[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74767-74769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25999]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE994


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) 
will hold a three-day meeting 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, 16, and 17, 2016, beginning at 9 a.m. on November 15, 8:30 
a.m. on November 16, and 8:30 a.m. on November 17.

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ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue 
Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847-3300; online at 
www.hotelviking.com.
    Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492; 
www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext. 
113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Agenda

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

    After introductions and brief announcements, the meeting will begin 
with reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, NMFS's 
Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Office 
(GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, representatives from NOAA General 
Counsel and the Office of Law Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. Following 
these reports, the Council will hear from its Vessel Monitoring System 
(VMS)/Enforcement Committee, which will: (1) Update the Council on work 
being done to develop a codend certification program; (2) provide a 
brief overview of the Anthropocene Institute's mapping project; and (3) 
provide initial input on measures under consideration in Atlantic 
Herring Framework Adjustment 5 and Atlantic Herring Amendment 8. Next, 
the Skate Committee will present a Skate Monitoring Report with an 
overview on stock status, landings, and revenue for the seven skate 
species being managed by the Council. Afterward, the Council is 
expected to approve a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast 
Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider limited access 
in the fishery. Next, the Council will receive a presentation from the 
NMFS Highly Migratory Species (HMS) staff on Draft Amendment 5b to the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which is being developed to end overfishing 
and rebuild dusky sharks.
    After a lunch break, the Council will hear from its Monkfish 
Committee and take final action on Framework Adjustment 10 to the 
Monkfish FMP, which will set fishing year 2017-19 specifications and, 
if needed, additional measures. Next, the Council will receive a 
progress report from its Small Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Committee 
regarding limited access options being developed for Amendment 22. The 
Council will close out the day with a Habitat Committee report, which 
will include an overview of the preliminary impacts analysis for the 
Council's Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council also will 
discuss Coral Amendment alternatives that overlap with the new 
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and, finally, 
consider a management action to implement fishing regulations in the 
monument area. Following adjournment, NMFS will hold a public hearing 
at 5:30 p.m. in the Council meeting room on Draft Amendment 5b to the 
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

    The second day of the meeting will begin with a report from the 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which will present Atlantic 
sea scallop overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch 
(ABC) recommendations for the 2017 scallop fishing year and OFL and ABC 
defaults for the 2018 fishing year. The SSC also may discuss issues 
related to improving control rules and ABC recommendations for 
groundfish and other stocks. The Scallop Committee report will directly 
follow the SSC. At this point, the Council will take final action on 
Framework Adjustment 28 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, which 
includes: (1) Specifications for fishing year 2017 with default 
measures for 2018; (2) a measure to restrict the possession of shell 
stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42[deg] 20' 
N; (3) modifications to the process for setting scallop fishery annual 
catch limits (ACLs); and (4) modifications to the Closed Area I Scallop 
Access Area boundary to be consistent with potential changes to habitat 
and groundfish mortality closed areas. More specifically, the 2017 
specifications and 2018 default measures include: (a) Setting ABCs, 
ACLs, days-at-sea, and access-area allocations for both limited access 
(LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) vessels; (b) 
determining the hard total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf 
of Maine Management Area; (c) setting the target TAC for the LAGC 
incidental catch; and (d) specifying set-aside amounts for the scallop 
observer and research set-aside programs. Next, members of the public 
will be able to speak during an open comment period on issues that 
relate to Council business but are not included on the published agenda 
for this meeting. The Council asks the public to limit remarks to 3-5 
minutes.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will go into its Groundfish 
Committee report and take final action on most of the measures in 
Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. These 
include: (1) 2017 U.S./Canada specifications; (2) a scallop fishery 
sub-ACL for northern windowpane flounder; (3) potential changes to the 
scallop fishery accountability measure (AM) triggers for Georges Bank 
yellowtail flounder; (4) a potential increase to the sub-ACL for 
Georges Bank haddock for the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery; 
and (5) a timely notification process for announcing recreational 
measures. The Council is expected to take final action on 2017-19 witch 
flounder specifications--the last component of Framework 56 -- at its 
January meeting. In another groundfish-related item for this November 
meeting, the Council also will review a draft scoping notice for a 
Groundfish Monitoring Program Amendment. Closing out the day, the 
Council will receive a NMFS briefing on revisions to National Standard 
Guidelines 1, 3, and 7 to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

    The third day of the meeting will begin with a discussion of 2017 
Council priorities, followed by a final vote on the resulting list. 
Next, the Council will receive a NMFS briefing on the agency's 
comprehensive review of observer safety issues. Then, the Council will 
take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report. The Council may take 
final action on Framework Adjustment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP, 
which includes alternatives to modify Georges Bank haddock bycatch AMs 
in the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery. The Council also will 
approve the agenda for a second Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) 
workshop, which will be held Dec. 7-8 as part of the MSE process under 
Amendment 8 to develop ABC control rule alternatives for the Atlantic 
herring fishery. Furthermore, the Council will receive an update on the 
development of Amendment 8 measures to address herring localized 
depletion.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will resume the Atlantic 
Herring Committee discussion if needed and then conclude the meeting 
with ``other business.''
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Council

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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: October 24, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-25999 Filed 10-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P