[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 109 (Friday, June 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34600-34601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12215]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA218]


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). Due to federal and 
state travel restrictions and updated guidance from the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention related to COVID-19, this meeting will 
be conducted entirely by webinar.

DATES: The webinar meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and 
Thursday, June 23, 24, and 25, 2020, beginning at 9 a.m. on June 23 and 
8:30 a.m. on June 24 and 25.

ADDRESSES: All meeting participants and interested parties can register 
to join the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/4299173335034253327.
    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, June 23, 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, and the NMFS Highly Migratory 
Species Advisory Panel. The Council then will discuss Executive Order 
13921, Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, 
which President Trump issued on May 7, 2020. Next, the Council will 
review its list of 2020-2024 research priorities and hear the 
Scientific and Statistical Committee's recommendations on any suggested 
revisions. Following some discussion, the Council will approve the 
final list. Members of the public then 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://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will take up the Ecosystem-
Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee report and receive: (1) A 
presentation on draft EBFM public outreach materials produced by Green 
Fin Studio; and (2) a progress report from the EBFM Plan Development 
Team on the development of tangible worked examples to demonstrate the 
Council's example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP) for Georges Bank. The 
Council then will hear from its Skate Committee, which will provide a 
progress report on Committee actions related to Amendment 5 to the 
Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council will 
discuss whether to pursue the development of a limited access program 
for the skate wing and/or bait fisheries through this amendment. The 
Council then will adjourn for the day.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

    The Council will begin the day by receiving a preliminary report on 
approaches to calculating discards that are deducted from the monkfish 
annual catch target to determine total allowable landings for the 
monkfish fishery. The presentation will be followed by Council 
discussion. Next, the Scallop Committee will report on four items. The 
first will be Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, 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. The Council 
will select preferred alternatives for this amendment and approve the 
Draft Environmental Assessment for public hearings. The Council also 
will discuss the timeline for this action. Second, the Council will 
review and approve 2021-2022 priorities for the Scallop Research Set-
Aside Program. Third, the Council will initiate Framework Adjustment 
33, which will include 2021 fishing year specifications and 2022 
default specifications. The Council will discuss the timeline for the 
framework given delays in resource surveys due to the COVID-19 
situation. Finally, the Scallop Committee will provide feedback on 
Executive Order 13921.
    Following the lunch break, the Habitat Committee will report on 
several items with contributions from partner presenters. Agenda items 
include: (1) A Committee update on the development of habitat policies 
for aquaculture, submarine cables, and floating offshore wind 
technology; (2) an update on the Northeast Regional Marine Fish Habitat 
Assessment; (3) a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) briefing on 
the June 2020 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Vineyard Wind project and other BOEM updates; (4) a NOAA Fisheries 
briefing on the Habitat Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the 
Northeast Region; and (5) an update from the Responsible Offshore 
Science Alliance. Next, the Council will receive a progress report on 
the collaborative effort between the Northeast Regional Ocean Council 
and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance to update commercial 
fisheries data on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portals. 
The Council will spend the remainder of the afternoon on the Atlantic 
Herring Committee report, which will cover three items. The Council 
will receive an update on Framework Adjustment 7 to the Atlantic 
Herring FMP, which is being developed to protect spawning herring on 
Georges Bank. As part of this agenda item, the Council will receive a 
report on a recent leadership conference call that was held with ASMFC 
to discuss Atlantic herring management. The Council also will receive 
an update on Framework Adjustment 8, which includes fishing year 2021-
2023 specifications. The Council potentially may approve the range of 
alternatives being developed as part of this framework to adjust 
measures in the Atlantic Herring FMP that may inhibit the Atlantic 
mackerel fishery from achieving optimum yield. Finally, the Council 
will receive Herring Committee feedback on Executive Order 13921. After 
this discussion, the Council will adjourn for the day.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

    The Council will begin the day with the Small-Mesh Multispecies 
(Whiting)

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Report. The Council is expected to take final action on Framework 
Adjustment 62 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, which focuses on 
measures to rebuild southern red hake. The Whiting Committee also will 
provide feedback to the Council on Executive Order 13921. Next, the 
Council will receive an overview of the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure 
Working Group report, which will be followed by a presentation on the 
peer review of report. The Council will discuss the report and peer 
review findings. The GARFO Regional Administrator then will provide a 
briefing on a petition for rulemaking on Atlantic cod and request that 
the Council consult with NMFS on this matter. The Council will engage 
in a discussion on how to address issues in the petition that may have 
merit.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will spend the full 
afternoon on the Groundfish Committee report, which includes several 
items. The Council will receive an overview of comments received during 
recent webinar public hearings for Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 
and then discuss next steps and the timeline for final action. In a 
follow-up to the April meeting, the Council will discuss and 
potentially approve Groundfish Committee recommendations for 
adjustments to commercial and recreational measures to mitigate the 
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This discussion may include a 
possible request for secretarial emergency action for measures related 
to commercial carry-over provisions, as well as recreational measures 
for Gulf of Maine haddock and cod. The Council also will initiate 
Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, which will 
include: total allowable catches for U.S./Canada stocks of Eastern 
Georges Bank (GB) cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder; 
2021-2023 specifications for roughly half of the groundfish stocks; and 
other measures. Finally, the Groundfish Committee will provide feedback 
on Executive Order 13921. The Council then 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 being conducted entirely by webinar. Requests for 
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: June 2, 2020.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-12215 Filed 6-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P