Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules 75911

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.

83.100, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’)

Dated: November 27, 2000.

Michael J. Armstrong,

Associate Director for Mitigation.

[FR Doc. 00–30868 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6718–04–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 112700D]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Application for Exempted

Fishing Permits (EFPs)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of a proposal for

EFPs to conduct experimental fishing;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the

Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS

(Regional Administrator), has made a

preliminary determination to issue EFPs

that would allow two vessels to conduct

fishing operations otherwise restricted

by the regulations governing the

fisheries of the Northeastern United

States. The Manomet Center for

Conservation Sciences (Manomet)

submitted a complete application for the

issuance of EFPs to two commercial

fishing vessels, which warrants further

consideration. The EFPs would allow

two federally permitted groundfish

vessels to conduct composite mesh

selectivity studies with small-mesh

codend covers to target mixed

groundfish species--primarily yellowtail

flounder, winter flounder (blackback),

summer flounder (fluke), American

plaice (dab) and cod, and may also

allow access to seasonal area closures in

the Gulf of Maine (GOM). The study is

intended to determine the selective

efficiency of each experimental codend

and will attempt to correlate fish

behavior with these findings.

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act require publication of

this notification to provide interested

parties the opportunity to comment on

applications for proposed EFPs.

DATES: Comments on this action must be

received at the appropriate address or

fax number (see ADDRESSES) on or before

December 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Patricia Kurkul, Regional

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast

Regional Office, 1 Blackburn Drive,

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on EFP

Proposal.’’ Comments may also be sent

via facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bonnie Van Pelt, Fishery Management

Specialist, 978-281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Manomet

submitted an industry cooperative

proposal on November 6, 2000, for two

EFPs to conduct composite codend

mesh selectivity studies to address

bycatch and discard of incidental catch

and sub-legal sized fish in the mixedgroundfish fisheries of the Northeast.

The study would be conducted in that

portion of the GOM/Georges Bank

Regulated Mesh Area that extends east

from the New Hampshire shoreline at

43° N. lat. to 43° N. lat./70° W. long.,

then following the 70° W. long. line

south to the 42° N. lat. line, and then

extending west to the Cape Cod

shoreline.

This industry collaborative study

involves Manomet, the Massachusetts

Division of Marine Fisheries, and the

Maine Department of Marine Resources

as co-principal investigators, and

proposes to field test two composite

mesh combinations against two

industry-standard codend mesh sizes as

follows: (1) Two composite codends

made of 6.5-inch (16.51-cm) square

mesh on the top half, one with 6.5-inch

(16.51-cm) diamond mesh on the bottom

half and the other with 6-inch (15.24-

cm) diamond mesh on the bottom half,

and (2) Two industry-standard codends,

one made entirely of 6-inch (15.24-cm)

diamond mesh and one made entirely of

6.5-inch (16.51-cm) square mesh.

The purpose of the study is to

compare the length frequencies (size

classes) of the catch retained by the two

industry-standard codends and the two

composite mesh codend combinations.

To accomplish this, 1-7/8 inch (4.78-cm)

codends will be used to cover the four

test codends in order to retain for

analysis fish that pass through the

larger-mesh codends. The catch data for

each sample (tow) would be used to

prepare species-specific mesh

selectivity curves. That is, the research

will determine the size of each fish

species retained by each of the codends

tested versus the fish that are excluded

by the codends. Data would be pooled

for each of the codends tested and the

selective efficiency of each codend will

be determined for each important target

species. Manomet will also conduct a

detailed behavioral analysis to ascertain

the presence/absence of species-specific

behavioral patterns that may explain

observed differences in the selective

efficiency of the experimental

composite codend mesh.

The field trials would take place over

a period of approximately 5 days, with

a total sample size of 40 tows. The 40

tows will consist of 10 tows for each of

four codend mesh sizes (standard and

composite mesh), at eight tows per day.

These commercial gear trials would

operate in the designated study area

outside the Western GOM Year Round

Closure Area beginning in December

2000, until the 40 tows are obtained.

However, the principal investigator may

decide that access to the GOM seasonal

closure areas is necessary to catch the

desired species at the appropriate time,

in order to achieve the optimal sample.

This would only occur as a last resort,

in the event that the required species

cannot be caught outside of these areas.

Should access to these areas be

necessary, the GOM seasonal closures

that may correspond in time and

location with the proposed study are as

follows: Rolling Closure Area I (March

1- March 31), Rolling Closure Area II

(April 1- April 30), Rolling Closure Area

III (May 1 - May 31), and Rolling

Closure Area VI (February 1 - February

28).

The experimental sampling design

(use of double codend) is intended to

greatly minimize the number of tows

necessary to yield the necessary amount

of catch information; a minimum of 10

tows (1 hour in length) is required for

satisfactory selectivity curve results.

The target species are yellowtail

flounder, winter flounder (blackback),

summer flounder (fluke), American

plaice (dab) and cod. The main

incidental species are expected to be

skates, smooth and spiny dogfish,

sculpins, sea raven and sea robin. Any

sub-legal sized fish would be processed

by the researcher (e.g., measured) and

returned immediately to the water.

