[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1362-1363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00199]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XC656]
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 in-person meeting with an option for remote
participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all
public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for
this meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
January 24, 25, and 26, 2023, beginning at 9 a.m. each day.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at The Venue at Portwalk Place, 22
Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone (603) 422-6114; online
at https://www.thevenueatportwalkplace.com/meetings. Join the webinar
at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9197960552051905627.
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, January 24, 2023
The Council will begin this meeting in Closed Session to discuss
appointments to its Scientific and Statistical Committee. At 9:30 a.m.,
the open session will begin with brief announcements, followed by
reports on recent activities from the Council's Chair and Executive
Director, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO)
Regional Administrator, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Director, the NOAA Office of General Counsel, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council liaison, staff from the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and representatives from the U.S. Coast
Guard, NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement, and the Northeast Trawl
Advisory Panel. Next, the Council will receive an update from GARFO on:
(1) the development of measures under Phase 2 of the Atlantic Large
Whale Take Reduction Plan, which are intended to reduce entanglements
of large whales in gillnet fisheries; and (2) an overview of the
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team's recommendations on potential
measures. The Council will have an opportunity to provide input on the
recommendations. Members of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's
Gear Research Team will then give a presentation on engaging the mobile
gear fleet to visualize ropeless gear and prevent gear conflicts. This
will be followed by a short update on the Council's discussions with
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to develop sink gillnet
measures to protect large whales and Atlantic sturgeon.
After the lunch break, the Council will receive a presentation from
the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Social Sciences Branch on its
Greater Atlantic Region Commercial Fishing Business Cost Survey for
2022. The presentation will include information on: (1) survey
background and the importance of collecting cost data; (2) improvements
and changes from previous surveys; and (3) the upcoming survey
implementation schedule and related details. Then, the Habitat
Committee will provide its report, which will cover: (1) an update on
draft management alternatives for a framework adjustment to the
Atlantic Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to facilitate offshore
Atlantic salmon aquaculture; and (2) an update on offshore energy
issues and other habitat-related work, including a progress report on
the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Gulf of Maine offshore
wind development activities. As the last item of business for the day,
the Council will have a discussion on and decide whether to recommend a
control date to potentially limit the movement of limited access
general category (LAGC) permits in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM)
Atlantic sea scallop fishery.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with a
presentation on and discussion about quantifying, interpreting, and
communicating sources of uncertainty in the Council decision-making
process. The Monkfish Committee report will follow. The Council will
take final action on Framework Adjustment 13 to the Monkfish FMP, which
includes specifications for the 2023-2025 fishing years and other
measures. The Council will consider additional Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) input on acceptable biological catches
(ABCs) for all three monkfish fishing years before taking final action.
The Council also will revisit its 2023-24 priorities for the Monkfish
Research Set-Aside Program. Next, 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 both in person and 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.
After the lunch break, the Council will take up the Groundfish
Committee
[[Page 1363]]
report. The Council took final action on Framework Adjustment 65 to the
Northeast Multispecies FMP during its December 2022 meeting. During
this January 2023 meeting, the Council will possibly revise the
framework's ABCs for Atlantic halibut for fishing years 2023-25 after
considering the SSC's recommendations. This is the only issue to be
discussed under Framework Adjustment 65. In other groundfish actions,
the Council will provide recommendations to GARFO on fishing year 2023
recreational measures for Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, and Gulf
of Maine haddock. The Council also will receive a progress report on
the development of metrics for the review process to evaluate the
groundfish monitoring system under Amendment 23. Lastly, the Council
will receive an update on the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track
Assessment and ongoing discussions about cod stock structure. The
Council will close out the day with a NOAA Fisheries report on results
from the November 14-21, 2022 Annual Meeting of the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The Council
also will hear recommendations from the Advisory Committee to the U.S.
Section of ICCAT.
Thursday, January 26, 2023
The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting with a brief
overview of its Risk Policy and provide guidance for its Risk Policy
Committee. Then, the Council will discuss and approve its response to
the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' request for information and
input on draft regulations for fishing within the proposed Hudson
Canyon National Marine Sanctuary. The Ecosystem-Based Fishery
Management (EBFM) Committee report will follow. The report will
include: (1) a progress report on the prototype Management Strategy
Evaluation (pMSE) planning meetings for EBFM and the Georges Bank
example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP); and (2) the EBFM Committee's
advice on conducting deep-dive public information workshops for EBFM.
The Council next will receive a presentation on the peer-reviewed
results of the Research Track Stock Assessments for spiny dogfish and
bluefish and then review and approve the Council's harassment
prevention policies. 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: January 4, 2023.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-00199 Filed 1-9-23; 8:45 am]
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