83 FR 2144 - New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 10 (January 16, 2018)

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a two-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2144-2145]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00567]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF946


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 two-day meeting to consider actions affecting New England 
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 30, and Wednesday, 
January 31, 2018, beginning at 10 a.m. on January 30 and 9 a.m. on 
January 31.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Harborside, 250 
Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801; telephone: (603) 431-2300; online 
at www.sheratonportsmouth.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, January 30, 2018

    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 Fisheries 
Office (GARFO), liaisons from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 
(NEFSC) 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 (ASMFC) and U.S. 
Coast Guard. Next, the Council will receive an industry-funded 
monitoring briefing from GARFO that includes: (1) An update with 
preliminary results on the agency's electronic monitoring project 
aboard midwater trawl vessels participating in the Atlantic herring and 
mackerel fisheries; and (2) information on industry-funded monitoring 
service providers. The Skate Committee will report next. The Council is 
expected to initiate Framework Adjustment 6 to the Northeast Skate 
Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider adjustments to the 
skate wing possession limit.
    After a lunch break, members of the public will have the 
opportunity 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. The Habitat Committee will report after the public comment 
period. The Council is scheduled to take final action on coral 
protection measures for the continental slope and canyons south of 
Georges Bank in its Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council took 
final action on coral protection measures for the Gulf of Maine in June 
of 2017. In other habitat-related business, the Council will: (1) 
Review NMFS's decision on Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 and discuss how 
it relates to the Council's 2018 habitat priorities; and (2) review 
comments on offshore wind projects. The Council then will hear from its 
Research Steering Committee and first review and possibly approve the 
committee's recommendations for potential improvements to the Council's 
research priority-setting process. The Council also will receive an 
update on issues related to the Northeast Cooperative Research Program 
and be briefed on management reviews of completed research projects. 
Following these actions, the Council will adjourn for the day.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

    The second day of the meeting will begin with a closed session in 
order for the Council to consult on Scientific and Statistical 
Committee appointments for 2018-20. The first item of business in the 
open session will be an update on the ongoing external review of 
Council operations, known as the Council Program Review. Next, the 
Council will receive a report on the latest meeting of the Northeast 
Trawl Advisory Panel and discuss several issues related to the workings 
of the panel, including NEFSC engagement and previous/future studies 
and projects. This discussion will be followed by a National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation-funded report on implementing electronic monitoring 
in New England's groundfish fishery. The Council then will receive a 
presentation on the NEFSC's ``2007-2015 Final Report on the Performance 
of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery,'' followed by the Scientific and 
Statistical Committee's report, which is centered on providing 
overfishing limit and acceptable biological catch recommendations for 
Atlantic halibut to the Council.
    Following a lunch break, the Council will begin its Groundfish 
Committee report, which will cover recreational fishery measures and 
the Council's Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23. On the recreational 
end, the Council will: (1) Provide recommendations to GARFO on fishing 
year 2018 recreational measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock; (2) 
possibly consult with GARFO on fishing year 2018 recreational measures 
for Georges Bank cod; and (3) consider recommending a new control date 
for the party/charter fishery. Regarding Amendment 23 to the Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which is focused on monitoring in 
the groundfish fishery, the Council will: (1) Receive a progress report 
on the amendment's development; and (2) discuss the

[[Page 2145]]

possibility of holding a groundfish workshop or establishing a working 
group dedicated to monitoring issues. Finally, the Council will close 
out the meeting with ``other business.''
    Although non-emergency issues not contained on this agenda may come 
before the 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 Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's 
intent to take final action to address the emergency. The public also 
should be aware that the meeting will be recorded. Consistent with 16 
U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

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: January 10, 2018.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-00567 Filed 1-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P