[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 105 (Monday, June 2, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31313-31314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12654]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XD321


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 meeting, on June 17-19, 2014, to consider actions affecting 
New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 
starting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday 
and Thursday, June 18 and 19.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 
Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (207) 775-2311, and fax: 
(207) 761-8224. See www.innbythebay.com for online information about 
the venue.
    Council Address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

    The Council meeting will begin with introductions and brief reports 
from the New England Fishery Management Council Chairman (NEFMC) and 
Executive Director, the NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator, the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council liaisons, NOAA General Counsel and Law Enforcement, and 
representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and 
the U.S Coast Guard. A brief report from the Council Chairman and 
Executive Director will follow concerning the most recent meetings of 
the Northeast Region Coordinating Council and the Council Coordination

[[Page 31314]]

Committee. Prior to a lunch break, there will be an opportunity for the 
public to provide brief comments on items that are relevant to Council 
business, but are otherwise not listed on the published agenda. The 
afternoon session on this day will begin with a progress report from 
the Council's Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management Committee. The 
Council also will hear two reports based on topics related to the 
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas last 
meeting in South Africa. Next, there will be an update on the 
development of a risk policy that will serve as guidance to the Council 
and its Scientific and Statistical Committee when addressing scientific 
and management uncertainty in setting annual catch limits for NEFMC-
managed species. During this same afternoon there will be a 
presentation on a NOAA Fisheries/Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 
Office (GARFO)-developed Vessel Baseline Amendment and Council approval 
of the range of management alternatives to be further analyzed and 
considered. The day will conclude with a summary of NOAA Fisheries 
efforts to develop a National Policy for Recreational Fishing.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

    The second day of the Council meeting will begin with a review and 
possible development of NEFMC comments on the U.S. Senate staff draft 
discussion document circulated by members of Congress in preparation 
for reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. Two reports on electronic monitoring on board fishing 
vessels will then be presented. The first will provide a summary of 
outcomes resulting from a recent electronic monitoring workshop; and 
the second will be a report on the activities of the NEFMC's Groundfish 
Electronic Monitoring Working Group. The Council's Groundfish Committee 
will begin their report prior to a lunch break. It will request 
approval of Framework Adjustment 52 to the Northeast Multispecies 
(Groundfish) FMP, an action that would revise the commercial groundfish 
fishery accountability measures for southern and northern windowpane 
flounder stocks. During the discussion of Amendment 18 to the 
Groundfish FMP, the Council intends to approve the range of 
alternatives (for fleet diversity and accumulation limits) for further 
analysis in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Last under 
this agenda item, the NEFMC will initiate action (Framework Adjustment 
53 to the Groundfish FMP) on specifications for the three groundfish 
stocks managed under the U.S. Resource Sharing Understanding for 2015; 
and catch limits for Gulf of Maine haddock, two winter flounder stocks, 
and pollock for 2015[hyphen]17. Other measures will address the 
allocation of the windowpane flounder annual catch limits to other 
components of the fishery (sub-ACLs), accountability measures for those 
fisheries, and likely additional fishery management measures associated 
with these issues.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

    Council actions on the final day of the meeting will focus on the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. The NEFMC will: Initiate Scallop Framework 
Adjustment 26 (specifications for fishing years 2015-16 and the default 
measures that could apply); review and approve a Council policy that 
outlines the process for the NEFMC's scallop research set-aside 
program; approve research set-aside priorities for fishing years 2015-
16; and receive a performance report that reviews the sea scallop 
limited access general category IFQ fishery for 2010-12. Any other 
outstanding business will be addressed by the Council prior to 
adjournment.
    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 Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days 
prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: May 28, 2014.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-12654 Filed 5-30-14; 8:45 am]
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