81 FR 35736 - New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 107 (June 3, 2016)

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).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 107 (Friday, June 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35736-35737]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13132]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE665


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, 
June 21, 22, and 23, 2016. It will start at 9 a.m. on June 21, 8:30 
a.m. on June 22, and at 8 a.m. on June 23.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 
Spring Street, Portland, ME 04101; telephone: (800) 345-5050; or online 
at http://www.innbythebay.com/. Council address: New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 
telephone: (978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext. 
113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Agenda

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

    After introductions and any announcements, the Council meeting will 
open with brief reports from the NEFMC Chairman and Executive Director, 
the NOAA Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region (GAR), 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council liaisons, NOAA General Counsel and Office of Law Enforcement 
representatives, and staff from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission and the U.S Coast Guard. Following these reports, the 
Enforcement/VMS Committee will review feedback from other species 
committees on the Office of Law Enforcement's priorities, as well as 
recommendations on other issues. A public comment period is then 
scheduled during which any member of the public may bring issues 
forward that relate to Council business but are not included on the 
published agenda for this meeting. Next, BOEM will update the Council 
on the status of offshore wind leasing in the Atlantic and discuss a 
request for comments on the site assessment and site characterization 
activities proposed off NY. After a lunchbreak, the NEFMC's Small Mesh 
Multispecies will review a progress report on the small-mesh 
multispecies (whiting/hake) fishery fleet history to develop limited 
access alternatives for Amendment 22, and reconsider proceeding with 
development of this action. Next, the Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center will provide a presentation on its Draft Climate Regional Action 
Plan. Under the Scientific and Statistical Committee report the Council 
will receive an update on SSC discussions about improving groundfish 
catch advice, provide its comments on the Risk Policy Working Group's 
``roadmap,'' its comments on the five-year review of the scallop 
limited access general category ITQ program, and comments on the Draft 
Northeast Regional Climate Science Action Plan. Before adjourning

[[Page 35737]]

for the day the Council will develop NEFMC comments on this plan.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

    The second day of the meeting will begin with a review of NOAA 
Fisheries' proposed rule for Atlantic sturgeon critical habitat. During 
this morning session, the Scallop Committee will discuss initiating 
Framework Adjustment 28--fishery specifications for 2017-18, and 
discuss management alternatives that may be considered in the action. 
These will include measures to: (1) Restrict the possession of shell 
stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42[deg]20' 
N; (2) modify the process for setting scallop fishery annual catch 
limits; (3) modify scallop access areas consistent with potential 
changes to habitat and groundfish mortality closed areas; and (4) 
modify gear to further protect small scallops. The committee also will 
ask for approval of priorities for the 2017-18 research set-aside 
program (RSA). The Council may also discuss modifying its Scallop RSA 
policy. The Groundfish Committee will then review a progress report on 
a draft white paper about monitoring strategies for the commercial 
groundfish fishery. The committee will ask the Council to initiate 
Framework Adjustment 56, an action to set specifications for the US/CA 
stocks and witch flounder for fishing years 2017-18, modify the process 
used to set recreational management measures, establish a sub-annual 
catch limit for northern windowpane flounder in the scallop fishery, 
allocate northern windowpane flounder to groundfish sectors, modify the 
groundfish monitoring program, and possibly other measures. The 
committee will ask for approval of the range of alternatives to 
consider in a framework adjustment that would revise the Georges Bank 
haddock catch cap for the herring fishery and associated accountability 
measures. After lunch the Council will continue with the groundfish 
report and complete the discussion of the Georges Bank haddock catch 
cap in the Atlantic herring fishery. Last, the Atlantic Herring 
Committee will review outcomes of a recent workshop on an Atlantic 
herring acceptable biological catch control rule management strategy 
evaluation (MSE), and approve fishery objectives, performance metrics 
and features of control rules to be evaluated in the MSE.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

    The final meeting day will begin with the Omnibus Industry-Funded 
Monitoring Amendment. The Council intends to select preferred 
alternatives for monitoring coverage targets in the Atlantic herring 
fishery and approve the draft Environmental Assessment for public 
comment. The Council chair will then give an update on the recent Trawl 
Survey Advisory Panel meeting. The Council will review an update to 
NOAA's Catch Share Guidance document and review/approve any new NEFMC 
comments on the revised draft, if necessary. The Council will discuss 
and approve comments on the Northeast Regional Planning Body's draft 
Northeast Regional Ocean Plan. Lastly, the Risk Policy Working Group 
will review final guidance on implementation of the NEFMC's approved 
risk policy. The Council will adjourn after it addresses any other 
outstanding business during the afternoon of June 23rd.
    Although other 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 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: May 31, 2016.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-13132 Filed 6-2-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P