[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2038-2039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-553]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA931
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) will hold
a three-day meeting from January 31, 2012, through February 2, 2012 to
consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ).
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 31 through
Thursday, February 2, 2012, starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, 8 a.m. on
Wednesday, and 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Portsmouth
Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801-3478;
telephone: (603) 431-2300; fax: (603) 431-7805.
Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Following introductions and any announcements, brief reports will
be presented by the Council Chairman and Executive Director, NOAA
Fisheries Regional Administrator (Northeast Region), Northeast
Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
liaisons, as well as NOAA General Counsel, representatives of the U.S.
Coast Guard and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and
staff from the Vessel Monitoring Systems Operations and Law Enforcement
offices. During this period, the Council also will receive an update on
the activities of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council. That discussion
will be followed by a review of any experimental fishery permit
applications that have been made available since the November 2011
Council meeting.
The Council will then receive an update on progress to date on
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Omnibus 2, which is focusing on the
development of management alternatives to minimize the adverse effects
of fishing activities on essential fish habitat and the protection of
deep sea corals. Next, the Council's Research Steering Committee will
review its findings on a number final cooperative research projects and
its ongoing discussions with NOAA Fisheries about accounting for
scientific research catch and the sale of that catch. An open period
for public comments will follow during which any interested party may
provide brief comments on issues relevant to Council business but not
listed on the meeting agenda.
Following a lunch break, Council staff will present a white paper
outlining the details of a draft Fishery Management Plan Performance
Evaluation process. This will include a question and answer session for
both the Council and public. This is part of the Council's actions to
respond to the Touchstone Report on the fisheries management process in
New England. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will present
an update and discuss several New England offshore wind energy projects
and proposals. The day will conclude with a report from the Council's
Sea Scallop Committee. The committee's intent is to request initiation
of Framework 24 to the Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP). That
action will include fishery specifications for fishing years 2013 and
2014, as well as several additional measures identified by the Council
in priority order: (1) Possible modification of Georges Bank access
area opening dates; (2) measures to address sub-annual catch limits for
yellowtail flounder for the limited access general category (LAGC)
trawl fishery; and (3) leasing LAGC Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) fish
mid-year.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The day will begin with a summary of Stock Assessment Workshop
(SAW) 53 results and possibly the subsequent peer review of the Gulf of
Maine cod and black sea bass assessments addressed during the SAW. The
Scientific and Statistical Committee's (SSC) report will follow, during
which the committee chairman will provide an overview of SSC's December
2012 planning meeting, including the use of social science information
in the development of a risk policy for ABC recommendations, a process
for addressing cod discard mortality in the groundfish hook fishery and
SSC outreach. There also will be a detailed report of the committee's
January 25, 2012 discussion and any decisions about the status of Gulf
of Maine (GOM) cod.
Following the SSC's report, the Council will receive a briefing on
new Marine Recreational Information Program estimates of recreational
catch for 2004 to 2011. The Council's interest here is Gulf of Maine
cod and haddock. The Groundfish Committee will then report on a range
of issues. These include a report on the Northeast Multispecies FMP
Amendment 18 scoping hearings concerning accumulation limits, the
development of a course of action to address the recent Gulf of Maine
cod stock assessment and a possible request to NOAA Fisheries for
emergency action to address overfishing of that stock. There will be an
update concerning progress on a new sector framework adjustment and
potential modifications to the groundfish closed areas in effect in the
FMP. Finally, there will be a presentation on the Rednet Project, a
cooperative fishermen/scientific effort to redevelop a sustainable
redfish trawl fishery. This may be followed by a review of recent
sector exemption requests and any related Council recommendations.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The last day of the Council meeting will begin with development of
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comments on the Small Mesh Multispecies Secretarial Amendment, an
action that which will address the small mesh hake fishery and is
scheduled to become effective on May 1, 2012. The Council also will be
asked to approve final Draft Amendment 19 to Northeast Multispecies FMP
for purposes of holding public hearings on the proposed alternatives.
This will be followed by a discussion of progress to develop a range of
alternatives for consideration in Amendment 6 to the Monkfish FMP. The
Council also will consider adopting a committee recommendation to
establish a control date for use in the development of future
management measures including, but not limited to, catch shares and
accumulation limits. There will be a briefing by NOAA Fisheries
concerning its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
FMP amendment that would consider catch shares for the Atlantic shark
fisheries. Council meeting adjournment will take place once the
Enforcement Committee asks for Council input on recommendations
concerning gear stowage and NOAA Enforcement's draft priorities
document.
Although other non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda
may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be
the subjects 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 Act,
provided that the public has been notified of the Council's intent to
take final action to address the emergency.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days
prior to the meeting date.
Dated: January 10, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-553 Filed 1-12-12; 8:45 am]
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