21306 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 83 / Monday, April 30, 2001 / Proposed Rules

[FR Doc. 01–10696 Filed 4–27–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 041801B]

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

General Provisions for Domestic

Fisheries; Applications 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 received a

proposal to conduct experimental

fishing and has made a preliminary

determination that the subject EFP

application contains all the required

information and warrants further

consideration. A preliminary

determination has also been made that

the activities authorized under the EFP

will be consistent with the goals and

objectives of the Northeast Multispecies

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and

within the scope of earlier analyses of

impacts. However, further review and

consultation may be necessary before a

final determination is made to issue an

EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that

the Regional Administrator is

considering whether to issue an EFP

that would allow a single vessel to

conduct fishing operations otherwise

restricted by regulations governing the

fisheries of the Northeastern United

States. The University of Massachusetts

at Dartmouth and Manomet Center for

Conservation Sciences (Manomet) have

submitted an application for an EFP to

allow them to target multispecies in

order to investigate the selectivity of

various shapes and sizes of knotless

trawl mesh, and the selectivity of finfish

excluder grates with two different barspacings and configurations.

DATES: Comments must be received by

May 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Patricia Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

Mark on the outside of the envelope

‘‘Comments on Proposed Experimental

Fishery.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom

Warren, Fishery Management Specialist,

978–281–9347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

regulations that govern exempted

experimental fishing, at 50 CFR 600.745,

allow the Regional Administrator to

authorize for certain purposes the

targeting or incidental harvest of

managed species that would otherwise

be prohibited. An EFP to authorize such

activity may be issued, provided there is

adequate opportunity for the public to

comment on the EFP application, and

the conservation goals and objectives of

the FMP are not compromised.

The University of Massachusetts at

Dartmouth and Manomet, submitted to

NMFS on April 5, 2001, an application

for an EFP to conduct research in the

multispecies fishery on Georges Bank.

The research would target multispecies

in the Georges Bank Seasonal Closure

area, with the objective of investigating

the selectivity of various shapes and

sizes of knotless trawl mesh, and the

selectivity of finfish excluder grates

with two different bar-spacings and

configurations. Specifically, the

research would utilize a standard 6.0–

inch (15.3–cm) diamond mesh as

control, and compare its selectivity to

6.5–inch (16.5–cm) hexagon, 6.5-inch

(16.5-cm) square, and 6.0–inch (15.3-

cm) hexagon, knotless mesh. The two

configurations of finfish excluder grates

to be tested on separate tows would be

horizontal bars spaced at 3 inches (7.6–

cm) and vertical bars spaced at 4 inches

(10.2–cm). A double cod-end trawl

design will be utilized on both the mesh

and excluder grate trials. The goal of the

research is to develop trawl gear

designed to target flatfish that allows

greater escapement of gadoids (e.g., cod

and haddock), than the flatfish trawls

that are currently utilized by the

industry.

A single vessel would be issued an

EFP to allow a total of 42 tows. EFPs

would be required to exempt the vessel

from the Days-at-Sea, closed area, and

mesh restrictions of the FMP. The

proposed timing and location of the

research, and the applicant’s

justification for requesting an exemption

to the Georges Bank Seasonal Closure

Area is that the relatively high numbers

of flatfish and gadoids that are available

in that area would allow conclusive

results to be obtained in a cost-effective

manner. The applicant estimates that

the research will take 6 to 8 days to

complete.

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

Dated: April 24, 2001.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–10653 Filed 4–27–01; 8:45 am]

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