[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53045-53046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1981]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 082304B]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION:  Notice of a public meeting.

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SUMMARY:  The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold a three-day Council meeting on September 14-16, 2004, to consider 
actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ).

DATES:  The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 
beginning at 9 a.m. and on Wednesday and Thursday, September 15 and 16, 
beginning at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES:  The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Express, 110 
Middle Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719; telephone: (508) 997-1281.
    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; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

    Following introductions, the Council will hold elections for 2004-
05 officers. The Council's Habitat/Marine Protected Area Committee will 
present its recommendations for essential fish habitat measures to be 
included in Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 
The recommendations will be followed by a brief public comment period 
during which any member of the public may bring forward items relevant 
to Council business but not otherwise listed on the agenda for this 
meeting. The remainder of the day will be spent on sea scallop issues. 
During the Scallop Committee Report the Council will receive management 
advice from the Scallop Plan Development Team based on the most recent 
scallop assessment and discuss the possible initiation of a special 
framework adjustment to address new management issues during the 2005 
fishing year. Management issues under consideration relate to 
overfishing, sea turtle bycatch mitigation measures, actions to cap or 
reduce general category scallop landings and/or improve reporting, and 
measures that would change the 2005 open area days-at-sea allocation as 
the result of management actions taken in Framework Adjustment 16/39.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

    During the Wednesday morning session the Council will receive 
reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, the NMFS 
Regional Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, NOAA General Counsel and 
representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, NMFS Enforcement and the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The Monkfish Committee 
will then ask for final approval of measures to be included in 
Amendment 2 to the Monkfish FMP. This will occur following review and 
discussion of Monkfish Advisory Panel and Oversight Committee 
recommendations and public comments submitted to the Council. This 
joint FMP also requires approval by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council prior to the submission of final documents.

Thursday, September 16, 2004

    The Research Steering Committee will ask the Council for approval 
of criteria/standards for determining whether research projects have 
undergone a sufficient technical review before information is used for 
management purposes. Other recommendations to be forwarded to the 
Council address day-at-sea use, the disposition of catch and vessel 
compensation when boats are engaged in cooperative research. The Red 
Crab Committee will offer its recommendations for specifications for 
the 2005 fishing year and for Framework Adjustment 1 to the FMP, an 
action that could modify the annual review and specification process. 
The Groundfish Committee will provide an update on the development of 
Framework Adjustment 40B to the Northeast Multispecies FMP including a 
review of proposed management measures and grouping of measures into 
alternatives. In addition, there will be a briefing of recent reports 
of juvenile haddock incidental catches in the herring mid-water trawl 
fishery. The Council's Transboundary Management Guidance Committee will 
report on its recent

[[Page 53046]]

meeting and offer recommendations for 2005 Total Allowable Catches for 
yellowtail flounder, cod and haddock in the U.S./Canada area and on 
other related management issues. The Council meeting will adjourn 
following after any other outstanding business is addressed.
    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 notice and 
any issues arising after publication of this notice that require 
emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
provided that 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 date.

    Dated: August 26, 2004.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E4-1981 Filed 8-30-04; 8:45 am]
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