Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Application for an Exempted Fishing Permit

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This notice announces receipt of an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application from the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC). If granted, this permit would allow AKSC to evaluate how various fishing and handling practices affect halibut mortality. Operators from up to seven AKSC nonpelagic trawl vessels would remove halibut from a codend on the deck, and release those fish back to the water in a timely manner to increase survivability. These halibut will be sampled for length and physical condition using standard International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) halibut mortality assessment methodology. This activity has the potential to promote the objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Halibut Act by assessing techniques for improving survival of halibut caught incidentally in nonpelagic trawl fisheries.