[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42278-42279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17430]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) 
Groundfish Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New 
England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 9 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 
250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone: (603) 431-2300; 
fax: (603) 433-5649.
    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.

[[Page 42279]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The items of discussion in the committee's 
agenda are as follows:
    The Groundfish Oversight Committee will discuss possible 
adjustments to sector management measures and issues related to setting 
Acceptable Biological Catches (ABCs), Annual Catch Limits (ACLs), and 
Accountability Measures (AMs). The Committee will continue to develop 
options to improve sector monitoring, including both at-sea and 
dockside monitoring. They may discuss different funding mechanisms, 
appropriate coverage levels, full retention of allocated groundfish 
species, and ACE carry-over provisions. With respect to ABCs/ACLs/AMs, 
the Committee will consider additional sub-ACLs for the scallop fishery 
for stocks such as SNE/MAB windowpane flounder and SNE/MA winter 
flounder. The Committee may also develop options for additional sub-
ACLs for fisheries outside the Council's jurisdiction that catch these 
stocks. Examples of fisheries that may be affected include the fluke 
and scup fisheries that are managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (MAFMC) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission (ASMFC), and the squid fisheries are managed by the MAFMC. 
Committee members will also discuss additional reactive AMs for 
wolffish, SNE/MA winter flounder, and Atlantic halibut. The Committee 
may also discuss other issues that may be incorporated into the 
framework, such as issues related to Georges Bank yellowtail flounder 
management. Options identified by the Committee will be included in a 
future management action (Framework Adjustment 48) that will be 
considered by the Council in the fall of 2012. The Committee is also 
expected to receive a preliminary report on the recent assessments of 
Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail 
flounder that were conducted by the Transboundary Resource Assessment 
Committee. The Committee may provide comments for consideration by the 
Transboundary Management Guidance Committee when it negotiates FY 2013 
quotas for these stocks. Other business may be discussed.
    Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come 
before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject 
of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to 
those issues specifically identified 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.

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.

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: July 13, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-17430 Filed 7-17-12; 8:45 am]
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