Notice2022-06256
New England Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) will hold a three-day hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for this meeting.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16717-16718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06256]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB908]
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 hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote
participation to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Council continues to follow all
public safety measures related to COVID-19 and intends to do so for
this meeting.
DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 12, Wednesday, April
13 and Thursday, April 14, 2022, beginning at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and 9
a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
ADDRESSES:
Meeting address: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 20
Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; telephone: (860) 572-0731; online
at <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mysmhhf-hilton-mystic/">https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/mysmhhf-hilton-mystic/</a>. Join the
webinar at <a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2725063024732767759">https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2725063024732767759</a>.
Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; telephone: (978) 465-0492;
<a href="http://www.nefmc.org">www.nefmc.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492, ext.
113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Agenda
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
After brief announcements, Council members and staff will each
introduce themselves. Next, the Council will
[[Page 16718]]
receive reports on recent activities from its Chair and Executive
Director, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO)
Regional Administrator, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Director, the NOAA Office of General Counsel, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council liaison, staff from the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and representatives from the U.S. Coast
Guard, NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement, the Advisory Committee to the
U.S. Section of the International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), and the NMFS Highly Migratory Species Advisory
Panel. Next, the Council will receive the Monkfish Committee report and
initiate Framework Adjustment 13 to the Monkfish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP). This action will include 2023-25 specifications for the
fishery and other management measures. The Council then will go into
the Habitat Committee report. First, the Council will discuss and take
final action on a framework to designate one or more Habitat Areas of
Particular Concern (HAPCs) in Southern New England. The Council also
will receive an update on offshore energy, aquaculture, cables, and
other habitat-related work and approve a comment letter on the Coast
Guard's Port Access Route Study (PARS) for approaches to Maine, New
Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The Council then will adjourn for the
day.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
The Council will begin the second day of its meeting with the
Scallop Committee report, which will cover three issues: (1) An update
on work being conducted by the Scallop Survey Working Group; (2) next
steps for the Evaluation of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Rotational
Management Program final report, which the Council received during the
February 2022 meeting; and (3) potential approval of a scoping document
for limited access leasing. Next, GARFO staff will provide an overview
of the agency's efforts to develop bycatch reduction measures to reduce
takes of sea turtles in trawl fisheries. The Council will provide
comments on this action. The Council then will receive a report on
outcomes from the March 2022 meeting of the Northeast Trawl Advisory
Panel (NTAP). Following this report, the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center will present the peer review results for recent research track
assessments for Gulf of Maine haddock, Illex squid, and butterfish.
After the lunch break, the Council will receive a presentation from
the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on its Maximized Retention
Electronic Monitoring Program for Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23.
This presentation will be followed by the Groundfish Committee report.
First, the Council will initiate Framework Adjustment 65 to the
Groundfish FMP, which will include: (1) 2023 total allowable catches
(TACs) for U.S./Canada shared resources on Georges Bank; (2) 2023-24
specifications for Georges Bank cod and Georges Bank yellowtail
flounder; (3) 2023-25 specifications for 14 additional groundfish
stocks; (4) revised rebuilding plans for Gulf of Maine cod and Southern
New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder; (6) additional measures to
promote stock rebuilding; and (7) acceptable biological catch (ABC)
control rule revisions. Next, the Council will discuss potential
modifications to its 2022 groundfish priorities to address possible
changes to Atlantic cod management units. The Council then will adjourn
for the day.
Thursday, April 14, 2022
The Council will lead off the third day of its meeting with an
update on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's work to rebuild
Atlantic mackerel. The Council will have the opportunity to provide
comments and feedback on the mackerel rebuilding program. Next, 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. These comments will be received both
in person and through the webinar. A guide for how to publicly comment
through the webinar is available on the Council website at <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf">https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/NEFMC-meeting-remote-participation_generic.pdf</a>. The Northeast Fisheries Science Center then
will present the State of the Ecosystem 2022 report for New England.
The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee will provide
recommendations on this report prior to the Council's discussion. Next,
the Council will take up the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM)
Committee report. This will include: (1) An update on planning for EBFM
informational outreach workshops and an introduction to the workshop
facilitator; and (2) committee recommendations on a plan to conduct a
Prototype Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) for EBFM and the Georges
Bank example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP).
Following the lunch break, the Council will receive an update from
GARFO on the status of the Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Program for
the Atlantic herring fishery, which will be followed by Council
discussion. Then, 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.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 21, 2022.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-06256 Filed 3-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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