[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31845-31846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14221]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF222


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; Management Strategy Evaluation Debrief; Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) seeks 
public comment on the Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) process used 
to develop and analyze Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) control rule 
alternatives in Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP). The purpose of this notice is to announce the Council's 
intent to gather public comments on this topic.

DATES: Written and electronic scoping comments must be received on or 
before 8:00 a.m. EST on Friday, August 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent by any of the following 
methods:
     Email to the following address: [email protected];
     Mail to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950; or
     Fax to (978) 465-3116.
    The invitation for public comment document is accessible 
electronically online at: https://www.nefmc.org/library/management-strategy-evaluation-debrief-comment-now.
    Requests for copies of the invitation for public comment document 
and other information should be directed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive 
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 
2, Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone: (978) 465-0492.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Management Strategy Evaluation used to develop Amendment 8 to 
the Atlantic Herring FMP was the first time this Council used MSE in 
decision-making. The Council is now taking a step back to debrief and 
identify the benefits and/or drawbacks of the MSE

[[Page 31846]]

process, as well as lessons learned. This debrief is intended to 
evaluate the process used to integrate MSE into Amendment 8 and will 
help inform future decisions on using MSE to manage Atlantic herring or 
for other purposes. The goals of the debrief are to: identify 
perceptions of the MSE process, identify pros and cons of the specific 
process used, identify lessons learned from the process, and inform 
future Council decisions on use of MSE for Atlantic herring management.
    The Council conducted a Management Strategy Evaluation to help 
develop alternatives for an ABC control rule, or formula for setting 
catch limits. This MSE was intended to be a collaborative decision-
making process, involving more public input and technical analysis 
earlier in the amendment development process than normal. An MSE 
involves modelling to determine potential outcomes of different 
management approaches, ABC control rules in this case. MSE can help 
evaluate tradeoffs among objectives and which control rules would most 
likely meet management goals.
    The Council began working on Amendment 8 in 2015, conducting public 
scoping and setting the goals of this action. In January 2016, the 
Council decided to use MSE to help develop ABC control rule 
alternatives. MSEs typically take several years to finish and use 
invitation-only, small groups (15-25) of stakeholders to give input. 
The Council diverged from this norm for two reasons. First, the Council 
aimed to finish Amendment 8 in time to develop herring fishery catch 
limits for 2019-2021. Thus, this MSE had unusually constrained time 
limits. Second, the Council decided to have all points of stakeholder 
input (e.g., workshops) completely open to the public, so the MSE 
process could mirror the open Council process as much as possible. 
Relative to other MSEs, the degree of stakeholder participation was 
rare, if not unique, at least for U.S. fisheries.

Public Comment

    You may comment by submitting written comments to the Council (see 
ADDRESSES). While anyone may respond to this invitation for comment, 
the Council is particularly interested in understanding the viewpoints 
of those involved in the MSE (e.g., attended an MSE workshop) and are 
invested in the future of herring management. You may address any 
aspect of the MSE but are encouraged to focus on the MSE as a decision-
making process, rather than the technical aspects of the MSE or the 
outcomes of Amendment 8 (e.g., the Council's preferred alternatives, 
regulatory changes). Specifically, the Council is seeking input on:
     Clarity of purpose and need for using MSE in Amendment 8.
     Sufficiency of general education about MSE, how well MSE 
was understood (e.g., models, role of stakeholder input) and any ideas 
for improving the education process (e.g., more literature, online 
instructional webinars, in-person seminars)?
     Utility of the six distinct phases of this MSE (described 
above), whether some phases (or aspects of phases) more useful or 
successful than others and whether the time provided for each phase was 
enough.
     Appropriateness of using open-invitation, public workshops 
for this MSE and/or recommendations for other formats.
     Utility of how MSE results were presented in helping 
characterize the tradeoffs associated with various alternatives.
     How well the Council integrated the MSE results and 
workshop input in developing Amendment 8 alternatives.
     Utility of the MSE in balancing tradeoffs between 
objectives.
     The benefits, if any, in using an MSE for Amendment 8, and 
if the benefits outweigh the costs.
     How this MSE process compared to how else the Council 
could have developed and selected alternatives.
    After the public comment period ends, the comments will be 
summarized, along with any Herring Plan Development Team (PDT) input 
and recommendations and discussed by the Herring Advisory Panel (AP) 
and Committee. The Council will be updated in September 2019. The PDT 
will draft a final report for discussion at the AP and Committee 
meetings in the fall, and the Council will likely receive a final 
report in December 2019. Public comment is important to the Council 
process. This is a key opportunity for you to give feedback on the 
Atlantic herring MSE. Your comments will help the Council evaluate this 
MSE and consider future MSEs.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: June 28, 2019.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-14221 Filed 7-2-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P