[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 56 (Friday, March 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13749-13750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-5317]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 031907C]


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 April 10-12, 2007, to consider actions 
affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 10 beginning at 9 
a.m., and Wednesday and Thursday, April 11-12, beginning at 8:30 a.m. 
each day.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Mystic Hilton Hotel, 20 
Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; telephone: (860) 572-0731.
    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, April 10, 2007

    Following introductions, the Council will hear a series of brief 
reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, the NOAA 
Northeast Regional Administrator, Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, NOAA General 
Counsel and representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Enforcement, 
and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Following these 
reports, the Council will host a briefing on NOAA's Aquaculture Program 
with a focus on the major provisions of the 2007 National Offshore 
Aquaculture Act. During the morning session, the Council also will 
receive an update from the Standard Bycatch Reporting Methodology 
(SBRM) Committee concerning an amendment that would modify all Council 
fishery management plans (FMPs) to include SBRM provisions. This agenda 
item will be followed by a summary of the ongoing discussions 
concerning changes to regional Council processes and procedures as a 
result of reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act. The afternoon agenda will include a NOAA scoping 
hearing on ending overfishing and alternatives that would address 
annual catch limits and accountability measures, provisions that are 
now part of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act. The day will 
conclude with a discussion of a strawman process that could address 
other new requirements of Magnuson-Stevens Act, specifically, a 
streamlined process to comply with the National Environmental Policy 
Act.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

    The Council intends to both approve a Draft Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement and select preferred alternatives for 
Amendment 11 to the Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. It also will 
consider initiation of Framework Adjustment 20 the the FMP, an action 
to extend measures implemented by emergency action to prevent 
overfishing through the end of fishing year 2007. The emergency reduced 
the number of scallop trips in the Elephant trunk Area in 2007. The 
framework would continue the measures through March 1, 2008. The 
Scallop Survey Advisory Committee will provide an update on progress to 
develop and test a prototype scallop dredge for survey use. The Council 
will then hold a public hearing on Phase I of its Essential Fish 
Habitat (EFH) Omnibus Amendment 2 Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement. The public is invited to comment on the EFH 
designation alternatives, Habitat Area of Particular Concern 
alternatives, an evaluation of prey species for NEFMC-managed species 
and an evaluation of the potential impacts of non-fishing activities on 
EFH.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

    The Council's Research Steering Committee Chairman will report on 
the committee's recommendations concerning the use of information 
provided in several cooperative research final reports. This will be 
followed by a discussion of other issues related to cooperative 
research, including research priorities for 2007. The Omnibus Sector 
Committee will provide an update on the development of an amendment 
that will provide an overall framework for the development of sectors. 
The Groundfish Committee will report on its efforts to develop 
Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. The Council also will 
consider developing comments on proposed sector operations plans for 
the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Gear Sector and the Fixed Gear Sector that 
operates under

[[Page 13750]]

the Multispecies FMP. Any approved comments would be forwarded to the 
NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator. An open period for the public to 
address any other Council-related business will be provided at this 
point in the day. During the afternoon session of the meeting, the 
Skate Committee will review management advice from the Skate Plan 
Development Team, as well as draft management alternatives for possible 
inclusion in an amendment to the Skate FMP. The Council also may 
approve a scoping document for this action. At the end of the day, the 
Council's Enforcement Committee will discuss committee progress to 
develop recommendations concerning the use of VMS and other tools to 
address safety-at sea, regulatory compliance, and other fishery 
management-related activities.
    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: March 20, 2007.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-5317 Filed 3-22-07; 8:45 am]
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