[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 228 (Friday, November 27, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65571-65572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31651]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 111698A]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public 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 be held on Wednesday, December 9, 1998, at 9:00 
a.m. and on Thursday, December 10, 1998, at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Colonial Hotel, 427 
Walnut Street, Wakefield, MA 01880; telephone (781) 245-9300. Requests 
for special accommodations should be addressed to the New England 
Fishery Management Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906-1036; 
telephone: (781) 231-0422.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council (781) 231-0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Wednesday, December 9, 1998

    The meeting will begin with reports on recent activities from the 
Council Chairman, Executive Director, the NMFS Acting Regional 
Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives of the Coast 
Guard, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service. Following reports, the Chairman of the 
Herring Committee will ask for approval of draft regulations and other 
documents associated with the submission of the Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) for the Atlantic Herring Fishery to NMFS. After a noon break, the 
Council intends to seek approval of management measures and draft 
regulations for Amendment 12 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP (for 
whiting, offshore hake, and red hake). As part of the whiting 
discussion, the Council also will resolve issues relative to meeting 
the plan objectives, the Sustainable Fisheries Act requirements, and 
provide an update on document

[[Page 65572]]

preparation and submission of the final amendment to NMFS. The 
Wednesday agenda will conclude with the Multispecies Monitoring 
Committee (MSMC) Annual Report. Information presented will include 
projected groundfish landings through April 1999, target total 
allowable catches for the 1999-2000 fishing year, and options for 
reaching or maintaining fishing mortality objectives that achieve 
rebuilding for the principal groundfish species.

Thursday, December 10, 1998

    The Council will make a number of decisions at this meeting based 
on information presented in the MSMC Report. These include action on 
Framework Adjustments 26 and 27 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. The 
Council intends to approve final action on Framework Adjustment 26, 
which contains measures to protect cod, prior to the May 1 start of the 
1999 fishing year. Alternatives under consideration include an increase 
in the size and/or duration of the existing Gulf of Maine groundfish 
closed areas, the possible addition of areas to conserve the Georges 
Bank cod stock, and a modification to the Gulf of Maine cod trip limit 
``running clock'' feature. The Council also intends to approve initial 
action on Framework Adjustment 27 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. 
Framework Adjustment 27 would contain measures that meet the 1999 
fishing year rebuilding plan objectives and might include area 
closures, trip limits, adjustments to days-at-sea or gear/mesh 
modifications. This Council meeting will conclude after any other 
outstanding business has been addressed.
    Although other issues not contained in this agenda may come before 
this Council for discussion, in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, those issues may not be the 
subject of formal Council action during this meeting. Council action 
will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notice.

Special Accommodations

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

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

    Dated: November 20, 1998.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-31651 Filed 11-25-98; 8:45 am]
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