Categorical Exclusion for an Exempted Fishing Permit to Test Modified Halibut Handling on Deck of Amendment 80 Vessels

The Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) would allow three vessels in the Best Use Cooperative to sort halibut removed from a cod end on the deck of the vessel, and release those fish back to the water after accounting for the halibut condition using standard International Pacific Halibut Commission viability methods for predicting mortality of individual fish. The EFP will allow these vessels to alter the amount of time that halibut are in a codend, on deck and the amount of handling they receive prior to release.