[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 57 (Friday, March 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16192-16193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06314]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID XA971]


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, April 13-15, 2021, beginning at 12 p.m. on April 13 and 9 
a.m. on April 14 and April 15.

ADDRESSES: All meeting participants and interested parties can register 
to join the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1904697600653229067.
    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 13, 2021

    After introductions and brief announcements, the Council will 
receive reports on recent activities from its Chairman and Executive 
Director, NMFS's Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) 
Regional Administrator, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) 
Director, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaison, 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 South Atlantic Council's 
Dolphin/Wahoo Committee. Next, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
will provide an overview of its efforts to address climate change 
impacts on fisheries. This briefing will be followed by a progress 
report on the Northeast Region Coordinating Council's scenario planning 
initiative to address climate change impacts and implications. At 3:00 
p.m., NMFS will hold a listening session on Executive Order 14008, 
Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, focusing on Section 
216(c), which is specific to making fisheries and protected resources 
more resilient to climate change. The Council and public will have the 
opportunity to provide recommendations and comments directly to NMFS, 
which is also known as NOAA Fisheries. As the final order of business 
for the day, the Council will receive an update on congressional 
activities.

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

    The Council will begin the day with a progress report from its 
Atlantic Herring Committee. The Council will discuss next steps on 
actions to: (1) Develop a rebuilding plan to address the overfished 
status of the Atlantic herring resource; (2) potentially adjust herring 
accountability measures; and (3) consider spawning closures on Georges 
Bank under Framework Adjustment 7. Next, the Council will hear from its 
Skate Committee, which first will provide a summary of comments 
received during the recent supplemental scoping period for Amendment 5 
to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. The amendment 
considers establishing limited access in the skate wing and/or bait 
fisheries and other measures to address several issues in the fishery. 
The Council will discuss next steps for this action and also receive an 
update on other 2021 skate priorities.
    Following the lunch break, the Council will hear from its Habitat 
Committee on three items. First, the Council will receive a progress 
report on work being done to assess possible revisions to the Habitat 
Management Area on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank. Second, the 
Council will discuss and provide feedback to the Habitat Committee on a 
strategy for ongoing engagement and coordination with NOAA Fisheries on 
aquaculture issues. Third, the Council will receive an update on 
offshore wind developments in the Greater Atlantic Region.
    Following the habitat discussion, the Greater Atlantic Regional 
Fisheries Office will provide a short progress report on the status of 
the 2021 Atlantic Sea Scallop Biological Opinion to address turtle 
interactions in the scallop fishery. Also related to scallops, the 
Council will receive updates on: (1) The formation of the new Scallop 
Survey Working Group and its recent activities; and (2) other 2021 
Council scallop priorities. The Council will close out the day with a 
report on and discussion of the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel's March 
19, 2021 meeting.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

    The Council will begin the third day of its meeting with a 
presentation on the NEFSC's State of the Ecosystem 2021 Report for New 
England. Next, the Council will hear the Scientific and Statistical 
Committee's recommendations on the State of the Ecosystem 2021 Report 
and have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the report's 
contents. After that, the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) 
Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) Steering Committee will provide an 
update on its EBFM public information workshop planning efforts. 
Following this update, 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://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf. Next, the Council will go into its 
Groundfish Report, which will focus on next steps in response to public 
feedback received on a recreational groundfish party/charter fishery 
limited entry strawman. The Council then will close out the meeting 
with other business.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come

[[Page 16193]]

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: March 23, 2021.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-06314 Filed 3-25-21; 8:45 am]
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