[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 60 (Thursday, March 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15698-15699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06280]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF323


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, 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, 
April 18, 19, and 20, 2017, beginning at 9 a.m. on April 18, 8:30 a.m. 
on April 19, and 8:30 a.m. on April 20.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Mystic, 20 Coogan 
Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355; telephone: (860) 572-0731; online at http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/connecticut/hilton-mystic-MYSMHHF/index.html.
    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, April 18, 2017

    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 Fisheries 
Office (GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
(NEFSC) 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 (ASMFC) and the 
U.S. Coast Guard. Following these reports, the Council will hear from 
its Scallop Committee, which will provide a progress report on 2017 
work priorities. The Council also potentially may initiate a framework 
adjustment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan to 
address Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area issues.
    After a lunch break, the Council will hear from its Skate 
Committee, which will provide a summary of comments received during 
recent scoping hearings for Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex 
Fishery Management Plan. The Council also will review and may consider 
revising the existing control dates for the skate bait and skate non-
bait (wing) fisheries. The Council will close out the day with a report 
from its Habitat Committee, which first will present an overview of 
input received during two mid-March coral workshops. These workshops 
were held in New Bedford, MA and Portsmouth, NH with active fishermen 
to help refine the alternatives in the Council's Draft Omnibus Deep-Sea 
Coral Amendment. The Council then will identify preferred alternatives 
in the amendment to send to public hearing. Finally, the Council will 
receive a progress report on the Clam Dredge Exemption Area Framework 
Adjustment, which is under development.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

    The second day of the meeting will begin with an Ecosystem Status 
Report by NEFSC staff to update the Council on the state of the 
Northeast Continental Shelf ecosystem. This report will be followed by 
an update from the Council's Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management 
Committee on developing a worked example of harvest control rules for 
ecosystem management. Next, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center will 
provide a presentation on the Standardized Bycatch Reporting 
Methodology and outline steps for improvement. GARFO staff will 
summarize the peer review that was conducted regarding in-season 
discard estimation methods, known as the Discard Methodology Review. 
Members of the public then 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.
    After a lunch break, the Whiting Committee will be up first. The 
Council will review and is expected to approve the range of limited 
access, permitting, and possession limit alternatives for the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 22 to the Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 22, referred to as 
``the whiting amendment,'' is focused on small-mesh multispecies. After 
that, the Council will spend the remainder of the afternoon on 
research-related issues.

[[Page 15699]]

First, the Council will receive a report from its Research Steering 
Committee regarding the committee's review of collaborative research 
projects funded by the Council. Next, the Council is expected to 
approve 2017-22 research priorities. Finally, the Northeast Fisheries 
Science Center will provide a review of its Cooperative Research 
Program.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

    The third day of the meeting will begin with a report from the 
Council Programmatic Review Steering Committee. The Council then is 
expected to approve a plan for conducting the review. Next, the Council 
will hear from its Atlantic Herring Committee, starting off with a 
presentation on the results of the mid-March Management Strategy 
Evaluation (MSE) Peer Review. MSE is being used to develop an 
acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule for Amendment 8 to the 
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The Council potentially may 
approve the range of alternatives for Amendment 8, including ABC 
control rule options and measures to address localized depletion and 
user conflicts. Following this discussion, the Council will review and 
approve comments on Addendum I to Amendment 3 of ASMFC's interstate 
Atlantic herring plan. Finally, the Council will receive an update from 
GARFO on its evaluation of incorporating portside data into herring 
catch cap quota monitoring.
    Following a lunch break, the Council may resume its herring 
discussion if necessary. Then, the Council will address the Industry-
Funded Monitoring (IFM) Omnibus Amendment. The Council will review the 
preferred alternatives it selected during its January meeting for both 
the amendment itself and for IFM monitoring for the Atlantic herring 
fishery. The Council may make clarifications to and/or changes to the 
preferred alternatives for the Atlantic Herring Industry Funded 
Monitoring Program. The Council is expected to take final action and 
vote to submit its preferred alternatives to NMFS. The Council will 
close out the meeting with ``other business.''
    Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come 
before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
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 the public 
has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to 
address the emergency. The public also should be aware that the meeting 
will be recorded. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the 
recording is available upon request.

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: March 27, 2017.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-06280 Filed 3-29-17; 8:45 am]
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