[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7506-7507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3759]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 021003C]


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 a public meeting of its Groundfish and Habitat Oversight 
Committee in March, 2003 to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from 
these groups will be brought to the full Council for formal 
consideration and action, if appropriate.

DATES: These meetings will be held March 3 and 4, 2003. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in Providence, RI. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific locations.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, 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

    Monday, March 3, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. Groundfish Oversight Committee 
Meeting.
    Location: Providence Biltmore, 11 Dorrance Street, Providence, MA 
02903; telephone: (401) 421-0700.
    The Groundfish Oversight Committee will continue development of 
Amendment 13 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP). The committee anticipates receiving a preliminary summary of the 
recent Peer Review Workshop at this meeting. This summary may include 
recommendations from the reviewers on the science underlying the 
development of Amendment 13. Based in large measure on those 
recommendations, the committee will consider adjustments to proposed 
status determination criteria, rebuilding trajectories and timelines as 
well as changes to the management measures in the Amendment. Changes to 
the measures could include revisions in the use of days-at-sea, gear, 
closed

[[Page 7507]]

areas, or any other measure identified by the committee. The 
committee's recommendations will be presented to the Council at its 
meeting March 4-6, 2003. Given time, the committee will address other 
business.
    Tuesday, March 4, 2003 at 8:30 a.m. Habitat Oversight Committee 
Meeting.
    Location: Providence Biltmore, 11 Dorrance Street, Providence, MA 
02903; telephone: (401) 421-0700.
    The Habitat Oversight Committee will review the advice from the 
joint advisory panel representative's meeting on habitat that occurred 
February 6-7, 2003. They will also review the draft Essential Fish 
Habitat (EFH), Draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement 
(DSEIS) for Amendment 13 to the Multispecies FMP. The EFH components of 
Amendment 13 have been pulled out and will be submitted as a separate 
DSEIS. This document will be presented to the Council at its March 4-6, 
2003 Council Meeting, then the EFH DSEIS will be incorporated back into 
the final Amendment 13 DSEIS, which will be presented to the Council at 
the July Council meeting. The committee will review the EFH DSEIS for 
Amendment 13 and identify a preferred alternative if appropriate.
    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

    These meetings are 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: February 11, 2003.
Theophilus R. Brainerd,
Acting DirectorOffice of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-3759 Filed 2-13-03; 8:45 am]
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