[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55192-55193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22025]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XC221
New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC); 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 on September 25-27, 2012 to consider actions
affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,
September 25-27, starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, at 8:30 a.m. on
Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth
Harbor, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360; telephone: (508) 747-
4900; fax: (508) 746-2609; or online at www.radisson.com/plymouth-hotel-ma-02360/maplyhar.
Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Following introductions and any announcements, the annual election
of Council officers will take place once all newly appointed members
have been sworn in by the NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator/
Northeast Region. Brief reports will then be provided by the NEFMC
Chairman and Executive Director, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center
and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, NOAA General
Counsel, representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission, and staff from the regional Vessel Monitoring Systems
Operations and NOAA Law Enforcement offices. The Council also will
receive an update about Northeast Regional Ocean Council activities.
The new Coast Guard First District Commander will provide his
perspective on fisheries issues, and following a lunch break, the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
[[Page 55193]]
Director will present an overview of the Center's draft Strategic Plan.
A question and answer period is scheduled to accompany the
presentation. NEFMC staff will provide findings and recommendations
concerning the use of socio-cultural information in the NEFMC process.
Three additional reports will follow: the Spiny Dogfish Committee will
ask for final approval of measures to be included in Amendment 3 to the
Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP); the Monkfish Committee
will update the Council on its progress to develop management
alternatives for inclusion in Amendment 6 to the Monkfish FMP; and the
Council's Enforcement Committee will review any recommendations
relative to NOAA's enforcement priorities for 2013, fishing gear
stowage requirements, and new forms proposed by NOAA as part of a new
information collection system. The day will end with a listening
session that the audience and larger public may participate in via
webinar. For this Council meeting, the focus will be on the new
Northeast Regional Administrator, his views and opinions, and his
recent visits to many coastal communities in the Northeast.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Council will receive a report from the NEFSC summarizing the
findings of the 54th Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review
Committee meetings. The species addressed were Atlantic herring, and
Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder. The Council's
Scientific and Statistical Committee will report on its acceptable
biological catch recommendations for groundfish stocks for fishing
years 2013-15, Atlantic herring for 2013-15 and sea scallops for 2013-
14. The Herring Committee will address the recent court decision about
Amendment 4 to the Atlantic Herring FMP and ask the Council to consider
actions to address the court order. Discussion also will cover initial
development of Atlantic herring fishery specifications for the upcoming
fishing years 2013-15, including possible action to maintain the 2012
specifications through 2013 and develop a separate package for 2014-16.
The Scallop Committee will report later in the day about management
measures proposed for Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP Framework Adjustment 24/
Groundfish FMP Framework Adjustment 49. Framework 24 is an action to
set fishery specifications for fishing years 2013 and 2014, but
includes other measures: a possible modification of the Georges Bank
access area seasonal closures; measures to address yellowtail flounder
bycatch in the limited access general category (LAGC) fishery; the
potential allowance of quota transfer during the year for LAGC
individual fishery quota vessels; and measures to expand the observer
set-aside program to include LAGC scallop vessels in open areas. At the
end of the day, the Council will hear about the 2012 assessments for
the transboundary stocks of Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock, and
Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. The day will conclude with
consideration and approval of fishing year 2013 quotas for these same
stocks.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Council may approve a small mesh multispecies control date for
the red hake, silver hake and offshore hake fisheries. This issue will
be followed by a lengthy Groundfish Committee report on a range of
issues including: the development of Framework 48 to the Northeast
Multispecies (Groundfish) FMP, an action that may include fishing year
2013-15 overfishing levels and acceptable biological catches for a
number of stocks managed through this FMP; the creation of a Southern
New England/Mid-Atlantic windowpane flounder sub-annual catch limit
(sub-ACL) for the sea scallop fishery; adjustments to the Southern New
England/Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder sub-ACLs for
the scallop fishery; sector monitoring issues; adjustments to
recreational fishing measures if necessary; and consideration of other
adjustments to the groundfish management measures. As part of this
action, the Council also will consider recommendations for allowing
increased access to the groundfish closed areas to mitigate expected
low acceptable biological catches for groundfish stocks in fishing year
2013.
During the afternoon session on Thursday the Habitat Committee will
request that the Council consider splitting the deep-sea coral
alternatives off from the Omnibus EFH Amendment 2, and possibly
initiating development of a coral-focused omnibus amendment. The
Council also may endorse a Memorandum of Understanding related to deep-
sea corals, and will review the draft adverse effects minimization
alternatives under development in Omnibus EFH Amendment 2. The day will
conclude with an initial discussion of the Council's 2013 management
priorities.
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: September 4, 2012.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-22025 Filed 9-6-12; 8:45 am]
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