[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66694-66695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27768]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA793


New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC); 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 meeting on November 15-17, 2011 to consider actions 
affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 
November 15-17, starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, and at 8:30 a.m. on 
Wednesday and Thursday.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Newport Marriott Hotel, 25 
America's Cup Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island 02840; telephone: (401) 
849-1000; fax: (401) 849-3422.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

    Following introductions and any announcements, brief reports will 
be presented by the NEFMC Chairman and Executive Director, NOAA 
Fisheries Regional Administrator (Northeast Region), Northeast 
Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
liaisons, NOAA General Counsel, representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard 
and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and staff from the 
Vessel Monitoring Systems Operations and Law Enforcement offices. A 
Coast Guard representative also will provide the Council with a report 
on the implementation of the Coast Guard Authorization Act. That 
discussion will be followed by a review of any experimental fishery 
permit

[[Page 66695]]

applications that have been made available since the September Council 
meeting. The Council will then consider a request from the Mid-Atlantic 
Council to include an option to establish a river herring catch cap for 
public comment in the Draft EIS for Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), consistent with the options in the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Draft Amendment 14 to the Squid/
Mackerel/Butterfish FMP. An open period for public comments will follow 
at which any interested party may provide brief comments on issues 
relevant to Council business but not listed on the meeting agenda.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will receive an update from 
the Northeast Regional Ocean Council concerning coastal and marine 
spatial planning. Council and NMFS leadership will review further 
actions under consideration or being implemented to respond to the 
Touchstone Report on the fisheries management process in New England. 
The day will conclude with a review of progress to date on Essential 
Fish Habitat (EFH) Omnibus 2, which is focusing on the development of 
management alternatives to minimize the adverse effects of fishing 
activities on EFH.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

    The day will begin with further discussion and approval of the 
Council's 2012 fisheries management priorities. This will be followed 
by a summary report on and recommendations for observer sea-day 
allocations for the upcoming year. Concerning Framework Adjustment 23 
to the Sea Scallop FMP, the Council may have an opportunity to review 
the draft regulatory text for the action (if available), and deem 
whether they are consistent with the action and the NEFMC's intent. 
This item will be followed by an update about the transition to a new 
stock assessment process for the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. 
The Council's Groundfish Committee will provide recommendations and the 
Council is expected to take final action on Framework Adjustment 47 to 
the Northeast Multispecies FMP. It also will consider recommendations 
for recreational accountability measures for Gulf of Maine haddock. 
Before meeting adjournment for the day, there will be an update on the 
development of Amendment 19 to Northeast Multispecies FMP, to address 
the small mesh fishery which includes stocks of red hake, silver hake, 
and offshore hake.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

    The Council will consider approval of recommendations for goals and 
objectives for Amendment 6 to the Monkfish FMP, an action that may 
include catch shares management approaches for the monkfish fishery. 
The Council also will discuss a motion postponed from its last meeting 
requesting that NMFS calculate individual contribution factors 
(allocation shares or sector contribution) for three historical fishing 
periods and forward that information to permit holders. Members will 
also vote to set the spiny dogfish annual catch limit for 2012 at 
44.868 million pounds, the annual catch target at 44.737 million 
pounds, the total allowable landings at 35.740 million pounds, and the 
commercial quota at 35.694 million pounds, and to set the trip limit at 
4,000 pounds. These specifications already have been approved by the 
Mid-Atlantic Council. The Enforcement Committee will bring forward its 
recommendations for changes to gear stowage requirements, a letter 
supporting vessel and gear marking, and recommendations for hake 
incidental catch limits and skate identification at the dock. It also 
will discuss and may comment on the October 5, 2011 advanced notice of 
proposed rulemaking titled Changes to Vessel Replacement and Upgrade 
Provisions for Fishing Vessels Issued Limited Access Federal Fishery 
Permits. Finally, the Council will accommodate a NMFS scoping hearing 
about issues relevant to the management of sandbar, dusky, and 
blacknose shark, and on a new status determination for scalloped 
hammerhead based on recent stock assessments for these species.
    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: October 24, 2011.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-27768 Filed 10-26-11; 8:45 am]
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