[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35964-35965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12871]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 051402A]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
scheduling public meetings of its Monkfish Oversight Committee and 
Scallop Oversight and Advisory Panel in June, 2002. Recommendations 
from these committees will be brought to the full Council for formal 
consideration and action, if appropriate.

DATES: The meetings will held between June 5, 2002 and June 11, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the 
Crossings 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI 02886; telephone: (401) 
732-6000.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Newburyport, MA 01950.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Dates and Agendas:

    Wednesday, June 5, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday, June 6, 2002 at 
8:30 a.m.--Monkfish Oversight Committee Meeting.
    The Committee will review the report of the Scientific and 
Statistical Committee and the Plan Development Team on options for 
revising the overfishing definition reference points and status 
determination criteria. The Committee will finalize its recommendations 
to the Councils for management alternatives to be analyzed in the 
Amendment 2 Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. 
Alternatives designed to achieve the approved goals and objectives 
include, but are not limited to: Permit qualification criteria for 
vessels fishing south of 38xN; management program for a deepwater 
directed fishery in the southern fishery management area (SFMA); 
separation of monkfish days-at-sea (DAS) from multispecies and sea 
scallop DAS programs, including counting of monkfish DAS as 24-hour 
days; measures to minimize impacts of the fishery on endangered sea 
turtles; measures to minimize bycatch in directed in non-directed 
fisheries, including mesh size and other gear requirements; an 
exemption program for vessels fishing for monkfish outside of the 
exclusive economic zone (in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 
Organization (NAFO) Regulated Area); alternative areas for essential 
fish habitat (EFH) designation and measures to minimize impacts of the 
fishery on EFH; measures to improve data collection and research on 
monkfish, including mechanisms for funding cooperative research 
programs. The Committee may develop and

[[Page 35965]]

 recommend other management alternatives not included in the list 
above. On Wednesday, Dr. Chris Chambers, Howard Laboratory, Northeast 
Fisheries Science Center (Sandy Hook), NMFS will speak on his Group's 
current research on monkfish. Their focus has been on reproductive 
ecology and behavior of adult monkfish, and the growth and distribution 
of young life-stages.
    Monday, June 10, 2002 at 9:00 a.m.--Scallop Oversight and Advisory 
Panel Meeting and Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 9:00 a.m.--Scallop 
Oversight Committee only.
    The Oversight Committee will review analyses of potential impacts 
associated with Draft Amendment 10 alternatives, consider 
recommendations from the Advisory Committee, and choose preferred 
alternatives for recommendation to the Council. They may recommend 
additional analyses or amendments to the alternatives when the Council 
approves the documents for public hearing. Due to scheduling conflicts 
for some Oversight Committee members, the committee meeting on June 10 
may run late into the evening and the June 11 meeting would be 
cancelled or shortened if the committee finishes its business early.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. 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 action to address 
the emergency.

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 dates.

    Dated: May 14, 2002.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-12871 Filed 5-21-02; 8:45 am]
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