[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 59 (Thursday, March 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17045-17046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06263]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA095]


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 two-day webinar meeting to consider actions affecting New 
England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Due to federal 
and state travel restrictions and updated guidance from the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention regarding the new coronavirus, COVID-19, 
this meeting will be conducted entirely by webinar.

DATES: The webinar meeting will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 
14 and 15, 2020, beginning at 9 a.m. on April 14 and 8:30 a.m. on April 
15.

ADDRESSES: All meeting participants and interested parties can register 
to join the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8766043774885604099.
    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, April 14, 2020

    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, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel, 
and the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section of the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. The Council then 
will receive a presentation on the NEFSC's State of the Ecosystem 2020 
Report for New England, which will be followed by recommendations from 
the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee on the report. The 
Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee will be up next to 
provide an update on work related to stakeholder engagement and public 
information workshops focusing on EBFM and the approach used for the 
Council's example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP) for Georges Bank. 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. These comments will be received 
through the webinar. A guide for how to publicly comment through the 
webinar is available on the Council website at https://www.nefmc.org/calendar/april-2020-council-meeting.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will receive an update from 
staff at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary on sanctuary 
activities, as well as a presentation on the new NOAA Condition Report, 
which is triggering a review of the sanctuary's management plan. Next, 
the Council will receive a NEFSC report on the March 9-12, 2020 Red 
Hake Stock Structure Research Track Assessment peer review meeting and 
go directly into its Small-Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Report, which 
will focus on updates to an action being considered to rebuild southern 
red hake. Finally, the Council will receive the Atlantic Herring 
Committee Report covering: (1) An update on Framework Adjustment 7 to 
the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which is being 
developed to protect spawning herring on Georges Bank; (2) discussion 
on whether the Council should request that NOAA Fisheries send a letter 
to ASMFC outlining the differences between Council and ASMFC 
authorities related to Atlantic herring management; and (3) an update 
on Framework Adjustment 8, which includes fishing year 2021-23 
specifications and possible adjustment of herring measures that 
potentially inhibit the Atlantic mackerel fishery from achieving 
optimum yield. The Council then will adjourn the formal meeting for the 
day and go into a closed session to discuss personnel issues.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

    The Council will begin the day with a briefing on NMFS's decision 
to reinitiate consultation on the 2012 Atlantic Sea Scallop Biological 
Opinion due to the scallop fishery exceeding its incidental take 
statement for turtles. The Scallop Committee Report with follow. The 
Council will approve the range of alternatives for Scallop Amendment 
21, which is being developed to address: (1) Northern Gulf of Maine 
Management Area issues, (2) the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) 
possession limit, and (3) individual fishing quota (IFQ) transfers. 
Then, the Council will be briefed by GARFO on issues related to the 
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, the North Atlantic Right 
Whale Biological Opinion, and the timeline for upcoming action. After 
that, the Council will discuss and initiate a framework action to 
require recreational charter/party vessels to submit required vessel 
trip reports (VTRs) electronically as eVTRs for all fisheries managed 
by the New England Council.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will be presented with and 
discuss the Groundfish Catch Share Program Review Final Report. Then, 
the Council will bring up ``other business'' and take a short break if 
time allows. After that, the Council will conduct a formal public 
hearing on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23, which is under 
development to improve catch reporting in the commercial groundfish 
fishery. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Council will close out 
the meeting.
    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 being conducted entirely by webinar. Requests for

[[Page 17046]]

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: March 20, 2020.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-06263 Filed 3-25-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P