[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54090-54091]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23444]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG545
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; public workshop.
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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a public
workshop for the purposes of addressing law enforcement issues in for-
hire fisheries operations, particularly operator versus angler (client)
responsibility for fisheries violations that occur on for-hire vessels
and law enforcement options for addressing these and issues related to
the sale of fish by private recreational anglers (particularly golden
tilefish and tunas) focusing on the need for vessels selling fish to
comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements and/or Federal permits that
allow for the sale of fish.
DATES: The workshop will be held from Tuesday, November 13, 2018, from
12 noon to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, November 14, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m.
ADDRESSES:
[[Page 54091]]
Meeting address: The workshop will be held at the Embassy Suites by
Hilton Philadelphia Airport 9000 Bartram Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19153; phone: (215) 796-6001.
This workshop has a limited number of spaces. Participants are
strongly encouraged to register early so that workshop personnel can
provide background information and plan accordingly. Please register at
http://www.mafmc.org/workshop/law-enforcement-for-hire-workshop or
email the workshop coordinator at [email protected].
Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N.
State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; telephone: (302) 674-2331;
www.mafmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Loftus, Workshop Coordinator;
telephone: (410) 295-5997; email: [email protected] or
Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council; telephone: (302) 526-5255. The Council's website,
www.mafmc.org also has details on the proposed agenda and briefing
materials.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Fishing activity on for-hire (party and
charter boats) fishing vessels generally differs from that on
commercial or private recreational vessels in that the vessel operator
is not the primary fisher, but is generally hired by the fisher to take
them onto the water and provide access to fish. However, even though
the for-hire operator may never partake in reeling in or handling the
fish, they are still responsible for ensuring that their customers
adhere to fishing regulations and can be subject to fines and other
legal actions for violations by their customers. Operators and crew of
these vessels may be faced with difficulties in tracking the fishing
activities of every customer given the multiple tasks associated with
safely operating the vessel and taking care of up to 40 or more
passengers at a time. This may be particularly difficult when fishing
is heavy and crew members are kept busy assisting many customers at any
one time. The issue of whether the vessel operator should be legally
responsible for infractions (intentional or unintentional) of their
customer has been a long-running discussion among some in the Mid-
Atlantic for-hire community.
Additionally, concerns have been expressed about the sale of golden
tilefish and tuna by operators of recreational vessels that do not
possess permits allowing for the sale of those species or possess Coast
Guard (vessel safety) requirements for commercial vessels. High prices
that can be obtained from the sale of some of these species may provide
greater incentives for this to occur.
The MAFMC's Law Enforcement Committee, Tilefish Committee, and
Highly Migratory Species Committee held a joint conference call on
September 20, 2018 to discuss these two issues. During the call, a
draft outline of agenda topics for a future workshop were discussed.
Subsequently, during the MAFMC meeting on October 4, 2018, a
presentation was made regarding these issues and Council members made
brief remarks regarding them. Recordings of both meetings are available
at the Council's website www.mafmc.org.
To address these issues further, a workshop will be held November
13-14 bringing together representatives of the federal fisheries law
enforcement community (principally NOAA Fisheries and U.S. Coast
Guard), representatives of state fisheries law enforcement agencies,
the Mid-Atlantic for-hire community, and other interested members of
the public to further refine these issues and develop potential
solutions. A workshop summary and recommendations will be presented to
the MAFMC during their December 2018 meeting. An agenda and background
documents will be posted at the Council's website (www.mafmc.org) prior
to the meeting.
Special Accommodations
The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should
be directed to M. Jan Saunders, (302) 526-5251, at least 5 days prior
to the meeting date.
Dated: October 23, 2018.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-23444 Filed 10-25-18; 8:45 am]
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