[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62513-62514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24788]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XV131]


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of a 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, Wednesday, and Thursday, 
December 3, 4, and 5, 2019, beginning at 9 a.m. on December 3 and 8:30 
a.m. on December 4 and 5.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue 
Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone (401) 847-3300; online at 
www.hotelviking.com.
    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: 

Agenda

Tuesday, December 3, 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, staff from the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and 
representatives from NOAA General Counsel, NOAA's Office of Law 
Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Council then will receive a 
report on the 2019 annual meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 
Organization (NAFO), followed by a report on the Northeast Trawl 
Advisory Panel's most recent meeting. Next, the Council will receive a 
NOAA Enforcement overview of the Carlos Rafael case, followed by a 
Coast Guard presentation on misreporting issues and their implications. 
Then, 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.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will review Draft National 
Standard 1 Technical Guidance for Carry-over and Phase-in Provisions 
within Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) control rules and approve 
Council comments on the draft. The Skate Committee Report will be up 
next. The Council will receive a progress report on Amendment 5 to the 
Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which proposes 
to establish a limited access program for the skate wing and/or skate 
bait fisheries. Then, the Council will receive an overview of the Spiny 
Dogfish 2019 Fishery Performance Report and the Spiny Dogfish 
Monitoring Committee's recommendations for the 2020 fishing year. Next, 
the Atlantic herring report will cover two issues. First, the Council 
will receive a presentation on the final discussion document pertaining 
to Atlantic herring spawning on Georges Bank. Second, the Council will 
receive the final debrief report on the Management Strategy Evaluation 
(MSE) process that was used to develop ABC control rule alternatives 
for Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring FMP. The Council then will hear 
from its Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) MSE Steering 
Committee, which will provide recommendations

[[Page 62514]]

on developing a non-technical document and structure for public 
information workshops, focusing on the approach used for the Council's 
example Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Georges Bank. Finally, the Council 
will receive an overview of NMFS's Modernizing Recreational Fisheries 
Management Act of 2018 Report to Congress and approve Council comment. 
Following these actions, the Council will adjourn for the day.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

    The Council will begin the day with a NEFSC presentation on the 
peer-reviewed results of the 2019 operational assessments for 14 
Northeast multispecies (groundfish) stocks. Next, the Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC) will provide the Council with overfishing 
limit (OFL) and ABC recommendations for those 14 groundfish stocks for 
fishing years 2020-22, as well as OFL and ABC recommendations for 
Atlantic sea scallops for fishing year 2020 with default specifications 
for 2021. The Groundfish Committee report will be next with three 
items. First, the Council will take final action on Framework 
Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. The framework 
includes: (1) 2020 total allowable catches for U.S./Canada stocks of 
Eastern Georges Bank (GB) cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail 
flounder; (2) 2020-22 specifications for 15 stocks, addressing 
commercial/recreational allocation if raised by data from the Marine 
Recreational Information Program (MRIP); and (3) removal of the 
allocation to the Closed Area I Haddock Special Access Program. This 
discussion will be followed by a progress report on Groundfish 
Monitoring Amendment 23, and then the Council will receive a summary of 
the input gathered during a series of public listening sessions that 
were conducted to gauge whether the Council should pursue developing a 
limited access program for the groundfish party/charter fishery.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will continue its groundfish 
deliberations until all business is concluded. Then, the Council will 
receive a report on GARFO's October 2019 New England Recreational 
Fishing Workshops. After that, the Council will adjourn for the day.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

    The third day of the meeting will begin with a discussion of 
Council priorities. The Council will take final action on 2020 
priorities covering tasks and actions for all committees and Council 
responsibilities. Next, the Council will take up the Scallop Committee 
Report, which will cover two items. First, the Council will take final 
action on Framework Adjustment 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP. This 
framework includes fishing year 2020 specifications, 2021 default 
specifications, and measures to mitigate impacts on Georges Bank 
yellowtail flounder. The Council also is working 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. As part of this action, the 
Council will discuss whether or not to ask NMFS to publish a control 
date to restrict movement between LAGC permit categories. The Council 
may take action on this item.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will receive a habitat 
report with updates on: (1) Ongoing offshore energy activities in the 
Northeast Region; and (2) habitat-related work. Next, the Council will 
receive a presentation from Cornell Cooperative Extension on its 
technology transfer program for small-mesh fishermen to utilize large-
mesh belly panels to reduce bycatch of Georges Bank yellowtail 
flounder. This will be followed by the Council's small-mesh 
multispecies (whiting) report, which will focus on action being taken 
to rebuild southern red hake. 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: November 12, 2019.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-24788 Filed 11-14-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P