[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 9, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1634-1635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-561]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 010201D]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold 
several public meetings, including a 3-day Council meeting, on January 
23, 24, and 25, 2001, to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). During this period, the 
Council's Enforcement, Red Crab and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) Committees also 
will meet independently from and report back to the Council.

DATES: Both the Enforcement and Red Crab Committees will meet on 
Tuesday, January 23, at 9 a.m. The Council meeting will be held on 
Tuesday, January 23, 2001, beginning at 1:00 p.m., and on Wednesday and 
Thursday, January 24 and 25, at 8:30 a.m. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 24, at 6 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel, 
50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA, 01923; telephone (978) 777-2500. 
Requests for special accommodations should be addressed to the New 
England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, 
Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone (978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Enforcement Committee Meeting

    The committee intends to initiate a review of enforcement 
activities since the implementation of Amendment 5 to the Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The information will be 
used in documents supporting Amendment 13 to the FMP. The committee 
also will finalize recommendations for Sea Scallop Framework Adjustment 
14 and discuss issues related to measuring the cod-end mesh in fishing 
nets.

Red Crab Committee Meeting

    The committee intends to discuss recent events in the red crab 
fishery and develop recommendations to the Council on issues related to 
potential overfishing of the red crab resource.

Council Meeting

    After introductions, the meeting will begin with a report from the 
Council's

[[Page 1635]]

Research Steering Committee. The committee chair will ask the Council 
to approve elements of a Request for Proposals (RFP), including 
research priorities. The RFP will outline requirements under which 
fishermen and scientists may apply for funds to conduct collaborative 
groundfish or related research in New England. During the Skate 
Committee Report to follow, the Council will consider a request for 
NMFS emergency or interim action to prohibit the possession of barndoor 
skates on vessels fishing in Federal waters. There also will be a 
discussion and possible approval of a request to NMFS to eliminate, for 
management purposes, clearnose and rosette skate from the Northeast 
skate complex. The Red Crab Committee will report on issues addressed 
at its earlier committee meeting. These include recent changes in the 
deep-sea red crab fishery and consideration of a request for emergency 
or interim action to address overfishing as a result of the recent 
changes in the fishery. The committee will also forward the results of 
their discussion concerning the need to develop a Red Crab FMP this 
year.

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

    The Council meeting will begin with a closed session for 
approximately an hour to discuss personnel and internal administrative 
matters. The open portion of the meeting will begin with a report from 
the Groundfish Committee. There will be an update on the development of 
Amendment 13 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, including a discussion 
of the biological objectives for the amendment (in light of Amendment 9 
overfishing definitions) and progress on the development of management 
measures. This also will serve as the initial meeting for Framework 36 
to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. Actions under consideration in the 
framework adjustment include alternatives that would address regulatory 
discards of Gulf of Maine cod and address combined landings and 
discards that exceed the 2000 target Total Allowable Catch, a measure 
to allow tuna purse seine vessels access to the current groundfish 
closed areas, expansion of the northern shrimp fishery area in the Gulf 
of Maine, an extension of the timeframe of the Western Gulf of Maine 
Closed Area and other issues identified by the Groundfish Committee and 
Council. The Habitat Committee will review the court decision and order 
on American Oceans Campaign v. Secretary of Commerce Daley (the 
Essential Fish Habitat lawsuit) and will discuss Council responsibility 
to implement corrective action concerning the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The discussion will include a 
proposed approach to comply with the court order in the Northeast 
Multispecies Amendment 13 Environmental Impact Statement currently 
under development. In the final agenda item for the day, the Spiny 
Dogfish Committee will recommend approval of annual specifications for 
the 2001-2002 fishing year; measures may include a Total Allowable 
Catch, quotas, trip limits, and/or any other measures specified in the 
Spiny Dogfish FMP.

Magnuson-Stevens Act Committee Meeting

    Following adjournment of the Council meeting, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act Committee will meet briefly to discuss the reauthorization of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and develop an approach to address issues proposed 
in the legislation.

Thursday, January 25, 2001

    The third day of the Council meeting will begin with reports on 
recent activities from the Council Chairman, Executive Director, the 
NMFS Regional Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and 
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives 
of the Coast Guard, NMFS Enforcement and the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission. As part of a NMFS Stock Assessment Public Review 
Workshop, Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff will present an 
advisory on the stock status of sea scallops, silver hake, American 
plaice, and Gulf of Maine haddock. During the afternoon session, the 
Council will consider approval of final action on Framework Adjustment 
14 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP and its related Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement. Four management issues will be 
addressed in the framework: (1) the annual adjustment to the days-at-
sea available for fishing in the 2001-2002 and the 2002-2003 fishing 
years; (2) up to four 2-year area closures to protect small scallops; 
(3) a controlled fishing program to harvest scallops in the Hudson 
Canyon and Virginia Beach Areas; and (4) a new possession limit on in-
shell scallops for limited access scallop vessels when inshore of the 
day-at-sea monitoring line south of 42 deg.20' N latitude. The Council 
meeting will adjourn after addressing any other outstanding business.
    Although other non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda 
may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be 
the subjects of formal action during this meeting. Council action will 
be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notification 
and any issues arising after publication of this notification that 
require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to 
take final action to address the emergency.
    The New England Council will consider public comments at a minimum 
of two Council meetings before making recommendations to the National 
Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator on any framework 
adjustment to a fishery management plan. If she concurs with the 
adjustment proposed by the Council, the Regional Administrator has the 
discretion to publish the action either as proposed or final 
regulations in the Federal Register. Documents pertaining to framework 
adjustments are available for public review 7 days prior to a final 
vote by the Council.

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.

    Dated: January 3, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-561 Filed 1-8-01; 8:45 am]
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