17822 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 73 / Friday, April 17, 2009 / Notices 

issue an EFP. Therefore, NMFS 

announces that the Assistant Regional 

Administrator proposes to recommend 

that an EFP be issued that would allow 

24 commercial fishing vessels to 

conduct research and compensation 

fishing operations that are otherwise 

restricted by the regulations governing 

the fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States. This EFP, which would enable 

vessels to harvest monkfish granted 

through the Monkfish Research Set– 

Aside (RSA) Program, would grant 

exemptions from the monkfish days–at– 

sea (DAS) possession limits in the 

Southern (SFMA) and Northern (NFMA) 

Fishery Management Areas, as well as 

exempt vessels from monkfish 

minimum size limits for on–board 

tagging purposes only. 

Regulations under the Magnuson– 

Stevens 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 must be received on 

or before May 4, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: DA9–072@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line ‘‘Comments on 

Monkfish Tagging EFP.’’ 

• Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional 

Office, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, 

MA 01930. Mark the outside of the 

envelope ‘‘Comments on monkfish 

tagging EFP, DA9–072.’’ 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Bryant, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9244. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

application for an EFP was submitted on 

March 5, 2009, for a project selected 

under the New England and Mid– 

Atlantic Fishery Management Councils’ 

Monkfish RSA Program. The specific 

goals of the project are to determine 

monkfish movement patterns and 

compare 2009 migratory patterns to 

those observed in 2007. This EFP would 

grant an exemption from monkfish 

possession limits to 24 vessels for the 

purpose of harvesting RSA to fund this 

research project (i.e. compensation 

fishing). Funds generated by the 

compensation fishing will be used to 

pay for laboratory equipment, as well as 

salaries and stipends for principal 

investigators. This EFP would also 

exempt vessels from the monkfish 

minimum size restrictions for the 

purpose of tagging monkfish during 

compensation fishing activities. No 

undersized monkfish would be landed 

for sale. 

Fishing would occur in the NFMA in 

statistical areas 513 and 514. In the 

SFMA, research would occur in 

statistical areas 536, 537, 612, 613, 614, 

615, 645, and 631. These statistical areas 

break down into five study regions: The 

NFMA; northeast SFMA; offshore 

SFMA; central SFMA; and southern 

SFMA. Standard commercial gillnet net 

gear would be used following normal 

commercial operating procedures. The 

total number of days fishing will not 

exceed 141. The total number of hauls 

per day will be four, with a total of 50 

nets per vessel, and a soak time of 24 

to 72 hours. Researchers will tag 1,000 

monkfish using T–bar tags in each of the 

five regions, for a total of 5,000 tagged 

individuals. In order to possess 

undersized monkfish on board vessels 

for the purpose of tagging, this research 

activity requires an exemption from 

monkfish minimum size limits at 50 

CFR 648.93. No fish below minimum 

size would be landed for sale. 

Compensation fishing would occur May 

2009 through April 2010, with tagging 

conducted in May through June 2009, 

except in the southern region of the 

SFMA, where tagging would be 

conducted in March through April 2010. 

The 24 fishing industry collaborators 

would have access to 141 monkfish DAS 

that have been preliminarily awarded to 

the project through the Monkfish RSA 

Program. The applicant states that these 

vessels must be able to land at least 

3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of whole monkfish 

(904 lb (410 kg) tail weight) per trip to 

achieve the goal of $2,800 per RSA DAS. 

In order to achieve this target catch, 

these fishing activities would require an 

exemption from monkfish DAS 

possession limits at § 648.94(b)(2). This 

exemption would provide these 24 

vessels with the flexibility they need to 

generate sufficient income to meet 

projected costs of the research activity, 

while minimizing operating expenses. 

Based on the preliminary award of 141 

DAS, this would require a total catch of 

423,000 lb (191,870 kg) of whole 

monkfish (127,410 lb (57,792 kg) tail 

weight). Operating under this total 

landings cap, compensation fishing 

would continue until the required goal 

of 423,000 lb (191,870 kg) of whole 

monkfish is met, or until the awarded 

DAS have been fully utilized, whichever 

occurs first. 

Aside from these exemptions, fishing 

activity will be conducted under normal 

commercial practices. 

The applicant may request minor 

modifications and extensions to the EFP 

throughout the year. EFP modifications 

and extensions may be granted without 

further notice if they are deemed 

essential to facilitate completion of the 

proposed research and have minimal 

impacts that do not change the scope or 

impact of the initially approved EFP 

request. Any fishing activity conducted 

outside the scope of the exempted 

fishing activity would be prohibited. If 

the research project is terminated for 

any reason prior to completion, any 

unused funds collected from catch sold 

to pay for research expenses may be 

refunded to NOAA. 

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

Dated: April 13, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–8887 Filed 4–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XO37 

Magnuson–Stevens Act Provisions; 

General Provisions for Domestic 

Fisheries; Application for Exempted 

Fishing Permits 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of exempted 

fishing permit application. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant 

Regional Administrator), has made a 

preliminary determination that the 

subject exempted fishing permit (EFP) 

application contains all the required 

information and warrants further 

consideration. The Assistant Regional 

Administrator has also made a 

preliminary determination that the 

activities authorized under the EFP 

would be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the Northeast (NE) 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). However, further review and 

consultation may be necessary before a 

final determination is made to issue the 

EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that 

the Assistant Regional Administrator 

proposes to recommend that an EFP be 

issued that would allow one commercial 

fishing vessel to conduct fishing 

operations that are otherwise restricted 

by the regulations governing the 

fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 73 / Friday, April 17, 2009 / Notices 17823 