During the experimental trials,

participating vessels would be

instructed to conduct normal fishing

operations. Therefore, the vessels may

only retain fish for commercial sale in

the amount allowed under their

respective Federal fishery permits and

Days-at-Sea allocations. Catch would be

sampled on each trip by NMFS-certified

observers and all data, including the

weight and length of all fish caught,

would be entered into NMFS logbooks

and submitted to the Northeast Fisheries

Science Center upon completion of a

trip.

Manomet will train up to five

commercial fishers as sea samplers for

use during the course of this

75912 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 234 / Tuesday, December 5, 2000 / Proposed Rules

experiment. It is hoped that the newly

trained sea samplers would be available

to support other programs at the

completion of the proposed experiment.

EFPs would be issued to two

participating federally permitted

Northeast multispecies vessels to

exempt them from the gear restrictions

and, if necessary, the GOM seasonal

area closures of the Northeast

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan,

found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart F.

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

Dated: November 28, 2000.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30820 Filed 12–4–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Parts 600 and 648

[Docket No. 001127331-0331-01; I.D. No.

102600B]

RIN 0648-AN69

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

Foreign Fishing and Fisheries of the

Northeastern United States; Atlantic

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish

Fisheries; 2001 Specifications and

Foreign Fishing Restrictions

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed 2001 initial

specifications; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes initial

specifications for the 2001 fishing year

for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and

butterfish (MSB). Regulations governing

these fisheries require NMFS to publish

specifications for the upcoming fishing

year and to provide an opportunity for

public comment. The intent of this

action is to fulfill this requirement and

to promote the development and

conservation of the MSB resources. This

action also proposes an inseason

adjustment procedure for the 2001

mackerel joint venture processing (JVP)

annual specifications and a proposal to

allocate the domestic annual harvest

(DAH) for Loligo squid into quarterly

periods.

DATES: Public comments must be

received no later than 5 p.m., eastern

standard time, on January 4, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed

specifications should be sent to: Patricia

A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-

2298. Please mark the envelope,

‘‘Comments-2001 MSB Specifications.’’

Comments also may be sent via

facsimile (fax) to 978-281-9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or Internet.

Copies of supporting documents used

by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery

Management Council, including the

Environmental Assessment and

Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA),

are available from: Daniel Furlong,

Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic

Fishery Management Council, Room

2115, Federal Building, 300 South New

Street, Dover, DE 19904-6790.

Send comments on any ambiguity or

unnecessary complexity arising from the

language used in this proposed rule to

Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional

Administrator.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst

(978)281-9273, fax 978-281-9135, e-mail

paul.h.jones@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations implementing the Fishery

Management Plan for the Atlantic

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish

Fisheries (FMP), prepared by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council

(Council), appear at 50 CFR part 648,

subpart B. Regulations governing foreign

fishing appear at 50 CFR part 600,

subpart F. These regulations, at §§

600.516(c) and 648.21, require that

NMFS, based on the maximum

optimum yield (Max OY) of each fishery

as established by the regulations,

annually publish a proposed rule

specifying the initial amounts of the

initial optimum yield (IOY), as well as

the amounts for allowable biological

catch (ABC), DAH, domestic annual

processing (DAP), JVP, and total

allowable levels of foreign fishing

(TALFF) for the affected species

managed under the FMP. The

regulations also specify that there will

be no JVP or TALFF specified for Loligo,

Illex, or butterfish, except that a

butterfish bycatch TALFF will be

specified if TALFF is specified for

Atlantic mackerel. Procedures for

determining the initial annual amounts

are found in § 648.21.

In addition to the annual

specifications for each of the four

species managed under the FMP, the

Council recommended that, for several

species managed by the Council, 2

percent of the 2001 total allowable

landings (TAL) for each of these species

be set aside for data collection purposes.

Because no TAL is specified for Atlantic

mackerel, squid, and butterfish, TAL is

considered equivalent to IOY. The

deduction would occur no later than

December 31, 2000, upon notification to

the Northeast Regional Administrator

that the Council, in consultation with

the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission, has approved a specific

data collection project that would use

the set-aside allocation. If a project is

not approved before December 31, 2000,

then a set-aside deduction from the TAL

would not occur. However, the set-aside

recommendation cannot become

effective until the Council adopts a

framework measure, which in turn, is

approved by NMFS, to establish the

regulatory underpinnings of the process

to allocate the set-aside.

Table 1 contains the proposed initial

specifications for the 2001 Atlantic

mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and

butterfish fisheries.

TABLE 1. PROPOSED INITIAL ANNUAL SPECIFICATIONS, IN METRIC TONS (MT), FOR ATLANTIC MACKEREL, SQUID, AND

BUTTERFISH FOR THE FISHING YEAR JANUARY 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2001.

Specifications

Squid Atlantic

Mackerel Butterfish

Loligo Illex

Max OY 26,000 24,000 N/A1 16,000

ABC 17,000 24,000 347,000 7,200

IOY 17,0006 24,0006 88,0002,6 5,9006

DAH 17,000 24,000 85,0003 5,897

DAP 17,000 24,000 50,000 5,897

JVP 0 0 20,0004 0