[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 182 (Monday, September 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56965-56966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23625]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE198


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); 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 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold a three-day meeting to consider actions affecting Mid-Atlantic 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 
October 6-8, 2015, starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 a.m. on Wednesday, 
and 9 a.m. on Thursday.

ADDRESSES:  The meeting will be held at the DoubleTree Philadelphia 
Center City, 237 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107; telephone: 
(215) 893-1600.
    Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. 
State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674-2331 or 
on their Web site at www.mafmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, telephone: (302) 
526-5255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 56966]]

Agenda

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

    The Council will hold a Habitat Workshop on Tuesday to discuss 
potential strategies to more fully integrate habitat into the Ecosystem 
Approach to Fisheries Management process.
    During the afternoon session, the Council will continue with the 
Habitat Workshop. The Blueline Tilefish Amendment will be discussed to 
approve a range of alternatives. The Council will review the Scientific 
and Statistical Committee's (SSC) Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) 
recommendations, as well as the Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel 
recommendations and recommend 2016-18 Spiny Dogfish Specifications and 
associated management measures. The Council will then receive an update 
on recent activities from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

    The Executive Committee will meet to review the 2015 Implementation 
Plan and to discuss and review the 2016 Implementation Plan. The 
Council will then review and approve the 2016-20 Five-Year 
Comprehensive Research Priority Plan. The Council will also identify 
research priorities for near-term cooperative research projects for the 
Council Cooperative Research Plan.
    During the afternoon session, the Council will review the SSC 
report regarding data limited methods for recommending black sea bass 
ABC and revise the 2016-17 black sea bass catch limit recommendations, 
if appropriate. The New England Fishery Management Council's Framework 
for Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs, which includes clam dredge exemption 
areas on Georges Bank and Nantucket shoals areas, will be presented. 
The Council will then receive a summary of scoping comments and 
identify the next steps regarding Unmanaged Forage followed by an 
update on the progress for the summer flounder sex-specific model.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

    The Council will identify preferred alternatives for public 
hearings for the Industry Funded Observer Amendment followed by a 
review of the NOAA Draft Policy Statement on Ecosystem Based Fishery 
Management. The day will conclude with brief reports from the National 
Marine Fisheries Service's Greater Atlantic Regional Office and the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA's Office of General Counsel 
and Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission, the New England and South Atlantic 
Fishery Council's liaisons, and the Council's Executive Director. The 
Council will also receive a Science Report, Executive and SSC Committee 
reports and discuss any continuing and/or new business.
    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 M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526-5251, at least 5 days 
prior to the meeting date.

    Dated: September 16, 2015.
Jeffrey N. Lonergan,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-23625 Filed 9-18-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P