[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]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P