[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55540-55541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22674]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XY90


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 to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meetings will be held Tuesday, September 28 through 
Thursday, September 30, 2010. The meeting will begin each day at 8:30 
a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, One Bellevue 
Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847-3300; fax: (401) 848-
4864.
    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 28, 2010

    Following introductions and any announcements, reappointed members 
will be sworn in for their three-year terms and the Council will hold 
elections for 2010-11 officers. These events will be followed by a 
series of brief reports from the Council Chairman and Executive 
Director, the NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator (Northeast Region), 
NOAA General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives of 
the U.S. Coast Guard, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 
and NOAA Enforcement. During the remainder of the morning session the 
schedule includes a review of any experimental fishery permit 
applications received since the last Council meeting and a brief open 
period for interested parties to comment on issues relevant to Council 
business but not listed on the meeting agenda. There also will be a 
presentation on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) 
recent action on spiny dogfish. Specifically, this will include 
acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits and accountability 
measures. The New England Council may take similar action on these 
measures at this meeting. The remainder of the day will be focused on 
Atlantic herring. The Council's Herring Committee will present 
management measures included in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for Amendment 5 to the Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Final 
action on the following is scheduled: (1) a catch monitoring program 
for the herring fishery (including but not limited to reporting 
requirements, observer coverage, portside sampling, measures to 
maximize sampling, measures to address net slippage, maximized 
retention, electronic monitoring); (2) measures to address river 
herring bycatch, interactions with the Atlantic mackerel fishery and to 
protect spawning fish; and (3) criteria for midwater trawl access to 
groundfish closed areas.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

    Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff will report on the June 
2010 Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee 
meetings which addressed the status of pollock, monkfish and sea 
scallops. This briefing will be followed by a report from the Council's 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Chairman. Issues to be 
reviewed include the committee's recommendations for updated acceptable 
biological catches for monkfish, sea scallops and several groundfish 
stocks (pollock, Gulf of Maine winter flounder, northern and southern 
windowpane flounder, ocean pout and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder). 
The Council will then discuss the implication for management of the SSC 
report on monkfish reference points and acceptable biological catch 
recommendations, and possibly initiate a framework adjustment. Next, 
the Council will consider final measures to be included in Amendment 15 
to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. If approved these would: (1) include 
annual catch limits; (2) address excess capacity in the limited access 
scallop fishery through stacking of permits and/or leasing of scallop 
effort; and (3) implement several adjustments to make the overall FMP 
more effective including adjustments to the general category management 
program and the overfishing definition, modifications to the essential 
fish habitat (EFH) closed areas, modifications to the research set-
aside program and change the start date of the fishing year to May 1. 
The meeting will close for the day with a report from the Joint 
Groundfish/Scallop Committee concerning a recommendation to forward 
advisory panel advice to this committee to individual committees and 
possibly suspend the joint committee until a future date.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

    The last day of the Council meeting will begin with a briefing on 
Amendment 18 to the South Atlantic Council's (SAFMC) Snapper Grouper 
FMP.
    The SAFMC is amending its FMP for snapper grouper complex species 
throughout their range to meet the new annual catch limit requirements 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Based on the landings of some of these 
species in the New England Council's jurisdiction, the SAFMC is 
considering extending the management boundaries for all species in the 
snapper grouper complex northward to include the New England Council's 
jurisdiction (except black sea bass, golden tilefish, and scup). 
Following a presentation on the proposed measures, there will be an 
opportunity for the Council and public to ask questions and/or offer 
comments. Following this discussion, the Council intends to review and 
approve final measures to be included in Amendment 3 to Red Crab FMP. 
The action will implement annual catch limits, accountability measures, 
quota-based management and other FMP modifications to address Magnuson-
Stevens Act requirements, as well as include fishery specifications for 
2011-13. A report on the July 2010 Transboundary Resources Assessment 
Committee (TRAC) meeting will follow and include a review of the status 
of the transboundary stocks managed through the U.S./Canada Resource 
Sharing Understanding. These are Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock 
and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. Using information based on the 
TRAC report, the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee will 
present its

[[Page 55541]]

recommendations for fishing year 2011 total allowable catches of these 
same stocks. The day will conclude with the Groundfish Committee's 
Report which will include a recommendation to take initial action on 
Framework Adjustment 45 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. Measures 
under consideration include revising the pollock status determination 
criteria, changing the acceptable biological catch for pollock, 
modifying the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder rebuilding strategy, 
implementing measures to protect spawning cod in the inshore Gulf of 
Maine, implementing additional sectors, changing monitoring 
requirements for handgear A and B permitted vessels and changing the 
general category scallop vessel restrictions in the Great South 
Channel. Other issues could be considered as a result of the September 
3, 2010 Groundfish Committee meeting. The groundfish agenda items will 
continue until meeting adjournment at the end of the day.
    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: September 7, 2010.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-22674 Filed 9-10-10; 8:45 am]
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