Regulations under the Magnuson– 

Stevens 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 must be received on 

or before May 4, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 

Regional Office, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 

outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments on 

the Massachusetts Haddock Trawl 

Study.’’ Comments may also be sent via 

facsimile (fax) to (978) 281–9135, or 

submitted via e-mail to the following 

address: DA9052@noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Allison Murphy, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9122, fax (978) 

281–9135. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A 

complete application for an EFP was 

submitted on February 27, 2009, by 

David Chosid and Michael Pol of the 

Massachusetts Division of Marine 

Fisheries (DMF). The project was 

funded by the DMF/University of 

Massachusetts, Dartmouth, School for 

Marine Science and Technology, Marine 

Fisheries Institute grant program. The 

primary goal of the research is to test the 

effectiveness of a sweepless (no ground 

gear) raised footrope, semi–pelagic 

trawl, referred to as the ‘‘5–point trawl’’ 

net. This net was designed to minimize 

the catch of Atlantic cod while 

maximizing the catch of haddock. The 

intent of the researchers is that the 

experimental net, if successful, could 

potentially be an acceptable alternative 

trawl design to be used in the 

groundfish fishery. 

The project is a continuation of 

research previously conducted in 2006 

and 2007 by DMF, which has 

preliminarily shown that this new trawl 

net design significantly reduces the 

bycatch of cod, as compared to the 

standard trawl used. The experimental 

net was designed to exploit the 

differences in behavior of haddock and 

cod in relation to towed gears. Similar 

to the haddock separator trawl, this 

experimental net proposes to reduce cod 

mortality; however, it avoids some of 

the complexities associated with 

separator trawls, since, under the 

experimental net, the cod would not 

pass through meshes, or encounter grids 

or escape vents. Although this study 

would focus on reducing cod-haddock 

interactions, this net may also reduce 

the bycatch of flatfish species such as 

winter flounder, yellowtail flounder, 

witch flounder, and American plaice. 

All fish would be sorted and weighed, 

and fish of legal size would be retained 

for sale. All discards would be released 

as quickly as practicable to reduce 

incidental mortality. Exemptions from 

the NE multispecies possession limits at 

50 CFR 648.86, the U.S. Canada 

Management Area harvest control 

regulations at § 648.85(a)(3)(iv), the 

U.S./Canada Management Area gear 

requirements for trawl nets at 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iii), and the Eastern U.S./ 

Canada Area May 1– July 31 seasonal 

trawl gear prohibition specified under 

the Regional Administrator’s authority, 

are necessary because valid testing of 

the experimental nets would require 

continued sampling after daily and 

overall trip limits have been reached for 

certain species in order to obtain 

adequate replicates for analysis. The 

participating vessel would be subject to 

any U.S./Canada Management Area 

Closures or possession prohibitions due 

to the achievement of a cod, haddock, 

or yellowtail flounder Total Allowable 

Catch (TAC). Based on catch data from 

previous experimental tows with this 

net design, the researchers anticipate 

that a total of 24.2 mt of fish would be 

harvested throughout the course of the 

study. All proceeds from the sale of the 

fish would be returned to DMF for the 

purpose of enhancing future research. 

Following is the total estimated catch 

and discards by species: Cod, 3.20 mt; 

haddock, 1.60 mt; pollock, 0.00 mt; 

witch flounder, 0.10 mt; yellowtail 

flounder, 0.40 mt; winter flounder, 2.00 

mt; American plaice, 0.40 mt; monkfish, 

0.90 mt; spiny dogfish, 1.20 mt; skates, 

8.80 mt; American lobster, 0.60 mt; and 

other discards, 5.00 mt. 

All at-sea research would be 

conducted from one fishing vessel, 

which intends to fish in the Eastern 

U.S./Canada Haddock Special Access 

Program (SAP). A total of 7 days would 

be used for testing the experimental 

trawl. An anticipated 84 1-hour tows 

would be conducted during that time. 

DMF staff would be aboard the vessel at 

all times during testing. 

Based on preliminary review of this 

project, and in accordance with NOAA 

Administrative Order 216–6, a 

Categorical Exclusion from 

requirements to prepare either an 

Environmental Impact Statement or an 

Environmental Assessment under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

appears to be justified. The applicant 

may request minor modifications and 

extensions to the EFP throughout the 

year. EFP modifications and extensions 

may be granted without further notice if 

they are deemed essential to facilitate 

completion of the proposed research 

and have minimal impacts that do not 

change the scope or impact of the 

initially approved EFP request. 

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

Dated: April 13, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–8906 Filed 4–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Information 

Collection; Comment Request 

ACTION: Submission for OMB review; 

comment request. 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

SUMMARY: The Committee is submitting 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

for their review the following collection 

as required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

Committee Form 403—Annual 

Certification—Qualified Nonprofit 

Agency Serving People Who Are Blind. 

Committee Form 404—Annual 

Certification—Qualified Nonprofit 

Agency Serving People Who Are 

Severely Disabled. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments about the collection 

on or before May 13, 2009. The agency’s 

60-day notice informing the public of 

the intent to renew this form with no 

changes was published in the Federal 

Register on February 3, 2009 on page 

5913–5914. A subsequent correction 

notice was published on February 13, 

2009 on page 7216. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted, identified by the title of the 

information collection activity, to the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Attn: Ms. Jasmeet K. Seehra, 

OMB Desk Officer, by any of the 

following two methods within 30 days 

from the date of publication in the 

Federal Register: (1) By fax to: (202) 

395–6974, Attention: Ms. Jasmeet K. 

Seehra, OMB Desk Office; and (2) 

Electronically by e-mail to: 

Jasmeet_K._Seehra@omb.eop.gov. 

Requests for copies of documents 

pertaining to the collection should be 

addressed to Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled, Attention: Edward Yang, 

Information Technology Specialist, 

Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800, 1421 

Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES