[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 127 (Friday, July 2, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35984-35985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16915]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 062199A]


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 3-day public meeting on July 13-15, 1999, to consider actions 
affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 1999, at 9:30 a.m. 
and on Wednesday and Thursday, July 14-15, 1999, at 9 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 
Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone (207) 775-2331. 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:

Tuesday, July 13, 1999

     At the start of the meeting the Council Chairman and Executive 
Director will ask The Council for approval to form a Research Steering 
and Experimental Fisheries Committee. This group would identify and 
prioritize fishery management research needs in the Northeast region, 
including the one-percent TAC set-aside earmarked for sea scallop 
fishery research. A presentation of the Interspecies Committee Report 
will follow and will review discussions about: Managing fishing harvest 
capacity, including NMFS initiatives; strawman proposals for 
controlling latent effort; possible changes to the fishing year for 
Council fishery management plans; and outstanding issues for small 
vessel upgrading provisions. The morning session will conclude with a 
presentation of the annual Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 
Report for the herring fishery.
     In the afternoon, the Council will discuss Atlantic herring 
management and will consider the following actions: Approval of 
specifications for the 2000 fishing year, approval of an adjustment to 
the U.S. at-sea processing specification for the 1999 fishing year, and 
approval to develop a framework adjustment to the proposed Herring 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 2000 fishing year. The framework 
adjustment would change the FMP to include a possible adjustment to the 
timing of the fishing year, changes to reporting requirements for large 
domestic at-sea processing vessels, a modification to allow the 
specification of U.S. at-sea processing allocation by management area, 
and possible changes to other measures contained in the FMP. The 
Council will also discuss and may approve a control date for the 
herring fishery and development of a controlled access system.

Wednesday, July 14, 1999

     The Council will continue to discuss herring agenda items until 
noon. An update on whiting management will

[[Page 35985]]

follow. This update will include review, and possible approval, of 
written comments concerning NMFS' proposed disapproval of the limited 
access program submitted in Amendment 12 to the Northeast Multispecies 
FMP (whiting management program). The Council will also consider the 
following actions relating to small-mesh fisheries: Development of a 
New England Council Small Mesh Species FMP to include the management of 
whiting, red hake, and offshore hake; inclusion of a proposed whiting 
framework adjustment to modify the mesh size/possession limit program 
and to allow the use of net strengtheners in this FMP; and inclusion of 
northern shrimp management in the EEZ in the Small Mesh Species FMP. 
The Council will conclude the July 14 meeting with the Habitat 
Committee Report. The committee chairman will discuss the committee's 
recommendations concerning the designation of additional habitat areas 
of particular concern, measures to protect essential fish habitat 
(EFH), and modifications to existing EFH designations.

Thursday, July 15, 1999

     The meeting will begin with reports from the Council Chairman; 
Executive Director; the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS; 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council liaisons; and representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. Next, the Groundfish Committee will review the 
development of Framework Adjustment 31 to the Northeast Multispecies 
FMP. Although the Council will not take final action on the framework 
adjustment, they will discuss incorporating the Framework 31 proposals 
into the annual adjustment to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, an action 
that would not be formally considered by the Council until late fall 
1999. The measures proposed for Framework 31 would have replaced the 
Georges Bank cod trip limit that would take effect on August 15 under 
Framework Adjustment 30 once it is implemented. Measures in Framework 
31 would require vessels fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Trip Limit 
Exemption Program to stop fishing for a 30-day block of time each 
quarter, reduce the amount of gear fished by hook and gillnet vessels, 
and eliminate the ``running clock'' feature of the GOM cod trip limit. 
The ``running clock'' is a mechanism in the regulations that was 
developed to reduce discards by allowing vessels to land their GOM cod 
trip limit overages. Under the running clock provision, vessels with 
landings that exceed the trip limit must remain at the dock until the 
days-at-sea for that trip equate to the amount of cod landed. The 
Council will also consider development of a framework adjustment to the 
Northeast Multispecies FMP that would implement mid-season changes to 
the GOM cod fishery management program. Formal action on this issue 
would be scheduled for the August and September 1999 Council meetings.
     During the afternoon portion of the meeting, the Mid-Atlantic 
Plans Committee will ask the Council to consider forwarding written 
comments to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council on the 
following issues: Proposals for the Tilefish FMP, mackerel fishery 
limited entry measures, coordinating the Atlantic Herring and Mackerel 
FMPs, and the status of the summer flounder rebuilding program. The 
Enforcement Committee will review progress on the development of 
enforcement guidelines for Council use during the development of 
management measures. The meeting will adjourn after the Council 
addresses any outstanding business.
     Although other issues not contained in the agenda may come before 
the Council, the Council may not take final action on them without 
public notice or within 14 days prior to the meeting date, unless the 
purpose of taking final action on an issue not contained in the agenda 
is to address an emergency under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. In that case, public notice 
will be deemed to have been met by announcing the emergency action to 
the public in attendance at the Council meeting.

Special Accommodations

     This meeting is accessible to people with physical 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.

    Dated: June 29, 1999.
George H. Darcy,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-16915 Filed 7-1-99; 8:45 am]
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