[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 8, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 40341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19552]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Parts 649, 650, and 651

[I.D. 072695B]


New England Fishery Management Council; Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
a 2-day public meeting to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone.

DATES: The meeting will begin on Thursday, August 10, 1995, at 9:30 
a.m. and on Friday, August 11, 1995, at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the King's Grant Inn, Route 128 
and Trask Lane, Danvers, MA 01923; telephone: (508) 774-6800. Requests 
for special accommodations should be addressed to the New England 
Fishery Management Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01096-1097; 
telephone: (617) 231-0422.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas G. Marshall, Executive 
Director, (617) 231-0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

August 10, 1995

    The August 10, 1995, session will begin with a report from the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center on the scallop and haddock 
assessments developed at the 20th Stock Assessment Workshop. During the 
afternoon session, the Council will discuss the projected timetable for 
development of Amendment 7 to the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery (Multispecies FMP), a proposed change 
(Framework Adjustment 12) in the multispecies regulations relating to 
harbor porpoise mitigation and the status of work on Amendment 5 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery. There 
will also be Monkfish Subcommittee reports on gear conflict issues and 
discussion on progress toward development of a fishery management plan 
for monkfish.

Abbreviated Rulemaking Action--Northeast Multispecies

    The Council will consider initial action to adjust the Multispecies 
FMP under the framework for abbreviated rulemaking contained in 50 CFR 
651.40. The Council will accept comments on the framework adjustment 
that would reconfigure the midcoast time/area closure to reduce harbor 
porpoise bycatch in the sink gillnet fishery. The Council is 
considering a change in area and duration of the closure and the 
possibility of incorporating the use of acoustic alarms to reduce 
harbor porpoise mortality. This will be the first Council meeting under 
the process for framework adjustments. A second discussion will occur 
at a subsequent meeting, as yet, unspecified. If the Director, 
Northeast Region NMFS (Regional Director), concurs with the Council's 
recommendation, he will publish the changes as a proposed or final rule 
in the Federal Register.

August 11, 1995

    At 8:30 a.m., the Council will convene to elect officers for 1995-
96. Following elections, the Council's State Department member will 
report on international issues, including Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 
Organization implementing legislation (Senate bill #267). The Council 
will then address the contents of a public hearing document on a 
proposed amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the American 
Lobster Fishery, which contains goals for reducing fishing effort, 
preventing and eliminating overfishing, and rebuilding the lobster 
stocks. The Council may approve the substance of the public hearing 
document at this meeting.
    The Council will then hear reports from the Chairman, Council 
Executive Director, Regional Director, Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center liaison, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaison, and 
representatives from the Coast Guard, the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission, and the State Department. Other items of business 
may be added to the agenda as necessary.

Special Accommodations

    The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Douglas G. Marshall (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 
days prior to the meeting date.

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

    Dated: August 2, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-19552 Filed 8-7-95; 8:45 am]
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