[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74767-74769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25999]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE994
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).
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
November 15, 16, and 17, 2016, beginning at 9 a.m. on November 15, 8:30
a.m. on November 16, and 8:30 a.m. on November 17.
[[Page 74768]]
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue
Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: (401) 847-3300; online at
www.hotelviking.com.
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, November 15, 2016
After introductions and brief announcements, the meeting will begin
with reports from the Council Chairman and Executive Director, NMFS's
Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Office
(GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, representatives from NOAA General
Counsel and the Office of Law Enforcement, and staff from the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard. Following
these reports, the Council will hear from its Vessel Monitoring System
(VMS)/Enforcement Committee, which will: (1) Update the Council on work
being done to develop a codend certification program; (2) provide a
brief overview of the Anthropocene Institute's mapping project; and (3)
provide initial input on measures under consideration in Atlantic
Herring Framework Adjustment 5 and Atlantic Herring Amendment 8. Next,
the Skate Committee will present a Skate Monitoring Report with an
overview on stock status, landings, and revenue for the seven skate
species being managed by the Council. Afterward, the Council is
expected to approve a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast
Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider limited access
in the fishery. Next, the Council will receive a presentation from the
NMFS Highly Migratory Species (HMS) staff on Draft Amendment 5b to the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP, which is being developed to end overfishing
and rebuild dusky sharks.
After a lunch break, the Council will hear from its Monkfish
Committee and take final action on Framework Adjustment 10 to the
Monkfish FMP, which will set fishing year 2017-19 specifications and,
if needed, additional measures. Next, the Council will receive a
progress report from its Small Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Committee
regarding limited access options being developed for Amendment 22. The
Council will close out the day with a Habitat Committee report, which
will include an overview of the preliminary impacts analysis for the
Council's Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council also will
discuss Coral Amendment alternatives that overlap with the new
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and, finally,
consider a management action to implement fishing regulations in the
monument area. Following adjournment, NMFS will hold a public hearing
at 5:30 p.m. in the Council meeting room on Draft Amendment 5b to the
2006 Consolidated HMS FMP.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
The second day of the meeting will begin with a report from the
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which will present Atlantic
sea scallop overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch
(ABC) recommendations for the 2017 scallop fishing year and OFL and ABC
defaults for the 2018 fishing year. The SSC also may discuss issues
related to improving control rules and ABC recommendations for
groundfish and other stocks. The Scallop Committee report will directly
follow the SSC. At this point, the Council will take final action on
Framework Adjustment 28 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP, which
includes: (1) Specifications for fishing year 2017 with default
measures for 2018; (2) a measure to restrict the possession of shell
stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42[deg] 20'
N; (3) modifications to the process for setting scallop fishery annual
catch limits (ACLs); and (4) modifications to the Closed Area I Scallop
Access Area boundary to be consistent with potential changes to habitat
and groundfish mortality closed areas. More specifically, the 2017
specifications and 2018 default measures include: (a) Setting ABCs,
ACLs, days-at-sea, and access-area allocations for both limited access
(LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) vessels; (b)
determining the hard total allowable catch (TAC) for the Northern Gulf
of Maine Management Area; (c) setting the target TAC for the LAGC
incidental catch; and (d) specifying set-aside amounts for the scallop
observer and research set-aside programs. Next, members of the public
will be able 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.
Following a lunch break, the Council will go into its Groundfish
Committee report and take final action on most of the measures in
Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP. These
include: (1) 2017 U.S./Canada specifications; (2) a scallop fishery
sub-ACL for northern windowpane flounder; (3) potential changes to the
scallop fishery accountability measure (AM) triggers for Georges Bank
yellowtail flounder; (4) a potential increase to the sub-ACL for
Georges Bank haddock for the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery;
and (5) a timely notification process for announcing recreational
measures. The Council is expected to take final action on 2017-19 witch
flounder specifications--the last component of Framework 56 -- at its
January meeting. In another groundfish-related item for this November
meeting, the Council also will review a draft scoping notice for a
Groundfish Monitoring Program Amendment. Closing out the day, the
Council will receive a NMFS briefing on revisions to National Standard
Guidelines 1, 3, and 7 to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
The third day of the meeting will begin with a discussion of 2017
Council priorities, followed by a final vote on the resulting list.
Next, the Council will receive a NMFS briefing on the agency's
comprehensive review of observer safety issues. Then, the Council will
take up the Atlantic Herring Committee report. The Council may take
final action on Framework Adjustment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP,
which includes alternatives to modify Georges Bank haddock bycatch AMs
in the Atlantic herring midwater trawl fishery. The Council also will
approve the agenda for a second Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE)
workshop, which will be held Dec. 7-8 as part of the MSE process under
Amendment 8 to develop ABC control rule alternatives for the Atlantic
herring fishery. Furthermore, the Council will receive an update on the
development of Amendment 8 measures to address herring localized
depletion.
Following a lunch break, the Council will resume the Atlantic
Herring Committee discussion if needed and then conclude the meeting
with ``other business.''
Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come
before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subject
of formal action during this meeting. Council
[[Page 74769]]
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 Thomas A. Nies (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days
prior to the meeting date.
Dated: October 24, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-25999 Filed 10-26-16; 8:45 am]
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