[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 25, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48996-48997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23975]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 091701D]


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings and a 
Public Hearing

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

ACTION: Public meetings and a public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its 
Ecosystem Management Committee and Executive Committee will hold public 
meetings and a public hearing.

DATES: The meetings will be held on Tuesday, October 9, to Thursday, 
October 11, 2001. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and 
times.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the New Bern Riverfront 
Convention Center, New Bern, NC; telephone: 252-637-1551.
    Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. 
New Street, Dover, DE 19904, telephone: 302-674-2331.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, 
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; telephone: 302-674-2331, ext. 
19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Dates

    Tuesday, October 9, 2001, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. New Member 
Orientation.
    Tuesday, October 9, 2001, from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Council 
convenes for the purpose of swearing in new and reappointed Council 
members and the election of officers.
    Tuesday, October 9,.2001, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Ecosystem 
Management Committee will meet.
    Tuesday, October 9, 2001, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. A presentation on 
Atlantic Coast Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team activities will 
take place.
    Wednesday, October 10, 2001, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Council will 
meet.
    Thursday, October 11, 2001, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Executive 
Committee will meet.
    Thursday, October 11, 2001, from 10 a.m. to noon. A public hearing 
will be convened by the Council at NMFS request to take public comment 
on a regulatory amendment for the FMP for Summer Flounder, Scup, and 
Black Sea Bass.
    Thursday, October 11, 2001, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Council will 
meet.
    Agenda items for the committees and Council meeting(s), as 
appropriate, are: Review status of Magnuson-Stevens Act 
reauthorization, especially as regards inclusion of statutory 
provisions requiring Councils to adopt ecosystem management planning as 
part of Councils' charters, discuss and develop committee actions 
necessary to provide guidance and direction to Council for development 
of potential ecosystem management approaches in Mid-Atlantic area 
(Ecosystem Management Committee); overview of Marine Mammal Protection 
Act, status of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (BND) stocks along the 
Atlantic Coast including estimates of abundance and potential 
biological removal levels, BND/fishery interactions including estimates 
of mortality and identification of problem fisheries (gears/areas/

[[Page 48997]]

seasons), BND Take Reduction Plan development under the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act; review and discuss Monkfish Committee's recommendations 
on monkfish management measures for 2002/2003 fishing year, approve 
management measures for 2002/2003 fishing year; review and discuss 
Dogfish Committee's actions regarding Amendment 1 to the Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery Management Plan, review and discuss Dogfish Committee's 
recommendations on dogfish management measures for 2002/03 fishing 
year, adopt management measures for 2002/03 fishing year; Information 
and Education Program on marine protected areas (MPAs); review annual 
work plan for 2002, review status of FY2001 budget, and review status 
of FY2002 grant application (Executive Committee); hear organizational 
and committee reports including the New England Council's report where 
the Council may address possible actions on herring, groundfish, 
monkfish, red crab, scallops, skates, and whiting.
    On Thursday, October 11, the Council will convene a public hearing 
to take public comment on a proposed regulatory amendment to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass 
Fisheries (FMP). The FMP requires NMFS to compile all landings 
information and compare annual landings to the quotas allocated. 
Landings in excess of a quote are required to be deducted from the 
quota allocations in the following fishing year. Because the fishing 
year does not end until December 31 in any year, it is impossible to 
have a final accounting of annual landings at the time the 
specifications are published for the fishing year that begins on 
January 1. NMFS will review several alternatives under consideration 
that would allow the annual landings to be tabulated in sufficient time 
to make the overage deductions in the annual specifications. Although 
non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before the 
Council for discussion, these 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 and any issues 
arising after publication of this notice 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 actions to 
address such emergencies.

Special Accommodations

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

    Dated: September 20, 2001.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-23975 Filed 9-24-01; 8:45 am]
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