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[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 29074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13434]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[ID. 051601B]

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 of receipt of an application for an exempted fishing 
permit (EFP); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of an application for an EFP from the 
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WSDFW). If awarded, 
the EFP would allow vessels with valid Washington State delivery 
permits to land certain federally managed groundfish species in excess 
of cumulative trip limits and sell them for profit, providing the 
vessel carries a State- sponsored observer. State observers would 
collect total catch and effort data, and retain specimens that are 
otherwise not available shoreside. This EFP proposal is intended to 
promote the objectives of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) by providing data on total catch and incidental 
catch rates.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EFP application are available from Becky 
Renko, Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Bldg. 1, 
Seattle, WA 98115-0070.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Becky Renko, 206-526-6140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is authorized by the FMP and 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 600.745 and 50 CFR 660.350.
    On April 5, 2001, NMFS received an EFP application from the WSDFW. 
The purpose of this exempted fishing activity would be to measure 
bycatch rates for canary rockfish and other rockfish species associated 
with fishing strategies currently used in the northern arrowtooth 
flounder fishery off Washington State.
    Fishing for arrowtooth flounder, which is an abundant and 
commercially important species off Washington State, is constrained by 
efforts to rebuild canary rockfish, an overfished species. Fishers who 
have historically targeted arrowtooth flounder believe that the fishery 
can be prosecuted with a much lower rockfish bycatch rate than is 
currently assumed.
    If issued, this EFP would allow certain vessels with valid 
Washington State delivery permits to retain and sell groundfish species 
in excess of cumulative trip limits, and would provide for a State-run 
observer program where observers collect and retain specimens of 
otherwise prohibited fish caught by the vessel. Observers would also 
collect much-needed data from which incidental catch rates and total 
catch of various species and species groups could be estimated. Without 
an EFP, groundfish regulations at 50 CFR 660.306(f) restrict vessels 
from landing groundfish species or species groups in excess of trip 
limits.
    Data collected during this project is expected to have a broad 
significance to the management of the groundfish fishery by providing 
much needed information on: (1) Total catch in the northern flatfish 
fishery; (2) catch rates of incidentally caught species, including 
canary rockfish by fishing location; and (3) age structure data that is 
otherwise not available from landed catch. To the extent possible, data 
provided by the State observers will be compatible with that data 
collected by the NMFS coastwide observer program. If the EFP is issued, 
approximately seven vessels are expected to fish under the EFP from 
July to September 2001. All groundfish caught under this EFP would be 
counted against the optimum yields (OYs) for those species and will not 
result in total harvest above expected levels. NMFS will include 
special provisions should they be necessary to ensure that the canary 
rockfish OY is not exceeded.
    In accordance with Pacific Coast groundfish regulations, NMFS has 
determined that the proposal warrants further consideration and has 
initiated consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(Council). The Council will consider the EFP application during its 
June 11-15, 2001, meeting, which will be held at the Park Plaza Hotel, 
in Burlingame, CA. The applicants have been invited to appear in 
support of their application. A copy of the application is available 
for review from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: May 22, 2001.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-13434 Filed 5-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S
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