12452 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2001 / Proposed Rules

Any fish below the minimum size

limits or in excess of a quota will not

be retained, except for scientific

purposes. However, the applicant

intends to retain for sale those fish

meeting the minimum size and quota

requirements. In addition, the applicant

wants to land and sell fish caught in

excess of any applicable landing limit,

although it is believed that landings

limits will likely not be exceeded due to

the short duration of the tows.

An EFP would be issued to one

participating federally permitted vessel

to exempt it from minimum mesh-size

requirements, GRA restrictions, landing

limits, and possession limits. This EFP

would also authorize the vessel to land

and sell any fish that conform with

minimum-size and quota restrictions.

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

Dated: February 20, 2001.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–4692 Filed 2–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[I.D. 021401B]

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 made a

preliminary determination to approve

an application for an EFP that would

allow up to 12 vessels to conduct

fishing operations otherwise restricted

by regulations governing the fisheries of

the Northeastern United States. The

Gulf of Maine Aquarium Development

Corporation and Maine Department of

Marine Resources have submitted an

application for an EFP that warrants

further consideration. The experimental

fishery to be conducted under the EFP

would investigate the bycatch of

multispecies and catch of northern

shrimp in Gulf of Maine waters that are

not currently open to this fishery. The

goal of the research is to determine

whether a shrimp fishery can be

conducted southeast of the Loran 25600

line within acceptable multispecies

bycatch limits in order to provide

additional economic opportunity to the

shrimp fleet and alleviate fishing

pressure on shrimp in nearshore waters.

This notice is intended to provide

interested parties the opportunity to

comment on the proposed experimental

fishery.

DATES: Comments must be received by

March 14, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to

Patricia Kurkul, Regional Administrator,

NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 1

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

Mark on the outside of the envelope

‘‘Comments on Proposed Experimental

Fishery.’’ Comments also may be sent

via facsimilar (fax) to 978–281–9135.

Comments will not be accepted if

submitted via e-mail or Internet.

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 that

there is adequate opportunity for the

public to comment on the EFP

application, and that the conservation

goals and objectives of the Fishery

Management Plan are not compromised.

The Gulf of Maine Aquarium

Development Corporation of Portland,

Maine (ME), and the Maine Department

of Marine Resources of Boothbay

Harbor, ME submitted to NMFS on

November 2, 2000, an application for an

EFP to conduct research in the northern

shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Maine. The

research would target shrimp southeast

of the area in which fishing is currently

allowed, with the objective of

determining whether a shrimp fishery

can be conducted within acceptable

multispecies bycatch limits. The

underlying goal of the research is to

provide additional economic

opportunity to the northern shrimp fleet

and alleviate fishing pressure on shrimp

in nearshore waters.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2001 / Proposed Rules 12453

The Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP) regulations

specify minimum fishing gear mesh

sizes in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank

(GOM/GB) Regulated Mesh Area in

order to protect multispecies. There are

several exemptions, however, that allow

fisheries that utilize mesh size smaller

than the allowable to be conducted in

this area. One of the exemptions to the

GOM/GB Regulated Mesh Area is the

Small Mesh Northern Shrimp Fishery

Exemption Area, which allows the

targeting of northern shrimp. One of the

principle requirements associated with

this exemption area is a requirement to

use a finfish excluder device (FED) to

ensure a minimal level of multispecies

bycatch. Justification of the Small Mesh

Northern Shrimp Fishery Exemption

Area was based upon the testing of the

Nordmore Grate, a FED that was tested

from 1991 to 1992, in the Gulf of Maine

northwest of the Loran 25600 line.

Based upon those experimental trawls,

the Small Mesh Northern Shrimp

Fishery Exemption Area was

implemented, with the border being

formed in part by the Loran 25600 line.

Based on results from the

experimental fishery, the Small Mesh

Northern Shrimp Fishery Exemption

Area could be expanded if there is

information to determine that the

percentage of regulated species caught

as bycatch is sufficiently small, on a per

trip basis, such that fishing mortality

objectives of the FMP will not be

jeopardized.

According to the applicant, up to 12

vessels would be issued EFPs to allow

targeting of shrimp using small mesh on

12, 3-day trips from April 15 through

May 31, 2001. A contractor for sea

sampling will be selected through the

‘‘Request for Proposal’’ process, and

observers will accompany all trips. For

the first half of each trip, the nets will

be consistent with the requirements of

the Small Mesh Northern Shrimp

Fishery Exemption Area (FED with 1-

inch maximum spacing). For the second

half of each trip, the nets will contain

a 3/4-inch (0.01905-m)-spaced

Nordmore grate. At some time during

each of the first 2 days of each trip,

vessels will make a one half-hour tow

with no grate in the net to serve as a

control tow. When six trips (18 days) of

fishing have been completed, the rate of

groundfish bycatch will be estimated

and submitted to NMFS. Depending

upon the level of bycatch, the

experiment will either be terminated,

continue unaltered, or continue under

new procedures (using only the 3/4-inch

(0.01905-m)-spaced grate).

EFPs would be required to exempt

vessels from certain management

measures of the FMP, including the

time, area, and FED restrictions of the

Small Mesh Northern Shrimp Fishery

Exemption Area, and Gulf of Maine

Rolling Closures.

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

Dated: February 20, 2001.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–4689 Filed 2–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S