[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 39 (Monday, March 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9079-9080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4299]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XN12


Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Application for an Exempted Fishing 
Permit

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; intent to issue exempted fishing permits, request for 
comment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the intent to issue exempted fishing permits 
(EFPs) to Pacific whiting shoreside vessels and first receivers that 
participate in a maximized retention and monitor program for the 2009 
Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. EFPs are needed to allow vessels to 
retain catch in excess of the cumulative limits and to retain 
prohibited species until offloading. EFPs are also needed to allow 
first receivers to possess Pacific whiting deliveries with prohibited 
species and catch that is in excess of cumulative limits, and to used 
hopper type scales to derive accurate catch weights prior to sorting. 
Issuance of the EFPs would allow NMFS to collect catch data on 
incidentally caught species, including salmonids listed under the 
Endangered Species Act, and would allow new components of an overall 
monitoring program to be investigated before implementation of a 
regulatory program.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 17,2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-XN12 by any 
one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Fax: 206-526-6736, Attn: Becky Renko.
    <bullet> Mail: Barry A. Thom, Acting Regional Administrator, 
Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070, 
Attn: Becky Renko.

[[Page 9080]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko or Kevin Duffy at (206) 
526-6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act provisions at 50 CFR 
600.745 which states that EFPs may be used to authorize fishing 
activities that would otherwise be prohibited in order to collect data 
among other activities. On January 14, 2009, NMFS Northwest Region sent 
a letter to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) that 
included a proposal for issuance of EFPs to vessels and first receivers 
participating in the 2009 Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. If issued, 
the EFPs would provide for a maximized retention and monitoring program 
for the Pacific whiting shoreside fishery. The proposed maximized 
retention and monitoring program regulations are intended to allow for 
the Pacific whiting shoreside fishery to be efficiently prosecuted 
while providing accurate catch data such that the Endangered Species 
Act and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
requirements for this fishery are adequately met.
    The issuance of EFPs would allow approximately 40 vessels to delay 
sorting of groundfish catch and to retain catch in excess of cumulative 
trip limits and prohibited species catch until offloading. These 
activities are otherwise prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR 
660.306(a)(10) and (a)(2), respectively.
    Additionally, issuance of the EFPs to approximately 15 first 
receivers (generally land-based processing facilities) would allow 
first receivers to possess more than a single cumulative limit of a 
particular species, per vessel, per applicable cumulative limit period. 
The possession of catch in excess of the cumulative limits is otherwise 
prohibited by regulations at 50 CFR 660.306(a)(10). In addition, the 
EFPs would include an allowance for first receivers to use hopper type 
scales to derive an accurate total catch weight prior to sorting. 
Regulations pertaining to sorting at Sec.  660.370(h)(6) and 
prohibitions at Sec.  660.306(a)(7) require vessels to sort the catch 
before weighing.
    Issuance of the EFPs would allow for the collection of information 
on the catch of salmon, non-whiting groundfish, and other non-
groundfish species incidentally taken with Pacific whiting. These data 
are needed to monitor the attainment of the shore-based whiting 
allocation while assuring that the fishery specifications (bycatch 
limits, species allocations, OYs, and biological opinion thresholds) 
are not exceeded. Because whiting flesh deteriorates rapidly once the 
fish are caught, whiting must be minimally handled and immediately 
chilled to maintain the flesh quality. Allowing Pacific whiting 
shoreside vessels to retain unsorted catch will also enable whiting 
quality to be maintained.
    At the June 2007 Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting, 
the PFMC recommended that NMFS implement a maximized retention program 
in Federal regulations that would allow full retention of Pacific 
whiting catch by the vessels and delivered to first receivers on shore. 
NMFS Northwest Region is in the process of transitioning the Pacific 
whiting shoreside fishery from a maximized retention and monitoring 
program conducted under EFPs to a Federal regulatory program. Though it 
was expected that the program would be in place at the start of the 
2009 fishing season, it will not be possible given the complexity in 
developing the program. The EFPs, as proposed, would be used to 
investigate the new components of the overall monitoring program before 
regulatory implementation. The EFPs would be in effect until the 
effective date of the new Federal maximized retention and monitoring 
program, or December 31, 2009, if the regulatory program is not in 
effect by that time.
    Proposed Federal regulations for a maximized retention and 
monitoring program would require Pacific whiting shoreside vessels to 
dump unsorted catch directly below deck and would allow unsorted catch 
to be landed, providing that an electronic monitoring system (EMS) is 
used on all fishing trips to verify retention of catch at sea. The EMS 
is an effective tool for accurately monitoring catch retention and 
identifying the time and location of discard events. The EFPs would 
include provisions for EMS, paid for by the vessels, similar to the 
2008 EFP and similar to the proposed Federal regulatory program.
    Proposed Federal regulations for a maximized retention and 
monitoring program would also require first receivers to have on shore 
monitoring conducted by catch monitors. Catch monitors are third party 
employees, paid for by industry, and trained to NMFS standards. The EFP 
would include provisions for third party catch monitors from a NMFS 
specified provider. Like the proposed Federal regulatory program, catch 
monitors used under the EFPs would be trained in techniques that would 
be used for the verification of fish ticket data and in species 
identification. Catch monitor duties include overseeing the sorting, 
weighing, and recordkeeping process, as well as gathering information 
on incidentally caught salmon. Catch monitors verify the accuracy of 
electronic fish ticket data used to manage the Pacific whiting 
shoreside fishery such that inaccurate or delayed information does not 
result in any fishery specifications (bycatch limits, species 
allocations, OYs, and biological opinion thresholds) being exceeded.
    In 2008, the first receiver EFPs required each first receiver to 
have one catch monitor on each day that Pacific whiting deliveries were 
received. In June 2008, to insure the integrity of sector-specific 
bycatch limits, the Council recommended as part of the 2009-2010 
harvest specifications and management measures, that NMFS increase the 
catch monitor coverage in the proposed monitoring program to full 
coverage. With full coverage all Pacific whiting deliveries are 
monitored by catch monitors (the number of individual catch monitors 
per facility would vary depending on the hours of operation and the 
number of Pacific whiting deliveries received each day). NMFS intends 
to implement the Council's recommendations for full catch monitoring 
coverage in its rulemaking for a maximized retention and monitoring 
program. To be consistent with Council recommendations, the first 
receiver EFPs would also require full catch monitor coverage for 2009.

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

    Dated: February 24, 2009.
Emily H. Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E9-4299 Filed 2-27-09; 8:45 am]
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