

the in-river harvest of western Alaska 

Chinook salmon has been severely 

restricted and, in some cases, river 

systems have not met escapement goals. 

Chinook salmon is a prohibited 

species in the BS pollock fishery and is 

closely regulated. Over the past fifteen 

years, the Council and NMFS 

implemented several management 

measures to limit Chinook salmon 

bycatch in the BSAI trawl fisheries. In 

1995, the Council adopted and NMFS 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS