[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 62 (Monday, April 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12230-12231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06228]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XG921
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, April 16 through Thursday,
April 18, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. on April 16 and 8:30 a.m. on April
17 and 18.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan
Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; telephone: (860) 572-0328; online at
https://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:
[[Page 12231]]
Agenda
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
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 (MAFMC),
representatives from NOAA General Counsel and NOAA's Office of Law
Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (ASMFC) and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Council also will
receive a short report on the South Atlantic Council's Dolphin Wahoo
Amendment 10. The Council next will receive a presentation from NOAA
Fisheries on the joint NOAA Fisheries/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
recovery plan for the Gulf of Maine District Population Segment of
Atlantic Salmon. This will be followed by a GARFO presentation on
options that will be considered by the Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Team (ALWTRT) during its April 23-26, 2019 meeting. The
Council's discussion will focus on potential ALWTRT impacts on New
England-managed fisheries. GARFO also will provide information about
the Biological Opinion for all species listed under the Endangered
Species Act that may be affected by the 10 fishery management plans
that NOAA Fisheries is consulting on. The Council then will receive a
progress report on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's
Commercial eVTR Omnibus Framework Action, which the MAFMC is developing
to consider implementing electronic Vessel Trip Reports for all vessels
with commercial permits for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic
Council.
After the lunch break, members of the public will have the
opportunity 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. The Groundfish Committee will report next. The Council is
scheduled to approve the range of alternatives for Groundfish
Monitoring Amendment 23. It also will receive an update on the status
of ongoing listening sessions, which are being held to gauge public
interest in whether or not the Council should develop an amendment to
the groundfish plan to limit access to the party/charter fishery. In
addition, the Council will receive an update on its Five-Year Catch
Share Review, which is underway, and then approve a modified Gear
Standards Policy to facilitate use of gear in accountability measures.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the Council will adjourn for the
day.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
The Council will begin the day with a progress report from its
Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee on setting catch
limits for stock complexes, managing overfished stocks, and other
issues related to the development of an example Fishery Ecosystem Plan
(eFEP) for Georges Bank. The Council then will receive the Northeast
Fisheries Science Center's annual Ecosystem Status Report, which
provides an update on the condition of the Northeast Continental Shelf
ecosystem. The Atlantic Herring Committee will report next. First, the
Council will receive a progress report on the development of 2019-21
specifications for Atlantic herring and approve the Scientific and
Statistical Committee's (SSC) acceptable biological catch and
overfishing limit recommendations. The Council then will identify the
range of additional management measures for the 2019-21 Atlantic
herring fishing years if any measures are needed.
Following the lunch break, the Council will receive and discuss the
final report from the Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program Review Panel.
The Council may make recommendations based on the panel's findings.
Next, the SSC will provide comments and recommendations on the
Council's revised research priorities, which were developed in 2018 and
updated based on suggestions from the Council's committees and Plan
Development Teams. The full Council then will review, discuss, and
approve the updated list. Before adjourning for the day, the Council
will review, discuss, and approve updates to the Council Operations
Handbook regarding the Research Steering Committee, research priority
setting, and research review policy.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
The third day of the meeting will begin with a report from the
Council's executive director on the staff's participation in a
facilitated offsite workshop, which was held March 13-14, 2019 and was
prompted by a recommendation from the Council Program Review Panel. The
remainder of the meeting largely will be devoted to a special session
titled ``Offshore Wind in the Northeast Region.'' This session will
cover four wide-ranging subject areas: (1) A broad overview of the
scope and time horizon of likely offshore wind energy development in
the region; (2) a summary of the wind energy development process and
major players; (3) an update on research planning and coordination,
including wind energy impacts on fishery surveys; and (4) an update on
regional projects under development. Finally, the Council will close
out the meeting with ``other business.''
Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come
before the 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 Fishery Conservation and
Management 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, 2019.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-06228 Filed 3-29-19; 8:45 am]
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