Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 14 / Friday, January 21, 2000 / Notices 3419

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 011100E]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;

Exempted Fishing and Scientific

Research Permits

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Applications for Exempted

Fishing and Scientific Research Permits;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt

of applications for exempted fishing

permits (EFPs) and scientific research

permits (SRPs) regarding collection of

Atlantic highly migratory species. If

granted, these EFPs/SRPs would

authorize collections of a limited

number of tunas, swordfish, billfish,

and sharks from Federal waters in the

Atlantic Ocean for the purposes of

scientific data collection and public

display.

DATES: Written comments on these

collection and research activities will be

considered by NMFS in issuing such

EFPs/SRPs if received on or before

January 31, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Rebecca

Lent, Chief, Highly Migratory Species

Management Division (F/SF1), NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,

MD 20910. The EFP/SRP applications

and copies of the regulations under

which EFPs/SRPs are issued may also

be requested from this address.

Comments also may be sent via

facsimile (fax) to (301) 713–1917.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sari

Kiraly or Steve Meyers, 301–713–2347;

fax: 301–713–1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EFPs and

SRPs are requested and issued under the

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens

Fishery Conservation and Management

Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and/or the

Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (16

U.S.C. 971 et seq.). Regulations at 50

CFR 600.745 and 50 CFR 635.32 govern

scientific research activity, exempted

fishing, and exempted educational

activity with respect to Atlantic highly

migratory species.

Issuance of EFPs and/or SRPs may be

necessary because possession of certain

shark species is prohibited, possession

of billfish on board commercial fishing

vessels is prohibited, and because the

commercial fisheries for bluefin tuna,

swordfish and large coastal sharks may

be closed for extended periods during

which collection of live animals and/or

biological samples would otherwise be

prohibited. In addition, NMFS

regulations at 50 CFR 635.32 regarding

implantation or attachment of archival

tags in Atlantic highly migratory species

require prior authorization and a report

on implantation activities.

NMFS seeks public comment on its

intention to issue EFPs for the purpose

of collecting biological samples under

at-sea fisheries observer programs.

NMFS intends to issue EFPs to any

NMFS or NMFS-approved observer to

bring onboard and possess, for scientific

research purposes (e.g., biological

sampling, measurement, etc), any

Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic shark, or

Atlantic billfish provided the fish is a

recaptured tagged fish, a dead fish prior

to being brought onboard, or specifically

authorized for sampling by the Director

of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries at

the request of the Southeast Fisheries

Science Center or Northeast Fisheries

Science Center. NMFS intends to

authorize collection of no more than 500

Atlantic swordfish, 225 Atlantic billfish,

and 575 Atlantic sharks under at-sea

observer EFPs. These are the

approximate total number of billfish,

swordfish, and sharks that were

collected by observers under EFPs in

1999.

Collection of bluefin tuna would be

authorized for scientific research.

During 1999, 12 requests for Letters of

Authorization and Scientific Research

Permits were received for a total landing

of approximately 165 bluefin tunas.

Such bluefin tunas provided samples for

age and growth, genetic, and spawning

studies.

Comments are also sought on the

issuance of EFPs to provide offloading

windows in the Atlantic Swordfish

fishery, in the event the swordfish

fishery is closed prior to June 1, 2000,

the date when the vessels must carry (64

FR 55633, October 14,1999) a vessel

monitoring system (64 FR 48988,

September 9, 1999) that would enable

them to remain at sea after the

announced closure date. It is estimated

that there may be 50 swordfish

applicants out of the 243 directed and

208 incidental permits that have been

issued. NMFS anticipates that

commercial EFP applicants would be

captains of larger vessels out on

extended trips at the time of a closure

announcement. These applicants would

benefit from delayed offloading by

avoiding market gluts and cold storage

problems.

NMFS is also seeking public comment

on its intention to issue EFPs for the

collection of restricted species of sharks

for the purposes of public display. In

the final Fishery Management Plan for

Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish and Sharks,

NMFS establish a public display quota

of 60 metric tons wet weight for this

purpose. NMFS has preliminarily

determined that up to 3,000 sharks

would be consistent with this current

quota and the most recent

environmental impact statement

prepared for this fishery. NMFS believes

that this amount will have a minimal

impact on the stock. To date, requests

have been submitted to NMFS for the

collection of approximately 900 sharks.

The proposed collections involve

activities otherwise prohibited by

regulations implementing the FMPs for

Atlantic Swordfish, Tunas, and Sharks

and for Atlantic Billfish. The EFPs, if

issued, would authorize recipients to

fish for and possess tunas, billfish,

swordfish and sharks outside the

applicable Federal commercial seasons,

size limits and retention limits, and to

fish for and possess prohibited species.

NMFS intends to issue EFPs to be

valid for the entire 2000 calendar year

or 2000 fishing year, as appropriate for

each species. A final decision on

issuance of EFPs will depend on the

submission of all required information,

NMFS’ review of public comments

received on this notice, conclusions of

any environmental analyses conducted

pursuant to the National Environmental

Policy Act, and on any consultations

with any appropriate Regional Fishery

Management Councils, states, or Federal

agencies. NMFS does not anticipate any

environmental impacts from the

issuance of these EFPs other than

impacts assessed in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement (April,

1999).

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

Dated: January 14, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead, Acting Director, Office

of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–1401 Filed 1–14–00; 4:59 pm]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F