[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47258-47260]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19381]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XV054
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 four-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday, September 23, 24, 25, and 26, 2019, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on
September 23 and 8:30 a.m. on September 24, 25, and 26.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Beauport Hotel, 55
Commercial Street, Gloucester, MA 01930; telephone (978) 282-0008;
online at www.beauporthotel.com.
Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone (978) 465-0492;
www.nefmc.org.
[[Page 47259]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext.
113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agenda
Monday, September 23, 2019
After introductions and brief announcements, the meeting will begin
with the swearing-in of reappointed Council members, followed by the
annual election of officers. Next, the Council will hear 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 NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement, and staff from
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), U.S. Coast
Guard, and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The Council then
will take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report and discuss two
issues. For the first one, the Council will: (a) Receive a presentation
on a draft discussion document about Atlantic herring spawning on
Georges Bank; and (b) discuss possible Council action on next steps.
Regarding the second issue, the Council used a Management Strategy
Evaluation (MSE) process to develop acceptable biological catch (ABC)
control rule alternatives for Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council recently took a step back to
solicit stakeholder feedback and conduct a ``debrief'' on how that
process went. At this meeting, the Council will receive an overview of
the results of the debriefing. Next, the Council will receive a
presentation from GARFO on NMFS's determination that an Endangered
Species Act listing for alewife and blueback herring, also known as
river herring, was ``not warranted.'' Following these actions, the
Council will adjourn for the day.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
The Council will begin the day by discussing a Commercial eVTR
Omnibus Framework that is under development jointly with the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The framework proposes to require
that vessel trip reports (VTRs) be submitted electronically instead of
on paper for all commercial species managed by both Councils. The Mid-
Atlantic Council initiated the action, and in June, the New England
Council joined in. This marks the first framework meeting for the
omnibus action by the New England Council. Next, the Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) will provide the Council with overfishing
limit (OFL) and ABC recommendations for: Georges Bank yellowtail and
the Northeast skate complex for fishing years 2020-2021; monkfish for
2020-2022; and deep-sea red crab for 2020-2023. The Monkfish Committee
will report next. The Council will take final action on Framework
Adjustment 12, which contains 2020-2022 fishing year specifications and
other measures for the Monkfish FMP. This will be followed by the
Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab report, where the Council will take final
action on 2020-2023 specifications for the red crab fishery. Skates
will be up next. The Council will discuss and take final action on
Framework Adjustment 8, which contains 2020-2021 fishing year
specifications and other measures for the Northeast skate complex. It
also will receive the fishing year 2018 Annual Monitoring Report for
the skate complex.
Following the lunch break, the Council will hear from its
Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee. First, the Council
will receive a presentation on the Georges Bank example Fishery
Ecosystem Plan (eFEP) Draft Report and provide comments. Once this
discussion is completed, the Council will shift to Management Strategy
Evaluation. The Council will be using MSE as it continues to work on
the Georges Bank eFEP, and the Council will receive a progress report
from its new EBFM MSE Steering Committee about how this effort is
evolving. The Council then will adjourn for the day.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
The third day of the meeting will begin with a report on the
Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel's June 21 and July 29, 2019 meetings.
The Council then will receive an update on the Groundfish Catch Share
Program Review from two contractors that have been helping collect
information and public input on this six-year review of the groundfish
sector system. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) will provide
an overview of the nine port meetings that were conducted in July and
August to collect public comment on the review, and MRAG Americas Inc.
will provide a briefing on the technical working group's progress on
the review itself. The Enforcement Committee will report next and
provide enforcement recommendations for: the Groundfish Codend
Compliance Assistance Program (CAP); the Groundfish Catch Share Program
Review; groundfish sector management compliance improvement; and
Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23. Then, the Council will: (1) Receive
a presentation on NMFS's Draft Policy Directive on Electronic
Monitoring (EM) Video Retention Periods; and (2) review and approve
draft Council comments on the NMFS guidance. Next, the Council will
address U.S./Canada issues based on information from the Transboundary
Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC) and the Transboundary Management
Guidance Committee (TMGC). The TRAC report will be first with a summary
of 2018 assessment results for three U.S./Canada shared stocks--Eastern
Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank
yellowtail flounder. The Council then will review and approve the
TMGC's recommendations for 2020 total allowable catches (TACs) for
those shared U.S./Canada stocks. Next, the Groundfish Committee will
present the first part of its report, which will focus on Framework
Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. This framework
includes: (1) 2020 TACs for U.S./Canada stocks; (2) 2020-22
specifications for 15 Northeast multispecies stocks while addressing
commercial/recreational allocation if raised by Marine Recreational
Information Program (MRIP) data; and (3) removing allocations to the
Closed Area I Haddock Special Access Program.
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. Then, the Groundfish Committee will resume with the second
part of its report, which will focus on Monitoring Amendment 23 to
Northeast Multispecies FMP. The Council will approve the Amendment 23
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public hearing and
select preliminary preferred alternatives. At the conclusion of this
discussion, the Council will adjourn for the day.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
The fourth day of the meeting will begin with an initial discussion
of 2020 Council priorities covering tasks and actions for all
committees and Council responsibilities. The Council will not take
final action on priorities until its December meeting. The Council then
will take up several issues under its Scallop Committee Report,
beginning with an update on Framework
[[Page 47260]]
Adjustment 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. This framework includes
2020 fishery specifications, 2021 default specifications, and measures
to mitigate impacts on Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. As part of
this discussion, the Council will receive an overview of the 2019
scallop resource surveys. The Council also will receive an update on
Amendment 21 to the FMP, which is being developed to address: (1)
Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area issues, (2) the Limited
Access General Category (LAGC) possession limit, and (3) the one-way
transfer of individual fishing quota (IFQ) from Limited Access vessels
with LAGC IFQ to vessels that only hold LAGC IFQ permits. Next, the
Council will receive an overview of the Fishing Year 2018 Small-Mesh
Multispecies (Whiting) Annual Monitoring Report and receive a brief
update on southern red hake rebuilding measures.
Following a lunch break, the Council will receive a report from its
Habitat Committee. This will include: (1) An update on development of
additional policies related to non-fishing activities; (2) an update on
ongoing offshore energy activities in the Northeast Region; and (3) an
overview of the revised joint New England/Mid-Atlantic Council offshore
wind webpage. Then, the Council will receive two short reports on
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) issues. The first will cover the HMS
Advisory Panel's September 4-5, 2019 meeting, and the second will cover
the September 5-6, 2019 meeting of the Advisory Committee to the U.S.
Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). 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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 4, 2019.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-19381 Filed 9-6-19; 8:45 am]
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