[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10208-10209]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5044]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 022603C]


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its 
Research Set Aside (RSA) Committee and its Executive Committee will 
hold a public meeting.

DATES: The meetings will be held on Tuesday, March 18, through 
Thursday, March 20, 2003. On Tuesday, March 18, there will be a 
Research Set-Aside (RSA) Workshop from noon until 5 p.m. There will be 
a Dogfish Scoping meeting from 7 pm to 8:30 p.m. On Wednesday, March 
19, the Executive Committee will meet from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The Council 
will meet from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Council will tour the U.S. Coast 
Guard Museum and hear a presentation on Homeland Defense from 11 a.m. 
to 1:15 p.m. The Council will meet from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The 
Council will then visit the Virginia Marine Science Museum from 5 p.m. 
to 8 p.m. On Thursday, March 20, the Council will meet from 8 a.m. 
until noon.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel, 
36th Street and Atlantic Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA; telephone: 757-
425-9000 or 800-325-3535.
    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: The Council and NMFS will hold a 
collaborative workshop from noon to 5 p.m. on March 18, 2003 to discuss 
the Council's RSA program.
    The RSA program is carried out through the cooperation of the 
Council, NMFS, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. It 
provides a mechanism to fund research relevant to the Council's and 
Commission's fishery management plans and to compensate vessels through 
the sale of fish harvested under specially designated RSA quotas. 
Research projects have been funded through the RSA in 2002 and 2003, 
and a notice for solicitation of 2004 projects has recently been 
published in the Federal Register (68, FR 3864, 1/27/2003). The NMFS is 
currently soliciting proposals for research activities concerning the 
summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Loligo squid, Illex squid, 
Atlantic mackerel, butterfish, and bluefish fisheries. While the 
tilefish fishery is part of the RSA program, the Council has voted to 
set the tilefish RSA quota to zero until a stock assessment has been 
completed. All research proposals

[[Page 10209]]

to be considered under this solicitation must be received by March 28, 
2003.
    The purpose of the workshop is to receive public input from RSA 
project participants and the general public on how to improve the RSA 
program, and to inform the public and potential RSA quota recipients 
about the opportunities and requirements of the RSA program. Main 
agenda items for the workshop will be:
    (1) Welcome and Description of the RSA Program, (2) The RSA 2004 
Request for Proposals (RFP) Solicitation, (3) The RSA Grants Review/
Approval Process, (4) Overview and Discussion of the Exempted Fishing 
Permit Process Requirements RSA Recipients Must Comply With, (5) Public 
Input from RSA Project Participants and General Public with Suggestions 
on How to Improve the RSA Program, (6) Integration of RSA Projects with 
NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center Programs, (7) Integration of 
RSA Project Findings Into the Fisheries Management Process.
    Additional agenda items for the Council's committees and the 
Council itself are: Conduct a scoping meeting for Amendment 1 to the 
Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (consider, among other management 
measures, the following items for inclusion in Amendment 1: define a 
rebuilding biomass target for Bmsy, establish rebuilding timeframe 
consistent with Section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), 
address bycatch/discard issues, and address different allocation 
processes; the Executive Committee will discuss potential Council 
actions regarding MSA and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) 
Reauthorizations; hear a presentation on the peer review and stock 
assessment workshop process; hear a NMFS presentation on initiative to 
change recreational fishing data collection (report on the new 
coastwide methodology to collect catch and effort data from the for-
hire recreational fleet and discuss how new system would affect Marine 
Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS); review and discuss 
directions and priorities for 2003 and 2004 for summer flounder, scup, 
and black sea bass; receive and discuss organizational and committee 
reports including the New England Council's report regarding possible 
actions on herring, groundfish, monkfish, red crab, scallops, skates, 
and whiting; and, act on any continuing and/or new business.
    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 at the Council (see ADDRESSES) at 
least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: February 26, 2003.
Theophilus R. Brainerd,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-5044 Filed 3-3-03; 8:45 am]
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