19526 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 29, 2009 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XO82 

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; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant 

Regional Administrator), has made a 

preliminary determination that an 

Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 

application submitted by the University 

of Rhode Island/Rhode Island Sea Grant 

(URI/RISG) contains all of the required 

information and warrants further 

consideration. The Assistant Regional 

Administrator has made a preliminary 

determination that the activities 

authorized under this EFP would be 

consistent with the goals and objectives 

of the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid and 

Butterfish Fishery Management Plans 

(FMP). However, further review and 

consultation may be necessary before a 

final determination is made to issue an 

EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that 

the Assistant Regional Administrator 

proposes to recommend that an EFP be 

issued that would allow two 

commercial fishing vessels to conduct 

fishing operations that are otherwise 

restricted by the regulations governing 

the fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States. 

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 14, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: DA9–088@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line ‘‘Comments on URI/ 

RISG Loligo fishery EFP.’’ 

• Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, NE Regional 

Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside 

of the envelope ‘‘Comments on URI/ 

RISG Loligo fishery EFP, DA9–088.’’ 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aja 

Peters–Mason, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9195. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

application for an EFP was submitted on 

March 23, 2009, by David Beutel, the 

Fishery Extension Specialist at URI/ 

RISG. The primary goal of this study is 

to investigate the effects of an 

experimental trawl in reducing bycatch 

of butterfish and scup in the Loligo 

squid fishery. The results of this 

research could be submitted to the Mid– 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council to 

provide information that could be used 

to enhance the management of the 

Loligo squid fishery. 

Two chartered fishing vessels will be 

used to conduct five one-day fishing 

trips during the spring (May/June 2009) 

and five one-day fishing trips in the fall 

(September/October 2009) in and 

around Block Island Sound and Rhode 

Island Sound. On each day of sampling, 

two vessels will tow side–by–side with 

one vessel towing the control net and 

the other the experimental net. Each 

fishing day will consist of six tows of 45 

to 60 minutes duration. Each vessel will 

have one scientific observer on board. 

The researchers will conduct a bottom 

trawl catch characterization study 

aboard two commercial fishing vessels 

targeting Loligo squid using a ‘‘side–by– 

side’’ towing method comparing the 

control net with the experimental net. 

The control net is a 362 x 12 cm two 

seam polyethylene balloon net equipped 

with an 20–cm (8–inch) rockhopper 

sweep. The experimental net is identical 

to the control except for the addition of 

the eighteen foot long rope escape panel 

with the final two bellies repeated. The 

rope escape panel will be fitted over the 

circumference of the original bellies 

35.5 meshes down from the wide end of 

the 8–cm lower belly. This will cause 

the original 8–cm bellies to act as a 

funnel. Small canvas flow diverters will 

be used to maintain the shape of the 

after bellies, the escape panel, and the 

funnel. Flow diverters also create small 

pockets of low pressure which may 

facilitate the butterfish and scup in 

finding the route of escape. 

For each tow, either all of the 

butterfish and scup or a subsample 

consisting of at least 10% of the catch 

will be weighed and measured for total 

length (to nearest cm). Total catch size 

will be determined prior to 

subsampling. Other expected bycatch 

includes summer flounder and Atlantic 

bluefish, which will be weighed and 

measured. 

In addition to harvesting the target 

species, Loligo squid, the applicant 

expects to incidentally catch butterfish, 

scup, summer flounder, and bluefish. 

Because the vessel would be 

temporarily retaining both target and 

non–target fish for data collection 

purposes that it otherwise should not, 

the vessel requires exemption from 

minimum fish size and possession 

restrictions found throughout 50 CFR 

part 648. 

All Loligo and other legally–sized fish 

caught during research would be landed 

as normal commercial harvest and sold 

to defray the costs of chartering the 

collaborating fishing vessels. All other 

organisms would be discarded as 

quickly and carefully as practicable 

following data collection to ensure 

maximum likelihood of survival. 

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. 

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

Dated: April 24, 2009. 

Kristen C. Koch, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–9814 Filed 4–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XO60 

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: Notification of a proposal to 

conduct exempted fishing; request for 

comments. 

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 submitted by Coonamessett 

Farm, which would exempt Atlantic sea 

scallop (scallop) vessels participating in 

a modified scallop dredge twine top 


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